The fight for the soul of America could be nearly over. The fight for democracy has ended: the military ignore their vows to uphold and defend the constitution. Instead, they are part of Trump, Inc, following his orders alone. They bomb foreign countries at will, commit piracy and murder on the high seas and are eying other countries for takeover. Might makes right. The law courts make the right noises but Trump, his sychpohants, and the ICE Brownshirts act with impunity. US citizens are shot dead with without legal repercussions. So forget whether democracy will survive in the USA. It, along with the rule of law, is already dead. Next comes the soul.
The collective American will has been crushed by its three Cs. The first is Convenience. When I tried living in the US again (2017 – 2020) I used to drive past the billboard shown above. It always bothered me. It wasn’t just the conspicuous consumption, but rather its raw honesty: America is the land of Convenience. Food, fuel and love(?!) all in the same filling station. Every town or city has a strip of fast food providers (they are’t really restaurants): burgers, fish, steaks, road kill–all just waiting to be consumed! SImply point your oversized car or pickup truck into the car park or the drive-through window. You too can become morbidly obese with the American addiction to saturated fats and sugar–and salt–don’t forget the salt! It will help finish off your heart when you can no longer walk farther than from your house to your car. Then there is the conveience of going from an air-conditioned house to an air-conditioned car to shop in an air-conditioned mall. And outside of Saudi Arabia, the fuel is the cheapest in the developed world: Convenience.
The life of Convenience soon leads to the attitude of Complacency. “Oh well, America IS exceptional. Our leaders tell us so! That’s why our 5% of the world’s population deserve to consume nearly 25% of the world’s resources…and we’re prepared to take more!” Even Americans with a conscience find themselves weighing up a nice house, cars, the ability to shop the world, and–if you’re white–the privilege of being left alone, versus taking direct action. As long as you don’t speak out against The Leader things will be okay. Just be glad you don’t live in Venezuela, Iran, Greenland–or any other place the Trumpkin wants to conquer or bomb. Simply turn off the news and keep shopping! And that leads us to the final C: Compliance.
Compliance–or one could just as easily say Capitulation–is the final resting place of both democracy and the sullied soul of America. “We have all the material possessions we need…well, nearly, so why stir up Trump’s hornets’ nest? He can’t last forever.” No, but the MAGA Reich will outlast Trump and Project 2025 will become Project 2026, 27, 28, etc. Remember when Q-Anon used to say that the Democrats ran a child abuse ring out of a pizza parlour in DC? MAGA republicans were outraged. (One thing illiterate Americans need to learn is that narcissists always project what they are doing or planning on someone else.) Well, faith and begorra, as the Epstein files are slowly released and as names are named, see how blasé and complacent family-values republicans and non-commited Americans have become. Yes, Complacent to the point of Compliance. For this writer I would dare say that child abuse and sex with trafficked women and men is the prerequisite to become a true MAGA republican. Why fight it? God has sent Trump, right?!
America has lived at the top of the world’s food chain for too long, and now, like its leader, is bloated and insatiable. It has turned against its own populace and benevolent institutions, and has become the architect of its own ruin. The US has also turned against its long-time allies and friends, while serving the interests of Putin’s Russia. I would love to be wrong(!), but at its current rate of decline, I can envisage within my lifetime an America run by a handful of billionaires with 300 million serfs, eager to have a job and a meal. The state police and military are serving the whims of their paymasters and can control the populace. Who or what is going to stop them? Nothing but full-scale civil disobedience can begin to save America’s soul…if it isn’t already too late.
JACK N. LAWSON - author • speaker • trainer 