Some people have large online platforms to spread their opinions, but do not carefully consider what they have to say. Then you have someone like me with a smaller print platform to express their opinions, but more and more refrains from doing so. Sometimes the instinct toward cautious silence must be ignored.
Jim Thomas, a frequent guest columnist and an erudite thinker whom I respect, once wrote a column about Ronald Reagan. My counterpoint did not share his kindly view of Reagan’s career. I let my rebuttal die on the vine, mostly because disputing Reagan’s legacy wasn’t an urgent issue. In the modern Republican party, Reagan wouldn’t get a turn at the podium, let alone elected. Strange to say, he was too moderate by today's standards. I told Jim so the last time he visited The Times’ offices.
Jim's more recent column about strong men and authoritarian government requires response. I trust Jim understands my response is meant in the spirit of good natured public discourse. Only time will tell if my readers understand. Worshippers of idols can take offense when the idol’s feet of clay are mentioned.
Jim’s column on strong men somehow missed the elephant in the room. It was odd to read about the rising tide of authoritarianism all around the globe with a conspicuous omission of where Americans should guard against it most— at home. Republicans, whose symbol is the elephant, have long nursed the viper of authoritarianism close to their hearts yet somehow refuse to see it. Perhaps the hybrid beast now trampling the rule of law and what were once societal norms looks so much like an elephant they cannot see its trunk, groping for the next thing to devour, is actually a venomous serpent.
The current administration’s shift toward an all powerful executive branch, and the congress and supreme court which enable it, is more than dangerous. It is anti-American. An authoritarian government is rearing its ugly head in the what think of as the cradle of modern democracy.
Rule by executive fiat, flouting court orders, violating due process, political cronyism, unqualified lickspittles in cabinet level positions, foreign and domestic policy guided by whim and ego rather than sober reflection, all this and more is happening before our eyes. I could lay it out point by point — but there are none so blind as they who will not see. You either see it and know it is wrong or you don’t.
Please understand, I don’t write this because it will shock anyone out of supporting a grossly unqualified man who demolishes entire wings of the White House as if it was his own personal property. As I write this my eyes are wide open and painfully clear. I cry out to you as a voice from the wilderness.
Anyone who has read my columns knows I grew up in a home ravaged by addiction. I know addicts, which means I know they can justify anything to themselves. Worse, I know they trick the people that love them into thinking, against all odds, things will get better. Somehow, one day, they'll make all the suffering worth it. They make enablers of the people who should set boundaries and push back against them.
Most people who love an addict eventually understand they only change if they decide to change. They cannot and will not be changed from the outside. Which is to say, I’m only writing this because I can’t live with myself if I don’t say something. I’m writing this because I know loving an addict is a kind of addiction in and of itself.
Don’t think addiction only happens in other homes. Don’t think a petty tyrant can only ruin other countries and not our own. Don’t think it won’t happen to us. Don’t think it can’t happen here.
