When did we stop expecting sanity and common decency from our candidates, elected officials, and each other? I’m appalled at the things elected officials say in congressional hearings, particularly MAGA Republicans. Some in the media will try to claim that it’s a both sides issue. But I’d argue that they either haven’t been watching the hearings or they are more interested in retaining viewers than acknowledging reality.
Since Republican leaders decided that gaining political power was their top priority, they threw their support behind a loudmouth bully whom they knew was the epitome of everything they once claimed to distain. The insults, the constant lying, the conspiracy theories, the history of fraud, the immorality and even the criminal behavior was not enough to make the majority of them condemn nor reject him. They sold their soul to Trump for the promise of power. So, Trump became the standard bearer for public behavior among MAGA.
And it’s ugly. It’s not just the cult-like worship of Trump or the wrapping of themselves in the American flag, but their entire mean-spirited demeanor. As Trump continues making speeches filled with insults, lies, false promises and threats of violence, his followers emulate him on social media while the news outlets platform him with minimal fact checking as though he is a sane and decent candidate.
I get it, corporate media are in business for the views that bring in revenue. However, beyond that they realize the necessity of protecting their correspondents from violent threats since Trump attacks both outlets and individual journalists whenever he doesn’t like a question or his coverage. But this isn’t normal, and it certainly isn’t the kind of news environment that is healthy for our country. Our information channels are poisoned by a profit motive and cowardice.
Trump is a singular figure who has damaged the sanity and decency of a large segment of the population. The racism, misogyny, and the vitriol towards everyone who isn’t MAGA is not only divisive, but it is destructive to the nation. Families and friendships are being ripped apart along political lines. Sane and decent Republicans have fled the Party and become independents. But other, non-MAGA Republican leaders, remain attached to a movement they may privately loathe, hoping that MAGA is their ticket to continued political power.
The reality is that a nation of people cannot make good decisions for the future when information is corrupted with unchecked lies and tainted by conspiracies. Citizens who cannot trust the news media to deliver accurate information will fall prey to a con man who tells them what they want to hear. And right now, MAGA wants to hear that Trump will return this nation to a time when white Christian men were superior and privileged, where gays and transgender were closeted, where women were second class citizens who had babies and took care of the home, and where people of color knew their place (subservient to them). They prefer to hide history and our human differences in favor of a more comfortable narrative, no matter how inaccurate. They somehow believe a sweet American mythology is an effective route to a unified patriotism. And even more dangerous, they choose to ignore scientific warnings about global warming, pandemics, and environmental issues in favor of familiar comforts and old behaviors. All the while they are fed a steady diet of fear that migrants are invading the country from terrorists’ groups, prisons and insane asylums and that they are lying in wait to murder them in their beds.
Trump, a seasoned con man, has successfully weaponized their fears and offers a false hope of protection and assurances that they won’t need to change because he will magically, if not forcefully, restore their comfort in the world. He promises to deport migrants who he has convinced his followers are crazy criminals out to kill them and to steal “black jobs”. And since Project 2025 has been revealed and has become unpopular, he claims to know nothing about it. The reality is that it was tailored to his next presidency by people in his previous administration along with the Hertiage Foundation. He is lying when he tries to distance himself from it.
Project 2025 is the blueprint for a nation where the basic rights and the social safety net are pulled from beneath the most vulnerable among us. It is a recipe for disaster for anyone who is not wealthy, healthy, male, Christian, and highly ambitious. It is survival of the fittest with an unrealistic belief that the people negatively affected will not rebel. Human history has shown us that revolution is inevitable when people are oppressed and without hope. In other words, the comfort Trump offers MAGA is nothing but an illusion. His motive is to stay out of prison, be adored by his followers, and to line his pockets from the presidency once again by charging us millions for his golf trips and hosting foreign leaders at his hotels. This time the Supreme Court has made it possible for him to take bribes with impunity. And he most certainly will. Only money and adoration feed his insatiable ego.
I’m thankful that President Biden stepped aside just in time to allow Kamala Harris to become the new democratic nominee. She has energized the Party and sane Americans with a forward-looking message of guaranteed freedoms, prosperity, the rule of law, and an appreciation for the strength found in our diversity. I love her mantra, “We’re not going back!” If anyone can bring this nation back to sanity and decency, it is definitely the leadership of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. They likely are not perfect people (no one is), but the difference in their character, demeanor, and vision for the future is already evident to the reasonable among us.
So, we must do our part to bring sanity and decency back to the nation. Our duty begins with voting this November. We must support the candidacy of Democrats across the ballot, then make sure we are registered to vote, and then vote blue across the ballot as early as possible. Be aware that MAGA will do everything to suppress the vote and to steal the election, but we must not be deterred from nor denied a fair election outcome. As I said in my last blog post, we must win in overwhelming numbers to silence the election deniers. The sanity and decency of our nation depends on each of us.