Malevolent men with a proven track record of inciting violence and insurrection do not get to turn the consequences of their depravity — and the division they promote — into victimhood and martyrdom.

I am not here to lecture people on the virtues of finding common ground to settle our political differences in this country. To do so would be a great disservice rooted in conflict avoidance and denial. Neither am I here to admonish people about the dangers of political violence becoming a mainstay in American politics. We are not in kindergarten.

A reality check is why I am here.

Political violence has already infiltrated the idyll of American life. Many of us are already its victims. Indeed, it has become a nightmare in this country, living our lives on tenterhooks with an ill-defined future, in large part because of the man nearly assassinated on Saturday evening.

A treacherous man who has continually fanned the flames of political violence among domestic White supremacist terror and militia groups to whom he can dogwhistle such commands as “stand back and stand by.”

A hateful man who has pursued “divide and conquer” strategies to repeal progressive advances and stir the pot of racial and religious tensions to promote White supremacy ideals and xenophobia and remind women that toxic masculinity still threatens their hard-won civil rights.

A dangerous man complicit in a creeping Constitutional coup to overthrow American democracy, whatever the cost or collateral damage.

A narcissistic man who, having gotten a taste of real political power as the most powerful man in the world, now views himself as our “king” regardless of how ineptly unqualified.

A devious man who lies about his affiliation with a White Christian Nationalist movement whose agenda — Project 2025 — explicitly outlines their plans to convert America into a Handmaid’s Tale fascist dictatorship.

An immoral man so committed to a life of crime, corruption and sexual deviancy that he would sell America’s soul and secrets to the highest bidder.

A depraved man who would use the presidency as a means of avoiding certain jail time and to pardon loyalists, already convicted by our highest courts, for felonies committed in the furtherance of his crimes against the state.

A treasonous man who has continually aligned himself with dictators and fascists throughout the world — political enemies — above our allies.

A grifting conman, whose current status as a convicted felon with 91 criminal indictments should render him ineligible to run for the presidency of a “shithole” banana republic, much less America that has held up its democracy as a beacon to the world.

A man so pathologically mendacious and untrustworthy that a cloud of suspicion surrounds whether the assassination attempt was staged to deflect from his many scandals.

I wish I could find it in my heart to even feel sorry about what happened to Donald Trump. But I do not. He and his MAGA cult have long exhausted any milk of human kindness and empathy from many a heart in this country. But perhaps, more importantly, I am assured by my spiritual and philosophical beliefs that I have no need to.

The story of the “Watchman on the Wall” in Jewish doctrine reassures me of personal exoneration — morally, civilly, criminally — when the dire consequences that could result from our warnings go unheeded, even the destruction of a “city.” It further assures that forgiveness does not absolve someone from the consequences of their behavior. Neither does forgiveness mean leaving yourself at risk of further harm.

Indeed, malevolent men with a proven track record of inciting violence and insurrection do not get to turn the very consequences of their depravity — and the division they promote — into victim hood and martyrdom. Not on my watch.

I shall, therefore, leave the inspirational, idealistic overtures to President Biden and bleeding-heart pacifists still suffering cognitive dissonance about what is unfolding in this country. My eyes are wide open. It is 1934 again — in America. Except, this is not Nazi Germany.

In fact, now may be the opportune time to issue a critical reminder about the inherent dangers of looking for common ground with the “good people on both sides” of political divide. In a brilliantly penned piece for Time magazine, author and Emory University Professor Tayari Jones wrote:

“The middle is a point equidistant from two poles. That’s it. There is nothing inherently virtuous about being neither here nor there. Buried in this is a false equivalency of ideas, what you might call the “good people on both sides” phenomenon. When we revisit our shameful past, ask yourself, Where was the middle? Rather than chattel slavery, perhaps we could agree on a nice program of indentured servitude? Instead of subjecting Japanese-American citizens to indefinite detention during WW II, what if we had agreed to give them actual sentences and perhaps provided a receipt for them to reclaim their things when they were released? What is halfway between moral and immoral?

When we revisit our shameful past, ask yourself, Where was the middle?”

