CommentsMY TURN--Most Americans have been placated to the point of assuming that no group or leader could ever dupe them to the point of a complete takeover.
Citizens live in their self-created bubble of denial, taking their kids to their soccer game, and worrying about the price of gas. Things like government overthrows happen in other countries; you know, the little ones with a history of unrest. In essence, many Americans just have their heads in the sand, refusing to see the realities of what is going on.
This isn’t a conspiracy theory. There isn’t some wild-eyed wacko yelling in the corner about hidden reptilian aliens invading the earth. We are experiencing the results of a long-game, choreographed by the Russians, and using the Republican Party combined with the useful idiot trump, to overthrow what was left of our Democracy and institute an authoritarian presence.
History has shown us again and again, that there are characteristics of these forms of abuse of power. Complacency is what they count on, and in the case of the Russians, they have devoted decades to the slow and methodical propaganda machines that have infiltrated the U.S. What once was outrageous tabloid nonsense at the front of the grocery store were wrapped around the word “news” and presented as Fox, Breitbart, Sinclair, et al.
Years of bleating the same fascist messages over and over again have led to a percentage of the nation buying into the idiocy:
“liberals are bad” “foreign immigrants want to steal everything that you have”
“people of color aren’t welcome” “America is a Christian nation”
“women should be in the home”
“immigrants are voting, taking jobs, and getting free stuff” “control women’s bodies”
“give money to the rich and it will trickle down” “protesters are getting paid”
“women use abortions as birth control”
The results of this incessant nonsense is that those that lacked any form of critical thinking wrapped it around their personal agenda and since it validated their feelings, they began to be indoctrinated with each new evil message. It appears that nothing could be bad enough or low enough to deter them from their thinking.
We have escalated the extreme conservative point of view that these morons now devalued any human life that isn’t white and Christian. They have made excuses for the massive increase in terrorist actions and attacks by Caucasian males and instead point fingers at the rare crime caused by people of color.
This condition is the groundwork for authoritarian control, and we are watching it happen. Piece by piece, freedom by freedom, the Republicans are chipping away at the very heart and soul of what was once our Democracy. From calling the free press “fake news” (it was “Lugenpresse” during Hitler’s reign), to demonizing birth control of any kind, and allowing male dominance, the world is looking on to see history repeat itself in the U.S. in the most horrific ways.
Recognition of the Problem: The First Step
In Jan. 2018 Newsweek reported the results of a study of two Harvard University political scientists entitled: TRUMP MEETS EVERY CRITERIA FOR AN AUTHORITARIAN LEADER, HARVARD POLITICAL SCIENTISTS WARN
“Two political scientists from Harvard University have identified four warning signs that indicate if someone poses a dangerous authoritarian risk to a nation. No U.S. politician, at least dating back to the Civil War, has come close to ticking off all four boxes, one of the authors told Newsweek — until Donald Trump came along.
Professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt have authored the new book How Democracies Die, which details the warning signs Trump showed as a candidate. In a healthy democracy, they argue, those traits should have derailed his bid for the presidency.
“The four markers are:
- Rejecting or showing weak commitment to democratic rules.
- Denying the legitimacy of political opponents.
- Encouraging or tolerating violence.
- A readiness to stifle or limit civil liberties of opponents, including media.”
In the case of trump, he is a con man, narcissist, sociopath, that is only loyal to anyone or any party that can give him what he wants. He lives for adoration and will inflate the lies to spew to his cult so that they will cheer for him and rant against all of the hidden enemies that he says are lurking around every corner.
Our two-party system of Democrats and Republicans rely on a kind of bizarre balance and in the case of the Republicans, they let their conservative base down by not only allowing this insanity to continue but using it as a platform to push their long-awaited agenda of taking from the poor and giving to the rich.
How’s That New Tax Rate Workin’ for You?
Yeah, I thought so. As of the 2018 tax filing, an overwhelming percentage of Americans found that they not only didn’t have the ability to take advantage of the standard deductions, but in reality are paying much higher taxes. The ONLY people that benefited from the new tax structure are the wealthy. Poor Americans suffer the most, and, sticking with the Republican ideology of “I’ve got mine, to heck with the rest of you,” the more money that you make, the less taxes you pay.
