Politics Plus

What if Christian [sic] Nationalists actually do gain power in this country? Don’t EVER think it can’t happen here. If somebody went back 90+ years and warned the people of Germany about Hitler and the Nazis, that person would almost certainly have met with a lot of derision. “No way that would happen here!” Herren and Frauen would have laughed and scoffed.

Right now the USA appears safe; however, six of the current Supreme Court justices are right-wingers appointed by right-wing Presidents. Republicans are doing all they can to suppress the votes of people who tend to go against them with gerrymandering, closing polling locations in areas that are not rich and lily-white, reducing early voting days and hours, and fighting vote-by-mail. Never mind that some people in economically disadvantaged districts and those where whites are a minority, or who rely on mail-in ballots due to mobility issues or lack of transportation, vote for GOP candidates not infrequently. Republicans want to make sure that only white, rich, fundamentalist Christian, preferably male and preferably cisgender people vote. They wanna party like it’s 1789.

Already we have seen just how powerful the Far Right is with how they stacked the SCOTUS and overturned Roe v Wade. Fortunately, the backlash was very intense, as rallies and marches and protests took place across the nation. When word about the overturn leaked, the number of women registering to vote spiked. Donations poured in to Planned Parenthood, NARAL, and other organizations geared toward protecting reproductive rights.

However, protesting and voting may not be enough to prevent the extreme right from taking over. Far too many residents of the US are apathetic and unaware, or brainwashed into supporting Republicans no matter what. The pundits for the GOP know how to bamboozle the public by distracting them with Hunter Biden’s laptop, or child-trafficking pizza parlors, or gas stoves. They appeal to the masses with wildly emotional claptrap about “killing babies” or “taking your guns.” Because so many US residents are poorly educated, and incapable of critical thinking, they are easy to jerk around. Sadly, leaders who can appeal to our base emotions do better than those who appeal to our intellects.

Our nation faces multiple crises – climate change, the debt ceiling, the growing gap between Left and Right, war and rumors of war, economic inequality, racial tension, and more. In times of crisis, people are more vulnerable to anybody who has a silvery tongue and knows the right things to say in order to sway the masses. Unfortunately, the silver-tongued are often not the best at actual leadership, and they rarely have the best interests of hoi polloi and the country in mind.

OK – so what do we do if right-wing religious extremist bugnuts do take power? We need to decide ahead of time so we don’t find ourselves in a panic. Also, if we don’t plan ahead, we may find some avenues of escape or other action blocked. Certain people could be rounded up and put in detention camps with little to no warning.

First, we need a support network of people whom we trust. Which of your neighbors, co-workers, friends, family members, and Meetup buddies can you rely on to have your back if our government becomes totally hostile to those of your ilk?

Second, where will you go? If you can’t stay where you live, what will be your safe haven? Another country? But emigration is not nearly as easy as it sounds – many countries that seem inviting in reality have rather picky criteria as to whom they’ll take in. Getting refugee status may be quite a challenge. Thus, your best bet may be to stay and fight, even if you need to “head for the hills.”

Third, how will you sustain yourself where you go if you have to leave? What job skills do you have that you can use? Or are you going to homestead off the grid like a Prepper? Are you prepared to go into hiding if necessary?

We should all hope, and work, for the best; but we also need to prepare for the worst. Because the worst could happen – it has before.