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The Un-American Department of Greed & Evil (DOGE) vs USAID [1]

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Date: 2025-02-06

There is something manifestly broken in Elon Musk, a truth revealed in his efforts to destroy the United States Agency for International Development. The acronym—USAID—is elegant and powerful, a symbol of American generosity, compassion, and strategic foresight. Yet here we have the richest man in the world working with glee to dismantle USAID, an agency that helps some of the most profoundly disadvantaged and vulnerable people on the planet. In doing so, he not only inflicts harm on them but also compromises America’s goodwill, weakening the nation’s soft power and global influence.

Musk is not an American—not in the way that truly matters. Yes, he is a citizen, a legal designation earned through naturalization, but being an American is about more than paperwork. It is about embodying the ideals of the nation, about love for country, not just in words but in deeds. Musk did not come to the United States out of a passion for its ideals—freedom, equality, democracy—but for greed, for the economic opportunities that could feed his insatiable ambitions. At his core, he remains South African, but not just in nationality; his economic philosophy reeks of apartheid—preserving and expanding the privilege of the ultra-rich at the direct expense of the poor.

But there must be more at work here. Why would Musk, in his self-proclaimed mission of “cost-cutting,” choose to target an agency with a budget of $40 billion while simultaneously advocating for $2 trillion in cuts? The math alone doesn’t justify his focus. Any competent businessperson would examine the return on investment (ROI) before slashing an expense, and USAID’s ROI is immeasurable—it fosters goodwill, strengthens alliances, and embodies the best of American values. To attack USAID is to attack the very soul of America. It is akin to tossing apple pie into the trash, clipping the wings of the Bald Eagle, burning the American flag, or defacing the Statue of Liberty with graffiti. It is, in effect, the moral equivalent of killing the Good Samaritan—a brutal and senseless act.

So, what’s really behind Musk’s crusade? Is it some deep-seated psychological wound driving his actions? Or is he, knowingly or unknowingly, acting as an operative for China, the only real beneficiary of America’s retreat from the world stage? It might be the former, but it is obviously the latter. Undermining USAID weakens America’s influence abroad, ceding ground to adversaries who seek to replace the United States as the global leader in aid, diplomacy, and development.

Even if USAID had no tangible benefits for America, no ROI, it would still be worth funding. Isn’t this the fundamental lesson we teach our children when they go trick-or-treating for UNICEF, when they participate in food drives, when they learn about the value of random acts of kindness and senseless beauty? It is about being a good global citizen, about standing for something greater than ourselves—greater than Musk’s greed and Trump’s narcissism.

We cannot allow this to stand. Musk is striking at the heart of America, emboldened by a Trumpian worldview that places greed above patriotism and cruelty above compassion. He serves another master—one that rewards his avarice at the expense of America’s moral standing. The response must be immediate and unwavering. Call, write, protest, march, sign petitions—do everything within your power to save USAID. Call and write your senators and representatives every day. Call and write the Speaker of the House, the Senate Majority Leader, the Minority Leaders, and the White House. Take a page from Trump’s playbook—flood the zone.

Here’s the deal: nothing else happens in Congress until USAID is restored—nothing!

History offers a blueprint for resistance. From 1836 to 1844, every Monday that Congress was in session, John Quincy Adams read letters and petitions about slavery into the congressional record, defying the infamous Gag Rule that prohibited discussion of the issue. His persistence paid off when the rule was overturned in 1844. We must adopt the same relentlessness. This battle will not take eight years if we wield it as a weapon to stop everything—including massive tax cuts for Trump, Musk, and the other oligarchs and elites.

This is not just about saving USAID; this is about saving America.

Please join this revolution and share this idea, or formulate your own.

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