2024: The Fall of the Empire?
BY
PRESTON LOVE JR
The recent news of a potential Presidential run of Donald Trump, for president in 2024, signifies the transition from the slow drip, drip leaking of Democracy to a fire hose flow, and the fall of our great empire.
As an adjunct Professor, the potential Trump candidacy coincides with recent dialogues, I am having with my class at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, on the subject of the impediments to voting faced by people of color and otherwise. Those intentional impediments or restrictions included literacy test, grandfather clauses, poll tax, violence and intimidations and the list go on. The combination of Trump’s formal announcement, and the discussions with my diverse students, brings me to the awesome, and shocking, possibility that Democracy in America has lost its way. It should be noted that the discussion with the students was not about Trump’s candidacy, far from it, but centered around why people of color’s propensity to vote is waning. A couple of things need to be noted:
- Any discussion of a waning vote in America may seem to be out of sync with the
record number of nearly 150 million voters in the 2020 election. It is my contention that the record number of votes casted by Trump supporters, saw the 2020 election as a last gasp to elect somebody (Trump) who promised to
“make America great again” in 2016, but in reality, realized that the promise was for
a return to times where Democracy was symbolic and not real to all, they like the idea that Trump would get them there.
Contrarily, the vote for Biden was in reality a vote against returning to the days of bigotry, overt and unaccountable racism, white supremacy, voting restrictions and rampant disparities for people of color, that Trump represented. It was a vote against Trump, as much as a vote for Biden. I contend that the record turnout in 2020 was statistically great, but mostly for all the wrong reasons on both sides.
- No analysis of the 2020 election can make sense of why nearly over 70 million
people, chose to vote for a twice-impeached presidential incumbent, who
activated white supremacy, activated attacks on women’s rights, and on women
in particular, with vulgar verbalizations, intentionally unplugged America with its
global allies, climate change, covert relationships with Russia, a targeted attack
on women’s right to choose, corrupt and illegal financial dealings, record
numbers of his administration forced to a fragrant disregard to the protocols of
our intelligence community, disregard to the rule of law, laughable response to the COVID-19 crisis, and unbelievable as it may be, to lead and create an attempt to overthrow the works of our government, on January 6, 2021. I submit this short list only to make my point. Please note that this discussion is about Trump. NOT about Democrats vs Republicans.
In my book, Economic Cataracts, written in 2015, about my dismay, my analysis, and perspective, on the obstacles of urban community engagement and economic inclusion, that partly centered on why people of color historically vote at an alarming rate below that of our White counterparts. So, my recent discussion with my university class, about the voting disparities of people of color, uncovered the thoughts of my White, African, African American and Latino students. They are dismayed with the state of our Democracy and express it by saying that the political divisiveness is completely omitting issues that relate to their future. Climate change, women’s rights, health care, big money. America’s promises made and not kept, the lack of diversity, equity and inclusion, the lack of proper civic education and the lack of attention, to the survival of democracy dominate their observations. They express confusion of why so many are signing up, and believe in the big lies being told constantly.
If, in fact, Trump does run for president in 2024, there are two things that I conclude:
- If Trump wins, we will return to his dismantling of America’s Democracy. He will rule not govern and the divisive gap will be too wide for America bridge. As we saw for 4 years of Trump, accountability, governmental checks and balances can be bullied and ignored.
- If he loses, there will be the return of big lies and Democracy will crumble, under lack of being able to conduct and complete an election. Destructive behavior, like you see now relating to the 2020 election, and associated divisiveness will be beyond repair. In other words, the fall of our empire. November, 2024. Win or lose, Trump will destroy the nation.
Note, there are some odds that Trump is faking a real announcement to run in 2024, in order to raise money to pay for his lifestyle and/or his legal problems. That’s another story for another time. It is critical for all Americans to fight for democracy not demagoguery.