The brittleness of imaginary power
The anniversary of January 6, 2021, shows us that power based on fear and fantasy is always brittle, always requires drastic lengths to protect it from reality.
While unscrupulous people spread lies about the wildfires rampaging through Los Angeles, dedicated and hard-working firefighters from all over the American west, from Canada and Mexico, are there to help.
While the incoming president postures about taking over sovereign allies, the outgoing president takes steps to protect places and people. While the climate crisis reveals itself over and over, those coming into power look away, greedy for more fossil fuel money.
And while the far right in Congress readies legislation that aligns exactly with Project 2025, including a national ban on abortion despite their claims during the campaign, the economy they will inherit and plan to trash is the strongest in decades.
This week marked the anniversary of January 6, 2021, a day of tragic violence and unescapable damage to democracy. On the four-year anniversary, the person on whose behalf the violence occurred, who stirred it up and refused to end it when he could, was certified the winner of the 2024 election peacefully.
For the first time in U.S. history, a convicted felon will move into the Oval Office.
In the next nine days, take a moment to note these realities. Note how powerful people have tried to escape the facts, tried to create a fantasy world in which they have absolute power over their equally imaginary enemies. Note how many of our fellow citizens seem to have decided to live in that fantasy world with them.
Reality-based living is in for the fight of its (and our) lives in our country. This is our moment to step into the breach and speak, write, share facts.
Remember: the more they try to convince us otherwise, the more they acknowledge how important, how critical, how essential facts are. The more they try to convince us to turn against one another, the more they reveal their fear of a people, united in love and compassion, committed to living in reality.
Power based on fear and fantasy is always brittle. This is why they go to such lengths to protect it: it is, at its core, profoundly vulnerable.
It will not be easy, but it is always necessary. Step up, step in, speak up, speak out. The beauty of our planet and the future of our human family is, now and always, in our hands.
