I am not a liberal or a conservative. I guess that I stand somewhere in the middle. I am for common sense, the rule-of-law, and treating people with compassion. I am writing this, because I am very, very, very afraid of being ruled by an authoritarian president that has no regard for the rule-of-law. I believe that we are in danger of losing freedoms that so many of us sometimes take for granted. I recognize that at first, the loss of freedom will happen only just a little bit at a time. Most people will have little if any concern, because initially, it likely won't have any direct impact on their life. Further, I know there are some folks that think that living under a dictator or a tyrant is actually O.K., as long as he is a member of their tribe (similar beliefs, ideology). They believe that the rule of law doesn't apply to their leaders, because they hold their leader above the law. And many just don't care if the government is incarcerating people (or worse) for political reasons, as long as it doesn't negatively and directly impact them. There are also a lot of people that really don't care to vote and are just as happy with having a few bucks in their pockets to buy cheap spirits (yeah, like in Russia). They really don't care how their government operates. And finally, those that do care likely won't know about most of the upheaval that takes place, because the government will control the news and the narrative. Since the government is above the law, there is little recourse anyway. So this is why I often lay awake at night thinking about what kind of danger the future holds. I often wake-up with those very same worries. Day and night, my stress level is extremely high. I know that it is having a big negative impact on my health, and I need to find ways to relieve it. Writing this is one of the ways that I hope to get some relief.
Regardless of your opinion of Donald Trump, it is a fact that he has expressed an admiration for authoritarian autocratic leaders throughout the world. He has demonstrated through his actions and has even said (in so many words) that he wants absolute power. It is no secret that he wants total loyalty and total control within his government. He has said that the free press is; "the enemy of the people". He has tried to take executive actions that he knew were unconstitutional, but he didn't care. He has expressed extreme displeasure with portions of our constitution when they have restrained his actions. In many instances he has said that he would do away with those constraints if he could. He says they are wrong, because they constrain him. As he has said, "he alone, can fix it". One of the checks that we have on him, the legislative branch, is completely controlled by his party (tribe). Unfortunately, he has cut a deal with them to eliminate their check on his power so long as they get some of the things that they want, and he helps them get re-elected. He doesn't care, because he doesn't care about anything other than himself. So both the President and the Republican Party have proven to put their interests above the interests of the country. That scares me.
I remember being taught in school back in the early 60's that we should be concerned with a government that does not tell the truth to its people. It was chilling to learn that the communists (USSR, China, etc.) used propaganda to control their people. Although it was a scary thought, everybody knew at that time that we had no reason to be concerned. We intuitively knew that in our democracy, it just could not happen to us. My grandfather fought in WWI, and my Dad in WWII. I always believed that they fought to preserve the freedoms that our great democracy offered. They were willing to give their lives. They were proud. I was so proud. While I knew that there were some bad people in the world, almost all American politicians were real patriots and always stood in protection of our democracy. I believed that was the only way that they could get elected. Back then, party didn't matter to me, because I was just proud to be an American. Growing-up, there were certainly political tensions in our country with race riots and the Vietnam War raging in the mid to late 60's. So there were some very big political concerns. Aside from the worry about the possibility of getting drafted and being sent to Vietnam, there was never any doubt or even the slightest concern that our democracy would ever be in any real danger. Even with the political mess brought-on by Richard Nixon, we always had a strong sense of confidence that our democracy would stand. Why? We all knew, we all had an inherent belief that it didn't matter what party was in power, the vast majority of our elected officials would always put our country and our democracy before anything else. And they did!
Now, now it is different. Despite all of the upheaval that has resulted since the election of Donald Trump; the violation of norms, pathological lying, misogyny, racist statements and policies, undermining the Justice Department, delegitimizing the media, etc., the Republican Party stands in support of it all. That is what makes it different this time. The Republican Party has not only enabled this President, they are spending significant sums of money and going to great lengths to defend him. Most recently, they put up a website to discredit James Comey and the Justice Department in an attempt to defend him from a seemingly obvious upcoming obstruction of justice charge.
I want to think that we will get some relief in the mid-term elections. I think that most Democrats do. So now my biggest fear is that Trump's Russian friends will find a way to penetrate the voter rolls and/or the election results and delegitimize the election. It only needs to happen in a couple of small precincts to cast doubt on the legitimacy of our whole election system. I have to believe that the Republican Party would be thrilled with that outcome. They would retain their power and they may even take the opportunity to consolidate it. Given the history of the hacking of high profile important websites, there is no doubt that this scenario is entirely possible.
I continue to worry. Do you see what I mean?