What If?

I avoid getting too political in my blog but occasionally I find I have to make an exception. If my blog is to be a time capsule for me to look back on years from now, I have to keep it real and talk about what's been on my mind, especially now. I would never forgive myself for remaining silent in the face of the propagandists and christian fundamentalists working on behalf of the Republican party who have turned our nation on its head. 

I was imagining the other day: what if Biden appeared at a rally and began parroting Hitler? What if he stated to loud applause that shoplifters should be shot? What if he called for the execution of his former Joint Chiefs of Staff because he was irritated by him, unfairly labeling him a traitor? What if he spoke of a loyalty pledge whereby only people loyal to him would be considered for appointment to tens of thousands of government jobs? What if he talked of invoking the Insurrection Act as a way of tamping down any protests against his administration while turning his back on our Constitution? Or what if he just rambled on like a fucking idiot, not even sure about who he's running against? 

Would I ever support such an imbecilic, fascist of a man? Of course not, yet this is exactly the kind of crazed individual that Republicans by the tens of millions are prepared to support, overwhelmingly, for president in the upcoming election. It's worrying. For anyone considering supporting this authoritarian in the making: what the fuck are you thinking?

This, I contest, is what happens when propaganda is allowed to flow freely—propaganda fueled by billionaire oligarchs with a thirst for domination. What else can explain continued support for a man who clearly, before the eyes of the nation and the world, attempted a coup on our government on January 6th, 2021—watching gleefully for more than 3 hours while people were injured and killed in the struggle to save democracy because Trump couldn't accept the result of an election that he lost in a landslide (by his own definition), only telling his insurrectionists to go home and that he loved them when it became clear that the attempt had failed.

If you've been conned into believing in and supporting this man, you've been propagandized, and dare I say, possibly radicalized as well. If after all of the recounts and court decisions you're still in denial of the 2020 election outcome, you've fallen victim to propagandists. That's something to be embarrassed by and not something to dismiss. Please, be better.

In the same way that Trump's denigrating of John McCain as a war hero wasn't too much for his followers, neither, does it appear, is his use of quotes by Hitler when he states he will "get rid of the communist vermin" and immigrants who are "poisoning the blood of our country" and other similar remarks taken from the mouth of Hitler. Rachel Maddow had an interesting take on what he's doing. Roll the video. 

But then, Republicans flirting with Naziism isn't anything new of late. Recall the CPAC stage from 2021 where they used a Nazi emblem as the design for the stage. People have given their lives fighting fascism but now we have a major political party that is at the very least flirting with it.

The war in Gaza rages on with Netanyahu unable to contain his hatred of the Palestinian people. He says his intention is to go after the terrorist group Hamas but for anyone who has been following along and paying attention to the human rights abuses by the Israeli Defense Forces that have gone unchecked for decades against the Palestinians, the high number of dead innocent people in Gaza is no surprise. Biden is in a difficult place as he tries to be an ally to Israel while at the same time speaking out about the need to wage war within the confines of what is acceptable in war. So far, his pleas for humanity have gone unheeded. 

Please watch: WCNSF

I had a Christian Nationalist acquaintance on Facebook until recently. Every day, Jim would post biblical scripture on his Facebook page, usually New Testament stuff. A few days after Hamas attacked Israel, Jim posted something from Deuteronomy about vengeance. I waited a few days after his post had received many likes before I posted in the comments some scripture from Matthew 5 where Jesus is said to have implored us to embrace the radical idea of loving our enemies because anyone can love their friends. Jim saw my comment and proceeded to make a half dozen separate posts of animal videos in the next few minutes, effectively burying the scripture I had just posted. He buried the scripture he loves to hold up for others to see but not when it actually matters. 

And then he unfriended and blocked me. 

He's easily the most dedicated Christian I've ever known. I've never actually met Jim in person (he friended me years ago when a mutual friend passed away) but I had recently reached out to him more than once, inviting him to meet me for coffee. He always turned me down, saying he was too busy. I took that to mean he's not interested in having his views challenged or in hearing another perspective to his neat and tidy worldview. He's content in his make-believe world where Trump is a righteous, honest man and nothing I say will ever change that. 

This MAGA craziness is a cancer on our country and has to be taken seriously. Our democracy and the MAGA/fascist-supporting ideology are incompatible. 

That's all I've got.