Yesterday was a bad day (I will write about that later) but I meant to post then (and will do so here and now) about tomorrow in America.
Specifically, scenes from tomorrow there I think we should begin to consider not because they are stark but because some version of them is likely and we should be prepared.
For instance, let's suppose that the Justice Department does indeed indict and convict Donald Trump of witness tampering or sedition or being a traitor. (After all, if he isn't guilty of something then none of us are guilty of anything.) But found guilty, what then? It is not too likely that Mr. Trump will turn himself over to the authorities in an act of humility and shame. Far more likely he will wall up in Mar-a Largo and call out to his followers to defend him, meaning that somewhere between 50 and 5000 (or who knows how many) proud boy types armed to the teeth will be circling Florida's most gaudy residence until . . . until what? Will the National Guard or a division of Marines be called in to bring Mr. Trump to jail? Or will the authorities look to starve them out even as supporters drone in hamburgers? For sure it won't be pretty.
Here's another possibility for tomorrow in America that does not thrill me with hope and joy. After a “Red Wave” in 2022 midterms, the Democrats still manage to win more popular and electoral votes in 2024. Maybe the Republicans run another obvious fascist like DeSantis or Josh Hawley (and obvious fascism is seen as a negative) or the Dems actually get behind a legitimately attractive candidate like Pete Buttigieg. But despite MSNBC reporting that more people voted for Democrats than Republicans and Dems having appeared to have won the electoral college as well, Republicans go ahead and install their candidate as president.
Now the left is arming up and marching to the capitol and living through what the right projected onto the nation. See the system has been rigged (just as is with the Supreme Court) and we must either give in or fight.
Then what?
I dunno.
But today, as it happens, I went to the Saturday market here in Amsterdam and talked with my onion/potato guy about how he is going to go to France this week and will come back with long strings of smoked garlic. This was after coffee from Bruno (his partner saw me in line and said “Ted’s here” so Bruno could ask if I wanted black or with milk.) I had brief conversations about cherries and cheese and watched the fruit and veggie guys I like laugh and smile as a 10-year-old girl just in front of me read a long list to them so that they could help her load up two bags with the fresh goods she would take back home to mom and dad.
On my own way home I stopped at a coffee place I rarely use except that they sell White Label beans (that’s Francesco and Elmer’s roastery) and discussed with the guy grinding my coffee how White Label has switched bags from paper to something new. How come? We wondered together. Are these more environmentally friendly? I’ll have to ask the guys next time I see them at one of their cafes.
Do those kinds of conversations and interactions prevent citizens from gutting each other when the time comes? Or just push off that time of civil war? I do not know but they do seem like the right kind of buffer.