America’s Sheeple Elites

Sheeple is defined as “people who are like sheep, meek, conforming, easily led.” And they are easy to herd when frightened. America’s most prominent sheeple are well known leaders in the fields of law, education, business, and philanthropy. Intuitively, these same high-ranking leaders are expected to possess strong backbones. They don’t.

The Trump administration has exposed the utter weaknesses, the weak underbelly of America’s great capitalistic success story of individuals who reach the pinnacles of power, allegedly the smart ones, the strong ones, the natural leaders, the trail blazers. But like children on a playground in their formative years, they yield to the playground bully. It’s always the playground bully that other kids fear and cower. Now the grown-up rugged, piercing corporate faces that preach high principles are torn to shreds right before all eyes, exposing a mushiness that belies the façades of power. Nobody ever dreamed that cowardice would lead to leadership but in America it does.

The list of sheeple elites in America is riddled with high profile names and institutions. “Social media platforms, energy companies, investment firms, airlines, big banks and even philanthropic organizations have recently backtracked on their environmental pledges to fall in line with the Trump administration’s anti-climate agenda.” (These Companies Are Backtracking on Climate in Bow to Conservatives, Earth.org)

It was only a couple of years ago when Meta CEO Zukerberg testified before Congress that climate disinformation was a ‘big issue’ on the platform. However, Meta ended its contracts with fact-checking organizations early in 2025. Analysts and industry experts warned that this paves the way for unchecked proliferation of climate misinformation and disinformation on Facebook and Instagram, the first and third most widely used social networks worldwide with more than 5 billion monthly active users. Meta also removed two key sections (1) “Leading the Way on Climate Change” and (2) “Taking Bold Climate Action” from its sustainability webpage.

Early in 2025 the Bezos Earth Fund stopped its $18 million grant in support of a leading climate certification organization named Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) which assesses company decarbonizing efforts to meet Paris 2015 guidelines. Meanwhile, Bezos’s Washington Post declared that only opinions that support “personal liberties” and “free markets” will be welcome in the newspaper. A highly regarded former editor fot the newspaper named Marty Baron told The Guardian that Bezos’s move was a betrayal of the very idea of free expression.

In 2025, America’s six largest banks all withdrew from a very important industry climate alliance, the Net Zero Banking Alliance established in alignment with the UN in 2021 meant to limit environmental footprints contrary to meeting the objectives of Paris 2015. Following suit, the world’s largest investment management company BlackRock withdrew from Net Zero Managers initiative. The company publicly admitted it withdrew under pressure from public officials and Republican led legal inquiries. This move by the behemoth of asset managers led to several other firms disbanding their commitments, such as American Vanguard and Northern Trust.

Before the sudden breakdown of key members of Net Zero Banking Alliance, it had 325 signatories managing $57.4 trillion of assets. “The alliance launched in December 2020 to support the asset management industry to commit to a goal of net zero emissions in order to mitigate financial risk and to maximize long-term value of assets… US grassroots environmental organization Sierra Club described the departure of major financial institutions from global net-zero initiatives as ‘disappointing,’ adding it was ‘a sign that these banks and asset managers are capitulating to ongoing attacks from climate denier politicians that want to stop sustainable finance efforts,” Ibid.

Meanwhile, top insurers fear the climate crisis could soon outpace industry solutions, effectively threatening to make entire regions around the world uninsurable. Günther Thallinger, a board member at Allianz, one of the world’s biggest insurers, recently outlined how the world is fast approaching temperature levels where insurers will no longer be able to offer cover for financial services, such as mortgages and investments.

Ipso facto, the breakdowns of Net Zero Banking Alliance and Net Zero Managers initiative could not have come at a worse time as fossil fuel emissions and global temperatures jointly set new record highs, threatening the very existence of insurance. See- Climate Crisis on Track to Destroy Capitalism, Warns Top Insurer,

With a new lease of life, the fossil fuel industry is experiencing the biggest green light of all time to “go full bore like never before… drill baby drill.” Their corporate boardrooms continue to celebrate by spraying confetti and serving champagne on occasion to re-celebrate the big breakthrough with the world’s largest economy, pinching themselves to be sure it’s true. They are seen to be giddy, and they share “knowing winks” and “playful jabs and fist pumps” among back-slapping colleagues in corporate hallways, sometimes enthusiastically “yelping” with excitement. In celebration the big boys like ExxonMobil have committed to increasing fossil fuel production. Moreover, almost all energy companies cut renewable energy investments and scaled back low carbon energy investment plans, as coal companies’ dust-off rusty equipment.

