On January 6, 2021

Harvest time in absurd America

Dear Editor,

Trump reportedly intends to keep pushing the baseless claim that massive fraud of unbelievable scope robbed him of reelection even after Congress accepts the results, because  “Why should I ever let this go?… How would that benefit me?”

That Trump plans to continue this demolition of democracy even after the almost certain inauguration of a new president meets my definition of treason; I leave it to others to decide if it meets the legal definition.  As I write this, Republican enablers in both the House and the Senate plan to question the certified results of the election.  That also meets my definition of treason.  It is guaranteed to cause serious and long lasting damage to the country they were elected to serve.  I consider them the pallbearers of American democracy.

Half a century of propaganda, fundamentalist vitriol, and radical economic fundamentalism that thrived on nonsensical ideas—help the poor by ensuring the rich get to keep their money, spread guns everywhere to reduce gun violence, etc.—preceded this relentless effort to convince Americans that the pillar of their democracy is rotten through and through.

Too many of us lost the ability to see what’s there, and that’s always the battle.

When we see things that aren’t there we sow the seeds for corruption, cruelty, disruption, destruction, and dictatorship.

We sowed the seeds.  It’s harvest time.

I guess we have to hope that the way to sanity is to first drive everyone insane.

Lee Russ,

Bennington

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