You Call This Treason?

So here’s a rant. Trump is a vile creature for many reasons (misogyny, hatred of Muslims, xenophobia, racism), and that much is a given. But as someone who is truly leftist I am forced to wonder of my liberal friends how meeting with Putin or the alleged hacking is suddenly treasonous. Apparently the US toppling or interfering in democratically elected governments in (see: way too enormous list of nations the US has toppled in 10 decades alone!) is somehow far less of a threat to global democracy.

And no. It should be obvious I am no fan of Putin the oligarch. But it is pretty common knowledge that the US is an oligarchy, has been for a long time actually. And the “intelligence community,” the same one that surveils Americans and the world, or that killed Fred Hampton, or threatened MLK, or masterminded COINTELPRO, and funded death squads in Central America, do you really want these “institutions” as your allies? And where was everyone when he (or Bush or Obama) met with the Saudi monarch? They literally behead people for being gay or for witchcraft. Or Netanyahu? He is literally a modern day Pieter Willem Botha, presiding over a classically defined, 21st century apartheid state?

But it’s the treason hashtag thing that really gets me. Really. How great or noble can a nation be if ripping children away from their mothers, like in the book (or movie) “Sophie’s Choice,” but repeated over and over and over again, and caging those children and force feeding them psychotropics is somehow considered not treasonous? How about Trump’s threatening of Venezuela with invasion? or bombing Syria? or aiding the genocide in Yemen? or putting a US embassy on occupied land (something recognized by international law) in Jerusalem? Of course none of this is considered treasonous in an empire, and the most violent and powerful in all of human history, by the way.

So the question is, whose war is this? Is it for the powerless or is it really just the powerful against the powerful yet again? I think it is the latter.

So when you go after Trump and all of the elitist power class, for the right reasons: for the crimes against humanity (all humanity, not just the telegenic ones), or crimes being waged against the living earth, or the seemingly never ending nuclear menace, or against capitalism (because really, capitalism is dividing and killing us as a species and countless others), or war and militarism in general, or economic terrorism (essentially capitalism); call me. I’ll join you enthusiastically. Until then, count me out of another McResistance™ to maintain the moribund and ecocidal status quo.

Kenn Orphan is an artist, sociologist, radical nature lover and weary, but committed activist. He can be reached at kennorphan.com.