Everything Everywhere All At Once

Dear Editor,

Only four years ago, the film Everything Everywhere All at Once dominated the awards season.  Consistent with its title, the story centers on the plight of a heroine confronted with what one critic described as, “an expertly calibrated assault on the senses.”  Welcome to the United States on the cusp of our 250th anniversary.

Since Trump’s second election, we have experienced layer upon layer of crisis – weekly, if not daily.  It began with mass firings of thousands of government workers with little or no notice.  A short list of what followed:

• Illegal imposition of “emergency” tariffs on friend & foe alike.

• Threats to take over Canada.

• Pardoning of 1,600 convicts who stormed the Capitol.

• Violent deportation of over 350,000 people (who have harmed no one).

• Threats to take Greenland from a NATO ally.

• Murder of hundreds of Venezuelan citizens.

• Pardoning of a convicted drug lord.

• A call for violence against U.S. veterans.

• Murder of U.S. citizens in Minnesota by masked thugs.

• Bombing of Nigerians.

• Wholesale gerrymandering among numerous states.

• Naval blockade of Cuba. 

• Waging of an unauthorized war upon Iran.

 Everything on the list above is an invention of Donald Trump.  The logic is clear.  Flood the arena with more atrocities than the courts, legislatures, news media and ultimately, the citizenry can possibly contend with.  And it has worked.  With every new alarm, the nation’s attention is diverted, like pigeons pouncing upon a tossed crust of bread.  The effect of what happened yesterday is instantly diluted.  This serves two purposes.

First, it keeps the Democrats’ messaging constantly in flux.  Before they can craft a response to one development, another bomb has already been dropped.  In attempting to mount a defense against every new assault, the Dems fail to consolidate enough public support to prevail in any one of them.  Perhaps that’s why the bulk of their outreach has drifted toward asking supporters to fork out some cash and cross our fingers.

What also gets lost in the scrum is scrutiny of Trump’s seemingly endless resume of deceit, incompetence and cruelty, highlights of which include:

• Attempted overthrow of a presidential election.

• Felony conviction for fraud.

• Multiple bankruptcies.

• Abject racism.

• A decades-long friendship with the most notorious pedophile of this century.

• Thousands of confirmed lies to you and me, his wives, his creditors, his constituents, the world.

In his State of Disunion address, Trump made it perfectly clear that he believes he is above any law or any court which tries to constrain his power.  His Republican lapdogs have made it clear that they will support any Trump initiative, regardless of legality or impact.  

This is not simply politics as usual.  It is not about competing philosophies. It is about a megalomanic at the wheel – a megalomanic with a mean streak a mile wide.  It is about our nation’s capital under military occupation with an election on the horizon.  It is about whether or not the long, hard struggle to create a more perfect union is allowed to continue.

Effective opposition needs a central message that is blunt, unequivocal and relevant to all the issues.  A message that will cut through all the chaff.  A message precisely focused on the primary source of this nation’s moment of fear and shame.  A message for every placard, every text, every T-shirt.  A message to be repeated and amplified – especially by those able to reach large audiences.  The message that, TRUMP MUST GO!

Michael Brandt

Spring Green, WI