Fighting The Essential Cynicism and Cruelty of the Right

With the election of Donald Trump as President, the Right has begun a premature celebration of a number of things it has long wanted to do. The Right's goal is to rid the United States of everyone who is not useful to its goals. Right-wing Republicans and Libertarians have long sought to make life impossible for the poor, people of color, the aged and disabled, and everyone else who they believe are non-productive persons who do nothing but cost them money.

Many of the measures being introduced in Congress right now have been fulminating in the minds of the right-wing for over 50 years. The massive cuts proposed for the State Department, for example, are the kind of jingoist, nationalistic measures long hoped for by conservatives. Cuts in social programs, healthcare, poverty reduction, and other programs that serve the disadvantaged, are all part of a wish on the part of the right that those who are not useful should simply die.

Massive increases in Defense Department spending boost the warlike nature of the right, as well. Trump's ugly ideas about places like Iran and North Korea include preemptive attacks on those states, to prevent whatever it suits him to prevent. Drastic obstacles to immigration by "others" are designed to limit movement of people into the US who are not white, conservative and Christian. Similarly, massive deportation programs have the goal of removing those already here.

All of the goals of the far-right and Libertarian philosophies have been held back in the past by Democrats retaining some control of at least one branch of government. Unless something changes dramatically in 2018, that will not longer be the case. With Trump's appointment of a couple of SCOTUS justices, he can shift the judicial branch to the conservative side. If both houses of Congress retain a majority, the conservatives will have assumed control of all three branches of federal government.

The amount of harm that can cause cannot be overestimated, and conservatives will make use of that control to alter the very structure of this country's government. Their goal in this is to make it impossible for liberals and progressives to ever again regain majority control of any branch of government.

Very frankly, we are on the cusp of losing our voice in the governance of the United States of America. If we do not act together to regain control of at least one branch of government in 2018 and 2020, we may never have another chance. Please, everyone, join with others to save this nation from unalterable changes by creating a massive turnout of voters in 2018 and 2020. That is our only hope, I believe. If we fight among ourselves, we are sure to lose this battle.