Who’s Afraid of Donald Trump?

Anyone who is actively paying attention.

From January 2017:

Over the last year and a half, this man successfuly hijacked a pominant political party, discredited its established leaders, and created an environment ripe for the beginnings of an American dictatorship.

Last night, listening to Donald Trump’s acceptance speech, I could hear what appeals to his voters; The theatrical intonation, the appearance of strength, the condemnation of those who wish us harm. Without looking deeper, one might believe this man could save our country from a most certain doom. The trouble is, these qualities could also be viewed as the beginnings of an insidious dictator.

If you’re thinking that’s going too far, he’s not a dictator. Please remember, historical dictators were not dictators before they came to power. Dictators are nothing until we allow them a position where they can take hold.

Let’s examine what dictators do:

• Dictators alienate countries from even their allies. Thus, instead of exhibiting strength in the world, weakness grows. Though, because boarders have closed and trade has been restricted slowly, many citizens might not immediately realize the shift. (Historical Reference)
• Dictators curtail media attention so as not to release any information that is offensive to the regime. (Historical Reference)
• Propaganda of the dictator’s name or likeness is plastered throughout the country to encourage loyalty and provide a big brother presence. (Historical Reference)
• Dictators tend to have secret police types who are elevated from their disenfrancized positions and therefore fiercely loyal to the dictator. (Historical Reference)
• A dictator’s narcissism can not be challenged without retribution. Dictators crush those who dare speak out and oppose their views.(Historical Reference)
• Brutality in milataristic attitudes are encouraged, as the dictator believes this further proves strength. (Historical Reference)
• Dictators make demands from other countries leaders that sound insane to the civilized world. (Historical Reference)
• Dictators, without much thought, trade away freedoms of certain citizens in order to appease those he views as loyal to him. (Historical Reference)

Regarding the above:

I started writing this article the day after Donald Trump was sworn in as president, but I never finished it. I actually completely forgot about it until yesterday when someone asked if I was keeping up with my writing during this pandemic.

I’m not clairvoyant, but finding this draft in my writing folder three and a half years later made me question my psychic abilities. The concerns many of us had at the time of the 2016 election have borne out.

From October 2020:

For the first time in American history, we have a sitting president who is refusing to acknowledge the results of a free and fair election. In attempts to discredit the results, should he lose, he has put forth a relentless campaign about widespread voter fraud that does not exist according to his self-appointed FBI director.

In the first of three debates, this past Tuesday, he again called on his supporters to police the polls, which is illegal. As was his suggestion to those in North Carolina to vote twice. As was his encouragement of militia members to “stand by” intimating violence. Illegality though, has become so common place over the last 3 1/2 years it’s hard to know where to focus our exhausted energy of concern from moment to moment.

We are in a pandemic where nearly 210,000 Americans have died within 7 months. A pandemic severely botched by a person in office who even now refuses to encourage safety precautions that his own task force tells us saves lives.

We are in a civil war fueled by systemic racism that has only been exasperated under his leadership in not condemning white supremacists but rather encouraging them. His FBI director has testified that domestic white supremacy groups are some of the greatest threats our country faces currently.

The military minds he swore to bring in to help him lead have denouced him because their knowledgeable advice was frequently ignored. We have been distanced from our allies, pulled out of agreements, cozied up to other dictators. No one can blame our service members for feeling betrayed after Russian paid bounties were placed on our troops heads and never condemned by the Commander in chief. A Commander in chief who allegedly called those who served “losers” and “suckers.”

We have thrown children in cages, some as young as infants to be cared for by older children, because we have taken them away from their parents at the border. We have forced sterilization on immigrant women who didn’t know why they were having hysterectomies. Our humanity in immigration policy has been completely destroyed.

Our justice department has been decimated by political favors to friends. Our national security compromised. Our checks and balances including impeachment, made a farce. The IRS exposed as a playground for wealthy people of privilege and power.

If all of the above are not enough to demonstrate the peril our democracy is in, please understand those are only the atrocities I can immediately recall from these last 3 1/2 years. There are so many more that I am not writing about today. There are so many more to come with an election just 31 days away.

As I noted in 2017, dictators only become dictators once they have power. Hindsight is indeed 2020. I wonder now if in 2024 we will be discussing a third term for an American dictator.