The OLD Philosopher – John M. Miller
For four years, Donald Trump was the most dangerous man in America, and he is forcefully trying to snare that dubious position again. However, the position has now been assumed by Ron DeSantis, the Governor-Autocrat of Florida. No, the Governor-General of Florida. No, since he is of Italian extraction, Il Duce of Florida, who is seeking to become Il Duce of the Disunited States of America.
From now until March of next year, DeSantis will be traversing many cities and hamlets of New Hampshire, Iowa, and South Carolina, in search of primary voters who applaud his strongman tactics of deliberately turning a flaccid democracy into a vibrant autocracy. In that he is following in the footsteps of his mentor and close friend, Viktor Orban of Hungary, who turned that post-Soviet democracy into a state ruled by himself alone, with a hand-picked, compliant legislature to do his bidding. Thus has the Florida legislature also bowed to Mr. DeSantis’s every command.
DeSantis is the fiercest of the current conservative cultural warriors. He has personally taken over nearly every aspect of the Florida educational system, from pre-kindergarten through the state universities. He has turned over the leadership of the schools to the parents from the boards of education (many of which he controls) and the administrations and faculty. Professionals must not administer the schools; parents know best what should be taught. “Don’t Say Gay” is his battle cry against LGBTQ students, and wokeness and critical race theory must ruthlessly be obliterated. Obviously few people, including Mr. DeSantis, have thoroughly studied or understood these goals. Nevertheless, every example of inclusivity must be eradicated from every curriculum.
Under Governor DeSantis, Florida has become essentially a one-party state. It is far more authoritarian than the national GOP, and DeSantis is The Authority on all issues, large or small. He is a micromanager of every cultural concern, and he has very firm ideas for what he wants America to become.
Fortunately, he has all the endearing warmth and pleasant personality of Benito Mussolini or Adolf Hitler, which may render his search for the GOP presidential nomination more challenging than he imagines. When the spotlight is on him 24/7, the real Ron DeSantis is certain to emerge, as it apparently has not in Florida.
Donald Trump was and is an excruciating nightmare, but Ron DeSantis is Armageddon Personified. During the next fourteen months, be prepared for a much smoother but even more cunning primary candidate than Donald Trump ever was or could hope to be.
Make no mistake: Ron DeSantis is convinced that Strongman Rule is the only reasonable political stance for the 2020s in an America which he believes has gone rancid under rudderless leadership, and he is The Strongman to take charge of the rudder.
May 20, 2020
John Miller is Pastor of The Chapel Without Walls on Hilton Head Island, SC. More of his writings may be viewed at www.chapelwithoutwalls.org.