Silence [David’s blog on DR Thursday]

Posted on September 11, 2025 by davidrobinsoncreative

It is 9/11, the 24th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on our nation. I remember the day like it was yesterday. The assault on our nation (mostly) brought us together.

On the eve of this anniversary, the current occupant of the White House, in a speech to the nation, used the murder of Charlie Kirk, a right wing provocateur, to incite violence on his political opponents and the “radical left”. Keep in mind, no one knows anything about the assassin. Statements of empathy poured from the left, statements of violence poured from the right.

Keep in mind that there was yet another school shooting in our nation, in my home state of Colorado. There was no mention in the president’s speech about the latest example of the continued and incessant violence enacted on our children.

In the past several months, the conservative justices of the Supreme Court of the United States have suspended due process, habeas corpus, and just this week, the conservative justices ruled to allow racial profiling. They’ve elevated the president above the law.

All of these rulings are in direct violation of the oath they swore to uphold The Constitution. They are systematically dismantling our constitutionally-protected freedoms.

Along with a feckless congress, the Supremes deconstruct the checks-and-balances of our democracy, and are consolidating power in the executive branch. This is fascism. I do not use that word as an insult. I use that word – a word with a specific definition – to ring the alarm.

On this anniversary of 9/11, it is imperative to recognize that the current attack on our nation is coming, not from outside, but from within. A rogue Supreme Court and a republican Congress enable the authoritarian desires of a serial criminal. They support the absolute suppression of opposition and are moving to militarize the clampdown on democratic ideals.

And,sadly, a mainstream press long ago abdicated its responsibility to inform (rather than entertain) the public. They’ve worked hard to normalize the violent rhetoric of the current administration. The media on the right has worked hard to create a straw man, an enemy in the democratic left.

The current threat to our democracy is far more dangerous than the attacks on 9/11. On that day, planes took down buildings.

On this day, on this anniversary of an attack on our nation, an authoritarian and his enablers are taking down our democracy.*

Soon, if we do not stop this assault on our nation, all that will be left to us is silence.

(*again, I do not toss the word “authoritarian” as an insult or to provoke. I use it to describe the actions of the executive and his enablers).

***

During the Jacob Blake riots and martial law in our town, we learned that we could not get up-to-date or factual news on mainstream media. We had to seek independent media if we wanted accurate and immediate information. The same is proving true now.

Democracy Docket (Mark Elias)

Brian Tyler Cohen

Historian Heather Cox Richardson