Redemptive stories are fine (and should be welcomed) in life and politics. None of us are without some baggage that we carry forward. But there is baggage and there is baggage, especially if one aspires to a position of leadership and influence either in politics or some other sphere of social life where one leads others. And Platner was carrying more than enough baggage, a Nazi tatoo, repeated misogyny, and credible accusations of rape.

Should the average American feel comfortable and confident that these billionaires are there representing their economic and political interests?

Why are corporate leaders and not elected representatives in China doing the business of representing the interests of their constituents, of the American public as opposed to private interests? The group is supposed to be an envoy of the U.S. government representing the interests of all Americans, not just a corporate elite.

Let’s answer both of these questions.

So, let’s put this situation in perspective: while Trump has declared Iran to be a most dangerous adversary, his actions are actually enriching and empowering them.

Last time I checked, Russia was also an enemy of the U.S. Yet Trump has also lifted sanctions on Russian oil, allowing Vladimir Putin to haul in billions to fund his war on Ukraine and his overall assault on global democracy.

Moreover, Russia has been providing intelligence to Iran so they can target U.S. military installations with their missiles.

It’s hard to see how Trump’s actions and policies are not providing aid and comfort to the very nations he supposedly declared to be our enemies.

Fundamentally, the point is we need to recognize that autocratic or oligarchic political systems are not consistent with fostering democratic economies that prioritize meeting the needs and ensuring the well-being of a nation’s people. They tend to govern and create policies in ways that foster increasing accumulation of wealth for the wealthiest elite.

Trump’s ongoing aggression against Iran is a perfect example of this point that autocratic political rule does not tend to support democratic economies that prioritize meeting the needs of the people and sharing the nation’s wealth with them. Putting aside the apparent bumbling incompetence, lack of planning and clear objectives, and the hubris characterizing Trump’s bombing of and military actions in Iran, it is important to remember that Trump initiated this “war” in violation of our constitutional processes and laws. 

The difficult circumstances, in which the multi-racial, multi-national, multi-gender working class found and still finds itself, is directly tied to a successful counteroffensive of the billionaire class, beginning in the mid-1970s, with the rise of neoliberalism and the accompanying reassertion of capitalist class power and privilege.

Any hope that this class offensive will ease up without countervailing pressure and power of a united working class allied with people of color, women, immigrants, the young, LBGTQ, and the disabled is wishful thinking.

It’s not hyperbole to say that the outcome of the elections will either allow Trump and the MAGA movement to gain new momentum in their anti-popular, fascistic direction or give the working class and the democratic movements new leverage, space, and energy in their struggle against Trump and his political bloc.

So far the struggles of the anti-Trump, anti-authoritarian movement have been mainly defensive in character, that is, fighting like hell to slow down and arrest Trump and his retrograde coalition in their march toward a full blown white nationalist, authoritarian state and society. But it has the makings of such a coalition. And a resounding victory in November would push this process along. 

It’s true that the road to King’s beloved community is longer and steeper than most of us thought and at times traversing that terrain can be downright depressing. But nothing said by our devil’s advocate should convince us to lower our sights, trim our sails, or, worst of all, give up. The future is still to be written. And we can be its authors!

Any insurgent movement with transformative ambitions, however, must be up to its ears in more than intra party struggles over one or another piece of legislation. Its footprint should be found everywhere in the struggle for jobs, a higher minimum wage, infrastructure renewal, affirmative action, a just immigration system, equality for people of color and women as well as Medicare for all, protecting the climate, defending trans people, preserving earned-benefit programs, enacting a people’s federal budget, and articulating a new foreign policy rooted in peaceful and mutually beneficial relations between nations and peoples.

Far from a diversion, these struggles are the force field of a movement that hopes to gain the necessary breadth, depth, and understanding to effect progressive and radical change at every level of governance.

This Juneteenth, I hope we can confront the realities of slavery as well as the ongoing practice and dominance of white supremacy in America, and also recognize that the emancipation or liberation of African Americans is essential and central to achieving an egalitarian, non-supremacist society and economy for all.