#& big thanks to them for keeping me sane during presidential elections

[se-run]

me when my boyfriend is the prettiest girl in the world

[songtoyou]

Mr. Evans and the Congresswoman - Part 2

Paring: Chris Evans x Politician Reader

Rating: PG

Word Count: 1,858

Warnings: Political topics such as Biden, Harris, our current White House occupant and the current administration. 

Description:  It is the week of the DNC and Chris is once again interviewing you for A Starting Point. 

A/N: The DNC inspired me to write a second part for this story.  This is pure fiction as I do not know what Chris believes when it comes to politics and policy issues. This is a complete work of fiction.

I do not permit my work to be to be posted on any other site without my permission.

Note: Updated for grammar and punctuation edits.

"Hi, Congresswoman Y/L/N?" Chris Evans asked with a smile.

He was once again interviewing you for ASP. This time it was during the week of the Democratic National Convention. Chris and Mark had already talked to other politicians such as Senator Cory Booker and Representatives Ro Khanna and Alma Adams. You were the last elected official he was slated to interview to wrap up the DNC week.

Truthfully, Chris was happy to get the chance to talk with you again. Your previous interview for ASP was such a hit that it garnered a lot of attention from fans and the media. However, it was not because you helped bring more legitimacy and attention for ASP, but instead, Chris found himself genuinely admiring you.

"Hi," you said to Chris, giving a small wave through the Zoom screen. "I told you to call me by my first name."

"I know, but I still want to show respect," Chris responded with a teasing smile. Was he mildly flirting with the congresswoman? Yes, but he had no shame in doing so. "How are you? You are looking well."

"I am doing well. Thank you. How about you?"

"Same. Just trying to stay sane through everything. I'm actually currently in London. Working on a project." Chris admitted.

"Uh oh. You better be staying safe and following the right procedures and protocols," you lightly reprimanded him.

"My fans ratted me out. They found where I was just by the hotel door. Can you believe that? That is some FBI-level investigating, right there. I'd be impressed if I weren't also terrified of the lengths some of these fans will go to scout my location," Chris ranted. He did not understand why he was sharing this with you, but a part of him felt comfortable doing so.

"That…is quite impressive, I must say. Creepy. Scary. But impressive. You need to learn how to put in a Zoom background. It would solve all of your problems," you suggested to him.

"I would, but I'm technology deficient. Maybe I should look up some Zoom tutorials on how to do it. Give it a try."

"There is no try…only do," you advised cheekily.

"Now you're quoting Yoda. A woman after my own heart," Chris replied. He knew he needed to refocus. "So, as you can tell, Mark won't be joining us for this interview. I'm going to hit record if that is okay?"

"Okay. I'm ready when you are," you said.

When the record notification appeared on screen, Chris introduced you and immediately went into the first question.

"How do you think the DNC is going so far, particularly how this year is more of a virtual setting rather than in-person due to COVID-19?"

"Despite not having the big in-person celebration/gathering, I think the virtual setting is working very well. Better than I expected, actually. It gives off a more inclusive and intimate vibe to the DNC that we haven't felt before. I like the whole documentary approach and feel to it," you replied honestly.

"Were you excited that Joe Biden chose Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate?" asked Chris.

"Oh my God! I was so happy that Vice President Biden chose Senator Harris as his running mate. Like, my staff and I were beyond ecstatic. There is no one better to be Biden's running mate than Harris. She is amazing. Such an inspiration. I'm not going to lie, but I'm really excited for the debate between her and Pence."

That made Chris laugh. "Yeah, me too. Senator Harris really knows how to pull all the punches. Her nomination as VP has been met with overall positive response. The Trump Administration and Republican pundits appear to have a hard time painting a negative image of Harris. Why do you think Trump and Fox News are struggling to provide a negative image for her?"

"That is an excellent question. The public's overwhelming response to Harris' nomination is because 1.) she is the first black and south Asian woman to be on a major presidential ticket, and 2.) she is likable and charming. She has this exuberant energy that attracts people to her. You know, black and brown women and girls finally have someone that looks like them running for the second-highest office in the land. That is huge!

