By Butch Freedman
Kakistocracy: A system where leaders lack the skill, ethics, or knowledge to govern well, leading to widespread failure and corruption.
It’s been nothing but ugly since trump and his co-conspirators took office. And it will certainly get worse if they are not stopped soon. We’re talking existential crisis here, and I don’t think that is an exaggeration. This is what happens when a certifiably psychotic individual somehow grabs the reins of power. We thought it couldn’t happen here. Checks and balances, we said; the constitution we said; the basic decency of the populace would not allow it we mistakenly assumed.
But quickly it became clear that under the madman as president none of those norms or expectations would be met, and instead we would suffer a daily barrage of corruption and cruelty, and most often plain old-fashioned insanity. Lake America? (Shame on you, Google, for bending to such blatant indecency.) Moronic slews of daily A.I. slop are posted by a sick and infantile mind. Here’s our supposed leader spewing endless lies and fabrications all the while surrounded by a cadre of enablers and power-hungry sycophants who keep the demented old wannabe wrapped in a bubble of denial. “Everybody loves you,” they tell him. “Your poll numbers are great,” they slobber. It’s worse than any of us could have imagined — a sickening stain on all who once were proud to call ourselves Americans, and are now ashamed of what this country has become. We’re embarrassed by how we treat our allies with disdain and economic punishment— all at the whim of a person who lives only for revenge and petty power trips. If trump was in any other position, he would already have been committed to a nursing facility, or, more likely, to prison. The rest of the world, including the Middle-East, sees him for what he is — a sad clown. But, unfortunately, because he commands the might of our armed forces and finances, they must still tread lightly. Though that barrier is breaking down; look only at Mark Carney, Canadian Prime minister. He’s made it clear he’s had enough, and will no longer play nice with the silly old man.
This reign of incompetence and terror is coming to an end. As it must if we are to salvage any part of our democratic way of life, If we hope to continue to have fair elections and have all people treated with consideration. It must end if we are to stop the outright savagery of ICE, and get out from under the idiocy and danger of ‘RFK very junior’ who wants all our children to contract measles and eat road kill. And we must put a stop to our testosterone-addled, warmonger Hegseth. The list goes on. Not a decent soul among them. Too harsh? I think not.
So how do we fight back? Or more specifically, how do we survive? Because if republicans maintain control of the congress, it’s game over. The ugliness will get much worse in trump’s remaining time—and possibly beyond. He’s already said he wants a “fourth” term. Yes, the fool still believes he won in 2020. The corruption will know no limits if the forces of evil remain in control.
We’re now less than 2 months away from the Nov.3 mid-term elections. The polls are looking good for Democrats, both in the house and the senate. But trump and his minions are throwing up every conceivable barrier to fair elections — damn the courts. They realize they can’t win unless they prevent people from voting. It’s frighteningly clear that the plan is to use every scare tactic they can as a barrier to voting. Expect ICE thugs and military personnel at the polling places, and incompetent justice department investigations into imagined voter frauds.
Still, I do believe we will prevail. The sheer weight of the madness is too much for any reasonable person, whatever their party or affiliation. Even the staunchest maga folks are disillusioned, hurting in their pocketbooks and aware that they’ve been duped. We are all hurting and saddened and in desperate need of a change that only we the people can deliver. Imagine a better world. Imagine a return to kindness and welcoming of the stranger. Maybe imagine even a country where we care about affordable health care and the environment and where our neighbors to the north and south are once again our friends. It’s only possible if we get out the vote — at least as a first step in reclaiming our pride and our decency.
***Democracy Forward democracyforward.org Democracy Forward is a coalition of 280+ organizations representing millions of people, committed to disrupting any efforts by the Trump-Vance administration to attack our rights, our freedoms, and our democracy through strategic legal action in courtrooms and communities across the country. Tax deductible non-profit.
