These are either the best of times or the worst of times, depending on who - or what - you believe. There are some popping champagne, er, sparkling wine, because things are so great. Maybe this is the beginning of a well-deserved celebration after the dark and dreary times of the Biden administration rife with corruption and economic catastrophe, or so we’re told. There are, however, many (most?) who experience these days as a time of anxiety, hardship, and unveiled government overreach and cruelty. Considering the president and their lackey’s ill-regard for the rule of law and public opinion, it’s sure to get better/worse.
If anything, this alleged administration has exposed the systematic lies and hypocrisy of their “conservative” talking points. It was never about keeping the government small and out of our lives, never about supporting traditional values and least of all, Christianity. It was always about taking power away from people like you and me and holding it for themselves. The actions of this administration in targeting vulnerable non-violent immigrants is a case in point. Their claims to do so to protect Americans from “terrorists” fall flat when their dear leader pardons thousands of violent January 6 rioters and other felons and whose very rhetoric emboldens domestic right-wing terrorists. Unfortunately, Americans are not too keen on bullies and it seems MAGA has forgotten that the good guys in the “Star Wars” universe were the scrappy underdogs, not the well-equipped and flashy Empire. It’s telling, therefore, that their dear leader is always trying to portray himself as an underdog, as a victim, and trying to convince his voters that they too are victims. There is nothing “conservative” about claiming victimhood or whining about being persecuted. That’s supposedly what “liberals” do to justify entitlement spending and to make sure poor people will keep voting for them. The Rebels never complained, they got to work.
With such power they can shape reality to their liking, at least temporarily. They can stave off the day of reckoning, facing their prejudices and assumptions, and, God forbid “see with their own eyes and understand with their own heart and I would heal them.” (John 12:40). In other words, face the music that this president is the worst in history. But as the party in power they apparently have a “mandate” to do whatever they like, and therefore such soul-searching or reflective action is for wimps. Therein lies the fatal flaw of the MAGA movement and many others; drunk with power, they ignore all evidence of their weaknesses and doom themselves. 75 million Americans did not vote for this, several million didn’t vote, and even some of their voters are having buyer’s remorse. However, ignoring evidence is part of their brand but it remains to be seen how sustainable this is. Their tanking poll numbers are a case in point: their ardent supporters are being told it’s fake news and they are threatening to sue the pollsters. Yet, the fact remains; they’re an awful president.
They are lonely and distressed at their impending mortality. When you’ve lived your life for yourself and yourself only, what’s left when that very self is in decline? Lash out in rage, apparently. While they certainly have their contingent of compliant plastic women to compliment their schtick, these ladies’ affect is so off-putting you have to wonder if they even believe what they’re saying. The classic bully wants to make friends but lacks the social graces to do so and therefore wants to impress you with his power. Who needs friends when you can just wrestle their lunch money out of them and take pleasure in their tears? A bully also doesn’t like the word “no” and as such surrounds themselves with yes-men, exiling anyone who dares otherwise. Increasingly isolated, with no check on their destructive tendencies, they create another threat to their grand plan to “Make America Great.” A government geared to boost the ego of a broken, lonely man is patently un-American and will fall. I am aware that some libertarians celebrate this prospect, but I believe they are in the minority. Even the most ardent Trump supporter wants their Social Security check and the government to “do something” when times get tough.
Why this even needs to be said is proof positive that many Americans have no sense of history from even 5 years ago, let alone what we fought against in WW 2. Perhaps this is a product of our times - mass and social media is ever the servant to profit, not truth, and with wealth inequality at an all-time high, we peons are basically just trying to stay afloat; who has time to learn about the issues? I believe this is by design, not coincidence; a regime that relies on an ignorant populace can not only steal your lunch money and sock you in the face, but convince you that it’s for your own good. It’s already happening.
On the other hand, our culture is too resilient to take orders from anyone and there is a growing critical mass of Americans who are saying “no.” This regime is already showing signs of overreach which will also doom the enterprise. The Supreme Court appears ready to actually do its job, their systemic corruption notwithstanding. Additionally, Congressional inaction or tacit approval of this overreach only ensures their own obsolescence. Many in Congress seem fine with the other guy governing by executive order, not realizing that it’s only entrenching Democrats and vulnerable Republicans against their legislative priorities. It’s also true that many Republicans are afraid to vote their conscience, since “retaliation is real.” They can therefore relate to the terrified fathers and mothers getting picked up by ICE who are in the crosshairs of this regime’s retaliatory campaign.
I am heartened by the election of Pope Leo XIV who took his name in no small part due to his predecessors Pope Francis and Leo XIII. The fact he is American by birth and Peruvian by choice is also quite telling. He’s already driving MAGA bonkers which is to say how far they’ve fallen from their purported Christian ideals. I am quite optimistic.
For all the heartless cruelty of this administration, the greatest travesty is the torch they are taking to language itself. When every word spoken is a lie or obfuscation, words lose their meaning. It’s not enough they are taking a torch to the establishment, they are also trying to wrestle meaning itself into their corner. It’s all part of their autocratic game plan for absolute power. As a counter to MAGA’s assault on language, I’ve given myself permission to write to my heart’s content. I love words and writing, and I find too few good stories I want to read. In a day and age when words can apparently mean anything or nothing, writing for me is a way to reclaim their power and bring voice to the ignored, the exploited, the underestimated, the unexpected.
So despite all evidence to the contrary, I am hopeful. I believe we are at an inflection point where we have witnessed too much cruelty and heartlessness in the form of government policy and action to accept this status quo. The ruthless war of vengeance in Gaza with US support should be enough but there is more: the heartless arrests and detention of immigrants, berating and attacking allies, the senseless firing of USAID workers which, quoting Bill Gates, will kill the world’s poorest children, the slashing of government programs which help and employ veterans, the elimination of supports for children with special needs and targeting transgender military members for special ostracization despite their service, the spread of easily preventable deadly diseases in real time, not to mention the grift and corruption occurring in broad daylight, is all too much. It’s a full-on assault on what I thought we as Americans held dear; individual liberty, freedom, peace, service, science, gratitude, fairness, and the rule of law. But a lonely bully has long ago forgotten what those words meant. Let’s not forget.
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