By Butch Freedman
Existential: concerned with existence, especially human existence
This upcoming election, I believe, is truly that high-stakes. The madman in the White House must be stopped. And though he is not on the ballot, those who support his horrific agenda are. I think we’re all aware by now of the damage he and his cohorts have done to this country — the blatant corruption, the war mongering, the alienation of our allies, the brutality of ICE, the endless lies, the vanity projects paid for with our tax money, the flailing economy. And the clear intention the addled man-child has to interfere in any and all ways possible with the election — now only a month away. He doesn’t even bother to hide his ill intent — telling his loyalists to “get out and cheat” then offering bribe money if the republicans stay in power. If anybody believes those bribes will be paid they have not been paying attention these last ten years of this malignant narcissist’s reign. (Narcissism is characterized by a grandiose sense of self-importance, a lack of empathy for others, a need for excessive admiration, and the belief that one is unique and deserving of special treatment.)
It’s likely that however the mid-term elections play out, we will still have to suffer the fool for two more years. But that suffering can be seriously abated by reclaiming the House and the Senate. The polls look good, and even some of the most ardent trump supporters can no longer abide what he has done and continues to do to the country. So, I’m hopeful, but nervous. All the facets of government have been mostly or fully corrupted by this criminal administration. And none more so than the justice department, a department no longer worthy of that name. They don’t even pretend now to be anything more than hit men (and women) to wage war on trump’s perceived enemies. The FBI is no better. And the department of defense under Hegseth is a loose cannon. None of these officials have any sense of courage or willingness to follow the constitution and will cooperate with the attacks on the elections. There must be a check put on them. And again, the best hope right now, at least as a temporary fix, is to overwhelmingly take back the House and the Senate. The turn-out must be massive. The bigger the margin, the less the possible disputation.
And let’s not forget about the elections on the local level. In many cases, the same scenarios play out — the trump allied republican candidate running against a more enlightened and liberal opponent. Even though, some of the R’s are attempting to avoid the stain of the president, not mentioning him in their pitches, and not seeking his endorsement (You’ve got to wonder why), their policies are still aligned with his un-democratic assaults. Almost all support his self-serving wars, his cruel immigration enforcement, and turn their heads to avoid seeing, or ever commenting on the corruption.
The time has come to try to save the country and the planet. And that’s not hyperbole. This is existential — an unopposed trump is capable of almost any horror that can be imagined. Just listen to his speeches, if you can stomach it, he makes no apologies for his war on intelligence and on those he considers to be lesser than him and his white nationalist supporters. But the trump support group grows smaller every day. I feel the yearning to return to sanity and respect for others. And the first step is ahead of us right now.
So, please, please, VOTE. Then we can all take a deep breath and move on.
