The French philosopher Voltaire stated “Those who believe absurdities will commit atrocities,” which definitely points to the “constitutional carry” law passed by the Republican-led Texas State Representatives and The Times’ May 1 coverage of “executive protection training,” both reminiscent of the Freudian theory that guns represent men’s insecurity in their manhood.
Texans don’t think, they shoot.
Consider the deadliness of these actions and attitudes: about 161 Americans have been killed by guns since the bill was introduced. How can they believe more guns in unlicensed citizens’ hands brings safety? Conversing with two police veterans, I heard them say they feel this perversion of the Second Amendment endangers law enforcement officers. The Times article and photo of this so-called “elite” group of seven men with assault rifles is reassuring since they “undertook academic class”, so they must be literate.
If so, they should read Sinclair Lewis’ It Can’t Happen Here, George Orwell’s 1984, and William Shire’s historical narratives, Berlin Diary and The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. They would see the artlessness of Republican Congressmen who pushed the “constitutional carry” bill in Austin and realize that they would foist an oligarchy led by double-talking demagogues who view “law and order” as subjecting Americans to blind servility where it is the duty of citizens to obey and be subservient to the government.
The very idea that members of these gun-toting organizations “assisted in protection of the building of the border wall system” is alarming since the very idea of a physical border barrier is odiously counterproductive and would have been a monument to the idiocy of the Mar-a-Lago megalomaniac.
Followers of Donald Trump’s lies, such as Laredo’s Border Patrol Union leadership and local GOP spokesperson utterly misinterpret freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution, as exemplified with the “America First” nonsense at The Villages in Florida. The shouting Floridian audience were roiled to yelling by Republican Representatives Marjorie Greene and Matt Gaetz and could be easily transposed to 1930s Nuremburg, Germany Nationalist Party rallies. The crowd yelped that Donald Trump is still president, eerily sounding more like “Sig Heil” shouts.
I view these two Representatives morally corrupt as they actively deceive large groups of deluded or willfully blind citizens. Why do otherwise good people want to overturn our democratic republic? Why do they want to curtail civil rights and human freedoms? Why do they want to make citizens react slavishly and not think for themselves?
I wholeheartedly commend a good Mexican American Laredoan friend for finally taking down his “Trump/Pence MAGA” sign from his front yard six months after the presidential campaign was decided. Truth will hopefully allow national divisive animosity to abate.
Returning from Fort Worth recently, I decided to avoid traffic congestion by taking Texas Highway 281 to San Antonio. It’s amazing how many people defiantly fly such banners, promoting a lie instead of offering help to keep American society an example to the rest of the world. Why would good citizens support a dishonest, conniving and immoral would-be dictator?
Our two-party political system has existed since 1796 and for the most part has proven successful by resolving social problems through debate and compromise. A civil war, with tens of thousands killed, kept our country together. Today’s America is being pulled apart by evil-doers and bullying liars who know little about keeping our democratic republic as the most desirable place to live. This can be remedied, but not by street riots or deadly assault by misinformed Trump followers on our national capitol.
Recently a San Antonio AM radio station talk show host named Sean ranted typical right-wing conspiracy nonsense, referring to Democrats as “fascist communists,” demonstrating his abysmal ignorance, as these terms are opposite ideologies. In 1941, Adolf Hitler (a fascist dictator) ordered a massive invasion of Russia, whose dictator Josef Stalin touted communism. Hitler’s truly fascist propaganda grouped Bolshevik communists, Jews, gypsies, and liberals as enemies of the state and eventually made Germany a one-party nation and led to World War II.
I listened to Sean for a while, hearing callers’ hateful rants, systemic belly-aching trash talk of perceived victimhood, offering venom but no positive solutions. Since 1939 Spain’s 36-year fascist dictatorship under Francisco Franco convinced conservative reactionaries that communists, Masons, Jews, labor leaders, agricultural unionists, liberals, and reformers were enemies of the nation. Franco called himself caudillo (boss) of Spain. He jailed or executed anyone who challenged his authority. The last recorded political execution in Spain was in 1971. Hate-mongering Republican demagogues like Greene, Gaetz, Ted Cruz and the depraved Donald Trump don’t care what would happen to our nation if their wishes were fulfilled. We would cease to be the world’s largest example of a free people. Speaking of his country’s history, a Spanish bank officer in Madrid warned me about America’s impending impericidio (national suicide) if we didn’t take care of our democracy.
Adding to the dangerous trends of Trump followers is the fact that about half of Laredo’s registered voters don’t vote, the most valuable right guaranteed by the Constitution; the right to govern ourselves by voting guarantees the privilege and right to enjoy civil liberty. Recently conversing with five young adult Laredoans, I asked if they’d voted since they turned 18. They stated they never vote, and more sadly, they don’t read newspapers or books. My hope is that this is not symptomatic of our youth. What would they inherit if they allow others to make their decisions for them, much like Trump’s deluded lemming-like base desire? Self-government and civil liberty require awareness, constant vigilance and active participation, not sitting around and letting others dictate America’s destiny.
