In the classic movie “In the Heat of the Night” with Sidney Poitier, the most famous scene is where the white plantation owner Eric Endicott slaps Virgil Tibbs played by Sidney Poitier for insinuating that he may be involved in a murder. Tibbs in a display of ultimate defiance slaps him back. This scene is the most memorable scene of the movie and perhaps of Mr. Poitier’s iconic career and one that he insisted be written into the movie script since it wasn’t in the original book. Nonetheless, the line of that particular scene that goes unnoticed and unremembered is when Endicott in response to being slapped back says “there was a time when I could’ve had you shot”

There was a time when white supremacy was a visibly accepted social construct in American life. From communities, schools, employment opportunities to popular culture it was abundantly clear who was in charge. Over several decades that has had to give way to a new social construct which includes intellectual, political, social and legal pushback on the notion of accepted white supremacy. This is seen in various movements from the civil rights movement, the Me Too Movement, Black Lives Matter to college courses on feminist history and black history.

Despite this new social construct no-one should be deluded into thinking there is not a yearning for the return of the good old days. The rise of anti-Semitism, anti-Asian violence, continued anti-Muslim sentiment, increased violence against the LGBTQ community coupled with the recent overturning of Roe V. Wade and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ statement that gay rights and affirmative action should be revisited has given many hope that happy days may be here again. 

Over the next few weeks the nation will vote on who will control the United States congress, governorships and other offices. The majority of the white electoral population will once again support a party that consists of election deniers, has supported insurrectionists, supports taking away a woman’s right to choose, made voting more difficult particularly for people of color, is anti-immigrant, supports the banning of books, anti-gay, engaged in antisemitism and is supporting armed goons at voting places. This segment which has embraced Viktor Orban is not looking for conservative values as they would be unable to articulate what conservative values are but rather a return to the 1950’s climate of oppression of those who were not heterosexual white Christian males. A segment of this population looks to Russian President Vladimir Putin because he has claimed to be a white Christian nationalist which corresponds with the evangelical bastardization of the faith here in the United States. Witness the remarks of Republican Senate candidate Lauren Witzke who said at a recent  CPAC conference “Russia is a Christian nationalist nation…I identify more with Russians, with Putin’s Christian values than I do with Joe Biden’s” or the America First Political Action Conference where white nationalist Nick Fuentes called for a  round of applause for Vladimir Putin and received one. These are all signs of a sick population. While any race or culture can be affected by this affliction it is nonetheless what afflicts the United States at this point in history.

This segment of the voting population will use the veneer of crime and inflation as their rationale for supporting a party which has become toxic and anti-American. They want to blame Democrats for crime but according to the periodical Third Way

• The rate of murders in the US has gone up at an alarming rate. But, despite a media narrative to the contrary, this is a problem that afflicts Republican-run cities and states as much or more than the Democratic bastions.
• In 2020, per capita murder rates were 40% higher in states won by Donald Trump than those won by Joe Biden.
•  8 of the 10 states with the highest murder rates in 2020 voted for the Republican presidential nominee in every election this century.

If they were serious about this issue they would recognize the complicity of their own political affiliation. Sadly but unsurprisingly they will not because that is not what they are really concerned about.

The reality is that this segment of the voting population is engaged in a backlash against so-called “wokeness.” Their anger stems not from inflation and crime but from a sense that they are no longer the predominate cultural force in America. This segment will vote for anyone including a black former football player who despite his obvious unfitness for public office has allowed himself to be a tool for white supremacy or a television doctor who was known for peddling so called miracle pills.

This rage against “wokeness” stems from a large segment that grieves for a time when people of color knew their place, sexual harassment was simply boys being boys, gays stayed in the closet, and even recent history where Muslims could be banned from the nation and Proud Boys could be advised to “stand down and stand by” 

It would be easy to blame all of this on Donald Trump, but he is just a vessel and nothing more than a demented Chauncey Gardner. The reality is that signs of this have been apparent for decades.

There are some who would say how can you describe all whites who vote republican in this manner. The reality is that they sympathize with those views or at the very least are willing to overlook it. Their silence to paraphrase Albert Einstein is complicity.

Another would ask how can you paint them all with that brush when 12% of black men voted for Trump. Even during the Revolutionary War there was a segment of colonists who supported England including Benedict Arnold. The reality is that traitors come in all colors. Unfortunately they will be joined by a small contingent of minority communities including Kanye West who suffers from his own brand of stupidity.

The America this segment of the population wants to return to is not an impossibility. It can happen and the GOP has initiated a number of schemes that could make it a reality. This segment suffers from a sickness steeped in a narcissistic feeling of superiority which has left them in an irrational state of mind.

To be fair while at its core wokeness is to be aware of injustice, so called wokeness can get extreme and the left needs to be more discerning in determining where it will expend it’s energy and resources. 

But while the left can become entwined in excessive calling out of perceived slights the right has become infected with a sense of victimhood that has made them the main source of political toxicity in the nation. The survival of democracy is not a binary choice between the democratic party and the GOP. The use of whataboutism is not an appropriate argument. No leader of the democratic party tried to undo an election through intimidation, violence and lies.

The challenge facing the nation is whether this sickness can be healed. While the jury is still out on this question the most likely answer is no. Their mental healing would have to come from whatever god they serve which as of now is not the God of Abraham.

In a democracy political viewpoints, no matter how toxic, are protected by the first amendment. Despite the distasteful viewpoints of the extreme right if democracy is a cherished value, the right to their opinion must be respected. Nonetheless, like an alcoholic this population cannot be persuaded about the depth of their sickness but must come to that realization on their own. Unfortunately that is unlikely to happen. Nonetheless, it can be prevented from securing levers of power that would be used to return the country to a less endearing and just time. This would entail building a coalition that includes African Americans, Asians, Jews, Muslims, Hispanics, who out of some sense of identity crisis  seem to be growing closer to the GOP, youth leaders, suburban and urban whites. As the United States is on the precipice of being transformed into an authoritarian nation devoid of diversity, leaders of these communities must come to the table of politics with an understanding that the nation’s political foundation is at stake. They must enter into an agreement of mutual understanding and self-interests. They must be willing to strategize on a course of action that results in ultimate political pain upon the Republican Party to such a degree that they begin to purge the party of their toxicity evidenced in people such as Marjorie Greene and all election deniers. While younger people increased their voter turnout to 50% in 2016 their complacency and over dependence on rallys and marches can result in a nation that slowly begins to reverse social gains made over the last fifty years. 

There was a time when they had all the power. The question is do the rest remember how hard it was to gain opportunities. If people do not vote there will come a day when people will say there was a time when we were moving towards a more just society.