By Butch Freedman
It’s time to stop pretending we can all get along. The divide has become too deep, and too mean. I’ve never been one to “turn the other cheek.” All that gets you is another punch in the mouth. Let’s face facts, the right under trump and maga, intend the rest of us nothing but harm and degradation. If you believe it’s fine to harass and arrest immigrants, to break down their doors and separate parents from their children; if you think it’s funny that the president posts a meme of the Obamas as apes, if you believe that ICE is a force for good and Alex Pretti and Renee Good were domestic terrorists, then, sorry, but you’re not welcome to step foot in my home. We have nothing more to discuss.
It’s painful to acknowledge that we have come this far that speaking to a former friend or current relative who still supports trump and his policies is no longer possible. But they’ve made their own beds. I won’t have anything to do with someone who believes in their heart that brown and black people, that any persons who are not proudly aryan, do not deserve to be “real Americans”—that we do not count. “The Jews will not replace us,” the white nationalists chant. Remind you of another time in history? Every day now the evidence grows stronger that the trump administration will do anything they can get away with to enforce their ugly beliefs. Kristi Noem, that awful dog-murdering woman in charge of Homeland Security (isn’t that a Third Reich name), brazenly stated that “We want only the right people to vote and for only the right candidates.” These right-wing tools now speak their mean truths out loud. Why hide? They believe they are invincible, that their racist bile is what most of the nation believes, and so they make it safe for all other angry bigots to come out into the sunlight. In my nightmares, Stephen Miller and Russel Vought are dancing together in their underwear and laughing at me. (Excuse me for putting that image in your head.)
The lines have been drawn. Trump was the architect — the hater-in-chief. Now, we all have to be clear about where we stand. I don’t think there’s a middle ground. Not anymore. There are those who like to say both parties are wrong, have out-lived their usefulness, and that we need some new form of government. And I understand and even share their frustrations. But now is not the time for that sort of equivocation. I’m talking to you —Libertarians, and you, Green Party. If you vote for candidates in 2026 other than the Democratic one, you might as well be voting for Maga. You will not only be wasting your vote, you’ll be voting against your own best interests. Think Ralph Nader, think Jill Stein. Well-meaning people who caused good and decent people to lose elections to climate deniers and war-mongers. Libertarians—sorry, you guys, but you are playing in the wrong ballpark.
The only answer now is resistance — in whatever form that presents itself, short of armed revolution. (Can’t go there—yet.) More mass protests are on the calendar. Though I have my doubts about the effectiveness of waving signs. Yes, it makes us feel better, and more connected to one another, allows us to see we are not alone in the fight. But do trump or his cabinet flunkies pay attention? Remember trump’s untruth-social video of him, with a king’s crown on, dropping shit on a parade of protestors. What I do think is effective, though, is the threat to republican congress people that they will not be re-elected if they continue to enable trump and his reckless policies and pronouncements. I think the message must be seeping in that their constituents are also tired of the corruption and meanness that can no longer be hidden. A trump endorsement now is more than likely a major strike against any candidate. His poll numbers prove that. There is light at the end of the tunnel (please excuse the clichés). We don’t live in Russia or North Korea. The pendulum will swing back; we will finally breathe freely again. I just hope I live long enough to enjoy it. Is that too much to ask?
EDITOR’S NOTE:
Here’s a video from Green Day’s “Know Your Enemy” – featured at this year’s Super Bowl …