"A Trump Victory? If So, Break Glass In Case of Emergency" Malcolm Nance

 

Authors Note:  Sometimes I astonish myself. Before I wrote my last substack about Washington’s Crossing called Kneel. Pray. Win. I had written another one just in case things went South. That moment has come. The United States has voted for a dictatorship … and decisively. The Supreme Court will be lost for most of the century. Women will lose most of their reproductive rights and lives. And white people happily voted to impose tyranny over all other races and creeds. So what can you do that doesn’t involve the good Bourbon?

 Let’s face it: America has fundamentally changed from what it was founded to be. It is now an autocracy ruled by the white tribe. Here is what I wrote a few weeks ago for that break-glass moment. Read it and Weep.  Then get busy. We have work to do.

Imagine that it is Christmas morning in 1776. You are with George Washington’s army.  Midway through the crossing, the Marblehead sailors who are rowing hear something.  Before they can say a word, cannons sound all along the New Jersey side of the river.  Washington’s daring move is defeated before the boats touch dry land. Imagine British cannon fire raining down on them as surprise British troops had moved from Princeton in the night, and the Hessians were waiting to the south and raking them with gunfire. Now, picture the American experiment slowly drifting as a drowned failure under the ice of the Delaware River … and George Washington’s corpse is being paraded by German mercenaries.

My dear readers, if you are reading this, then the worst has happened. Donald Trump has been elected the 47^th President of the United States.

You are likely filled with two feelings.  Some will be the same as you felt in 2016.  You feel shame and grief. But now add a complete collapse of understanding of how the Trump train hit you into the mix.  Your wits are torn asunder.  Your heart aches and is in deep throbbing pain.  You likely feel as if a close loved one has died, and you will be correct.

Like Washington, we risked a bold and daring campaign and since you are reading this, we have failed.  Benjamin Franklin’s words now ring true.   We were a Republic if we could’ve kept it.  We did not and it died today, so  Welcome to America, the Tyranny!

The End of 248 Years of Experimenting

What is now dying is the American experiment itself. And as our Russian enemies learned long ago (and passed on to their right-wing extremist toadies) was that the fastest way to kill Democracy was to use Democracy as the very knife to slit its throat.  We do not have a president; we now have a King with all the powers George III had at the time of the American Revolution.

In the Star Wars movie Revenge of the Sith, Queen Amidala summed it up neatly when she said, “So this is how Liberty Dies, to thunderous applause.”  Our problem is there is no Jedi order full of mystical space wizards to save us.  We did this to ourselves by popular demand.

A Trump presidency means the United States is about to get the government his sycophants voted for. You likely feel adrift as a voter of progress, goodwill, and true of heart.  We are on a boat alone in a vast ocean filled with terrible storms. But as all mariners know, there is a way for a sinking ship to save its crew and, in some instances, get back aboard and salvage it. But you can’t do it when crying, even if it’s a crying shame.

I feared for America these last few weeks; I believed we would win, but I kept a reserve of 5% caution that this could end in tragedy. (Author’s note: My prediction was 100% correct, and Trump won in a landslide.)

You are most likely feeling fear, trepidation, anxiety, and a burning pain in the middle of your gut that says things are going to get nasty. You are correct in those emotions as well. So, I will give you till the end of this article to feel all of those things and then get with the program.

At the end, I want you to have a deep, sobbing cry. Then I want you to stand up, get a hot beverage, and commit yourself to not surrendering all that you presently feel hold in your heart.

Trust me, I'm a widower, and your psychological well-being demands it.  Your family will look to you, and your friends will want to lean on you for the stalwartness you need to develop pronto.   

You must Hold Fast! That’s a nautical term to ‘grip the rope more tightly, or disaster will strike a worse blow than the first.’ Hold Fast. To what you know is right and true, and that is not MAGA. So no matter what they send at you, Hold Fast.

But Malcolm, why not just give in?

It is easy to surrender in a storm, to pass under the waves, and slowly die inside.  It is easier not to engage, go into isolation, or try comprehending the crisis that befell us. I understand it.

