Societal cancer
In a healthy body, every cell works in harmony, contributing to the larger system, being supported in exchange. When an individual cell is traumatized by radiation, chemicals, or stress, it grows abnormally, out of harmony. Growing for itself, at the expense of the larger whole, it can eventually kill the host. This is defined as cancer.
Similarly, a healthy society supplies members with both a meaningful way to contribute as well as providing support and opportunity for the essentials of life. Our capitalist democracy is a relatively recent solution for this challenge. Just like a cell, humans can be traumatized, producing a distorted perspective on the world, leading to selfish actions out of synch with not only their personal needs, but with larger societal needs as well. When traumatized people rise to positions of power, the dysfunction spreads or metastasizes.
Former President Trump is a malignant narcissist, a psychological response to early childhood trauma, raised to believe a person is either a killer or a loser. Since he must never be a loser, the 2020 election must have been stolen. This delusion is sad in a normal person, but as president, he was able to coerce others into believing his lie, turning a sadness into a societal cancer.
Traumatized people are often eager to follow a strong leader, someone who will tell them the rules, define what is true, and make difficult decisions for them. Trump found lots of supporters, ranging from run of the mill citizens to Republican “leaders,” willing to believe whatever they were told.
The January 6th House hearings continue to show that numerous people and courts tried to tell Trump the truth. We have heard how some honorable Republicans held true to their values, and refused Trump as he demanded they lie and cheat. But Trump persisted in his sick delusion, willing to destroy the entire society rather than grow up. As his frustration grew, he supported more bizarre, increasingly violent, schemes to force through his lie that the election was stolen. Trump decided that Georgian poll workers had stuffed ballot boxes, and publicized their names and addresses. Armed men broke in to make “citizens arrests,” believing they were “patriots.”
Unfortunately, lies and undemocratic activities are not limited to Trump. Republicans
who thwarted Trump have been expunged from the party, labeled as RINO, and even advertised as targets for “hunting season,” by Republican “leaders.” Republican members of Congress have lied about their activities, and requested pardons for actions they knew were illegal. We have all seen the tapes and heard the recordings, so we know. Several hundred million dollars were raised for the “Stop The Steal” fund, which never existed, and instead went directly into Trump's pocket. Right wing terrorists are increasingly resorting to violence, a fascist favorite, to get what they want.
The belief in the Big Lie that the election was stolen still persists, threatening to destroy democracy as we have known it. When a political party decides that cheating and violence are appropriate responses to losing an election, we have reverted to thuggery, and civil society is lost. We now see the Republican “vision” for America.
The Republican Supreme Court announced the repeal of Roe vs. Wade, making abortions illegal in 18 states almost immediately, with plans to limit access to contraception. Abruptly removing 50 years of rights institutionalizes misogyny, suppressing women back to the dark ages as nothing more than breeders for the State, and lays the foundation for a massive State security system. With human overpopulation killing the planet faster every year, this is insane, but Republican “leaders” fear women.
The same week, the Court made it easier for people to carry concealed weapons everywhere, protecting gun corporation profits. The Court intends to curtail the US response to climate change, accelerating climate destruction while protecting fossil fuel corporation profits. The Court desires privatization of Medicare and Social Security, protecting profits for health insurance corporations, Wall Street, and Republican billionaire donors. All of these actions are opposed by a solid twothird majority of Americans, but Republican “leaders” no longer care.
This next election will determine the fate of our nation. I urge everyone to register and then VOTE! I urge all Republicans of integrity to seriously consider if this Republican “leadership” speaks for you, infected as it is by obscene money and Trump's thuggish cancer.