Here’s the Deal–My Take

I finally figured out what the hell is happening vis a vis Trump, his minions, and this crazed country. First, Trump’s main motive is to keep the money rolling in, which he is doing by continuing to refuse to accept Biden as winner of the election. Even after the Supreme Court decision against him, he’ll continue to yell it as fraud and rigged and that he ‘won by a lot.” Not only won’t that change but will continue even after Biden’s inauguration. For Trump will attempt to establish a shadow presidency, complete with his own new agencies that remain loyal to him like Newsmax. You see, Trump will never admit he is a loser. He was raised in a cultish home with a sociopathic, authoritarian father who’s toxic voice hammered home the constant message to never admit to being a loser. And his supporters will continue to protest, dutifully send him their hard earned money, and increasingly threaten his detractors. That means more intimidation including death threats via email, mail, phone, social media. and directly in front of private homes at night with bullhorns on their lips and guns on their hips.

Secondly, Republicans who have been supporting Trump in Congress and in Red states will continue to do so since their main motive is that by paying tribute to the wannabe autocrat, they will avoid primary fights by loyal Trumpsters in the midterm elections. That’s why they signed on to this bizarre lawsuit petitioning the Supreme Court, the one initiated by a two-bit attorney general from Texas. Of course, his personal motive was to get a pardon from Trump in order to avoid several investigations of him by various law enforcement agencies. Of course, he may have fallen out of favor with the Godfather since the suit was a dud. But all the flunkees who signed on are deathly afraid of losing their jobs in 2022, not to Dems but to Trump Repubs in their Red districts in the primaries.

Thirdly, the average Trumpsters on the street–Proud Boys, white evangelicals, QAnon crackpots, anti maskers, anti vaxers, anti abortion, anti liberals, anti socialists, anti Democrats, anti mainstream media, pro NRA, pro Rush Limbaughsters, or just scared white housewives in the suburbs swallowing all the fears Trump throws at them–need to belong to something outside of themselves and family and will remain loyal to their apparent cult leader no matter how toxic his words and deeds. Not all of them are card carrying cult members but many are and in this country it’s often how loud you speak rather than what you say that draws attention. So they’ll continue to stick with their deranged leader because he’s like them: full of hate, distrust in the government, and essentially against the democratic ideals that has sustained and guided this country since its founding. We’ve fallen down at times but have always seemed to get up before the ten count and continue fighting, as we did with this last election in defeating Trump.

OK, so the above is a blueprint of what I think is happening and will continue to happen. What can we rational folks do about it?Complacency is not an option. Inaction will feed right into Trump’s present and future hands. The situation will not right itself since the system is not really designed to deal with someone such as Donald Trump. The fact that he was elected in 2016 highlights flaws in our system that must by righted by our elected officials in Congress. Another Trump, or, yes, even worse, could be elected again. Remember the aborted rise of Kanye West if you doubt me. Remember too the movie Being There when Peter Sellers’ character, an unsuspecting gardener, got elected President. We don’t adequately vet our presidential candidates. And Trump shows that just about anyone can rise to the top and, by hook or by crook, get elected to the most powerful office in the world.

To protect against the above, we must play offense. Democrats have resorted to defensive maneuvers for too long. Social media has effectively become an opiate of the people, putting many to sleep with often inane distractions and misinformation. We must take an active role in our democracy. And if we are unable to be politically active then we must support and finance those who are. You know who they are. They hit the streets to register new voters. They fight for health care for all. They fight against the climate threats to our planet. They help protect wilderness and the wildlife who live there. They fight for economic opportunity for all. They fight against homelessness. They fight for social justice and help put an end to police brutality and racial injustice. You know who they are. Volunteer with them. Send them money. Sign petitions. Write blog and social media posts in their favor. Actively oppose those who care only about themselves and their own power and pocketbooks. Get involved in order to help others: people, animals, forests, our tired, but still vibrant, old planet. That what our democracy is all about. Save it before it’s too late.