The Overthinker's Journal

Can we try a thought experiment.

It’s the summer of 2009.

President Obama is in his first year. He wants to secure his party’s future in Congress, so he calls up Illinois Governor Pat Quinn: “What do you think? Could you redraw a few Republican districts downstate to guarantee Democrats more seats?”

Obama is looking at Tea Party rallies and decides they could be dangerous for his party’s chances at the midterms. Without even consulting Texas Governor Rick Perry, he sends the Texas National Guard into Dallas, using the excuse that he needs “to protect federal buildings.” U.S. Marines soon follow, as active duty members of the U.S. Armed Forces patrol on U.S. soil.

Then, imagine Obama sending a message to Governor Charlie Crist of Florida: “If you don’t clean up the tea party rallies, I’ll send in the National Guard to take over. And if you resist, I’ll have to rethink federal funding for your state.”

If Obama had done just one of the things on this list, the outcry would have been deafening.

• Declarations of heinous government overreach
• Non-stop coverage on Fox News calling Obama a “Dictator”
• Marches in the streets with plenty of the Gadsen “Don’t Tread On Me” flags waving
• Demands for his immediate impeachment

We all know that’s exactly how it would have played out.

Yet, fast forward to today, and Donald Trump has done these things.

• Trump deployed active duty military forces into an American city, namely Los Angeles.
• Trump called on the Texas state legislature to secure partisan redistricting.
• Trump has taken over the Washington, D.C. police force, and threatened a full federal takeover of the city, unless Mayor Bowser starts echoing his propaganda, while the DoD has now authorized the carrying of weapons for the forces already in DC.
• This weekend, Trump threatened governor Wes Moore by saying he needed to rethink federal funds for the repair of the Key Bridge.
• He’s now eyeing Chicago for his next military occupation.

This isn’t a thought experiment. These are real actions, taken in our present time.

Yet, many of the same voices who waved those flags are now applauding as the government sends soldiers into our communities, literally treading on our freedoms.

Further, their claim always was that the 2nd Amendment was to protect the American people from government tyranny. That somehow rings hollow as they cheer this on. When it’s “their guy” doing it, suddenly it’s not tyranny anymore.

This isn’t about left versus right. It’s about whether we believe in democracy at all.

The Republic won’t survive if we normalize this. And it’s shocking to me that so many people who call themselves “patriots” are in favor of this happening.

When military power becomes a political tool, the line between a free republic and an authoritarian state grows very thin. In fact, that line may have already been crossed?