DEMOCRACY OR DICTATORSHIP
Not Just a Slogan on a T-Shirt
I never respond to a Facebook ad no matter how enticing the offer. It’s simply a matter of protecting my finances and computer from hacks and scams. But I was tempted this week to take that chance when I saw a colorful T-shirt offered that said, “Democracy or Dictatorship – It’s That Simple”. That is a message that needs to be seen by every voter in this country before the November election.
Too many polls and too many commentators are treating the next election as if it’s a popularity contest between two unpopular candidates or just another choice between two traditional parties that won’t really make any difference in our daily lives, and that we can always change the next time around. And too many voters believe that. Those of us who have been paying attention know better. It is time to start speaking up. Loudly. If the Republicans succeed in either stealing this election or convincing enough voters that Joe Biden is the enemy of their freedom, there will not be another chance to change the outcome.
There is little any of us can do to reach the voters who are not paying attention, unless they are friends or family. Instead, we need to go after their sources of information. These are not hard-core MAGAs who follow Alex Jones’ InfoWars or other radical web sources; they are more likely to be Fox News and social media viewers. Those are the sources that we need to focus on, monitoring them and rebutting disinformation. It won’t take millions of texts or calls every day to get through to the news sources. I don’t know what the tipping point is to get their attention, but I would guess it’s only a few thousand.
Can one voter taking positive action make a difference? Absolutely! Remember, an avalanche is nothing more than a whole lot of snowflakes acting together. We need to flood the internet, the press, and the television news sources with feedback whenever they post Republican talking points, propaganda, or lies. We need to call out their false equivalencies, their “whataboutism” and insistence on being “fair and balanced”. The Republicans are playing dirty; we need to play clean. Most of all we need to overwhelm their “alternate facts” with honest truths.
How do we do that? With texts, comments, emojis, posts, and letters. A lot of them. Don’t let any anti-American or anti-democracy article, post, or comment slip by. Make it a “whack-a-mole” game. If a MAGA friend or family member tries to argue with you, just laugh and walk away. Nothing you can say will change their beliefs, but they will get the message. And if you are not comfortable doing any of those things, at least pledge a monthly donation to the Democratic Party. They have the ability to flood Fox News with ads stating the facts and documenting what the Biden administration has done that directly benefits working people.
The threat to our economy, our way of life, and our basic freedoms is no less crucial if Trump is not the Republican nominee for president or is prevented by the courts from running. The plan to overturn our democratic government is solidly implanted throughout the Republican party at all levels. The Heritage Foundation has taken down the link to its Project 2025 report from its website, but you can still find it online. This detailed plan to dismantle our federal government and replace it with a neo-Christian theocracy is widely supported within the Republican party leadership and its major supporters.
There is not a single policy within that report that is supported by more than 40 percent of the country’s voters, and many have 20 percent or even less support. The aim of The Heritage Foundation and its supporters is to control the behavior of individuals and create a government that empowers a small number of very wealthy oligarchs who will plunder the government and our natural resources. This is the system that Trump has so openly admired in Russia, China, Hungary, and North Korea. We cannot let that happen here. So, whether you buy the T-shirt or not, please take any action you can to defeat the Republican agenda and drive them out of office at all levels. Our future well-being depends on it.