Going Over Trump's Wall Might Lead to Better Things

By Fr. DONNELL KIRCHNER, CSSR, STL

Baton Rouge, La. — I am rooting for a Trump victory in declaring a National Emergency about Immigration issues and the Wall. He has to use some doubtful presidential powers to get all that he wants. May he be successful. May the courts back this president with rulings that guarantee others in the future may do the same.

Then in 2021 (God forbid we have to wait until January 2025) another wise and reasonable person could start declaring that gun control is a national emergency and needs some modern interpretation of the Second Amendment. We now have the best standing army in the world. Soldiers don’t have to take their muskets home while off duty. Depending how you interpret the statistics, easily over 50,000 people die from gun violence a year. Now that is a national emergency.

How about a presidential declaration on global warming and the melting ice caps. Miami, New York, New Orleans and many other cities are going to end up under water.

According to some experts,”human influences are the number one cause of global warming, especially the carbon pollution we cause by burning fossil fuels and the pollution-capturing we prevent by destroying forests. The carbon dioxide, methane, soot, and other pollutants we release into the atmosphere act like a blanket, trapping the sun’s heat and causing the planet to warm.” Maybe a presidential declaration of a national emergency can move us quicker to becoming more “green.”

Some are worried about the growing debt and bankruptcy of the whole American way of life. While most do not wish for more federal government involvement, conservative pundit Garry Wills claims that Americans (who hate taxes) do not want anyone to touch their Medicare. How about declaring a national emergency over the growing $22 trillion in the hole, revising many of those tax breaks and loopholes, so that the richest help save our current system, and not just benefit and thrive from it?

Since elections have consequences, and many states are undergoing political battles over gerrymandering, a skillful president could simply study a Rand McNally map and draw up new non-politicized districts. Then we could get more just and honest representation.

While numbers are angrily disputed, it seems reasonable to calculate between 40 to 60 million American citizens/workers have been eliminated since Roe and Wade. How are we going to be able to support Planned Parenthood, food stamps for the hungry and subsidies for the farmers? It used to be that three people were paying into Social Security for every person receiving benefits. By 2037 (give or take a few years on either side) there will be one person paying for three retirees. Can a presidential intervention bring about more future payers?

And how about low salaries for teachers who have to moon light to support their families? While most do not enter this profession planning on making a lot of money, we as a society need to offer enough so that we attract many of our brighter and wiser members of our community. Why someone who just buys and sells buildings should make millions, while those who build up the future members of our nation can hardly get by, does not seem like a wise investment in our collective future.

Can anyone live on a $7.25 cents an hour, working anywhere? Maybe a powerful president could decree that national poverty wages are against the spirit of the Constitution to guarantee Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness for any normal person. When enough people have problems paying for their supplies and goods at Walmart or McDonalds because workers have been laid off by this “enormous” salary increase, and bars and restaurants are understaffed because they cannot afford to pay a living wage, I am sure a crafty powerful president will find a way to “balance” the market.

If the present plan to achieve funding by avoiding Congress (which is supposed to control the purse) is to build a wall, I am sure we can get by with eating less store-bought vegetables and fruit by planting our own garden. Good exercise. Hope that your roof does not leak or need to be fixed, that our crumbling highways and bridges last a bit longer. Maybe some robots can keep eating establishments open by doing the dishes. Stock up on Tide and make sure your Kenmore or Whirlpool can launder your clothes. No need to worry about fewer maids to clean houses. Watch less Netflix movies. Protect the borders. The only drugs we will talk about will be sold at Walgreens.

The list goes on and on of disputed questions that a powerful official could solve and eliminate so quickly by the stroke of a pen. Congress would have so much less to worry about and do. The courts could be freed up to imprison all those evil criminals who do not pay their income taxes, hire illegal immigrants (and not pay them much of a salary), deal with sex offenders and those politicians who vote as their lobbies tell them).

Let’s prove Winston Churchill wrong by showing that we can do better than a functioning democracy, which is so messy and time consuming. Strong leaders cut through all the crap and get the job done quickly. Long live those strong leaders who have a vision of getting things done rapidly so that they may have more “Executive Time” for chatting, tweeting and playing golf.

Father Donnell Kirchner, CSsR, received a degree in moral theology in Rome and taught for 39 years as a Redemptorist priest in Brazil, teaching at a regional pastoral institute in Manaus. He is currently ministering in Baton Rouge, La. Email Donkirchner70@Yahoo.com.

From The Progressive Populist, March 15, 2019

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