A Threat to Democracy Is a Threat Against You

It turns out it’s personal. It’s not just about all those others. The thief is in your house, taking your things. Even the un-woke are waking up to that reality. 

It’s about your kids. Their future, their happiness. It’s about your parents. Their security, their wellbeing.

It’s hateful. An American soldier sees his Mexican-born father kicked and beaten in the street. Ice agents gloating, “smelling” their $30,000 bonus.

It dismisses everything sacred. Mass firings of hundreds of thousands of government employees who keep you safe in countless ways. Waste is what they called them.

It kills. Your medicines, the ones you depend on, are out of reach. Hospitals are closed. The emergency rooms are hundreds of miles away. Who will save you?

It’s expensive. Your coffee, your toilet paper, your gas, your kids’ school supplies—you name it. You pay extra now for his deals. 

It’s corrupt. His critics are sued for telling the truth. Liars are applauded for concealing the truth. Kash Patel and Dan Bongino know the truth now, but you aren’t entitled to that knowledge.

It’s defenseless. Women and minorities of high military rank and honor are replaced by tall, white males with no experience—leaving all of us vulnerable to attack.

It’s grift. Universities pay him hundreds of millions of dollars in exchange for continued federal funding, but your college-bound kids will be indoctrinated, not educated.

It’s illegal. Laws meant to curb abuse—civil service protections, due process, separation of powers—are being overridden. Why not just live in El Salvador where things are cheaper?

It’s reprehensible. It gives predators, if privileged, a free pass even once proven guilty. 

It’s inhumane. A mother screams as her 5-year-old is yanked from her arms. The child undergoing chemotherapy remembers brutal monsters dragging her mother away.

It’s immoral. Donald Trump is America’s ruthless, abusive husband—the kind who warns, “If I can’t have you, no one can.”

For those who still say he’s great, ask, by whose standard? By what wisdom? By which faith? What other prosperous, democratic country terrorizes its people and takes their security away? Name them.

The abused must walk away from this abomination and stop ceding to all that’s indefensible. 

When those who commit minor offenses are treated harshly, and those who commit capital offenses are lauded, applauded, and sent into office, we are no longer protected. We’re a despotic s**t show.

A good citizen wants to understand the truth, not hide from it. If it doesn’t feel right, it’s not right. 

If your man lies to you once to protect himself, he’s lied countless times before. But you already know that.

Thomas Hobbes said, “Hell is truth seen too late.” Like a stab in the back, you feel scorched by betrayal and wonder how the deceptions flew over your head and even got under your skin. 

In a democracy, the truth belongs to the people, not to the president and his loyalists to cover up. 

The real truth is also your story—that personal story that’s yours alone to tell.

If you’ve lost your job, it’s time to talk about it, write about it, and post daily about what you’re going through. Let it become a part of our history, our inhumanity. No one can erase your truth. The best way to recover democracy is to recover the truth.

If you are a parent, plan for in-home fun time to teach your kids about democracy and how it makes life better. Watch films like The Penguin Lessons, The Lives Of Others, Lincoln, The Post, Selma, Norma Rae, Malcolm X, Miss Sloane, Silkwood, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, Citizen Kane, The Grapes Of Wrath, To Kill A Mockingbird, A Face In The Crowd.

Teach your kids and grandkids to hate no one. Teach them instead how to help others. Add fun and interesting volunteer days to their calendar. The safety net is being taken down. We all need to roll up our sleeves now to help those at risk.

Teach right from wrong. Show that what’s happening today is wrong. Don’t cherry-pick and say losing healthcare is bad but breaking up immigrant families is necessary. None of this is necessary.

Discover the truth. Come from your heart and be a foot soldier for love. Carry the flag of justice. Sing America the Beautiful. Frame the Preamble to the Constitution and read it again and again. Keep protesting. Keep dissenting. Teach neighborliness. Kindness. Faith. Goodness. Hope. Love. 

Democracy makes these virtues possible. They are and will always be the only history of America’s greatness.