Images of bulldozers demolishing a part of the White House, the people’s house, is demoralizing, yet it is a fitting image for the Trump administration.
We can see him tearing down a building, but he is also tearing down many other less obvious American structures.
He’s decimated our immigrant population, ripping families apart just as dramatically as a bulldozer, and has decimated many of our essential workers. He has raised prices and endangered farmers with his mood- induced tariffs. He has bulldozed through the integrity, partnerships and trust other countries used to hold for America.
But also, what is less visible, he is attacking our national parks, our public lands, and our national forests. Soon the bulldozers will be there, felling old growth trees — trees that protect our watersheds, provide homes for species and capture carbon. His attack will include pristine areas in Alaska — threatening the existence of polar bears, caribou herds and native people’s way of life.
His furlough of park workers makes our parks less safe and protected for future generations as maintenance and research goes undone. Opening public lands to drilling and mining under the guise of an energy emergency ruins iconic places we look to for the tranquility, beauty and outdoor experiences they offer, and the incomes they provide.
Trump and the bulldozer are akin to a three-year-old in a sandbox with a tractor, delighting in knocking down sand structures. He, like Trump, loves power, but, like Trump, isn’t thinking of the future and has no plan. Trump is all about getting his way — regardless of what structure, law, or who he bulldozes to do it. Where is Congress, the third branch of government, to ensure these things do not happen? They have acquiesced their power to the whims of a child.
Patricia Becnel, Ogden
Donate to the newsroom now. The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity and contributions are tax deductible