Trump as Nero
Europe Must Defend Itself Against A Dangerous President
The headline above is from an editorial by Klaus Brinkbäumer, the editor-in-chief of Der Spiegel (Europe’s largest newsweekly, considered center to left politically). The entire column is worth reading — a brief portion was already diaried by Eryk — but I wanted to call it out again and highlight certain statements.
Germany must stand up in opposition to the 45th president of the United States and his government. That's difficult enough already for two reasons: Because it is from the Americans that we obtained our liberal democracy in the first place; and because it is unclear how the brute and choleric man on the other side will react to diplomatic pressure.
I find it incredibly sad and ironic that Germany is now looking to take the lead in opposing a proto-fascist in the White House, given how much the US and the Allies sacrificed in World War II to make it possible for Germany to build a democracy out of the ashes of fascism.
It is literally painful to write this sentence, but the president of the United States is a pathological liar. The president of the U.S. is a racist (it also hurts to write this). He is attempting a coup from the top; he wants to establish an illiberal democracy, or worse; he wants to undermine the balance of power. He fired an acting attorney general who held a differing opinion from his own and accused her of "betrayal." This is the vocabulary used by Nero, the emperor and destroyer of Rome. It is the way tyrants think.
Did anyone ever imagine that these words would be said about “our” president, not by far-left protesters in the street, but by the editor of the largest and well-respected European newsweekly? The world has changed so radically in the last 2 ½ months, it is almost hard to believe. Leaders are abandoning the niceties of diplomatic language (and diplomacy) because this man is systematically destroying the domestic and international social contract.
A Serious Threat
Donald Trump and his fire-starter Stephen Bannon discriminate against certain people by decree, but not against those from countries in which Trump does business. The contempt the president of the United States and his most important adviser have for science and education is so blatant that it's almost difficult to write. But their disdain for climate and environmental policies has to be stated, because four or eight years of it could become a serious threat.
We know this.
This is not a threat that will somehow resolve itself. The German economy has become the target of American trade policy and German democracy is ideologically antithetical to Trump's vision. But even here, in the middle of Germany, right-wing extremists are trying to give him a helping hand. It is high time that we stand up for what is important: democracy, freedom, the West and its alliances.
It seems to me the next world war is starting, one that I hope will not be fought militarily but through ideas and actions. Are our institutions and people strong enough to not only resist Trump and Trumpism, but to overcome it? I am very saddened to see how many Republicans have either jumped on board Trump’s train, or are holding their fire, waiting to see. Yes, we should keep pressuring our representatives, but we also need to start working now to remove them from office if they don’t disavow Trump. This might even require looking for moderate Republicans who will stand up for democracy to dislodge the ones who won’t in deep red states. Are there alliances we should be looking to make beyond Dkos (given that this site is about electing better Democrats)? What about organized vote swaps for 2018 across state lines? I am not well-versed in political action, but I will join with my local Indivisibles to see what I can do. But I think we need to reach out , somehow, to our fellow democrats in Germany and the rest of the world as well. Ideas?