Should the twice impeached former president be acquitted, meaning he is not held accountable for his inciting an insurrection, where will it all end?
When there are no consequences for violent and unlawful actions, and the instigator walks away thinking he got away with it, then he will do it again, or worse.
Think back just a year. Then, the only once impeached president, was acquitted of charges around his unlawful attempt to bribe the President of Ukraine. This was done with no witnesses because Senator Collins, Senator Murkowski, and every other Republican senator voted no to witnesses, and then voted to acquit. Senator Collins even said, paraphrasing, she was sure he had learned his lesson and would toe the line from there on out.
And yet, here we are again because the twice impeached former president only learned he could do anything without retribution, without rebuttal, without censure, and with the full force and support of the now trumpublicans, formerly known as Republicans. He learned a lesson so well that he felt he could tell the Big Lie over and over with impunity. His sycophants got right in line behind him, with the end result being inciting an insurrection and the breaching of the Capitol. We ended with members of Congress in dire and imminent danger when a violent mob, intent on overthrowing the Legislative Branch of government, seven people dead, and shit on the floor of the heart of our Republic.
If the twice impeached former president is again acquitted, what will he believe that means about his power? Will, as he did after the first impeachment, believe he truly is above the law? That he can essentially do anything and the trumpublicans will cover for him by hook or by crook, whatever it takes?
The question is, since so many of those participating in sedition are being arrested, will people think twice and it will quell the need to violently overthrow the government. Or, since the insurrectionists appear to be being handled with kid gloves, just go for it? If they don’t like what is happening at City Hall, then go in for the blood of City Council and the Mayor. Will they go after County Supervisors? What about storming the State Capitol if things don’t go their way. Ultimately, will they come better prepared to actually take and commandeer the Capitol Building, hang the Vice President, and shoot the Speaker of the House between the eyes?
This is why I ask, where will it end? Do we need to have every Oath Keeper, 3%’r, Proud Boy, and other domestic terrorist group behind bars? Do we need to regulate social media to keep radicalizing propaganda from being spread? Do we need to block the ability of the dark web to connect hate groups together?
Or will it end with a version of Gilead, with women subverted as property again? Will it be the LGBTQ community, doctors, academics, and anyone speaking out against the government all publicly hung in the town square? Will non-Christian people of faith and agnostics be imprisoned or sent to countries in which they have never lived? Will it be formal and overt open season on any person of color?
It is a question I have been asking myself lately, “How will it end?,” because it just seems to get worse and worse when the layers of our country are peeled back. Will the election of Biden help turn the tide or have we gone too far down the rabbit hole in the wrong direction?
How do you think it will end?
Personal Reflections of a Middle-Aged Man 