Has there ever been a time in our history when the moral fabric that undergirds America’s laws and behavior has been so shredded that it represents an immediate threat to the republic’s survival?

If not, then that time has arrived. 

Today.

Under President Donald J. Trump.

Trump is not merely a rogue president, or a half-demented billionaire run amuck with the playground toys of the presidency. He is a clear and present danger whose actions and words repeatedly challenge the principles of justice, ethics and humanity this country was founded upon. 

Under Trump, America is no longer one nation indivisible, but one nation totally divided. Under Trump, neighbor is encouraged to hate and fear neighbor, branches of the government no longer work together, and the Truth has become so twisted and tormented it is most often unrecognizable.

Under Trump there is no transparency or honoring of tradition to explain any of his aberrant behavior. Should we be surprised that the same man who colluded with Russia, a de facto enemy, to steal the 2016 election, is the very President who used military aid to extort the Ukraine to dig up dirt on a political rival? A Ukraine so weak and under threat by Russia that its very existence could hang in the balance?

Under Trump, Republicans appear to have abandoned their values, their commitment to national security and their ability to recognize or speak the truth. 

Under Trump, none of the ordinary safeguards of the two-party political system appear to be in place. Rather than serve the nation that pays their salaries, Trump’s political sycophants give their allegiance to Trump in the same way Mafia soldiers serve their Don. 

In light of the events of the last two days, it is sadly obvious that the Departments of State and Justice have become rogue arms of our government. Where one appears to have dived head first into the attempt to bully the Ukraine at the expense of our National Security, the other is totally focused on protecting a President whose every word and deed seems to defy our laws and Constitution.

And now both departments have drawn their wagons in a circle around the White House.

And now, under Trump, these forces battle to hold onto the levers of power they were never worthy of in the first place. And Trump will never release those levers, no matter what happens.

If he goes down, he’ll try to take all of us with him. Count on it!

And what about us? 

Like children caught in the crossfire, we are left to watch—shocked, frightened and frozen—as the United States government under Trump, undergoes a psychotic breakdown, and attempts, against all rational belief, to turn a lie into the truth, and a country into a nation of dullards too stupid to know the difference.

Under Trump, we are all in danger. 

Especially those of us who don’t know it.