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 What if?
by Jamie McKenzie |
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What if you wake up one day and find that the leader of your country has ordered the invasion of a neighboring nation for what seem like trumped up and false reasons? What if you wake up one day and find that the citizens of your country have returned a man to the White House you consider a dangerous criminal unfit to lead the nation? What if you wake up one day and find that the state government where you live has cut way back on the retirement benefits you were promised for decades as a public employee? Suppose you and your wife or husband have spent the past few years planning a wonderful retirement in a warmer climate but one of you is suddenly diagnosed with Alzheimer’s? What if erosion threatens to cast your beach house into the sea? What if one of your grown kids develops a life threatening addiction to drugs and resists all rescue efforts? While all of the above are quite unthinkable, we inhabit a world where the unthinkable happens with disturbing regularity. While it is tempting to ignore such threats looming on the horizon, such a stance is foolhardy. New Orleans paid a devastating price for failing to plan for a horrendous hurricane like Katrina.  “Hurricane Katrina was a devastating and deadly Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused 1,836 fatalities and damages estimated between $97.4 billion to $145.5 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area.” Wikipedia In 2005, inspired by the failure of disaster planners to anticipate the damage a hurricane like Katrina might release upon the city of New Orleans, I published an article, "Thinking the Unthinkable" that outlined in considerable detail the importance of learning to plan for the unthinkable: Anticipating disaster and taking care of people is a skill that requires thinking the unthinkable and considering worst case scenarios. When leaders have neither skill nor inclination to consider the unthinkable, many people can die.Much of what I wrote at that time remains sadly cogent in 2024 as the unthinkable has become even more prevalent. Ignorance is bliss, so they say. The 2024 Presidential ElectionWe now seem to be facing a rematch between Biden and Trump, as each party has already made their selection. While surprise events like an illness or a criminal conviction might change this matchup, it seems likely that the contest will focus on the two former presidents. Many people wish there would be other, younger, new candidates, but if wishes were fishes . . .There are many Americans who claim that they hate Biden. There are many Americans who claim that they hate Trump. They view the return of their "hated man" to the White House as unthinkable, shuddering as events roll forward like a tsunami. How does one prepare for a bloodbath?Just this month, one of the candidates predicted a "blood bath" if he did not win in November and he praised those who joined the January 6 2021 riot at the Capitol.The peaceful transfer of power is a fundamental element of any democratic society. How does one prepare for a bloodbath? Regardless of which candidate one supports, a bloodbath would be threatening to all. Does it make sense to buy a gun now?  Fortify one's home? Stock up on survival items? Explore emigration to some less dangerous nation? Or should one wait until the election and January of 2025 to see if the threats and dangers are real? Thinking the unthinkable When the Nazis came to ParisOn June 14, 1940, a triumphant German army entered Paris and soon after began the work of murdering tens of thousands of Jews along with communists, homosexuals and others. It was unthinkable, of course, but the Nazis had already committed similar atrocities in Germany, Poland and other nations.Many fled Paris and France, but flight was difficult, if not impossible for many. The Nazis took their time, executing their plan in stages, so some people hoped they would remain safe. Ultimately, no Jewish person was safe and more than 50,000 Jews -- men, women and children -- were murdered or sent to death camps. The horror of this tragedy is outlined in detail by the Holocaust Encyclopedia and personalized by a number of outstanding novels like "The Paris Deception" by Bryn Turnbull.  One of the main characters in The Paris Deception -- Dietrich -- who witnessed firsthand as a German teenager the Nazi way of gradually isolating, then killing target populations like the Jews -- explains to Paris citizens before the invasion how it works . . . "It starts with silence," he’d said, "and then it grows. Silence from those of us too unwilling to accept what’s happening before our very eyes. Silence, as they chip away at the foundation of someone else’s life."Is it denial? Optimism? Wishful thinking? Could this happen in the USA?It is unthinkable, of course, but so were the events of January 6, 2021 when a mob encouraged by the dethroned Ex-President tried to reverse the outcome of the election using force.In her recent novel, "Our Missing Hearts," Celeste Ng shows how the USA might one day swerve away from democratic norms and civil liberties because of unrest and a great CRISIS that creates support for a new set of laws -- PACT -- that restricts free speech, separates many children from their parents and targets Asians in ways that echo some of what Hitler did. Her tale is all too plausible and altogether chilling. 
The price of libertyIronically, since he was a slaveholder, Thomas Jefferson was quoted as saying, "The price of liberty is eternal vigilance," but there is little evidence in his writings or elsewhere, that the words are actually his.The statement, regardless of its origin or author, has withstood the test of time and seems to fit the current state of affairs in the USA and elsewhere as so-called strong men seek to replace liberties with iron-fisted rule inspired by racism, demagoguery and scapegoating. What does this mean? Between now and the November election, if you wish to see democracy preserved and fascism repulsed, political activism is essential, fighting to elect those who honor democratic norms while defeating those who have applauded the events of January 6, 2021. Staying home or remaining uninvolved on the sidelines endangers the future of the USA. This is no time to indulge feelings of disengagement, disillusion or disappointment. After the election, if the results are horrific, citizens who wish to preserve democracy must turn to history and the example of those in places like France who organized to resist the brutality and control of the Nazis. Read about the Resistance https://www.britannica.com/place/France/The-Resistance In that event, judging from the behavior of leaders like Vladmir Putin and Adolf Hitler, we can expect suppression of dissent and widespread mistreatment of scapegoated groups along with sanctification of vigilante groups. Some may resist. Some may leave. Many will suffer. A slippery slope |
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