We have seen this “let them eat cake” attitude in history with the most notable result of the French Revolution. When the rich elevate themselves to the point where they have no touch with the type of realities that exist in the masses, in just a few generations, they become the epitome of the aristocracy that allowed people to starve while they whined at the quality of their wines.
It doesn’t take long for this form of imbalance to head to a fiery tipping point. In the case of France, the result was Bastille Day, and it was not a pretty picture. The storming of the palaces, the tar and feathering and eventually … the guillotine.
This famous day in history is but just one example. There are many countries that had officials pushing an agenda of brainwashing and unfairness, and in each and every case it was a temporary situation that resulted in the people exploding in revolt.
American citizens have been lulled into assuming that the people that we elect will have an ebb and flow in one direction or another, but eventually settle to the point where we can just live our lives. This is no longer the case.
We have always relied on our court system to ultimately assist in maintaining the balance that we so desperately need. However, the problem has been a long-term process of conservatives appointing those judges to comply with their beliefs. Our courts are being ruled by a larger group that are making decisions based on the Republican philosophies that don’t represent any form of judicial fairness.
Add into this mix the fact that the Republicans have been planning and executing the process of gerrymandering and voter suppression in many of their red states, so that the minorities that traditionally vote for liberals/Democrats simply can’t vote or their votes don’t count.
Did our founding fathers think that this kind of situation would happen? That there was a possibility that a flaming idiot would be elected to office portending to be a dictator wannabe? Considering that their own environment was fraught with constant arguing, they knew that the possibility might occur.
The Electoral College was created to keep people like trump from getting into office.
Face it: Conservatives are More Violent and Dangerous
For years I have heard the bleating comments of Republicans stating that Democrats and Liberals want to do everything from take away their guns to open the coffers and give everything away for free. I have seen them vomit propaganda about the evils of many of the ideologies of liberal-thinking, while they enjoy benefits that were brought to them by Democrats. However, I can typically stop their insanity with two statements:
Why is it that only Liberal leaders are assassinated?
Name one benefit for “we the people” that Republicans are responsible for.
So many of us have wondered what life would have been like if President Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. had been saved. We dream of their dreams, ask ourselves if our children would now be benefiting from a more enlightened society. If Bobby Kennedy had not been assaulted and murdered, would he have been the President that continued his brother’s vision?
Since the Republicans have taken over, there has been an escalation of hate crimes and violence, with the largest percentage in states that supported trump. Bullying in schools has dramatically increased and foreign exchange students has dropped due to fear for their lives.
We are a polarized nation, with liberals on one side trying to talk in a reasonable manner and conservatives on the other side afraid that anyone of color is going to take their lunch.
We Need a Leader to Step Up to the Plate
I will probably be bombarded with complaints on this statement, but we have had a long history of testosterone-driven, white male leadership, and it isn’t working.
The ‘good ‘ole boys club’ has allowed Putin and his IRA (Internet Research Agency) to infiltrate the very soul of the country while the guys make deals in the back room to see how much they can get to line their bank accounts.
We are a country that has found ourselves in a desert. If there is to be any hope for our Democratic experiment we need to learn from the lessons of the past, nip the propaganda in the bud, make it difficult for the balance to be upset, and realign ourselves as part of the global community.
Our country experienced the height of health during post WWI and WWII. When the rich were taxed at higher rates the economies began to flourish and so did the average family. When America represented the type of people that offered others a hand up as opposed to just a hand out, we gained respect and dignity.
We are now looking at the destruction of our country. More people are going bankrupt due to outrageous medical bills, jobs might be plentiful — but they are the lowest paying, and the price of everything has spiraled almost out of control.
A leader needs to bring us back into focus, even if it must start by taking to the streets and demanding that those in power be unseated.
The time has come.
(S. Novi is a journalist who worked in the media and continues to seek out truth and integrity. A liberal and one who is suspicious of cults and empty promises. Her posts originate at Medium.com. She is a contributor to CityWatch.)
-cw
