We’ve been warned by Homeland Security about the dangers of possible domestic terror. In a related vein, we should also be seeing the signs that our democracy is in serious danger.
What are the signs? First, listen to what Trump is telling us. If elected, he will get ‘retribution’, and will dismantle and then control the Justice Department and FBI.
Trump is almost certain to be the Republican nominee for President regardless of his legal status. The Republican National Committee could and should stop his nomination, but they won’t. Democrats believe Trump can’t win a National election, but he can. The Democratic ticket of Biden and Harris is weak, and there are only six or seven states that matter — the so-called swing or battleground states that might go either way. (e.g, Wisconsin, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan) Trump can concentrate on those states, both for votes and election tampering. It is an awful risk Democrats take when they rely on the theory that Trump can’t win on the National level. Though it’s true that some people he supported lost some secondary elections recently, we’re talking about him in a Presidential election. For heaven’s sake, he won before (2016) when Hillary Clinton took some of those swing states for granted.
Trump’s cults are showing us the second sign. One of these cults is the Republican Congress led by Kevin McCarthy, Jim Jordan, and others. (Mitch McConnell is standing-back and standing-by in the Senate.) Most Republican politicians support Trump no matter what the issue or the facts. This provides cover for the other Trump cult: his 77 million followers who listen only to Fox News. Tucker Carlson may be gone, but the propaganda, misinformation, and conspiracy theories are not.
These 77 million folks have no leader (other than Fox and Kevin, of course). Who is speaking to them, telling them the truth, asking for them to support America instead of Trump? Who is trying to understand them and address their grievances? Answer: no-one. That’s a sign, folks, a sign of trouble and an opportunity for Trump.
Here’s a sign: there is a poll that shows 12 million of those 77 believe that violence is okay in order to return Trump to power. Imagine the mentality of a person who answers ‘yes’ to that question.
The attacks on Justice, the FBI, and Law Enforcement generally are bad signs. Autocrats always try to weaken institutions like these.
What does Trump want? He wants desperately to win an election and be President again. He can do a lot there. He can get retribution for the election he lost, says was stolen; he can help the leaders he admires around the world. For example, he can pull us out of NATO and help Putin destroy Ukraine, let Xi Jinping take Taiwan, allow Kim Jung Un to intimidate (or worse) South Korea. And so on.
These things, and more, Trump wants. But what does he want for himself? For his ego and his narcissism? For whatever it is about him that says “the documents are mine”. If you think about this question — What does Trump want for himself? – then you soon realize he wants to control it all, to be totally in charge; that is, he wants to be dictator. He wants to be like those dictators he admires. Being President again is just a stepping stone along the way to dictator.
But he doesn’t even have to win the election to get that. Hitler lost the German National election in 1933; he got only 36% of the vote. Then he got himself appointed Chancellor – there being no other viable leaders – and he never gave up the post.
There is another danger sign for America. The country has major unaddressed problems: the immigration mess, crime, gun violence, racism, book banning in education, intolerance galore, inflation, a politicized Supreme Court, and on and on . . . .
Speaking of inflation, the Feds talk about how the “core inflation” is not so bad and getting better. ‘Core inflation’ is inflation that does not count food and energy! Are they kidding? Food and energy are the inflation we the people are feeling and it is way, way more than the Feds core inflation. They are trying to gaslight us with that. The government gaslighting the people is a bad sign.
A Nation in such trouble, that can’t solve its problems, is a Nation ripe for a dictator. When enough people are frustrated enough to be open to some autocrat (guess who?) saying “I will fix it”, then the autocrat can find a way to take charge. In Trump’s case, he’ll have a lot of help from his friends in Congress and in his other cults. See the signs.
There is so much that is good and right about America. We’ve struggled and survived for nearly 250 years. The democracy is flawed but has endured. No-one before has pushed our weaknesses to the breaking point. Leaders have appeared at critical times. Unexpected people have stepped up; Pence, for example. But now we are in danger like never before – and no leaders are appearing.
What can we do? By ‘we’ I mean ‘we the little people’, the ordinary folks. Vote, of course. It matters if you are in one of those swing states, but only if you are. Also, if you are in one of those swing states, maybe you can do something to keep your election honest, from being stolen. Otherwise, there is really nothing you can do. Except watch and see the signs. Just sayin’.
John R. Dixon 