By Guest Columnist Michael Ceremello  – former Vice Mayor/Councilman City of Dixon – May 5, 2016 –

It appears that Donald Trump has now chased everyone from the Republican primaries.  I understand quite well the difference between pragmatism and idealism.  I have to wonder whether the average person comprehends where the United States has gone.

We have one of the local pundits in Dixon educating us on the basics of constitutionalism.  He speaks of taking an oath of office to defend the Constitution.   Some of us took an oath to uphold both the State and Federal versions.

For some reason his logic reverts to this typically liberal elementary school pap and he avers, “I have rarely agreed with President Obama, and I believe his terming out could not come soon enough, but respect that the president did what he thought was best for the country, just like most of the presidents throughout our history.”  Naïveté or outright blindness is no substitute for understanding facts and the reasons behind actions.

To show you the foolishness in this statement, let’s take any of a number of examples from recent history.  I suppose Castro’s Cuba is a better place because of his “intent”.  Didn’t Hitler and Mussolini make Germany and Italy a better place by bringing both of these countries out of economic depression?  They all believed they were doing what was best.

Does ISIS ring any bells?  We have a traitorous president enabling Muslim infiltration, encouraging porous borders, and destroying the very document we are supposed to respect as the highest law in the land.  We have a Republican elite who despise TEA Party conservatives and refuse to say no to an out of control president simply because he is half black.  It should be extremely troubling to you that we cut individuals slack because of their race, religion, or gender.

We had a choice between a true conservative in Ted Cruz and a so called populist in Donald Trump.  I fail to understand why being a populist is such a bad thing.  Isn’t the United States supposed to be about “the People”.

What I recognize is the “tyranny of the masses” through majority rules democracy is what is now termed populism.  Dependent on the definer, populism can be a reference to the agrarian movement in the 1880’s or it can be about harnessing the collective consciousness during a specific period of time.  Again, just because someone thinks something is valid doesn’t necessarily make it so.

We have a master manipulator and manager in the form of Donald Trump who was tuned into the complaints of the silent majority.  The majority actually believe in America, for what it stood, and American greatness.  There is no need to apologize to the rest of the world for our greatness or attempt to tear us down to equalize societies which are unequal and downright immoral or amoral.  You bring others up if success is what you value.  Obviously none of the presidencies since Reagan believed that.

Exactly how are we to go back to our founding document when the majority of the country is now dependent on the government for sustenance?  Should we go back to constitutionalism given the brilliant destruction of our country under our current president who has found a way around it?

The United States was founded by men who knew what aristocracy and monarchy does to the rights and abilities to succeed of men.  We have an aristocracy right now on both sides of the aisle.  John Boehner is a great example of a debauched politician so filled with hate that he lashes out at a man simply because he had the nerve to stand up to the establishment.  Mitch McConnell is little different.

Life long politicians do not have some bred advantage in their DNA.  I would suggest that quite the opposite is true and the term inbred is appropriate.  Joe Biden can be put into this class.  As stated in earlier columns, it was rare for anyone to serve more than a term prior to the beginning of the 1900’s.  You were supposed to provide service, just like the military, then go home to deal with your own financial well being.

How do we find ourselves in this position?  Blame it on the educational bureaucracy and the social engineers running it.  We have been dumbed down by socialists with an agenda.  How is it that progressivism and its brainwashing has been substituted for actual learning by rote and hard science?

While many would point to the successes coming out of our institutions of higher learning, the percentage is woefully minimal.  Again, this is elitism through the restriction of the masses toward success.  The Margaret Sangers of the world feel fully justified by the success of this system to hold down the “riff raff” as they don’t believe all of us should be allowed to live anyway.

Instead we get a resemblance to the Matrix philosophy that you know something is wrong, like a splinter in your mind.  You may be unaware of your “God given rights” but you know in your heart and mind that others holding you back from success through rules and force is just plain wrong.

We have Donald Trump saying he will build a fence on our Southern border, deport illegal aliens according to law already in existence, and keep Muslims out of this country until we eliminate Islamic extremism.  Trump wants to make America great again by unleashing our fettered economy.  The Enviromental Protection Agency, termed the greatest job killer in America, will need to be addressed.  None of the aforementioned is unconstitutional but will Trump do it in a constitutional manner?

Trump has done a great service to this county in simply initiating the conversation on topics previously taboo.  The liberal media and their cohorts in the communist party of America, formerly called the Democratic Party, tried their best to alienate the general population, who they have been brainwashing for years as to what is right and acceptable, but failed.

The reason Trump succeeded is because only the young are easily duped and manipulated.  With age comes observation and hopefully some reason.  It isn’t okay to just “try to do your best” for either your country or city.  Jack Batchelor thinks what he is doing is right for Dixon.  Jack has no problem spending your money on foolish projects.  Jack, just like Obama, wants his legacy to read, “But I got it done”.  The devil is in the details and the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Ted Cruz could be one of the greatest orators in the world and it doesn’t make an ounce of difference.  Cruz and Trump had similar messages but Cruz is not the Kardashian of politics.  Cruz talks “boring” by bringing up that old paper document and showing off his religious book.  Politics is glamor thanks to Hollywood.  Isn’t that why California got Arnold instead of Tom McClintock after Gray Davis’ recall?

The United States is not about substance any more.  We don’t need religion or education.  It reminds me of the Pearl of Great Price.  A man struggles all of his life to give a better life to his children.  The children become victims of a much easier life and waste all that is given them because they don’t value it.  Just as long as I have my I-Phone and can text my friends, life is good.

In essence, what I am telling you is America has arrived at the point of a society having it too good and not being taught how it got there.  Most people will vote for either of the two communists running for the presidency under the Democrat banner simply because they want more “free stuff”.  Those people don’t want to believe stealing from those who produce under the guise of government is wrong.  It’s not stealing because the government needs to force those greedy capitalists to “share” their ill gotten gains.

Do I have hope for America?  There is always hope.  Realistically, it is going to have to get a lot worse before it gets better.  It has taken Dixon twelve years of Courville and eight of Batchelor and it still hasn’t quite got the message.

We will see what happens at the polls this November …