Don’t Give Up

I know it looks bleak. But remember that the system was set up to reflect the will of the people. A minority government can only hold out so long, and every action taken by this one makes it more probable that the GOP dies in flames. Despite losing the popular vote by 3 million, they’re enacting a radical overhaul of government and imposing of a hard-right agenda. That indicates they themselves doubt their long-term viability. They are acting as if this is their last chance, and I believe it is.

The GOP has done what it could to rig the courts, the elections and the media, so dislodging it by the ballot box won’t be easy. Democrats will have to win overwhelmingly to overcome these GOP-engineered advantages — all of which act, and have been acting for some time, to suppress the will of the majority. They succeeded wildly, winning the presidency with a 3 million deficit in the popular vote and controlling the House through sophisticated gerrymandering, leaving American Democrats a suppressed majority. Think South Africa.

Most Americans have no experience with being a suppressed majority, because until now that only happened in banana republics. (Is it coincidence that in a few decades we’ll be able to grow bananas in what’s left of Florida?) You know what people in banana republics do? They take to the streets in mass demonstrations.

It’s important to do it in large numbers, because large numbers can’t be faked. (Trump knows this. It’s why he holds his rallies in the sticks, where there ain’t shit-else to do.) You can pay 100 people to demonstrate; it’s not feasible to pay 100,000.

It’s important to do it repeatedly, because a craven Congress that reacts only to fear must be made to fear the consequences of their votes. They stick with Trump because they’re afraid if he targets them they’ll lose their jobs. We must make them afraid of the same thing.

This country is facing its gravest crisis since the Civil War. Preserving a small-d democratic base for American government will, it appears, require a protracted fight, the kind in which setbacks are inevitable. There will be more days like today, when it feels as if the Trump apparatchiks are tightening the shackles and the thick walls of Festung America are muffling our cries.

Don’t succumb. Such pessimism relies on the illusion of popularity the fascists wrap themselves in. In reality, every court decision, every policy, every outrage they commit increases people’s distaste for them, and so can be used to increase the pressure against them.

Never forget that there are more of us than there are of them, 3 million more at the last election and certainly more today. When you take to the streets to demonstrate, you are reminded of that in the most immediate way.

You also find it hard to stay depressed about what the GOP is doing amid the energy of a protest march. So, especially if you’re worried about the country’s future, commit yourself to direct action. Saturday morning, 10 a.m. at Cool Spring would be a fine time to start.