Over the years, I have found Jones’ perspective both profound and instructive. At this political juncture, the only side still committed to democracy in this country is the Democratic Party. Burying our heads in the sand won’t fix that. Neither will casting coins into a wishing well waft away disinformation and conspiracy theories that exacerbate the erosion of civic knowledge. Former Supreme Court Justice David Souter warned about the inherent perils of our current path, including the rise of a dictator in America.

And, indeed, here we are.

The architects of Project 2025 at the Heritage Foundation have already infiltrated our Supreme Court. The stage is now set to anoint a president-king with absolute immunity for “official acts.” However, lest we forget, Hitler’s atrocities — including the extermination of 11 million people — were all official acts.

Project 2025’s Trump card is merely the latest iteration of a well executed 50-year plan to establish dominionism. Their Seven Mountain Mandate to infiltrate the “seven spheres” of society — family, religion, education, media, entertainment, business, and government — aims, essentially, to cripple and convert our secular democratic process in favor of a Christian theocracy.

They have already corrupted our Legislative and Judicial branches to provide cover for expressly unconstitutional activity. Moreover, their influence increases exponentially when they gain sufficient access to our Executive branch. Look no further than at Trump’s “spiritual advisor,” Paula White who openly proclaims, “To say no to Trump would be saying no to God.”

No. Seriously.

The Christian Nationalist commitment to “take it by force” is palpable. Legislative gerrymandering and other subversive strategies now diminish voter pools, restrict the efficiency of mail-in ballots, and make voting at polling stations more difficult in Democratic majority constituencies. The political gridlock created by their proxies in both Houses of Congress testifies to their dogged agenda to “deconstruct the administrative state.”

Trump’s pick of 39-year-old Sen. JD Vance as his VP running mate also smacks of Christian Nationalist dark money influence and indoctrination. A once-fierce “Never Trump” critic who did not see Trump “offering many solutions,” Vance has now metamorphosed into something radically different, joining a long list of political turncoats against democracy. Back in 2016, Vance wrote a New York Times op-ed titled, ‘Mr. Trump Is Unfit For Our Nation’s Highest Office,’ and sent a text to his law school roommate warning that Trump might be ‘America’s Hitler.’ Fast forward to 2024, Vance’s vision for America is now breathtakingly authoritarian, finding inspiration in a tyrannical president, Andrew Jackson, regarded by most Americans with shame for trampling on the rule of law to commit atrocities.

I could go on. And on.

It’s no longer about what’s best for the country — or a representative democracy — but what aids and abets a Christian Nationalist power grab. And again I say, we cannot keep taking the Democratic Party “high road” when that is not where the battle is taking place. It is a recipe for disaster.

Look to Neville Chamberlain, Britain’s PM at the time of Hitler, who will forever be remembered for supporting a policy of appeasement toward Hitler over the annexation of Czechoslovakia, signing the Munich Agreement of 1938. The movie: “Munich — The Edge of War” (Netflix) depicted Chamberlain’s absolute failure to stop Hitler and, ultimately, a full-blown world war in what was tantamount to cowardice. He thought he could stop a tyrant with diplomacy. He was wrong.

When all else fails, we must confront a bully and defeat him. The path to peace is not often found along the lily path, but through a conflict — head on.

I, therefore, reject calls that urge, “If you’ve rightfully condemned political violence, then you have to be consistent in condemning it regardless of the intended target.”

Such exhortations, while well-intentioned, are misguided and, perhaps, a tad naive. Without a decisive win at the ballot box in November for Democrats, without a critical commitment to the “peaceful transfer of power” or a definitive, decisive response to the clear and present danger to democracy in this country, we will reach a point of no return.

Be consistent in condemning political violence — yes, 100 percent. But I will not throw a pity party for someone who falls by the sword he has chosen to live by through repeatedly unrepentant behavior that mocks decency and sanity.

I also will not stifle the irony of Trump being shot by a White male Republican — not a Democrat, not some undocumented immigrant he has “othered” and vilified — with an AR-15 assault rifle. Republicans have repeatedly refused common sense gun control laws to remove such military-style weapons from our streets, weapons that have no place in a society with the kind of pervasive potential for violence that Trump has now normalized.

The Bible touted by Christian Nationalists, declares in Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow.” Therefore, it must be harvest time for Trump and his MAGA cult.

The arc of the moral universe is long, they say, but it still bends toward justice — and Karma. I recognize both when they show up. And I will feel absolutely no shame for that.

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