Chipping away at America - and so much more

   Do you know what’s happening? 

   Do you know that, on Wednesday, President Trump and his administration rolled out regulations that would allow children of undocumented immigrants to be detained indefinitely and also to open millions of acres of public land – national wilderness areas set aside for preservation and for all of us to enjoy – to oil and other exploration? 

   Do you know that these rules completely bypass congress and, although they can be reversed by future administrations, will cause at least long-term damage to America’s environment and reputation?  Do you know that there have been many other such rules, with similar results, pushed through in the last few years? 

   While we have been amused and bemused by Trump’s outrageous comments and tweets, while we have rolled our eyes and also laughed at too-close-for-comfort skits and cartoons – while we have been distracted as the former television host no doubt has in mind – the president has been, in addition to promoting bigotry and general vulgarity through his pronouncements and running commentary, steadily dismantling, chipping away at the things – policies, standards, possessions – that, to borrow a phrase that is now all-too-familiar in all the wrong senses, make America great.