(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash)
Donald Trump has been corrupt for a long time but, in his second administration, they don’t even try to hide it. The crypto schemes. Donors getting big contracts from the government, sometimes without any competitive bidding. The president promoting companies in which he is invested. The tearing down of the East Wing without proper authority and using taxpayer funds to build a ballroom after saying it would be privately funded. Not spending funds that Congress had authorized, such as ending USAID, which has resulted in untold deaths when critical health and nutrition programs overseas were cut. The president and his family profiting from his presidency so that they are over a billion dollars richer. Deporting people without due process. Lying over and over about individuals, groups, and countries. Starting a war without authorization or public support. Investigating people without cause. Ignoring court orders. Filing a bogus lawsuit to try to wrangle a deal to create a $1.776 billion slush fund to dole out to supporters along with an agreement that any past tax malfeasance from Trump, his family, and his businesses could not be investigated. I could go on, but you get the idea.
In contrast, last week saw the official opening of the Obama Presidential Center on the South Side of Chicago. While most presidents have a library, President Obama chose to create a community center with a park, public spaces for a variety of activities, a museum, and a public library branch stocked with some of the President’s favorite books. There will also be a digital archive of presidential papers, replacing the prior practice of having them all on paper. The opening ceremony on June 18, 2026 was a joyous celebration with music and inspirational speeches, including from Barack and Michelle Obama. The Center opened for visitors the next day, which is a national holiday commemorating Juneteenth, the day in 1865 when Black people who had been enslaved in Galveston Bay, Texas, learned that they had been freed by Lincoln’s Final Emancipation Proclamation of Jan. 1, 1863.
It was heartening to see people from across the country and the world come together to celebrate being in community, upholding the common good, and nurturing present and future generations. It was also a reminder, with our nation’s 250th birthday only days away, that we can make progress as “We the People” toward “a more perfect union,” despite the current administration’s malfeasance.
It’s time for all people of good will to stand up for each other, especially for those most vulnerable, and reject those who would supress or divide us.
Together, we can do it.
Joanne Corey 