Glimpses
In less than a week we will have our answer. Which country did we choose? The time for speculation is almost over.
Glimpse from the Past
On March 24, 1945, my enlisted father was stationed overseas. On that morning, he read the latest issue of the War Department pamphlet Army Talk:
“You are away from home, separated from your families, no longer at a civilian job or at school and many of you are risking your very lives because of a thing called fascism.”
I can only imagine how my father might have felt as he read this…more than a year before marrying my mother. Before starting a family with her. Perhaps wondering if that would ever happen. If he would be a casualty of the war. My father rarely spoke about his experiences, but late in life, he recounted one particular mission. As a ball turret gunner on a B-17 Flying Fortress, he was crammed into a 3.5-foot sphere on the bottom of the aircraft defending its vulnerable underbelly. As he shared this memory, his eyes filled with tears, remembering how not a single plane was lost that day. They all returned safely to the base. I was speechless. We sat quietly on the porch on that warm summer day. Neither of us spoke.
I am speechless now. My father fought against the very fascism now echoing throughout this country. He fought against the tyranny of lawlessness and authoritarianism. He fought against the misguided idea that one “master race” is superior to another. He fought against the ugliness of demonizing minorities. Of visiting savage violence upon them. The fact that nearly half of the country now tolerates this is unconscionable. It is an insult to those who fought for our freedoms. It is an insult to my father.
The Army Talk my father read that morning began with these words:
“Fascism is not the easiest thing to identify and analyze, nor, once in power, is it easy to destroy.”
Further on, this:
“Pitting of religious, racial, and economic groups against one another in order to break down national unity is a device of the ‘divide and conquer’ technique used by Hitler to gain power in Germany and in other countries.”
On our roles as citizens:
“Citizenship in a democracy is more than a ballot dropped in a box on Election Day. It's a 365-days-a-year job requiring the active participation and best judgment of every citizen in the affairs of his community, his nation, and his country's relations with the world.”
We know these things. We have seen and heard them all before. Are we so weary of our 250-year-old experiment in democracy, our love of a multi-racial and multi-cultural land, our compassions for other beings, our respect for their dignity that we would risk it all for a tyrant?
Present Glimpse
The New York Times published an endorsement editorial about Trump’s inaugural intentions:
“Donald Trump says he will
Prosecute his enemies
Order mass deportations
Use soldiers against citizens
Play politics with disasters
Abandon allies
Believe him”
And that’s just Tuesday, the day after the inauguration.
If Trump wins, he holds the winning hand. Every card will be a trump card. The unitary executive will be empowered by a sympathetic Supreme Court providing broad, unconditional immunity. For anything. The Christian Nationalist choir will be singing in high harmony believing that God has called upon them to rule over society—all Seven Mountains of it—from main street to wall street—from classroom to bedroom. The New York Times admonishes us to believe Trump. He’s told us what he plans to do. Not listed in the Times editorial is perhaps the most crucial issue of all: women’s agency. That’s because Trump has been all over the place in reproductive rights. His garbled rhetoric to women makes no sense:
“I want to be your protector. As president, I have to be your protector… You will no longer be thinking about abortion.”
What does that even mean? Protector? There is no evidence of Trump being a protector. Ask the dozens of women who have accused Donald Trump of sexual misconduct since the 1970s.
Can anyone be fooled by this protector promise? If so, and they vote for Trump with their Republican pocketbooks because of his assurances that their bodily autonomy will be left up to the states, they make a cynical bargain. If Trump does win, they will lose. Women will be subjugated no matter what Trump says. Here’s the likely Trump 2.0 “to-do-to-women” list:
Appoint the Department of Health and Human Services Cabinet Secretary. So, what if Congress chooses not to confirm Trump’s choice? The other day, former Senator Heidi Heitkamp answered her own question: “Does Trump simply bypass the Senate confirmation altogether and just put people in positions and dare people to challenge them?” Yes. Trump says, “I like acting” with respect to cabinet positions. “It gives me more flexibility.” Believe him.
Then the “acting” Cabinet Secretary renames the department calling it “The Department of Life.” This is a testament to the recognition of fetal personhood.
Next the Secretary picks up the phone and instructs the Trump-appointed Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration FDA to remove miphepristone from the market. Right after that, he calls the Postmaster General informing him that the Comstock Act of 1873 is in effect and henceforth transporting abortifacients [including black market miphepristone] through the US Postal Service is a federal felony.
