MUNICH AND HELSINKI

I know, I know, this is a blog about the church schism in South Carolina, and my readers want to know today what happened in the reconciliation "conversation" in Conway last evening. I recommend Steve Skardon's summary of it. Find it here . I have nothing to add to this. The second meeting is today at the Citadel in Charleston and everyone expects a big crowd (60-80 attended in Conway).

Otherwise, indulge me please as I vent about what happened on the world stage yesterday. I have not been an Episcopalian all of my life, but I have been a student of history as long as I can remember. I grew up in an old town surrounded by history, and I was, and still am, endlessly fascinated by it all. And, yesterday was a day for the history books. Here is my perspective for what it is worth.

All I could think about yesterday and today was Munich. We all know about that. In September of 1938, Adolf Hitler threatened war if he were not given the rim of Czechoslovakia called the Sudetenland. As he promised to respect the rest of Czechoslovakia, Britain and France gave in and handed over the region in return for his promise of peace. This has gone down in history as one of the worst deals ever and the prime example of the error of "appeasement." In fact, it opened the door for the Second World War.

As disastrous as this was, at least it made some sense. Britain and France had understandable, if wrong, reasons for doing this. Just twenty years earlier, they had "won" the Great War, but it was a Pyrrhic Victory, that is, one that cost far more than it gained. The War left Britain and France drained financially and morally. There was no money, there was no will for war. The Great Depression of the 1930's only made things worse. In short, Britain and France were unprepared and unable to conduct any significant war in 1938. They also made the fatal mistake of assuming Hitler was an honorable man who would keep his word. Neville Chamberlain and Edouard Daladier were honorable men. Surely Hitler would be too.

So, what was the sense of yesterday's "summit" between President Trump and President Putin? That is what I would like to know. The Helsinki meeting reminds me of Munich, but it may actually be worse. We do not know yet what Trump gave to Putin. They met in secret for two hours attended only by translators. God (and the Russian eavesdroppers) only knows what Trump and Putin said to each other. I shudder to think.

The secret meeting was capped off by a most remarkable press conference. Words now being tossed around about the Helsinki summit are:   treason, collusion, shock, shame, appalled, stunned, betrayal, disgraceful, unbelievable, sad, and many others not printable. The president of the United States threw his own country "under the bus" and groveled before a weaker figure, a reprehensible foreign dictator who is well-known to be trying to undermine the American political system.

America, and to some extend the world, is still reeling from the earth-shaking events of yesterday. As a student of history for nearly three-quarters of a century, I must say that I would use all of the words above. I never thought I would see this day. It is unimaginable, unthinkable. Yet, it did happen and we have to ask ourselves, What did this happen? and What should we as Americans do about it?

With all the world watching, the President of the United States rejected his own government and defended his national adversary. This has never happened in American history.

Why did this happen?

This is the great question being asked all around America today. Why?

I do not know, of course, but I can relate the credible theories being advanced in various media outlets, even Fox News.

Here are the possible reasons being offered, from most to least benign:

---President Trump is simply trying to validate his 2016 election. He won although he was not the choice of the people.

---Trump wants the Russians to continue meddling in U.S. elections to help the Republicans in the November 2018 elections, and in his 2020 reelection.

---Trump is an egotist who truly believes that he alone can solve all problems, in disregard of the U.S. Constitution and established norms.

---Trump is mentally ill either with some form of psychosis or dementia.

---Putin has some kind of control over Trump, for unknown reasons. Speculation runs from financial, perhaps Trump is in debt over his head to Russian lenders, to personal, as perhaps evidence of politically damaging behavior.

It seems to me there is a consensus in the country that Putin has some kind of leverage over Trump as shown in a long pattern of behavior. For a long time now, Trump has been conducting a foreign policy of attacking our best friends and embracing our worst enemies. All of this is in Putin's interest. Everyone is wondering what the leverage could be.

So, I guess at this point we can take our choice of the possibilities above. Your guess is as good as mine. Certainly, there could be other possibilities, just as there could be combinations of various factors. We simply cannot answer the question of "Why" now. 

As important a question as "Why" is, it is not as important as the next question, What do we do about this? What can we Americans do in response to Trump's behavior at the Helsinki summit? Here are my thoughts from least to most drastic:

---the American people flood the offices of their representatives and senators with demands for repudiation of the president's words.

---the Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Senate stand together today and denounce Trump's words.

---the Congress step up investigations of Russian meddling in U.S. elections and strengthen the hand of investigations ongoing, such as Mueller's.

---Congress enact new and/or stronger sanctions on Russia. 

---the Congress issue a formal censure of the president.

---the heads of the foreign policy and intelligence agencies resign in protest.

---the cabinet resign.

---the impeachment and removal of the president for "treason, bribery, and other high crimes and misdemeanors."

Whatever choices we make, something has to be done. Trump's behavior is not acceptable in the national interest of the United States. For the sake of the integrity of our country, for the sake of our great history, the American people must collectively reject what our president has done. I never thought I would see the day when our own president would side with our adversary against his own government. Yet, it has happened. This is still a constitutional democratic republic. It is our country and it will go on after Trump. We must pass it on in the very best condition possible to the generations to come.

Yesterday, July 16, 2018, will go down in the history books as a dark day in American history and one of the darkest days in the American presidency. Let's not kid ourselves, our nation is in a crisis created by our president. The operative phrase there is "our nation." We must, and I believe will, rise to the occasion.

In the schism in South Carolina, the established institutions prevailed. The courts ruled that the breakaways had no right to take the properties with them. I believe the institutions of the country are strong enough to survive the shock of yesterday too.