We’re already in the Crossroads of History
The people of the United States of America already stand or sit in the crossroads of history. If you are a citizen and registered to vote, vote. Do not skip it. Vote even if you do not live in one of the so-called battleground states. After all, you have state and local candidates and issues to chose from as well. Sometimes what you vote for in state and local elections will have a great effect on your daily life than who sits in the White House. Except this time. This election, the Election of 2024, has shaped up to be the most consequential election since 1860 back when the USA was descending into all-out civil war. One could argue, no, since 2020, except Donald Trump, who manipulated the Election of 2016 to usurp power, lost to Joe Biden. Now here we are in 2024 upon the eve of Election Day.
The existence of our constitutional democratic republic is at stake.
Yes, our country is messed up and has messed up, and, c’mon, it’s not North Korea, Russia, Congo, Sudan, or Venezuela. Our institutions need reform, not revolution. Our Constitution is long overdue for significant reforms, yes, but not replacement. Our national security state is out of control, too. Even so, what we have is still far better than not having it. What we have is far better than the despotic regimes our adversaries live underneath. And as the Roman Republic morphed into the Roman Empire, the Russian Republic into the Soviet Union, and the Weimar Republic into the Third Reich, each after civil wars, so, too, can the American Republic morph into a fascist dictatorship.
Make no mistake: Trump will attempt to do what he declared he plans to do: set up a dictatorship and do whatever he wants to do. Trump is not an intellectual Fascist fascist. Trump is more of a Mafia mob boss crime lord, a corrupt capitalist not because he supports capitalism but because he already profits from the existing system. His successors, however, are more astute, more ideologically-driven, and far more competent in executive management and rule than Trump ever was. Trump is a shrewd, clever campaigner and candidate than he ever was as a working politician or even as a businessman. He knows how to mold the crowds and manipulate the energy in the room like a black magician working sorcery. Narcissistic demagogues whether Far Right or Far Left are great at psychosocial exhortation. Donald Trump is a master demagogue. One votes for him, or for a third party candidate, or not at all not only at one’s own peril but for our entire nation’s peril.
We are already a de facto, unofficial empire. Trump and his successors will make it more official. And, ironically, while sounding the drumbeats of isolationism, a new imperial tyrant will expand the borders of empire. Reasons, silly reasons, may well be stated such as “to secure the border by securing our neighbors,” the need to “secure” rare earth minerals, or to secure our isolationism by expanding the borders further out from “the heartland.” Other countries will be absorbed into the new empire for “their own protection” and thus better enhance American “security.”
The United States, in the wake of both the Great Recession and the Covid Pandemic, in the wake of intermittent civil unrest since the Wisconsin Insurrection of 2011, in the wake of winding down and pulling back from the still ongoing Global Long War on Terror, and in the process of deglobalization, stands to rebound economically into another, long overdue gold age of prosperity. Kamal Harris and the Democrat Party’s economic plans may not be the best, but it’ll be far superior to the maelstrom of chaos Trump’s plans of zero taxes and massive tariffs would unleash. The United States does need to find ways for its allies to step up even more, but without abandoning them. America First is best when understood as Earth First (no pun intended), for we are a de facto global empire with a broad network of commercial, political, and military interests. We must find ways to challenge the emerging new Axis of adversarial nation-states yet without inducing them into a nuclear world war.
Within mere days of receiving our ballots in the mail, my wife, Faithlyn, and I voted. We voted on every issue before us on our ballots. Together we got into our car, drove to an established ballot drop box near our home, and dropped off our ballots. Later checked online to make certain our ballots were safely picked up and received. They were.
Yes, I cast my vote for Kamala Harris for President and for Tim Waltz as Vice-President. I’ve also donated small sums to the Harris-Waltz campaign. I remain an independent voter. In the past I have voted all across the political spectrum. I’ve voted for Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Socialists, Greens, and Independents. I consider a mix of policy, character, ethics, values, and history. On many issues such as environmental, healthcare, and social justice issues I’m liberal and progressive. On some issues such as maintaining a powerful military and intelligence system and in keep the budget balanced am conservative to the point of hawkishness. Contrarily, perhaps, I also stand we must find ways to build a more equitable, democratic socialist economy – but the math must also work. In both the 2020 and the 2024 elections I voted a straight down the ballot Democratic ticket for the first and second time in my life, and am now in my mid-60s. This is not an endorsement for Harris-Waltz as much as it is a declaration. I like Harris & Waltz even if I don’t agree with all of their policy proposals. We Americans, however, simply cannot allow Trump & Vance to subvert our democratic electoral process to legally turn our constitutional republic into a into an illegal regime, a dictatorship. Vote for your life! Vote for the lives of the next seven generations to come.
William Dudley Bass
Monday 4 November 2024
Shoreline/Seattle, Washington
USA
Earth
Copyright © 2024 by William Dudley Bass. All Rights Reserved by the Author & his Descendants until we Humans establish Wise Stewardship over and for our Earth and Solarian Commons. Thank you.