REPRISE: Civilization takes a gut punch as America elects a fascist and pro-Russian president

The temptation of surrender, of just giving up, and of just tuning out

The temptation to just give up is great. Or to tune out because what is going down as Donald Trump forms his government is just too painful to bear. Many will decide to retreat to their private lives, where they can continue to enjoy a life of privilege behind the moat to which their wealth affords them. Others not so fortunate will be less relaxed and more apprehensive about the future. What will happen in a couple of years if their daughter or niece needs to have an abortion and can’t afford to travel out-of-state to get one?

Others, such as journalists, may be more immediately concerned that they could become a target of vengeance of Trump and his officials and supporters. Even if they are not yet targets, they may be worried that if they are too critical in reporting on the Trump administration’s machinations, they might become targets in the future.

Still others, from the relatively small section of the population which follows foreign policy and what is going on in the world, including national security officials, may be deeply concerned by the fact that the new president is an apparent Russian asset, and by how national security may be undermined by Trump officials such as Tulsi Gabbard, who he has nominated to be Director of National Intelligencer.

The mass of people, however, may just want to tune out all of this cacophony.

We are all tired. We are all exhausted from political debate and propaganda.

The temptation to just give up, to surrender to Trump and his acolytes, is and will continue to be great.

Nonetheless, defenders of American democracy and the rule of law must not give up.

In discussing the risks of surrender and just giving up with a friend recently, I repeated my account of what it felt like to get the wind knocked out of me playing Texas high school football, and how now, in a similar fashion, we all need to find our second wind and get up and go back to the huddle, and start running plays directly up the middle.

Following is a REPRISE of the article which contains this account.

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Civilization takes a gut punch as America elects a fascist and pro-Russian president

Published here on November 7, 2024

The results of the November 5, 2024 elections bring back memories of when I was a fullback on my high school football team, when I was running full tilt and was tackled head-on, hard, and got the wind knocked out of me. I lay on my back, sometimes for a couple of minutes, with the trainers at my side. Then, slowly, I got my wind back, and got up and went back to the huddle. Sometimes the next play called on me to charge into the middle of the line where I was tackled again, hard.

These were moments when I remembered our team’s mantra: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

Our team was tough. As captain of the team, I led the team for a mile-long run around the playing fields, after two hours of scrimmage in the hot Texas sun. We developed our endurance, and in the event won a lot of our games in the fourth quarter. The climax came when we won our conference championship on the last play in the fourth quarter of our last game.

While America and the world suffered a gut-wrenching blow on November 5, we who make up the forces for democracy and upholding the Constitution and the rule of law are resilient. We have had the wind knocked out of us and are lying on the ground waiting to get our wind back. Then we will get up and go back to the huddle. And run the ball right up the middle.

We will make first down after first down, grinding out the yardage, with an occasional spectacular pass or run.

I remember how in those moments we used to yell at each other, “The fourth quarter is ours!”

And so it was.

And so it will be for us, the resilient forces throughout the world who are fighting to uphold constitutions, democracy, and the rule of law.

James Rowles is a former Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School and professor of international law at other universities.

He is the author of The Rape of American Democracy: Republican Actions and Democratic Failures, 2016-2021 (September, 2024, now available on Amazon and soon to be available from IngramSpark, either directly or through bookstores.

His most recent book, Don’t Be Stupid. Pay Attention, Damn It! Advice for Undecided Voters and Voters Leaning Toward Trump, is now available on Amazon and will soon be available through IngramSpark, either directly or through bookstores.

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