“Former US climate envoy John Kerry, a key figure in global negotiations that led to the Paris climate agreement, said energy companies have been ‘intimidated’ into backtracking on their climate efforts,” Ibid.

A Financial Times investigation revealed that leading corporations including Walmart and Kraft Heinz have revised statements on climate change over the past year, coinciding with a Republican backlash against climate action and sustainability efforts. Walmart, the world’s largest retailer claims it is likely to miss its emissions reduction targets of 35% by 2025 and 65% by 2030 compared with 2015 levels – adding that it would consider revising the goals this year. In 2023, the company produced 15.06 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, the equivalent of nearly 3.5 million fossil fuel-powered passenger vehicles driven for one year.

The retail giant wrote on its website last year that “climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time.” It continued: “If we don’t take more aggressive action now, the damage will only worsen, and the consequences will be disastrous for this and future generations.” According to the Financial Times, that statement was removed, although the company reiterated its commitment to reducing emissions across its operations

Demand Justice is a web site that tracks law firms that are caving in to Trump: “Not every law firm has given in. But too many have- and what comes next may be even worse” : Standing Up To Big Law Cowards broadcast on YouTube exposes cowardly law firms that undoubtably identifies former childhood targets of bullies on playgrounds. Hence, they gravitate to the false comfort of a law degree shingle on the office wall as an appearance of strength. It’s a façade. For proof of many façades, see: The Pathetic, Cowardly Collapse of Big Law, The Atlantic, March 27, 2025.

Bending a Knee Brings More Angst, Whereas Fighting Back Brings Allies Strengthening Democracy

“The Trump administration issued executive orders targeting specific law firms by taking away their security clearances, restricting access to federal buildings, and calling for a review of their federal contracts. Some law firms immediately bowed to the administration, while others fought back. Law firms that cut deals with the administration now owe a combined nearly $1 billion in pro bono legal services to causes the administration supports. In contrast, law firms that challenged the administration are faring better. Lower-court judges, including those appointed by Republican presidents, are consistently ruling against the administration’s executive orders targeting law firms, finding that the firms’ First Amendment rights, among other constitutional rights, are being violated. U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan, blocking executive action against law firm Susman Godfrey, stated, ‘The framers of our Constitution would see this as a shocking abuse of power.” (The Dangers of Obeying: 4 Risks for Organizations Bowing to the Trump Administration, Center for American Progress, July 2, 2025)

“Some law firms that made deals with the Trump administration are facing negative consequences from their peers. For example, partners at various law firms that struck agreements with the Trump administration have left their posts. An increasing number of law students are reporting that they are only interested in working for firms that align with their values, sending a clear message to institutions that capitulate to this administration. Major companies—such as Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, and Oracle—are now changing or considering rethinking which law firms will represent them amid concerns about the lack of integrity of law firms that made deals,” Ibid.

“Challenging President Trump and the Trump administration carries risks and costs, but settling means guaranteed loss. ABC News, for example, settled a defamation case with then-President-elect Trump for $15 million despite having “an exceptionally strong case,” according to media law experts. Conversely, CNN, The New York Times, and The Washington Post have chosen to fight back, and all have won litigation brought by Trump against them throughout the years. President Trump , was even ordered by a court to pay nearly $400,000 to The New York Times for the legal fees it incurred defending itself against his frivolous claims,” Ibid.

Georgetown Law rebuked the administration’s intimidation tactics, stating that the Constitution “guarantees that the government cannot direct what Georgetown and its faculty teach and how to teach it.” By standing alone, demonstrating strength, it’s fearlessness prompted more than 650 college presidents and scholarly societies to sign a letter standing strong against government intrusion.

There is considerable evidence that the tide is shifting against presidential overreach. Organizations that stand up are being met with sizeable, unexpected, strength in numbers by other organizations coalescing against the administration, strengthening the resistance and giving democracy a powerful endorsement.

Meanwhile: “We are running the most dangerous experiment in history right now, which is to see how much CO2 the atmosphere can handle before there is an environmental catastrophe.” (Elon Musk, USA Today, 4/17/2013)

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