Resistance: The Time is Now
Many will do nothing as they watch this great nation, which so many have died to defend and protect, slowly come apart at the seams -- it's a direct result of apathy and ignorance in American culture
I'm always amazed at the apathy of my fellow human beings. Even many of us who tend toward the liberal side seem to have lost our way. During WWII, a popular resistance grew out of the actions and intentions of some very bad leaders. Those people who formed the resistance didn't particularly enjoy what they were doing in the movement, but they understood the brutal ramifications of not doing so.
Today, we find ourselves in a situation a that presents some strong parallels. American Democracy is giving way to authoritarianism and fascism. Much like what happened during the populist movements under Mussolini, Franco and Hitler, control of our future is at stake today. Authoritarianism and fascism, mixed with misdirection, obfuscation, outright lies, ignorance of the Constitution and the Rule of Law, throwing relationships with our allies into the wind while forging new relationships with our enemies, are all blended together and managed via a three-ring circus of wholly unqualified cabinet members. If it was some other nation, we would be laughing at all of this. But it's not. We are witnessing the methodical destruction of our uniquely American form of government.
As I’m writing this, president Trump has mobilized the California National Guard and active duty US Marines against the protestors in Los Angeles. A federal law, the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, generally bars the president from using federal troops — the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force or Space Force — to enforce domestic laws.
Prior to this escalation, there had been only a few outbreaks of violence, prior to the National Guard being deployed. The President can call up National Guard units under Title 10 of the U.S. Code if there is a rebellion or danger of rebellion, or if the President is unable to execute laws with regular forces. It’s was a HUGE reach for the administration to argue that either of those situations exist.
The protests in Los Angeles have been far smaller than past events that have brought the National Guard, including the Watts and Rodney King riots, and the 2020 protests against police violence, in which California governor Gavin Newsom requested the assistance of federal troops.
The last time the National Guard was activated without a governor’s permission was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to protect a civil rights march in Alabama. When he was asked if he planned to send U.S. troops to Los Angeles, Trump replied: “We’re gonna have troops everywhere.”
I wrote an article a while back about the fascist agenda and how they take power. In retrospect, that piece turned out to be truly prophetic. We see it playing out now, in real time. But the Trump admin is rapidly accelerating that process so the urgency to counteract those efforts has become increasingly penultimate.
President Trump, in an attempt to justify such an action, invokes the word “insurrection” — which is nothing more than an attempt at misdirection and aimed at taking the average American’s eye off what he is really up to. Almost in unison, the MAGA-adherent sheep bleet out “insurrection”, in response. And so it goes — none of them ever made an effort to study the real situation, understand what was really going on, look at the historical record to see how such events were dealt with in the past and, then and only then, take measured actions. It’s as if sending thousands to federalized troops to Los Angeles to quell a dozen or so outbreaks of violence was justified in their small minds. When asked why they acted with such indignance to criticism of the far-right Americans who attacked the Capital on January 6, 2021, they simply respond with “that’s different." It wasn’t — the difference was that, in 2021, it was right-wing conservatives, acting badly. But that is the fascist mentality. Then, when the troops arrived in LA, the number of instances of violence immediately increased, not decreased, as Americans increasingly spoke out with indignation about the president’s actions. It’s likely, that the protests will branch out soon to other cities and Americans react with similar indignance at what the Trump administration is doing. And at some point, we will reach the Trump rubicon, martial law. That is Trump’s likely end goal. That is when he will execute his power grab.
If we are to survive this continual onslaught against our Constitution and Rule of Law, we must all choose to play a role in the resistance. And that is what many of us on this (and other) platform(s) keep talking about. Resistance is necessary in the face of evil. Too many of our forebearers fought and died for what we seem to be, so apathetically, waiving goodby to. We cannot wait 3 more years and hope that the “other party” wins the election. Our unique form of American Democracy could well be gone by then.
We each have a duty to resist in any tangible way possible. We should resist peacefully and in accordance with the laws of the land. But we must fight back against tyranny. It's a good message. It's a laudable goal. It's something we can all take part in, regardless of our station in life or our age. What we cannot do is sit back and watch this great nation, for which our forefathers and many of our contemporaries willingly spilled their blood to defend and protect, slowly come apart at the seams. If that happens, it will largely be as a direct result of apathy and ignorance in American culture. Listen to what so many of the writers are saying here on this (and other) platform(s). Pick something you are passionate about. Set small, achievable goals, build routines that are oriented in the direction of some aspect of resistance and, above all, focus on your values! Together, all of our small efforts will have impact and real meaning. Be part of the machine that stops this insanity!