President Donald J. Trump has promised to eliminate the so-called “Deep State.” As a political talking point he is in good territory, as a practical matter, it won’t happen. The reason, quite simply, is because the Deep State that he alludes to as some monolithic structure with hierarchies of authority and chains of command, does not exist.

The Deep State, such as it is, is a widely diverse collection of many thousands of individuals linked only by having similar agendas but no collective, overriding ideology. Some are driven by a lust for power, some for money while others follow a dream of one world government or some similar version of political dominance.

The “members” of the Deep State hail from all walks of life, they are government officials both elected and appointed, business leaders, judges, attorneys, clergy, in fact they may be found in any occupation you care to name. Whether their individual goals are to increase power, exert more control over the people or fundamentally change the United States of America, they pursue their agendas by employing means that are outside those avenues of change available to you and me, the ordinary citizens of this great nation.

This Deep State follows no rules, obeys no laws and is accountable to no authority. It is for this reason that they have been able to exist and to grow in power since very soon after this republic was founded. To be sure there are structured organizations that exist within the loose mantle of the Deep State. Antifa and Black Lives Matter are two that currently capture a large share of the headlines. Groups such as these are highly organized and very well funded but are not acting in concert with other such organizations. That which unites them to others are their mutually supportive agendas. The alliances formed when working toward their ends are ephemeral at best, shifting with the change of the wind.

A congressman may find himself allied today with a hedge fund manager in order to craft a piece of legislation favorable to both only to have that union dissolve tomorrow, once its ends have been met. The congressman may go on to other “work” while the hedge fund manager turns his attention to financing a BLM “protest” in Poughkeepsie or organizing a caravan of economic refugees from the third world.

The Deep State, in toto, cannot be defeated because of the reasons cited above but that does not mean that individuals who participate in the activities described as Deep State cannot be brought to justice. Their apparent immunity is de facto, not de jure.

The problem is that our system of “equal justice for all” more closely follows the maxim from George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” which states “all animals are equal but some are more equal than others.” When caught up in crimes or misdemeanors there are those who are too important or too well connected to ever face prosecution.

No better example exists than that concerning those who were caught in Jeffery Epstein’s web. During the time that the convicted pedophile and serial extortionist was arrested and subsequently suicided, the law enforcement community confiscated incriminating evidence on hundreds of individuals. Thus far none of that which fell into law enforcement’s hands has been made public nor have any of the people appearing in those “home movies” ever been called to account. One would have to conclude that they are too important to prosecute, without regard to the heinous nature of their crimes.

And what of those who organize and finance the wide spread violent attacks on our nation, styled as peaceful protests, that are now taking place? In the midst of a global pandemic we are witnessing a multi-pronged assault on the very fabric of our nation. That which started as a backlash against police brutality then escalated to fighting systemic racism has now become a violent attempt to destroy the American way of life. And it isn’t confined to our borders, it is occurring all across the globe.

At the grass roots level you might be correct in assuming the movement to be due to the hatred of Donald Trump but at the level that matters, the folks who organize, orchestrate and finance the movement, it’s hatred for the idea that their power base and income streams are threatened by the current administration’s effort to end our participation in globalization.

According to some sources the average wealth of the 535 members of the Houses of Congress is 14.7 million dollars. Many of these folks earned their money before seeking public office, some inherited it and others married into money but a significant number entered office from the ranks of those with modest means, had no other income producing positions during their tenure in office, yet managed to amass large fortunes for themselves, their families and friends. They epitomize the Deep State.

In summation, the Deep State has a existed since the earliest days of this Republic. Over the decades it has grown in size and power because it has not been recognized for what it is nor has it been opposed in realistic ways. Too many people and too many organizations wield unauthorized but very real authority over the institutions of government and of law enforcement to ever be completely uprooted.

The best that can be hoped for is an awakening of the American people, a thirst for knowledge of civics and how systems of government work, the importance of good governance and a fervor, matching that of the current crop of protestors, to hold accountable all those in office, elected and appointed, both parties, who have sworn to uphold and defend our constitution and our way of life, but find profit in doing otherwise.

We must arm ourselves with a new purpose, that of holding our leaders accountable for their failure enforce the laws as written and force them to attack all those who are working to destroy this country. We don’t need new laws to fight the Deep State, we need men and women in office and other positions of authority, willing to act on the already established principle that no one is above the law. No one.

Donald Trump cannot defeat the Deep State, only we, the people can.