We get what we deserve
And apparently, we deserve a fascist felon
I’m trying to make sense of how anyone with a brain and/or heart (both would be nice, but either will do) can vote for a madman. I suppose it’s the same question people have asked throughout history about the support given to Hitler, Pol Pot, Amin, Netanyahu, Putin, etc. (While many of those cats didn’t actually win a democratic vote but rather seized power and held onto it for dear life, they all found their support while unleashing atrocities on the people they were supposed to “serve”.) And, now, our sham of a democracy, that has been tumbling into the sewer since 1980 (at least), has allowed a felon, serial rapist, mentally unfit, psychoclown to “lead” us. The people of the United States of America have shown their true colors - once again - and chose hate, racism, misogyny, and self-centeredness. Or maybe it’s just about gas prices? (Nope.)
Here’s the thing: for all the years I’ve been voting, whenever a Republican won, I wasn’t happy but I didn’t become overwhelmed with existential dread. (Well, a little with Bush the Younger, and he proved me right.) This time, our electoral politics have failed everyone, not just in the USA, but everyone around the world, because that orange nightmare, cares only about one thing: himself.
Here’s where my fear lies:
During his first presidency, he removed any and all language and research relating to climate change from the White House website, as well as the EPA website. This time around, I’m sure he’ll do much worse and that means the entire world will suffer because of US greed and unmitigated reliance on fossil fuels and consumerism, as well as our poor education in understanding what global warming actually means.
The USA, which ranks well below the median on all international educational rankings, will continue to churn out undereducated non-critical automatons when he dismantles the Department of Education. And, I’m sure more book-banning and whitewashing curriculum revisions are in store.
Folks like to say that the USA is a true “melting pot”, a land of immigrants, yet, the Orange Nightmare is ready to deport massive amounts of immigrants, well not his wife, because his distaste is really for brown people and that clearly resonates with more than half of our nation.
Since the Christian Right seems more interested in control than anything Jesus actually said, tRump and his cronies will make it their mission to take away the rights of women. They’ll say it’s about abortion and the right to life, but it’s really about returning all women to some arcane subservient role (and bringing on some wack theocracy and version of The Handmaid’s Tale).
And along that point, for a bunch of folks who seem terrified of sex, those Christian Nationalists sure seem overly interested in genitalia and what people do in their bedrooms. Do not doubt that the Hypocrite-in-Chief will cause terrible harms to our LGBTQAI+ siblings.
And here’s another thing. I am really tired of people saying things like “We can all express ourselves differently or think differently or have different opinions and get along.” Really? That mindset is for what kind of coffee roast you like or how al dente you like your pasta cooked or even which sports team/rock band/hiking trail/wine region/pet you prefer. When it comes to seeing WHO you deem as HUMAN and worthy of HUMAN RIGHTS, nope, we can’t just have different opinions.
Either you believe that human-induced Climate Change is going to continue to harm the planet and kill people/animals/nature or you don’t. Either you believe that indigenous peoples of this land (and others) are due their landback or you don’t. Either you believe that descendants of the enslaved deserve reparations or you don’t. Either you think cops who kill innocent people in cold blood should be charged with murder or you don’t. Either you believe that the “USA is a nation that has always welcomed immigrants” (and thus we should keep doing so) or you don’t. Either you believe that all humans should have bodily autonomy and make their own damn choices or you don’t. Either you believe that freedom of religion means that you shouldn’t shove yours down someone’s else throat or you don’t. Either you believe that people can and should love whomever they want to love or you don’t. Either you believe that schoolchildren shouldn’t be shot dead in their classrooms or you don’t. Either you are interested in fixing the wrongs of the past and moving forward with true equity, justice, and love, or you don’t.
Few things are black and white. I personally love to live in the grey and have deep conversations with folks who think differently than I do. I often ask them to tell me more about their thinking and why they believe that way and what in their experience has led them here. And, in return, they usually ask me Zero Questions about my experiences, learnings, or knowledge. That’s cool. If they’re not curious and not interested in seeing beyond their own frame of reference, I cannot make them. But wouldn’t it be nice if we all valued that mode of engagement?
I am all for creating community and learning and growing together. But that is going to be near impossible if half the country is fine with a wanna-be-dictator leading the way. Do we have to look back on what “good neighbors” let happen around them in Germany during the 1930s and 1940s to see what’s coming?