No Time to be a Bystander
Our national election in November is perhaps the most consequential of our lifetimes, and we can’t ignore it. If the GOP succeeds in taking the White House and both houses of congress, if Project 2025 gains a foothold and gets implemented, life in American will forever be changed, and not in ways that we can support. When it comes to this election, none of us can afford to be bystanders.
During the 1920s in Germany, a similar moment confronted the German people. WW1 had decimated Europe, the German economy was in ruins, and the time was ripe for an authoritarian to rise up and take power. Adolph Hitler was that man, and backed by the wealthy industrialists of Germany at that time who mistakenly thought they could control him, Hitler was given the reins of power in an election and took control of German life.
He quickly eliminated political parties, ended elections, stacked courts with appointees, took over the media, and began rounding up and imprisoning his political opponents. Before long, detainment camps held thousands, and along with a politicized medical system eventually would murder millions in a mass genocide of Jews, Gypsies, sexual “deviants,” and the disabled.
The Nazi party started small, and Hitler was considered a joke and a buffoon by many in sophisticated German society when he first appeared on the political stage. Written while he was in prison for his role in a violent uprising, his book “Mein Kampf ” (My Struggle) outlined his twisted vision of Germany’s future, but few thought his ideas would become official state policy. Not wanting to get involved or too afraid to speak out, the majority of Germans allowed a takeover of the state by a minority group of fanatics; Germany’s bystanders facilitated the rise of Hitler.
We face the same prospect here, that many American voters will standby as a fanatic minority imposes its ideology upon our society. It’s already happening. The spate of state legislation stripping women of choice in reproduction after the Supreme Court voided Roe v. Wade; gerrymandering and voter suppression; sabotaging effective border policy; the demonization of undocumented immigrants and the LGBTQ+ community; if Project 2025 is put in place, all this is just the beginning.
Here in Sonoma, the stakes are high. We all know undocumented immigrants; they labor in our vineyards and restaurants, attend our schools, care for our children, and play an essential and valuable role of the fabric of the community. Many have lived peaceable and productive lives in the United States for decades. Project 2025 envisions rounding them all up, detaining them in camps, and deporting them. Imagine life here in Sonoma Valley if that nightmare comes to pass.
Reproductive choice is legal in California, but if the Project 2025 fanatics take over, their plan is undoubtedly to outlaw abortion everywhere in the United States. Labor rights will be impacted too; Project 2025 envisions rolling back labor organizing rights and even current protections against child labor. Within its 900 pages is a blueprint for dismantling the federal government, firing 50,000 civil servants then replacing them with political appointees, and taking America back to the 19th century.
Working for living, raising a family, and paying the bills are things we all must attend to, and paying close attention to politics is not everyone’s first choice, but this year, the stakes are too high. This is no time to be a bystander.
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And the Republican party will adopt the swastika as its official symbol.