What Can We Do?

 

These last few days I have been repeatedly asked, “what the hell is going on? How did we fall so far? Has there ever been a worse time?”

I have answered, “yes, even in my lifetime a great many times have been worse times. There has been more, bigger, and arguably even badder warfare. There has been more vicious and ravenous racism. There has been more rapacious and salacious sexism and homophobia. There has been more intense poverty and more violent repression. There has even been more unchallenged lying.” Really, think it through. The above is true.

But then “what causes this time to feel like the worst time?” It isn’t what’s occurring today. It’s what’s straining to happen tomorrow. It is Trump and Trumpism. It is fascism’s anger poised to slide into the White House saddle. It is fascism’s bloody lance pointed at you and I. It is us—about to be ridden. Too U.S. centric? Fair enough. Fill in the name of your own local thug to broaden its meaning.

For all the mind bogglingly arrogant and endless lies we hear from Trump (or whoever), ironic as it undeniably is, Trumpism is now singing its real aims steadily more loudly. Trumpists are telling it like they want it. Indeed, they are now truth-telling their real aims so loudly we have to refuse to hear them to not hear them. They have warned us. They want the country and they want it now.

Must I repeat for you what that would mean? Not for anyone reading this, I bet. Because you have heard, haven’t you? You know, don’t you? And if by some chance you don’t know, countless easily available articles and videos will fill in any blanks.

Regulations gone. Critical media gone. Tax the poor. Enrich the rich. Gut education. Regiment the un-regimented. Drill baby drill. Enemies lists, that’s for sure. Trump says “salute me. My way or the highway.” Trump will say, “troopers, ready, set, shoot—right down that highway.”

I know I sound over dramatic. I know I sound apocalyptic. I know I don’t sound as cute as the mainstream media pundits who chuckle that, “hey hey, Trump wants to be King. But he is so stupid. He is so Funny. Laugh him away.” Well, sad to say, my version isn’t apocalyptic. It doesn’t joke about Kings who wear silly crowns. It warns about Fascists who goose-step over graves.

So, what can we do? How should you or I or anyone even think about what to do? It depends on our circumstances and means. We know Trump must lose. We also know, though many won’t admit it for fear of appearing too strident or even delusional, that we need a new world with fundamentally reconstructed economy, polity, kinship, culture and ecology. We know we need that as fast as we can win it so that a truly fundamentally better world isn’t severely pushed off into a “who knows when” future over the corpses of countless more people bombed and shot, the emaciation of countless more people starved, the moans of countless more people sickened, the shivers of countless more people de-homed, the gasps of countless more people drowned, and the tears of countless more people bent and crammed into being less than who they could be. We know Trump must lose. And we also know, or we should also know, that most who vote for Trump must be heard and conversed with and welcomed into accord with seeking the truly liberating changes we all need.

Consider even just some of the countless folks who might ask the question, “what can I do?” What would you answer, if they were strange enough to ask you?

Donald Trump? Well Donald, you aren’t going to ask, of course, but I will answer anyhow. Given who you are, for me to suggest that you stop lying, stop provoking, stop doing steadily worse and at least try to do better for anyone beyond yourself would be like asking a tree to fly. The only thing I can think of that you could actually do and that you might actually conceivably do—is die. And so, indeed, I hope that you will die soon. And, borrowing from Bobby, I hope I am around so I can dance on your grave at least long enough to be sure you are dead.

Joe Biden? Are you asking? What a fanciful thought. That you might listen to doubters. How about that? Well, Joe, compared to most and perhaps even to all Presidents in my long lifetime, and despite that I know many wonderful people who wouldn’t like me to admit it, I have to acknowledge that domestically you are not unduly bad—though of course those other presidents set a ridiculously low bar for you to clear. Internationally, however, to aid, abet, finance, and cheerlead genocidal massacre puts you at best on a par with your many morbidly horrible predecessor Presidents. Truth be told, you remind me of LBJ. But, the real question is can you beat Trump (so we can then bash you)? If you can’t beat Trump, what can you do? Well, you can leave the field. But hold on. Today you are still President, aren’t you? You have read what the Supremes have just done? So what can you do? How about to fulfill your mandate to protect and defend most of the American people, and also most of the world’s people, you send in the Marines to arrest Trump and put him somewhere with no exit and no internet. And while you are doing that, perhaps you might also expand the Supreme Court to twenty, with the additions all being graduates of progressive social movements. And give it term limits. But by the by, against whatever good sense I may still have, I have to ask, how could you look like death on a soda cracker and sound equally dreadful for your debate, yet look and sound awake the week before while you practiced, and then look and sound better yet the next day while you gave a campaign speech? Was there a little dab of something soporific stuffed into you for debate night? At least to my eyes, whatever the explanation is, you didn’t just have a bad night.

Trump’s aides? It’s hard to imagine hearing from any of you but while I assume most of you so revere Trump and, more likely, so expect or at least hope to be anointed into greater stature and influence during a second Trump term, that there is no chance you will do anything but bless his every ugly utterance and act. But I also bet there are at least a few of you who have spouses and/or children or parents who are by now vocally or perhaps only silently but in any case visibly horrified at your allegiance to Trump—or perhaps one of you yourself is seriously nauseated by what your boss is doing and what you see in your bathroom mirror. So, if you were to surreptitiously ask, what can you do, I would answer, you can give your kids and the world a break. You can reject what has made you cringe. Trump can’t hit you with lightening. And, even if he could…still…

Biden’s aides? Happy albeit surprised to hear you ask. First, you can at least honestly assess if your master can win. If you don’t think so, to refuse to tell him so you stay in his good graces is not only hypocritically cowardly, it also supremely stupid. Praise the President to banish him. Brilliant strategy. Okay, if on the other hand, you really believe he can win, then hang on and help him do so. Use your access to get him to broker a real Mideast peace and to declare war on fossil fuels. Use your access to get him to guarantee real reparations for Palestinians and seriously worthy income and jobs for any worker displaced from closed up coal mines and fossil fuel plants (plus a free ticket to hell for owners who try to obstruct ecological sanity).

