Who are we? We will soon find out

 

Seattle’s KIRO 7 News is airing another “special report,” which as expected from a local television station owned by a right-wing media conglomerate--in this case, Cox Media Group--is one that fulfills  its “duty” to appeal to a “conservative” constituency in a mostly “liberal” market. These “special reports” tend to ignore corporate malfeasance, poverty and inequality, preferring to focus more on “dog whistle” stories that seem intent on demonizing people vulnerable to attack by those of a right-wing mindset, like the poor and the homeless. Today, it’s “special report” asks the question “Are children being used as pawns for panhandling?”

Over the past 18 months some KIRO employees have had nothing better to do than to “follow” and harass homeless people with children simply because some people don’t like to feel guilty about being confronted by the reality of poverty and homelessness, which has risen substantially during the pandemic. The way wages and cost-of-living is today, many people are living paycheck-to-paycheck; you only have to miss one to find yourself on the street. Clearly not everyone is benefiting from Donald Trump’s “economy,” or his attempts to gut anti-poverty programs and kill affordable health care. Yet the KIRO 7 story “questions” whether this is the “real” reason for the state these people are in, and focusing the imagery on minorities is clearly intended for those who see the world through a prism of negative racial stereotyping.

For the past four years this country has been fed variations of this theme by a so-called “president” who has been tramping around the country speaking before audiences who are impressed by his Mussolini posturing, his “tough guy” braggadocio, his juvenile insults of anyone who disagrees with him, and the demonizing and dehumanizing of people most vulnerable to bigotry and paranoia. This is the "audience" that was once  merely tolerated by Republicans for their votes, but not openly embraced, save by far-right extremists like Sen. Tom Cotton, or members of the “Freedom Caucus” in the House of Representatives. Today these people are openly embraced; in Carl Hoffman’s book Liar’s Circus or reported by Jordan Klepper in his travels in Trumpworld, the stunning level of belief in ludicrous conspiracy theories, bizarre interpretations of motivations and questionable “facts,” the acceptance of clearly false information, and the caricaturing of “others” out of sheer ignorance, is the sad and pathetic reality.

We are now hearing reports of “caravans” of Trump supporters disrupting traffic and harassing voters, peaceful protests urging people to vote being pepper-sprayed by police, and in some states an absurd array of obstacles placed in front of college students before they can legally vote. In Texas, Harris County Republicans unsuccessfully sought to invalidate more than 120,000 “drive-through” votes in predominately Democratic districts. In another incident in Texas, a Trump “caravan” tried to force a Biden campaign bus off the road; Trump defended the action, tweeting “In my opinion, these patriots did nothing wrong. Instead, the FBI & Justice should be investigating the terrorists, anarchists, and agitators of ANTIFA, who run around burning down our Democrat run cities and hurting our people!”

This is fascism in action. Many Republicans still insist on making the absurd accusation that Democrats favor “socialism,” to scare ignorant people. To these people “socialism” is not so much a political ideology but a perceived “threat” to white supremacy. That is all. What is “fascism”? According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, it is the following:

a political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.

We see all of these elements from Trump and his most egregious supporters. We see it in his rejection of professionals, experts and scientists in favor of loyal political hacks. We see it in Trump’s demands that his “enemies” be investigated and “locked up.” We see it in his inability to compromise and work toward a common vision. We hear it in “America First”--for Trump supporters code for white nationalism in intent and practice. We see it in halting legal immigration from “shithole” countries. We hear it in Trump suggesting that “some” neo-Nazis are “very fine people.” We hear it in Trump refusing to call out violent far-right extremist groups, telling them to “stand by.” We see it in his supporters turned Brown Shirt thugs attacking supporters of the “opposition.” We see it with Trump deploying the DHS and its armed wings as his personal militia to rid the country of people whose principle “crime” is that the men are dark-skinned and their women do not “excite” him sexually.

We see it in Trump's inability to differentiate from moral and immoral, from ethical and unethical, from lawful and unlawful, and from good and evil. This is from a man who knows nothing but absolute power in his life, someone who never had to personally pay for his business failures, who never felt he had to answer for the misdeeds he perpetrated on others, an already corrupt man easily corrupted by more power.

This election is about who we are and what kind of country we want this to be. Do we want people like Trump, his familiars like Stephen Miller, and all those hate-filled bigots who support him to define who we are as a nation? We will find out, one way or another. Will we vote for a man who promises a return to moral and ethical equilibrium--or will we choose to continue this national nightmare?