As Donald Trump returns to power, America is being thrown to the dogs. 

Money isn’t everything. That’s what our mamas told us.

With some truly notable examples dominating our national headlines, that simple wisdom of the ages should be ever so clear. Just look at the names that are monopolizing our news. Donald Trump and Elon Musk head up the list, but another 17 or more super-wealthy have been nominated for key positions in the new Trump administration.

Together, these wealthy supporters of the MAGA movement (Make America Green Again, as in “cash”) have an estimated combined wealth of a half-trillion dollars. These people are not the flag-bearers of our nation. They are flagbearers who carry their own personalized flags, and who have no interest in anything that doesn’t make their obscene wealth even more obscene.

And, oh yes, their country is probably the least of their loyalties. One doesn’t have to be very astute to see the writing on the wall: an America carved up by the wealthy into their own powerful business sector dukedoms.

There was a time when Americans looked up to those who had attained great wealth, assuming that those people were also fine men. That assumption was reinforced by their huge donations to charity, which were, much more, an admission of their own guilt for how they had acquired their fortunes.

Now, we’re seeing that there’s no way to use $400 billion to hide who a man really is. For example, does this sound like a quality human being? “The reason I’m in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B [visas]. Take a big step back and F--K YOURSELF IN THE FACE. I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend.”

That was one of Musk’s “X” posts. Is he the kind of person that any of us could claim to admire?

It’s fascinating that Musk, David Sacks and other billionaires are so passionate about the H1B, which allows the exploitation of foreign brainiacs at the expense of America’s own workforce. In support of these visas, they’ve characterized the American worker as “lazy” and “stupid,” but it’s really all about the money.

In actuality, America has done a bang-up job creating a wealth of high-tech workers who are capable of giving anyone a run for their money. The only truth that matters: One can hire a foreign national for far less.

All the money in the world cannot make its richest person a quality human being. “President” Musk is merely an entitled, foul-mouthed rich kid, who used his smarts to create the world’s greatest fortune. So, he may be a bright, inventive, grasp-the-opportunity entrepreneur, but he could never be called a gentleman, nor should he ever be seen in polite company. His veritable takeover of Trump’s White House is a real probability, just because he’s so much richer, and he’s so much smarter.

Pretty much across the board, these billionaires fall into a similar “lower class.” In it for themselves, they couldn’t give a damn about any other human being. So many are illustrations of the failure of money to make the man, and serve as prima facia evidence that wealth can never be considered the value, integrity or quality of another human being.

I don’t know about you, but the current events related to the swapping out of an old administration—and the welcoming in of the new—is overwhelming. While it may seem like a positive thing that the transfer of power has been, thus far, a reasonably polite process—compared with the Trump-flamed insurrection that attempted to block Biden’s electoral-vote certification—we’re finding that the takeover team contains more than its share of low-life wannabees. There are the billionaires, the ex-cons and felons, and the ever-present Trump family, which may well end up as America’s own royal dynasty.

Well before Trump’s move to the House of White, a team of opportunist thugs are already there, throwing out the old lamps and bedspreads to make sure that nothing is left to reflect the tastes of the past leader. It isn’t just a few lamps and bedclothes. One of the ornaments earmarked for “trash” or “Goodwill” is the very Constitution itself.

Trump won’t be satisfied until history is rewritten, and it’s his name that covers up the old. He’s committed to making this place the House of Trump, and that means all references, to just about any other prior leader, must be obliterated from the books. It is more than disturbing that the Trump team is interviewing all the important civil servants, asking if they voted for him in the election, and attempting to determine if those people had ever made a statement derogatory to Trump.

The White House, if this continues, will be no different than the other royal castles of history, wherein thousands of lives were either trashed or taken in a ruling family’s quest for absolute dominion.

I wake up every day, now, wondering how I can keep myself balanced and centered when our nation seems to be collapsing around us. Next to the eruption of Vesuvius, viewed by the residents of Herculaneum and Pompeii, there is nothing in our history that comes so close to a doomsday scenario. Spewing fire and ash, la Volcan Trumpuvius is signaling an end to our democracy—an apocalypse that’s been long in coming, and is being swiftly executed.

Like a child with a new Nerf gun, Trump can’t even wait for the transfer of power. His damaging agenda is already fully underway, and he’s determined to start shooting before the war begins.

Clearly, this is nothing like we’ve ever witnessed before—a president-elect whose only concern is the unhealthy consolidation of his power and the elimination of any who might be real patriots. Among Trump’s selection of loyal Mini-Mes, it may be impossible to find one who actually values principle over the curses of money and power.

Obviously, the lust for these two things has driven many or most of the politically ambitious throughout history, but what’s happening now is treasonous. It is undermining the most fundamental values of our country. Who is there to protect America’s future, as its worst low-lifes take the helm?

The author is a retired businessman, novelist, columnist and former Vietnam-era Army assistant public information officer. He resides in Riverton with his wife, Carol, and their adorable and ferocious dog “Poppy.”