Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

President Donald Trump appears to be turning up the heat in an effort to reopen the economy sooner rather than later. Last weekend protests by some people in the states of Michigan and Virginia over how their respective governors’ stay at home orders are affecting them caught the president’s attention. The president has seized the opportunity to further push his appeals to reopen the economy, even as more Americans continue to die. President Trump and his surrogates continue to go on media outlets pushing the narrative that it is “essential” for the economy to reopen and get people back to work. Yes, it is essential that the economy reopens, that we can agree on. But the protests by Trump supporters against Democrat governors and not Republican governors has to cause one to pause, and ask why? Maybe it is because Democrat governors are not convinced that the time is right. It may be that they are listening to the doctors and not the president, nor those on Fox News. They are not listening to the “TV doctors” like Drs. Oz and Phil, who are echoing the president in reopening the economy. In addition, their voices and others like them appear not to be convincing enough people, but protests in any form, get people’s attention.

President Trump knows how to pick which protest to get behind. Remember Colin Kaepernick and what happened to his career? Remember the Charlottesville’s protests where a young woman was killed, but the president did not condemn those who were seen as being racist for their actions? Which side did the president appear to take? Now the president is telling residents/voters that it is time to “liberate” their states because they are “under siege”. The president is telling them that the restrictions are too harsh and that people want to leave their homes and go back to work. The words “liberate” and “siege” are code for a call to action by the president. Those words literally mean “to take back” what has been taken away from you. The president appears to be saying take back your rights, even if it means by violence. That was evident as some protesters showed up with guns by their side. The president appears to be pushing the buttons that he needs to push, even if it means that violence in some states headed by Democrat governors could lead to violence in the streets. The nation will not survive another civil war which could happen if reasoned people don’t start talking. But by adding the Second Amendment especially in Virginia, President Trump appears to say that, not only are people “being held” prisoner in their own homes, but Democrats want to take away guns from “God fearing” conservatives.

The president also knows that he needs 270 electoral college votes to be reelected in November. He will need states like Michigan and Virginia. He will need some semblance of a “normal” economy which is months or years away. He will not need to pressure Republican governors, as some are already making plans to slowly reopen businesses and other areas of society. The Republican governor of Florida has opened up beaches despite the high number of coronavirus cases in the states. Why? The president is counting on pressure from conservative voters in states led by Democrat governors if they want to hold on to power. There is one question that this reporter would like an answer to from those Republican leaders who are pushing to reopen states, when on one day the president says that it is up to the governors, and the next day he is saying that voters are under siege and it is time to be liberated. That question is whether their constituents will see them in the public consistently, or will they stay behind walls. A good place to start would be in a religious service, or perhaps out there on the beach, starting with the president, the VP, other religious leaders and those protesters who are “under siege”. Remember, the world is watching. So is God, for He neither slumbers nor sleeps.