ANARCHISTS

     Back in the late 60s or early 70s I participated in several anti-Vietnam war marches. Peace marches were a common expression by many Americans at the time, and many of us were quite passionate about expressing our distaste for America's foreign policy. That passion sometimes erupted into civil disobedience and even property damage. There are reports that FBI agent provocateurs initiated some of that  violence as part of J Edgar Hoovers' COINTELPRO operation. The differences between the Covid 19 lockdown protesters of today, and those anti-war protesters of yesteryear are legion, most notable is the weaponry openly displayed by the anti-lockdown groups today. Sometimes we openly carried candles, at dusk, signs, some even bang out a rhythm on 5 gallon plastic buckets. The only lasting effect of that was some discarded cups in the streets, cigarettes and roaches. There was no chance of arson, no possibility of gunfire. There was always the possibility of being knocked on the head by a police truncheon. There appear to be agent provocateurs inciting today's lockdown dissenters as well. Instead of being sent by the FBI, they seem to be sponsored by various ultra-rightwing groups sponsored by the Koch and Mercer interests. 

     At one of those marches, so many years ago, I saw a hand-lettered sign which read: ANARCHISTS UNTIE. I was prompted to speculate with one of my chums that the sign maker must have either dropped some righteous acid or suffered from dyslexia. Over the years I have often considered the unintended truth of that protest sign. Anarchists do indeed untie. They come in two varieties, there are the anarchists that just want to disengage from the structures around us, and the autocratic anarchists that want to tear down the structures of government. An example of the latter would be Vladimir Lenin, whom Steve Bannon an early advisor of Donald Trump admires. Other examples would be the German Brown shirts of Hitler's post-Beerhall Putsch days, and the aforementioned Bannon who gifted us with President Trump. Bannon is famous for his wish to, "deconstruct the administrative state". He has not explicitly stated what he wanted to do with the union once the administrative state is deconstructed (and there therefore is no union), perhaps he wishes there to be no administrative state or perhaps he wishes it to be reconstructed in the image of the autocratic president we now have and the political Mercer-naries and Kochheads who control far-right groups with an iron fist (oh, if only there was a Republican mega-funder with the surname, Dick). These autocratic anarchists instill fear, within the tiny minds of people who would not know the meaning of anarchy, that we must beware of something called a "Deep State". There is no solid definition of deep state from these people, other than being wary of big government. What these mindless dimwits don't seem to understand is that they are being told that the very thing that keeps the deep state from being investigated is the thing Trump calls "fake news". The government they fear is at least somewhat transparent, thanks to journalists from the the traditional news media, who have been reasonably reliable over the 80-odd years since WWII and the growth of television. The cyber-world and cable have been less successful at truthful reportage. Take for instance President Trump ( I beg you). We know that President Trump has chosen his Jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none son-in-lawless, Jared, to replace the pandemic team he fired in 2018. What could possibly go wrong? We also know that the fired inspector-general that is investigating Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao is going to be replaced by a man vetted by Mitch McConnell, Senate president and wife of the Transportation Secretary. These revelations do not seem to meet the definition of Deep State for the QAnon crowd, which makes me suspect that they are being pumped full of Hydroxychloroquin by the Mercer/ Koch branch of the deep state. What they don't seem to be able to discern is that the corporate deep-funders who have strived to elect favorable politicians, from both parties but most egregiously from the GOP, is not constrained by transparency. They hide behind PACS, think-tanks, and other groups that prevent us from seeing their sinister deeds. An even more perfect example of deep-state is Russia under Vladimir Putin, Trumps puppet-master. In that haven for oligarchs, reporters are assassinated, doctors who do not toe the party line mysteriously fall from the upper floor windows of hospitals, political rivals are vilified, have their businesses confiscated or ruined, or shot in the back. There is no transparency as long as they have power.

     Ours is not a perfect democracy, such a thing does not exist. Some countries have democracies that are more inclusive than ours (especially now,  oh gawd especially now). Others have merely the suggestion of a popular vote while controlling the levers of power within a very tight group. Russia comes immediately to mind, but we could include Turkey, The Phillipines, Brazil, Ecuador, and others. What they all have in common is a strong-arm leadership that holds justice tightly among themselves while meting out harsh punishment to those not in their circle. This may be our very near future, should Donald Trump be reelected and the Senate remain in the firm control of Moscow Mitch. Two hundred and thirty-one years of an imperfect democracy seeking perfection. It was a good ride while it lasted.