I remember a while back the debate about whether or not we were in a Constitutional crisis. That aside, it is clear we are now at a moment of profound political, social & moral crisis in the US. Two groups w/very different visions of what we should be are confronting each other.
It is unclear, as of now, which will prevail. One, led by the President, controls both houses of Congress and almost two-thirds of the statehouses in America. They have openly embraced racism, nationalism, isolationism, misogyny, corruption & the suppression of the Constitution.
They have attacked our allies, undermined our alliances & int'l institutions, exploited the poorest, served only the very richest, catered to special interests whose greed will destroy the environment and leads to the wholesale murder of children in our schools & on our streets.
They are touting their cruelty as strength. They are debasing our highest offices, waging a public war against critical institutions of our democracy including law enforcement and a free press. They have celebrated and advanced the interests of our enemies.
They support totalitarian regimes, ignore human rights, ignore the law, deny science and history. They promote an agenda that is based on lies with leaders whose primary tool is dissembling. None of this is an exaggeration. And they have determined to double down on what's worst.
They have won the support of a very substantial cross section of Americans--for different reasons. Much is based on outright racism or fear of change or ignorance or other forms of hatefulness. Some is based on greed or service of the narrowest of agendas.
If they are not stopped, they will undercut American leadership worldwide both by their behavior but also by their policies which are effectively a reversal of the American post-WWII order and a retreat from international leadership to live within an isolated, gated-community US.
They will plunder the economy and leave millions without healthcare, without essential services, without justice and without opportunity. And they will ignore the law or twist it to serve their goals so they can act with impunity. This is no exaggeration.
They told us they were going to do this before they did. They celebrate doing it every day. They double down on what is worst about their agenda on an almost hourly basis. And the rest of us have let it happen. We may say we have called it out or condemned it.
But that's not enough. We must organize to put pressure on them at every turn. We must defeat them at the ballot box in November and in two years. We must hold them accountable for these policies. We must prove to them that their politics of division, hate and exploitation...
...will not stand, is a liability, is a career ender. This is one of those moments during which if you sit on the sidelines, you are complicit. If you only complain, you are complicit. Donate to candidates and causes. Work for candidates and causes. Mobilize others.
The alarms are sounding. They could not be more clear. The crisis is not a possibility or the worry of some far off country. The greatest threat to the peace and stability of the world is the President of the United States and those who support him.
He and they are also the greatest threat to what we rightfully cherish about America. Ask yourself every morning and every night, "What have I done to preserve what I value in my country and my community and the world today?" And if it is not enough, do more.
The damage they do daily compounds that which they have done already. Should they win another term of office...imagine another two years of this. Imagine if Trump's America is all that is left of the America of Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln. It's not impossible.
In fact, it becomes more likely every day.
