Welcome to the Most Important Moment in USA History

By Ben Meiselas

Perhaps this isn’t the timeline you dreamed about last year. Perhaps that’s a massive understatement. Perhaps this… Perhaps that… What if this… What if that… I am sorry, but we can’t invent a time machine and go back to stop the outcome of the election and the reality that is our present.

Here we are together. At this time in our nation’s history. This is the most important moment in USA history, and it will define what this country is forever and how the world looks for our children.

Speaking of children. I rocked my baby girl to sleep and kissed her good night last night, as I do each day. She is now 11 months. She was born when this country was a democracy, and she now lives in a country that has lost democracy and its fundamental character. What will it look like to her in 2 years? In 4 years? In 10 years? In 20? We read her books like See Spot Run, and we haven’t let her watch K-Pop Demon Hunters yet, which I hear is all the rage. No demon hunting yet for her. Let’s stick to Spot and Goodnight Moon.

In the real world, there is a real demon hunter plot taking place. We have demons among us like Putin. We have bootlickers among us like Trump. Dangerous bootlickers like Trump who wish to be Putin or Kim Jong Un. A world order is changing. This past weekend we saw China host Indian Prime Minister Modi, Putin, and other world leaders in Tianjin, announcing China’s view that it is now the dominant power in the world.

Summer is over. It was indeed a democracy summer. Hitler took over all aspects of Germany between 30–55 days from when he got power, depending on the historical accounts out there. We in the United States have made it past 200 days. Make no mistake, we are a bruised and battered and broken nation. What hasn’t been broken has ticking time bombs around its neck, quicksand by its feet, and land mines behind the quicksand. Trump is a sick human who is a lifelong loser and a failure, and he’s implemented his loser qualities into the nation.

But here’s the thing. His approval is plummeting and at record lows. He has not subdued the masses. He does not walk down the street and get bowed to or heiled at. He is detested and loathed by most of us. He is sickly, and his body appears to be rotting on the inside and the outside, decomposing before our eyes. He hides. He cowers. He goes to safe spaces and golfs. He looks giddy and pathetic around dictators. He’s a paper tiger. He’s disorganized. He’s incoherent. He’s addled. He is grotesque.

Now that Labor Day is over, things get very real. Trump is losing patience. This is not how he envisioned things. He envisioned that we’d all be subjugated by now. He will get more violent and dangerous in his desperation, using the levers of federal power to inflict harm against people. He will invade more cities inside the United States. He will engage in provocative acts of war with Venezuela, Mexico, and other countries under the guise of operations about drug cartels. He will continue to move the world closer to a more widespread global conflict.

We the people are not voiceless in this fight. We are not powerless. Just as we’ve pushed back and resisted the first waves of Trump’s assaults, we must step up again. Summer is over, and as they say on Game of Thrones, winter is coming. Trump and his white walkers are ICE and his federal goons. I can play out this analogy further, but I think you get the point.

History has brought us here at this bizarre and dangerous time together. Of course I long for the days when things were simpler, before an orange madman took a hacksaw to the Constitution. But I am truly proud and feel very fortunate to be in the trenches with you during these times.

This week I am going to ensure the MeidasTouch Network kicks off this new phase of resistance with unmitigated firepower. We will step up our coverage both domestically and internationally, and we will expand our reach.

We will intensify everything and put it all on the line. I recognize our moment in history and our place in history, even if perhaps it is one we were unexpectedly thrust into. And to be clear, when I say “our,” I am referring to you and all the Meidas Mighty.

We must embrace this moment. We must accept that we are here, but we need not accept that we must always be here. Together we will accomplish big and bold and historic and transformative things and defeat this sadistic regime.

Before ending this message today, I do have an ask. A simple ask. If you are not subscribed to this Substack, please subscribe now. You can also gift subscriptions to people you know. The subscriptions to this Substack have fueled our growth that I’m sure you’ve read about this summer. We need to accelerate this pace, and that requires more subscriptions to this Substack. Thanks for subscribing. Thanks for reading. Thanks for being a friend, and thanks for being part of this movement.