A Pivotal Time
Democracy and freedom challenged
Like the story of the frog placed into a pot of water on the stove: the water slowly gets warmer until suddenly the frog dies in its boiling... Authoritarianism seeks to slowly acclimate citizens to acceptance of what was once considered absurdly horrendous. Crackdown on crime and immigration becomes increased police presence, becomes more heavily armed police, becomes arrest and detainment without legal hearing, becomes waiting outside churches and schools and places of business to catch "targets," becomes National Guard troops (without law enforcement training) present on the streets in a show of force, becomes active duty military including US Marines (again, trained to kill, not to do law enforcement) to patrol the city streets, becomes intimidation of those who disagree with the regime, becomes the need to arm those troops to make sure the crackdown is successful, becomes the need to deploy them all over the country to show "we have everything under control to protect YOU from THOSE people," becomes the need for armed rapid deployment forces available to be sent anywhere in the country at a moments notice to confront anything the regime considers necessary to quell or intimidate, even American citizens using first amendment rights...
What happens next? Every step outlined above has already happened. We've seen this play out time and time again throughout human history. It's part of the reason the founders of this nation rebelled against Britain. It's the reason they established a democratic republic designed of three EQUAL branches of government with the goal of keeping authoritarianism from coming to our shores. From the beginning we have had at least two governing philosophies debating over the issues confronting us as a people, but neither wandered from the concept of a government of the people, for the people and by the people. The tension between those two philosophies and three equal branches of governance has always served as agents of compromise. And for the most part, we the people have mostly benefitted. Today, we have single party rule on the federal level. And in NC, the general assembly has stripped much of the power from the administrative branch through a veto proof supermajority brought about by heavily gerrymandered districts designed to choose voters instead of letting voters choose those who represent us.
For those in power there is never enough power. So any actions taken to gain even greater power seem necessary to them. And of course absolute power, just like absolute wealth, corrupts absolutely. The two march hand in hand.
Who and what is a greater threat to you, to me, to our children, our grandchildren, to the future of our nation and the values that folks on "both sides" hold in common and cherish? Is it the people we are being "protected against?" Or are we in greater danger from the very kind of authoritarian rule our government was designed to prevent?
For far too long, we have been turned one against another for political gain. Divided, we are weak. As long as the pot is not too hot for ME and mine, we roll along comfortably. After all, what they are doing doesn't affect ME. Or does it? Are we as a people really okay with what is happening? Can we not see how the pattern of events is identical to what has happened throughout history?
The water in the pot we are in is not boiling yet. But what has been happening before our very eyes is accelerating. Will there be an election next year? Will there be armed troops at the polls intimidating voters in districts not deemed favorable to those in power? What other escalations can we expect? People are already being arrested without warrants, jailed without due process, and removed from our shores without a trial. The regime is openly defying court orders and seeking retribution against those they perceive as enemies.
Democracy must be nurtured, practiced and protected if it is to survive. The rule of law and the will of the people form its foundation. To authoritarians, the playbook is simple: intimidate, obfuscate, lie, manipulate, false flag, ignore the law and go after anyone who dares to disagree with the leader and the regime.
Are we free? Are we being “played?” Silence is complicity, and it's getting hotter in here..
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