As everyone who ever read 1984 knows, George Orwell understood the importance of truth. In these times of Trump, it is worth revisiting what Orwell had to say about societies where “truth” is what the government says it is. For some relevant quotations, see George Orwell on truth. Verifiable honesty on the part of politicians is rare. I am old enough to remember George Bush was well-known for being less than truthful about a variety of things. Trump, however, is the first president I can remember for whom the press started enumerating falsehoods so early in his presidency.
Trump’s refusal to acknowledge climate change is perhaps the most glaring example of his lying for political purpose. His strategy seems to be that persuading people (at least some of the people) that the news about global warming is a hoax, will benefit him and others heavily invested in fossil fuels. While those profiting from the “boom” in fossil fuels may be able to protect themselves from the worst consequences of the rise in sea levels and other untoward consequences of higher global temperatures, most people—and most animals—will be unable to cope with the higher temperatures and rising sea levels. Then what?
For one reason or another, I am reminded of the rebellion against the Roman Empire led by a former slave and gladiator named Spartacus. That rebellion ended with the crucifixion of some 6,000 of the rebels, whose crucified bodies lined the Appian Way from Rome to Capua to serve as a warning for others who might resist the power of the Roman Empire. Our ancestors didn’t fool around…. I am also reminded of the saying, “Resistance is futile used by the “Borg Collective” to persuade their victims to submit quietly.
Literature, history, and science fiction all suggest that resisting the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune will prove futile. Even so, as Tennyson’s Ulysses concludes,
Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
The question for me is not whether we should resist the decline and denigration of our democracy, but how to do so effectively. I am old enough to remember the protests in the 1960s. Young people (and I was one of them at the time), wanted to support Civil Rights for all and to end the War in Vietnam. A lot of us marched and held “sit-ins” to protest the injustices of the time. The anger that fueled the most vocal of the protests diminished to a “simmer” as lives improved for most of us. That’s not to say it completely evaporated.
Once again, resistance is necessary, but we have to be smarter than we were the last time. Back in the 1960s I knew a number of people who didn’t vote because voting was complying with “the system.” Voting is also the way change comes about. Trump is president because people voted for him. It is true, of course, that gerrymandering has skewed the results, but all that means is that honest politicians and voters have to work harder to achieve ethical outcomes.
At most we have one more election to put better politicians in office. Those who want better government need to be willing to work for it. Can you imagine what things would be like if we ended up with four more years of Trump and his cronies? For the vast majority of us, that is not a pretty picture.
