This Is Not A Drill

Yes, we are in serious trouble and no, this is not a drill. 

In case you haven't been paying attention we have a leader who is an authoritarian, antidemocratic and a demagogue. His belief is that if he doesn't win the upcoming election, it is rigged. His latest moves are to threaten that he will ignore the tradition of a peaceful transfer of power if he doesn't win reelection on Nov. 3. No matter what you think about voting, elections, candidates or process, the peaceful transfer of power is what separates democracies from dictatorships. 

The President of the United States says his power and authority are "total". They are not. He has made it clear that he will do anything to keep this fictional power and authority. He touts how well he has managed a health crises that has killed over 200,000 Americans.  In the middle of a highly contagious pandemic he invites his own supporters into arenas where no masks or social distancing are required. Yes, he is putting people's lives in danger by not following guidelines from his own administration. Recently he has threatened to override a decision by the Food and Drug Administration relative to the release of a vaccine for Covid-19 building more distrust in national health policy. He has ordered and used force against his own people. He praises violence against journalists. He has called for "able-bodied" pole watchers. He will create and use enemy lists to punish citizens and opponents. He will pack the courts to make sure he remains in power and that his policies will continue for years. He will not act in the best interests of his country. He has confused people about mail in ballots and instilled fear in people about the institution of voting.

What do we do? Certainly people need to vote. People need to think about how and where they vote. This year more than ever, every voter needs to find out and understand what the local rules are relative to mail in voting as well as in person voting. We need to talk to each other and support each other as voters, families, friends and neighbors because this Presidency and election have put people at odds. The tension, fatigue and exhaustion is being felt by everyone. We're facing things like western forest fires, hurricanes, a pandemic, unemployment and educational struggles. People are stressed and looking for some type of answers and relief.

When fascist leaders appear on the world stage they are sometimes ignored. At other times they are challenged both internally and externally. People will put up with a lot it seems, but at a certain point, people of conscience begin to speak up and act. Conscience is an interesting thing. We all have it. We all struggle with it at some point in our lives. Sometimes we are able to ignore it or tamp it down. There are other times when it screams out at us and demands action. War, violence, injustice, dishonesty, hurtful actions to minorities and damage to the common good are the types of things that make a conscience stand up and act. For many people the criteria for conscientious witness has been met.

There may be more difficult things that people need to be prepared to do. Massive civil disobedience may be required. People like to talk supportively about peaceful protests but let's be clear, civil disobedience and mass arrests may be a necessary response to the actions of a dictator. If it comes to that, these protests will not be pretty. Noncooperation as a response to authoritarianism has a long and valued history in resistance movements around the world as well as in this country. Study up.