It’s 2021, and America Has Entered The Danger Zone

By Deb Equality Della Piana on June 9, 2021 • ( 0 )

I have long admitted that we, as a group, were remiss in understanding just how dangerous Donald Trump was and in denial about the damage he could inflict on our nation. It is abundantly clear to us right now just where he has moved this nation. It is also abundantly clear to us that, while we have come to understand the reality of the mess we are in, many others have not yet picked up on that.

In just four short years, we have become an uglier nation than I ever thought was possible. The COVID-19 crisis has revealed a good deal about us as a nation, and what we have seen has moved #BecomeUngovernable away from the notion that we are ready for Direct Democracy. Many (notice I do not say all) Americans simply have no idea what the “greater good” means. They have no idea what a community approach is. They do not care about anyone else’s rights as long as theirs are taken care of. This is not a good formula for Direct Democracy. No matter what anyone else tells you, the one thing that must be present is the ablity to care for one another. Without that, we will end up with millions of self-serving politicians disguised as citizen leaders.

Unfortunately, what we are left to work with is the rubble of the Trump administration. It was bad before COVID-19 made it’s appearance, but then the administration turned up the dial and grossly mishandled the COVID-19 crisis for political purposes. The Trump administration downplayed the seriousness of the virus, aided in the spread of medical misinformation, and stifled scientific truth that should have reached the public. The administration also embraced COVID deniers, those who would claim that their “medical freedom” was being taken away, and failed to counter the right-wing vaccine paranoia that somehow got hold of the nation. In fact, several anti-vax groups were actually given PPP bail-outs during the COVID crisis. In essence, they were given money by the Trump administration to continue spreading their lies about vaccines and vaccine safety.

We believe in questioning authority for certain, but this country has gone from questioning nothing to believing in a vast conspiracy around every corner. Some people I know who do not believe in god, somehow believe in a mythical creature named QAnon whose predictions have failed to come to fruition on nearly every level. It was like living in the Twilight Zone for four years. Yet, despite the fact that the series was cancelled (Yes, Trump did lose no matter what he and his true believers tell you), he could not let go. Trump’s continual mind-numbing assertion that he was really the president and his second term was stolen by Joe Biden and the Democrats led to the January 6th insurrection which amounted to an attempted overthrow of the government. No matter how the remains of the GOP try to spin this event, the videos do not lie.

Yet the GOP cannot let go of the toxic leadership of Donald J. Trump. They failed to impeach him for his part in the insurrection, have punished those who crossed party lines to do the right thing, and continue to bow down to his minions in Congress. They have left him in charge of the party and left the door open for him to run again somewhere down the road.

In spite of the fact that Trump is the ex-president, his policies of oppression move forward on a state-by-state basis. A record number of anti-LGBT laws have been passed so far in 2021 as detailed here. Transgender Americans have become the new target of the far right. If that isn’t enough, with a 6-3 super majority, the Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade come October.

These and other topics involving the far right in America will become our focus now. We are in the danger zone on many fronts here, and Americans remain silent in spite of all of this. Contnuing to argue about masks, focusing on the Gates divorce, and obsessing about the Fauci emails is not what we need here. We need to stand up for each other and take action against the systematic destruction of human rights. We do not live in a democracy until we all have the same rights.

In the next entry, we will focus in on one issue and expand on it. Thanks for visiting the blog and, please, invite others to do so as well.