Written By: Yna Dran - February 20, 2021
Of all the posts I made over the last four years about the dangers of Trump, I couldn't help but look back wondering, how close to reality did I get? An insurrection was at our doorstep. Looking back on my worst fears, the events of January 6, 2021 was always a possibility on my mind, but just how close was I? Too accurate I'm afraid. I was way too close to reality. When history looks back on the very real threat that Donald Trump posed to the structure of the United States government, it will not look back fondly. It will remember the terror that stood seconds away from the first United States dictatorship.
I can't really judge how close we were in the past to a coup or government takeover because, in my lifetime, we haven't come this close before. But on January 6th it was clear that the lives of our representatives were in jeopardy when white supremacists broke into the capitol with the intention of causing harm. What might have been? If not for all the judges that stood their ground and maintained the system, who knows?
As the memes and online communities have called him, "Status Quo Joe" isn't Trump. That's the only platform he ran on, and the only promise he made to the country. I'm curious if going back to the status quo has proven beneficial in the long run. What we know is that among the many horrible things Trump did, he destroyed the EPA, left the Paris Climate Accord, abolished human rights by leaving the UN Human Rights Council, and created concentration camps at the southern border just to name a few.
"But they are illegal!"
Can human existence really be "illegal?"
Does a person's existence in a location Trump disapproves of justify guards raping women and children? Does it justify ICE stealing children away from their parents, and infecting them with HIV? Does it justify sterilizing indigenous women against their will, and holding people in deplorable conditions without due process for indefinite terms? Does going back to the status quo fix any of this?
What exactly does it mean? Will the U.S. be reinstating the programs Trump destroyed? Will we go back to protecting federal lands from development? Or is it too late?
What we have seen so far in the return to the status quo is a promise kept in a few areas. The US has rejoined the Paris Climate Accord. There are new Biden-Harris EPA appointees including Ruby Goldberg, and a slew of new lawyers, writers, administrators, research and development specialists, and environmental scientists. JoAnn Chase of the Mandan Hidatsa and Arikara Indian Nation joined the battle to reclaim the race against human-caused climate change in the first of many firsts for the new administration. Nick Conger also rejoined the EPA bringing a wealth of knowledge back to the organization. Nick also worked at the World Wildlife Fund and Edelman Public Relations. Catie Diaz is leading the charge for chemical safety and pollution prevention, which was ravished during the Trump administration, leaving our environment vulnerable to enumerable damage without documentation or regulation. Who knows just how far back we got pushed into the dark ages of anti-regulatory practices? It may take decades to recover from the last four years of total chaos. Another gem is Eunjung Kim in the office of air and radiation with her U.S. Army Corps of Engineering career experience in Material Engineering, hazardous chemical detection, and explosives remediation. There are many more rising stars in the list of new hires that have a daunting task ahead of them, especially because they are starting from practically nothing after Trump dismantled the organization during his term.
Biden did rejoin the UN Human Rights Council and the Paris Climate Accord. More importantly, Biden didn't only address those massive issues, Biden also halted spending on the border wall that is not only useless for its intended purpose but also harmful to the environment. Biden stopped Trump's unconstitutional Muslim ban. If it's unconstitutional how did he get it passed? By masquerading the ban as a simple travel ban, suspiciously targetting only Muslim countries. How do we know it was intended as a Muslim-specific travel ban? Because Trump called it that initially back in 2017, and only changed the verbiage after having the ban rejected by the supreme court for violating religious freedom.
According to CNN, Biden has enacted 50 executive orders to reverse Trump's toxic policies and try to get the country back on track. 20 orders were direct reversals of Trump's policies, while 10 were directly related to immigration policy, including strengthening DACA, which was too close to abolishment under Trump's thumb. Biden canceled the Keystone XL pipeline that some argue was illegally pushed forward without approval because we the people voted against it. There's also said to be a committee assigned to review and reverse over 100 actions against the environment that Trump enacted for the purpose of profit at the cost of our safety, security, and health. Trump's 1776 commission to dismantle racial equality has been dismantled. The pause on student loan debts has been extended, along with the moratorium on evictions and foreclosures. There is a new COVID-19 response coordinator, the U.S. has rejoined the World Health Organization (WHO), required testing for entry to the U.S. via travel, and required testing for airline travel within the U.S. More critical issues have been addressed as well, including food assistance and help to those unemployed or underemployed.
In the way of equality, Biden also made history again by reversing the Transgender ban in the military and stopped the ban on support systems against homeless, refugee, and asylum-seeking LGBTQ+ people. Biden directed the Department of Health and Human Services to investigate cultural discrimination, hate crimes and harassment, reinstates Tribal government consultations, and stopped the renewal of federal contracts with privately owned prisons for profit. HUD is now required to comply with the Fair Housing Act again after Trump's deregulation allowed for racial and sexual minority discrimination without oversight or accountability.
In the world of science, Biden has acknowledged that science is not a religion and has re-established the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, and charged the Director of Science and Technology with ensuring scientific integrity across federal agencies.
In healthcare, enrollment for the Affordable Care Act is open again after millions of people lost coverage and countless more received policies that were inadequate because of Trump. Biden has also reversed the ban on government support for foreign nonprofits with connections to abortion services, ensuring women's autonomy, and established a faith-based and private organization neighborhood partnership program between federal, state, and local governments for providing community services.
For Status Quo Joe, we may have a long way to go, but at least we're off to a strong start.
References: EPA Announces Additional Biden-Harris Appointees | U.S. EPA News Releases | US EPA
The Trump administration has left the United Nations’ Human Rights Council
Biden administration to rejoin U.N. Human Rights Council in another reversal of Trump
The U.S. rejoins the Paris climate agreement.
Trump’s Unconstitutional Muslim Ban
Here are the executive actions Biden has signed so far
Biden Administration Overturns Transgender Exclusion Policy
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Anti-Authoritarian Making Gandhi Sound Like Rush Limbaugh
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