“Is it just me, or is it getting crazier out there?” — Arthur Fleck, Joker
“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” — Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
As President Trump’s lies have tallied over 12,000, media outlets introduce every story as ‘Breaking News,’ and the adjective ‘unprecedented’ describes the latest Tweet, leak, defense, or revelation, we know we now inhabit a dystopian world.
The title of this essay is intentionally misspelled; it best illustrates our current state of affairs, the potential outcome of the impeachment inquiry and yes, the unprecedented series of investigations of corruption, abuse of power, and obstruction of justice by Trump, his cabinet, members of the Republican Party, and his family. More disturbing and a potential Article of Impeachment, Trump’s blatant invitations to foreign governments to meddle in our elections, again, to further his own personal political gain. Following a July 25th phone call between President Trump and President Zelensky of Ukraine, a whistleblower filed a complaint on August 12th with the Office of the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community (ICIG) about the phone call and an alleged ‘quid pro quo’ exchange for promised defense dollars from the U.S. if Ukraine investigates Joe and Hunter Biden. In addition, officials with first-hand knowledge of the phone call and related White House conversations and activities shared their concerns with the whistleblower. After vetting, the complaint was deemed credible and urgent.
“In the course of my official duties, I have received information from multiple U.S. government officials that the president of the United States is using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election.” — The whistleblower complaint, declassified Sept. 26
Updated, 10/15/2019. Credit: Illustration by Natalie Matthews-Ramo and Lisa Larson-Walker/Slate. Photos by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, Win McNamee/Getty Images, Chris Kleponis-Pool/Getty Images, Drew Angerer/Getty Images, and Peter Parks-Pool/Getty Images
In the ensuing days, there were delays releasing the call summary to Congress as required by law and denials of any wrongdoing by the W.H. Once the summary was released Trump and his Republican protectors claimed there was no ‘quid pro quo’ offer or effort to interfere in an election for Trump’s political gain.
Soon Trump began attacking the whistleblower.
“You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart? Right? The spies and treason, we used to handle it a little differently than we do now.” — President Trump, Sept. 26
Trump, days later flip-flopped, and in a presser leaving the W.H. as he was about to aboard a helicopter, claimed he was simply fighting corruption in his attempt to gain assistance from a foreign power to investigate Biden, which he stated is his duty as president, in fact, he says all along he’s been the Champion of Corruption. Yeah, right!
Then he openly invited China to also investigate the Bidens. Days later, a second whistleblower emerged as Trump and Republicans continued to attack and negate the veracity of the first complaint and whistleblower, the Democrats led by Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff’s House Intelligence Committee, and of course, Joe Biden.
Every day new stories emerge about the corruption in the White House as it relates to Ukraine by some in Trump’s circle, including his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani. Aids closest to the President have also expressed concerns about Trump’s phone call with Ukraine’s President Zelensky and the interference in our elections.
This past week, two associates of Giuliani’s, Ukrainians Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, were indicted on campaign finance-related charges before they boarded a flight to leave the country. Now, Giuliani is facing an investigation by federal prosecutors into whether his involvement with Ukraine violated federal lobbying laws. When asked by a reporter if Giuliani was still Trump’s personal attorney, he responded, “Well, I don’t know…”
Words matter. The White House, and most of the Republicans in Congress who support the President, their words are losing meaning by the doublespeak used to defend the corruption, abuse of power, and obstruction of justice by Trump and his co-conspirators and enablers.
Let’s take a look at the words in our developing dystopian world.
“When words lose their meaning, people lose their freedom.” — Confucius
Projection, Pandering, & Profiteering
Here’s an excerpt from our 2020 Political Primer.
(The following definitions from Merriam-Webster)
- Projection – the attribution of one’s own ideas, feelings, or attitudes to other people or to objects especially: the externalization of blame, guilt, or responsibility as a defense against anxiety.
- Pandering – someone who caters to or exploits the weaknesses of others
- Profiteering – the act or activity of making an unreasonable profit on the sale of essential goods especially during times of emergency
Doublespeak, Deflection & Disinformation
- Doublespeak – The first definition is from William Lutz who hails from hometown of Racine, Wisconsin, and is the author of an essay, The World of Doublespeak and the book Doublespeak. His original essay and the book described the four different types of doublespeak (euphemism, jargon, gobbledygook, and inflated language) and the social dangers of doublespeak. (Excerpted from Wikipedia).
“Doublespeak is language which pretends to communicate but doesn’t. It is language which makes the bad seem good, the negative seem positive, the unpleasant seem attractive, or at least tolerable. It is language which avoids, shifts or denies responsibility; language which is at variance with its real or purported meaning. It is language which conceals or prevents thought.” — William Lutz
- Deflection – is a method of changing the course of an object, an emotion or thought from its original source. Psychological deflection is seen as a narcissistic abuse tactic used to control the mind and emotions of others.
- Disinformation – false information deliberately and often covertly spread (as by the planting of rumors) in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth
Signs of things to come. Past is prologue.
If Trump is not removed from his office as a result of an impeachment vote in the Senate, he will continue his bid for reelection. In the past week, we’ve already seen and heard his disinformation campaign in his rallies and in his TV and online ads. He’s ramped-up the rhetoric peppering it with more lies, profanity, doublespeak, deflection, and disinformation. All we need to do is look back at his campaign for President in 2015 to get a glimpse of things to come and the dangers of an authoritarian oligarchy. Past is prologue.
Before Trump was selected as the Republican nominee for President, in 2015 the opening paragraph of Matt Taibbi’s essay in Rolling Stone, Inside the GOP Clown Car captured my attention when he commented on the Republican candidates campaigning in Iowa.
“On the campaign trail in Iowa, Donald Trump’s antics have forced the other candidates to get crazy or go home. The thing is, when you actually think about it, it’s not funny. Given what’s at stake, it’s more like the opposite, like the first sign of the collapse of the United States as a global superpower. Twenty years from now, when we’re all living like prehistory hominids and hunting rats with sticks, we’ll probably look back at this moment as the beginning of the end.”
If Trump is not impeached, which seems unlikely due to his stonewalling efforts and the support of his Republican enablers in Congress and his Supreme Court appointees, it is our responsibility to vote him out in 2020 by electing his Democratic opponent. It is a time of reckoning for our democracy — and at least today — it’s up to us, We the people…
He must be Unpresidented.
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Thanks, Lewis. As a writing colleague and loyal Mixed Metaphors, Oh My! reader, your feedback is always valued.
Super-heavy and on target!! Thanks much!! Lewis