LIVING IN THE BIG LIE

by Ruth A. Sheets

It is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the United States of America and the nation declares its reverence for Dr. King once more.  The irony is that only 12 days ago, white supremacists decided to attempt to take over our government on behalf of “White America.”  That, of course is completely antithetical to everything Dr. King stood for, but when a group of people is living a lie, it is hard to present any kind of reasonable argument they can hear. 

A book and article I read this weekend point out that people choose to live within lies.  The best part for them, they don’t even need to acknowledge that the lie has such an important role in their lives because the lie is so ubiquitous and often the origin is lost or has been misidentified.

The article I read is “Why Democrats Keep Losing Rural Counties Like Mine” by Bill Hogseth, December 1, 2020 in politico.com.  The Book is Red Summer, The Summer of 1919 and the Awakening of Black America by Cameron MCWhirter.  At first glance, it might seem these writings have nothing in common, but I suspect that with a little thought you can see that both are about one group and its incessant need for priority, even supremacy. 

In the politico article, rural Wisconsinites can’t seem to vote for Democrats any more because Democrats didn’t give them everything they felt and feel entitled to.  They jumped on the Trump train because his lies fed into their big lie.  Whatever has happened to them was caused by someone else, in particular the elites with the subtext, Blacks, immigrants, and others who just don’t understand them. 

The book presented the events of 1919 when white mobs all over America did their very best to inflict as much harm and fear as they could on Black citizens.  Why?  They believed Black people were just getting too uppity.  They were taking what white men were led to believe was their birthright.  Whites joined in killing-mobs because there is safety in numbers and one is less likely to be held accountable.  But really, the accountability they wanted was with their friends and neighbors who saw their brave stand against those awful people who are trying to usurp white power.  And, they knew they had the “law” with them. 

The difference between the rural whites of 1919 and those of the 21^st century is degree.  Now, white Americans don’t have to do harm to Black Americans in person, they just have to vote for and support a racist president and his entourage who would take care of those pesky folks who get every advantage while the rural white people  are in their rural county suffering.  The lie is still the same.  White people deserve the best of everything and Black Americans deserve only what is left over.

Few white people would actually say that out loud and most probably try hard not to think that, but it is buried deep in the white American psyche. 

It was no accident that I never learned about the white mob violence of 1919 and again the destruction of Tulsa’s Black community two years later.  We white students were expected to believe that Black people were often poor because of their own actions, laziness, and lack of motivation related to education.  We were fed the lie that the American civil war was about “states’ rights” and slavery was just a side issue.  Slavery was pretty good; slaves were fed and clothed for their work.

There are many who still believe the lie and continue to incorporate it in their actions.  We saw the result again on January 6, 2021.  The mobsters of that date were avowed white supremacists but if asked, they could not identify any ways they are actually superior to Black people or other persons of color.  They don’t have to defend their stand because they just know they’re superior.  They just know they deserve whatever they want.  If they say they won an election they clearly lost, they can righteously take over anyway. 

The rural voters of Wisconsin knew exactly what Donald Trump was, yet voted for him anyway.  It means they still maintain the lie and will likely pass it on to their children into the future.  It is comfortable to think/believe you are right and those others are wrong or irrelevant.  If you have a bunch of like-minded residents of the lie, you can do almost anything and be furious if someone wants to hold you accountable for it as the attackers of our Capitol may be.  The mob participants paid no price in 1919 for the hundreds of lynchings and murders they perpetrated. because the lie was far more pervasive then.  Even the governments supported their actions and officials often participated. 

Lies can feel good if they reenforce what we already think or want to believe about ourselves and our place in the world.  However, lies are destructive.  They keep us from seeing who we really are and what we can positively contribute to our communities, our nation, and humanity.  Lies let us hide behind walls that divide and don’t really protect. 

The big lies are also an attempt to shield us from being afraid, but they actually make people more afraid.  The lie can promote fear of us in others which could put us at risk in the future (or we think that’s what could happen). 

Dr. King and so many others have called out the lie.  He directed our attention to systemic racism which kept Black Americans from fair housing and good jobs.  He showed how war disproportionately impacts poor people and people of color.  That was clear in 1919 too, when Black soldiers were not accorded the same respect as white soldiers. 

Dr. King pointed out that the criminal justice system is inherently unjust for Black citizens, perhaps only a little better today than in 1919.

The citizens of the rural counties of Wisconsin know of Dr. King and probably invoke his name at this time of year (if they don’t actually resent him).  They have at least heard the “I Have A Dream” section of Dr. King’s most famous speech, but have they considered why Dr. King would have had to hold these ideas as a dream?  If they think it through they might see that it was a dream because it was so far from reality at the time King described it.  I can’t help but wonder what their dream is for their children.  Is it similar to Dr. King’s or the same as the dream of Mr. Trump and his supporters, power over rather than power to do good. 

There were white people who stood up for Black citizens back in 1919 but not enough.  There are more white citizens demanding rights for Black people today, but not enough.  Too many of us still live with or in the lie.  Maybe this Dr. King Day, we need to break out of the lie and live with the pain of the truth for a while.  We need to hear how we can act on behalf of those whom white America has stomped down for generations.  This could be the year when enough white people stand with Dr. King instead of just invoking his name.

