Drawn on April 22, 2024 |
Published from Miami |
I'll preface by expressing my belief that drawing parallels between the vast international influence of the United States of America and the historical trajectory of ancient Rome is a popular analytical misstep, to put it mildly! But, like poetry, there are moments where the ideas and symbolisms of men from the past converge with those permeating our lives today. This is one such instance.
Fasces aren't simple bundles of sticks with an axe driven through them. Way back when, these bulky objects were symbols of corporal punishment originally intended to inflict psychological terror onto those living under the heel of Roman rule. Nice 😑
Today, a slightly more romantic distortion of the emblem has rendered it synonymous with a famed form of government dating back to Rome’s second great era (509 BC - 27/31 AD): The Res publica Romana, better known as The Republic. It's only one thousand eight hundred and ninety-one years later however, in 1922, that a pissed-off man named Mussolini was keen to remind everyone of the original “Fascist” meaning and of its many glorious genocides left in the wake. For Il Duce, “telling it how it is” was one thing, but spitting lies about the benefits of the good old days of conquest, slavery, and divine right from his Palazzo Barbo balcony wasn’t necessarily the best trick to break the ice at a party. And yet, it worked. Enough to plunge Europe into more death and destruction than the continent had ever before suffered at the hands of men.
There are two Fasces framing the Speaker of the House’s lectern in the congressional amphitheater. In fact, this room's tapestry of Greco-Roman artifacts is so rich that you could more easily spot an electrical socket than the difference between two randomly juxtaposed pediments. Nowadays, these ancient layouts are functional, and their symbols are decorative. Yet, whether witting or unwitting, some of the building's staff, embarrassingly ignorant of history, are bullishly fighting through the ranks for a shot at reviving Benito's fables. These people, who ironically police a party named in honor of the second Roman era, have eyes set on their impatient Cesar-in-waiting: Donald Trump.
Despite its many annoying flaws, the modern Democratic Party simply cannot be considered as high a threat to American democracy as its challenger, The Republican Party. Nevertheless, the universal practice of double-standard demonization remains a stapled reflex among certain individuals within "free-thinking" circles. So, in our own contemplation, we too will engage in free-thinking on the matter with substance of fact, not fiction...
At this very moment, the current Republican Party, America's proud book-burning gang and Confederate States of America apologists, is the only political organization in US history to have ever unanimously championed and fanatically defended a singular authoritarian man who — through terroristic threats [1] — has repeatedly baselessly denied and provably lied election results [2], ferociously proclaimed doctrine to terminate the constitution [3], root out the vermin who stand in his way [4], and defend his imaginary right to commit any crime with absolute immunity [5]. (There is plenty more.) The gap between dog-whistling and dictator talk has been bridged. Is it not plausible that any one of these five sociopathic maneuvers would suffice to categorically repudiate dissenting appeals to any sincere "double standard" arguments if that primal yearning to dissolve democracy dismisses the alternative "standard?” Simply said: Shit, don't be preachin' if you ain't poundin', feel me?
If we were to assert that everyone is corrupt and no one is corrigible, despite all shortcomings, the purest democratic mission — we would agree — remains to enshrine humanism in the equal governance of humans. Pretty though that may be, its Republican adversaries, on the other hand, zealously campaign with every breath in their being to obliterate democracy from the pulpits [6], domestically and abroad. Really, regardless of any disillusionment one may harbor toward Donkeys, modern Trump Republicans, driven by a fervent theocratic itch [7] for repressing rights, climate policy, public health, and social safety, consequently fail to meet — in any self-respecting sense — the criteria for being held to an equal or higher standard than their Democrat counterparts. Which is why the Elephant in the room need be addressed. There is macabre language that paints a political docket not only aimed at cleansing the USA of socialists and dirty illegal immigrants, but also stands fully armed to gut a wide spectrum of other groups such as blacks, browns, homosexuals, women, Jews, the poor, and even atheists. Fact gets scrambled into opinion, unfavorable media is crippled, and faith is chiseled into political gospel — that’s the Trump agenda, that’s the totalitarian manifesto. Stand back and stand by for miracle crops! This is fact, not fiction.
In brief, it's challenging to take Republican witch-hunt accusations seriously when they and their supporters are readily unrivaled in their gullibility to grifts and fake conspiracies, such as the lie that Democrats fondly endorse the execution of newborns [8]. This skepticism is especially warranted when faced with a real threat like Trump's anti-democratic plot, which is glaringly evident. Call me crazy, but far from it being a strawman, Brownshirt-inspired paramilitary parades in heavy-duty pick-up trucks adorned with MAGA stickers, bald eagles, and star-spangled Southern rebellion battle-flags do not constitute an adequate representation of "freedom." (In my opinion...)
Contemporary Republican acolytes, whether ensnared by complacent living, deluded faith, cultist sycophancy, blind credulity, or genuine antipathy towards democracy, tragically embrace meritless bogus conspiracy theories to support their antagonistic prophet incarnate. The designed consequence is that the true plot threatening to rip apart democracy and its scientific methods gets completely overlooked, even when stereoscopically framed by Fasces like those in our drawing here.
Bottom line, shameless fascist rhetoric [9] is a reasonable indicator of the Republican Party’s aspirations. Should Don Cesar and his sinister praetorian oligarchs ever regain power, Americans run a far greater risk that this last vote be their final vote.
I'll see you in the colosseum.
[1] “This is an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!”
— Donald Trump (about General Mark Milley), Truth Social, September 22, 2023
[2] A presidential election lost by ~7M popular votes and 74 electoral college votes. But on October 15, 2023, every single Republican present (220R - 209D) elected an election denier and deeply evangelical Christian theocrat to be House Speaker.
[3] “Do you throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW ELECTION? A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution”
— Donald Trump, Truth Social, Decembre 3, 2022
[4] “We pledge to you that we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country that lie and steal and cheat on elections"
— Donald Trump, at a rally in Hialeah, November 8, 2023
[5] “ANY MISTAKE, EVEN IF WELL INTENDED, WOULD BE MET WITH ALMOST CERTAIN INDICTMENT BY THE OPPOSING PARTY AT TERM END. EVEN EVENTS THAT 'CROSS THE LINE' MUST FALL UNDER TOTAL IMMUNITY, OR IT WILL BE YEARS OF TRAUMA TRYING TO DETERMINE GOOD FROM BAD. THERE MUST BE CERTAINTY.”
— Donald Trump, Truth Social, January 18th, 2024, 1 A.M.
[6] “Pure democracy is not the way to run a country” (regarding the Ohio November 2023 election)
— Trump ally Rick Santorum, NEWSMAX, November 7, 2023
[7] “Overthrow democracy […] All glory to God!”
— Jack Posobiec, CPAC, February 25, 2024
[8] "It must be remembered that the Democrats are the radical ones on this position because they support abortion up to and even beyond the ninth month. The concept of having an abortion in the later months and even execution after birth. And that’s exactly what it is. The baby is born, the baby is executed after birth is unacceptable. And almost everyone agrees with that.”
— Donald Trump in a televised address on abortion, C-SPAN, April 8, 2024
[9] “It’s poisoning the blood of our country. It’s so bad, and people are coming in with disease. People are coming in with every possible thing that you could have.”
— Donald Trump on immigrants, MSNBC, October 8, 2023