Dan DeWalt, a frequent contributor to these pages and one of the founders of this newspaper, writes that if he didn't love his country, he "wouldn't spend so much time trying to get it to live up to its purported principles."
WILLIAMSVILLE-The IOB (insecure orange bully) has roared out of the gate as promised.
He is co-opting the Justice (ha!) Department as he seeks his revenge and retribution for perceived slights and for those who had the audacity to stand up for the rule of law (those few who didn't get the memo that the political class has given up on that concept).
He is spewing his lies and racism as he rages after the immigrants who are part and parcel of this country. He has ridiculously declared that there is no climate change; as the Earth crashes and burns, so shall it continue at an even-quicker pace.
But none of this should be a surprise. The IOB has always made clear what he stands for. He is simply putting his beliefs into action, as promised.
And our captains of capitalism? This miserable coterie has come groveling with bended knee bearing million-dollar inaugural party checks as they beg the IOB to forgive their past transgressions and assure his fragile psyche that they will be on his team this time around. After all, there is money to be made.
But we should not be surprised by this, either.
Studies have shown that "power promotes self-righteousness, moral exceptionalism, and hypocrisy." As the riches accumulate, so does testosterone, with its incumbent ravages. In the meantime, the anterior insular cortex, where empathy is found, slowly shrinks until the "out of business" sign goes up.
So Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and their ilk are simply engaging in their sordid profit-above-all-else business model - ethics and consequences be damned.
* * *
But what about the media? Surely they will take a stand to defend the few shreds of idealistic principles that remain in our notion of the American temperament.
Sorry. More and more of our media outlets are now owned by corporations, hedge funds, and billionaires. Profits and escaping the wrath of the IOB are first and foremost among their concerns. So publishing any news that isn't cheerleading the progress of our now failing republic is not on their to-do list.
Witness the shameful actions of the Los Angeles Times (owned by billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong) and The Washington Post (owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos), each respectively censoring their journalists in the run-up to the election. Or the tongue-tied New York Times that is so afraid to seen as a "liberal" publication that its motto has effectively evolved into "All the news that's safe to print."
So much for the second and fourth estates. How about the first? Surely our clergy will rise to the challenge and call the ungodly and mean-spirited IOB out for his antisocial and morally degrading actions?
At least a few have done so, and hooray for them. However, most members of the clergy are either in lockstep, lining up with the new Christian Nationalism, or they have been cowed into silence or equivocation as they face the potential angry wrath of the IOB and his minions.
Well, we are the third estate.
* * *
What role will we play in this tragic farce of our republic's devolution?
At first glance, it doesn't look very promising. For many of us, the only time we look up from our phones is when the doorbell rings with another package from Jeff Bezos' Amazon. We tell ourselves "I know he's a bad employer, and his workers suffer, and he is a suck up to the IOB, but it's just so convenient, and how else can I get my purchase gratification so quickly and cheaply?"
And it is true that writing to our federal representatives, with a small handful of notable exceptions like Bernie Sanders or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is a complete waste of time. They tell us something that they think we want to hear while taking money from, and giving fealty to, corporate lobbyists and groups like AIPAC, the National Rifle Association, and The Heritage Foundation.
So we look at the enormity of the graft, corruption, and pandering of our political class and wonder how little old us could really make a difference.
* * *
But we can act. We can fight back. We can advocate for what we want. We can make a difference.
On Jan. 18, as part of a nationwide effort, 200 people marched in Brattleboro declaring that we do not all travel on the new mean streets the IOB is paving - not a bad number for a little town like Brattleboro, but where were the several thousand other local residents who share that defiant spirit but declined to show up? The fact that Burlington only had 200 or so folks for the same so-called People's March is downright pathetic.
For our small voices to have an impact, we must organize. That includes every group that has a cause - be it freedom for Palestinians, Black Lives Matter, other Civil Rights groups fighting for LGBTQ rights, antiwar coalitions, green-power advocates, reproductive freedom and justice advocates, organizations fighting to change our destruction of the planet, advocates for the rule of law and the notion that no one is above the law.
All of these people could be talking, supporting one another, attending each other's group meetings and rallies, and working together to advocate for a better vision of what this nation might become if the will of the people were to be recognized and honored.
We must not be hindered by this weirdly American notion of "going it alone" or sticking with our cohorts to the exclusion of others as we work for what we want. Being divided, small, and unorganized is what the billionaire class counts on as they steal our collective wealth, destroy the planet, and throw civil rights under the bus in their search for power and profits.
* * *
While it is important to say no to bigotry, to militarism, to racism, to sexism, or to corporate greed, it is equally important to make our case for what we want.
What do we envision? A society that welcomes positive change? A nation that cares more about why we have a large population with substance use disorders, a large homeless population, and sky-high rates of depression, anxiety, and uncertainty about our futures and our place in the world?
What if we showed empathy, compassion, and a willingness to sacrifice our addiction to consumerism and instead invested our resources in truly caring for those who have the hardest time getting by? What if we invested in the future, thinking about the next seven generations instead of the latest craze? What if we insisted that our money be spent on these concerns, and not be spent on furthering our military might and its toxic reach?
If we were to do these things, then we would be taking our first steps to deliver ourselves from this morass of a failed society and a failed capitalist/consumer system that has morally bankrupted us.
If we choose to not act, then our fates will be sealed, and we will all go down together.
This Voices Viewpoint was submitted to The Commons.
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