"Snap out of it!" my courageous mother might have said, were she alive today. I come from a generation that was not supposed to exaggerate our problems -- and some of our problems were staggering. We, as a country, were tested in so many ways. The Great Depression which caused so much misery and hardship was not met by the turning towards fascism, but by the creation of Social Security and banking laws under FDR. And the enormity of WW2 -- with all its losses of lives, and disruption of family life, was endured with a true stoicism, as we redefined our liberties while fighting those who threatened them. Yes, there were some grievous acts like the roundup and confinement of Japanese Americans, but these were exceptions to the courage and grit shown by most in power, and ordinary/extraordinary citizens. My wife's father -- too old for draft age -- volunteered, and as a doctor he healed the wounded and comforted the dying in the battles of the Far East -- and she was denied his presence during her childhood. But she endured it and grew into a wonderful young woman.
In Britain Nazi bombs reigned down on Londoners, completely destroying Coventry and other cities, thousands lost their lives, others lost their loved ones and their homes and the people did not cry out for a fascist leader. Instead, they put the British version of Hitler, Mosely, in jail for the duration of the war. In no way do I wish to diminish the terrible losses starting in 9/11 and the awful killings that lunatic murderers have brought on civilians and police in recent days -- but it does not compare to the suffering endured in WW2. And if we were able to resist the siren song of fascism then -- why are we so vulnerable to it now? Perhaps it is easier to have one of two nation state enemies than a hundred single secret killers endangering the lives of citizens -- but it is not enough -- it will never be enough -- to hand the reins of power to a fascistic, narcissistic, sociopath. We did not seek and elect our version of a Hitler to fight Hitler then, and we must not do so now. So, in the words of my very wise but no nonsense mother, "America, snap out of it." This is a testing time for courage and cool heads -- and I believe that we shall pass the test. Terrible times should not and will not force a country to elect a truly terrible man. Courage is in our DNA -- and we must use every bit of it to fight Trump and the dystopian world of repression and oppression that he would bring to all of us. He is the specter under the bed that we feared as children, now grown up and real -- his power is only that which we wish to give to him -- and by God we will not do that! Letting Trump win would be an act of cowardice that this country has yet to commit. Onwards!