Tuesday, December 05, 2023

What If?

Donald Trump has made it clear that if he becomes president he will attempt to end democracy as we know it and institute an authoritarian system instead.

A rising tide of voices have been issuing warnings about this for a while now, but what if an autocracy is exactly what Trump’s supporters want? A one-man rule, with him as dictator?

And what if that only alarms half of the population, or less?

If the recent debate between the California and Florida governors accomplished anything of value, it was to illustrate just how deep the divide between the world view of people in the blue and red states actually is.

That fissure has grown in intensity to the point where it resembles the North-South split 163 years ago on the eve of the Civil War.

Joe Biden came into office promising to try and heal the divide, but he has been utterly incapable of doing so. In fact, inside the echo chamber on the right, Biden is the one destroying democracy, though that is objectively and demonstrably not the case.

If our current system of governance is to prevail through next year’s elections, assuming Trump is the GOP nominee, it will be only because one tiny sliver of the population — moderates in six swing states — choose to vote Democratic over Republican.

In this case, it doesn’t really matter who the Democratic candidate is — none of them will dismantle the institutions that preserve our freedoms and rights like Trump promises to do.

I’d like to be hopeful about this but I sense a very dark cloud approaching that would stretch over the entire expanse of our nation. I hope I am wrong but what if I am right?

For historical context, see today’s first link.

HEADLINES:

 

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