Courage

Reading time – 2:59; Viewing time – 4:06 . . .

Here’s Jax definition of populism: Mob behavior gussied up with a slick political cover.

Trump’s base is entirely populist, calling for extreme reaction to any issue and blunt force solutions to all problems. Think: Muslim ban; kidnapping children; building a $38 billion wall; embracing white supremacy and more.

Here are some characteristics of populism:

We are poor, innocent victims and that gives us the right to attack the imagined meanies who we fantasize have victimized us.

There is only “us” and “them” and we have to repress “them” or they will take over and victimize “us.”

There is always an enemy to demonize and dehumanize and blame for every problem. It’s never our fault and it’s never simply new cultural circumstances or the result of technological or global change. (See the cartoon below.)

All problems can be solved by hitting harder.

New thinking and fresh ideas are never contemplated or even welcome. Truth, facts and reality are no more than minor inconveniences, bumps in the road to greater power grabs.

Subtlety? What subtlety? We don’ need no stinking subtlety. We don’ need no stinking diplomacy. Or regulations to stop those who would exploit us. Or a press or justice system to hold leaders accountable. What accountability?

We are demanding of and slavish to an autocratic leader, a hero to worship, a strongman to idolize.

Perhaps democracy – rule by the people either directly or through democratically elected representatives – is an anomaly in human existence. Perhaps we are globally on the way back to monarchical, even dictatorial rule as our human default. The key is to envision what that looks like when we tear apart our hard won rights and structures, the foundations of freedom we’ve spent centuries building.

Our ancestors rebelled against the tyrant, King George III. You learned about that in your history classes, and his kind of tyranny is the world standard in the absence of democracy. In a monarchy, the people are rarely happy and most often are oppressed by the ruling class. That’s only attractive if you’re part of that ruling class. If you’re Dorothy from Kansas, not so much.

So, to the 27% of Americans who think that the government kidnapping of infants and children is okay, who think that shoving a thumb in the eye of our international friends is a good idea, who want to cozy up to tyrannical enemies of our country and who want to dismantle all of government and the judicial and press foundations that check executive excesses, you better be careful what you wish for. You just might get it and you will not like it and your grandchildren will curse you for your blindness.

Populism is driven by and generates great rushes of testosterone fury. It creates huge clouds of the sensation of being powerful, of sticking it to someone. But when those clouds lift we’ll be left with the tyranny of oppression.

To be clear, Trump and his minions are our challenge now. But to step back and look at a bigger picture, there is always a tyrant waiting to steal the reins of power and commit horrible acts and steal our democracy for himself. That can only happen if we allow the 27% to have their way.

I don’t have any notion that anyone can quickly change the visceral drive of the mobs that are the populism of this country. The Obi-Wan that is our only hope lies within the rest of us.

Click me for a larger image

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Reading time – 2:45 . . .

John Kerry ran for president in 2004. During the campaign a group of men challenged Kerry’s narrative of his Swift boat actions on the Mekong River, even though not one of them was in a position to assess what happened. They lied about him viciously and very publicly. They claimed he was unpatriotic and had been a coward and didn’t deserve the medals he had been awarded. Their claims were false and inflammatory and Kerry decided not to dignify them with a response. The result of his silence was catastrophic for his campaign. The lesson learned far too late is:

Attack the attackers.

Never let the bully’s lies or misdeeds go unchallenged because otherwise people will start to believe the lies and the misdeeds will proliferate.

Now we’re living in the continuous fraud that is Trump. I don’t mean his constant lies, although our “values voters” should have abandoned him at least 2 years ago just for his obvious and fundamental dishonesty. Rather, this is about those who allow the enormous damage Trump is inflicting on the very things that make this the America we believe in.

Four easy examples:

There isn’t a shred of doubt anywhere that Russia hacked into and affected our election in 2016, but Trump has barely lifted a finger to deal with the assault on our election. Neither has he taken a single step to prevent Russia from tampering with our 2018 election. Instead of aggressively pursuing both the Russian hacking and Trump’s dereliction of duty, the House Intelligence Committee has aided and abetted a coverup of the facts. Worse, members of Congress are actively working to impede the FBI investigation into the issue.

We built and have prospered under the umbrella of the partnerships made with our allies around the world. Trump is now systematically attacking those countries, their leaders and our alliances. There has been barely a peep of objection from Congressional Republicans – and they’re in charge and can do something about it.

Trump has gutted every department of the Executive Branch, undermining our ability to deal with our challenges. He’s allowed wanton violations of ethics and misuse of public funds. Devastatingly, he has stripped our State Department of the professionals we need in this very dangerous world. Have you heard any objections from Congress?

With the Nuclear Summit concluded we have unilaterally given Kim Jong-un international legitimacy and agreed to terminate “war games,” this in a complete blindside to South Korea and our own military. In return, The Great Deal Maker got us a vague statement of de-nuclearization – some day, maybe – and no verification was even proposed. Can you imagine the howls of protest and charges of treason from Republicans had Obama done that? Instead, crickets.

All of this is making both Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping very happy. There is far more, of course, but the question for this post is simple:

Where are the voices of opposition?

There are a few voices of outrage from traditional conservatives, like Hugh Hewitt, Steve Schmidt, George Will and Michael Steele. Bob Corker has spoken passionately in opposition. There are quiet objections from a few other Republicans, most of whom are leaving government. There are a couple of strong Democrats speaking out and a few others offer milquetoast complaints. All the rest of our elected officials are AWOL, this at a time that requires that they answer the call to stop those who would tear down our country.

Most of our elected officials have taken care of themselves first, checking the political winds before uttering a word of protest or taking any action, allowing the assaults on our institutions to continue. We are being made weaker and more vulnerable every day.

We need the Republicans in Congress to find a spine and stand up to this destroyer of our nation. We need the Democrats to stop coming to a gun fight with a squirt gun.

We need all of these elected officials and pundits alike to realize the truth of what Coach Herb Brooks told our hockey players before the 1980 Olympic Games began:

”When you pull on that jersey, the name on the front (USA) is a hell of a lot more important than the one on the back.”

The name on the front – USA – is being assaulted, so it’s time to recall the lesson learned when the Swift Boaters brayed their lies to derail John Kerry’s candidacy:

Attack the attackers.

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