THE NAME OF THE GAME IS FEAR, and everyone is the target. If enough people become fearful, they won’t do anything to stop the ongoing coup attempt that’s continuing to roll out in America.
Have they made you afraid yet? At least anxious? Republicans are using fear at all levels to destabilize the country so they can ride that horse to power. It started when Trump took over the Republican party. Remember his bullying? Remember how he called Mexican immigrants “rapists,” and “murderers,” with maybe a few good people? Remember how he told cops that when they put someone in their car, they didn’t have to protect their head? Did you hear him say when he was at a rally talking about the idea of his supporters beating up a Black Lives Matter protester: “maybe he should have been roughed up because it was absolutely disgusting what he was doing?” And remember when he said there were good people on both sides in reference to the Charlottesville Unite the Right debacle, where a white supremacist drove his car into the crowd of counter protesters? He was setting small fires all throughout his presidency. He knew what he was doing. Make people on the left afraid while stirring up “base” instincts among members of his base.
Increasing threats
For Trump, after attacking the protocols designed to keep the Coronavirus from spreading, like wearing masks and getting vaccine shots, it must be gratifying to see all the threats being thrown at medical professionals. In US Attorney General Merrick Garland’s speech on Jan. 5, 2022, he told us about the recent increase in threats targeting medical professionals, judges, teachers, police officers, school board members, and election officials. Surveys have found that 17% of America’s local election officials and nearly 12% of its public health workforce have been threatened because of their jobs.1 Republicans want to make these officials so afraid they’ll quit. Then they can be replaced with Trump supporters.
As of Dec. 21, 2021, twenty-three Democratic members of the House of Representatives are not running for re-election. Do you think that could have anything to do with the January 6, 2020, violent attempt to prevent them from certifying Biden’s presidency and the threats some legislators are receiving?
All Trump’s lying during his presidency laid the groundwork to support This Very Big Lie. The resulting destabilization and polarization will make it easier for his followers to use whatever illegal or violent methods they choose to change the results of the 2022 and 2024 elections unless Congress steps up to prevent it.
Inciting fear started at the highest levels in the early stages of Trump’s presidency when he threatened not only immigrants, but also members of his administration who weren’t bowing deeply enough to kiss his ring. Then, because of his encouragement, ordinary people around the country whose temperaments made them susceptible to his anger-inducing rhetoric started acting it out, operationalizing his calls for brutality and violence. They tried to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer; attacked mosques and black churches; and targeted seven police officers with guns, firebombs, and graffiti, among other acts of domestic terrorism. Republicans use white people’s fear of losing dominance to expand their base by attacking people of color and other minority groups. Again, their real purpose is to raise the level of fear in any way they can.
In 2020, domestic terrorist acts soared to the highest point by far since 1994. “Since 2015, right-wing extremists have been involved in 267 plots or attacks and 91 fatalities.”2 Trump does not denounce these domestic attacks on our country and our citizens. Of course not. It’s what he wants. It suits his purpose: to take down our government and appoint himself Dear Leader. Remember when he as president said he would win the election in 2020, and then again in 2024 and maybe again another time yet? Of course, according to our Constitution, presidents can serve only two terms. But if you’re an autocrat, you can follow your country’s constitution when it suits you and otherwise ignore it.
These are not normal times
At the end of Trump’s presidency, he incited the mob who attacked the Capitol on January 6. We know he did because we watched him give that speech to those gathered to hear him that day. Following that speech, the threats again targeted people at the highest levels when the mob hunted down Congressional leaders, erected a scaffold, and shouted, “Hang Mike Pence!” “Hang Mike Pence!” Does anyone think they were kidding?
What’s the point of all this? If enough fear is abroad in the land, Democrats will be afraid to vote. They’ll be afraid to serve in Congress. They’ll be afraid to sit on school boards. They’ll be afraid to hold jobs as teachers, doctors, nurses, judges, and police officers. They’ll sit on their hands while Republicans take over the government, set up an autocratic leader, and take whatever they want for their own personal gain as they destroy this country. Are you afraid yet?
Since Biden won the 2020 election, Trump and his party have been promulgating “The Big Lie,” asserting that it was he who won. It’s been proven time and again he didn’t, but The Big Lie suits his purpose. Those who believe it turn against our government and become passionately willing to do anything, like resort to violence, to put him in power again. All Trump’s lying during his presidency laid the groundwork to support This Very Big Lie. The resulting destabilization and polarization will make it easier for his followers to use whatever illegal or violent methods they choose to change the results of the 2022 and 2024 elections unless Congress steps up to prevent it. We want the courts to prosecute all threats and acts of violence: it is not free speech.
If you are afraid, that isn’t a bad thing if it spurs you to action. We’re not the first to say, “These are not normal times.” So, if you’re acting as if they are, you’re contributing to the problem. The most important thing we can do is not give in to the fear. Repel it and act! It’s time now for us to sacrifice to save our country, and here are some ways to take action. We can send money to organizations set up to protect our democracy, from the Democratic party to Emily’s List, to media organizations committed to fair reporting, like PBS, to name a few. It’s time to attend vigils, write letters to prospective voters in close elections, and volunteer in your community so that community bonds are strengthened. It’s time to serve as a local official. It’s NOT time to sit on our hands. If we do, we’re contributing to the destruction of our country. No one is going to come out of the sky and save our republic. It’s up to us ordinary citizens. Let’s get active! As the song says, “We’re better together!” Let’s help our country really become “the United States of America.”
1Vox, Zach Beauchamp, online
2 Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness,” by Robert O’Hara, Jr., Andrew Ba Tran, and Derek Hawkins, April 12, 2021
