Good Afternoon, Choir Members

We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For

Good afternoon, choir members!

Remember how the most recent Bush Administration implemented those silly warning codes following September 11th, 2001? Red alerts. Orange alerts. Etcetera.

Well, I thought they were silly because, for one thing, why would alarming the general public be useful? And, secondly, right in the aftermath of that attack (and, I mean, for a year or two, maybe more) I would expect the country to be on a war-time footing for the duration. Perpetual red alert, you know? Be watchful. Report suspicious lone bags.

In any case, in my mind, the alert light continues to shine brightly red because - lo and behold - we didn’t defeat “terrorism” and, for me, the figurative glowing red light also signifies the country’s march toward a form of rule we fought to be free of in the 1700s. Several things reminded of this reactionary creep this morning.

The creep is distressing and depressing, but it has not shuttered or decimated the hope I have as long as the good people who make up the majority of this country do not give in to the negativity. And channel their energy, funds and time toward righting the ship.

I listen to the podcast Gaslit Nation with Sarah Kendzior and Andrea Chalupa. They are both scholars and witnesses of authoritarian states. Sarah Kendzior has written two books, The View From Flyover Country and Hiding in Plain Sight. Flyover predicted the rise of an American authoritarian. (“Flyover country” is a euphemism for the country’s heartland. The Midwest. The forgotten bread basket “coastal elites” fly back and forth over without ever giving a thought.)

Her other book, Hiding, is about the “transnational crime syndicate” currently “masquerading as a government” and the havoc to our democracy it will, and has, already caused.

Both Sarah and Andrea pushed early for impeachment and for more than one article of impeachment. Both fear what will happen regardless of who wins this November. Mrs. Kendzior, a mother of two and a recipient of numerous death threats, believes there will be violence either way. Either the man and his family will refuse to leave, or he will incite violence because, like a dog that licks its balls, he can.

I’ve never lived under an honest-to-god dictator. At least, not yet. But I argued during the Iraq War that, I would be willing to wager, the vast majority of Iraqis going about their daily lives didn’t give Saddam Hussein and his murderous, idiot sons much thought. Unless you were directly affected, you simply kept your head down and went about your lives. Unless you were actively disrupting the Hussein apple cart, the odds were in your favor.

In other words, I was skeptical of the weapons of mass destruction propaganda which played a significant role in launching that war AND I was skeptical that we were truly liberating the country. Especially seeing as how, from my limited perspective, it was a functioning country (though, assuredly, not on all cylinders). It seemed to me, if anything, we were more likely to make a bad situation intolerable. When our military gave twenty-somethings jurisdiction over some Iraqi neighborhoods early in the occupation, I couldn’t believe it.

I mention Iraq and its citizens during the reign of Hussein because - for the vast majority of Americans - a dictatorship would not actually be all that abhorrent. Even those of us who struggle daily opposing this would-be tyrant and his kleptocratic offspring would be minimally affected.

We’re white. We’re not immigrants. We have incomes. We’re not reliant on the government for much. We’re regular Joes and Janes.

And this is how fascism was given oxygen in Germany in the 1930s.

We’ve all seen the poignant quote on social media.

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

The quote was from Martin Niemöller, a prominent Protestant bishop, who initially welcomed the Third Reich. (That’s a photo of him at the top.)

I don’t know where we are on the authoritarian continuum. But I know our democracy is being eroded. It’s been knee-capped by this transnational crime syndicate that has been capable, due to reach and funding, of making the American rule of law irrelevant. It’s also making a mockery of our system of checks and balances.

Our legislators have been incapable of slowing the creep. Our courts have been incapable of slowing the creep. Our intelligence community has been muzzled, defanged and ignored. The Fourth Estate is playing it both ways because they are dependent on eyes, clicks and readers, and who best to provide eyes, clicks and readers than a raving “mad King George”?

Before I conclude, I also want to mention seeing a New York Times article circulating on Twitter from the ‘way-back machine’. It consisted of several screenshots from the New York Magazine section of the NYT from May 30, 1937. It was a general interest, up-close-and-personal type of article about the leader of the Third Reich - Adolf Hitler. I believe, at one point, he was described as a harmless “bohemian” with an odd taste in art.

I am fuzzy on German history, but you would think at that stage of the game, it should have been apparent to the world what was afoot in Bavaria. I mean, Martin Niemöller, a prominent public figure, was arrested by July of 1937.

But, perhaps, not. As I said, I have no clue as to what point we’ve reached on the authoritarianism timeline.

I do know that We the People are the last bulwark.

How we act over the next six months will determine the outcome. It’s not going to be enough to vote. It needs to go beyond voting. Our voices need to drown out the bots, the deniers, the pessimists, the fake news and those who just want to surrender thinking that no one will ever be coming for them.

We can’t take for granted that the chips are going to fall our way. And, as Sarah Kendzior and Andrea Chalupa regularly remind listeners. . . . no one is coming to save us.

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Stand Up For America is a good website for resistance and activism. A letter writing campaign to engage potential voters is one prong in their arsenal and a less invasive way for regular Joes and Janes to get involved and to get other Joes and Janes involved. Hopefully.

Resistance Labs is another good option you can do from the comfort of your home office, couch or kitchen table. They say their mission is to stop Tr*mp and rebuild the Democratic Party from the ground up. RL uses peer-to-peer texting to help support grassroots progressive activists, recruit candidates to run for office, and help those candidates win.

Also, I have not taken a Great Course, but they are offering some sweet deals for online learning. And this does seem like a good time to be learning something useful.

Like how to build a rabbit trap.