| | | The Year of Fear
81 Don Surber
The good news is Americans are not paranoid.
Their fears are real. I guess that is the bad news as well.
If there were any lesson from 2020, it is that fear can get Americans to surrender their civil liberties.
Thus fear drives American politics in 2021 because it worked in 2020.
Conservatives have real fears. As Democrats take over Washington officially, they strike fear at lightning pace in the hearts of conservatives. Faye Higbee had a nice summary of the situation.
Higbee wrote, "We are rapidly moving toward a one-party government just like [Red] China. The Big Banks and numerous corporations have reportedly decided not to allow donations to pro-Trump politicians or PACs. Certain members of Congress are reportedly thinking about designating the MAGA movement as domestic terrorists. Reminder: when you give power-hungry people total control of your legislature, this is what you get. It’s 1984 on steroids."
I agree.
But lest we be downcast and depressed, let us understand that fear drives this reaction in overdrive. Democrats know they barely stole the election. The 75 million votes for President Donald John Trump were real. They know that, through ballot harvesting, they boosted turnout from 56% in 2016 to a mind-boggling 67% in 2020. No election in 100 years came close to that figure.
Democrats also know that the first midterm in 2022 likely returns control of the House to Republicans, who will serve as a speed bump. The Senate also should flip.
They act in haste out of fear. Cutting off funds and social media will stop traditional campaigning. And shutting down any and all anti-government rallies will avoid another Tea Party or MAGA uprising.
The over-the-top reaction to President Trump's 100,000-person strong rally on the mall seems to be opportunism. But it too is fear. Washington is used to liberal rallies and protests inside the Capitol. Police arrest Code Pinkers and remove them. They took over offices in 2018 to protest Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation as a justice. Capitol Police arrested 293 people.
This time was different because it was not Antifa or BLM thugs ransacking 100 stores. A half-billion in damage in Minneapolis? Walk it off. Insurance will cover.
This time citizens came inside the Capitol. Somebody sat in Nancy Pelosi's chair!
But it was also a serious matter. It got out of hand. Capitol Police drew guns and shot and killed protester Ashli Barrett. Five people died all in all.
This was panic.
Steven Hayward wrote of talking to a "senior career lawyer" who told him the deep state is rattled.
Hayward wrote, "Among other things, the fact that apparently some Capitol Police were friendly with the protestors who entered the building have federal bureaucrats wondering whether they can fully trust their own security personnel."
Like Hollywood, the DC area is 90% anti-Trump. Trump voters are outside the ken of most Washingtonians. That was shock No. 1.
Hayward wrote, "In other words, the capitol mob was a blow to their status, and Washingtonians believe the entire protest represents more than just anger at the election outcome: the disrespectful spirit of the day represents a real threat to their power going forward. This is one reason for the paranoia of Democrats at the moment, and they worry that more such protests are not only possible but likely. Part of the reason there is such fury on the left to run Trump out of office right away is that DC is genuinely afraid of him and his followers. Machiavelli might approve. Hence the calls to deploy national guard units in DC in large numbers for Inauguration next week."
As I said, it is not paranoia.
We the people no longer respect their authority.
Where does this lead us?
I doubt there will be a civil war. Live free or die? Don't be daft. Neither side has had much experience with death. In the 19th century, they killed livestock and game to eat. A high infant mortality rate also drove home the point that one never knows when a streetcar may hit them. We mock rednecks for their hold-my-beer attitude, but it deserves respect. They bring progress. They are guardians of the spirit of those magnificent men in their flying machines a century ago who made aviation possible. I suspect derring-do died with doubling of life expectancies worldwide in the 20th century. Instead of dying one death someday, we die a little each day in our fears.
The more likely outcome of this political dispute is the installation of a real authoritarian as our leader as we surrender our constitutional republic. The pandemic panic proves that Benjamin Franklin was quite right. You really are unworthy of freedom if you trade it for security.
We live in fear today, not freedom. But don't despair. We need someone to rally us behind our love of liberty. We will find him. Perhaps Trump's political career gets a valiant second chance. |
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