In spite of it all …

On Dec. 19, 2020, 1:42 a.m., Donald Trump tweeted: “Peter Navarro releases 36-page report alleging voter fraud

‘more than sufficient’ to swing victory to Trump. A great report by Peter. Statistically impossible to have lost the 2020 election. Big protest in D. C. on January 6. Be there, will be wild!” Yes, it was “wild,” and also deadly violent and damaging to our country and our democracy. It was part of a conspiracy to overturn the will of the American people and keep a man in the White House who had lost the election … and knew he had lost the election. Question: Isn’t an attempt to overturn an election essentially the same as an attempt to overthrow a government?

If we sit down and think about our democracy (which I suspect most of us don’t often do), and think about what democracy actually means, why and how we got it, the alternatives to it, and the recent attacks on it – from within – we see a threat that needs serious, persistent and transparent attention. Why? Because the “alternative” threat to our democracy, unequivocally exposed in the BIG LIE and the Jan. 6 attempt to overthrow an election (essentially a coup), is still with us and will remain with us until we recognize and deal with the existential problem it is.

So … what is the real problem we need to resolve? In my mind, most simply put: Does America wish to remain a democracy, or are we willing to entertain something else? That begs the question, how do you define democracy? Again, as simply as I can put it: “Democracy is a system of government that guarantees its citizens a role in their governance.” It is the power of participation that sets democracy apart from the alternatives. And I can’t imagine the majority of Americans wanting, or willing, to accept anything less. (Or do I have an imagination problem?)

So, I’m asking you to quietly sit down and “imaginatively” think about democracy. What might have become of America’s democracy if the BIG LIE and the Jan. 6 mob had won the day, occupied the Capitol Building, taken Speaker Pelosi and Vice President Pence hostage (or worse), stopped the Electoral College vote count, and brazenly declared that Donald Trump would remain our president until the “insurrection planners” could finish their “coup” through some strange finagling in a few state legislatures. How? As best as I can figure … V.P. Pence would refuse to complete the Electoral College count at the Capitol on Jan. 6, and send “things” back to key states won by Biden, whose legislatures were controlled by Republicans, who would “overturn” (ignore) their people’s votes, and name new Trump electors who would cast their Electoral College votes for Trump. Basically, it was a “fantasy” plan for “stealing” an election. Imagine how Americans might have reacted to such a bizarre circumstance, essentially a coup, the very antithesis of democracy, planned and executed by Republican Party leadership?

I’d think the reality would have been a citizenry in a state of panic and chaos: Complete chaos in Congress, both House and Senate – and we know they’re very good at chaos; chaos in all 50 states, in every household, in every town and village; chaos in every court in the land, particularly in the Supreme Court; chaos in all 18 of our intelligence agencies (18? Look it up.); chaos in every law enforcement agency everywhere; and, If you can, imagine the chaos in our military – our Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corp, Coast Guard, National Guards, even Trump’s new Space Force, and state militias, including the several hundred well-armed right-wing militia groups around the country with membership somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000. Scary? And let’s not forget the Secret Service! Their primary responsibility is the protection of the current president – but their oath is to the U.S. Constitution. Imagine their dilemma.

Yet, in spite of it all, I can’t imagine how a man as disorganized and discombobulated as Donald Trump could overturn a legally decided election by claiming it was stolen, with zero evidence to back his claim, and make it stick. But we know he tried. We should thank God for the incompetence of everyone involved in the attempted coup; not just Donald Trump and his family, but formerly respected people like Rudi (“We’ve got lots of theories. We just don’t have the evidence.) Giuliani, like Bill (BS) Barr, like Lindsey

(the chameleon) Graham, like John Eastman, like three-star General Michael Flynn, like Trump’s Chief of Staff Mark Meadows; and there’s the less respected, less ethical, and less competent sycophants like Steve Bannon, like Peter Navarro, like Roger Stone (he’s the guy who pleaded the “Fifth Amendment’’ when asked his age!), like Paul Manafort, like Kari Lake (no relative of mine … I hope), like Marjorie Taylor Green, like Jim Jordan, and the “My Pillow Guy’’ Mike Lindell. Question: Are these the best American politics can produce? (Imagine a New Year’s party with these guys?)

I suspect (imagine) Trump had no idea what a colossal can of worms he was opening when he decided to take a shot at overthrowing an election simply because his narcissism couldn’t handle a ballot box defeat. Mr. Trump has introduced us to a new brand of politics, (Truthless Politics?) And pundits are suggesting that his strategies and tactics, that we’ve been victims of for seven years, are only rehearsals for future attempts at election subversion. That’s not a future I want to think about, but I do, as we all should.

As for my imagination, problematic or otherwise, I’ve committed myself to reading the (stranger than fiction) Jan. 6 Report, and then follow it up by rereading “Brave New World,” “1984,” and “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

Yet, in spite of it all, we remain a democracy … “if we can keep it.”