You may want to do what I do when the politics are at their worst. I turn on MTV and watch the vapid video show Ridiculousness, or I dial upMidsomer Murders or Poirot and binge for hours to cleanse my mind. But while I watch, I am also writing and formulating new ideas to help me with the predicament. I am constantly crafting new plans, whether for my house repairs, Christmas decorations, or memorial garden.  Strategizing and adopting major projects is the highest form of grief management.  Obsessively getting your affairs in order is something those of us who have lost immediate loved ones well understand. 

However, one cannot – nay, must not surrender to the sweet, cold admission that it is hard to fight. It is hard to stand against outrages, insults, and arrogance. But those are your only choices on this day of days. You can surrender to an America that is dictatorial and fascistic and will grind into the day-to-day affairs of your life without any input from you, your friends, or your family. You can let other people dictate what your life will be.  That’s why it’s called a dictatorship.  Information will now be sent to you in any form of “truth” they want you to see.

Or you can commit to taking some time off between now and inauguration day and prepare yourself for the upcoming political battle. It will not be wedged with weapons of war, as many on the extreme right-wing lustfully imagine. In this struggle, you must become the ultimate ally of the true promise of the Constitution of the United States. And, like the oath, we swear in the Armed Forces that we will uphold, protect, and defend that sacred document.  The time has come for you to do the same.

I don’t want you to do it in the cheesy Q-Anon, Mike Flynn way of standing in front of a video camera and taking a fake oath for TikTok. I want you to take the moment that hurts you the most, which will likely be high noon on January 20, 2025, and hold it in your heart. Swear to yourself that you will not let this abomination abide without your voice of opposition. Be it in op-ed commentary, Twitter responses, or calling into local radio shows, Facebook, whatever – Swear to make your voice heard because suppressing your voice is next up after suppressing your vote.  In fact, they want you to suppress yourself.

Take in the words carved into the Thomas Jefferson memorial as a touchstone, “for I have sworn upon the altar of god eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.”  That’s it.  That’s your mission statement. Better memorize it because every form of tyranny over the mind of man is about to be imposed on you.

Remember Rockwell Too

Interestingly, the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, is one of my favorite places in the world. My greatest pleasure is walking into the hall of the Four Freedoms. It has Rockwell’s four iconic paintings facing each other, including the Thanksgiving dinner table themed Freedom from Want.  Next is the chilling Freedom from Fear, with the father and mother tucking their sons into bed while reading a newspaper about men dying in the European war. Next is the beautiful Freedom of Worship with its multinational, multi-ethnic hands in prayer.  However, the one that touches me the most is freedom of speech.  I gasp every time I see it.  You must embrace its meaning.  You must stand up, even when afraid, and say what you mean and feel.  Right now, you feel a miasma of grief and pain.  But learn to stand up and say what you mean.  Tell everyone what you think is right, honorable, and true … before it is illegal.

Tomorrow, you may feel anger and a desire for change.  OK, Stand up and say it.  Soon, you may have to choose if you will protest if and when America lurches into a complete dictatorship and/or civil war.  But once you have stood up and said you intend to speak up, remember these immortal words at the end of the Declaration of Independence: "We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

You, the reader, must understand the stakes of what speaking up means if the nation is to be saved.  You must become the most loyal and ardent defender of the founding principles at the risk of your life and fortune. If you cannot risk it for that foundational biscuit, then your voice will just become one of many that will be ignored -like drowning oarsmen in the alternate universe’s Delaware, where prideful British troops drink mulled wine and piss on your body.   Nobody wants that.

Right now, your MAGA neighbors v will likely view you as a foreign enemy to be intimidated, detained, or destroyed.

Be sure that the next four years will be a time of turmoil, economic hardship, and possibly civil unrest.  Before you can follow instructions on navigating through it, you must first organize.  Get your lifeboats back together, tie your fortunes to each other, and move with a purpose in opposition to the storm threatening to scuttle your hopes, dreams, and families. 

Today is the day to let go of the mourning and make the American Experiment work again.

Have a good cry. Spin on your heel, get a coffee, and Lets Fucking Go.

