Thoughts on July 4th

July 4^th is an amazing day. 248 years ago today, a group of extraordinary men signed the Declaration of Independence, creating the country we know and cherish today. For the next seven years, they fought with everything they had and more to defend this country, and I’m proud to say that at least three of my ancestors were among these great patriots. Successive generations have fought to defend us, and while we haven’t always lived up to our ideals, we’ve continued moving forward in the hopes that we will achieve these ideals in time. And as a patriot and a member of a family that has fought to preserve this country and its ideals since its founding, I have always celebrated this day with fervor and glee.

But I don’t feel very celebratory today, and I can tell that feeling is shared by many. A new poll shows that American pride is now at a record low, and it’s not hard to see why.

Our country is careening towards Christofascism, and it feels more and more like there’s nothing we can do to stop this march.

Election Parallels

After the presidential election of 1800, Alexander Hamilton, the former Secretary of the Treasury under George Washington, faced a dilemma. President John Adams, a fellow member of the Federalist party, had lost his re-election bid. Hamilton and Adams had never much liked one another, and had always been rivals, but Hamilton, despite his dislike of Adams and reservations about his character and competence, had reluctantly supported him simply because the alternatives were, in his mind, infinitely worse.

Unfortunately, despite Hamilton’s attempts to sway electors (some of which were highly dubious, both legally and constitutionally), the Electoral College ended up with a four-way split in its vote. As a result, Adams didn’t just lose the election; he came in third place, with just 65 votes, five short of the 70 needed to win at the time. His running mate, Charles Pinckney, came in just behind him at 64 votes.

Running against Adams was Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican who had served as the Secretary of State under Washington, and, due to a quirk in the electoral process that was later rectified with the 12^th Amendment, was also Adams’ own Vice President, despite being from opposing parties. Jefferson and Hamilton had long been bitter rivals, and had a mutual, strong disdain for each other. Hamilton’s tepid endorsement of Adams was borne out of his hatred for Jefferson, as well as fears that Jefferson might do great damage to the republic if elected. However, though Jefferson fared better in the electoral vote than Adams, with 73 votes, he hadn’t technically won the election; rather he had tied with his own running mate, Aaron Burr, another bitter political rival of Hamilton’s.

Two Convictions, Two WILDLY Disparate Reactions

 

After the weeks of chaos around Trump’s “hush money” trial, I have to say that Hunter Biden’s trial for lying on a gun application has been a palate cleanser, to say the LEAST. But I also find the stark differences between the way political parties have reacted to these trials to be as fascinating as they are telling.

We didn’t have endure weeks of Hunter Biden, his family, or the Democratic Party screaming at every TV camera and social media platform they could find that the trial was “rigged” and that it was a “political witch hunt”.

We didn’t have to listen to a barrage of baseless attacks against the judge or the prosecutor about how “biased” and “corrupt” they are, nor did we hear endless demands for the judge to recuse themselves, even though many question his decision to throw out a reasonable and lawful plea agreement and whether a judge appointed by Hunter’s father’s main political rival should oversee such a case.

The Two Dangerously Disparate Faces of American News Media

Vladimir Putin has won re-election in a landslide.

Shocking, huh? Who’d have thought a guy who routinely has his opposition imprisoned and/or killed (a lot of people in Russia seem to “fall out of windows”) would so handily win a fifth term as president?

No one who knows anything about how craven and bloodthirsty Putin is expected anything different. This election was decided before the polls even opened, and everyone knew this. Even the media has been calling this out for what it is: a sham.

Even American news media, which is horrifically corporatized and polarized, has been mostly unified in clearly stating that this election was pure theatrics. I’ve actually been rather surprised by just how pointed some of the news coverage has been; many outlets have moved beyond simply quoting the opposition and are now clearly stating that Putin staged his re-election.

MAGA's Subliminal, Anti-Democratic Messaging

Our democracy is in a dire and fragile state, facing a threat the likes of which hasn’t been seen here for nearly a century. The leading contender for the Republican nomination for President, Donald Trump, tried to overthrow our democracy three years ago by orchestrating, inciting, and aiding a violent insurrection and coup attempt against our government. Political discussions are naturally focused on this now, with many people, myself included, very concerned about what this year will portend for our democracy, particularly if Trump returns to power.

I honestly don’t think our democracy can survive another Trump presidency. He tested the absolute limits of our checks and balances three years ago when he attempted a coup and was allowed to walk free, and he’s made it clear that, should he return to power, he will focus all of his efforts on political retribution against his enemies, and that he’ll stock the entire federal government with sycophants who will do whatever he tells them to do without question. There’s a word for this: fascism.