I voted in the 2020 election in honor of my late mother and grandparents. My mother was an immigrant who came to America at age 10 in 1946. Her family survived through World War II and lived under the regime of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.
I’ve been thinking of my mother’s family a lot more as our 45th president has increasingly ignored his constitutional oath. He continually takes actions and exacts revenge, which weakens our democratic and governmental institutions. This president, who admires authoritarian dictators, appears to desire an authoritarian regime, or monarchical family dynasty, or Russian-style kleptocracy in the United States. President Trump has openly said he wants to stay in office past the eight-year term limit.
When Mussolini began his reign via a Fascist coup d’état in 1922, my grandfather was a teenager. In only three years (1925-1927) Mussolini dismantled many constitutional and conventional restraints on his power and created a police state. My grandfather despised Mussolini, who didn’t care for many of Italy’s citizens.
What will happen if Donald Trump is reelected, selected or steals power? What will happen to our so-called “three coequal branches”?
Whenever I hear someone from the Tea Party or MAGA Nation or a libertarian or conservative say they “don’t trust the government,” I can’t help but chuckle. You know who else does not inherently “trust” government or politicians? Immigrants! Why is that? When they leave their home country, they often leave behind family members, their home and possessions to come to America and start over. They wouldn’t have left their home country if they had “trusted” their leaders and things had been better.
Immigrants like my mother’s family come to America with hope, but retain a bit of skepticism. This isn’t very different from Ronald Reagan’s “trust, but verify.” Immigrants want things to be better for future generations of their families. But they soon realize that the words of the U.S. Constitution are in fact unrealized ideals. We are still on the long road to a “more perfect union.”
This president’s campaign began with the immigration issue. His first term is now ending with, among several simultaneous crises, the issue of racial inequality. In addition, there is the continuing issue of the cruel separation of parents and children at our southern border. Keeping track of parents and children in custody was not a priority for this president.
One of my favorite family photos is the passport photo of my grandmother and her three daughters. I see this photo every day in my hallway. It was taken in Italy before they boarded a ship destined for New York. Back then, before computers, this was a simple way to “keep track” of families who were traveling together. If a child got separated, searchers could know what the child looked like.
As our economy teeters and coronavirus keeps spreading, it’s becoming clear to more citizens that this president does not seem to care for anyone but himself and his family. This president railed against the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), but has yet to deliver his “beautiful plan” for health care. We could call Trump’s lack of a plan for health care and the coronavirus pandemic “DonT-Care.”
Immigrants know what it’s like when the country’s leaders don’t really care about you, your family, your city or your province.
More Americans are now feeling what immigrants, Black and Native Americans have long known: Government leaders often care more about dollars, donors and reelection than citizens, families and workers.
What can we do in these uncertain times? If we can’t be united at the national level, we can at least try to unite at the neighborhood, local and state levels.
My mother’s family lived in a small town in Tuscany. Ghivizanno dates back to medieval times and warring city-states, with its walled-in tower and stone church. That tower was used by local residents as a lookout for approaching Nazi soldiers, or American or British troops. Luckily, they never arrived at the same time.
After two different spottings of Nazi soldiers from the tower, the men of the town hiked into the mountains, for fear of conscription. My grandfather and uncle camped out both times for several weeks, until it was safe to return home.
The downside was women and children were left to fend for themselves. Mattresses, pots and pans were confiscated by Nazis soldiers.
My grandfather’s brother didn’t want to leave his family, home, animals and gardens when Nazi soldiers approached. Instead, he cleverly placed chicken feces around his property in sufficient quantities to cause the Nazi soldiers to bypass his home. They left his family alone.
When our national government doesn’t seem to care for the people, we’ll need to cooperate more with our neighbors. Our Declaration of Independence states: “Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” If all else fails, we can confront our current wannabe dictator’s BS or ward off approaching Proud Boys with chicken feces.