AUTHOR:

A career US Navy terrorism intelligence collector, code breaker, and interrogator with wide-ranging field and combat experience in the Middle East, South West Asia, and Africa, Mr. Nance is a counterterrorism analyst for MSNBC. He’s the author of The Terrorist Recognition Handbook, The Terrorists of Iraq: The Strategy and Tactics of the Iraq Insurgency, An End to al-Qaeda: Destroying Bin Laden’s Jihad and Restoring America’s Honor, and the New York Times best seller Defeating ISIS: Who They Are, How They Fight, What They Believe. Drawing on his experience as a thirty year veteran of the US intelligence community’s program on combating terrorism, he’s been a Middle East policy advisor to the US and international governments on special operations, homeland security, and intelligence.

Review of Listen Listen to My Hearts Song

 BOOK REVIEW - ***** 5 STAR

Reviewed by Sheena Monnin for Readers' Favorite

Listen, Listen to My Heart’s Song by M. Barrett Miller is a touching compilation of snippets of life, love, happiness, loss, and the invaluable lessons to be learned as we navigate through life. The author tells the stories of others with wit, charisma, and with great care. Each story is conveyed with clever simplicity, allowing for the fullness of the message to shine through. The reader is encouraged to connect with each story and to reflect upon similar themes in their own lives, providing the right blend of enjoyment of others’ experiences and hearkening back to one’s own. Spanning the country and crossing the globe, we meet people from all walks of life in this book, learning and appreciating pieces of their lives as we go. I appreciate the desire to tell others’ stories in Listen, Listen to My Heart’s Song by M. Barrett Miller. It provides both contributor and reader the chance to connect, albeit virtually and across the distance of time and place, and to enjoy the commonalities of humanity. The way the stories are told sets the tone for the book, making way for a respectful and pleasant look at lives all at once the same and yet very different from our own. The author is clearly well-traveled and well-connected with people he has known, and, in many instances, helped in one way or another. The author’s generous heart for humankind is the driving force behind the amazing content and touching stories. Listen, Listen to My Heart’s Song is the perfect remedy to a bad day, and the ideal pick-me-up when life feels overwhelming. Well done, M. Barrett Miller.

Trump Denigrates the Military - Constantly

 

Mr. Trump, please join me at the Wall so I can introduce you, up close and personal, to some losers and suckers.

Trump said the Medal of Honor was a lessor award than the Medal of Freedom.

Trump referred to the more than 1,800 U.S. Marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as “suckers.” 

He openly criticized Gold Star families.

Standing at the grave, with his Chief of Staff Kelly, of the younger Kelly, who died in Afghanistan in 2010, Trump reportedly turned to the secretary and said: “I don’t get it. What was in it for them?” 

Trump ridiculed John McCain.

Trump did not want any wounded Vets to be seen around him or to parade anywhere he’d be.

He sees no honor in awarding the Silver Star, Purple Heart or any other awards for bravery and sacrifice.

Why would any Veteran consider this “man” for a second?

Toto, I’ve got a feeling this isn’t Trump’s show anymore

 

  

By 

David Horsey

Seattle Times cartoonist

The Wizard of Oz looked frightening and powerful until Dorothy’s little dog, Toto,  pulled back a curtain to reveal the silly old con man who was engineering the sham. It could be that the same thing is finally happening to the Wizard of Mar-a-Lago.

Former President Donald Trump has always been a charlatan, but he was wily enough to transform himself into the avatar for millions of disgruntled Americans who projected their anger, fears and resentments onto him. He has kept the illusion going for a remarkably long time, given that his clownish nature was always pretty obvious to those who did not fall for his act.

Just last month, he seemed to be at the top of his con game, having survived an assassination attempt and appearing more energetic (if not more coherent) than a diminished President Joe Biden. Democrats were despondent and Republicans were giddy with the sense that their wizard would once again take them to the land of Oz, or, at least, to the White House and to majorities in the House and Senate.

Now, though, facing a new, much younger, much more articulate and much more appealing opponent, Trump does not seem so all-powerful. He looks like what he truly is: a cranky, whining old rich guy who talks nonsense and has a fetish for bogus crowd-size comparisons.

The Harris/Walz campaign seems to have discovered the key to dampening the appeal of Trump’s flimflam. Instead of overworking warnings about the danger another Trump presidency poses to democracy, they are simply treating Trump as a ridiculous, pathetic figure; a buffoon, not a wizard.

