Advertisement
Supported by
Charles M. Strike
By Charles M. Blow
Opinion columnist
The first week of returning to the force of President Trump a wave of provocations, attacks against the rule of law and raw force efforts.
Part of the point, apparently, was burying his opposition in the snowstorm, temporarily follow each attack with another larger and democratic standard. The effect was that many people, adding many politicians, were too stunned and disoriented to start forming a convincing opposition.
But the speed of action of Trump’s dictatorial rulers probably cannot be sustained. At some point, things will slow down and in the calm, the pain will be assessed. Terror and destruction produce evidence, and their movements oppose immigrants and transgender individuals, among others, will manifest because cruelty meant causing suffering.
Then, I suspect, outrage will bubble and build as more citizens’ moral opposition to Trump’s methods gains clarity and purpose. People, especially young people, are simply not built to passively absorb oppression. At some point they inevitably react and resist.
We don’t know precisely how that resistance will be expressed, especially right now when many Americans are still involved in “You touched the stove and now you’re being told what a burn is. “
We had a way to save Trump’s return, but not enough that the electorate acted to guarantee it. Too many warnings and signs ignored. Too many other people have fallen through false equivalences. Too many other people have attracted themselves, like the woman in one of Trump’s favorite songs, “The Snake. “
We have recovered the content of the article.
Allow JavaScript in the configuration of your browser.
Thank you for your patience as we determine access. If you’re in reader mode, log out and log in to your Times account or we subscribe to all times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already signed? Connect.
Do you want all the time? Subscribe.
Announcement