Is the not so Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) and other federal courts helping the former The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America to avoid being held to account for the crimes that he allegedly committed?  If they are not, it certainly appears that they are.  The SCOTUS, led by Chief Jus…

Amid writing the first paragraph of this article it struck me that I was once again writing an article that served to vent my personal frustrations about the SCOTUS and complain about those who are aiding want-to-be dictator Trump while, instead, I should be striving to explain to readers why they should not support Trump; why they should not give him their vote.

As I reflected on these thoughts it became clear to me that as dangerous and precarious as the situation with Donald J. Trump is and as close as he is to being elected to another term as president, my focus should be on doing everything that I can to alert others to the blatant, existential threat that he poses to our democracy!  And that I should be working to convince them to fight against his serving again as president.

Therefore, I decided to immediately change course and give it my best effort to explain America’s Trump ignominy to those readers, for lack of a better expression, at their level.  I will quickly add that by “at their level” I simply mean from the perspective of those reading this article.  While I admit that I can only surmise what their perspective is, I am certain that most Americans are not political geeks like me.  Many Americans do not like politics, find it a divisive topic when interacting with family and friends, so eschew it completely.

What I offer in my attempt to explain why Donald J. Trump neither deserves your support nor your vote to those who are not political geeks or do not even follow politics closely is simple.  Do you want democracy or autocracy?  It would be easy for me to simply say that, if you think about it, you should want democracy because, by experience, you know that democracy is wonderful and from what you surely know about autocracy and autocratic countries, autocracy sucks.  But if I do that, it would not explain to you from a kitchen table perspective why a democracy benefits you so much more than would an autocracy.  So, please, take some time to think about this democracy or autocracy question during the time leading up to the November 2024 election and especially before you cast your vote.

My effort to explain things to readers from a kitchen table perspective consists of the following questions followed by rationale as to why you are better off living under a democracy.  Women, do you want to exercise control over your own body?  Men and women, do you want access to reasonable healthcare for yourselves and your children?  Do you like having Medicare and Medicaid benefits available to your elderly loved ones and friends and would like to have these benefits available to you once you become eligible to receive them?  Would you like to have Social Security available to you when the time comes?  Do you like having a minimum wage law?  Do you like having input on all these things that I just mentioned and more, and the ability to have civil discourse and even protests if you disagree with them?

All these things and more are things that you have a right to when living under a democracy.  They are not available to you under an autocracy.  Under a dictator or strongman, you might have faux rights.  In other words, you have a right to them if they are in line with the current dictator’s or strongman’s policies to which you had zero input.  Donald J. Trump has shown all Americans who he really is and it is imperative that we believe him.  He wants to be a dictator and he has said so publicly.

That is why it is extremely important that those who are supporting Trump and intend to vote for him must take a step back, take a deep breath and thoroughly examine why you support him and intend to vote for him.  Is it because you truly believe that he did the right thing when he held office before, rightfully resisted – beyond his legal remedies – leaving office after he lost the election, and then – ever since he left, has tried to destroy many of America’s institutions?  Is it because you truly believe that he is doing the right thing now and deserves another chance to lead America as her Commander-in-Chief?  Or, is it due to some nefarious reason conjured up by Trump, which is fueled by a flaw he has discovered in you and is exploiting for his own political purposes?

I am fully aware that there are many Republicans who may read this article or hear about it who, knowing that I am a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat, will be tempted to reject its content out-of-hand.  I implore you not to do this!  Instead, check to see what many of your well-respected conservative elected leaders are saying about Donald J. Trump and how he is an existential threat to democracy.  A threat to the very democracy that guarantees you all of the previously mentioned rights and more.  Further, do not just listen to what those leaders are saying but do further research of your own and bring yourselves up to speed on Donald Trump and as much of the information as possible about his efforts to become president again.

I know that most Republicans disagree with Democrats, and by association that includes me, on policies and how America should move forward.  But I believe that all of us agree that America should remain a democracy.  And if, together, we have the good fortune of keeping her a democracy when all votes have been counted for the 2024 presidential election, we can celebrate that bipartisan accomplishment together.  After that, we can get back to fighting things out through civil discourse to resolve our differences.  On the other hand, if Trump wins and once again becomes president…

So always remember, whether you are a Democrat, Republican, or Independent, your vote is the most important one of all…unless you don’t use it!

Eulus Dennis – author, M2: Street Cop To Top Cop, Operation Rubik’s Cube, and Living Between The Line