Donald Trump wants to be a dictator. He is a threat to our democracy. What does this mean?
What does it mean to live in a dictatorship?
In a dictatorship, we would lose a lot more than just our rights.
Perhaps you enjoy the romantic children’s movie The Princess Bride, at least if you’re of a certain generation. Well, we would never make another movie like that. Because the sort of nice, funny, romantic people who make that movie, would not be here anymore. They would either go somewhere else, or they would stay here, but they would not be nice, or funny, or romantic anymore. The hope would be gone from their eyes, because they would be living under a dictator, and there would be no point in being funny or romantic anymore.
How about the renowned sci-fi adventure The Matrix, or the entire Star Wars series? Such things will also be gone. Because the brilliant, creative people who make movies like that, will also see little to be brilliant and creative about while living under a dictator.
How about great technical innovations like the internet? No more will be achieved, at least not in America, because the geniuses who drive these innovations, such as J. C. R. Licklider, a psychologist and computer scientist whose visions drove much of early internet development, will prefer to offer their contributions in a place where all rewards do not simply flow to the dictator. Or they will remain in America, but keep their creativity to themselves, or at the most, sell it in narrow means to drive military technology. They will not provide world-changing inventions, because there will be no world worth changing, at least not where they live.
How about great American accomplishments like the Apollo program landing astronauts on the moon? They will end. The only great accomplishment will be to serve the dictator, and the dictator’s only interest will be in getting rich at the nation’s expense. There will be no need for the Moon, or Mars, or any use for the heavens except perhaps to host weaponry.
How about the roaring economy? It may still roar, for awhile, as the industry’s leaders realize that some of the regulations that previously posed a challenge to profit may now be gone. But the roaring growth will slow, and eventually stop, because people will realize that the money is going somewhere they can’t see. It is going to the dictator. And people will stop working hard, leading and innovating, and they will just clock in and clock out, doing what they have to do so they don’t get shot.
How is Russia’s economy these days? Last I checked, it was about the size of Italy’s. All that warfare doesn’t seem to be benefiting them that much.
There was a blog on here earlier that talked about how the Russian schools are now teaching their young children to be ready to die for their country. They are extinguishing hope and romance at an early age. Those children will not grow up to be inspirational rock stars like Taylor Swift, or movie stars like Jennifer Lawrence, or...anything. Or maybe one of them will, but they will be so incredibly lonely, or more likely, when they reach adulthood they will move to another country (if they can).
What about noble military accomplishments, like when our nation played a leading role in saving the world from a dictator in World War II? We will never claim such honor again, because we will not be saving the world from a dictator...we will be the dictator. Or rather, we will be serving him.
What about national security? Well, that was actually supported by our national wealth and the military capabilities that it funded, and as our economy fades under decades of dictatorial stagnation, so will our military strength. Again, look at Russia. They are aggressive, but a country with a quarter their population is giving them quite the hard time. Dictatorship is not serving their national security at all. They are just too short-sighted to realize it. I hope Americans will not be similarly short-sighted.
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I wrote this piece because I feel we need to start talking to the American people about what it means to live under a dictator. Some of my previous posts have spoken to this also, and here, I am trying a little bit of a different tack. I want to get these thoughts out there for others to build on, so that we as a country can have a real conversation about what is at stake in this election. Thank you for reading, and please add your thoughts in the comments. Happy 4th.