Remember Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Puritan society in his novel, The Scarlet Letter? Poor Hester Prynne violated the laws of the church, which meant that she broke society’s laws, too. At the beginning of the novel, the reader joins Hester as she leaves the safety of the town prison and makes her way back into the society that jailed her. Reading the book for the first time in the 11th grade, I had a hard time understanding how, in a free society, the religion of one group could also form its judicial system. That makes the laws of God the same thing as the laws of man. Separation of church and state was also an 11th grade U.S. history lesson, so we students figured no more Hesters could be jailed for breaking the laws of her religion . Or so we thought. We fought a war 250 years ago to separate the colonies from a king who was not only ruler of the government but leader of the church. A quick walk through British history shows what a mess that ideal leads to: remember Henry VIII
Last night, I watched the final episode of the Netflix series, All the Light We Cannot See, based on the book by Anthony Doerr. It was fabulous, and I would heartily recommend to anyone with an interest in WWII or in history in general.
The most salient thing about the series was that, even though it was set in the early 1940’s in France during the Nazi occupation, so much was relevant to our time. And the scary part is that the brutality of the Nazi soldiers towards those different than themselves and the blind allegiance that Germans had for a delusional and dictatorial leader smack somewhat of our own 2023 world.
So we haven’t really learned a damn thing, have we?
The Republican Party is led by a delusional and dictatorial leader that promises to retaliate against those that do not support him, if he is elected president once again. He declares that he will shut down the justice department, the state department, and any other institution that doesn’t fall in line with his demented ideals if he gets the top spot in government. And he has vowed to free all of those jailed due to the January 6 insurrection, if he once again becomes commander-in-chief.
And he very well could.
“What luck for the rulers that men don't think,” said Adolf Hitler.
This Republican leader of the pack continues to support white supremacy (remember “good people on both sides”), excoriate the justice system with claims that it is out to get him with made-up indictments and vendettas, and repeatedly belittle and name-call those that oppose him.
“Strength lies not in defense but in attack,” said Adolf Hitler.
The leader of the Republican Party turned our once valued transfer of power from one president to another into a sham. He has planted seeds of doubt into the minds of the electorate in his rantings about stolen elections and his claim that he is the rightful President of the United States. He has lassoed members of his party into a solid mass of fawning subjects by demanding their allegiance to him and to his warped ideals, and they have fallen in line like tin soldiers.
“The masses are more likely to believe a big lie than a little one,” said Adolph Hitler.
We’re at a tipping point in our history. In 2026, we are set to celebrate 250 years of democratic rule in our county. It hasn’t always been pretty; in fact, many would point to the messy way we have tackled issues like equality, blind justice, and women’s rights.
But we have a chance to right the wrongs of the past eight years and get back on track with leadership that heads us towards the ideals that are enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
We have a year to educate ourselves about issues, candidates, and who’s best fit to serve this country. So all that intend to vote should read reliable sources, speak to knowledgeable people, and think.
This time, let’s all make an informed decision when we go to the polls in 2024.
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