By Christopher M Peels February 16th, 2025
# A Fleeting Hope for Unity
When President Trump defeated the 2024 Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, I momentarily thought unity might be possible. Fleeting best describes that hope. Now, as we enter the second Trump administration, I am disheartened to know that will not come to fruition.
# The First Month: Promises Made, Promises Kept
The first month of the Trump presidency has been a whirlwind. For good or bad, he is delivering on what he said he would do. Promises made. Promises kept. I do not agree with everything the 47th President has done, but that is neither here nor there. Unlike members of both parties, I do not toe the company line.
# The Left's Reaction
The left, however, gives the Commander in Chief credit for nothing. Even wanting to see him fail. Much like the right under President Barack Obama and President Biden.
# A Growing Divide
This all started in President Bill Clinton's first term. The GOP wanted to seem to fail so bad that they shut down the government. Ultimately, it cost them the 1996 U.S. Presidential election. This proved only the beginning. The decisive 2000 Bush/Gore caused a further schism that pushed the ideologies further away. This further manifested in the elections that followed.
# The Loss of the Center
Do not expect reconciliation anytime soon. In the past, both parties had liberal and conservative wings, and except for a few policies, they were not far apart. As former Alabama Governor George Wallace once said, "There's not a dimes worth of difference between the two parties." There is now. We live in a time when the center no longer exists. You have to pick a side, drop your head, and move forward.
# Two Americas
The United States is now two Americas. I am saddened when I watch the left and right tear each other apart after our forefathers fought so hard for us "to be one nation under God, indivisible."
# A Personal Perspective
I have friends on both sides, but even my left friends attack me if I go against something they do not like. I guess that means deep down they view me as the enemy. At least I know where we stand. Liberal people, however, are not my enemy. They are my fellow Americans.
# Concern for the Future
No matter what kind of election news or political analysis I am reading. I am deeply concerned that we are headed down a cataclysmic path of ruin. That is where I draw the line. I did not serve my nation in combat to watch this tragedy. If these events occur, I am sitting this one out.
# A Final Thought
Have you ever thought about what the founders would think? The America I live in right now is not the country I was born in and certainly not the one in which I want to die. I just hope it's not too late. May God bless you and your family, and may He continue to bless the United States.
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Christopher M. Peeks
Reporter and Columnist
Alabama Political Contributor
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