That’s absurd, you’re thinking, because the Department of Justice would block this based on its interpretation of the Comstock Act. Really? Have you seen the list of possible Trump-appointed Attorneys General? None of them would block this interpretation of the Comstock Act.
But thankfully, there are still blue states where reproductive rights will be respected. Where laws have been passed. Where reproductive justice has been enshrined in state constitutions. Not so fast. If the Supreme Court interprets the 14th Amendment to recognize fetuses as "persons" with equal protection under federal law, abortion could be effectively banned nationwide. Federal trumps states. QED.
Denialism had plenty to do with the Dobbs decision. A busy country was thinking “it couldn’t happen here”…until it did. The same logic could lead the Supreme Court to apply the 14th Amendment to fetal personhood. What more proof do we need?
But Trump promised he wouldn’t impose a federal ban on abortion.
So what?
Historian Robert Paxton illuminates:
Whatever promises fascists made early on were only distantly related to what they did once they gained and exercised power.
Future Glimpses
In a Trump 2.0 world, liberalism would be squashed by the new order—whether by Project 2025 or by JD Vance or by Opus Dei or by the New Apostolic Reformation—for that matter, by anyone thinking that democracy and freedom are no longer compatible. We are assured that Trump’s second term won’t repeat the mistakes of his first. Career civil servants will be replaced. Unqualified personnel will take charge—or more accurately, create chaos.
Imagine Cash Patel, newly minted head of the FBI goaded by Steve Bannon and ready to lob off the heads of Trump’s “enemies within.”
Or Stephen Miller throwing his 1798 Alien Enemies dragnet over “invaded and conquered” cities with a vicious and violent mass deportation plan.
“America is for Americans…and for Americans only.”
Miller’s words at Madison Square Garden last weekend echo Hitler in 1923 and sound even more chilling in the original German. My immigrant grandparents would be shocked to hear them uttered here.
How about Mike Flynn commandeering national security while expressing open contempt for government. Asked about presiding over “a military tribunal” to “drain the swamp” and “imprison the swamp — and, on a few occasions, execute the swamp?”
“The gates of hell — my hell — will be unleashed.”—Mike Flynn
Which country will we choose? The greatest generation kicked fascism’s ass in World War II. Proud Americans can do it again. Fascism is not a good fit for America. We’re too damn free and independent to yield to a tyrant. The stains of racism, misogyny, and bigotry can all be rubbed out in time. Right now, we’ve got a job to do. This is more than political. It’s personaI. Kick fascism’s ass. My father made his choice. I am hoping we prove him right.
Election Frontline
If we do prove him right…we have been promised a rubbish heap of frivolous legal challenges, election denialism, and certification delays… more organized than in 2020. But we are reassured that there are forces gearing up to combat these efforts. We can get involved and stay informed in a number of ways. Anne Applebaum listed several in her recent article in The Atlantic. “A citizen’s guide to defending the 2024 election.” Here is a brief excerpt:
“Among the organizations to watch is the nonpartisan Protect Democracy [headed by Ian Bassin], which has already launched successful lawsuits to secure voting rights in several states. Another is the States United Democracy Center, which collaborates with police as well as election workers to make sure that elections are safe. Three out of four election officials say that threats to them have increased; in some states, the danger will be just as bad the day after the election as it was the day before, or maybe even worse.
“The Brennan Center for Justice headed by Michael Waldman and based at NYU, researches and promotes concrete policy proposals to improve democracy, and puts on public events to discuss them. Its lawyers and experts are preparing not only for attempts to steal the election, but also, in the case of a Trump victory, for subsequent assaults on the Constitution or the rule of law.
“For voters who lean Democratic, Democracy Docket founded by Marc Elias also offers a wealth of advice, suggestions, and information. The group’s lawyers have been defending elections for many years. For Republicans, Republicans for the Rule of Law is a much smaller group, but one that can help keep people informed.”
And finally, this.
If you or anyone you know has trouble voting, for any reason, call 866-OUR-VOTE, a hotline set up by Election Protection, a nonpartisan national coalition led by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
Do not be intimidated. The right to vote is precious. If you hear something that sounds wrong. If you see something menacing. Call any of these numbers:
And thank you for your support and election work. As Joyce Vance says, “We’re all in this together.”
Excellent. I've voted. I'm an Election Officer this year. (Somewhat nervous about ability, not threats.) Somewhat nervous in general. Thank you for your good musings.