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Surviving Trump’s second presidency will not be enough

Harry November 15, 2024

Keith A. Owens
| Contributing columnist

In the time since the bitter fallout of Election Day, I, like many others, have been using social media to connect with friends and other like-minded individuals, and also just to see what’s out there. One of the recurring themes I see is “we will get through this.”

This, But this wasn’t just a bump in the road or a wrong turn that maybe we could fix in four years.

This Was America showing us its true face for those who weren’t paying attention or didn’t want to believe what we saw in the mirror? I also include myself in this second group. This This was a stress fracture in a nation where too many people still see “us” and “them” rather than “us,” and my growing concern is that this may be a fracture that cannot be repaired.

America has failed and we will all pay the price

What happened wasn’t about what Kamala Harris did wrong or what Joe Biden did wrong. Both gave their all trying to save a fractured nation from within.

It is America that has failed, and we will all pay the price for it. This includes Trump’s supporters, they will soon find out. It also covers much of the rest of the world, because the projected devastating impact of Trump’s stated policies (mass deportations and excessive tariffs, as well as allowing Russia’s Vladimir Putin to do whatever he wants to Ukraine) is beyond our wildest dreams. It will send shock waves beyond. domestic situation.

I was glad to see the sense of community and courage that survived an event that most of us would never have imagined could happen even once, let alone a second time. Mutual support and encouragement is very important. But I also think it’s time to be respectfully honest about what’s happening to us and take honest action against the threat we face.

The first step is to accept that most of us will survive this, but some of us probably won’t. This isn’t hyperbole or left-wing Chicken Little hysteria; This is just a serious assessment of what Trump tells us he plans to do.

For those of us who manage to survive this, the next four years (or longer) will be something to endure as we figure out how to get to the other side. Surviving may not be a reason to be thankful during the coming storm, but one will be constantly on edge and fearful because of the reckless uncertainty that this anger-fueled administration will bring.

Pain, suffering and destruction

So the issue is not whether America has the potential to repair itself. After all, we managed to escape slavery. But this course correction led to a Civil War that nearly destroyed the country and after slavery inflicted untold horrors on hundreds of thousands of enslaved people every day for more than 200 years.

Look, when we talk about how we got through some terrible periods of history, we need to remember all the pain, suffering, and wreckage endured through almost unbearable times before the end came. Joy may come in the morning, as I often heard in church, but there are also times when the darkness of the night puts a long pause on the sunrise.

This may be one of those times. Trump’s election is, at worst, a step backwards that could cost us almost every step of the progress we’ve made so far.

White supremacy and the legitimization of violence as the law of the land have been a part of this nation since its founding. Donald Trump has openly expressed his support and admiration for purveyors of white supremacist ideology, not only in the United States but also elsewhere in the world; such as his obsequious relationship with Hungary’s white supremacist leader Victor Orban. Who already “predicted” that Trump would leave Ukraineand it was first European leader to congratulate him upon his victory.

He told us what to do

We need to be realistic about the future, and we can start with the proposal for mass deportation of illegal immigrants that is a cornerstone of Trump’s reelection strategy. According to a recent news Article by well-known historian and political commentator Heather Cox Richardson of Substack says, “…deporting up to 20 million people will be a logistical nightmare and is estimated to cost $88 billion to $315 billion per year. At the same time, a large part of the U.S. economy depends on undocumented immigrants, and Republican businessmen will certainly oppose losing workers.”

such an operation At the same time, thousands of Americans are using such a massive effort to attack their fellow Americans, calling a neighbor “illegal,” “terrorist,” etc. If it is suspected of harboring it, it will require the authorities to support it by warning it. Largely non-white communities such as Dearborn and southwestern Detroit may become target communities harboring the “undesirables.”

abortion rights

Then there is the issue of abortion rights. Although Trump and his team visibly tried to back away from opposition to abortion rights during the campaign, when it inevitably becomes clear just how unpopular the issue is with the majority of Americans, he and his administration can do whatever they want because he won the election. .

Fact is that women are already dead Thanks to Trump-appointed judges, the US Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. As a result of repealing the Wade case, it is no longer a barrier to him becoming president and is no longer a reason to reduce anti-abortion rhetoric. Trump no longer has to pretend he wants to be the protector of women.

RIP or FDA?

When it comes to our health, Robert Kennedy Jr., who is expected to play a key role in shaping Trump’s health policies, said he plans to do so. Eliminate the Department of Nutrition at the FDA. What does this mean? from FDA:

“FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) manages the Food Program. CFSAN ensures the safety of the human food supply, nutritional supplements and cosmetics, as well as the correct labeling of food and cosmetic products. The Food Program is responsible for ensuring that FDA regulations and guidance provide clear and reliable guidance and assistance to industry within and outside the United States to ensure safe food supply and high compliance with standards necessary to protect public health. “We meet consumer and stakeholder expectations.”

As for those interested in protesting anything Trump doesn’t want you to protest, he actually talked about eliminating unwanted protests by any means necessary.

From the ACLU: “Trump has already indicated that his administration will consider invoking the Insurrection Act to deploy the military in America’s cities (potentially targeting large BIPOC and immigrant communities) to suppress the right to protest. Trump has also stated that his administration will attack free speech online by forcing media companies and online platforms to carry speech favored by conservatives.”

For those who want to delve deeper into how bad this can get, take the time to read on Project 2025. This should provide all the details you need. Mass deportation and the complete elimination of abortion rights are essential elements of this project.

I still believe that the best way for us to survive as a country after the election is to eliminate the concept of “us” and “them” and view all “us” Americans, no matter how radical, as simply “us.” I disagree, as I wrote my last column. Because when we allow ourselves to erase a certain part of the country, it becomes easier the second time, and so on, until we no longer have a country, just a group of self-indulgent settlements constantly at war with each other. .

I still believe that America can be a us. I hope we haven’t passed the point of no return.

Free Press contributing columnist Keith A. Owens is a local author and co-founder of Detroit Stories Quarterly and the We Are Speaking Substack newsletter and podcast. Send a letter to the editor at: freep.com/letters and we can publish it online and in print.