How deep will the purge go?

First the good news.

If Biden wins, there will be violence. 

The savagery will be instigated (again) by a shameless sore loser. Imagine a combination of the Jan. 6, 2021, attempted coup and the riotous Black Lives Matter demonstrations with a greater loss of life and injuries. A result of severe lead poisoning from Trump’s followers brandishing AR-15 rifles and assorted firearms. The battles will be mostly one-sided, since Democrats aren’t exactly Dirty Harry or Rambo. In essence, the end product will be a political pogrom. 

Eventually the rioting will be quelled by the National Guard and local law enforcement agencies. That is, if they don’t take sides. 

Now for the bad news. If Trump wins, there will be violent purges with longer lasting effects. These purges will make Hitler’s “Night of the Long Knives” seem like a pajama party in comparison. 

However, if you believe purges could never happen in the “Land of the Free,” here’s a short history lesson.

Good Ol’ Honest Abe suspended the writ of habeas corpus while rounding up potential Confederate collaborators. 

Under the Sedition Act of 1918 of Woodrow Wilson’s World War I administration, incarcerations of political foes happened in earnest (including the imprisonment of Eugene Debs, a former presidential candidate who in 1912 garnered 6% of the popular vote). 

One more example: Let’s not forget the uber purge of American history FDR’s inexcusable Executive Order 9066. Another war-related civil rights atrocity, 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry were forcibly removed from their homes and shipped to distant “internment camps.” About 80,000 were Japanese-Americans. These citizens were deemed possible subversives due to their last names and the shape of their eyes. In a 6-3 decision the Supreme Court went along with this racial injustice. (Komatsu vs. US). 

This post began with a comparison of Trump to Hitler for a reason. Since America’s descent into the Age of Trumpism, political pundits (and me) have seen alarming similarities between the two. All the verbal and physical threats are there: intimidations, scapegoating, dismissals of the rule of law and their respective Constitutions, an admiration of fellow autocrats, and an aversion to facts mired in a deeply nationalistic vibe. None of this bodes well for the United States.

In Trump’s own words: “revenge, retribution, fight like hell, terminate the Constitution, suckers and losers, vermin, poisoning the blood of our country, enemies of the people, dictator on Day 1, American carnage.” 

Not exactly “We the People” or a return to a Woodstock nation, is it? 

Folks, the coming election is a simple choice. The continuation of democracy or the descent into dictatorship. All the other issues (the economy, the Gaza War, immigration and “wokeness”) are small lumps of tasteless tofu in comparison. 

Lastly, I found a Trump quote that’s not a lie: “The gravest threats to our civilization are not from abroad, but from within.” (Nov. 15, 2022, Palm Beach, Fla.)

Wake up! Pay attention! Because you never know how deep a purge can go. 

– Jeff Sambur, Durango