Imagine this scenario:
Beings from another planet in a ‘galaxy far, far away,’ have been monitoring Earth politics for the past eight years since the 2016 election when a character seemingly coming from Central Casting made his way down an escalator, setting wheels in motion that have run roughshod over the safety and security of the country, justice, rights and freedoms. They have been confused, bemused, puzzled and alarmed at what they have observed. Feeling daring, they decide to take a road trip (well, sky trip) to a gathering of red-hatted earthlings who align with a particular candidate (same guy who got fired the last time around) who would declare himself sovereign no matter what the voters decide. The planet on which these visitors live has evolved past war, hatred, murder and violence of any kind. The beings that reside there are free to love as they choose. Reproductive rights are guaranteed. Nature is flourishing as it is respected and not exploited. Call it an anthropological study with the purpose of bringing their results back to their planet as a cautionary tale so as not to regress to that state again.
They use a cloaking device to evade detection and walk easily into the crowd. On stage, the man is spewing forth words of acrimony that fly from his mouth like dripping acid. He is vilifying ‘illegal aliens’, insisting that they are ‘poisoning the blood of America’. The visitors look at each other with sly smiles, knowing that they would be considered illegal aliens too and are glad that they have the ability to fit in without being conspicuous. They also have developed technology so that they could vanish and return to their ship if the earthlings get suspicious and attempt to harm them. He continues, threatening retribution against anyone who has challenged him. His words are nonsensical at times, yet, his audience nods and smiles, not accepting that the Emperor has no clothes. He speaks of power through violence. He ‘others’ people who don’t fit into his vision of acceptability. He demeans his political opponents. He denies that he lost the previous election and continues to campaign on that premise. He threatens to be a dictator on day one.
The people around the speaker are cheering and clapping even at the most vile statements. After more than an hour of him holding forth, the crowd is getting restless and some start to wander off. Perhaps they have heard enough or too much.
The visitors approach some of the attendees with the psychic ability to discern details of their lives without the people actually divulging.
The first is a medical doctor and they ask about the words, “first, do no harm” which is attributed to the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates. It is part of a pledge that physicians take that is meant to guide their practice. He is asked how he can support a candidate whose words incite violence and indeed cause harm. He is asked about the pandemic that this man denied, minimized, downplayed and as newly discovered, sent state of the art COVID testing equipment to Vladimir Putin.
The next is the first-generation American born of immigrant parents who fled persecution in their home country. She is asked how she can vote for this man who demeans her culture and ancestry.
After that, they approach a police officer who is wearing a t-shirt that reads, ‘Back the Blue’. They inquire if that extends to the officers who were assaulted on January 6th during the insurrection at the Capitol.
Following is a teacher who is questioned about her investment in teaching her students actual history, without whitewashing it and about book banning.
They walk over to a person wearing a clerical color and want to know how he can advocate the presidency for someone who is as un-Christlike as can be and who has likely broken most of the 10 Commandments.
They see a woman who is there with her two young children and ask what kind of world she wants them to inherit and what values she is teaching them. Is this man on stage a good role model for them?
A person who just lost their home in Hurricane Helene is asked about whether they want a President who advocates for environmental protection rather than one who calls climate change a hoax. They are also asked if they buy into the lies about FEMA, purported by their candidates.
Another is there with her teen daughter and they ask if she wants her to have reproductive choices and necessary medical care.
A military person who took this vow was asked if they still adhere to it.
- “I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.”
Another is a survivor of rape and she is asked how she can accept in office a man, who by his own bragging admission, and judicial decision, sexually assaulted women.
The next is a mixed-race couple who just had a child and they were asked if they feared for the validity of their marriage and the safety of their child.
They approach someone waving a flag that proclaims the virtue of ‘taking America back’. Back to what? Back from whom?
Another is a judge and she is asked how she feels about the SCOTUS decision, stating that there would be “broad immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts a president they took while in office.”
Lastly are parents whose child just came out to them as part of the LGBTQ+ community. They say that they love their child and the visitors wondered how they could vote for someone whose policies would do harm to their child.
The visitors listen patiently to the answers and find them inconclusive as they are filled with deliberate disinformation, evidence of cognitive dissonance, rumor and innuendo, justification and whataboutism. The extraterrestrials are not able to remain neutral in their perspective after compiling their findings. They set intentions for the people of the U.S. to come together beyond party affiliation and allegiance to a cult leader and create a society that resembles what they have been able to craft on their planet.
May peace prevail on Earth, with good will toward all.
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