See more of David Horsey’s cartoons at: st.news/davidhorsey

View other syndicated cartoonists at: st.news/cartoons

Editor’s note: Seattle Times Opinion no longer appends comment threads on David Horsey’s cartoons. Too many comments violated our community policies and reviewing the dozens that were flagged as inappropriate required too much of our limited staff time. You can comment via a Letter to the Editor. Please email us at letters@seattletimes.com and include your full name, address and telephone number for verification only. Letters are limited to 200 words.

David Horsey  is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist for The Seattle Times. His latest book is “Drawing Apart: Political Cartoons from a Polarized America.”

What a mystery!! Stonehenge’s Altar Stone, an Improbably Long Ancient Journey!!!!

 

A six-ton megalith at the heart of the archaeological site traveled more than 450 miles to get there, a new study concludes.

NY Times - Franz Lidz - Aug. 14, 2024

Near the center of the roughly 5,000-year-old circular monument known as Stonehenge is a six-ton, rectangular chunk of red sandstone. In Arthurian legend, the so-called Altar Stone was part of the ring of giant rocks that the wizard Merlin magically transported from Mount Killaurus, in Ireland, to Salisbury Plain, a chalk plateau in southern England — a journey chronicled around 1136 by a Welsh cleric, Geoffrey of Monmouth, in his “Historia Regum Britanniae.”

Since then, the accepted provenance of the Altar Stone has shifted, spanning a range of possible sites from east Wales and the Marches to northern England. On Wednesday, a study in the journal Nature reroutes the megalith’s odyssey more definitively, proposing a path much longer than scientists had thought possible.

The researchers analyzed the chemical composition and the ages of mineral grains in two microscopic fragments of the Altar Stone. This pinpointed the stone’s source to the Orcadian Basin in northeast Scotland, an area that spans Inverness, the Orkney Islands and Shetland. To reach the archaeological site in Wiltshire, the megalith would have traveled at least 465 miles by land or more than 620 miles along the present-day coastline if it came by sea.

“This is a genuinely shocking result,” said Rob Ixer, a retired mineralogist and research fellow at University College London who collaborated on the project. “The work prompts two important questions: How and why did the stone travel the length of Britain?”

Stonehenge features two kinds of rocks: larger sarsens and smaller bluestones. The sarsens are sandstone slabs found naturally in southern England. They weigh 20 tons on average and were erected in two concentric arrangements. The inner ring is a horseshoe of five trilithons (two uprights capped by a horizontal lintel), of which three complete ones still stand.

Image

Richard Bevins examining Bluestone Stone 46, a rhyolite most probably from north Pembrokeshire, on Wales’s southwest coast.Credit...Nick Pearce/Aberystwyth University.

The bluestones, mainly two- to four-ton rocks made of sandstone and igneous material, derive their name from the bluish-gray hue they acquire when wet or freshly broken. The smaller bluestones were lugged to Stonehenge from as far as 140 miles away and arranged in a double arc between the sarsens. Some of the remaining bluestones have fallen; others are mere stumps. The largest bluestone, 16 feet long and near the center, is the Altar Stone.

Archaeologists speculate that the Altar Stone was installed at Stonehenge during the second construction phase, around 2620 B.C. to 2480 B.C. Back in the Stone Age, during the winter solstice, the sun would have set in a narrow slot between the tallest trilithon and dropped down over the Altar Stone, which was placed across the solstice axis. The effect is no longer visible: Half of the trilithon has collapsed and today lies in a jumble atop the Altar Stone.

Last year a research team led by Richard Bevins, a geologist at Aberystwyth University in Wales and an author of the new study, published a paper demonstrating that the Altar Stone was not Welsh but most likely from the north. The researchers were intrigued by the presence of a few extremely old zircons, chemically stable minerals that are highly resistant to weathering and heat. They enlisted colleagues in Western Australia, who had access to an array of instruments used in the mining industry for research and exploration.

