Little Monsters

by Geoffrey Carter

Artwork by Micheal DiMilo

One of my favorite Twilight Zone episodes, “It’s a Good Life”, tells the story of Anthony Fremont, a small boy with extraordinary psychic powers living in the town of Peaksville. Anthony can cause people, cars, and whole towns to disappear using only his mind. But because he is only a child, he hasn’t yet been able to develop the emotional empathy or restraint needed to control his abilities. As a result, the townspeople have to cater to the child’s every whim or face death—or worse. When Anthony gets mad, he wishes people “to the cornfield”, a euphemism for killing them, or “alters” others who displease him. He is a monster; he doesn’t know any better, but that makes no difference to the people of Peaksville. They still suffer and die because of his childish whims. 

Today, another emotionally stunted child wielding unlimited power rules the land. Like Anthony, he also rules through fear. Of course, he can’t cause people to disappear… or can he? Protestors on the streets of Portland, Oregon, have been grabbed by federal agents, thrown into vans, and held without explanation for days. This violation of basic civil rights has been ignored by the “adults” in Peaksville, the Republicans of the U.S. Senate. They cringe in fear of this orange-haired monster child, fearing for their fortunes and their careers. 

We have watched as Trump and his creature Attorney General Barr have commandeered the Justice Department. Trump has exacerbated racial tensions in this country, killed thousands of Americans through deliberate neglect during the coronavirus pandemic, and is still trying to bury the Affordable Care Act in the cornfield. And the motivation for all these despicable acts can be traced back to his childish need for self-gratification.

Those who do dare to criticize the man-child—the Democrats and the media—are subjected to his juvenile insults and bullying, which—thankfully—are not as deadly as Anthony’s. But their criticism has been completely ineffectual. The House Democrats impeached the President, but the Senate turned their backs, afraid to tell the little boy to behave. The Senate has not passed a second badly-needed coronavirus relief bill, nor have they attempted—in defiance of their fearless leader—to create a coherent national plan to combat the pandemic. They cower in fear before the orange-haired man-child. 

And now, because it looks as if his opponent might actually win this year’s presidential election, the bad boy in the White House has ordered the mail service to be hijacked so that absentee ballots cannot be mailed. This plan has been openly and blatantly proclaimed by the man-child Trump, who, with the arrogant truculence of a spoiled brat, said, “if we don’t make a deal, that means they don’t get the money… That means they can’t have universal mail-in voting” which sounds a lot like the schoolyard bully saying, “I’m taking your lunch money and there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it.”

Trump’s postmaster general has already begun the dismantling of the USPS; mail collection boxes in a number of cities have been locked up or taken away to warehouses. Giant mail sorting machines have been dismantled. The orange bully seems determined to send the post office to the cornfield for the simple reason that he doesn’t like what it’s doing; he’s mad at it. And, like little Anthony Fremont in the Twilight Zone teleplay, Trump has no empathy for the people he’s hurting, and no concept of the damage he’s causing. As a result of hobbling the USPS, citizens will not get their medicine on time. Social Security and VA checks will be delayed. Businesses depending on timely deliveries will suffer. 

Citizens wishing to stay how and be safe during the pandemic will have their voting rights—and possibly their lives—jeopardized. Our child president suggested that they mail in their ballots via FedEX. One of his Republican advisors (should he ever find the courage) might want to tell Trump that poll taxes are illegal. 

House Democrats have fought back bravely, but without the Republican-led Senate backing them up, they are powerless. The media has stalwartly and steadily been communicating the vagaries, criminal acts, and lies coming out of this administration from day one, so we know.  The people—at least the people who give a damn about democracy—know, but there’s nothing we can do about it. Hopefully, come November, the American people can assert their will at the ballot box, but since our democracy is slowly being dismantled before our very eyes, nothing—not even the most sacrosanct of American ideals—is safe. 

If there are any Republicans still out there who are strong enough, moral enough, or intelligent enough to stop this, we are imploring you to set aside party loyalty and affiliations in order to save your country. We know you’re out there and we know you’re scared and probably a little embarrassed and ashamed, but the longer you let Trump chip away at American institutions, rights, and freedoms, the harder it will be to stop him. And—like little Anthony Fremont of The Twilight Zone—he won’t know how to stop or where to stop. He’ll fill that cornfield before he’s done.