IS THIS DEMOCRACY’S LAST WEEKEND? HERE'S WHAT WE ALL HOPE:
Democracy will survive the return of Donald Trump. Not since the Cold War, with its shadow of nuclear annihilation, and World War II, with Hitler’s campaign of global domination, has the future of the United States been under greater threat. Trump is a psychopath, an authoritarian, who has promised to use the power of his office to undermine justice, compassion, innovation and all of the other aspirational hallmarks of the country. If Trump is successful, this may be America’s last weekend as a democracy. It’s a weekend that I wish we could preserve forever – in our memories and in our prayers - as a reminder of how good our lives have been, and as an inspiration of how fruitful our lives could be again. THE WEEKEND CONCLUDES at noon, Monday, which will be a day of contrasting dreams, one a nightmare, the other a poem. It’s a day on which that Trump will outline his inaugural vision for the next four years, sure to be darker and more divisive than the one he first outlined eight years ago. Monday is also a national holiday, celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. and invoking his great “I have a dream” speech in Washington, promising inclusion, caring and hope. In a sense, we have a choice about how we think and what we do: Do we let Trump have his way? Or do we continue King’s vision? I’ll tell you straight up that I’m struggling to figure out the practical solutions, both personally and as a citizen. I don’t have many answers, and can’t vouch for the ones I do have. But I believe we have to try. Here's more ideas about how to do this: BE A DEMOCRAT. I mean the partisan kind, with uppercase “D,” and not just the generic, lowercase “d” democrat. It’s not an attractive proposition these days. The Democrat Party doesn't have, at first blush, inspiring national leaders. The party suffers the indignity of being the loser in a hard-fought election. And some Democratic office holders seem unsure of themselves, with many flirting with right-leaning words and actions. But democracy depends on a strong, enduring liberal, left-wing and progressive movement, and no more so than when the country’s power center is in the hands of a tyrant. Let’s not demand perfection of Democrats, only passion. Over the long haul, the Democratic Party has promoted the policies and crusades that have been the best of America: economic equality, civil rights, environmental progress, education and justice. And stop with this "I'm an Independent" nonsense. You either agree with the core concerns of the Democrats or you allow the Republicans to degrade the country with policies that are mean, stupid and destructive. There’s no middle ground. CHAMPION WOMEN. Next to the restoration of Donald Trump, the most distressing theme of the 2024 election was the Republican war against women. You would have thought that the impact of the Supreme Court’s reversal of abortion rights – which introduced unequal medical care for half the nation's population – would have inspired both men and women to take to the streets, and then onward to the voting booth. But then came JD Vance’s sneering description of “childless cat ladies,” promoting a diminished role for women, centered on child-bearing, not leadership or success in business, science, the military, athletics and scores of other activities. We’re left with an incoming president, who has a history of sexual abuse against women, who has nominated a secretary of defense, who believes women are not fit to be soldiers. Men and women alike should stop this backward movement and, instead, promote the full citizenship of women, something you’d have thought had been settled in 1920 with the right to vote. DON’T QUIT, OPT OUT OR UNSUBSCRIBE. Institutions are imperfect, and there’s no better posterchild for a troubled organization than the Washington Post. It’s owner, Jeff Bezos, has been shameless in his attempt to get on the good side of Donald Trump, axing an editorial that would have had the paper endorse Kamala Harris and later contributing to Trump’s inauguration. Some of the paper’s top staffers are jumping ship, the latest being the excellent columnist, Jennifer Rubin, who has started a new enterprise on Substack, Tens of thousands of subscribers have quit, deepening the paper's financial losses. I hope subscribers will reconsider, and continue to support the paper (digital subscriptions are relatively cheap; mine is $60 a year) and that the remaining readers will stick it out – at least for a little longer. I was cheered earlier this week at reports (from outside the Post) that 400 staffers had written to Bezos, asking to meet with him about their ideas and hopes to improve and sustain the paper. Quitting sounds noble. But once you’ve left, you no longer have a voice, either as a journalist or reader. In the Post’s case, I can’t imagine anyone happier to see the newspaper’s best and brightest journalists walk out the door than Donald Trump. A continued outflow will have two possible outcomes: hastening the paper’s death; or furthering its diminishment, as the people leaving are replaced with less talented and morally compromised journalists. It might be that Bezos’ embrace of Trump has doomed the Post, and it cannot be saved as a journalistic force equal to the New York Times. But I believe that our most treasured and irreplaceable institutions need to be defended and sustained. Quitting should be a last – not a first – resort. I COULD BE WRONG. Maybe the Democratic Party will do just fine without any extra commitment. Or that its shortcomings mean that it should atrophy. It could be that a homegrown Taliban isn't coming for American women after all. Perhaps it’s naïve to ask journalists and others to reform their institutions from the inside rather than voting with their feet. On this final weekend, we don’t know what the Trump nightmare will be like. The only certainty is that it will be crueler, more harmful and far more extensive than we imagine today. Just as unclear is what to do during the next four years, except that we have little choice to do everything we can. We must limit the harm, care for the victims and most of all, to survive, both as individuals and citizens. Meanwhile, here’s wishing you a nice weekend.
2 Comments
Neale
1/18/2025 01:10:49 am
I am more worried than I have been. Trump could screw up several countries, including mine (Canada), as well as the US. Thanks for the column.
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Brian C. Jones
1/18/2025 12:17:31 pm
Trump is dangerous to his country, to yours and to every ones.
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BRIAN C. JONES
I'VE BEEN a reporter and writer for 60 years, long enough to have learned that journalists don't know very much, although I've met some smart ones.
Mainly, what reporters know comes from asking other people questions and fretting about their answers. This blog is a successor to one inspired by our dog, Phoebe, who was smart, sweet and the antithesis of Donald Trump. She died Feb. 3, 2022, and I don't see getting over that very soon. Occasionally, I think about trying to reach her via cell phone. |