He should have worn a mask

Between 30% and 40% of American voters still love and adore President Trump. Their faith in him is impervious to facts. They will excuse his actions, no matter how damaging to themselves or their country. Even when untrained people without badges used CS teargas on peaceful protestors to clear Trump’s path, few evangelicals condemned his use of a church and Bible for background.

With loyal followers such as these, the wisest action Trump could and should have taken in late January was to wear a mask himself. In public. Proudly.

His following would have all worn masks, in public and proudly. That’s because they are all, in Eric Hoffer’s words, true believers.

It all depends on us

So much going on: Demonstrations all around the world over the murder by a Minneapolis policeman of an African-American, George Floyd. The coronavirus (COVID–19) is still spreading, especially where lockdowns were prematurely relaxed. President Trump poses for a photo in front of an Episcopal church holding the Bible upside down after having dispersed a crowd of unarmed, peaceful demonstrators that stood in his way.

The protests have spread throughout the nation, and are populated by whites as well as people of color. A majority of Americans support the demonstrations. The police have responded with a brutality against unarmed demonstrators hard to imagine in a civilized society.

We have experienced demonstrations and even riots many times over our history, but this seems different. The videos posted on social media showing the brutality of the police against unarmed demonstrators has finally opened the eyes of the nation’s citizens, especially white citizens. It is hard for anyone to view the video of the casual murder of a black man by a policeman and deny that we have a serious problem with the police.

In the past, northern whites have sprung to action when they were confronted by atrocities committed in the deep south against African-Americans. That was the impetus for the Civil Rights movement in the ’60s, which led to the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. After the passage of these two acts, everyone, especially northern whites, sat back and relaxed, patting themselves on the back for what they had accomplished.

The Oligarchy Must Take a Hit

Economic and political conditions in the US will not improve until the oligarchy takes a hit — Financially and politically. As long as the oligarchy remains in power, it can block any change beyond cosmetic.