by John Bossange
The French philosopher, Voltaire, a leading voice of the Enlightenment, was a champion of civil liberties, a satirical writer, and a critic of France’s Catholic Church and the Monarchy. Voltaire is famous for stating, “Those who can make you believe in absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”
Then as now, we are living under an autocratic Trump regime whose lies, exaggerations, and absurd statements and actions have taken our nation down a dangerous path. If this is not challenged and allowed to grow as the Monarch’s absurdities did in France during the 1750’s, then America will become a nation of similar intolerance and authoritarian rule in the foreseeable future.
Alongside all the noise both at home and abroad that has been politically calculated by the Trump administration to cause chaos and distraction, the most serious, long-term damage to the nation has been the violation of our Bill of Rights, embedded in our Constitution in 1791. There is no better time to realize this than now, following our recent July 4th celebration when we honored the birth of America.
The Bill of Rights was written to guarantee individual liberties and to protect citizens from potential government overreach. They explicitly protect fundamental rights like freedom of speech, religion, the press; the right to bear arms; and protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. July 4th should always serve as a reminder of these sacred principles that have made America the beacon of freedom and opportunity.
If you believe President Trump has not crossed the line into authoritarian rule, and has not been trampling on our Bill of Rights, then you have been blinded by the chaotic and equally dangerous noise created by the bombing of Iran, pulling out of NATO and the Paris Accords, and talking about annexing Greenland, the Panama Canal, and Canada.
Adding domestic actions like abolishing the Department of Education, supporting Christian Nationalism, manipulating tariffs and the Stock Market, budgeting deep tax cuts for the rich, and reducing Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits are additional examples of well planned and politically motivated actions to take your mind off what’s also going on: The calculated assault on our Bill of Rights to ensure authoritarian rule. Consider the following lies, absurd statements, and actions by President Trump.
Pardoning of the January 6th insurrectionists and calling those who stormed the Capitol Building, killing five Capitol Police officers, “peaceful protesters,” and then calling those who marched in the nationwide June 14th demonstrations “insurrectionists,” threatening to use a “massive military force” if citizens did not leave the streets.
Using hateful, divisive, dehumanizing, and revenge-laced language like “dumb,” “animals,” “people with bad genes,” “rapists,” “criminals,” and “left-wing Marxists” to describe Democrats, citizens and non-citizens who oppose the President’s actions, inciting anger and giving MAGA supporters license to attack Americans with differing opinions.
Threatening universities, dissenters, protesters, and media outlets by withholding of federal funds and licenses to operate; making unwarranted, targeted arrests in homes, borders and public buildings; and using ICE to harass and illegally detain citizens and non-citizens.
These are examples of President Trump’s violation of the First, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution by attacking free speech, freedom of religion, a free press, the freedom to assemble, and the right to petition, all written to prevent the government from depriving a citizen or non-citizen of their due process of law, to voice their beliefs, to march in a peaceful protest, and to write and read uncensored news. Denying those constitutional rights are acts of political anarchy by President Trump and his MAGA cabinet.
Voltaire was correct when he wrote about authoritarian regimes led by political and religious leaders. A citizen of the Enlightenment, Voltaire championed freedom of speech, the separation of church and state, civil liberties, individualism, and most of all, the ability to use reason for the betterment of society.
Voltaire witnessed the abuse by the ruling aristocracy, and the devastating results of a nation built on intolerance, lies, and the power to make decisions in the hands of the Monarchy and the Church. It all came to an end with the violent overthrow of the French Monarchy, and the establishment of the French First Republic by the National Convention in 1792.
Earlier in 1750, Voltaire’s beliefs formed during the Enlightenment and his views on civil liberties were considered an atrocity by the Monarchy and led to his thirty-year exile from France. Fortunately, America’s Founding Fathers were educated, well read and influenced by the Enlightenment. They based our Declaration of Independence, and Bill of Rights on the principles advocated by Voltaire.
Today, patriotic citizens who believe in the Bill of Rights must rise up against the darkness of the current oppressive, authoritarian Trump regime. Just as our Founding Fathers resisted the British Monarchy in 1776, and as the French citizenry rebelled against the Monarchy and Church in 1792, we must challenge President Trump and MAGA Party members who are no longer loyal to the principles under which America was founded.