'Donald Trump's Los Angeles Military Deployment Is an Assault on American Democracy'
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The most valuable commodity in a democracy is not the quality of its constitution, the brilliance of its leaders, the strength of its institutions, the details of its laws, the independence of its media, or the vibrancy of its civic society, but trust.
Trust between the people and their government. Trust that politicians will honour the results of free and fair elections. Trust that leaders will try to represent the interests of every citizen, not just the ones that voted for them. Trust that Government officials will carry out their duties impartially and with integrity. Trust that government spokespeople, while undoubtedly putting a positive spin on events, will broadly tell the truth. Trust that laws will be applied fairly, and not twisted in order to go after political enemies, rivals or disfavoured groups. Trust that leaders will not abuse the powers of their position to enrich or benefit themselves, or their associates. Trust that the Government will seek to protect the poorest, the most vulnerable, or disadvantaged members of society, because who knows when some unhappy twist of fate might land any of us in a similar situation.
Trust is the invisible glue which holds democracies together. It cannot be written into the constitution. It cannot be legislated into being. It cannot be enforced upon leaders. Trust is an act of faith by voters in their leaders. Honouring that trust is a choice made by those leaders.
EXCLUSIVE
BBC Bosses Draw Up Plans to Win Over Reform Voters by Changing News and Drama Output
The Director General Tim Davie and other executives discussed altering BBC "story selection" in order to secure the "trust" of supporters of Nigel Farage's party
Adam Bienkov
Trust takes time to establish and, once broken, is not easily restored.
There are numerous ways in which Donald Trump's administration is currently damaging America, both domestically and internationally - launching self-defeating trade wars, trashing alliances, weakening its security agencies through making appointments based on loyalty rather than competence, roiling the federal bureaucracy, misdirecting its legal powers for political ends, targeting the weak and the vulnerable whilst pardoning the guilty and the corrupt, slashing programmes which protect Americans at home, and advance American values and interests overseas, rolling back decades of progress in science, health and environmental protections, attacking independent institutions such as universities, the media, and the arts sector, and grotesquely abusing the powers of office for personal enrichment.
But, of all its acts of wlilful destruction, the commodity which Donald Trump's administration is damaging the most is trust.
Trump has breached the nation's trust in all the ways described above. But, perhaps, nowhere is this more visible than in the administration's decision over the weekend to send National Guards to patrol the streets of Los Angeles, allegedly to protect federal agents and property, in response to protests against federal immigration raids in the city. Trump's decision to send in the Guards took place over the objections of the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, who said that Trump's order was intended "to manufacture a crisis. He's hoping for chaos so he can justify more crackdowns, more fear, more control." The Mayor of Los Angeles Karen Bass, described the decision to deploy troops as a "chaotic escalation."
This feels more visceral, and more immediate, than any of the administration's other actions, the consequences of which are either not yet felt directly by most Americans, are targeted at less sympathetic groups such as immigrants, or so-called "elites" based in ...
For digital and print editions, packed with exclusive investigations, analysis, features, and columns….
SUBSCRIBE
The most valuable commodity in a democracy is not the quality of its constitution, the brilliance of its leaders, the strength of its institutions, the details of its laws, the independence of its media, or the vibrancy of its civic society, but trust.
Trust between the people and their government. Trust that politicians will honour the results of free and fair elections. Trust that leaders will try to represent the interests of every citizen, not just the ones that voted for them. Trust that Government officials will carry out their duties impartially and with integrity. Trust that government spokespeople, while undoubtedly putting a positive spin on events, will broadly tell the truth. Trust that laws will be applied fairly, and not twisted in order to go after political enemies, rivals or disfavoured groups. Trust that leaders will not abuse the powers of their position to enrich or benefit themselves, or their associates. Trust that the Government will seek to protect the poorest, the most vulnerable, or disadvantaged members of society, because who knows when some unhappy twist of fate might land any of us in a similar situation.
Trust is the invisible glue which holds democracies together. It cannot be written into the constitution. It cannot be legislated into being. It cannot be enforced upon leaders. Trust is an act of faith by voters in their leaders. Honouring that trust is a choice made by those leaders.
EXCLUSIVE
BBC Bosses Draw Up Plans to Win Over Reform Voters by Changing News and Drama Output
The Director General Tim Davie and other executives discussed altering BBC "story selection" in order to secure the "trust" of supporters of Nigel Farage's party
Adam Bienkov
Trust takes time to establish and, once broken, is not easily restored.
There are numerous ways in which Donald Trump's administration is currently damaging America, both domestically and internationally - launching self-defeating trade wars, trashing alliances, weakening its security agencies through making appointments based on loyalty rather than competence, roiling the federal bureaucracy, misdirecting its legal powers for political ends, targeting the weak and the vulnerable whilst pardoning the guilty and the corrupt, slashing programmes which protect Americans at home, and advance American values and interests overseas, rolling back decades of progress in science, health and environmental protections, attacking independent institutions such as universities, the media, and the arts sector, and grotesquely abusing the powers of office for personal enrichment.
But, of all its acts of wlilful destruction, the commodity which Donald Trump's administration is damaging the most is trust.
Trump has breached the nation's trust in all the ways described above. But, perhaps, nowhere is this more visible than in the administration's decision over the weekend to send National Guards to patrol the streets of Los Angeles, allegedly to protect federal agents and property, in response to protests against federal immigration raids in the city. Trump's decision to send in the Guards took place over the objections of the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, who said that Trump's order was intended "to manufacture a crisis. He's hoping for chaos so he can justify more crackdowns, more fear, more control." The Mayor of Los Angeles Karen Bass, described the decision to deploy troops as a "chaotic escalation."
This feels more visceral, and more immediate, than any of the administration's other actions, the consequences of which are either not yet felt directly by most Americans, are targeted at less sympathetic groups such as immigrants, or so-called "elites" based in ...
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