Sometimes its difficult to believe that Trump is not actively trying to destroy this country. Otherwise, it’s very difficult to understand how he believes his actions will be beneficial for and in the long-term best interests of the country. [I do, of course, understand that Trump views everything through the ‘how will this benefit me?’ lens.] The country is being ravaged by the coronavirus. Over 220,000 Americans are dead with over 8,000,000 infected. The numbers are continuing to rise and almost all of the experts are saying now that the weather is getting colder and people will be spending more time indoors, the situation will worsen.
A true leader who really cares about the United States of America would have the attitude, “I am going to do everything in my power to save American lives, even if it costs me the election.” Trump’s attitude is, “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure I get reelected, regardless of how many American lives it costs.” That is a pretty sad commentary on the quality of leadership that we have in this country.
There is another sad commentary about the current environment we are living in. Gun sales have skyrocketed since the pandemic began and again after the killing of George Floyd and the ensuing social unrest. According to a report from the Brookings Institute, an estimated three million more guns have been sold since March than would have normally been sold during this period.1 “There are more guns than people in the United States (400 million are in circulation for a population of 330 million). In just the first six months of 2020, approximately 19 million firearms have been sold, representing more than one firearm for every 20 Americans.”1
I was in a store here in Bozeman a couple of days ago and I passed by the gun counter and there was a sign up on the wall that listed several standard calibers of ammunition that were out of stock. It turns out there is an ammunition shortage across the entire country. Think about that – record numbers of guns in circulation and people have purchased so much ammunition that there is a nationwide shortage.
People are scared. This is the United States of America – land of the free and home of the brave – and people are scared. And people are not so much afraid of some foreign adversary but of other Americans!! It would be one thing if there was a flotilla of foreign ships standing off the coast of California and a D-day type of invasion was imminent. But that is not the case. The polarization has gotten so bad in this country that Americans are buying record numbers of guns because of a real or perceived threat from other Americans.
Not only are there a record number of guns in the US, there are a growing number of active ‘militias’ which tend to be right-wing, white supremacist, anti-government (and often pro-Trump) groups. “The Anti-Defamation League has reported that the number of militias have doubled since 2008, with a surge in growth following the election of President Obama. The Southern Poverty Law Center’s 2018 figures list 612 anti-government groups nationally, including 216 active militias. The groups are also increasingly active, with the ADL recording with a sharp increase of far-right violence in 2018.”2
These groups tend to be heavily armed and sometimes show up at things like Black Lives Matter protests under the guise of ‘protecting property.’ Or in one of the most recent examples, one of these groups threatened to kidnap, try and execute Michigan’s Democratic Governor, Gretchen Whitmer. The fact is, that militias are against the law in all 50 states. Private militia groups cannot legally take on any role that would normally be done by regular law enforcement personnel. However, under this administration, these groups have grown and gotten bolder. This is just another factor in the increasing fear and divisiveness blanketing the country.
There is a pandemic ravaging this country and killing hundreds of Americans every single day and Trump continues to downplay the seriousness of this war we’re in. People are buying record numbers of firearms because they are afraid of their fellow citizens. Militias are growing and becoming more visible and assertive. So, I ask once again, “Is this really the country we want to live in?” How the hell is this ‘Making America Great Again?” If we go much further down this road, we’ll look more like Mussolini’s Italy or Hitler’s Germany than the United States of America. Not too long ago, I would not have made such a statement – but I no longer think its hyperbole.
Trump likes to compare himself to President Lincoln. Lincoln refused to let this country be torn apart which led to the Civil War. Sometimes it seems like Trump is trying to foment a civil war so the country can tear itself apart. Vladimir Putin and President Xi must be laughing their asses off.
- https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/07/13/three-million-more-guns-the-spring-2020-spike-in-firearm-sales/
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/sethcohen/2020/10/10/how-right-wing-militias-pose-a-challenge-to-america-and-its-leaders/#1808eb466fe1
It looks like civil war is imminent.