By Tom Burke / Herald Columnist
For everyone who missed fighting for worker’s rights in the 1920s and ’30s; who missed fighting fascists in Europe and the Pacific in the 1940s; and who missed fighting the Red Scare and blacklists in the 1950s; don’t despair, you’re now getting another chance to fight for American values, the rule of law, and our Constitution.
And you’re getting a chance to find out if you’re tough enough to face an insidious foe who wants to rule over you as Mussolini ruled Italy, bust your head as the Pinkerton’s busted union skulls, and flat-out lie to you as Joe McCarthy lied when he accused half of America of being communist.
The fight for our rights and against attacks on free speech and long-standing government programs, institutions and norms by Trump and his Project 2025 MAGA stormtroopers has begun in earnest, and it’s time to stand up and be counted.
Now there is one surefire way to fight back; and that’s to vote.
But except for local contests this November, the mid-term elections for Congress won’t happen until 2026, more than a year away.
So what to do in the meantime?
Stacy Abrams, former Georgia legislator and gubernatorial candidate, has a great “To Do” list in her “10 Steps to Freedom and Power.” It’s a response to the operational checklist wanna-be dictators use to become actual dictators. And for those who doubt Trump and his cronies are hell-bent on usurping your constitutional rights, measure Trump’s actions against this list:
• Reject democratic processes that baselessly question the integrity of elections or claim they were rigged.
• Use legal systems for political ends or outright retribution to intimidate or punish individual citizens for expressing opposition or dissent.
• Encourage political violence to make veiled or explicit threats and follow through, such as Jan. 6, 2021.
• Politicize independent institutions and remove or replace non-partisan leaders of independent institutions with loyalists.
• Spread disinformation, such as conspiracy theories. like the Big Lie.
• Suppress the media by attacking journalists and media outlets for simply telling the truth.
• Consolidate executive power by weakening legislative and judicial checks and invoke wartime or emergency powers in peacetime.
• Curtail civil liberties, such as freedom of speech, assembly and press.
• Quash dissent by cracking down on academia, protests, and social movements.
• Scapegoat vulnerable groups by creating division and stoking fear by blaming specific ethnic, racial or religious minorities for society’s problems.
• Corrupt elections by manipulating electoral laws through gerrymandering or changing voter registration rules.
• Weaken social cohesion by defining political opponents as illegitimate or “enemies of the people.”
• Subvert international agreements by violating human rights obligations and other international laws.
• Attack norms of civic life by disregarding political and social norms.
So what are the ten steps Abrams says we can do right now?
These:
Understand the threat. authoritarianism is not a future threat, it’s happening right now through attacks on elections, institutions, the media and vulnerable communities.
Organize and mobilize. Instead of retreating in disillusionment, organize within your communities and talk about what’s at stake.
Center marginalized communities. Empowering disenfranchised and underrepresented communities will help win elections and secure democratic power.
Counter voter suppression. Actively combat modern-day voter suppression, including voter roll purges, restricting or eliminating mail-in ballots, closing polling places and restrictions on early voting.
Reclaim trust in democracy. Show democracy can deliver meaningful change in people’s lives. Don’t give up.
Use all available tools. Use every tool available including litigation, legislative action and public advocacy. Be assertive, not “nice.”
Hold leaders accountable. Challenge leaders who use autocratic tactics rather than allowing their behavior to be normalized.
Fight for freedom and power. Understand the fight for freedom and power is everywhere and counter the widespread nature of authoritarian tactics.
Engage early and build a diverse team. Start outreach now and build a diverse team that reflects your community.
Act without delay. The fight against authoritarianism must be fought immediately to preserve our democracy.
Gentle reader, this ain’t easy stuff.
It’s hard work. And it’s not something anyone wants to do; but it’s something we all have to do.
Or?
Or we allow Donald Trump to dictate which comedians we listen to, what news we read, who can vote, how they can vote, who sings and dances at the Kennedy Center, how we communicate our history (both the good and the bad), who gets sick and dies and who lives (vaccines work!), how clean (or dirty) is the air we breath and the water we drink, how we make the electricity that toasts our bread, what kind of car we drive, how much we pay for groceries, and oh, so, so much more.
New York Times columnist M. Gessen, who was forced to leave Russia 12 years ago, summed Trump up pretty well. I’m going to give him the last word concerning authoritarians: “they transform the daily physical, economic and psychic experience of life. President Trump is remaking the country in his image: crude, harsh, gratuitously mean. The ongoing attack on civil society … is a part of this program. Civil society makes life more livable. The administration’s message is that the work of civil society no longer belongs in this country.”
Slava Ukraini.
Tom Burke’s email address is t.burke.column@gmail.com.
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