Peach Mints: why this is my least favorite recipe in the government's cookbook

The impeachment proceedings have been extremely enlightening to me. Not because any of my perceptions about the president have changed, not because I'm surprised about what the president is accused of, and certainly not because my opinions on the government have changed. The process from start to finish has been grim reinforcement to my already held perceptions on the status of party politics and partisanism in this country, not to mention peach and mint are not flavors that mix remotely well. On a more serious note, this nation was built on the tenets of anti-authoritarianism, we pride ourselves on our ancestors defying a tyrant, we pride ourselves on our bill of rights, we pride ourselves on being a free country. Despite not being and never having been a truly free country, we oft parrot the freedoms provided for us by a few pieces of paper that are apparently supposed to be important. These documents also have checks in place meant to ensure that even the highest office in the land can still be punished for injustice and wrongdoing, with the operative term here unfortunately being "meant to". The entire process of impeachment has been marred by partisan policy and obstruction of justice, it is a damning demonstration of the corruption present in our government. Evidence gathering and witness presentations have been blocked by individuals more interested in the strength of their party in the coming elections than the health of our country. Since the beginning of the process, the Republican party has consistently insisted that the accusations are baseless and the Democratic party has practically jumped at the bit to increase their party's standing in the coming elections, justice has become a partisan issue. It should be stressed that evidence is not coming to light because of partisan politics, the Republican Senate has obstructed a vital part of the trial process to increase the strength of their party. This isn't just a win for their party in terms of elections, this is a defeat for the accountability of the American government. The mindset of our government officials is clearly demonstrated to not be that of preserving and improving the health of our nation, but preserving only the party that keeps them in power. Whatever vital evidence that could be brought to light is now not present in the trial, and all this simply because some representatives don't want their party to look bad. What makes all this worse is that this is simply business as usual, it seems we as a people have accepted blatant displays of corruption as normal in our government. We've once risen in revolt against an emperor for matters less severe than accountability and corruption, and yet we're watching all this happen in the news at home, content to support a government without respect for justice.


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