Things don’t just happen
A fair argument can be made that every U.S. president has blood on their hands, beginning with George Washington. Certainly, those like Washington, who engaged in military campaigns, were no strangers to killing. Or as Noam Chomsky once argued, “every post-war American president could be considered guilty of 'war crimes’” under the Nuremberg principles.
Still, acknowledging all the atrocities committed in the name of empire, the spectacle of Donald Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman chatting in the Oval Office was shocking. Two murderers sitting side by side. This is the corrosive nature of fascism. Such moments pass as normal.
Mohammed bin Salman’s role in the kidnapping, murder, and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2017 is well known.
Since September, Trump has ordered the bombing of small boats in both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. By last week, 20 strikes could be documented, and eighty-two people were dead. Murdered. Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, said plainly, “We will kill you.”
Shortly after the Saudi deal was concluded, President Trump called for the prosecution of Democrats for “SEDICIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH.” This outburst was in reaction to a courageous 90-second video that reminds members of the military and intelligence services that they have a duty to “refuse illegal orders.”
The video opens with our Michigan Senator and former CIA Analyst, Elissa Slotkin speaking directly to people saying, “We know you are under enormous stress and pressure right now.” Former Navy Captain and Senator from Arizona Mark Kelly follows, saying, “Like us, you all swore an oath.” Then three more veterans, Reps. Jason Crow (Colo.), Chris Deluzio (Pa.), Maggie Goodlander (NH), and Chrissy Houlahan (Pa.), call upon service members to stand up against “illegal orders.”
After the outburst by Trump, the group issued a joint statement saying:
“We are veterans and national security professionals who love this country and swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. That oath lasts a lifetime, and we intend to keep it. No threat, intimidation, or call for violence will deter us from that sacred obligation. “What’s most telling is that the President considers it punishable by death for us to restate the law. Our servicemembers should know that we have their backs as they fulfill their oath to the Constitution and obligation to follow only lawful orders. It is not only the right thing to do, but also our duty. “But this isn’t about any one of us. This isn’t about politics. This is about who we are as Americans. Every American must unite and condemn the President’s calls for our murder and political violence. This is a time for moral clarity. “In these moments, fear is contagious, but so is courage. We will continue to lead and will not be intimidated.”
Courage has been in short supply among our elected politicians. So, this is a welcome and necessary act, helping to name this moment for what it is, a pivotal juncture in the evolution of our collective life.
It is undeniable that our past is filled with death and destruction. Our present is bearing witness to some of the most brutal behaviors ever sanctioned by governments instituted among people. In the few months of the Trump regime, we have seen kidnappings, torture, abuse, bombings, starvation, and destruction on a scale to rival any of the worst moments of our past.
Yet we are also witnessing tremendous acts of courage and compassion. As ICE forces sweep into North Carolina, the good people of Charlotte are standing up for their neighbors. Chicago, the District of Columbia, and people across this country are calling on the best of our heritage to protect our communities. They remind us that our past, like our present ,is always complicated. We cannot remake the past, but we can create a different future. The future doesn’t just happen. It is created by what we do now.