Who’s Up for This Long War?

“Quit blaming everybody for your problems. Get out there and do it yourself.”

– -woman in Michigan’s Rust Belt hostile to the Big March

It took almost 30 years of protest to end the Vietnam war starting in 1945 and ending with the last U.S. troops to leave in 1973.

Trump is declaring war on the 66 million American voters who refused to support him. He won’t forgive, ever.

Our war of resistance means:

1/ Counter-sabotage against Trump’s army of destroyers. Not a step back. Harass, nag and hold feet to the fire of your Reps and senator.

2/ After the women return home from their amazing D.C.-and-other-cities march dig in for the hard, hard work of creating a local, focused, disciplined movement – led by women – capable of going beyond protest to TAKE CHARGE.

And, yes, invite pro-life women.

3/ Brutally dismantle the Democratic National Committee that handed the election to Trump. This will traumatize loyal  Democrats and Hillary fans. MSNBC is a Democratic megaphone and does us no favors doing CPR on a corpse.

Sorry, Rachel, that means you too.

Once that’s accomplished, we imitate the Tea Party who copied us. Repeat: say “No!” until their ears ring.

And then re-capture education boards, mayorships, mid-term offices, getting the experience to GOVERN and regain Congress in 2018 and the White House in 2020.

What? Wait another four years? If that’s what it takes.

Who among us can or will last it out?

During Vietnam we had some things going for us absent now. Remember?

Firstly, the music (“The Times They Are Achanging”). A rebel doped up counterculture. Some sane Republicans  A Vietnamese enemy refused to surrender. An expanded draft pissed off the young poor and their parents (but not rich chickenhawks like Donald).  Ordinary citizens publicly torched themselves as symbolic witness. A loved and hated celebrity Muhammed Ali refused to serve. Exposure of government lies by nosey reporters and fearless insiders like Dan Ellsberg.

Sixties protest, at first small and weak and limited to the Usual Suspects, spread dramatically to include priests, rabbis, business people and dissenting generals. A unified, strong broad front. Most crucially, resistance inside military led to desertions, fragging, demoralization and finally refusal to fight.

With all that going for us, popular support for Lyndon Johnson’s war remained pretty high even when the apparatus was collapsing. Lesson: fight popular opinion.

If we lack some of the stuff the Vietnam generation had, what do we have?

Women.

In this particular war men are in a support role. Women lead, persuade – and win.

Clancy Sigal is a screenwriter and novelist. His latest book is Black Sunset