Bernie Sanders? I get it Bernie. Yes, it would appear quite strange to remove a candidate for being too old only to replace him with someone still older. But think a minute. The criterion isn’t numeric age. The criterion is daily capacity. And Bernie, you can prove that capacity is the point, not an arbitrary age, at the same time as you steal Trump’s waiting White House saddle from him. Is it too weird, would it go too far for you to say, “okay, I was going to run for Senate but my good friend Joe is having trouble, and the country is facing ruination, and I have more than enough energy for one four year term to ward off carnage, injustice and fascism while we all together greatly advance peace and justice. So, I am announcing that I am ready to rumble with that self seeking, lying, thieving, murdering, rapist, racist, toad Donald Trump.

Thomas Moneybags? I am not naive Thomas. I know you haven’t climbed corporate ladders or even just inherited the top position without jettisoning your morals. I know you have learned who’s who and what’s what to make maximal profit and to grab your share of it. Greed over morals. But even so, aren’t there a few of you, some of you, any of you, who have retained some semblance of integrity and moral fiber? If there are, and if any of them ask what they can do, well, answer this. What would you do if a cutthroat corporate raider came after your business? Would you just quietly donate a dime or two to the cause of warding him off? Nah. You’d battle him by any means necessary. And then also remember being a kid and thinking if you were in Germany back when you’d have fought that mustached little twerp to the death. Well, okay, here’s your chance Moneybags. You can put your ownership to use against the fascist danger your little self would have fought tooth and nail.

Sally doctor/lawyer/accountant/manager. Look I get that some of you went to school and learned to not believe in social health, societal law, financial truth, or good decisions. I get that you came to believe in, or at least to daily accept ill health, illegality, lying, and self serving. But I also know that some of you can still tell good from bad, or at least tell okay from absolutely horrific, and that maybe some of you are wonder what you can do beyond donating funds to candidates? Well, you are right that you can donate. But you could also help rebut all the insane lies Trump trumpets. Still better, you can support the nurses and others who daily do your dirty work when they organize for better from your workplace and from you for their patients and for themselves and also when they organize against Trump.

Rebecca professor/teacher? This one is too easy. You can support your students. Prod your students if you have to, and then follow your students. Want more to do? Reach out to your students’ parents. Talk to them. Listen to them. Especially the ones still planning to vote for Trump. You have access. Use it.

Steph baseball/football/basketball star? As a star, you have talent and you know what hard work is and how to do it. You also have an audience and you have teammates. Of course it will be hard to escape star fuckers’ expectations but you don’t have to do it alone. Do you want to be in stadiums where people cheer athletic skill? Or do you want your stadiums used to round up people who protest injustice? You can plan and then act. After game interview? Let loose at the degenerate thug. And you remember the schools you came from.? The schools where you were a modern day deity? Good. Go there, now. Give an inspirational speech. Talk about winning justice and defeating fascism. Then follow the students.

Taylor singer super star? What can you do? Are you really asking? Probably not, but who knows, and just in case, you can put the incredible support you have won from a gazillion fans to good use. Will it cost you? Sure. So wha? Does that really even matter? You know how you dish out dignity and income to everyone who works on your tours? Well, guess what? Everyone who hears you is also worthy. But they don’t need wages from you. They don’t need praise from you. They need you to care enough about them to throw your hands in the air, beckon them to hear, and then talk to them at the next damn tour stop, and then at every tour stop, saying, “Hey, Mr. Trump, listen up. You are a barbaric blight on this world. You are a lying, misogynistic, narcissistic fascist thug. Go away. Go far far away. But be sure it you go somewhere that no one lives, works, plays, sleeps, eats, or loves. Trump—go to hell. Fans, help yourselves. Help everyone. Get political. It is not poison. To get political will not kill us. It will not pervert us. It will humanize us.

Robert cop/soldier? This is probably the toughest given the context, the current constraints, and the short time we have. But if any of you want to and also have sufficient courage to do something, okay, just say no to repressing others. And just say yes, visibly and openly, to wanting to Stop Trump.

Sara driver/cleaner/farmhand/custodian/assembler? Let’s face facts. The above are all long-shots. It is likely all up to you. Talk, plan, and then act. You are a good bet to do good. You are the key, and if you are asking, I think there are two main things you can do despite how little dignity, respect, and means society affords you. You can of course vote against Trump. But, more than that, from now until Election Day you can talk with your workmates who think that maybe Trump will shake things up to their advantage, and you can tell them, “hey, friend, it isn’t so. This slime will make things vastly worse for you and yours and for me and mine. He has got to go and we must make it happen.”

This is all pretty clear. We live in an upside down, unjust, seriously unhinged world. It gives each of us different tasks, responsibilities, and means with which to try to improve or even just defend society.

So what can we do? We can use what we have to do what we can. And hello, this applies not just to Stop Trump and reach out to Trumpers. It applies as well to Stop Oil and Coal and reach out to Oil and Coal workers. It applies to stop the masters of incarceration and war and reach out to soldiers and cops. And it applies as well to Win the Revolutionized World We Want in place of the corporate, racist, sexist, authoritarian world we reject.

This piece first appeared on Znet.

The post What Can We Do? appeared first on CounterPunch.org.