“Alright then, we are two nations.”
John Dos Passos, The
Big Money
Dos Passos was referring to the ideological divide surrounding the executions of Sacco and Vanzetti nearly a century ago. The statement could just as easily apply today.
As we approach a third year of pandemic, the divisions in our society have become a gaping wound for all the world to behold. Its successive waves have limited physical mobility making escape from the social upheaval a distant vision. I’ve long dreamed of becoming an expat in my retirement, but the desire to travel the world has morphed into an urge to flee and not look back. Unfortunately, that is no longer feasible for most of us. And as time goes on creeping political repression may make it even less so.
In the aftermath of the “stolen” 2020 presidential election, we are entering what Jason Stanley terms the “legal phase” of fascism. Much of this is happening at the state level given the narrow Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, though the 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court will almost certainly enable these enacted and pending measures. Restricting voting rights, limiting the right to publicly protest, gerrymandering which further entrenches Republican legislators in red states, and the de facto purge of anti-Trump Republicans in Congress and statehouses are all calculated to pave the way for the Orange Führer’s triumphant return in 2024. (To further raise alarm, it has come to light that Boeing and Pfizer were among the corporations and trade groups which donated $8 million to Republican lawmakers who voted to decertify the 2020 electoral results.)
Nor has the past year mitigated the threat of right-wing extremists or self-appointed “good guys with guns” taking the law into their own hands. While the verdict in the Ahmaud Arbery murder trial may signal a renewed intolerance of vigilantism, the not guilty verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse case is disturbing. (One reason I suppose the jury was inclined to acquit was that Wisconsin’s “stand your ground” law doesn’t apply to public spaces. By initially attempting to flee a confrontation with an armed protestor, Rittenhouse was arguably fulfilling his duty to retreat.) The brazen, high-profile antics of so-called militias give further cause for concern.
Misinformation exacerbates the divide. It helps further what Bill Maher has called the slow-moving coup. Social media fueled hysteria over mostly nonexistent threats surrounding gun control, vaccines, Black Lives Matter, Antifa, Critical Race Theory, and so forth. It also promotes anti-science attitudes and misinformation about COVID, leading to lowered vax rates and increased spread each time a new variant emerges.
It is no wonder that Donald Trump loves poorly-educated people. They are the most susceptible to the message and the least likely to understand how our constitutional system actually works. While affluent, educated suburban whites supported Trump as well, it is the unruly mass of working class whites who pose the more immediate threat. Gullible and hostile and ready to accept any sort of bullshit shoveled at them as long as it caters to their anger and prejudices, they are the most liable to resort to mob activity.
What we are seeing is a progressive normalization of ignorance and rage-fueled rhetorical and physical violence, fueled by social media. At its worst, this violence has taken the form of looting in cities to violence against protestors. Legal consequences fall differently depending on the person and the offense. One year on, few of the participants in the January 6th Redneck Riot have suffered any meaningful punishment for having attempted to overthrow the government. Most of the convictions have been for trivial crimes such as trespassing, rather than for sedition. Had it been, say, a Black Lives Matter protest, the penalties would surely have been swifter and more severe.
To quote Dos Passos again, “They have taken the words of our fathers and made them slimy and foul.” Watching the recent New York Times documentary on the riot, possibly the most complete dissection of the event so far, we behold scenes of self-proclaimed “patriots” confronting law enforcement officers demanding they uphold their oaths to the Constitution notwithstanding they were doing exactly that. At the risk of repetition, it was these “patriots” who sought the disruption of the very government prescribed in the Constitution.
The transposition of surreality over mundane normalcy characterizes the present moment. Life goes on as usual, but with a pervasive sense of dread. And I am beginning to think there is (admittedly anecdotal) cause for worry. A couple of years ago, just before the pandemic, I took a trip to Europe. Not only was the flight delayed without explanation for nearly two hours after boarding, but we had to submit to two separate document checks before boarding. Perhaps it was only a routine security precaution. Perhaps it was a harbinger of future restrictions on Americans traveling abroad.
Which brings me back to my deep-seated wish to check out of the mess our country has become. I fear my contrarian opinions may make that more difficult if not impossible as time goes on with the prospect of even more repressive measures. I’ve learned having money of your own confers freedom, freedom which includes leaving home. Security legislation since 9/11 has given the federal government greater oversight of bank accounts. All of mine are in the U.S., which means my assets can be frozen or seized by the authorities on the slenderest of pretexts. Goodbye, freedom. Our sweet land of liberty may well become a lawless place where mobs of heavy-gutted, bearded white men armed with guns and superstition are calling the shots and where decent people will have no means of escape.
More
than ever in our contemporary history it has become a matter of us and them. We are seemingly locked in a death embrace
with our enemies at home and escape may no longer be no longer an option. There is scant cause for optimism.
©
2022 The Unassuming Scholar
