Art Collins
When properly managed, constructive change that includes ongoing efforts to improve operating efficiency is essential for any healthy organization, whether in business, government, or any other walk of life. Absent these efforts, organizations become stale and bureaucratic, eventually declining or disappearing. However, tearing apart an organization without a comprehensive plan for rebuilding it so that outcomes are improved for all constituents leads to chaos, instability, and eventual failure.
Sadly, the political and economic climate in the United States and worldwide is rapidly becoming more perilous as the Trump administration blantely disregards fundamental rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution, indiscriminately slashes federal government spending and employment, dangerously alters important international alliances, twists the truth to support their positions, and unilaterally makes irresponsible financial, trade, public health, environmental, and diplomatic decisions.
In the process, many observers at home and abroad believe President Trump is intent on replacing American democracy with an autocracy, undermining the rule of law to accomplish his goals, attempting to rewrite history, rolling back hard-fought-for civil rights, eroding U.S. influence and goodwill internationally, increasing the probability of a global recession, diminishing the quality of education at all levels, gutting important medical and scientific research efforts, reducing the ability to prdict and respond to natural disasters, and harming countless innocent people who did nothing to deserve his wrath. Furthermore, based on Trump’s past practices and rhetoric, his proposals will exclude responsible tax and spending measures that are both needed to address the mounting national debt while maintaining a strong military and essential social services.
However, as hard as he tries, Trump cannot unilaterally change the direction of the government to fit his preferences. He depends on the unwavering support of blindly loyal advisors and cabinet members, a complicit Republican majority in both houses of Congress, a conservative Supreme Court and federal judges, Fox News, a plurality of voters, and an ineffective opposition party. Still, the president remains the most influential figure among them. Therefore, this essay referenced below will mainly focus on him and his goals for the coming months.
With that said, passionate Republican supporters believe Trump is bold, decisive, cunning, transparent, refreshingly outspoken, and willing to shake things up in Washington, D.C., and beyond to bring about meaningful, long-overdue change. The MAGA faithful also have bought into conspiracy theories and are convinced that Trump and his policies (many of which have been taken directly from the Project 2025 playbook) are precisely what the country needs to combat a ‘deep state’ intent on taking Trump down, counter the ‘woke’ liberal agenda promoted by Democrats at home, and reclaim U.S. military and economic dominance globally.
Conversely, Democrats and many Independents contend that the actions of the Trump administration are harming average Americans, elevating the risk of a stagnation-driven recession, trashing longstanding democratic ideals, consciously disregarding laws and ethical standards (including the emoluments clause), promoting bigotry and hatred, moving the country closer to a police state, alienating allies, playing into the hands of Putin and other adversaries, increasing the chances for expanded global armed conflict, and reducing the nation’s standing throughout the world. Most Democrats also agree that Trump has become more dangerous, unhinged, and sociopathic since he first occupied the White House, and they reference the book The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump, in which 27 distinguished psychologists and mental health professionals classified Trump as a “clear and present danger” during his first term as president. This classification was replete with supporting opinions that described him as “impulsive, arrogant, ignorant, disorganized, chaotic, nihilistic, self-contradictory, self-important, and self-serving.”
Although it is more important now than ever for opposing viewpoints to be heard and constructively debated, I decided to include the full text of this essay on Medium and Substack rather than on LinkedIn, as I have in the past. So, if you would like to read the entire essay (and I suggest you do), you can click on the following links:
While you will need to access the above links to read the essay in its entirety, I have included below the final section that provides concerned citizens with a list of actions they can take to make their voices heard:
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Even though all this chaos and uncertainty can seem overwhelming, now is not the time to retreat to the sidelines or bury your head in the sand. When historians and future generations look back on this period, they will undoubtedly ask who recognized that the current administration was steering America off the rails. More importantly, they will analyze the actions taken or not taken to address this travesty and help set things right.
Simply put, now is the time to find the courage to speak out and take a stand. Might you face some personal risk in doing so? Yes, but think about the risk to our democracy and future generations if you don’t. While there are many ways to voice your opinion, let me share eight suggestions that are neither mutually exclusive nor one-time events.
1) Explicitly call out lies and serial liars; the more powerful they are, the more necessary it is to do so.
2) For Americans, send emails or letters to your elected representatives and call your congressperson or senator using the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202–224–3121), and continue this on an ongoing basis.
3) Attend all town hall meetings, ask questions, and voice your opinions.
4) Write op-eds or letters to the editor of local newspapers or magazines.
5) Engage with and respectfully challenge your friends, neighbors, and other reasonable people with opposing political views.
6) Support nonprofit organizations that provide unbiased news, such as PBS NewsHour, and those that “expose abuses of power and betrayals of public trust” through responsible investigative reporting, like ProPublica.
7) Participate in peaceful, constructive protests and strikes.
8) Ensure you are properly registered to vote and cast your ballot in all elections, although irreparable damage may already have been done by then.
In summary, get involved—not just for yourself, but for your children, grandchildren, and other loved ones. And when you find your voice and make it heard, remember the wise admonitions from an American president in the early 1900s and an Anglo-Irish philosopher and statesman in the 18th century.
Republican President Teddy Roosevelt left no doubt in what he believed about the presidency when he said, “To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
Sir Edmund Burke also warned, “The only thing required for the triumph of evil is for good men (and women) to do nothing.” Burke went on to say, “Nobody made a greater mistake than he (or she) who did nothing because he (or she) could only do a little.”
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As you consider what I wrote (including the subsequent comments that will be posted) and watch events unfold over the coming months, keep in mind the prophetic cautionary words from two Founding Fathers and former presidents.
John Adams, the second president of the United States, emphatically stated: “Government is instituted for the common good: for the protection, safety, prosperity, and happiness of the people; and not for the profit, honor, or private interest of any one man, family, or class of men.”
James Madison, the fourth president of the United States, also warned: “The accumulation of all powers (legislative, executive, and judiciary) in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.”
In the meantime, I fear that the threats to democracy and the rule of law will only increase in the days and months to come, and the world will become an increasingly dangerous place, so take heed, find your voice, speak out, and take a stand–if not for you, then for your family and friends!
Reference Link:- https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/find-your-voice-speak-out-take-stand-art-collins-zx4me/;