The Power of the Demagogue

 

The Constitution gives every American the inalienable right to make a damn fool of himself.
  - John Ciardi

Many people in the United States and in Canada are holding their breath these days, waiting for January 20^th.  Why?  Because there is a demagogue loose in the US and he is the current president.  On January 20^th, this president will be replaced, we hope peacefully, by a new president who seems to be more liberal and tolerant.  But the demagogue has already shown his colours by encouraging his rabid followers to attack the US Capital building during the process of certifying the new president.

There have been demagogues throughout history.  Perhaps the most infamous in recent times has been Adolph Hitler who mesmerized an entire nation with his hate and scorn filled speeches and proclamations.  We understand his outbursts because recordings of some of them still exist.  But you can imagine others who must have been as effective:  Napoleon; Alexander the Great; even Charles de Gualle.  They all could excite and mobilize an army or a nation.  But some now call these people heroes and saviours.  I cannot see the same thing happen to Donald Trump, except by his hard-core believers.

What can Donald Trump do is his last week in office?  He can try again to get his followers to upset the inauguration of Joe Biden.  Many of his followers are gun owners, white supremacists and far right “militias”.  Can he call on them one more time to create mayhem or worse?  There has been talk about a civil war in the US.  Such a thought is terrifying both for many Americans and their immediate neighbours. 

The first duty of a revolutionary is to get away with it.
  - Abbie Hoffman

Just as I was writing the above paragraph, the news broke that the FBI had uncovered plans for armed invasions of all state capitals and Washington.  It may not be President Trump who is orchestrating these events, but he has certainly laid the groundwork for them.  The possibilities of even a few of these armed threats succeeding is horrifying in the extreme.  How many people will be injured or killed?  Five dead last week in what was billed as a peaceful demonstration can only give us a clue.

Some of his avenues to vent his thoughts have been taken from him, and I applaud Twitter and Facebook for doing that, but as the president, he still has ways of communicating.  What news medium can resist the opportunity to quote the president?  He has been THE story for the last four or more years so why stop coverage now.  The far-right press will always give him a platform, probably long after he has left the White House.  Stand by for more from this demagogue.

“Man is a credulous animal and must believe something; in the absence of good grounds for belief, he will be satisfied with bad ones.”
  - Bertrand Russell