By John Perkins
What do you suppose people in high positions at the FBI, CIA, Pentagon, State Department and other branches of government are thinking these days? And feeling? What actions are they considering around the “Trump Issue”? How about Congress?
I ask myself these questions a lot.
How are people in high positions dealing with the idiosyncrasies of President Donald Trump? How do they justify their reluctance to take the actions required to protect their constituents, us, from the vicissitudes of a president who, at the very least, lacks the qualities of good diplomacy and leadership and is the laughing stock of much of the world and, at worst, is launching us toward nuclear holocaust?
In the movie Mark Felt, Liam Neeson plays the Associate Director of the FBI (second in command), a man who struggles with these very questions during the Nixon administration. His conscience and sense of duty force him to expose the truth behind the Watergate break-in. He musters the courage to put his job and life on the line. He becomes “Deep Throat,” the source behind the media reports that overthrew President Richard Nixon.
These are the times that call for such a person again.
It seems as though every time I turn on the radio or pick up a paper I learn of another person who is speaking out against this White House, an administration that seems determined to cut taxes on the rich while increasing them for the rest of us, divide the country, and incite North Korea into launching a nuclear warhead.
And it isn’t just Democrats who are speaking out.
Republican Senator Jeff Flake (Arizona), addressing the Senate on Nov. 24, blamed the Trump administration for “reckless, outrageous and undignified” behavior and the “casual undermining of our democratic ideals.” Senator Bob Corker (Tennessee) a senior Republican who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called Trump’s policies, the “debasement of America.” Republican Senator John McCain (Arizona) referred to Trump’s political ideology as “half-baked, spurious nationalism.” As Senator McCain was awarded the prestigious Liberty Medal, he lamented that America’s global reputation and influence are shrinking under Trump’s leadership.
The words are being spoken. Sen. Flake to the Senate:
We were not made great as a country by indulging in or even exalting our worst impulses, turning against ourselves, glorifying in the things that divide us, and calling fake things true and true things fake. And we did not become the beacon of freedom in the darkest corners of the world by flouting our institutions and failing to understand just how hard-won and vulnerable they are. . . we must be unafraid to stand up and speak out as if our country depends on it, because it does.
Yes, the words are being spoken. But where are the actions? Isn’t it time for those who speak out – and those who have not yet spoken – to do something?
Mark Felt was not a speaker. He had been trained as an FBI Special Agent. Silence was part of his code. He never even admitted to his acts of heroism until 30 years after Nixon left office. But he did listen. He listened to those who spoke. Not just those in high positions. Not just the media. He listened to his constituent, We the People – women and men like you and me. He understood what needed to be done and he did it. He took the actions necessary to save his nation from allowing a man who undermined the very principles of the office of President of the United States to remain in that office.
It is time for all of us to send the message to the Mark Felts who are waiting in the wings: the people in high positions at the FBI, CIA, Pentagon, State Department and other branches of government. Including Congress. You and I have the power of social media on our side.
Please join me in letting everyone in your social media circle know that it is time for Donald Trump to do as Richard Nixon did.