The Social Contract Lies in Ruins: Trump, Chuck Edwards, and Lauren Boebert’s Abandonment of Our Communities
By David B. Wheeler, Co-Founder American Muckrakers and Co-Host MUCK YOU! podcast
David B. Wheeler, your muckraker-in-chief with American Muckrakers and the MUCK YOU! podcast, digging deep into the stench to unearth the unvarnished truth.
After Hurricane Helene slammed into Mitchell and Yancey counties, the social contract our gritty, time-honored pledge to stand together took a devastating hit. This idea isn’t new; it stretches back to Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who saw it as a mutual agreement to protect each other’s rights, and John Locke, who argued governments exist to safeguard life, liberty, and property.
Look at history: after the 1937 Ohio River flood, the New Deal poured millions into relief, rebuilding communities with a sense of shared duty. But when did this contract die, and why?
The real outrage today lies with Trump, Chuck Edwards, and that sorry ass Lauren Boebert gutting FEMA, leaving our flood-ravaged cars as stark symbols of their desertion, while other states reel from the fallout. What’s the point of abandoning folks do they not care, or have they embraced a cold “I’ve got mine. You get yours” ethos?
Driving my kids through the wreckage this Monday evening, July 7, 2025, I captured photos that’ll set your blood ablaze: a white sedan flattened, roof peeled open like a tin can against a serene green hill abandoned by leaders who swore aid. A blue truck mangled in weeds, its frame twisted as if wrung by a giant hand. A van split apart near a trailer, pieces strewn like shattered dreams, and a car pancaked against trees, its cracked shell sagging under the weight of neglect. Gallery below so you can witness the devastation they ignored.
These wrecks aren’t just metal; they’re relics of a broken pact, and Boebert’s refusal to stand with us adds insult to injury echoing a time when leaders led, not fled.
The Muck Unveiled
Here’s the muck: Trump’s pushing to phase out FEMA by December, slashing staff by a third, and axing billions like the 4.5 billion BRIC program Edwards and Boebert’s sorry ass voted to gut. Boebert, who claims to fight for rural folks, turned her back on us, siding with cuts that hit hard. States like Louisiana, leaning on 1.4 billion yearly in FEMA aid, and Florida, with half a million annual applicants, face crippling losses. Texas and North Carolina, battered by recent storms, see 18 billion each in past aid evaporate, forcing local budgets to buckle.
Historically, post-disaster aid like the 500 million for the 1927 Mississippi flood forged resilience; now, Trump’s plan to dump costs on states, where many lack reserves, threatens rural collapse and mass migration. Governor Stein’s been here 10+ times in our MAGA county, embodying that old duty while federal support withers. Neighbors hauled mud from driveways, a mechanic towed cars free with a gruff “we’re in this,” and a family with a gutted home offered their last coffee. A farmer shared well water; a teen trekked three miles to check on an elder. That’s the contract Boebert’s too bus, getting drunk and dancing with Kid Rock and grandstanding in DC, to honor.
A Nation Abandoned
Staring at that flattened car tonight, its dead headlights glaring into the dusk, I see a nation turning its back on its roots: cars crushed, communities crushed. When did we ditch Rousseau’s vision for a selfish shrug? Is it apathy, or a calculated “every man for himself” stance from Trump, Edwards, and Boebert’s sorry ass? This abandonment mocks our history. Check those pics. Feel the rage.
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