America is in an abusive relationship with most of the Republican Party.
What do you do if you’re in an abusive relationship?
Every expert says the same thing.
You walk away.
This is what Democrats need to do. Walk away.
It’s hard, I know. When you turn away from an abuser they escalate. They scream. They threaten violence. Their lies become ever-more extreme. They’ll even make all sorts of promises if you just give in this once.
It’s hard to leave any abusive relationship. Women have died trying to leave abusive relationships. So have children. That’s why we have so many people doing the hard work of protecting the abused from the abusers. God bless them.
This is how to think of our politics today. Republicans are abusing the truth, they’re abusing the people, and the more we call them on it the worse the abuse gets. We need to walk away until they hit bottom and change.
Stop calling them out on their bullshit. We know what they are, they know what they are. No one is being convinced by rational argument, one side or the other.
The only way to deal with this is to be adult about it. Every time an elected goober screams, point to their opponent. Every time. Get this message down to the grassroots.
We also need to walk away from the abusers’ enablers, their drinking buddies, their drug dealers. If the company you’re working with is all-in on MAGA, look for another job. If your supplier is all-MAGA, seek another supplier. If your church is pro-MAGA, seek another church. If someone in your family is a MAGAt, don’t see them.
Just walk away.
Don’t argue.
I know this isn’t easy. I know it not because I’ve been abused, but because I’ve been abusive. But the only way to end abuse is to stop participating. When the abuser hits bottom you can advise them on help. You can find them a program, a rehab. There’s a great organization near the front of every phone book.
Love the sinner but hate the sin. It doesn’t mean you let yourself be sinned against. It means you isolate the sinner until they see the error of their ways. Until they walk steps, make amends, and stop being fascist.
We can do this in America because we’re the majority. It’s not close. This is how you use it. By finding some peace and quiet, and letting the abuser scream in an empty room.
