| What’s in a name? The name “Republican”, for instance. One would think it would denote a party devoted to principles that define a republic, which currently describes a form of government that is not a monarchy, but rather invests supreme power in the people, who then elect representatives to exercise that power. The rule of law is uppermost and the highest form of law is encapsulated in a Constitution. Sound like the current Republican party? Not even close. Almost 2400 years ago, in Plato’s classic work, The Republic, Socrates leads a group of Athenians and foreigners in a dialogue on justice and its relationship to various kinds of city-state governance. As one example, they propose a hypothetical republic governed by a philosopher-king, one who acts for the benefit of the ruled and not for the benefit of the ruler. The leader is guided solely by the dictates of justice, and is barred from the accrual of private wealth or property. In either case, it is clear we are not talking about the current batch of people calling themselves Republicans. The modern Republican is in thrall to the cult of only one person, and that person is currently occupying the white house. It seems clear, therefore, that the time has come for them to adopt a more accurate name: The Trumpian Party. Then, like Prince, they could attach the descriptor, “Formerly known as the Republican Party.” Such a concept would not be unprecedented. In the early days of our own republic, for instance, those who followed the political philosophy of Thomas Jefferson, advocating for a severely limited federal government and a predominantly agrarian society, called themselves Jeffersonians. The Jeffersonians, however, were on the exact opposite side of the color wheel from our current despot. They stood in opposition to the federalists and established the interestingly-named Democratic-Republican Party. The principles of democracy and of republic both embraced the power of the people over the imposition of federal power—democracy by direct vote, republic by representation. With Trump, the cult of personality is actually a third party, while the Democrats are embracing both classic sides in advocating for the control of government by the people and not by a monarch. How About a Little Truth in Advertising, Oh Ye Trumpians? Thank you for your attention to this. Throw A Subway Sandwich It seems, more and more each day, friends and strangers, driven to desperation by the latest political outrage coming out of the white house and its bobbleheaded sycophants, will buttonhole me and say, “What can I do?” I have to admit, though, I never before thought to answer, “Throw a Subway sandwich at an ICE thug.” Yet, that simple act has generated a powerful protest symbol in our nation’s Capitol, now the scene of a military takeover. In 2003, the prolific graphic artist who calls himself Banksy, drew a mural on a wall in Beit Sahour, on the West Bank, that came to be called “The Flower Thrower” or “Flower Bomber”. The mural depicted a masked man energetically and urgently hurling a bouquet of flowers. The figure is tense, the symbolism clear. It is an act of defiance to attack oppression with hope. Now, along our very own banks of the Potomac, the same mural has begun to appear in which the bouquet of flowers is replaced by a Subway sandwich, to extol the act of DOJ employee, Sean Dunn, who hurled profanity and a Subway sandwich at a Customs and Border Patrol officer. The press, with a straight face, reported, “There is no information as to whether the officer was injured.” The masked and bullet-proof-vested ICE enforcer was one of a phalanx of heavily armed officers who were, illegally, as usual, working to terrify the residents of DC. Mr. Dunn was quickly fired from the DOJ, arrested for assault on a federal officer, and faced eight years in prison, until a federal grand jury laughed out loud at the trump-appointed U.S. Attorney, and dismissed the indictment. Seemingly in hours, a new Banksy-style poster, depicting the Flower Thrower as a Subway Sandwich Thrower appeared overnight in DC. Conclusion? What can you do? Whatever comes to mind. Act. Disobey. Disrupt. Risk! Just do it! |