From shards of the Altar Stone, the Australian researchers analyzed grains of zircon, apatite and rutile. “All three minerals contained uranium, which effectively made them miniature atomic clocks,” said Anthony Clarke, a doctoral candidate in geology at Curtin University in Perth, who conducted the inquiry. “You can determine age by measuring the ratio of uranium to lead and using the known rate of uranium decay.”

This kind of radiometric dating led Mr. Clarke and his team to conclude that the sources of the zircon were largely from the Mesoproterozoic Era (1,600 million to 1,000 million years ago) and the Archaean Eon (4 billion to 2.5 billion years ago), while the apatite and rutile were mid-Ordovician (470 million to 458 million years ago). “We squished the ages together to create a fingerprint of the mineral grains’ source,” he said.

The “fingerprint” was compared to those of sedimentary deposits in thousands of sandstone outcrops in Britain, Ireland and northern Europe. “Putting the data together revealed a striking similarity to the sandstone of the Orcadian Basin,” Mr. Clarke said. “The Altar Stone has a Scottish signature statistically distinct from terrains in the south.”

Nick Pearce, a geochemist at Aberystwyth University who also helped with the new study, said that the new research scuttled the theory that the Altar Stone was a glacial erratic that reached southern England on an ice floe. “During the last two ice ages, the ice directions in northeast Scotland were toward the north,” he said. “The idea that the Altar Stone arrived by glacial transport is almost impossible.”

So how did the Altar Stone get to Salisbury Plain? “There are two options: overland or maritime,” Dr. Pearce said. “Each has merits and huge issues as well.”

Marine transport would have entailed putting a six-ton rock on a Neolithic boat, he said. The land route presented rivers to cross, mountains to go around and dense forests to thwack through. “I’ll leave that question to the archaeologists,” Mr. Clarke said.

Tim Daw, a Wiltshire farmer who once worked at Stonehenge for English Heritage, a charity organization, said the new study brought us closer to understanding our Stone Age past. “How the discovery informs us as to the societal organization of Neolithic people is the start of a great debate,” he said.

Blue Jasper Reviews

 

“Blue Jasper” has recently joined the thousands of books available to readers all over the world.

I am pleased that many are enjoying these stories. 

If you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited all my books are free to download.

See Amazon to order your copy.

“Thanks for the copy. 
I was hoping you would share more of the tales of the team as they dodged in and out of the shadows. Wonderful stories. 
I’ve been to Kyiv. The story of visiting Babyn Yar was very moving. I visited the memorial some years after the team. I honored those who had died while at the newer monument.
Oh, Bela. What a story-”Jean M.

“Assassination, chicanery, espionage, deception, fantastic characters, beautiful stories, intriguing locations, and Holy Moly – nonstop action.” James Freeman“Thanks for the advanced copy.
I read all four of your “Life in the Shadows” books. I loved them, wishing for more. 
This collection of short stories, vignettes, is a perfect companion and further look into the characters and their exploits. Well done.” Ralph Cooper

“Some may disagree, but I like how you’ve let the covers convey the mood—no clutter – just Picasso’s Shepard and Smith’s painting of the Red House.
Ok. I loved the stories. I felt like I was walking with Mick, Jack, Walking Bear, and Mahaney.
Oh. After reading “Taipan,” I have determined to never be in the bush in the Cape York Peninsula. My oh my!”J.B.R.

“I loved each story. I laughed at some antics and then cried when I read Emma’s letter.
Nitara was unforgettable. Terrific.” Magdela I.

Walk with the team, Jack, Mick, Walking Bear, and Mahaney, along with support from various agencies, as they confront multiple challenges in this collection of adventures.
Visit Babyn Yar in Kyiv.
Meet Maximón, a Mayan God, as the men take out a troublesome Russian agent.
Meet Glances Twice as she fires an arrow into Walking Bear’s heart.
Nitara, Emma, and Bela are special memories that readers will hold in their hearts.

Reviewed by JV
5.0 out of 5 stars on Amazon – 22 January

 Unexpected setting in Guatemala

Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2024

“Good book for fans of espionage and intricate plot lines. I was pleasantly surprised by the unexpected setting in Guatemala, which added an intriguing layer to the narrative. The author’s attention to operational details and espionage tactics is impressively thorough, making the story both authentic and captivating. It’s a book that keeps you on the edge of your seat, with its well-crafted characters and masterful storytelling.”

