Redemption Song

In Jamaica they pronounce BobMarley as one word because a god should only have one name.

In “Redemption Song,” Marley sings, “'Cause none of them can stop the time.”

Oh, Jah, we need redemption; we need the deliverance only time can fulfill. And in the fullness of time our redemption will be in various hands. In one sense, our redemption as a nation from the ravages that Trump has already inflicted is in the hands of our justice system in the personae of the Special Counsel's office and those of the Southern District of Manhattan.

The sentencing memos for Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort that were delivered Friday by both Robert Mueller and the Southern District were significant steps on our path to redemption. They point out the actual criminality of Donald Trump in specific instances and the vast stretches of blacked out material is a sure indicator that there is much more to come in terms of both indictments and evidence. 

The frantic flurry of crazed tweets from Trump even before the memos were released were topped only by this one after the release: “Totally clears the President. Thank you!”

Trump has obviously wandered into his own Winter Wonderland because the memos only add to the growing mass of public evidence of both collusion and obstruction of justice and if this is just the tip of the iceberg Mueller is crafting, Trump's Titanic of Treason is doomed. 

 In January, the redemption of America will also be in the hands of the new congress, whose Democrat-controlled House will be conducting a host of investigations that can only add to the findings of the Special Counsel to such a degree that it will be the inescapable duty of the House to start impeachment proceedings. 

America's chance at redemption then passes into the hands of the Republican Senate where several outcomes are possible. Depending on when this happens and what uncontrolled acts Trump has committed by then, Republican Senators – as they do now – can bow to Trump's supposed base power and not muster the numerical backbone to vote in the majority for impeachment. Or, by then, Trump has become so obviously out of control that they have no choice but to turn on him lest they go down with him. This is chancy – unless the same thing happens that happened at the end of Watergate.

Nixon, like Trump, had hardcore supporters both in the Congress, throughout the entire political landscape, and among the general population. But their support dwindled as Nixon's criminality became so evident to the entire nation and the popular drumbeat for his impeachment became so loud that it could no longer be ignored. Self-preservation is a great tonic for doing the right thing. 

Finally, it is the American people who must decide whether they see this country as worth redeeming or whether they are content to leave its fate in the hands of Republican politicians who have demonstrated their disregard for both the rule of law and the people they are sworn to serve.

“'Cause none of them can stop the time.”