Sadly, Americans are that stupid. Prejudice and fear make you stupid. They make you so stupid that you routinely do things that hurt you because you believe it will hurt someone else more. They make you so stupid that you accept wrongs that happen in your own country that you would decry if they happened elsewhere. They make you so stupid that it never occurs to you that the wrong being perpetrated on the one you don’t see as your neighbor today can happen to you tomorrow. They make you so stupid that you would rather die than wear a bleeping face mask!
No. We cannot take four more years of Donald Trump and his greedy, incompetent hangers-on. Those who support him will not save themselves. The rest of us are going to have to do it for them.
America began willfully dumbing itself down when Barack Obama became president; unfortunately, white Americans happily cut off America’s collective nose in order to spite Barack Obama’s face rather than be led by an “uppity” black man. They also decided that they SHOULD judge a book by its cover, no matter how enriching its contents. When Donald Trump came along, there were those who “believed” that “he was a businessman,” so he’d be good for the country’s economy, which was humming along just fine. There were also more honest people who reported “He says out loud what I’m thinking.” Were they thinking that they’d be the ones who turned out the light when democracy left the room?
Our solutions are simple, but they are not easy. We must first do everything we can to show Americans the difference between fantasy and fact; encouraging sensible public discourse, insisting that the media stop using equivocating language when reporting on Trump and his lies and call them out for what they really are. We “regular people” must insist to elected officials that we will support them when they make sensible decisions rather than frightened ones. We must also attempt to convince elected officials that losing an office, though they may think of it as death, is actually preferable to letting thousands in their districts die. We must discover and expose the websites that are created by foreign mischief-makers and use every proof we have to show their adherents what they really are. Finally, we need to learn how to be a little uncomfortable with looking like political zealots. We must unapologetically support Democratic candidates, especially Joe Biden. We must be willing to ask friends for donations and support; we must learn to ask, period. Instead of thanking those friends who are politically active, we must become more like them.
We know what the Republicans will be up to, so we have to be anticipate their every crooked move. We have to marshall our voter empowerment and electoral oversight organs well before November. We have to ensure a blue tsunami—a wave so overwhelming that no amount of Republican skullduggery can withstand it. We even have to, gulp, think like Republicans so that we can beat them at their own game. You are right. Only a Democratic victory in the White House, The Senate, and the House of Representatives will give us the power to rescue this rapidly sinking ship. We can bring back humane social policies. We can approve a real minimum wage. We can save the water and skies again. Given the lessons of COVID and the glaring realization of inequality, we can move toward a more perfect union. We must not allow Fascism to creep into our lives. Those who now defy us may even have cause to thank us. Let’s give it a try.