IMPEACH AGAIN!

by Ruth A. Sheets

Last Wednesday’s presidentially incited raid on the United States Capitol is the culmination of more than five years of bad behavior on the part of Donald Trump, the man who currently occupies the White House.  Unfortunately, he cannot bear the blame on his own (OK, he doesn’t want to bear any of it).  A whole series of forces have combined to put us all in this crisis situation.  Donald Trump is the front man who has been the mouthpiece and ardent supporter of whatever he could get away with, and he got away with a lot.

When history writes the story of Donald Trump Time, it will be clear that he has been a disaster waiting to happen, from day 1 of his entrance onto the political scene. 

Trump has the social comprehension of a child.  That would not be so bad if he had permitted responsible adults to help guide him through.  Unfortunately, he has childishly decided that loyalty is the primary character requirement of those who surround him.  He is so scared that competent people will show him for what he is, a scared manipulatable child.  The loyal caretakers must believe in whatever Mr. President says and must be willing to lie with a straight face for him, to the bitter end.  Trump has not been disappointed by the sycophants who remain in his service.  Even after the attack by Trump supporters on our Capitol, putting Congress seriously at risk, they have continued to lie for him and defend his insane claims.

I can’t help but wonder what these sycophants are getting for this outrageous loyalty.  Perhaps, they just like basking in the power light.   Perhaps they actually believe in the destructive Trump policies. 

For years I have wondered if Trump’s team is maintaining a file on everyone in power in the Republican Party so he can hold it against them at just the right time.  Perhaps they know what he has on them and are scared enough of people finding out that they will do, say, or stand for whatever Trump’s team “hints” they should do.   

In any case, like bad parents protecting a spoiled incompetent child, Republican enablers have covered for him while putting words and actions in his mind that have worked to harm our democracy.  They are still doing it, lying, cheating, using voter suppression and gerrymandering, displaying xenophobia, racism and misogyny (overt and covert), and distorting our Constitution for their own aims.  Sadly, We the People never thought even this bigoted bully would be allowed to get away with so much. Trump’s crew has been carefully if ineptly crafting a set of conspiracy theories and straight-out lies to stir up a large group of suffering Americans to believe they are being put upon so much worse than anyone else.  No one has been treated so badly.  The “left” with its Socialism is coming to take their jobs and hurt them in so many other ways.  The truth is irrelevant because the desperate followers hear nothing but the Trump line (which, of course began before Trump was elected).  Those desperate followers have been fed the lies and calls for action against anyone who was not white for 5 straight years dished out by Fox News, the internet, and more broadly by the mass media who got sucked in by Trump’s showmanship and for years refused to call a lie a lie.

Now, it's sedition. Trump may have only a few days left in office, but there is a lot of damage he can still do.  He has already pardoned murderers and sycophants from earlier in his administration.  It has been reported that nearly all of his pardons have been for his loyal supporters, a prize for their loyalty.  He is seriously considering a pardon for himself and probably those who stormed the Capitol.  His destructive acts will continue after he is out of office, guaranteed because there are so many like-minded Americans tied to his success. 

One way to deal with this now is to impeach Trump, remove Trump from office, then make it impossible for him to run for any office in the future.  Then make it clear over and over on every medium that it is for the safety of this nation the actions are being taken. 

Trump has gathered into himself the worst qualities of every previous president with none of the positive qualities.  That should be a warning to all of us.  Don't support the populist candidate who has no experience and was only a "star" in a completely unrelated field.  Those people have not paid their dues in service and deep thinking about others, the people they will be serving.  It is ironic that Donald Trump claims to “love” those people who stormed the Capitol when, in reality, he cares nothing for them and their struggles, only for his ability to use them in his attempt to remain in power in a job he cannot do with any skill.  He likes his rallies and people cheering for him, but can’t seem to muster any real feeling for them.  He “loves” only how easily he can manipulate them with his words of hatred, distrust, and calls for destruction of our democracy to make him dictator. 

When impeachment is called for in the House of Representatives, we will see how deep the Trump loyalties go.  I suspect there are few Republicans who will have courage sufficient to stand up to do the right thing.  They are so out of practice these days they won’t be able to change course.  Or, maybe they will and will want to see a new day when they can care again about the people who elected them instead of the child man in the white house who treats them like his own private army of thugs who will do his bidding no matter what it costs them, if it costs them.

We the People, to, must stand up and demand more of our elected officials.  When one man, Mitch McConnell, one of Trump’s deep followers, can put his wants and needs before the needs of an entire nation, it’s time we demand that our representatives stop him.  We the People must expect our employees to do the work we elected them to do.  That is going to be hard, but as employers, that’s our job.  We have a new president in a few days and already have a new Congress.  It’s time We the People are renewed and take our job more seriously.  So, get a copy of the Constitution you can carry around with you, so you will know what We the People must do to keep this democracy alive and thriving for our children and grandchildren, into the future.