Death Penalty, Again?

by Ruth A. Sheets 

On Thursday, July 25, 2019, the Justice Department decided to reinstate the Federal death penalty. They laid out a timeline for killing the first five folks starting in December.  Attorney General Barr’s stated reason, he owes it to the families to carry out the death penalty.

How Is it we never seem to get the message that the death penalty is not a deterrent?  People have known this for a very long time, so why do Mr. Trump's cronies NEED to reinstate the Federal death penalty?  For the families?  Really?  

I suspect it is to give Mr. Trump and his allies a tool they think they will need to use as they consolidate their power, perhaps toward some type of dictatorship.  They will need to be able to kill the dissenters.  That is a scary scenario and very little that I have seen lately deters me from this feeling.  

This move to dictatorship was again made clear to me earlier this week when I heard pieces of Mr. Trump's speech to the group I now think of as today's "Hitler Youth,"  Those young people cheered at Mr. Trump's hate speech about a lot of anti-American topics, but mostly toward the 4 duly-elected congresswomen he has been focusing on.  No president should be speaking such hate about anyone, and Mr. Trump is doing it regularly with impunity.  If this does not scare you as an American, it should.  

Many Germans in the early 1930s didn't get what was going on either.  They loved the enthusiasm, the giant crowds all in sync.  They were OK with putting blame for their troubles on someone (not them, of course).  It made life a little more bearable. 

The over-the-top rhetoric cast a spell on just enough of the population that they could rise up in support of whatever the ruler, Hitler, wanted.  The nationalized media blasted out the words of the Leader.  Eventually, the rest of the population was overtaken by the hatred and fear.  By then, they felt helpless to do anything about it, so went along or tried to remain invisible.  Some resisted, but not enough.   

I can't help but wonder who the specific targets of the revived death penalty will be.  It is almost certain they will be predominantly people of color, disabled persons (with mental illness or addiction), or some other social reject.  Sound familiar?    

The truth is that more and more people in this country are turning against the death penalty while Mr. Trump’s cult is embracing it.  Getting revenge for “the families” is not a reason to keep it.  Neither is political power or pandering to a base that does not even begin to understand the complexities of the issues related to the death penalty, let alone the broader challenges facing the world today.  

It is hoped members of Congress, no matter the party, will support and vote to abolish the death penalty.  We just don't need capital punishment as it is not a deterrent and it is dangerous to have it, especially in the hands of people who will not be honest about why they want it.  Who will be targeted? 

Donald Trump wants to be a dictator.  That’s how he conducted his businesses and he likes that style.  That’s been clear since he rode down his golden escalator in 2015.  He erroneously believes he already knows and understands everything and has surrounded himself with massive corruption that insulates him from the impacts of his actions.  He can control who attends his “rallies.”  His helicopter speeches separate him from the press, and, he thinks, make him look strong and in control.  He lies nearly incessantly these days.  He can spew his vial words and insults to children who are already being brainwashed as to their own superiority.   

He is constructing a wall of power toward his dictatorship.  Let’s see which bricks are in his wall so far  

First, he has surrounded himself with extremely loyal people whom he controls through information he has over them, money that can primary them if they are seeking office again, and a set of shared beliefs that rich white men are the target of all kinds of P.C. actions against them.  

Second, the Senate is controlled by a man, Mitch McConnell, who wants to be the dictator’s right-hand, who disregards the Constitution when it suits him, who has kept important legislation from coming to the floor, just because Mr. Trump doesn’t like it.  The Senate, with its Republican majority,  also approves every inappropriate candidate that comes before them for every department and judgeship in the government, a possible goal, to destroy the norms that keep the government operating effectively.  He is also a shield for his wife (the Secretary of the Department of Transportation), Elaine Chao’s corruption.  Wow, that’s a big brick! 

Third, Mr. Trump right and left, delivers “Executive Orders” which have to be challenged in time-consuming actions in the courts.   Then, sometimes, the best they can do to stop the actions is to put a temporary stay, since the Supreme Court, with its 5-4 conservative majority tends to approve whatever Mr. Trump wants, whether the argument has merit or not.     

Fourth, Mr. Trump openly admires and talks up dictators around the world, telling us how much he loves them and wants to work with them.  Mr. Putin of Russia and Mr. Kim of North Korea come to mind immediately, but the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia is right up there too.  In addition, Mr. Trump is trying to employ the trappings of dictatorhood like military parades, pardoning war criminals he thinks he can use later, and using his “bully pulpit” disparaging anyone in the government or military who does not agree with him.

Fifth, He has lied about his opponents, used hate speech against them, even to the point of encouraging a set-up chant at a rally, “send her bck” directed toward a duly-elected congresswoman, the old “love it or leave it” BS.  That is while he is talking about how bad America is.  Hmmm!  

Sixth, the death penalty reinstatement on the Federal level is one more brick in the wall, Trump’s “real” wall, the one that makes him dictator.  The southern border wall he wants is just one way to keep out anyone who isn’t the right color and might stand against his dictatorship.  He has empowered ICE and the border patrol to do unspeakable things like set up concentration camps, isolate parents from children, conduct raids that tear families apart and deport parents, deny entrance or even due process to asylum-seekers and refugees.  He blames the poor countries of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador for all America’s problems while conveniently forgetting that Republican president, St. Ronnie Reagan caused a lot of those problems by supporting gangs of thugs in those countries who killed, just because, and completely ignored what the people wanted in favor of what the U.S. supported corporations wanted. 

The question now is, how high are we going to allow Mr. trump’s wall to rise?  Will we continue to dismiss Mr. Trump’s constant lies as “Oh, that’s just Donald Trump?”  How long will we continue to allow sitting members of congress and respected leaders in this country to be maligned for Mr. Trump’s pleasure and move toward power?  Will we continue to allow  a Department of Justice “policy” to determine that no president can be indicted while in office, a POLICY?  Will the death penalty restoration be the first step toward killing off the opposition, calling them/us criminals? 

It seems to me we Americans who still give a damn need to knock that wall down before the mortar dries and hardens, when it will be much harder and more people will be swept up in the brainwashing, and spread of disinformation and ignorance.  

OK American demolition squad, it’s time we go after that wall, the “real” wall.