This commentary is by Bob Stannard of Manchester, an author, musician and former state legislator and lobbyist.
The riots have calmed down some, but not completely. The level of civil unrest has been unprecedented. It made the ‘67 Detroit Riots and the ‘92 Los Angeles Riots look like child’s play.
The riots weren’t just in a few cities. Well, OK, they started in New York, Boston and California, but quickly spread across the entire country. Coming up on the second anniversary of riots, it’s still unclear as to how many people have died and the injured list is incomprehensible. The hospitals are still overflowing with patients, dwarfing the stress that the medical profession was placed under with Covid.
The election results were no sooner in when they were contested. That was expected. What was not expected was overturning of the results. Once that news was released, all bets were off.
People took to the streets, first in peaceful protests, but that didn’t last long. The groups formerly known as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers never really went away. Oh sure, the ringleaders of a few years ago were put behind bars, but much like ISIS, the group never really went away. The majority of Americans who relied on the military to come to the rescue were stunned to learn that many of them supported the fascists. It was breathtaking to watch just how fast the whole thing unraveled.
It’s been two years since the last election and most of America is still in shock. The majority of people still can’t believe that he won. It made no sense. He had been indicted in four of the four cases against him, but since he had won his primary, it was determined that he could not be prosecuted.
No one thought he could possibly win, but they had not considered the gerrymandering, the Southern state legislators ensuring that they could control the process and the never-ending assault on voters’ rights.
Of course, he didn’t win the popular vote. He never had, but that didn’t stop the radical Supreme Court from seating him. It defied logic, but logic and fairness are clearly no longer a component of the American electoral process. He said he would win if he was indicted. Had the elections been fair, he wouldn’t have. There’s not a lot of howling going on from his supporters now about the elections being rigged; not when it worked in their favor.
A lot has happened in two short years. He was able to get a national ban on abortions, but he didn’t stop there. He immediately went after every minority he could get his hands on. First it was the LGBTQ community. They have now been banned from society.
Then there were the books. Oh yeah, books were a real threat to these folks, and not just books that helped kids who were struggling with their identity. Oh no, they went after all the books. The only book left was the Bible and not just any Bible. They rewrote the King James version of the Bible and replaced it with their new version, which was so insanely radical that it would make the Taliban blush.
Guns are now allowed everywhere — church, shopping malls, sports events, anywhere, and everyone’s now carrying. They made carrying a firearm mandatory for white nationalist Christians. If you don’t have a gun, you either get a gun or go to jail.
Black, brown, yellow, red people, who were not allowed to have guns, have been sent to the new “reservations.” They, along with the Jews, are no longer allowed to mingle with the white Christians. In short order, laws were written to make white Christians the people of choice. You either agree with them and their values or you were deported back to the country of your ancestors. There is no longer room for dissenters in this new America.
Majorie Taylor Green was appointed secretary of state and Lauren Boebert, who lost her seat (not that it mattered) was named secretary of defense. The appointed president invited his longtime friend and ally, Vladimir Putin, to speak before a joint session of Congress. It was made clear to the minority that any outburst or even negative comments would receive harsh punishment. You will be forcibly removed from your seat (and most likely removed from the planet).
Yes, the New Order is working as planned. Steve Bannon is now the head of the Department of Justice, which has been devolved into a legal sword to go after anyone who disagrees with the president — not that we call him president these days. He insists on being referred to as His Majesty and you had damned well better bow and kiss the ring if you would like to see another sunrise. If you cross him, you’ll find yourself in the same place as a Russian who dares cross Putin.
It was amazing how swiftly it all happened. He got appointed by the Supreme Court and his first official act was to “suspend” the Constitution. It was all downhill from there. The authoritarians took over in full force. You wouldn’t recognize the place.
If you would prefer not to see the above scenario come true, you’d better get off the couch.