When I look at the last four years and how our country seemed to get more divided than any time since the Civil War, it's easy to conclude that President Trump is the reason it occurred.  From the moment he declared war on the corruption in D.C., he became a target of all those entrenched power brokers who have been able to hide their venal activities from an unsuspecting public.  Trump became the loudest whistleblower in history when he talked about draining the swamp that had been operating like an organized crime family for generations.  In order for a Mafia-like mob to operate effectively, it must keep its nefarious pursuits from public exposure.  Hence, President Trump had to be destroyed!  

Like most people, when I was growing up, I heard the phrase "no one is above the law" many times. It was a saying that provided a definition of what justice means.  If someone punched you in the nose without provocation, you were confident that you could call a cop and have the puncher arrested.  But suppose the ruffian was related to the police chief or the mayor?  Would his chances of conviction for assault be the same as if he were the son of the local electrician or plumber?  Nepotism and other forms of favoritism seem to be part of the DNA in all of us.  We want to protect our own, so we'll use whatever resources we have to keep them out of trouble.

We can apply that reasoning to national politics as well.  Once upon a time, if politicians were caught in a corruption probe, they would quickly resign their offices and attempt to hide from the embarrassing publicity, while praying that they would not go to jail.  In addition, when public officials were exposed as incompetent, reckless, or negligent in the performance of duty, they'd step down amid a swirling tide of public outrage.  Not anymore!  These days, it takes a lot more than bribery, mismanagement, or mendacity during congressional hearings to remove these reprobates from office.  It seems as though we've arrived at a time in which those in power have rigged the system to keep from being penalized for their crimes.  They'll destroy anyone who threatens their comfortable position at the top of the crooked food chain.

The foregoing is reminiscent of the racketeers who would do anything to keep from being exposed.  If you were a witness to a crime by some hoodlum, with ties to organized crime, your chances of making it to a courtroom with your testimony were slim to none.  Anyone who endangered the criminal enterprise would suddenly disappear or have a tragic "accident."  Although those tactics may have also been used in cases of government corruption, these days, there are other tactics that are more subtle but just as effective in silencing the conscientious citizen.  If you're viewed as a threat to the established order, you might be labeled a racist, a homophobe, a xenophobe, or some other "ist or phobe." Even if you're a U.S. senator (Josh Hawley), you may have your home surrounded by a vicious mob in the middle of the night, or you (Senator Rand Paul) and your wife may need police protection to leave a gathering at the White House.

In addition, if you're a Republican who posts on social media, you're very likely to be attacked by left-wing posters who will attempt to scare you by destroying your character online, even going so far as to call your employer and demand that you be fired for having the audacity to post opinions outside left-wing orthodoxy.  If you are a conservative notable with a large following on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc., your views will be considered "inappropriate" by the tech giants who have morphed into tyrannical oligarchs with the power to muzzle your every thought.

All of the foregoing seems to be indicative of the systemic corruption in the political establishment that runs this country like an organized crime empire.

The attempt by highly placed people, most of whom that have never had their power challenged, to keep President Trump on the defensive against an unprecedented assault from phony investigations, is a sure sign that they wanted to divert the public's attention from their despicable behavior.  Why did so many insiders conspire to keep an outsider from pushing the curtain aside and looking inside the tent?  Is it possible that the level of corruption is so immense that if uncovered, elected officials from coast to coast could end up wearing orange jumpsuits?  Is it unfathomable to believe that top officials in our government have created an alliance with corporate giants and media moguls to make exposure impossible?  What they did to President Trump is a warning to all others who would dare attempt to drain the swamp that operates in perpetuity on the Potomac.

Image: Lars Di Scenza via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.