The Zebra Storyteller

                Back in the day, when I taught literature classes using anthologies (I apologize), the Norton Anthology included a little story from Africa called the Zebra Storyteller.  In the story, a zebra storyteller was walking down the trail thinking about a recent spate of zebra killings by some unknown animal.  The storyteller imagined what it would be like if an ordinary cat had learned how to speak Zebra and used that skill to surprise its victims and kill them.  Just then, a house cat stepped out of the bushes and said hello in Zebra.  The storyteller, instead of being shocked and victimized, kicked the cat in the head and killed it.  The editors of the anthology said that the story was proof that literature and imagination were critical to living a good life.  I am writing this as your zebra storyteller.

                The news is full of more and more stories about the decline of Trump.  His behavior is more erratic (as if that’s even possible) and his poll numbers are sinking fast.  The pundit class is trying to figure out what possible strategy he can use to regain the presidency.  The narrow Electoral College victory he pulled off in 2016 (with the help of the Russians and voter suppression) looks less and less likely today.  Like the zebras killed by the house cat, they are making the mistake of thinking their adversary is going to use tactics they are already familiar with, like getting more votes in an election or at least more votes in the Electoral College.  But as I was walking down the trail the other day, it occurred to me that winning the election isn’t really what they are trying to do.

                I don’t think their goal is to win the election.  I think they already know they can’t (whether or not Trump knows it is debatable).  They will collect money, and spend it on themselves, and they will have campaign events and buy ads, but that is just for show.  They know they can’t win the election, but they have no intent of giving up their power.  They plan to either steal or invalidate the election.  Either is possible (note Moscow Mitch’s unwillingness to protect the election process), but the latter is easier.  It might be too much even for the most long gone Trumper to change votes or vote tallies.  It’s too bold and too easily detected.  All that has to happen is for enough doubt to be created so that his supporters  believe he was robbed.  Remember, these are people who already believe that millions of people were bussed into New Hampshire in the last election (where would they even stand?), and that cost Trump the popular vote.  In the midst of this confusion, Trump and Barr would suspend the constitution and claim power.

                If you think this is unlikely, ask yourself how many things you thought could never happened here have already happened.  We have a president who is owned and manipulated by Russian oligarchs that aided in his election.  We have a leader of the Senate who refused to fill an open seat on the Supreme Court or allow any legislation to protect our elections to come to the floor.  He has gutted the elections commission so it cannot intervene in next presidential election.  And our sister democracy in England is now run by its own Trumpian lout who is closing down Parliament to jam through an economically disastrous ‘hard Brexit.’  How much more has to happen before the cat that speaks Zebra starts its reign of terror?

                These are not normal times.  The mostly romanticized belief in American democracy we have been touting is in ruins.  Trump has already won that battle.  The alliances that protected us the last 70 years are now filled with nations that see us as an unstable partner.  The courts are packed with judges that are little more than political hacks intent on defending a partisan agenda.  The federal government is now in the hands of the most corrupt and inept (it’s hard to figure out which one of those should go first) group of appointees ever.  We are burning down the Amazon rainforest to sell soybeans to China.  Is invalidating an election really that much of a reach?

                Like all storytellers, I will leave you to your own thoughts, but don’t be surprised to run into a cat that speaks Zebra, and please don’t be afraid to kick it in the head and kill it.