The Impeachment Trial That Must be Held

https://www.vox.com/21506029/trump-violence-tweets-racist-hate-speech

Regardless of the outcome--and there are plenty of people who don't believe that there are 17 Republicans in the senate with the courage to stand up for the American Republic and its Constitution which establishes government of, by and for the people--there are some accomplishments that will be achieved by the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump.  There's no doubt that it is constitutional, affirmed by the United States Senate. 

If the threat of accountability for crimes committed in office isn't there, it will happen again.  And while this country has gone until now without a threat to the peaceful transfer of power after an election, that's no longer the case and failing to prosecute Trump will only open the door to it happening again.  I'm having difficulty understanding why criminal charges can't be considered, given not only the incitement of the insurrection itself but the scope of the lying that was done about the election results themselves.  No credible evidence was ever produced which supported any claim of "massive voter fraud."  None.  Shouldn't all of that be subject to investigation and prosecution?  And if not, then what is subject to investigation and prosecution in this country?  

Most people seem convinced that there aren't 17 Republican senators who have the courage, conviction or intellectual capacity to take a look at overwhelming evidence and vote to convict Trump.  Given their behavior during the past four years, I'd agree with that assessment.  But so what?  Even without a conviction there will be a lot of good that comes out of this. 

Every Republican Who Votes Against Removal is Exposed

The Democratic party is poised to pick up a lot of new house and senate seats in 2022.  A lot.  This will help every Democrat who runs against an incumbent senator confront their opponent with direct evidence of their lack of courage and conviction.  Every Republican senator who votes against removing Trump from ever being able to hold elected office again is a traitor, not a patriot and if they are on the record, their Democratic opponent in 2022 needs to keep reminding the voters of that fact.  Patriots defend the constitution, they don't attack it like Trump so lets see who the patriots really are.  

Though it has been very obvious which Republicans have been duplicitous regarding Trump and which ones have no conviction and no backbone, this one's going to hurt.  That's why you heard all of their whining and complaining before this trial started.  They could care less about whether or not it is constitutional, what they care about is that millions of voters, most of whom have already decided that the attack on the capital was a horrific, traitorous insurrection, will see the case organized by the House Managers all over again.  It will be a fresh reminder of just how bad Trump was and just how close we came to losing everything that we are as a country.  

Their decision is simple.  They are either loyal Americans who will vote for justice and against Trump, or they are loyal to Trump and will vote against justice and against America.  That's the bottom line. 

Evaluating How We Got Here

Free speech is a cherished American right, a first amendment guarantee that was at the very core of this country's existence during the time it was being founded.  We seem to have moved away from some of the values that developed and became part of who we are during the formative years of the American Republic.  The power behind the government rests with the people and the events of the past four years have shown where our republic is weak and needs some strengthening.  

There is no free speech without responsibility and responsibility is something that doesn't just happen, it takes time to develop, grow and be understood.  It requires true character and a set of values, both things that Trump was lacking.  That's not being judgmental, it is being observant.  The man built his fame and branded himself with what he hoped would be seen as "legendary immorality."  

The early church Apostle Paul lists the "works of the flesh" in his letter to the Galatian Christians as being "sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and things like these."  There's not much in that list that Trump didn't use to brand himself and create his public image long before he was elected to the White House.  

How did his followers miss all of that, especially the "Evangelicals" who knew better?  And if the Christian New Testament isn't your measuring rod, business ethics and conduct should have attracted some attention.  Well, actually, it did, and some Republican senators did notice during the 2016 primaries, and they are on the record as having pointed out most of Trump's corrupt behavior before they realized that he was gathering support and their nominee of choice, Jeb Bush, wasn't.  You can find caustic criticism of Trump's character, especially the fraud and the incessant lying, from any of a dozen GOP senator/hypocrites like McConnell, Rubio, Graham, Sessions and most of the rest of the GOP presidential field in 2016.  

Someone in that GOP senate crowd even said that they wondered how in the world anyone could trust what Donald Trump said when he put his hand on the Bible and took the oath of office to uphold and defend the constitution.  And so I ask that question, after four years of pathological lying, including the whoppers that incited the crowd at his "Stop the Steal" insurrection, indeed, how?  

In most elections, we have depended on the electorate to decide whether candidates are qualified and capable of serving in public office and to cast their ballots based on those requirements.  There are those among the electorate who are not interested in democracy and who prefer a form of government other than a constitutional republic.  Free speech means that, up to a point, we accept those among us who have different perspectives about government, economic policy, leadership characteristics and style and so forth, but that point is the place where it threatens what has been constitutionally established and attempts to use a means other than what the constitution requires to make changes. 

And we have apparently gone off the rails here. 

So How do we Fix It?

Are there really 74 million Americans whose preference is to resort to violence and insurrection in order to get their way and make sure their candidate remains in office, going completely against the constitution and assassinating government officials in order to achieve their ends?  Probably not, but there are clearly those who were attracted to Trump and his way of doing things who do not believe in representative, constitutional democracy but prefer dictatorship by force and they showed up in Washington on January 6.  

Too many Americans are simply ignorant of the constitution and what a constitutional Republic looks like and are willing to believe conspiracy theories and the lie that the election was stolen, or even could be stolen.  That's where the education needs to start.  Telling lies that can't be supported by evidence and which have as their intention the undermining of the legitimate, elected government of the Republic is not free speech.  And if there are that many people who can't see that someone like Donald Trump is completely incapable of serving in an office that requires the kind of intensity, energy, intellect, morality and character that the American Presidency requires, then our public education system has failed to achieve its most basic mission and purpose.  And next to it, in my opinion, so has a fair segment of the Christian church.

So perhaps this impeachment will be a wake-up call.  Our democracy will still have plenty of enemies, but hopefully they will not have so many willing helpers.

1. We need to get real civics education back into the school system now.  We've focused on language skills, math and science for so long that we've let the really important subjects go.  Every student, starting in kindergarten, needs real American history and real Civics instruction.  Right now, in some states, students have to be proficient in Algebra 1 to graduate from high school.  They should also have to be proficient in the American and state constitution and in the meaning behind the dates and events in American history.  
2. Whatever is constitutionally permissible, and I think there is quite a bit that can be done, with regard to qualifications for candidates for federal office should be legislated or, if necessary, amended into the constitution.  That would include standards for honesty and integrity, requiring the release of all social media posts, associations and memberships held, all public records and standards for conduct of business or professional responsibility including release of all tax returns and financial records.  
3. Any candidate for public office, congressman, senator or President, or any cabinet official or military commander, should be required to pass a test demonstrating their knowledge of the Constitution of the United States and a comprehensive American history exam.  If you can't pass that, you aren't eligible to be elected.  
4. Term limits must be put in place for everyone serving in government, including the senate, the house and the Supreme Court.   That way, the focus will be on the objective of serving Americans, not making a career out of government.