Terry Bracy: The architect of destruction

I am still searching for the right word to describe the Sunday night fight on the South Lawn of the White House. I perused the alphabet until the letter G offered some possibilities when I landed on gross and ended on grotesque. For decades Americans have contributed millions to see that these hallowed acres are well-tended with beautiful gardens. A White House historical society was established for just this purpose. In a single evening, a century of work and care were defamed by the kind of performance former Senator John McCain appropriately called a cockfight.

Beyond the structural insult to the nation’s property caused by the presence of a monstrous cage, the event itself carried the uncomfortable air of an ancient Roman “Bread and Circuses”, a strategy employed to distract the underfed and unhappy masses. When the main event arrived, Trump, surrounded by guards, claimed the emperor’s seat and seemed to love the bloodletting. Afterwards, the victor offered the required homage to Emperor Donald, capped off by the claim that Michelle Obama is a man. A new level of appalling!

While judges are taking what steps they can to restrain this aspiring Frank Lloyd Wright of the Potomac, Trump is willing to violate any law and dodge any established procedure to build monuments, mostly to himself. A battle royal is underway over the President’s preemptive attempt to turn the quaint East Wing into a massive $600 million ballroom to rival the Hall of Mirrors at the Versailles Palace outside Paris. The latest justification is the Ballroom would sit atop and thus protect an underground facility where the President could continue to work while under attack. There are two problems with this idea: first, such a facility already exists; and second, nothing could protect against a nuclear warhead.

Trump the architect returns to Paris and the Arch de Triumph for a second promotion: our very own triumphal arch rising to 250 feet in the air, a full 120 feet above the legal limit set to protect the view of the Capital and beloved monuments. Opponents correctly claim that if allowed, the new structure would interfere with the visibility of the Lincoln Memorial. But then Trump is not a Lincoln kind of guy.

For our Nation’s 250 years, Washington has been a carefully designed work of civic art and history which began when George Washington hired Pierre L’Enfant to design America’s Capital City. In 1791, the French-born architect submitted a unique tribute to our history and culture which inspired monuments to our greatest presidents, including Jefferson, Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt,

and Washington, himself. A miles long mall and reflecting pool allow the monuments to admire each other on the road to the Capitol. More recent additions have been museums that celebrate Native American and African American cultures. Each of these additions was the painstaking work of expert panels and governing committees.

The pile of dirt and rubble next to the East Wing is further evidence, if any is needed, that we are under the command of a leader who is an architect of destruction. It is a fitting symbol of the Trump Era. While preaching Christian virtues and creative governance, Trump and his lackeys, are fattening their own wallets, as they make America a poorer and less respected country.

It will not last. I have lived long enough in America to witness our remarkable ability to change colors. As a teen in the 1950’s, growing up in a white Irish neighborhood, I hid from classmates that I had black friends and dated a Jewish girl. I knew a teenager who committed suicide rather than admit he was gay ... Women were always the brightest students in my classes and yet were severely limited in the careers they could pursue.

The polls tell us that the poisonous brew of corruption and hate that this President is selling will soon run out of tasters. Our job is to get out the vote.