100 Days In: A Disillusioned America

In President Donald Trump’s first 100 days, he issued 143 executive orders, ranging from withholding funds from school districts and universities with “divisive” DEI programs to dismantling of the Department of Education.

He launched the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) an “optimization initiative, requiring agencies to prioritize cuts to non-essential functions …” under the direction of billionaire Elon Musk.

Musk conducted abrupt mass firings of federal workers across federal agencies. According to the New York Times, he reduced staff at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by as much as 90 percent.

Employees told their bosses that with no transition period, “(it) would destroy the bureau’s ability to operate … critical technical systems would fail, enforcement lawyers would miss court deadlines and agency data that federal courts had ordered be preserved would be lost.”

President Trump tasked the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with reducing and deporting what he describes as an influx of “illegal aliens, alleged “rapists, murders, kidnappers, and predators” and members of the Venezuelan gang,Tren de Aragua, or El Salvador’s MS-13.

CNN World reported that the Trump adminstration sent 278 men (without due process) to CECOT, a notorious prison in El Salvador, accused of being members of Tren de Aragua or MS-13.

Frighteningly, U.S. citizens, including an immigration lawyer and a retired college adminstrator, have receivevd emails from Homeland Security with orders to leave the country “immediately,” with no explanation.

On the economic front, in April, House Republicans approved $2 trillion in spending cuts paving the way for deep reductions in Medicaid, which would affect 70 million low-income adults, children, and people with disabilities.

Despite President Trump’s assertion that his second term is the "most successful" of any administration in history, his approval rating across polls say otherwise.

According to CNN, “Trump’s 41% approval rating is the lowest for any newly elected president at 100 days dating back at least to Dwight Eisenhower – including Trump’s own first term.”

One day ago, May Day, thousands of protestors gathered, outside the White House and across the nation, holding up various signs: “Say Yes to Democracy, No to Chaos,” “Impeach Trump,” “My Father did Not Fight Nazis for This!!,” and “We Must Take Back the Destiny of America.”

Americans are angry and frustrated that neither legislators nor the judiciary have been able to effectively or decisively derailed President Trump’s increasingly authoritarian actions (and rhetoric).

Disillusionment over the ineffectiveness of Constitutional checks and balances, the access to power of billionaires, and the capitulation of elected leaders to President Trump’s power is growing.

In 2019, I published a blog about the consequences of disillusionment. Although not specifically relative to the current political scene, I believe it offers some food for thought.

“The Dissillusioned”

It is easy to become disillusioned with human beings in light of daily injustices, atrocities, and mass shootings.

Disillusionment is behind every "riot" that erupts when another Black man is shot by a police officer.

Disillusionment keeps women who have been raped from stepping forward to confront their attacker(s).

Disillusionment prevents victims of human trafficking from escaping their captures.

Disillusionment stops otherwise concerned citizens from voting.

Disillusionment fuels frustration that comes after dealing with companies/corporations that pursue profits over customer satisfaction.

Disillusionment results when whistle blowers end up disgraced, financially-ruined, or vilified after exposing corruption or injustice.

I could go on.

What saves us from absolute disillusionment, however, are (extra)ordinary acts of compassion by:

A retiree who feeds the homeless from his pension.
A corporate employee whose advice saves you hundreds of dollars.
A citizen who risks his/her life to save another.
A journalist who risks his career to highlight corruption or injustice.
An organization that strives to free those wrongly imprisoned.

There is hope for humanity; just look beyond the horror stories heralded in the media to those small acts of mercy, courage, and generosity that often follow in their wake.

Wista JohnsonMay 2, 2025