James McNeill Whistler: The Strong Arm (1895)

"Congratulations, or something. Such are the wages Extortionists always earn."

Nothing better evidences the weakness of this new administration that can't seem to administer anything than that they resort to bullying instead of convincing. Honest politicians exercise the considerable art of forging such deals, persuading, horse-trading, and working for agreement with the implicit acknowledgment that whatever's decided won't hang together long without voluntary acceptance. Governing demands the consent of the governed, as every failed authoritarian can readily testify. They thought it might be somehow simpler to strong-arm their way toward acquiescence, and in the extremely short run, such tactics might even seem to succeed, but no allies get created when inflicting such decisions. Quite the opposite. With each so-called success, the number of detractors grows until no supporters are left. It matters how treaties emerge.

It feels no less terrifying to understand that the assault comes as a result of their weakness. It still bruises and inflicts damage. Not every wound can be redressed later. Dead is dead. The disappeared won't be present to argue their innocence in court. The wrongness will prevail for a time, even though it undermines itself from the outset. Most initially feel intimidated. That was probably the point. They bet on the chance that you won't recover quickly enough to reverse the insult or that recovery might prove impossible. The rulings against them might be inevitable without ever becoming equitable. Considerable courage will be required to stand up to these cowards. Understand that they come from a place of extreme weakness, so extreme that they feel compelled to come down way too hard, so hard that they forfeit whatever positive press they might have gained if they had merely tried to get their way the old-fashioned way. They continually undermine their credibility until nobody retains an ounce of respect for any of their positions. Their strong-arm tactics render them the weakest possible link. Then they're sunk.

Mine is not just blind hopefulness, though I sincerely hope what I propose will come true soon. It has proven true throughout much of recorded history, though, admittedly, few precedents have existed precisely matching present conditions. The outrage now seems more than distantly tangible. It's suddenly prominent and no longer separated between any previously divisive ideologies. This administration that can't seem to administer anything appears to have become a no-discriminator tormentor. They'll seemingly just as gladly sit on a supporter's face as any detractor's. The sense of betrayal emanating from their former supporters might far exceed that coming from their longer-term detractors. No vengeance exceeds that from a jilted lover, and bullies can't seem to contain their passions from jilting lovers. They quickly escalate the cruelty they inflict, as if the purpose no longer focused upon any policy attainment, but merely on the purity of the cruelty inflicted. Edicts contradict with no attempt to resolve their differences. They break their own arm a few times as if to demonstrate just how tough and vicious they are. Deep down, they seem to be wanna-be self-saboteurs. They become reassuringly successful at achieving this.

Take heart, I whisper to myself, for this evil, too, shall pass. It will not pass nearly quickly enough, and some scarring will last, but their defeat seems assured if only because their tactics cannot scale or sustain themselves. They will lose every critical appeal. They will successfully stall justice but only at the cost of any eventual redemption. They will undermine whatever their agenda might have been for at least a generation. And we will have renewed an invaluable appreciation for what we might have neglected before. Who won't feel compelled to vote after watching their rights repeatedly violated? Tell me who will remain complacent after personally experiencing despotism exceeding that which inspired Our Founders to rebel.

More than four score and a few more than seven years ago, our forefathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. That proposition grew from its initial speculation to become the tangible experience of generations and the heartfelt aspiration for most other nations. We attracted those who chose to pursue the happiness that comes from fully acknowledging that equality in daily practice. Some thugs with anemic self-esteem felt the need to put their presumed lessers into their place and attempted to undermine what our founders proposed and subsequent generations had grown used to experiencing. Strong-armed and ham-handed in comparison, no power on Earth has ever existed that exceeds the desire for freedom. Equality was never the sole remit of anybody's DEI initiative, though DEI also refuses to die, for good and decent reasons. We can be charitable to our tormentors after they forfeit their ill-gotten power. Then, we can pardon them if we choose. Until then, they've managed to create genuinely inspired opposition that cannot lose. Congratulations, or something. Such are the wages Extortionists always earn.

©2025 by David A. Schmaltz - all rights reserved

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