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The Downgrade of America: A Memorial Day Reckoning [1]
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Date: 2025-05-26
On Memorial Day, we are meant to observe—among mini three-day vacations, picnics, and barbeques—the sacrifice of the men and women who served in America’s armed forces. Trump will probably make the expected visit to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. As he lays the wreath at the tomb, bored by the entire ceremony and clueless to its deep meaning, he will probably think to himself, “What a loser. Nobody even knows his name.”
Trump’s disdain for the U.S. military is symbolized by his choice for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, a certifiable clown. Both men downgrade America and her military.
And that is the theme of this year’s Memorial Day: we must meditate on the downgrading of America.
Part of the downgrading was caused by the chainsaw of Elon Musk and others’ indiscriminate firings. USAID capacity—downgraded. CDC credibility—downgraded. NIH medical advances—downgraded. Free trade—downgraded. U.S. bonds—downgraded. National security—downgraded. NOAA forecasting—downgraded. FEMA effectiveness—downgraded. FAA oversight—downgraded. Education—downgraded. Consumer Protection—downgraded. DOE science funding—downgraded. EPA enforcement—downgraded. NHTSA safety standards—downgraded. Kennedy Center—downgraded. NSF research support—downgraded. This reveals Trump’s truly twisted idea of American greatness.
And Tesla—downgraded—the only good news in the first four months of Trump’s rule. Unfortunately, the downgrading of America has just begun, as the following reveals.
February 2025: The Polity Project downgraded the U.S. government from a democracy to a “non-democracy.” Downgraded. (Source:
https://politicalwire.com/2025/03/04/u-s-downgraded-to-non-democracy/)
March 2025: The Varieties of Democracy Annual Report asked, “USA, A Democratic Breakdown in the Making?” It highlighted Trump’s rapid attack on democratic institutions, from purging military officers to dismantling USAID. Downgraded. (Source:
https://v-dem.net/documents/54/v-dem_dr_2025_lowres_v1.pdf)
March 10, 2025: The Civicus Monitor added the U.S. to its Watchlist, downgrading civic freedom from “open” to “narrowed” due to Trump’s executive overreach and repression of dissent. Downgraded. (Source:
https://www.globalvillagespace.com/us-joins-list-of-nations-with-declining-civic-rights/)
April 2025: Bright Line Watch surveyed political scientists on U.S. democracy after Trump’s first 100 days. The average score hit a record low of 53 out of 100. The public rated it even lower, at 49. Downgraded. (Source:
https://nevadacurrent.com/2025/05/06/dartmouth-study-finds-plummeting-confidence-in-american-democracy-after-trumps-first-100-days/)
May 2, 2025: The U.S. fell two spots—from 55 to 57 out of 180 countries—in the World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders. The 2025 index described the level of press freedom in the U.S. as “problematic.” Downgraded. (Source:
https://newslit.org/newsroom/press-release/press-freedom-ranking-in-u-s-falls-our-experts-can-provide-insight/)
May 16, 2025: Moody’s Investors Services downgraded the U.S. credit rating one notch, from Aaa to Aa1, citing along-term rise in government debt and interest payments. Downgraded. (Source:
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/16/moodys-downgrades-united-states-credit-rating-on-increase-in-government-debt.html) Notably, Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill is causing the U.S. Bond markets to behave negatively.
We can expect this trend of downgrading to widen and deepen as Trump continues his unrelenting attack on the American republic.
It has been said, “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” While often attributed to Abraham Lincoln, it is a paraphrase of what he actually said in 1838: “At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher.” (Source:
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-delivered-before-the-young-mens-lyceum-springfield-illinois)
Lincoln combatted the enemy within: the Confederate States of America. It later morphed into the Lost Cause, a noble endeavor over state’s rights, not slavery, a generational grievance, and became embers that have been tended for decades, alive and well in parts of Trump’s MAGA base, especially in Red states in the South.
Trump is attempting to be the author and finisher of the downgrading of America—the enemy within. How tragic it is, on this Memorial Day, to stand before an ocean of American flags waving above gravestones while an American president and his party try to sink this proud ship of state.
Was the sacrifice of over a million soldiers since our founding in vain? That is the question we must all confront. The answer lies not just with time but with us. Whether America continues to stand for democracy, dignity, and decency—or succumbs to decline from within—is a fight that we now face.
Day 127: days left to January 20, 2029: 1,335 days
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