Accountability

Last Thursday the House of Representatives voted to pursue Steve Bannon, who potentially faces criminal contempt charges for ignoring a Congressional subpoena. It was a bi-partisan vote in which nine Republicans opted to uphold the law. Just when I thought all hope was lost, a smattering of Republicans displayed a capacity to act like rational adults. Voting against party lines required a bit of mental fortitude on their part and I am grateful for the courage. The votes have been cast and the results are in. The dissenters conveniently identified themselves, so we know who makes up the rebellion. We have their names! The House vote required seditionists to cast an incriminating spotlight upon themselves.

On one side of the aisle, we have some rational adults which is refreshing. However, there are still at least 202 representatives who insist on being children. These are lawmakers who mindlessly follow the fascist Trump doctrine. I refer to this segment of our Congress as the “entitled” house minority. This group clearly believes that the election was stolen. In psychological parlance this is known as delusional thinking. Alarmingly, some members of Congress wrongly believe that their erroneous perception of reality is correct. Like a cancer, this mass hysteria threatens our system of checks and balances. By my definition, an adult is someone who has a capacity for abstract thought. Children who masquerade as adults tend to be developmentally delayed (emotionally speaking). For whatever reason, physical age gets misaligned with current levels of maturity. Think of it as an arrested development in which the stricken never progress beyond adolescence. Perhaps you know someone like this in your life?

I argue that the entitled House minorities are still children on the inside because many of them fail to exhibit any signs of rational thought or accountability. These adult children never quite learned how to get along with others. Chances are they may have never been properly socialized (i.e., a capacity to engage in civil debate). This may be because they have never been told ‘no.’ Children who remain undisciplined run the risk of becoming emotionally delayed in adulthood because they were never required to learn critical thinking skills. Instead, they often rely on others to do the thinking for them. A wide swath of these knuckleheads look to the twice impeached former president for leadership. This is unfortunate because Trump is a 14-year-old boy trapped in a man’s body! (Lack of self-awareness, lack of the ability to recognize how they affect others, and an inability to understand societal consequences for his behaviors). This is especially problematic for the rest of us, because it forces us to challenge Trump and his disciples. To do so we must encourage them to engage in some serious introspection. Asking someone to act their age, and not their shoe size, is a challenging proposition. As much as we won’t like it, we have to initiate a discourse with the Trumpers. We have to explain to them, in terms they can understand, the folly of their ways. We have to look them squarely in the eyes as we calmly explain that they are on the wrong side of history. It will be difficult (they’ll try to gaslight you) but it’s the only way. The responsibility for action falls upon the adults in the room. Think of it as standing up to a bully by setting firm boundaries. It’s a sad state of affairs I know, but the adults must take charge now. Ren sums it up like this. “If you’re going act like children, we’re going to take away your power.” In a perfect world, the 202 would have been charged with obstruction of justice by now! But then again, a perfect world would be boring.

Below is a list of brave Republicans who voted to seek justice. It’s never too late to mend. Don’t lose hope!

• Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming (January 6 committee member)
• Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania
• Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio
• Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington
• Rep. John Katko of New York
• Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois (January 6 committee member)
• Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina
• Rep. Peter Meijer of Michigan
• Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan