Looking Ahead

Dear Mr. President,

There were no miracles on Election Day. The lesser evil won and the same dysfunctional Congress returns to Washington next year. Re-electing the same people and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. On election night 2008, there was jubilation and excitement; people were cheering and high-fiving strangers, there was hope, a sense of righteousness. None of that this year, only a sense of resignation, and a sigh of relief that Romney/Ryan/Ayn Rand didn’t win. We knew this time that last time we had been duped, hoodwinked, betrayed and played for suckers and there was little joy and few expectations this time around. We’ve grown accustomed to your drone wars, Kill Lists and extrajudicial assassinations, your betrayals of We the People and your coddling of the 1%. You made it clear that the only winners under either major party are the rich, the powerful, the elite. In your victory speech Tuesday night you made more gauzy promises about fairness, equality and moving beyond war “to shape a peace that is built on the promise of freedom and dignity for every human being.” Nice words but within hours of saying them you approved a drone strike in Yemen that killed people without trial or legal recourse. Does it not bother you? The lies, the hypocrisy, the disregard for human life and the rule of law? For a time I thought we were going through a dark chapter in our history but this is no chapter, rather, it’s a state of decline with unpredictable results. You now have in place everything for tyranny: the power to incarcerate indefinitely, the elimination of habeas corpus, a sprawling security state with unchecked surveillance, militarized police across the country, legislation criminalizing protests on federal property, a paramilitary CIA, a private army of assassins in more than 100 countries… The Occupy movement held promise but America’s security forces have suppressed it for almost a year now and any grass-roots revolution would come at a heavy price that most Americans are unwilling to pay. The pundits already speculate who might run in 2016 but speculation is premature. With the power you’ve amassed and the new laws you’ve signed, it’s easy to imagine you deciding there’s no need for an election in 2016. By then the police state will be complete and people won’t care or won’t dare to rebel. This is your legacy, Mr. President, permanent war, a state of suppression, tyranny, the death of democracy. Welcome to Obamaworld.