Pow Wow

 

United Indians’ Seafair Indian Village Powwow is a proud tradition that brings Native Americans of all tribes and cultures together to celebrate. Held annually and generally on the third weekend in July in conjunction with Seattle Seafair, the Powwow takes place on our Powwow Grounds adjacent to the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center. Over 15,000 people attend over the 3-day event, including visitors, dancers, musicians, vendors and tourists.

The Powwow showcases traditional Indian cooking, jewelry-making, music, and especially dancing. Throughout the day, tribes from the United States and Canada dance in full tribal regalia. All are welcome, Native and non-Native alike! If this is your first time attending a Powwow, we invite you to look at our FAQ page for information and best practices.

The Pioneers

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Pulitzer Prize–winning historian David McCullough rediscovers an important and dramatic chapter in the American story—the settling of the Northwest Territory by dauntless pioneers who overcame incredible hardships to build a community based on ideals that would come to define our country.

As part of the Treaty of Paris, in which Great Britain recognized the new United States of America, Britain ceded the land that comprised the immense Northwest Territory, a wilderness empire northwest of the Ohio River containing the future states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. A Massachusetts minister named Manasseh Cutler was instrumental in opening this vast territory to veterans of the Revolutionary War and their families for settlement. Included in the Northwest Ordinance were three remarkable conditions: freedom of religion, free universal education, and most importantly, the prohibition of slavery. In 1788 the first band of pioneers set out from New England for the Northwest Territory under the leadership of Revolutionary War veteran General Rufus Putnam. They settled in what is now Marietta on the banks of the Ohio River.

McCullough tells the story through five major characters: Cutler and Putnam; Cutler’s son Ephraim; and two other men, one a carpenter turned architect, and the other a physician who became a prominent pioneer in American science. They and their families created a town in a primeval wilderness, while coping with such frontier realities as floods, fires, wolves and bears, no roads or bridges, no guarantees of any sort, all the while negotiating a contentious and sometimes hostile relationship with the native people. Like so many of McCullough’s subjects, they let no obstacle deter or defeat them.

Drawn in great part from a rare and all-but-unknown collection of diaries and letters by the key figures, The Pioneers is a uniquely American story of people whose ambition and courage led them to remarkable accomplishments. This is a revelatory and quintessentially American story, written with David McCullough’s signature narrative energy.

Samarkand - those were the days my friend...

Doesn’t seem that long ago when I was standing exactly here in Samarkand. I took a photo almost identical to this view. Back before digital photos!!! Ah, those were the days...

Emergency Information on Australian fires

If you have friends or family in Australia here is a great source for information.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/emergency/?fbclid=IwAR199Bt0QzqeK3fPdcVacRqlMwSklU_8s3ePlhvj8VTkyqGoK9vR4oMoITY

We Are Republicans...

We Are Republicans, and We Want Trump Defeated 

The president and his enablers have replaced conservatism with an empty faith led by a bogus prophet.

NY Times 17 December 2019

By George T. Conway III, Steve Schmidt, John Weaver and Rick Wilson

The authors have worked for and supported Republican campaigns.

Patriotism and the survival of our nation in the face of the crimes, corruption and corrosive nature of Donald Trump are a higher calling than mere politics. As Americans, we must stem the damage he and his followers are doing to the rule of law, the Constitution and the American character.

That’s why we are announcing the Lincoln Project, an effort to highlight our country’s story and values, and its people’s sacrifices and obligations. This effort transcends partisanship and is dedicated to nothing less than the preservation of the principles that so many have fought for, on battlefields far from home and within their own communities.

This effort asks all Americans of all places, creeds and ways of life to join in the seminal task of our generation: restoring to this nation leadership and governance that respects the rule of law, recognizes the dignity of all people and defends the Constitution and American values at home and abroad.

Over these next 11 months, our efforts will be dedicated to defeating President Trump and Trumpism at the ballot box and to elect those patriots who will hold the line. We do not undertake this task lightly, nor from ideological preference. We have been, and remain, broadly conservative (or classically liberal) in our politics and outlooks. Our many policy differences with national Democrats remain, but our shared fidelity to the Constitution dictates a common effort.

