“In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
– Martin Luther King Jr.
This King Day, I’m angrier at Democrats than at Republicans. Millions share my frustration.
The Democratic Party made a mistake in 2021. They assumed democracy could be secured by elites. That’s not the case. It’s the people who secure democracy. No one else can do it for us. By pretending otherwise, Democrats from Joe Biden down did us all a tremendous disservice.
King Day 2021 was a celebration. It was assumed then that Democrats controlled the Congress and the White House. It was assumed that whatever Republicans tried, Democrats could checkmate it. It was assumed then that democracy had won.
Today’s holiday brings a different attitude. Trump used his grassroots to unite the Republican Party around fascism, racism, sexism, and intolerance. A united minority can defeat a passive majority if the majority remains passive.
Democratic elites now tell us all is lost. Conventional wisdom holds that Republicans will sweep the midterms, their control over election machinery will let them steal 2024, and the American experiment is effectively over.
Bullshit.
Elites were against Dr. King in the 1960s. They were against effective change during the Great Depression. Elites stood by passively in the run-up to the Civil War.
What won was actions of millions. The people, not the elites, rule.
That’s how it must be again.
Any asshole who claims otherwise needs to Shut The Fuck Up. Don’t you dare tell the people no.
Tell us how.
How do we make sure that voters can crash through Republican blocks on registration? How do we make sure that all Democrats can vote, and have their votes counted? Tell us what to do, then put your money and your energies toward helping us do it.
The first Civil War took place in 10,000 places. This one will take place in 1 million places. That’s because the last Civil War was hot. This one is cold. We don’t need McClellans. We need Grants.
Winning requires that Democrats make the determination of the people white hot. Democracy is in the fight of its life, and there are no civilians. Democracy must become a mass movement in America, as it is everywhere else in the world. We’re going to have to put our bodies on the line.
This won’t be easy. Autocracy is strong. They have guns. They have judges. They have money. But autocrats aren’t the economy, so our side has money, too. Democracy doesn’t fall in a prosperous country that depends on it. And it does depend on it here. That’s because you can’t force people to be creative.
Our economy leads the world because, in a technology age, creativity and human ingenuity are the gating factors to growth. By and large, our tech industry knows this. They’re not going to risk their trillions in market cap by ignoring their responsibility to the system that made them wealthy.
I remain confident in the ultimate victory of democracy. If you’re not, go away.
