For those of us who see injustice as deeply imbedded in U.S. national narratives, reaction to the insurrection at the Capitol Building is complicated.
First, the U.S. itself began with an armed revolt against the status quo, the British Empire. The right of revolution is affirmed in the Declaration of Independence: “whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends” [that is, denying that ‘all men are created equal,’ and have the right to ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’], “it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government.”
The right of revolution to institute or protect democracy is essential to democracy. I agree with the founders’ ideals. Unfortunately, the history of the U.S. reveals that, with considerable popular support, our government has often acted in opposition to these ideals in order to protect the power of various kinds of elites.
The injustice inherent in the conquest of the indigenous nations of North America, the institutionalization of slavery, and an original constitution that affirmed the rights of one group (white males) betray the ideals outlined above. So does the very notion of “America first!” If all are equal, it means non-Americans, too.
Yet the U.S. has often acted as if non-Americans didn’t count. The U.S. conquered half of Mexico, the Philippines, and — particularly after World War II — supported coups installing dictators in places like Iran, Viet Nam, and El Salvador. It allied itself with authoritarian regimes like the Saudi Kingdom, perhaps the most anti-democratic country on Earth.
U.S. alliances and interventions have often been at the behest of large corporations like Exxon, which are mainly concerned with extraction, and care little for democracy or justice. Corporate lobbying (and contributions to lawmakers keen on retaining power) have deeply corrupted U.S. democracy.
Finally, since the Reagan regime, the U.S. has championed and exported a hyper neoliberal capitalism that opens all common social protections and institutions to for-profit private corporations which, in turn, must grow to attract investors. This threatens our fragile planet and concentrates wealth into the hands of the few.
We often hear from both mainstream parties, especially during times of crisis, that the U.S. is the greatest country on Earth. Its ideals are indeed laudable, but those ideals demand we respect all humans equally, including poor, Black, and Brown Americans, as well as non-Americans.
Claiming we are the greatest and others don’t count is a betrayal of these ideals. We face a fundamental question: to what is our commitment — one authoritarian leader? one country? or the ideals of equality?
I am delighted that the U.S. has dodged its near miss with fascism, but to create a better world, systematic change is needed, not a return to “normal.”
Trump got one thing right: he perceived how this global system of inequality was affecting a large group of white voters who were angry at elites. He mobilized these people, many of whom had suffered economically, and fought in the “endless” Middle East wars, returning home to neglect. Suicide, domestic violence and opioid addiction have become rampant among even rural whites.
Trump, of course, ignored the real causes of these problems. He gave enormous tax breaks to economic elites and accelerated the global economic policies that increase inequality.
The continuation of these policies, in conjunction with systematic racism, has impacted communities of color even more than poor whites. The principal tormentor is the same for both Black and white non-elites, but Trump rallied white voters by blaming Blacks and immigrants for their problems.
In the 2016 Democratic primaries, Bernie Sanders won in Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, West Virginia, Montana and North Dakota — all states Trump won in the 2016 general election. There is some agreement among Black and white non-elites: we need revolutionary change.
As deeply unsettling as the Jan. 6 proto-fascist attack of the Capitol was, it revealed the rift between Trump supporters and a status quo that also angers Black voters. The pressure on Biden to return to “normal” U.S. policies may simply harden the same elite power that is a clear threat to the U.S., humanity and the planet. Capitalism and socialism can coexist with either authoritarianism or democracy (aren’t places like Denmark and Canada scary?).
I prefer democratic socialism because it places equality above profits, and has the potential to unite white and Black non-elites with all those who have a fundamental commitment to justice, equality and democracy.
Patrick McGreevy is a resident of Greenfield.