Events over the last half century, marked by the beginning of the Washington scandal that came to be known as “Watergate” (which caused much of the populace to at last see though the fog of hubris and lies we’d been viewing our national zeitgeist and purpose through to that point), when taken in totality, point in but one direction. The problem of course is we’re too close to the unfolding of these events to realize their import.
However, historians at some distant point in the future, blessed with the ability to view our present occurrences through the clarifying lens of hindsight, will no doubt mark the event of Nixon’s downfall as the beginning of America’s Dark Ages. What sane citizen cannot discern that the nation has been increasingly riven with discord, dissension and disunion ever since?
The “Dark Ages,” which most historians generally agree occurred between the 5th and 15th centuries, were so named because of the “demographic, cultural and economic deterioration that occurred in Western Europe following the decline of the Roman Empire.” The period derived its name from — and due to the — spread of anti-intellectualism and the co-concurring rise in superstitious beliefs (like Satanism, witchcraft and the occult) to explain everyday phenomena and the politics over which they have little control. .
People gave up on reality and sought out comforting fantasies to believe in, something that we’re seeing a rise of today. With organizations like QAnon, where embracers of these far-right conspiracy theorists allege that a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles headed by Hillary Clinton (who drinks the blood of the children they abuse) runs a global child sex-trafficking ring and are plotting against tRump.
When you finish laughing, realize that Marjorie Taylor Greene, a far-right Georgia Republican who has said that Muslims do not belong in government and has expressed her strong belief in QAnon conspiracies, recently won a primary runoff and is all but certain to win a seat in the House of Representatives in November. She handily defeating neurosurgeon John Cowan, who had pitched himself as “All of the conservative, none of the embarrassment.” President Trump congratulated Greene on her victory the next morning, calling her a “future Republican star” who is “strong on everything.” He had previously stated that he welcomes the support of QAnon.
Not that the fringe element on the left is any saner. These supposedly anti-fascists that unite under the banner of “Antifa” often highjack legitimate peaceful Black Lives Matter protests and turn them violent since they can’t enunciate clear and understandable grievances of their own.
By continuing their violent protests in Portland, OR (where one member accidentally set his feet on fire and had to be rescued by the same police he had minutes before been hurling invectives at) and other cities they are driving away potential supporters — the suburban soccer moms Biden needs to win the election — by giving tRump supporters just what they need: The Big Stick of fear of black-inspired violence they so desperately must have in order to win in November.
These violent, so-called left-wing activists can’t be so dumb they are unaware of the negative consequences of their actions; the only conclusion left is they have been co-opted by, and are in the pay of, the tRump campaign. Why else would they be engaging in actions that hurt their self-professed progressivism?
As Election Day gets closer and closer it’s becoming increasingly clear that no matter which side wins the White House the other side is going to view the victory as illegitimate and will — through means fair or foul — move to assure the other side cannot govern, thus plunging the country deeper into a New Dark Age.
From CoolCleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author at http://NeighborhoodSolutionsIn