Resistance Is Necessary

I just heard the news from my wife: After stalling and stalling to prevent Trump from going to trial (for espionage!) since last year, after issuing non-ruling after non-ruling, the Judge in the case (appointed by Trump!) has dismissed the case, by saying that there should be no special counsel! On the day that the Republican Convention starts, the place will be nuts. Richard Nixon hopes there’s reincarnation possible just so he can get away with it this time.

This comes in a year where the former President asked for — AND WAS GIVEN — complete immunity for official acts, in essence making him king. Two-tiered system of justice???!!! There is no system of justice for a man who did so many horrible things that to list them would take weeks. This comes in a year when the Heritage Foundation printed Project 2025, the “how to have a fascist government” manual.

When Trump was first elected, I was amazed at how many grifters had come out from under their rocks to destroy our country’s finances [PPT loans bought up by the rich and government officials, the Trump tax cuts] its environment [remember Rick Perry?] its healthcare [the mishandling of the pandemic and the attempted destruction of Anthony Fauci].

After his term, Trump and his grifter/acolytes have continued to buy government. The “owners” that George Carlin warned us about want their country back because they have all the money and everyone else has the pain. It’s one battering ram after another in the assault on democracy, and it’s scary.

I know what this is. Remember when we went to bring down the Iraqi regime based on a lie? Remember when we attacked Iraq by bombing after bombing after bombing in a technique known as “Shock and Awe”? It was designed to win the war in one punch, to establish a regime that the Bush government liked. This is the legal/psychological equivalent equivalent of that.

Remember the ship that had the giant sign “Mission Accomplished”? Remember the war for years after that. The mission was not accomplished. Whatever the government in Iraq became, it is not what we thought it should be. As a bastion against Iran, it’s not working. As a friendship between countries, it’s not working either.

What little remnants of humanity that are still left get up and try for freedom again. It feels vaguely like our hut has been burned down on Tatooine, and all hope is lost. Timothy Snyder, the author of On Tyranny says that tyrants want you to simply give up in advance because you feel that there’s no hope and you have no power and no one is coming to save you. Giving in to “shock and awe” he would say, is a mistake.

We must not give up one person, one vote, and we must use it to destroy the current Republican party by un-electing them. We must use the one tool that we have (we don’t have light sabers) before the Death Star of Democracy is activated. We must give ourselves hope, we must take back our power over women’s bodies and our lives. We must build a rebellion against all of the forces who would take our democracy. It might take nine chapters to get it back, and save the planet, but the first part is before us. There is a hole in the Death Star that will make it explode. That hole is the vote. We have to take our shot now.

Resisting With Peace,

John