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The Republic is Dead. Long Live The Republic! [1]

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Date: 2025-01-20

The Republic is Dead.

There is no denying that the original Republic of the United States of America, as envisioned by the founders and expanded upon by the (rather few, actually) generations since, with all its ills and achievements, fits and starts, glory and shame, good and bad, has come to an inglorious end. The funeral is happening today, as we speak, in Washington, DC. The main culprits are in attendance, like the mafia mobsters at the funeral of their murder victim, suppressing a knowing and happy grin.

The question is, can we get through this, and can a new Republic arise on the destruction of the old one? It would have to be something rather new, though. There is no going back to the original. It no longer exists except on paper. What does exist, and not on paper, but in actual fact, is a nascent fascist oligarchy and kleptocracy in the making, again, as we speak. It didn't just happen today, or even this century. But in the chain of events leading to it (some would say from the very foundations), today is the culmination of it all.

A creature like Herr Trump (name-de-guerre Agolf Shitler), with his unique personal “qualities” and “qualifications”, has convinced the vast majority of the registered voters to willingly install him into the highest office of the Republic for the SECOND time. Take that, Lincoln, FDR, and Obama! Yes, I do mean the majority. I count roughly the third that voted for him (32%) and the third that didn't show up (36%) in the same category. Fascist enablers all.

The reasons for this turn of events are many and complex, and this isn't meant to go into analysis of what, why, and where. There are plenty of those already. This is more of a personal declaration, an acknowledgment of reality. We must accept the facts on the ground, but not resign ourselves to them.

The Republic has given me a lot, personally, in my lifetime. I am well aware that it has not been the same for everyone. I was fortunate to be surrounded by people who represented the best of the Republic, the opposite of the stereotypical “ugly American” that we all knew existed, but believed would always be forced in the shadows. I believe in incremental improvements, though, and I have seen many during my lifetime. Now that the relative continuity of progress has been broken, we must do the best we can, with what we have, where we are - just like every person in history that is on the side of good, that is, the side of humanity on the whole.

United States of America is (was) primarily an idea. It exists in people's heads, and that's what made it work. It isn't primarily about borders, land, race, language, or the kind of flag one waves. The idea meant something different to most people in the 1800s, 1900s, and now 2000s, but there is no denying the commonality of it, and the incremental improvements applied to it. One just has to look at the statement “...all men are created equal...” and what it meant in the early 1800s vs today.

The fundamental ideas of governance and just laws based on critical thinking, science, reason, facts, democracy, consensus, individual rights and responsibilities, and the intrinsic equality of all human beings have not changed, nor have they become obsolete. One can ask, taking the long view, in 1000 or more years (not really that long), on this specific continent, do we know or care what language the people here will speak, what they will call themselves, or what flag they will wave?... Or, do we care that they will have at least as much or more freedom as we do today, as much or more economic prosperity, and a better true quality of life? I know what the answer is for me. Everything humanly possible is a result of collective action. The actions we take today will in part contribute to determining that outcome.

So now that the current overarching political idea (and ideal) has been finally willingly broken, carelessly discarded, unrecognizably twisted, or otherwise mutilated by a sufficient number of people both in and out of actual power, what is one to do? The same thing one has always had the choice to:

Do the best you can, with what you have, where you are, for what you believe in.

Long Live The Republic!

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