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You can write or say you are going to cause harm to me, or want harm to come to me, but unless, as John Keller, head of the Election Threat Task Force, said in April, “If they don’t cross that line into invoking violence, they are generally not going to constitute a criminally prosecutable threat”.  Freedom of speech takes precedence unless violence is invoked.

The definition of invoke is to “cite or appeal to (someone or something) as an authority for an action or in support of an argument”. Donald Trump, the “authority” as a past POTUS, uses the 1^st amendment to touch that line, and even cross it, as much as possible, prodding his followers to do his dirty work for him without directly saying “go do that” specific thing he wants done. He is a master at propaganda, the ultimate salesman, tops the list of con-artists, is the worst kind of capitalist, convinces otherwise good Americans to do things they would not otherwise do, stokes fear in people, promotes retribution and payback for “perceived” wrongs, tells rally crowds that only his followers should run this country, lies so much people believe the lie is truth, and promises that only he can fix things (so you must vote for him).

J6 occurred while Trump was POTUS.  As an “authority”, he “invoked” an “action” to the crowd, saying that they had to “fight” to take back their country, which is exactly what many of the people in the crowd did when they stormed the Capital building; they perpetrated “violence” at his behest and over 1400 of them have been charged for this crime. In my mind, Trump should be criminally charged and prosecuted for this invocative action. He should be disallowed from ever running for any public office again. He was the first POTUS to not even show up for the “peaceful” transfer of power to his successor, following his mantra to never give in, never admitting defeat, wrong doing, or mistake making, always doubling-down when threatened, and never apologizing for anything. There have always been people like Trump throughout history, but here’s the thing:  many Americans are now actively engaging with social media propaganda, both domestic and foreign, and working to put Trump back into the White House, where he will install himself supreme leader and dictator for life, just like our enemies want. So, the question is, is that because his followers embrace those traits themselves, where it’s OK to be totally and completely selfish and have authoritarian control over others? A reminder to originalists:  our forefathers were anti-dictator/anti-tyrant.

Trump seems to only care about himself. He even said in a Las Vegas rally recently, that “We need every voter. I don’t care about you. I just want your vote. I don’t care.” Yet, God put Trump on this planet at this time for a reason, which, I think, was to remind us of his opposite traits: kindness, caring for each other, that we must be compassionate towards others, exhibit empathy, follow the golden rule, act with charity, work peacefully with each other, remember that love is the greatest power on Earth, etc.

Trump is now a convicted felon (in a process he calls a “sham”) thus saying that 12 of his peers (approved by his lawyers) were duped by the prosecution (who, I guess, had better lawyers than him?). He has no faith in the rule of law, unless it is his rule that is the law. He begs for donations (gotta pay lots of lawyers!) and openly promises quid pro quo to rich people. And now by publicly stating what I have about him, I will land on his retribution list should he be re-elected POTUS, and can expect some of his “followers” to follow his authoritarian “rules” and do harm and retribution to me. Bring it on. As a veteran, I take offense when Trump calls military members that have died or were captured “losers” and “suckers”, something General John Kelly publicly confirms Trump said. I would never follow Trump’s autocracy and his view of the American experiment.

Trump’s soul, like all souls, can be redeemed; odds are, though, not in this lifetime. I wish him no harm, but I will not cry at his death, letting God take what actions are necessary to redeem his soul.  The rest of us just need to be kinder towards each other. If we don’t change our separate and divisive ways, end hate, evolution will have to find another avenue besides Homo sapiens to advance consciousness.  God will help those who help their true inner self, but the ego-driven selfish path of a Donald Trump or his kind is not advancing consciousness, helping God, or leading to a more perfect union.  Put all your faith in the Divine only, instead of the lesser consciousness where most of humanity currently resides.  Nature can teach us a better way to live and be if we just listen and re-learn.

The column is the opinion of Bob Bates and does not reflect the opinions of the Tullahoma News or its staff.