We ignore at our own peril the continuing efforts of former President Donald Trump to undermine laws and norms to claw his way back into power. He's a demagogue in full-bullying mode, and a brief glance at history reveals the devastating consequences of letting somebody like that get their way.
And yet, the paradox is that attention — any attention — is exactly what a demagogue desires. He will use any and all attention to skew, manipulate, and outright lie in order to create legitimacy for furthering his singular, self-serving agenda.
A simple flowchart seemed like the best compromise to sound the alarm without feeding the monster.
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I realize, of course, that the most obvious topic for a Michigan editorial cartoonist this week would have been the mass shooting in Oxford. Please don't construe me not addressing it as "now is not the time." Now and every moment from now is exactly the time to discuss and find solutions for gun violence. We've been conditioned to believe that it is an intractable problem, and it's not. I'm just too sad at the moment to come up with anything to say.
John Auchter is a freelance political cartoonist. His views are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Michigan Radio, its management, or its license holder, the University of Michigan.
