Have a Little Faith — and Celebrate the Moment!

Hey! Trump has been indicted! By a grand jury of normal, everyday Americans who interviewed witnesses, examined all the evidence, considered all of the law, debated the merits of arresting a former president, weighed the threat he posed to the nation and to our democracy, questioned if we really believe it when we say “no one in America is above the law!”, and considered if it was fair to Mr. Trump that after past presidents had skirted the law, burglarized political opponents, colluded with foreign countries to hold our fellow Americans as hostages in order to help win an election, lied to the American people about an American ship being attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin as an excuse to invade Vietnam, not allowing boats of Holocaust refugees escaping Nazi Germany to dock here and then sending them back to their deaths, committing war crime after war crime bombing civilian populations in Iraq, Cambodia, Belgrade and elsewhere — yes, the grand jury had to consider why no past president was ever indicted for their crimes and why should this one be the first. They also had to consider that if they let this one get away with it, this would send a powerful signal to future presidents that they can violate whatever laws they see fit because, indeed, one American IS above the law and must not face the consequences of his actions. That there is justice for all, but one.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) the former president will be arraigned in court on what will be the first of numerous indictments he will face in the state of Georgia and in Washington, DC. 

I realize many of you are despairing that he’ll never be convicted, never go to prison. And you may be right. He has always gotten away with it.

Until the day that he doesn’t.

I know our human instinct is to protect ourselves from further let-downs, so it’s easier, safer to just assume the worst because you then don’t have to get your hopes up, only to have them dashed. 

And history indeed confirms your pessimism! The rich get away with all sorts of thievery and murder. Institutional racism keeps people of color perpetually on the lowest rungs of the ladder. Over 300 Starbucks locations have voted in the Union and still not one of them has a contract. No woman has yet to sit in the Oval Office. Yes, the bad guys often win. And “Trump is going to go free.” There is no way things are going to change. 

But that is exactly what many of you said when I told you there’d be no Republican Wave in last November’s elections. That red states like Kansas, Kentucky, and Montana are going to vote in favor of abortion rights (they did!). Years ago, you said “no way will this happen” when you learned of the movement to ban smoking in every bar, restaurant, airplane and workplace in America. You also told me the Berlin Wall would never come down, Mandela would never get out of prison, the Soviet Union would be with us forever and a Black man could never get elected president of the United States! C’mon! Have a little faith! Radical change (for the good) often takes place — and sometimes it happens quickly, at the snap of the fingers! 

You do know that we — liberals, progressives, lefties, Democrats, democratic socialists, common sense independents, former and recovering Republicans — we are the majority.  And that we have the power to literally WILL things to happen, right? Stand up, speak out, organize, agitate, legislate, celebrate! Rinse! Repeat! Let’s all decide right now to climb out of our rabbit holes of despair and embrace the true power each of us has and the power that we all have together, collectively, by a margin of millions! Oh how the elites and the haters pray none of us ever realize we are the actual majority and, if we choose to, we could pass anything we wanted into law — just like that!

We are being admonished today in the media by some so-called liberals that we should not celebrate Trump’s formal arrest in court tomorrow, telling us rather that “this is a sad day for Democracy.” Are you effing kidding me? THIS IS ONE OF THE GREATEST DAYS IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! Finally, one of these bastards is being brought to Justice. I don’t care if it’s for tax fraud or for trying to overthrow the government. Ya gotta start somewhere! We’ve put up with this long enough. 

So yes, celebrate today and tomorrow. Get together with a few friends, in person, online, raise a glass to Democracy, and then make a plan to go kick some nonviolent ass in the upcoming election year! A majority of millions can no longer be held down or ignored. 

Who’s with me?! Cuz you know, I’m with you.

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** In order to have a troll-free, hate-free comments section — and because if there’s one thing I know about my crazy haters, they would rather spend an eternity in hell with Marjorie Taylor Greene than send me $5 if forced to become a paid subscriber — my Comments section here on my Substack is limited to paid subscribers. But, not to worry — anyone can send me their comments, opinions and thoughts by writing to me at mike@michaelmoore.com. I read every one of them, though obviously I can’t respond to all. And every few weeks or so I share them publicly here on Substack and on my podcast so that your voice is heard by the multitudes in this wonderful community of readers and listeners. The solution here is not optimal but it has worked and my Comments section has become a great meeting place for people wanting to discuss the ideas and issues I raise here. There is debate and disagreement, but it is refreshing to have it done with respect and civility, unfettered by the stench of bigotry and Q-anon insanity.