The dictator’s checklist
By Nicole Nutting
In the last eight months we’ve learned that President Trump is an impetuous and disorganized individual who governs largely by whim. His mind flits from topic to topic, landing just long enough to stir up chaos and then fluttering on. In the string of daily upheavals it’s easy to get drawn into those topics of particular interest to ourselves, but lose sight of the bigger picture. President Trump, in his ego-driven self-importance, is at war with the very concept of democracy.
Think back to his words and actions—his executive orders, his judicial picks, his directives to the Department of Justice, his derision of the press and of protesters. The objective of each is to remove power from the populace and concentrate it in his hands. I wouldn’t have thought him capable of being systematic, but it seems as though he’s deliberately going down a list entitled
“How To Be A Dictator” and checking off the boxes.
The recent ordeal around sports figures standing or kneeling for the anthem is a prime example. Trump has convinced his supporters that, rather than being a legitimate protest against police brutality, kneeling is un-patriotic. Conspicuously absent from that twisted thinking is any acknowledgement of our First Amendment right to peaceful protest. In his convoluted way, Trump is equating disregard for our Constitution with patriotism, an insidious undermining of democratic principles.
This man is like the juvenile delinquent who causes so much havoc inside the house that we fail to notice he’s also set fire to the outside of it. He is playing us, and we’re falling for it every time. He foments fears and pits us against one another. Trump’s IQ may currently be in question, but his ability to manipulate is not.
Instead of getting sidetracked by each and every individual issue, we would be well-advised to be mindful of the overall trend. We are too easily distracted, so let’s invest more thought and energy into pursuing ways to remove this president from office. Our democratic political structure is at risk under the Trump “dictatorship”.
