Taking the Trump Train to Treasonville

TOPSHOT – A supporter of US President Donald Trump wears a gas mask and holds a bust of him after he and hundreds of others stormed stormed the Capitol building on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. – Donald Trump’s supporters stormed a session of Congress held today, January 6, to certify Joe Biden’s election win, triggering unprecedented chaos and violence at the heart of American democracy and accusations the president was attempting a coup. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP) (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)

Anger is a form of fear manifest, and the riots and unrest of this era are a result of a pandemic and the fear of what has typically been the majority population of America; white, blue collar men. This is a generalization, of course, but this seems to be the core of the most vociferous group that’s jumped on the “Trump Train” and arrived on station armed to the teeth and ready to commit treason in the name of a narcissist, adulterer and serial liar who managed to get elected with the help of Vladimir Putin. 

This group, which flourished in the fossil fuel epoch, is doomed in the upcoming era. In the era of hyper advanced technology and a dismissal of the internal combustion engine, the American rough-and-tumble white male becomes emasculated. Additionally, the preponderance of black and brown faces which will inevitably become the minority-majority, fuels this fear and the natural response of a threatened animal (meaning homo sapiens albus) is to attack, and that’s exactly what they’ve done.  

Combine this visceral fear of obsolescence, a fall from power, and a nebulous fear of an invisible enemy and you get a situation where this group hypertension has to find an outlet. Fight or flight on a cultural level would  naturally be exhibited in resistance to something. The natural target of these fears would be those on the left, who are proponents of technology and diversity, the very things that threaten the group’s way of life. This is what the left fail to understand when they see what’s happening. They fail to see that it’s a response to impending loss of power and an existential threat to what the group holds dear. 

Can it be any surprise that these  esoteric fears are subconsciously transformed into anger towards a concrete and specific group and/or object? The “left”, e.g., democrats, progressives, immigrants, want to take away their livelihoods–which is derived through backbreaking labor and long hours and results in living paycheck-to-paycheck– through green energy and open borders . And in response to the unseen threat of the COVID-19 virus they respond by denying its very existence and lashing out at the physical manifestation of it, namely the masks. 

This fearful group is easily preyed upon by a lifetime grifter with a certain boorish charisma (which baffles me). Trump has ginned them up to a frothy tempest and they are wreaking havoc on this nation. The blame, while cannot be removed from everyone involved in this seditious population, must be mostly placed on those who have manipulated and profited from these fears. This includes Trump and his acolytes including, but not limited to, Ted Cruz, Matt Gaetz, Jim Jordan, Devin Nunes, Rudy Giuliani, etc. The full weight of the Justice Department should be applied and all those with criminal liability must be brought to justice in order for the nation to heal. 

The “everyman” who donned tactical gear, facepaint, or Trump merchandise and breached the doors of Congress are not to escape justice. However, their actions have a natural, fearful, explanation. It’s those at the top who are purported to be leaders and manipulate these fears for selfish ends that should have known better and deserve to be tried and convicted by lawful processes. 

Men Doing Nothing

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” – Edmund Burke

I have never been as furious as I am right now at the state of our nation. After watching Dr. Ford’s heart-rending testimony and Brett Kavanaugh’s stomach-turning testimony, the Republicans on the Senate Judiciary–and likely the full Senate–are ready to confirm the nomination. Today, after announcing his yes vote for Kavanaugh, Jeff Flake committed the most egregious act of cowardice I’ve ever seen and it is perfect in its representation of the Trumpian wing of the Republican party. The only word that comes to mind is “broken.”

The party of “family values” now embraces as its leader a serial philanderer and is a sycophantic and morally adrift amalgam scurrying to cover their collective ass on an ad hoc basis. I am a Democrat but my moral center was gifted to me by my grandfather who was a veteran of two wars and one police state, serving in the infantry, as a pilot, a contractor and an engineer. He was also a full-throated (R) and had a political crush on Maggie Thatcher. As I grew into a man and adopted my own views he respected them, and me. While our political outlooks may have differed, the core of what he was remains a lodestar to me and I strive daily to live up to the standards he applied to himself.

Primary to Lt. Col. LaBombard was responsibility. A man takes responsibility for his actions despite the consequences. Recently I made a pretty egregious error that cost our organization both monetarily and in terms of reputation. It was my fault because I let my diligence lapse and some outdated material got published. My instinct was to find a scapegoat and make excuses.

Except that I couldn’t, because my grandfather showed me that a man holds himself accountable, apologizes when necessary and details what he will do to fix the situation. Donald Trump, the “leader” of the nation, is the antithesis of responsibility. He takes responsibility for an economy that was painstakingly rebuilt over nearly a decade before he took office, and refers blame for anything negative to the nearest scapegoat.

Also inherent in my grandad’s moral center is standing up for those who can’t stand up for themselves. I vividly recall one evening when I was a boy, my gray-haired grandfather, squaring off with my drunken stepfather. He gave up four inches and 20-some-odd years, but he was hell-bound and determined to defend his daughter and grandson. Put this in stark contrast to the video above of Jeff Flake desperately punching at the “CLOSE DOOR” button in an attempt to avoid the questions of the women who are protesting his decision and pleading for him to listen. He cowers in the corner while two female staffers come to his rescue, offering nothing more than a mealy-mouthed “thank you.”

This equivocation and excuse making is contrary to our society and our attempts to grow as humans. The phrase “be a man” is antiquated to an extent, but the tenets are solid. Perhaps we should say, when confronted with egregious acts of cowardice or immorality, “be a human.”

So to Jeff Flake, and all the others who know in their hearts what they are doing is wrong, BE A GODDAMNED HUMAN.