If a hot air balloon monitored arrivals to Battery Pier in the 1860s, the vessel carrying my German ancestors might have been captured moving dockside to disembark Prussian Lorenz Goldbach onto Manhattan. When my great great grandfather arrived in America, Reconstruction was just starting during the period 1865–77 following the American Civil War. It was a tumultuous time, during which the southern states of the Confederacy were controlled by federal government. Lorenz would have used his rudimentary English to read about social legislation, including the granting of new rights to black people, across American society. This created major social upheaval.
I can’t help but feel that some of the massive positive effects of social reconstruction are being dialed back by the current MAGA Government. In online conversations with friends from college, I realise there’s a passion across white American to delete social justice as a metric for civic culture. And there’s a fire in the bellies of the Musk Brigade to incinerate respect for diversity and inclusion. Some of that rabid band are taking jack hammers to accessibility ramps so they can make America Great Again. (There were no wheelchair ramps in the 1860s.)
As a member of The Resistance, I know there will be mass firings, painful zero based accounting schemes, impoundment of federal dollars, and a gross disrespect for Constitutional Law. This period of American political turmoil has stained the reputation of the USA across the globe. But it has succeeded in dampening the intentions of people who might have considered America as a land of opportunity and a haven of freedom.
The damage being done during Trump 2.0 is as significant as the Republic felt during the American Civil War. I plan to walk the fields of Gettysbury between the first and third of July in 2026 to observe the 163rd anniversary of the battle there. That battle raged when Corporal Lorenz Goldbach was finishing his enlistment with the Prussian Army. I wonder if his passage to America was funded in part by a Union Army scheme that enticed German military personnel to join the fight.
When I walk Gettysburg, I want to connect with people who will engage in Reconstruction 2.0 as we rebuild good government and establish an iron-clad statutes for ethics in public service.
Reconstruction starts with Resistance and Rebuilding Goverment
There are detailed plans for “Restoring Integrity and Competence to Government After Trump”
Key points include:
– Removing all Trump political appointees
– Preventing political appointees from converting to career positions
– Swiftly appointing new personnel to undo Trump’s policies
– Moving faster than any previous transition to put teams in place
The mid-election campaign cycle will be in full swing when I walk Gettysburg. I reckon I’ll be knocking on some doors in Lancaster County where I was born, explaining to neighbors why they need to vote for for urgent action to address the crises and corruption they have seen first-hand with Trump and Musk. Let me know if you want me to stop by.