I awoke at 2:30 a.m. from a nightmare that left me shivering
in a cold sweat. I was afraid. I’m well beyond worrying about the bogeyman,
or things that go bump in the night, or ghostly apparitions or monsters under
the bed. I had a dream that shook me to
the core.
Democrats finally decided to initiate impeachment
proceedings against Trump. The
impeachment articles included obstruction of justice, failure to fulfill the
duties of the Presidency, and violations of the emolument clause. The hearings were televised and the witnesses
and facts just kept rolling out. He was
guilty. The House voted to impeach and
the case went to the Senate for confirmation.
McConnell attempted to stonewall, but the House threatened to begin
impeachment proceedings against him. In
a historic vote in the fall of 2019 Trump was convicted and ordered to vacate
the office of the Presidency.
He refused. As
Commander-in-Chief he ordered the Army to form a defensive ring around the
White House where he gathered his family and confidants. He televised speech after speech encouraging
his followers to rise up, take to the streets, and use their weapons to defend
him. Trump cast himself as America’s
savior and the victim of a coup and a conspiracy. There was little likelihood that the Cabinet
would invoke the 25th amendment to add additional rationale for his
departure. But the Joint Chiefs were
stuck. Trump was commander in
chief. Capitol police were not likely to
invade the White House when confronted by the US Army. The FBI was not going to intervene as they
were thoroughly under Trump’s thumb.
Trump was violating the Constitution and the due process of law, but his
followers did take to the streets to defend him. It was a coup. It was Trump becoming the first Imperial
President of the US and undoing Constitutional restraints on his powers. He signed an Executive Order disbanding
Congress and ordered the Army to supervise the departure of the elected
representatives. Once gone, he took the
sole reins of power. Still his followers
supported him. Civil war was brewing and
the nation was beginning to splinter.
Putin was celebrating.
I awoke. Scared to
death. Could this possibly happen? I got up, paced and fretted. I drank a scotch to calm my frazzled nerves
and attempted to shake the dream from my head.
I finally returned to bed, once again to sleep, once again to dream.
The Democrats decided not to impeach Trump for fear it would
be too divisive for the nation. Plus in
secret meetings the military revealed their dilemma should he refuse to vacate
the office. It was decided to let the
chips fall and allow the voters to decide in the fall of 2020, and decide they
did. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were
overwhelmingly elected as President and Vice President respectively. It was a landslide in both the popular vote
and the Electoral College. Democrats
regained control of the Senate and even McConnell was defeated.
Trump immediately claimed voter fraud, declared the results
invalid, and launched a nationwide investigation. By Christmas it was clear that the vote was
legitimate, but Trump claimed it was merely an inside attack by his enemies to
remove him. Though Biden formed a
transition team and planned an inauguration, Trump ordered the Army to surround
the White House where he and his were cloistered. Trump called on his followers to rise up,
take to the streets and defend what he called his stolen Presidency.
In January, Biden was sworn in on the steps of the Supreme
Court. The ceremony was interrupted
twice by armed gangs firing shots into the crowd, killing some and wounding
many. Once sworn in, the nuclear codes
were disabled for Trump and the football passed to Biden. Biden, now Commander in Chief, ordered the
Army to return to their base. Most
did. Some Trump loyalist remained,
however. They became surrounded by the
Army loyal to the US, not to Trump. As
the Army began to advance on the White House, militia members, Trump
supporters, attacked them from the rear.
By nightfall, DC was in bloody chaos.
Trump would not relinquish power and the nation began its second Civil
War.
In Red states known Democrats and liberals were dragged from
their homes and placed in internment camps.
In Blue States the National Guard was called out to maintain order and
sweep up militia members who refused to honor curfews. Blood was shed. American blood shed by Americans.
By the end of the week it was clear which states would
remain loyal to Trump and which states would honor the Constitution and the
rule of law. Trump closed the stock
market and banks. Our allies were
conflicted. Should they enter the fray
on the side of our Constitution or let Trump have his way. They could only stand by and watch as the
former United States of America fell apart and a dictator began his rule of
terror. Democrats, liberals, the media,
minorities, folks with other faiths and no faith were all rounded up and interred. The military was ordered to form a human
barrier at our border with orders to shoot to kill anyone attempting to cross
into the US. Trump declared the former
name of this country, the United States of America, was no longer valid and
directed that from now on we were simply “America” and he was making us great
again.
This man will not go easily and he will not obey Constitutional
restraints. Thoughtful conservatives
realized too late what was happening and risked being interred if they spoke
up. Trump was an American Hitler and by
the time that was clear all but the uneducated, bigoted, gun-toting evangelicals
knew it was a huge mistake.
I awoke in a horror that quickly morphed to tears. Freedom is fragile and in reality it is already showing
cracks.
