Defend Freedoms from Dictatorial Rule
From the Archives of the Bakersfield Californian 11/26/24
“…when the wicked rule the people mourn.” Doctrine and Covenants 98:9
A benighted man, who was twice-impeached, convicted on 34 felony counts and pathological liar, is president-elect of the USA and busy assembling his “Cabinet of Horrors.” Any other person with such a résumé, not named Donald Trump, would be in jail right now.
Many upstanding scholars, distinguished journalists, conscientious politicians, civil servants and average citizens throughout the USA raised the alarm that Trump was an existential threat to the Constitution and our democratic freedoms. As evidenced by the electoral results, many voters paid no heed to the warnings, thereby placing our nation on a very dangerous landmine-strewn trajectory. Voters are free to vote their conscience; however, they will not escape the consequences of their choices.
In no way does voter approval diminish the gravity of Trump’s political and civil crimes, nor does it vindicate the serious charges of election interference. Rather, his election to the highest office in the nation is a symptomatic reflection of moral societal atrophy, decay and decline.
A strong, expanding, albeit inflationary economy, rising wages, robust stock market and relatively low unemployment predated Trump’s electoral victory, yet the majority of voters bartered their freedoms for illusory promises. Autocrats assume power through deceit, fear and scapegoating. Hitler was able to consolidate power in 1930s Germany with the rapturous support and approval of people with “itching ears.”
His narcissistic, megalomanic pursuit of power ultimately brought untold misery and devastation to millions of people. How much better for the world if Hitler had remained in prison after the failed Beer Hall Putsch in 1923. How much better for Cuba if Fidel Castro had remained incarcerated after attacking the Moncada Barracks instead of early release in 1955. So much human suffering could have been avoided.
Survivors of Stalin’s deportations to slave labor camps describe in their memoirs how quickly ordinary life can grind to a halt and be swept away within minutes, hours or days: Hand over your passport, pack a few things, no time for farewells, and off you go to the “conveyor belt” of brutal interrogations and the Gulag.
To placate his followers, Trump’s deportations will begin innocently enough by targeting undocumented criminals, but that benign start will progress to the deportation of our farm workers, housekeepers, child care providers, gardeners, political asylum seekers, friends, and eventually, even lawful immigrant residents and naturalized U.S. citizens.
Conceivably, innocent people can get caught up in the roundups. Historically, such plans were implemented before, and it can happen again, especially in the current uncompassionate atmosphere of blatant disregard for human rights and the rule of law. The deportations, and other proposed measures, will most likely have a negative impact on the U.S. economy.
American journalist Dorothy Thompson witnessed the rise of Nazism while on assignment in Germany. Tainted by the racist attitudes of her day, Thompson, nonetheless, exposed the evils of Fascism and called attention to the plight of persecuted Jews. Having died in 1961, she never saw the chilling “Trump will fix it!” placards at MAGA rallies. However, her description, of a sociopolitical climate conducive to the rise of a dictatorship, is uncannily prescient:
…But when our dictator turns up you can depend on it that he will be one of the boys, and he will stand for everything traditionally American. Since the great American tradition is freedom and democracy, you can bet that our dictator, God help us! will be a great democrat, through whose leadership alone democracy can be realized. And nobody will ever say ‘Heil’ to him or ‘Ave Caesar,’ nor will they call him ‘Führer’ or ‘Duce.’ But they will greet him with one great big, universal, democratic sheeplike bleat of ‘O.K., Chief! Fix it like you wanna, Chief!…
Undoubtedly, the next four years will be fraught with uncertainty and turmoil. Electing qualified, conscientious men and women with good character will mitigate the corrosive influence of corruption and immorality in government. Errant officials must not be permitted to govern with impunity. Above all, we must defend our God-given freedoms from dictatorial rule when the storms inevitably arise. May God, in His mercy, bless and protect the USA.
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© Daisy B. Peñaloza 2024
