The Countdown and the Courage to Act

Every day that passes without a criminal indictment for Donald Trump is a day closer to his nomination as the GOP choice for the ’24 Presidential election and serious disaster for the well-being of our country regardless of the outcome. Why that indictment has not been forthcoming is a bit of a mystery, but I suspect it stems from a lack of courage on the part of the prosecutors who are pursuing various investigations of Trump and members of his immediate enablers. Perhaps fear of political repercussions. Perhaps fear of physical violence or death threats against one’s self and family. Perhaps fear of losing the case making Trump more of a pariah than he already is. And perhaps just overly cautious and somewhat passive personalities as is the case with Merrick Garland. We don’t really know why the delays against a man–an ex-President, yes, but still just a citizen–who has obviously committed major crimes over the last few years. In the meantime, Trump continues to campaign and obtain money from his cult following, cults that by nature, stick with their leader to the bitter end. Remember Jim Jones?

So it’s very possible Trump will be the GOP nominee. Best case scenario is that someone else is the nominee and Trump runs as a third party. That will insure victory for the Democratic nominee. But that is unlikely since Trump knows that’s a path to failure in this society. Trump of course is haunted by his father’s caustic voice in his head about never failing.

So the election will probably again be Biden vs. Trump. Know that it’s very difficult to defeat an incumbent President. And Biden has done well in the face of extreme right wing opposition. So it’s likely Biden will win again. However…it’s also likely Trump is planning for this and is already strategizing for a coup by his cult followers, which include current congressmen and women, violent white supremacist groups, and even sympathetic police and military. Some pickle this country is in.

So is there anything we, as individuals, can do about this pickle? For one, we can increase our level of awareness to a sense of urgency. The stresses of modern life tend to benumb us to intense situations such as the war in Ukraine, tensions with China, and lies thrown at us by Fox “news”, Trump, extremists like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz, and election meddler Vladimir Putin. It’s just too much and we tend to close down and block out the toxic input to our systems. These are self-preservation mechanisms developed since the end of World War II when the world got very complicated politically, economically, and socially.

So it’s to acknowledge this dynamic within us, and begin to face the denial that comes with it. For denial and apathy are our real enemies. There have always been the Trumps, Greenes, DeSantis’s, Hitlers, Stalins, and Putins in the world–people who need to be opposed at every step along their destructive ways. Once we face those inner enemies, we can better face the external ones and begin to change our denial and apathy into enlightened action.

Take occasional breaks, but stay aware of the current news, making sure your sources are reliable, true, and not self-serving or profit driven. Fox “news”, Newsmax, much of social media, extreme right wing radio talk shows/podcasts, and the like are not good news sources, so eliminate them from your routines. CNN, the Washington Post, the Guardian are much better sources, with excellent non-biased reporters often working from the front lines of war zones and the battlegrounds of Washington D.C.

Conscious consumption, as podcaster and restauranteur Joey Chmiko has coined it, involves being careful of what energy, information, and, of course, food, you allow into your mind and body. That keeps us healthier in mind, body, and spirit. From there, we are in better positions to be proactive in opposing the forces around us who try to wear us down with their misinformation, hoping we swallow their stinking bait hook, line, and sinker.

This sends a powerful message of opposition to those intent on feeding their opioids to the complacent masses, rendering them passive, vulnerable, and easily manipulated. They will stop only when enough of us demand that they stop. That may take protesting, which fortunately we are still allowed to do unlike in Russia, Iran, or Afghanistan, letter writing to state and federal representatives, or speaking truth whenever you hear obvious lies.

It will not be an easy fight. The forces of greed, hatred, and delusion have been with us for centuries and have developed mechanisms of persistence, evasion, and delay. Trump should already be in prison. Greene and Gaetz and Jordan should already be thrown out of Congress, along with Santos. Steve Bannon and Roger Stone should be doing time. White supremacists should be labeled terrorists as they are in Canada. And the purveyors of White Christian Nationalism should be exposed for advancing ideas that drove the Pilgrims out of Europe–essentially ideas that endorse a state-only religion. As for the war criminal Putin, he already needs to very much face the same fate as the Nazis at Nuremberg and join his countryman Stalin as one of the most infamous rulers in history.

They, and many others like them, are stains on democracy, but somehow use the freedoms of democracy to continue their rants, their racism, and their crimes…with impunity. It’s time that we, along with our Democratic representatives in Congress, demand, in very clear and forceful language, that they stop.

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Need something positive and healing? Consider my latest book, To Live a Life: 200 Ways to Be the Best Person You Can Be. You can find it, in paperback or ebook, at Amazon. Proceeds go to my own Sacajawea Press where I’ve written and published five books during the pandemic. More at stephenaltschuler.com. Thank you.