There is a sinister wave passing through the land of the free after a verdict was reached by a jury in Manhattan, NY, on Donald Trump’s guilt. Based on my following of the trial, the crime President Trump was accused of was fraudulently recording hush money paid to Stormy Daniels as a legal expense. This act was linked to disenfranchising voters in the 2016 presidential election, making this misdemeanor a felony.
This document is not about Donald Trump’s guilt or innocence. It is about the nature of our democratic republic.
After the jury’s decision of guilt was reached, Democrats celebrated in the streets while Republicans promised to get revenge.
Those on the left were elated that the judge, the prosecutors, and the jury didn’t hesitate to convict a powerful man of a crime he had committed.
Those leaning right were shocked that a left-leaning prosecutor would bring such a frivolous case to court in the first place. Republicans are convinced that the justice system is being used to advance the political cause of the left.
There is a tiny minority that doesn’t pay close attention to the “Donald Trump drama.” They know little about the case and believe that Republicans and Democrats are simply doing what Republicans and Democrats do…. FIGHT. They decide they’ll check out and live their lives because they have no emotional space for such a fight.
Polarization is Complete
If you’ve read my previous blog posts or book, you will know I have been trying to sound the alarm bells of “political polarization.” This isn’t a game, and it will not simply go away. The ideals on the left and the right are helpful to our republic because they make for productive debate on important political topics. However, when these groups of people polarize, they are no longer capable of rational thought or actions.
When the left is laughing and celebrating the prosecution of a political enemy, they are stoking the flames of discontent. Most on the right viewed the pursuit of Donald Trump by left-leaning prosecutors from the sidelines. Some poked fun at Trump’s insistence that the left was carrying out a “witch hunt.” These passive viewers believe “Donald Trump has a lot of money and can take care of himself. After all, our justice system works; the lefties will convict him, and he will appeal his conviction until he gets to the right-leaning Supreme Court, where his convictions will get reversed.”
If Trump’s convictions get overturned by the right-leaning Supreme Court, the left will believe that a great injustice has been done. The right will laugh and celebrate and stoke the flames of discontent, while the left will rail against the right-leaning Supreme Court.
We watch our favorite news channel, where the newscasters spin the news to affirm our biased political viewpoint. We echo what the biased newscasters tell us to others. This will end in a fight with those on the other side or a gossip session with like-minded, polarized people.
What is True?
We, the public, are the leaders of our democratic republic. To be leaders of our democratic republic, we must care about objective truth. I don’t know the facts about every indictment of Donald Trump. However, they all appear to be politically motivated. All prosecutors who have charged Donald Trump with a crime are left-leaning, and they all reside in left-leaning jurisdictions.
The left will claim that there are indeed crimes that ought to be prosecuted. They will echo what they hear on left-leaning news about the accuracy of the charges. They will describe with a level of glee that justice is being served.
The right will claim that Joe Biden is behind a vast conspiracy to persecute his opponent in advance of the 2024 presidential election.
Fairness or Unfairness?
In the case of Donald Trump’s conviction, the left rightly argues that he violated the law. This is true. The right correctly contends that this case would never have seen the light of day in a moderate or right-leaning district. This is also true.
Here is the decision that we must make: 1) every detail of every law must be adjudicated to determine guilt or innocence, or 2) we need to temper how aggressively we pursue convictions. In either case, we must pursue law-breakers in an even-handed manner. Such pursuit cannot be driven by political bias.
If we choose #1, we must be okay with increasing the police force, raising the money we invest in our courts, and being willing to invest billions of dollars in paying lawyers.
Based on Donald Trump’s indictments, we have passively accepted a third choice… that we will pursue the law differently based on political alignment.
I want to paint a simple picture for those who don’t see the problem. Let’s say ten cars drive five mph over the speed limit. A police officer on the side of the road hates red vehicles. He notices the red car and decides to pull that car over and give him a ticket for speeding. The red car haters say, “The red car driver got what he deserved. After all, he was speeding.” The red car lovers say, “The red car driver was mistreated because the other nine cars were not cited for exceeding the speed limit.”
Who is right?
If the speed limit is to be strictly and equitably enforced, we must 10X our police force to enforce any speed limit violation. If we decide that driving five mph over the limit is acceptable, we can’t cite any cars driving this fast.
