I recently started watching the series, The Handmaid’s Tale, based upon the book by Margaret Atwood. I’m a bit behind the times as this series was first aired in 2017. I really had no idea what it was about when I started watching. I knew that it had gotten a lot of critical acclaim and so when I was surfing through what was available on HULU, I landed on The Handmaid’s Tale and decided to give it a try. That was both a good and bad decision. It was good because the show is very engaging and I am hooked. It is bad because, given the current political climate and what is going on in this country, it is hitting very close to home.
I’m sure there are those who might think that is just another piece of hyperbole. However, I have come across a couple of articles recently that make me think that the premise behind The Handmaid’s Tale is not so farfetched, particularly if we are not paying attention.
It is no secret that there has been an increase in hate groups in this country over the last few years. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center White Nationalist hate groups increased during the Trump years.1 In a more recent study, the Southern Poverty Law Center ranked the states by the number of hate groups per capita. And guess who came out on top? Montana!!2 We should applaud our leadership for doing such a good job in Montana. We have one of the highest drunk driving fatality rates in the country. We have one of the highest suicide rates in the country. Right now, we have one of the highest COVID case rates in the country. And, on a per capita basis, Montana has more hate groups than any other state!! We’re number one! Why the hell would I want to move?
Not only has there been an increase in hate groups, but the rhetoric of some of these rightwing groups is truly scary. At a rightwing event in Idaho, some wingnut actually asked activist Charlie Kirk, “We’re living under a corporate and medical fascism. This is tyranny. When do we get to use the guns?…. How many elections are they going to steal before we kill these people?”3 Words matter and this is what happens when the talking heads on Fox News, OAN and NewsMax and Republican politicians spew lies and conspiracy theories. Anyone who believes the January 6th insurrection was a one-off occurrence has not been paying attention. I view it as more of a dress rehearsal for the next time.
In addition to the appalling and dangerous rhetoric, the rightwing conservatives (are there any other kind these days?) are actually idolizing and courting right wing authoritarians who are dismantling their own democracies. The Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) will be holding their 2022 conference in Budapest, Hungary. Hungary is currently under the control of Viktor Orban who has made great strides at dismantling Hungary’s democratic institutions. The fact that the CPAC is choosing to have their conference there is no accident. Tucker Carlson, after all, is a big fan of Orban’s and recently did some broadcasts from Hungary.
“After winning the election in 2010, Orban began efforts to control the media. Specifically, he established a commission fining journalists for vague attacks on “human dignity.” He put Fidesz loyalists in charge of state-supported media outlets, and imposed regulations on media outlets critical of the government, while giving special rights to those that were supportive.
Orban did not stop there. In 2012, he pushed a new constitution through parliament. He reworked the electoral system with creative gerrymandering. He also overhauled the judicial system, among other things, establishing a National Judicial Office so Orban could put in place judges loyal to him and Fidesz.”4
When you start to connect the dots of everything that is going on today, it doesn’t paint a very pretty picture. Dystopian future? Most of us would very much like to think that something like The Handmaid’s Tale could never happen in the United States. A few years ago, we wouldn’t have given it a second thought and would have just commended Margaret Atwood on writing a compelling, imaginative novel. Of course, most of us could never have imagined that the US capital would be attacked by US citizens, politicians in some of the highest offices in the country would willingly spread lies, and hate groups could operate with seeming impunity. We were wrong. I hope we are not all wrong again. I hope in a few years, we look back on The Handmaid’s Tale as just a good book and not a harbinger of things to come.
Sometimes I think that I am alone in my paranoia about what is going on in this country, but just before I was ready to post this, I read the latest blog from Heather Cox Richardson. It turns out I am not alone. The real question is, will enough Americans wake up to prevent a Viktor Orban, ‘Christian’ type of government from taking over in this country. “Blessed be the fruit.” [If you don’t know what that means, I suggest you watch/read The Handmaid’s Tale]
“This morning, the conservative magazine The Bulwark and the liberal magazine the New Republic jointly published “An Open Letter in Defense of Democracy.” Written by Todd Gitlin, Jeffrey C. Isaac, and Kristol, and signed by writers, scholars, and pundits from all political backgrounds, the letter deplores the efforts of the Trumpers to take control of our government and calls for Congress to pass voting rights legislation, by adjusting the filibuster if necessary.
The letter was a wake-up call. “[W]e urge all responsible citizens who care about democracy—public officials, journalists, educators, activists, ordinary citizens—to make the defense of democracy an urgent priority now.”
“Now is the time for leaders in all walks of life—for citizens of all political backgrounds and persuasions—to come to the aid of the Republic.””5
- White nationalist hate groups have grown 55% in Trump era, report finds | The far right | The Guardian
- https://247wallst.com/special-report/2021/10/25/this-is-the-state-with-the-most-hate-groups-2/
- ‘When do we get to use the guns?’: Attendee shut down at right-wing event (cnn.com)
- It can’t happen here? Viktor Orban’s Hungary shows how democracy dies | TheHill
- October 27, 2021 – by Heather Cox Richardson – Letters from an American (substack.com)