March 30, 2023: A day that will live in American history long after the far right’s cries of “political witch hunt” die down, and long after the self-flagellation, mortification and maxing out of credit cards on donations to keep alive the delusion of a cleverly perceived and coordinated American tragedy — the slow-motion suicide of an ex-president, and the ruination and deterioration of his enablers who believed in the Art of the Deal, but instead got swindled by the skill of the steal.
Oh, what a tangled web was weaved when this man who became president, and defiled and corrupted the office, first descended the golden escalator at Trump Tower with his first uttered words to deceive. And now, the dishonesty, the damage to human dignity and character inflicted, and the destruction to fundamental American idealism have hit the wall — not the wall he wanted to build, but the wall of the inevitability of American sense and sensibilities that always surface in times of great expectations and great moral challenges.
The indictment brought down by the New York District Attorney’s Office against Donald J. Trump was not so much against the man as it was against a nation. It was an indictment, probably the first of others yet to come, against the American sense and sensibility that failed to protect and preserve the very foundation of our nation and our existence. In a moment of weakness, American succumbed to the “pie in the sky” sales pitch of a grifter and conman, knowing deep down that nothing he was saying or promising was likely to ever happen. America took the bait, and we were left dangling at the end of a hook, and still are.
And still, to this day, people want to believe in the snake oil salesman’s pitch. People keep digging into their pockets, and politicians keep digging themselves into deeper and darker holes, as both ordinary citizens and storied political figures continue to believe in a man who never was.
It was the indictment we needed in order to bring us back to the normalcy of the American Dream, which has served generations of Americans well.
We are not a perfect nation. We are not a perfect people. But it is the hope of believing that we can reach the mountain top that makes the rocky path and the cloudy skies bearable and worth the trials and tribulations of each American generation worth believing in, and fighting for.
And this too shall pass. And we will become stronger and wiser as a nation.
Al Garcia
San Juan
School
success
I am the principal at Cesar Chavez Elementary in Pharr. Each year we welcome a new class of eager and bright students whom we’re so excited to get to know and grow.
We work hard to make sure we provide amazing learning opportunities and engaging events to bring our school’s community together.
Our students are 96% at risk of dropping out of high school and are 99.75% economically disadvantaged. We are a National Blue Ribbon School (2018), and two-time awardee of the National Distinguished Schools ESSEA, in 2020 and again in 2022. We made state history by receiving the National ESSEA Award again this year. No school in Texas has ever won in different categories.
Cesar Chavez Elementary students are proof that poverty, ethnicity, language and disabilities are not destiny.
Erika Garcia Reyes
McAllen
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