Commentary: This is not who we are as Americans. Or is it?

Every week, as our nation sinks to new lows in depravity, cruelty, thuggery, inhumanity and immorality, many of us attempt to push back with a now-familiar chorus: “This is not who we are as Americans.”

Well, get used to it. This is exactly who we are until we find the will and the means to change it.

The battle ahead will be hard. The playing field is heavily tilted in favor of the enemies of democracy, the entrenched power structure of profiteers, plunderers and polluters who have shown an utter disdain for the Constitution, the rule of law or the will of the people.

We have an illegitimate Supreme Court with the current ninth justice, Neil Gorsuch, essentially installed through a legislative coup d’etat, not representative of the will of the people.

Our illegitimate Supreme Court has nullified key parts of the Voting Rights Act, which was won through sweat and blood at the ballot box and continues to uphold state-legislated, draconian voter-suppression laws, further obstructing the will of the people. This is who we are.

We have a House of Representatives that is totally unrepresentative of the will of the people, due to massive gerrymandering. Money is speech, says our illegitimate Supreme Court, and so our representatives are mere mercenaries doing the bidding of their patrons. This is who we are.

The Senate consists of 47 Democrats and two independents who represent more than half of the population, and 51 Republicans who represent less than half of the population. This obviously does not represent the will of the people. An institution created with the lofty responsibility of giving “advice and consent” has become an enabling tool to suppress democracy. Representatives of less than half of the population now have the power to impose their slanted view of the Constitution on the entire nation, for decades to come. This is who we are.

Any sane and honest American knows all he needs to know about the current occupant of the White House and how he got there. His life is an unambiguous open book for a minimally literate person to be able to read — mostly with disgust, contempt and incredulity. Yet, he has unwavering support of evangelical Christians and 87% to 90% of Republicans. As long as he continues to occupy the White House, this is who we are.

God save America.

Jamshed Dastur lives on Balboa Island