Where are we headed? And by we, I mean the non-leftists in this country. I’m not saying “conservatives” because according to many people on the Right, there is no such thing as conservative. And I don’t need to fight that war of words. It doesn’t matter what label we end up with. I can define myself by what I’m not. I’m not a progressive. I think the traditional definitions of things are sufficient to describe the world. I think the traditional institutions like marriage, family and nation are valid and sufficient for people to live their lives in a meaningful way.
I also like the “rights” that were spelled out in the United States Constitution two-hundred-some-odd-years ago. I like the idea of having freedom of speech, religion, self-defense, and to live my life as I choose as long as I don’t try to tell you how to live. And to associate with people that agree with me on how to live. All that seems very desirable to me. And it seems quite believable that it can be maintained as it was in the early years of the republic.
This month by some incalculable miracle Donald Trump won re-election. It’s as improbable to me as that Space-X booster that was falling out of the sky and then in one graceful arc lands in the cradle like an egg that a cook places in an egg cup. It’s inconceivable. But it happened and I guess there is an equally unlikely chance that Trump succeeds in doing all the things he’s said he will do. Basically, he’s sworn to fix the country and make it great again. And by great I think he means free and prosperous.
Well, I guess after his Houdini act, I should give him the benefit of the doubt and let him try to fix America. If he does then the answer to my original question, “Where are we headed?” is easy. We’re going back to the heaven on Earth that was this country a hundred years ago. Now I’m sure the folks on the far-right will remind me that we’re not the same people we were back then, what with demographic change and women voting and all that jazz. And they’re right. We are different. Whatever changes in culture and demographics have wrought won’t be erased. Even the descendants of Old America have changed. Their ancestors were religious people. Their descendants are for the most part atheists or at least agnostics. So, we have to acknowledge that.
My answer is that different people can play the same game and even though there will be differences in style and skill level if they play by the same rules, then basically it’s still the same game. So, from my way of looking at things we’re most likely to get back mostly the same kind of country if we make everyone play by the original rules. This I believe is known as civic nationalism.
Well, that’s a lot of ifs. Trump is battling the most powerful accumulation of power since the Romans conquered the Mediterranean after knocking off the Carthaginians. The Deep State and the vested interests that are their clients are the people Eisenhower called the military-industrial complex. He warned us about them sixty-five years ago and they’ve only become more powerful over time. They now also operate the surveillance state that knows everything we write, say or maybe even think. They essentially control Silicon Valley because they are their paymasters. They are not going to just roll over and play dead.
All this means there is a range of outcomes next year that runs the gamut from complete Trump failure to complete victory. Of course, the most likely outcome is something in the middle where neither side totally wins or totally loses. But Trump has earned the privilege of us watching and waiting to see what he can manage. I don’t expect perfection. I do expect him to make my life better and mercilessly torture his enemies and make their lives a living hell. I think he owes that to himself and to me.
I want him to restore all of our rights under the Constitution including freedom of association. And I want him to eliminate affirmative action from all aspects of American life. If he does all that, he will be a success in my book.
I want to see a long line of FBI executives with cardboard boxes in their hands walking out of the J. Edgar Hoover Building with really sad faces. I want NPR defunded. I want the Education Department closed. I want men in dresses drummed out of the military in great bunches. I want everyone whose name is associated with Ukraine in the State Department unemployed. I want all the prosecutors at the Department of Justice who spent their last four years prosecuting J6 fired. I want the military budget for weapons systems halved and the VA fully funded. I want Fauci prosecuted and all his co-conspirators rounded up. I want a true analysis of the “safety and efficacy of the COVID vaccines. I want Trump to declare martial law at the borders and refuse to let anyone in without a valid visa. And if the visa cases become backlogged the candidates will wait outside the country for their turn. And I want him to deport a million aliens a month. And I want him to make the wall solid and equipped with drones that catch people climbing it and throw them back onto the outside.
And that’s the start of what I want. I guess this is my Christmas list, Santa Trump. Do the best you can.