The 2020 general election, by every indication, will be about persuasion, with turnout expected to be at record highs. Our efforts are aimed at persuading enough disaffected conservatives, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents in swing states and districts to help ensure a victory in the Electoral College, and congressional majorities that don’t enable or abet Mr. Trump’s violations of the Constitution, even if that means Democratic control of the Senate and an expanded Democratic majority in the House.

The American presidency transcends the individuals who occupy the Oval Office. Their personality becomes part of our national character. Their actions become our actions, for which we all share responsibility. Their willingness to act in accordance with the law and our tradition dictate how current and future leaders will act. Their commitment to order, civility and decency are reflected in American society.

Mr. Trump fails to meet the bar for this commitment. He has neither the moral compass nor the temperament to serve. His vision is limited to what immediately faces him — the problems and risks he chronically brings upon himself and for which others, from countless contractors and companies to the American people, ultimately bear the heaviest burden.

But this president’s actions are possible only with the craven acquiescence of congressional Republicans. They have done no less than abdicate their Article I responsibilities.

Indeed, national Republicans have done far worse than simply march along to Mr. Trump’s beat. Their defense of him is imbued with an ugliness, a meanness and a willingness to attack and slander those who have shed blood for our country, who have dedicated their lives and careers to its defense and its security, and whose job is to preserve the nation’s status as a beacon of hope.

Congressional Republicans have embraced and copied Mr. Trump’s cruelty and defended and even adopted his corruption. Mr. Trump and his enablers have abandoned conservatism and longstanding Republican principles and replaced it with Trumpism, an empty faith led by a bogus prophet. In a recent survey, a majority of Republican voters reported that they consider Mr. Trump a better president than Lincoln.

Mr. Trump and his fellow travelers daily undermine the proposition we as a people have a responsibility and an obligation to continually bend the arc of history toward justice. They mock our belief in America as something more meaningful than lines on a map.

Our peril far outstrips any past differences: It has arrived at our collective doorstep, and we believe there is no other choice. We sincerely hope, but are not optimistic, that some of those Republicans charged with sitting as jurors in a likely Senate impeachment trial will do likewise.

American men and women stand ready around the globe to defend us and our way of life. We must do right by them and ensure that the country for which they daily don their uniform deserves their protection and their sacrifice.

We are reminded of Dan Sickles, an incompetent 19th-century New York politician. On July 2, 1863, his blundering nearly ended the United States. 

(Sickles’s greatest previous achievement had been fatally shooting his wife’s lover across the street from the White House and getting himself elected to Congress. Even his most fervent admirers could not have imagined that one day, far in the future, another incompetent New York politician, a president, would lay claim to that legacy by saying he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and get away with it.)

On that day in Pennsylvania, Sickles was a major general commanding the Union Army’s III Corps at the Battle of Gettysburg, and his incompetence wrought chaos and danger. The Confederate Army took advantage, and turned the Union line. Had the rebel soldiers broken through, the continent might have been divided: free and slave, democratic and authoritarian. 

Another Union general, Winfield Scott Hancock, had only minutes to reinforce the line. America, the nation, the ideal, hung in the balance. Amid the fury of battle, he found the First Minnesota Volunteers. 

They charged, and many of them fell, suffering a staggeringly high casualty rate. They held the line. They saved the Union. Four months later, Lincoln stood on that field of slaughter and said, “It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.”

We look to Lincoln as our guide and inspiration. He understood the necessity of not just saving the Union, but also of knitting the nation back together spiritually as well as politically. But those wounds can be bound up only once the threat has been defeated. So, too, will our country have to knit itself back together after the scourge of Trumpism has been overcome.

George T. Conway III is an attorney in New York. Steve Schmidt is a Republican political strategist who worked for President George W. Bush, Senator John McCain and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. John Weaver is a Republican strategist who worked for President George H.W. Bush, Senator John McCain and Gov. John Kasich. Rick Wilson is a Republican media consultant and author of “Everything Trump Touches Dies” and the forthcoming “Running Against the Devil: A Plot to Save America From Trump and Democrats From Themselves.”