“Never react to an evil in a way that augments it.” — Simone Weil

Simone Weil

I begin with the sage words of Simone Weil which express a stance toward evil which most members of the Democratic Party consistently shun. Democrats would do well to not only heed Simone Weil’s words, but emulate the courage, compassion and conviction she demonstrated in her years of political activism on behalf of the poor, oppressed and working class. However, given their consistent failures to mount any meaningful or effective resistance against President Trump’s and the Republican’s unrelenting assault on our democracy and common decency, I am not holding much hope of that. Instead it is glaringly apparent that the vast majority of the Democratic Party are content to feign revulsion for Trump and his fascist agenda and to conveniently castigate their Republican adversaries while then proceeding to do little or nothing to oppose them. Their words are therefore meaningless, their promises of taking “bold action” are lies, and their concern for those they have sworn to serve is a sham.

In truth, they have repeatedly shown themselves to be utter cowards and behind the increasingly frayed façade they have created they are utterly indifferent to the pain and suffering of millions of Americans (not to mention millions of people in other countries we have devastated through war and exploitation). Their abysmal failure in not drawing a line in the sand and taking a hard line with Republicans on behalf of Dreamers in the recent budget negotiations is just the most recent example. One of my own Senators, Dick Durbin, was in the room when the President labeled the country of origin of groups of immigrants “shit holes”. Like every “good” Democrat, he made his display of outrage at this in the latest of a barrage of racist remarks and actions by our President. He swore to fight for a clean DACA bill before approving the budget (I know because he sent me at least two emails informing me of this while asking for donations). And when the time to live up to his commitment came, he reneged and showed a total lack of conviction and courage. In a tweet, he proudly proclaimed a strange sort of victory — touting that a “bipartisan deal” had been achieved that gave “the President everything he asked for”. In what universe is this opposition? How wonderful that Senator Durbin is more interested in obsequiously kowtowing to our demagogue, tyrant President than standing up for 800,000 individuals who fear that they may be departed from a country they have lived in for most of their lives. Pathetic!

There is ample evidence of the perils posed by events of the past year with the election of Donald Trump. Comparisons to the rise of fascist regimes in the past have been made with good reason. And that peril will only grow if we fail to see those parallels and take prompt action to oppose these alarming developments. Unfortunately, there are many ways in which one can react to an evil in a way that augments it. And Democrats have shown themselves to be complicit in a number of cases of evil in recent times. Several examples from past history of how such complicity has led to disastrous consequences highlight the present dangers posed by Democrats’ cowardice and indifference.

Recent scholarship has shown how inaction and acquiescence by Britain and France to the demands and illegal actions of Hitler paved the way for the horrors of the Second World War. This has been a subject of considerable debate among historians. However, there is sound evidence that many of the leaders of the German military were aware that Hitler was a dangerous madman and feared that he could bring ruin upon the German people. Shortly after Hitler was appointed Chancellor, no less than General Erich Ludendorff — one of the principal military leaders of WWI — wrote a letter to Hindenburg condemning his action in appointing Hitler and foretelling the catastrophe that would follow. If at any of the points when concessions had been made to Hitler’s demands, there had instead been staunch opposition, the German military could have taken action to remove Hitler. But instead the concessions solidified his popularity with the German people and emboldened him.

The culmination of these miscalculations was the Munich Agreement that permitted Germany to annex that part of Czechoslovakia called the Sudentenland. This merely opened up the complete invasion of Czechoslovakia months later. Opinion has been divided about the actions of the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain. However, in the book, In Our Time: The Chamberlain-Hitler Collusion, Clement Liebovitz and Alvin Finkel conducted rigorous and painstaking research using original sources to reveal that Chamberlain was not a duped appeaser who was taken advantage of by Hitler. Rather their research reveals that the agreement was the culmination of a cynical collaboration between Chamberlain and the Tory government and the Nazis based on their sharing antagonism and suspicion of the Soviet Union. In light of this, it was deemed not only permissible but desirable that German be allowed to re-arm and to expand into central and eastern Europe with the hope that it would lead to eventual conflict with the Soviet Union. In other words, to advance British interests it was perfectly acceptable to let millions fall under the rule of a madman bent on world domination. And that was merely the prelude to far more terrible things to come.

Empty words, feigned outrage, bogus bombast and toothless threats — each and every one of these constitute just another way of not only turning a blind eye to evil, but being complicit with it. And history is replete with tragic examples of the incalculable harm done to those who have been misled by how those who pretend to march under the banner of goodness, truth and justice. When all is said and done, today’s Democrats have betrayed many of those who have looked to them to hold their interests and needs sacred. The only interests they consider worth their time and attention are their own and those of their donors and corporate overlords. History also tells us that their failure to rise to the occasion will cost us dearly. An ever-darkening shadow is falling over our nation.

We cannot look to these do-nothing, feel nothing phonies to stem this tide. It will take people willing to follow in the footsteps of true heroes like Simone Weil. People who know that courage, commitment and compassion are the essential ingredients to true opposition to oppression and striving ceaselessly to establish justice.