Silence is Consent
When I was a weapons controller in the military, we spoke to fighter pilots on the radio about intercepting enemy planes we saw on our radar. If a fighter pilot were pursuing an enemy and didn’t hear from the ground if they had permission to shoot the enemy down, they would follow a long-held rule that “silence is consent.” This meant they assumed they had approval to engage the enemy if they didn’t hear a NO.
This is what is happening in our current political environment. While the Republican faithful and Donald Trump's MAGA supporters are voicing their disgust at politically motivated indictments, most Americans have remained silent on this topic. This silence is perceived as consent. This isn’t simply consent to Donald Trump's indictments; it is consent to political prosecution in general. The next shoe to drop in this polarization saga is the prosecution of left-leaning politicians by right-leaning prosecutors.
This is not American!
Justice is essential in a country that values freedom. Freedom is taken away when the scales of justice are tilted. Based on our current trajectory, right-leaning citizens will move to right-leaning districts and states, and left-leaning citizens will move to left-leaning districts and states. The blue cities and states will become deep blue, and the red cities and states will become deep red. The presidency will be the one election that will always create a fight between these deeply divided enclaves.
This red-and-blue divide leads to a divided country where all national decisions are emotional arguments instead of rational debates. The minority in Congress will resist the majority, and the majority will run roughshod over the minority. The politically polarizing president will have his/her way while the rest of the polarized country is busy fighting it out.
You see, this battle will destroy our democratic republic. The people are the boss in a democratic republic. When the people are divided, they give us a divided country. A divided nation will fail. It is no different than living in a household where the mom and dad never agree. The idea of America will fade into the annals of history. Why? Because we followed our emotions and picked a side instead of honoring the truth.
What can we do?
Our political leaders have lost their way. Most districts have become so polarized that the only campaign winners in those districts will be entirely blue or entirely red. Few moderates will win an election because of our political polarization. Political parties gain power in this environment because they feed off of a polarized fight. Donald Trump raised over $50 million in a single day after the jury convicted him.
What you can do is NOT be a victim of this political polarization. Genuinely seek out the truth instead of believing your side is right and the other is wrong. Stop looking for ways to rationalize a right or left-leaning perspective and pull yourself out to see the bigger picture. In all cases, seek equitable justice, not justice that favors your side.
Let me enlighten you if you find it difficult to leave the political fight and see the bigger picture. The United States of America is UNITED. This doesn’t mean that we all believe the same things or have the same ideals. However, it does mean we have a united ideal that binds us together as Americans. Part of that ideal is our concept of justice and how justice is administered.
No one is above the law. Nor is anyone to be a particular target of the law.
This is a uniting principle that we had held to until we turned a blind eye to four indictments that are chasing Donald Trump:
NY hush money trial (guilty conviction to be appealed);
NY fraud case - $450 million judgment in appeal;
Georgia racketeering charge of conspiracy to change the results of the 2020 election; and
Florida classified document charges.
The trials and judgments have been made for #1 and #2 and will be appealed by Donald Trump… first to the NY Supreme Court and then to the U.S. Supreme Court. Regardless of the decisions made in these higher courts, the decision to indict Donald Trump on charges when his political counterparts have escaped prosecution is what should raise the ire of every American citizen.
It is no different than the red car driver paying a speeding ticket while the other nine drivers can escape a fine. It is unjust, and we all ought to believe so. If we remain silent, we are giving consent to political prosecution.
If you think this political prosecution is limited to politicians, think again. Think about how reluctant people are to have discussions about politics. Consider prosecutors who allow some to flee justice if they are in the same political camp. Consider how prosecutors become more aggressive in prosecuting those in the opposite camp.
It's our country, and we can regain control if we act. By action, I mean electing politicians who are peacemakers and not warmongers. By action, I mean extricating yourself from political partisan battles and seeing the bigger picture.
Disclaimer: I am not a fan of Donald Trump or Joe Biden. Joe Biden and Donald Trump are the most polarizing individuals we could elect as leaders for our country. If we fix our political polarization problem, candidates like this would never win an election.
About the Author
Jeff Schuster is an accomplished businessman, engineer, and writer. Three of Jeff's books are attempts at helping people understand and solve political problems made worse by political partisanship. His first book, Trial & Error, is a collection of 14 short stories. Reengineering Education is a story of innovative education reform amid political corruption. Engineering Unity is Jeff's most recent book, published in August 2023, addressing political polarization on wedge issues that politicians use to divide us. You are welcome to join our private Facebook group called Reengineering Politics, where we discuss politically polarizing topics in a civil manner.
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