Today the Resistance Really Begins!
Today, the resistance has not won. It has started. For the last four years America scoffed at truth and morality. Our leaders turned their back on the ideals of our civilization and standards of behavior. America has been lead by fear, anger, and greed. It has been violently coerced by a mobs mobilized by these base drives.
The facts is Trump and his mob don’t care what is true, because they don’t think it matters. They faced no consequences for disregarding the truth and it gave them so much freedom to do what they want to do.
Freedom is Slavery
Trump confirmed that they were the real victims here. (And in a since, they are the victims of our preditory capitalist systems.) He confirmed their anger and fear. He said that America was stolen from them and only he could save them.
The angry mob delighted in being allowed to simply be angry. They had rallies and marches to express their grievances. They reveled in having the permission to air their angriest and meanest selves.
Ignorance is Strength
For four years, we wondered what revelation or scandal would finally break the illusion. An angry minority would rather escape into a racist fueled fantasy of taking America back for themselves than participate in civil society. This minority wanted to take back the vote from the majority. They wanted to take back America from immigrants, minorities, gays, and uppity women. They wanted to ignore the rest of the world and focus on America first.
They were angry that they were being told that they were part of a problem. These are mostly people living paycheck to paycheck, who struggle but still see themselves falling behind. How could they be responsible for all the problems? Why are other people are entitled to help or acknowledgment while they are derided as “deplorables.”
They resented having to face issues that they don’t feel that they had a hand in creating. They were sick of being lectured on how to behave. They resented having to face problems that they don’t think they have a hand in creating. The natural forces of climate change and a pandemic are hoaxes from the deep state to keep them down and not facts to face.
War is Peace
Journalists, scholars, activists, public officials; anyone who has tried to help them understand the problems we face as a society has been branded an enemy of the people.
They have violently attacked our state capitals. They have murdered peaceful protestors. They have bombed churches and synagogues. They have attempted an insurrection at Nation’s Capital.
If you doubt what unites this mob, they fly the flags of the Confederacy, the Nazis, and Donald Trump.
Truth and Consequences
Today we take back our government. More importantly, we need to take back truth.
Trump and his mob have been able to simply ignore reality with little or no consequences. We coddled them and acted like reality was up for disucssion.
We have acted like there is a fair and balanced debate about climate change or if masks helps prevent the spread of Covid. Lawyers played word games if Jan 6 was an insurrection or if Trump was responsible.
When cornered, Trump and his mob simply change subject, give alternative facts, or shout “fake news” or “election fraud.” We ask for proof, thinking that we are having a discussion about what is true.
It is not enough to highlight the truth. We need to hold people accountable to facing truth.
There is a difference between someone questioning what is an appropriate response to systematic racism or climate change and a someone saying that these are “fake news” and don’t exist.
When people ignore the truth, there must be consequences. They cannot continue to hold office or run companies. We cannot do business with people who undermine truth.
They will claim “cancel culture” and that they are the victims, but this is the core battle for the resistance! Most of our reality is shaped by forces beyond us and we are not entirely in control our actions nor our situations. We are shaped by luck, impulses, and an imperfect understanding of our lot.
But there is still objective reality where actions have consequences. We are not resisting a people or an agenda. We are resisting sliding back into fantasy as much as we are resisting the perpetuation of injustice.
Today we take back truth for the majority. Today, the work of the resistance really begins.
