It’s OK to change your mind. When you’re faced with overwhelming evidence that you’ve been lied to, it’s OK to admit that you were misled, especially by a world-class con artist. There is no shame in that for you, only for the liar, who unfortunately is incapable of shame.

Before you let the cognitive dissonance that must be existing in your brain, affect your mental health, relieve the pressure by putting the blame squarely on the deceiver; the one who made the promises that it has become evident were not meant to be kept. Denial and excuses only cover up so much, then reality must be faced.

If you can’t admit that the constant chaos of the past year hasn’t got you wondering whether it’s really “America First”; hasn’t caused you stress and anxiety or at least some worry, are you really paying attention? If you are searching for complicated, convoluted reasons for the actions that this administration has taken, the reasons are as simple as the basic drive for wealth and power.

Average human beings are inconsequential in the quest for power by multi-billionaires who now wield a great deal of control over our government to promote their own interests. Their companies have been allowed to form monopolies which control our media, specifically our news sources. They control our health care; the price of medicines and what treatment is acceptable. Big money has permeated politics and the trend, which was amplified by Citizens United, must be reversed somehow if average Americans are ever going to get a break.

We elected our officials to be responsible to us, not the rich lobbyists and donors. Especially Congress, whose members are elected by popular vote, without the outdated and unfair electoral college interfering with the legitimate results. Not to mention that gerrymandering needs to be replaced with a system of districts that are more fair.

Congress is scheduled to vote on a War Powers Resolution and by the time this appears in print, that would have happened. I sincerely hope that we see a bipartisan backbone emerging on this of all issues, where a great number of lives are at stake. We have an all-volunteer military. The brave men and women who have offered their service to our country should not be abused for the purposes of power and influence, or personal gain for our leadership. This administration has sent missiles into at least seven countries already, has deposed the leader of Venezuela, attacked boats in international waters, and now is waging war on Iran, a powerful country, which is no Venezuela. All this without approval or even consultation from Congress, which has the lone authority to declare war. Congress cannot grant war powers to the executive without proof of an imminent threat to the US, and by the way, there has been no proof shown of an imminent threat from Iran. In fact, Trump announced at his State of the Union address that Iran’s nuclear capabilities had been “obliterated.” All this is unconstitutional and wrong. It should not be normalized.

Congress was elected by the people. We elected the President, but he has tricked us. That should be so obvious now; the price of food, housing and healthcare, jobs, “no new wars,” all campaign promises discarded. Besides that, Trump is not the only one making the decisions which impact the lives of average Americans. Many of those decisions are left to his cabinet officials while he designs drapes, who were not elected but chosen by him. They were selected for their fealty to Trump, and not for experience or knowledge in the area that their department oversees, and as a result are as incompetent as they come. We are being subjected to their decisions while having no say in their job security.

FBI Director Kash Patel fired the group of veteran counterintelligence agents whose focus is Iran specifically, right before the launch of “Operation Epic Fury” against that country. Iran is known for its espionage and infiltration abilities. The rationale for the firing had to do with payback for some kind of investigation done on him. Good timing, Kash.

Then there’s the fired Homeland Security secretary, Kristi Noem, who has wasted monies appropriated to her department with ICE invasions of areas which have relatively low percentages of immigrant populations, but are located in blue states, especially those whose governors have stood up to Trump. It’s all a tactic to terrorize immigrants, all immigrants, be they citizens or going through the legal process to become citizens, children or elderly. It’s also a tactic to intimidate the rest of us who want to show via our first amendment rights, our opposition to armed ICE agents invading our neighborhoods. It cost the lives of Rene Good, a mom, and Alex Pretti, a VA nurse, along with others who have died during their detainment. Big bucks are being put out to obtain huge facilities across the country for what looks a lot like the concentration camp arrangement of the Nazis. Then there’s the luxury jet that Noem claimed was for transporting immigrants.

We can’t fail to mention our Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, who has emerged as some sort of religious zealot, allowing high-ranking officers to invoke a Biblical Armageddon to justify attacking Iran. Separation of church and state, said our founders. The United States should not be in the business of starting Holy Wars. Our military should not be being sold to the highest contributor to Trump’s coffers either. Intelligence sources confirm that there was no reason to believe that Iran was about to attack us or Israel, so why? And Trump is not taking boots on the ground off the table. That was never something offered to Ukraine, which still needs our support badly.

Trump Jr. is also benefitting from the attack on Iran. This is especially stomach turning. He is involved in an online betting site called Polymarket, where certain individuals with inside information made “a killing” on bets regarding the date the Iran attack would launch.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was questioned as to the lack of preparation to evacuate approximately 300,000 Americans in harm’s way across the countries of the Mideast that are all of a sudden launching missiles at one another. There was no plan. There is no plan going forward, what the end game might be. Rubio gave out a phone number for them to call for help; a recording tells them there is no help.

So much irony, lies and hypocrisy. Trump forms a “Board of Peace”, which requires a sizable fee for a country to join, payable to him, with himself as Chair for life. Just another scheme, like Trump U, Trump steaks, casinos, etc. only when you’re president, the scam can be a little more sophisticated. Then he starts a war.

To me, the reasons to protest, to call our representatives in Congress, to oppose what this administration is doing to our country that we love, are many and obvious. Our president is a convicted felon. Who thought we’d ever be saying that. He’s a proven liar. His penchant for corruption knows no bounds, at American taxpayers’ expense.

Let’s make sure we can vote in November and he doesn’t ruin our elections. Let’s keep pushing for full transparency on the Epstein files, they still hold a lot of secrets. Let’s keep our military in our hearts and wish them safety. And know this: if Marjorie Taylor Green can apparently change her mind, it’s not impossible!

Susan Bigler is a Sheridan resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com