Bob Schwartz

The Trump administration said yesterday that 463 parents separated from their children at the southern border were no longer in the United States, having likely already been deported.

This is part of an announced plan to use border separations as a way to discourage migrants from coming to America. It is a sort of terrorism. What could be more terrorizing to a parent than the threat of being separated from your child forever?

Theology seems to play a major role in support for Trump among a number of faithful Americans. We frequently hear, for example, that Trump’s election was part of God’s plan. So that whatever Trump’s shortcomings relative to Christian morality, God still approves, and so should we.

Looking at the tragic border policy that Trump is pursuing and can’t (and doesn’t want to) fix, and the fact that hundreds of children will unnecessarily never see their parents again, it is worth thinking about theology.

What if God doesn’t really care about our elections? Frankly, God might beneficially stay as far away as possible from that nonsense and focus on more important human situations.

But Satan, that’s another story. Sowing chaos and tragedy is his stock in trade. How better to crush true faith than to disguise every evil impulse and inclination as the embodiment of good? In this scheme, separating loving parents from children appears not just as a good idea but as a divine directive. Trump couldn’t do better if he was working for Satan himself.

Inconceivable that the government would break into a lawyer’s office (early in the morning) – almost unheard of. Even more inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client – totally unheard of & perhaps illegal. The good news is that your favorite President did nothing wrong!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 21, 2018

Trump is not even my 45^th favorite President. My favorite Presidents (out of 45):

46. Donald Trump

Also:

The government didn’t “break into” Michael Cohen’s office, home and hotel room. It was properly executing a difficult-to-obtain search warrant.

New York is a one-party recording state, that is, the permission of only one of two parties is needed to legally record a conversation.

The New York City Bar Association advises that a lawyer may tape a conversation without disclosing to the other party “if the lawyer has a reasonable basis for believing that disclosure of the taping would impair pursuit of a generally accepted societal good.”

We know that Trump does not understand or respect the proper administration of justice or “generally accepted societal good.” Which is just one more reason he is my 46^th favorite President.

There are government agencies that issue statements and policies that contradict or correct what Trump says. There are reports that military leaders have an informal agreement to passively defy any truly crazy and dangerous orders that Trump issues. There are reports that after Trump attempted to subvert the unity of NATO, American military leaders immediately told their international counterparts not to worry because nothing was changing. There is widespread belief that some of the most capable and reasonable members of Trump’s team won’t resign because they believe they are holding the line between order and disaster.

When you put this and other pieces together, a picture emerges. There is right now a sane shadow government trying to uphold the conventions of an orderly and intelligently managed American government. Under most other circumstances, in other times and places, this might be considered subversive and reprehensible. But under these particular circumstances, we might actually—as strange as it seems—be thankful.

Is it any wonder that at least half of America, and probably more, feels like strangers in their own land, transported to some unprecedented alternative bizarro universe, and wakes up each day wondering what fresh hell awaits them in the news?