The Scary Prospect of ENABLING
It is usually a minefield of critical backlash, and what about(s), when you compare the oppression of Jews to the descendants of enslaved Africans in America, but I am going to wade onto the battlefield. What I am not going to do is use the comparison of the holocaust and slavery. Comparing who suffered more, blacks in 1898 Wilmington, North Carolina or the 1921 Tulsa, Oklahoma massacre, to the genocidal ridding of Jews in 1881 Ukraine to the Romania slaughter; reduces discussions of genocide and slaughter to some sort of parlor game. The oppression of any people for either profit, power, or animus is egregious. In saying that, blacks in America are in danger of reliving the stripping of rights like the Jews in Nazi Germany, and we all know what came next.
I fear that the Republicans in Congress, aided by the passivity of Democrats are moving toward America’s version of Germany’s Enabling Act of 1933. It is as if the response to the Reichstag fire which resulted in a decree that nullified the civil liberties of German citizens is being mimicked by Republicans working to take the civil liberty of the right to vote from Black citizens and their allies, this time over another Big Lie. The Reichstag building, in 1933 Germany, was essentially the Nazi version of America's Capitol. After the attack on America’s citadel on January 6, the Republicans have since moved to hide their involvement and are going full force to make laws in GOP-controlled state legislatures to take away the people’s rights to fair elections.
I believe the insurrection was not designed to stop the vote count or even overturn the election it was the pretext to declaring martial law, much like with Hitler’s rise to power in Nazi Germany. In the ensuing weeks before his exit from the White House, Mr. Trump signaled his intentions by replacing the Defense Secretary with an inexperienced toady named Chris Miller. Miller relayed the orders of the then President, according to accounts, that the January 6th insurrectionists’ rioters were not to be touched and the National Guard was not to be armed. Trump made sure his minions were not harmed or arrested the day of his plot. Although the rioters failed in their mission, their immediate arrest was not forthcoming and in the days and months following their eventual capture the rioters have used the excuse, Mr. Trump sent me.
In Trump’s twisted logic and ignorance of the Constitution, I suggest the former President was going to take advantage of the provision of the Martial Law statute, suspend civil liberties, establish a military state and stay in the White House. Had I read this from a writer or critic of the U.S. just a few years ago, I would have labeled the writer a wild-eyed-kook. The fact that this possibility exists, scares me. I heard from a very good friend last night, a black woman in her 70s and her words were ominous, “William, I feel like I am back in the 60s” she said, wavering between tears and anger. Her words were on the heels of Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell essentially saying everything with voting rights is alright, “There’s no threat to the voting rights law, It’s against the law to discriminate in voting on the basis of race already, so I think it’s unnecessary,” said McConnell.
As much as Democrats know and preach the country is crumbling, they drag their feet, and complicity, albeit unintentional, contributes to our nation’s demise. Most democratic governments last between 250-300 years, America is 245 years old and counting…
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