reflectivepundit

Sending “Thoughts and Prayers“ Will Not Prevent the Next Mass-Shootings in Schools, Churches, and Other Public Places

By Brigitte L. Nacos

Just as disheartening and shocking as the latest mass-shooting in and around a High School in Parkland, Florida, is the usual reaction refrain by the whole line-up of Republicans, including President Trump. Their” thoughts and prayers” are, as they assure in seemingly caring tweets and statements and interviews, with the victims, their families, and first responders. As always, these so-called leaders tell us that right after another mass-shooting the time is not right to talk about any kind of gun control (Who dares to do so anyway, is accused of being “political”).

Instead, Donald Trump and GOP Senators and Representatives and their supporting casts play the old record that blames mass-shooters’ “mental health issues” for these kinds of massacres.  

Indeed, many of these shooters are in one way or the other deranged but if they would not have easy access to these killer weapons, there would not be such mass shootings—at least not as many.

For Trump and his GOP the buck never stops in the Oval Office or in the U.S. Congress--instead, they pass it.  

Following the Florida massacre, the president tweeted,  

“So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior. Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!”

Seems that Mr. Trump blames the students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and others in the South Florida Community for not alerting the police!

If you want to know the real reason why the GOP rejects any reasonable gun control, such as more effective background checks or the ban of assault weapons, follow the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) money trail. You will find that the GOP’s Senators and Representatives and Governors who were so quick with “thoughts and prayer” assurances were all recipients of very generous campaign donations by the NRA as a detailed list compiled by the Washington Post shows.  Add to this that the NRA invested more than $20 Million in Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign in form of donations and pro-Trump advertising.

In short, it is all about money and not at all about the common good.

And it is certainly not about the will of the American people. Opinion surveys show that a majority of the public at large and a plurality of Republicans agree to stricter background checks and the ban of assault weapons.

As long as NRA money finances election campaigns of (mostly GOP but also some Democratic Party) candidates, there will not be any gun control.

Just thoughts and prayers—and blame of others…

When Democracy Dies in Bright Daylight

By Brigitte L. Nacos

After Donald Trump won the presidency, the Washington Post began to print the warning “Democracy Dies in Darkness” underneath its masthead to highlight the need for journalism that speaks truth to power. After contributing to Mr. Trump’s stunning presidential nomination and election victory the Post and a number of other news organizations reclaimed belatedly their role as watchdog of government. Now, however, the slogan “Democracy Dies in Darkness” is no longer the right one to describe what we are witnessing on a daily basis.

Last century, the most authoritarian, dictatorial, and fascist leaders utilized the legitimate political process to win the most powerful office in the state. Once in the saddle they carried out immediately what the Nazis called Gleichschaltung—putting every public and private sector under the complete control of the leader, his hand-picked clique, his party. Think of Mussolini and Hitler.

Today’s autocrats, today’s fascist leaders consolidate state power not immediately like their predecessors but step by step over time. A good example is Hungary’s President Victor Orban who has openly proclaimed the end of liberal democracy and the advent of the “illiberal state” or illiberal democracy in his country modeled after Putin’s Russia and Erdogan’s Turkey. So far, there has been a purge of the civil service, curbs on the judiciary’s independence, intimidation of the press, establishment of election rules tilted in favor of parties that support him, and the vilification of foreigners.

Sounds familiar? Indeed! The U.S. president, too, has attacked Washington’s civil servants, declared war against the law enforcement apparatus and its leaders, fired highly placed officials in the Department of Justice and FBI,  called for their removal of more people across departments, presides over an administration with dangerous gaps in knowledgeable personnel. Just think of the dismantling of the Department of States’ Foreign Service professionals. And last but not least, think of President Trump’s attacks on the legitimacy and credibility of the news media.

Just like the current autocrats in Hungary and Poland and elsewhere, the narcissist in the White House speaks openly and frequently about his disregard for democratic rules of the game.

Of the people in all branches of government and all its institutions, Mr. Trump expects and demands loyalty to him alone—not to the constitution, not the law.  

Those are traits of dictatorial, fascist rulers.