The seven months since the January Insurrection have revealed only one fact: our democratic republic faces its greatest threat since December 1941. Then, and again in September 2001, our government retained the support and legitimacy of significant majorities of our population. Even the many Republicans who supported Hitler eventually relented to Harry Truman’s cold war efforts. Likewise, the 9/11 Commission provided a pathway to legal and legislative reforms. Not so today!
Today’s GOP has been successfully Nazified by Trump and his loyal followers. In the 1940’s, by contrast, most GOP voters were sufficiently literate that they could early-on isolate their Hitler supporters. Today, however, the GOP base is a different breed. Specifically, today’s Trump followers are sufficiently ILLITERATE that they are easy marks for the tambourine man and his propagandists on Fox, Newsmax and One America. The grammar of Trump, his propagandists and his followers is virtually identical: that of a 6-year-old. But democratic republics cannot survive based upon the intellects of 6-year-olds.
What is to be done? Education for the young, of course, over the long term. However, there will be NO long term if we fail to act today. This comes in two forms: individual direct confrontation by those opposed to Trump’s neo-nazis and vigorous prosecution and incarceration of the January 6th Insurrectionists AND their supporters in the media. Face-to-face verbal assaults will allow for local infractions nationwide, revealing the identities of the neo-nazi supporters. However, the federal prosecutions must extend beyond the rioters and instead proceed to their protagonists in the media. As this is a national crisis, preventative detention of Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham and others is absolutely necessary. Let THEM argue their cases for release in OUR legal system.