By Geoff Carter
Artwork by Michael DiMilo
As future generations look back on this period in our history twenty or thirty years from now, I’m sure they’ll be scratching their heads and wondering what the hell happened. In four short years, we’ve gone from world leader to global laughingstock. We’ve watched over two hundred thousand Americans die because our leaders bungled the handling of the global pandemic, an ongoing crisis. We’ve seen the United States, once the worldwide symbol of liberty and sanctuary, illegally imprison thousands of refugees at our border. Respected journalists, doctors, and academics are routinely reviled and mocked. Our leaders lie to us as a matter of course.
At the core of all this is a narcissistic megalomaniac just shrewd enough to have manipulated his followers into believing he is the one true messiah, the once and future king. They absolutely worship him. He has worked the levers of power to perfection, placing a bootlicking lackey in charge of the Department of Justice and packing the Supreme Court full of fawning sycophants. He’s illegally assigned lawyers from the DOJ as his personal counsel and has assured his followers that the Supreme Court will back him up in any election dispute. But, worst of all, Trump has encouraged and legitimatized racism and hate in this country for the sole purpose of consolidating his power base. In doing so, he’s uncovered an ugly part of the American psyche.
During the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Trump refused to condemn white supremacists, saying that there were “good people on both sides”. During the second presidential debate, Trump refused to denounce the white supremacist group The Proud Boys, telling them instead to “stand back and stand by” during instances of civil unrest, a statement the group understood—and understand—to be standing orders.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, there are presently over 940 hate groups and 1,600 extremist groups currently active in the U.S, and—according to the Guardian—white nationalist groups have grown by 55% during the Trump era. The shooters at the Tree of Life – Or L’Simcha Congregation massacre in Pittsburg and the mass shooting at the El Paso WalMart had direct connections with hate groups.
Trump didn’t create the Proud Boys or QAnon. They’ve always been here, living among us, and—unfortunately—they won’t be going anywhere soon. Trump just coaxed them into the light. After the president leaves the White House, the hate groups will probably go underground, but the underlying venom they nurture will remain and fester. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg.
During last week’s 2020 presidential election, sadly, nearly every other person in this country voted for Trump. They know full well what he is, his history of supporting racists and white supremacists, but they voted for him anyway. I’m not sure what the attraction is. After all, we’ve seen him lie, cheat, steal, bully, and defile the office of the presidency over the past four years.
Who are the Trumpists? Some of them are family. Some are neighbors and co-workers. They’re angry, they’re disaffected, and they feel abandoned. So, what do we do with them? Do we forgive and forget what they’ve done to this country by backing Trump? Shun them? Lock ‘em up (figuratively)? Ignore them and hope they go away? They won’t, and neither will their anger. We’re stuck with them. I have a feeling they’re going to be part of the landscape.
Many are surprised at the number of these Trumpists. We ask ourselves what’s become of the country that defeated the Nazis, sent a man to the moon, and was—at one time—a beacon of freedom to the world. It wasn’t just Trump that happened. It’s sixty million others who chose to support his values by electing—and trying to re-elect—this sorry excuse for a human being. What’s happened to our sense of fairness, compassion, and common human decency?
The president cultivates divisiveness and racism. It’s his bread and butter, his legacy. Over sixty million voters endorsed him this week; that’s almost half the country. Unfortunately, even with Trump gone, Trumpism will remain with us: the racism, the anti-Semitism, the misogyny, and the delusions, the idea that a morally bankrupt leader is preferable to a man with a reputation for honesty and compassion.
Those of us who deliberately—or implicitly—support hate are complicit—co-conspirators. Ignoring a racial slur or turning away from hate speech is as bad as the act itself. Shrugging at the sight of armed militia members standing outside a state capitol is complicity. Voting for Trump is complicity. If history has taught us anything, it’s that inaction in the face of evil is itself evil.
We need to remind ourselves who we are and what we should have learned from our past mistakes. We need to reexamine our own history of oppression—slavery, the annihilation of Native American peoples, and the internment of Japanese citizens during World War II, and to understand that this is what happens when we nod and wink at evil.
We need to look at the good works of Malcolm X, Che Guevara, and Susan B. Anthony to help us recognize and respect the American qualities of integrity and courage once again. A recent survey showed only 33% of today’s Americans know about the Holocaust. How many more of them don’t know about The Trail of Tears or Nat Turner? Or Harriet Tubman?
Most of us are good people, but even good people can fool themselves into thinking that doing nothing in the face of evil is acceptable. As Santyana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Let’s not let that happen—again.