We Were Maligned

Years ago as Donny was ascending to the halls of power many of us saw it coming and tried to warn people, especially voters, what they were embracing….in those early days we were maligned as alarmists and fakirs….it is called foresight.

You can’t prove you’re from the future, and you’re limited to broadly legal means. Can you persuade enough people to take it more seriously?

After all, you know what’s coming—January 6, the overturning of Roe v. Wade, checks and balances failing, massive open corruption, troops on the streets, abductions by masked men, and concentration camps. But when you warn of these horrors, it sounds outlandish. People won’t believe you. If you insist, you’ll be dismissed as hysterical. Despite knowing the future, you won’t be able to prevent it.

This is not that far from the position many ordinary Americans found themselves in at the start of the Trump era. They weren’t time travelers but saw what was coming clearly enough. They called Trump’s movement fascist from the very start, and often predicted specific milestones of our democratic decline well in advance. They were convinced they were right—and often beside themselves with worry. Accordingly, they did everything they could to get others to listen.

But not enough people did, and many attacked them—even as events proved them right, again and again. As late as February 2025, respected legal commentator Noah Feldman was casually asserting our constitutional system was “working fine” and Jon Stewart was scolding people who used the word “fascist,” claiming all they had done “over the last ten years is cry wolf.”

There is an ancient archetype at work here. In Greek mythology, Cassandra was given the gift of prophecy—of seeing the future—but cursed that she would never be believed. Her name is sometimes used as a pejorative for an overacting alarmist, which, appropriately enough, misses the point. Cassandra was, after all, right. When the Greek army seemingly abandoned the siege of Troy, leaving behind the Trojan horse, she pleaded with the Trojans not to bring it into the city. They did so anyway, and armed men burst out of it, dooming them all.

Why did we see this story again? Why did some immediately see America’s dark future, while others fought them so long and so hard?

https://newrepublic.com/article/204254/survey-2024-election-cassandras-trump-2025

So we were not alarmist…..and yet about 35-40% of the voters still hang onto this creeps coattails for whatever reason.

Maybe people should take a closer look at any political predictions that are made from knowledge and not some knee jerk whim.

The most beautiful words in the English language…..’We Told You So”

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

6 thoughts on “We Were Maligned

  1. I personally think people are still “hanging onto his coattails” because they aren’t staying up with the messes he’s making. As I’ve said several times before, there is a segment of folks who treat politics as simply a time to go to the polls to vote … for their party’s candidates. Their lives are too busy or they’re simply not interested in “politics” to read or listen to the disasters Trump is creating. For them, until something “hits home,” it’s No-Big-Deal.

  2. One positive thing I will say about Trump and his cronies is that they made it crystal clear what they would do if he won the election. Then he won, and they are doing it. Anyone complaining now was not listening before the election. More fool them.
    Best wishes, Pete.

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