President Donald Trump gave his State of The Union address to Congress last week and it was detached from reality compared to the day-to-day lives of the people who exist in this union.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Minnesota fatally shot Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and intensive care unit nurse, after trying to help a woman who was pushed to the ground by the officers.
Law enforcement denied . Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem labeled Pretti as a “domestic terrorist” and former ICE supervisor Greg Bovino insisted that Pretti “advanced on the officers” with a gun, saying this even after multiple video analyses by The New York Times and sworn affidavits from eyewitnesses contradicted their claims.
From cabinet officials to the justice department, Congress to corporate media, the pattern is consistent — deny, deflect, dehumanize and move on — and the complete disregard for truth and accountability should radicalize us now more than ever. What happened to Pretti and many others like him was a homicide carried out by federal agents and this truth is being downplayed by the Trump Administration.
The shooting reignited public outrage and triggered widespread protests and demonstrations in Minneapolis and across the country. I believe we are in a crisis and of all things that are at risk, the loss of an objective reality is the most dangerous.
Sherrilyn Ifill, a civil rights lawyer and founding director of the 14th Amendment Center for Law and Democracy at Howard University School of Law, wrote in her op-ed on Substack, “The fundamental refusal [of these officials] to accept accountability for anything is feature; not a bug of those bent or exercising power to the exclusion of all else.”
Anyone who watched Attorney General Pam Bondi testify before the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 11 should have gone from concerned to downright depressed about the state of our union. Bondi exemplified a government that refuses to take responsibility for its actions as she did little more than deflect and insult those who were questioning her.
“Washed-up, loser lawyer!” Bondi heckled to Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin and “Failed politician!” to Republican Representative Thomas Massie. When a senior official speaks with such condescension or disrespect toward elected representatives, it undermines public confidence in institutions and lowers the level of civic discourse. Trump, his administration and many of his supporters haven’t purged contempt from our politics — they’ve mainstreamed, purified and industrialized it — against everyone who challenges them and any circumstances that threaten to undermine their fascist rule.
As the head of the Department of Justice (DOJ), Bondi entered the hearing after a string of controversial moves: politically motivated prosecutions of James Comey and Letitia James dismissed by a federal judge, a grand jury rejecting the requested indictment of six Democratic lawmakers and the DOJ’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files was widely criticized as a disaster. What she should have been feeling was humiliation — but she opted for contempt — as per the Trumpian code of conduct.
Under Trump and Bondi’s leadership, the handling of high-profile cases like the Epstein Files demonstrates the priorities of the rich and famous and the broader global order.
The manner in which the DOJ released these materials was widely described as haphazard, disorganized and confusing. That disorder was likely in part to incompetence and in part intentional design. Many of the released documents are duplicates, and the redactions are inconsistent throughout. In several instances, the names of powerful individuals associated with Epstein were redacted, while the names and identifying information of victims appeared unredacted.
This has left journalists and the public at large to do the painstaking work of piecing everything together — sorting through the trove of documents to determine what evidence actually exists — work that the DOJ was supposed to have already done. And yet, only one person has ever been prosecuted in connection with Epstein’s crimes.
This lack of transparency, combined with the sheer volume of files and the deep distrust of major societal institutions, has fueled waves of wild speculation and online “citizen investigations” across TikTok and other corners of the internet. Some of these individuals may be well-intentioned; many others, however, appear motivated by profit, racing to surface the most sensational documents for virality or clout.
The public is combing through the records themselves, searching for proof, since they no longer trust the DOJ. That distrust extends to an uncooperative conservative Congress and the mainstream media as well, both of which are increasingly influenced by the very multimillionaires and billionaires who circulated in Jeffrey Epstein’s orbit for years. They chose to do so as it was widely known that he was actively abusing underage girls.
To make it worse, when moguls — some with connections to Epstein and controlling major news networks — purge news staff, as seen in the recent mass firing at the Washington Post, it is reasonable for the public to doubt that these media giants will hold the powerful people accountable, since those same moguls sign their paychecks and increasingly dictate editorial decisions.
The public wants accountability in the form of prosecutions; however, let’s not forget who wrote these laws to begin with. The United States’ system of government is built to serve the interests of the so-called “Epstein Class.” Civil rights laws have made inroads at various times, but laws to protect marginalized groups are afterthoughts meant to correct a broken system. We have spent the past 250 years of our country’s history attempting to expand into a truly pluralistic democracy from a document that intentionally excluded most of the populace.
The system is perpetuated and upheld by the people who benefit from the permissive culture of looking the other way when crimes are committed or openly embracing questionable behavior at best if it means staying in the social circle of the elite. And that should radicalize you.
In the meantime, we should learn to put less weight on the ability of our lawmakers to save us, especially at the federal level. Our republic and judicial system is set up so they won’t. We have to save ourselves. While it’s important to push for laws and policies that help marginalized communities, you also have to decenter the government from your life, your happiness and your well-being.
Stop giving away your time, money and data to oligarchs. Avoid being on X, formerly known as Twitter. Unsubscribe to Amazon Prime. These platforms consolidate revenue, influence and power into the hands of the few who increasingly shape public discourse, surveillance practices, and public policy.
Additionally, stop “hero worshiping” the rich and famous, whether they be politicians, celebrities or influencers. People thought Elon Musk was some gifted, eccentric genius until he started dismantling the federal government and doing what looked like a Nazi salute.
Pay attention to what you actually have agency and control over in your life, your immediate relationships, how you spend your money and time and spend more time lobbying your local leaders.
Copy edited by D’Nyah Jefferson – Philmore
