Some thoughts from Yale historian Timothy Snyder….
Why has Donald Trump shown his darkest side these last few days?
He is energizing his base for the
authoritarianism he hopes to bring about. And he is preparing his voters for complicity.
If you vote for Trump, you are voting for
the candidate who wants "
Hitler's generals" and calls Americans "
the enemy within." If you vote for that, you bear the responsibility for the crimes to come. Please don't.
Most importantly, Trump is trying to demoralize the majority of Americans who do not want him to ever hold office again.
Trump is leveraging the traumas of the twentieth century. His
Nazi talk is meant to set a dark tone for election day.
He wants Americans to be shocked and afraid. But we should be firm and hopeful. We should vote for the world we want to see.
Trump is showing us the enormous power we have. Horrible futures are possible, but only if we vote for them, or don't vote at all.
We have the power to hold off those futures. To prevent them from ever coming about.
Trump is a bully you can topple with your little finger.
Or at least with the hand that casts the vote. All we have to do is go to the polls. We can close the door to that darkness.
The problems that we face can be solved. Beautiful futures are also possible. They begin with the little miracle of voting.
We can open the door to the light.
