Enlightened Americans must now rise up and resist

This is clear: Much of America has voted for a fascist.

If that short, blunt opening offends your delicate sensibilities, past you, beloved reader, champion dispense yet with the saccharine-drenched myths astir a divided, discordant federation that has elected a fascist arsenic president – again.

This remains unclear: America’s fate.

An urgent task faces enlightened Americans who person made plain their admirable absorption to and rejection of each obscene facet of a grinning strongman who volition nonstop the comeuppance that has festered successful his psyche and caput similar a seething cauldron.

Long earlier his erstwhile closest aides and furniture ministers took, belatedly, to The New York Times oregon CNN to “warn” Americans that the crude demagogue they had served with specified cloying deference was a bona fide fascist, silly columnists similar maine were raising alarm aft alarm astir Donald Trump’s defining autocratic quality successful file aft file since 2016.

But we and, overmuch much importantly, our blatant, billboard-sized injunctions were dismissed by the ever-so-polite cognoscenti arsenic the hyperbolic musings of clickbait-seeking polemicists who had small knowing of the existent quality of fascism.

So, predictably and irresponsibly, the polite cognoscenti remained wedded to their agreeable delusions adjacent aft Trump organised and unleashed a convulsive insurrection connected the expected citadel of American democracy, the US Capitol, to overturn an election.

The polite cognoscenti preferred, of course, to explicate distant the, by now, indisputable information that a breathtaking swath of Americans person supported a flagrant fascist arsenic the unfortunate, yet possibly understandable, enactment of aggravated “cultists” who stock an affinity with Trump’s fertile rhetoric and parochial grievances.

This has been the jejune cognition each on – to deflect, to qualify, to excuse the obvious: Fascism has gone mainstream successful America.

Trump is not the person of a “cult”. He embodies a shared acceptable of values and beliefs that reflect, to his horde of followers passim the expanse of America, an irresistible ideology; an ideology whose foundational principles are cruelty, vengeance and ignorance.

I person nary uncertainty that erstwhile Trump takes the oath of bureau aboriginal adjacent twelvemonth and swears connected a Bible to uphold the constitution, helium volition instantly desecrate it to fulfill the prevailing lust for cruelty, vengeance and ignorance.

The disloyal “enemies from within” volition beryllium persecuted and prosecuted.

The “vermin” immigrants who person hollowed retired the achromatic psyche of America – whether they transportation citizenship oregon not – volition beryllium rounded up without owed process and deported, stripped of their jobs and segregated from their families – by egregious force, if necessary.

The fraying remnants of America’s “free press” volition beryllium targeted with threats, intimidation and retributive sanctions. And the oligarchs who ain the “major” newspapers and TV stations volition bow successful obeisance.

The civilian and ineligible rights won done decades of large protestation and hard enactment volition beryllium retracted oregon abolished outright with the blessed complicity of a supplicant Congress and the Supreme Court.

The onus, the obligation, the work to effort to stall, block, or, if possible, forestall America from “turning back” rests with enlightened America.

Resistance is not futile. Rather, it is an imperative.

It volition not beryllium easy.

Enlightened America volition beryllium seized by fearfulness and despair successful the days and weeks ahead. This is to beryllium expected successful the jarring, disorienting look of a wide Republican victory.

When enlightened Americans look from this halting daze – and they volition – they indispensable defy the casual temptation to gaffe into recrimination and blame.

They must, instead, fastener arms successful defiance. They indispensable mobilise and manner a formidable unit with 1 overarching aim: to beryllium faithful to the constitution that they carnivore honorable allegiance to and to support each other, arsenic champion they can, from the harm and heartache that is definite to come.

It tin beryllium done. It indispensable beryllium done.

This sedate ngo volition necessitate a steadfast volition and determination; the aforesaid volition and determination that enlightened Americans person deployed successful the past to marque their beloved location a much fair, conscionable and welcoming place.

This, I repeat, is your work and duty, enlightened America. You volition request a small clip to lick your earthy wounds. Then, you person to spell astir the captious concern astatine manus with the cognition that you are the bulwark, you are legion and you are successful the right.

History tells america that, nevertheless disfigured and destructive, fascists similar Trump cannot prevail. Ultimately, they destruct themselves.

The question is: Will Trump destruct America, too?

Enlightened Americans will, I’m convinced, bash each they can, with each their might, intent and conviction, to forestall the ruination of America.

Will it beryllium enough? I don’t know.

But the alternate is atrocious to fathom.

The views expressed successful this nonfiction are the author’s ain and bash not needfully bespeak Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.