But of course, happy days are for smashing under Trump's watch.
I'm not a historian or scholar on authoritarianism, but I'm listening to some who are, Anne Applebaum and so many others who have told us it would come to this.
We've all felt helpless to do anything--but vote--as the crazed Trump has smashed norms, insulted the press, broken laws and pardoned others who have. He's a smasher, a destroyer, a denier of science, a pathological liar, and a mob boss .
But, as someone just said on a fascinating discussion on MSNBC, "He couldn't have done it alone." Every person who voted for him, every congressperson who lacked the courage to speak up, and every arm of social media that has perpetrated conspiracy theories--all are complicit.
James Baldwin, in The Fire Next Time, said, “I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.”
We all knew what we got on Election Day 2016. We got a wanna-be dictator who set out to harness all the hate and fear of his base.
A small minded angry man, he's tapped into and been created by angry people who loyally wear their MAGA caps, carry Confederate flags, and pledge allegiance to one man, Trump.
Four people were killed in the capitol break-in yesterday, others injured. Even in his mild rhetoric to his "very special people" to go home peacefully, his message continued to maintain that he was the real winner and he "knew how they felt." "We love you," he said.
Now what? Experts in authoritarianism insist that even in these last few days, Trump must be forcibly removed from office. A great deal of damage can still be done if he is allowed to stay 13 days longer.
No comments:
Post a Comment