By Peter Bergel
He Ran the Table
Unbelievably, Donald Trump not only won the presidency – capturing the popular and electoral votes necessary to do so fair and square – but he also ran the table, meaning his party controls both houses of Congress and the Supreme Court. Whatever he wants to do for the next 4 years is going to be very hard to prevent. If he dies, is removed from his position due to incompetency, or resigns, then we have President Vance – an unknown just a few months ago, but, based on what we have learned, scarcely better than Trump and maybe worse.
This is a terrifying reality for progressives to face. Trump is fiercely opposed to virtually every value we hold sacred. In addition, he is erratic, unprincipled, untruthful, lacking in compassion and aided by others who share the same characteristics.
So what to do?
Reform is Not Enough
Immediately there have been calls to reform the Democratic Party, examine its failures and its shortcomings and expose its corporatist underpinnings. Fine. Nothing wrong with that.
But let’s remember: more than half of those who bothered to vote chose this Trumpist nightmare. That goes way beyond the failures of the Democratic Party. That suggests a deadly combination of unmet needs, ignorance, and disgust with the way this country is heading. It reveals a country that has lost its way, abandoned the values it has championed (or at least given lip service to), lost its compassion for those less fortunate, and become divorced from its connection to the planet.
Of course that is not true of every person. Many of us struggled mightily in myriad ways to resist this tide, but we were overwhelmed, at least for now. We all know there is a lot of decency in the hearts, minds and actions of our fellow Americans, both red and blue, and there will be endless analyses of how this nevertheless happened.
The question remains: what to do?
Forget About Congress and the Trumpists
In the next four years, or at least the next two, trying to work with Congress is going to be a pointless exercise in frustration. We might manage a few relatively small bipartisan victories, but as we try to preserve the gains we have made in the past, we are likely to meet defeat at every turn. I believe we have much more fundamental work to do.
Let’s let the Trumpists do what they are going to do anyway. It will be horrible and immensely destructive, but my hope is that it will turn many Trump voters against him. We saw that happen with Nixon. Meanwhile, short of revolution, there will be little we can do to stop them.
The Art of the Necessary
So let us think in terms of revolution. Not revolution in the sense of taking up arms or overthrowing the government. Revolution in the sense of creating a politics that is not “the art of the possible,” but is rather the “art of the necessary.” We need changes that neither the Republicans nor the Democrats have offered us. It is obvious that the politics of the past have not taken us where we need to go. We need a new vision of what is possible and now is the time to develop it. Here are some basic principles of this new politics that we must flesh out and then market to our fellow Americans.
- Survival of life on earth is more important than anything else. Nothing must be allowed to stand in the way of that. Not “defense.” Not profit. Not the “national interest.” Not “our way of life.” For the good of the country and the world,
- Climate change must be mitigated as much as we can and as soon as we can.
- Nuclear weapons must be eliminated.
- War must be made impossible and unthinkable.
- Policies driven by greed must be deemed unacceptable.
- Resources must be shared much more equitably. Every person’s basic needs must be met.
- Everyone must have food, shelter, education and the opportunity to contribute and succeed.
- We must find a way to limit the size of differences in wealth.
- Everyone must be guaranteed basic rights as defined by – though not limited to – the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.
These principles may seem like an unattainable dream, but they are the minimum that our country – and indeed, the human race – needs now. Our job has to be to persuade both red- and blue-identified folks that these priorities are essential to both the prosperity of our country and the survival of the world.
Without a Vision…
How we do that is a question that is going to have to be answered in each community, for that community. What works in Oregon may not work in Ohio, but we desperately need to come together around a vision that allows us to survive. Without that vision, as the Tao says, the people perish.
Peter Bergel is a retired director of Oregon PeaceWorks and edits The PeaceWorker (www.peaceworker.org) – an online news magazine.