"I also have to wonder if people have smartened up in the last four years and won't tolerate the…hypocrisy, sexism, and misogyny…in this case misogynoir that is thrown towards Senator Harris from the media, political pundits, social media bots, etc. So, what we are seeing with Trump and Fox News struggling to attack her is because…well…they just aren't smart. All we have seen from Trump in his attacks against her is that she was mean to Kavanaugh when questioning him during his nomination process. But none of what Trump says holds up because we all know that smart, confident women intimidate him," you finished off your point.

"There is also the left…or more of the progressive left who are unhappy with Biden choosing Harris," Chris spoke up and continued, "They say she is a cop and put people away for weed. That she took kids away from parents when the kid didn't show up for school. That Harris is too conservative. What do you say to that?"

"All of that is…you know…. Senator Harris one of the most policy progressive senators we have. Her voting record is more progressive than Bernie Sanders. All people have to do is research her time as a district attorney and Attorney General for California to find out what she actually did concerning policy. But as we both know, people nowadays don't know how to critically think, which scares me. Progressives need to look at the overall big picture. This election in November is crucial. We are in the fight for our democracy, for our country, and for our lives…literally."

"I talk with my brother, Scott, all the time about certain political issues," mentioned Chris. "He is a tad more progressive than I am. I can admit that I tend to be more centrist. The district you represent is a mix of blue and red areas; how do you balance opposing views from your constituents?" 

You took in a deep breath before you answered. That was a loaded question. Representing a district that was not solely red, or blue could be difficult from time to time. You wanted to be respectful of the different viewpoints from constituents, but maintaining a neutral balance was hard and frustrating at times. 

"The majority of Americans are centrist/moderates. You need a balance of both liberal and conservative policies. Bipartisanship is crucially important when developing and passing laws. We are currently seeing an overt of one-sidedness while sabotaging the other side, which is detrimental to our country's growth. It is important to reach across the aisle to talk with those who may have opposing views than you. At the end of the day, people just want to feel that their concerns are heard and valued. We all want to feel that way. So, as an elected official, I make sure to take the time to talk with those in rural areas, along with urban areas, about their issues and concerns," you shared.

"Do you ever get any pushback from Trump supporters in the red areas?" Chris inquired.

"Well, it is important to note that not all residents in rural areas are Trump supporters. They just tend to keep that to themselves. I have actually talked to Trump supporters in blue areas. We can never and should never assume that one area has this type of person and vice versa. I learned that the hard way when I was campaigning for city council early in my career," you revealed to Chris with a small chuckle. "But overall, my constituents will talk with me and have been respectful. Some of the concerns that have been shared with me do fall under the QAnon conspiracy theories, which do disturb me, I'll be honest. Um…when being confronted with someone who has that extreme of ideals, it is important to remain calm and not to come off combative. Meaning that I have to remind myself that I am not quite dealing with a rational person. The only thing that I can do is calmly talk to the person and respond back with facts. Either they listen or brush me off and call me a radical lefty."

"The majority of people are good, like you said," Chris reminded you.

"That's right. It's a good mantra to live by. I think the American people are tired and have been tired for the past four years with this Administration. We need a sense of normalcy and decency. Compassion and empathy, which were two of the big themes during the DNC. This week was a nice reminder that we, as a country, can have that again."

"I agree. Very well said. You always end on a positive. I appreciate that. Thank you, Congresswoman Y/L/N, for taking the time to talk with me. You always provide great insight into the world of politics and your experience as an elected official," said Chris and ended the recording. "That was really great, Y/N. I know Mark, and I really appreciate you taken the time to do these interviews for ASP," Chris added.

"Oh, it is no problem. Like I said before, I like what you both are doing with the site. Are you happy with how everything turned out?" you asked him.

"Yeah… it's…it took a while to just get the website up and running. I know there is still work that needs to be done. Some areas need to be fixed, but with a project like this, we can adjust. There is more room for improvement and growth," Chris communicated to you.

You nodded in agreement. "Politics is a whole different ballgame. Not many people are willing to venture into the field. It can cause a lot of annoyances and headaches. So, hats off to you, my friend," you said, giving Chris a salute.

"Thank you. Well, I better let you go. I know you must have a million things on your plate."

"Ah yes, I have to go and save the United States Postal Service from corruption. Talk to you later, Chris. Take care," you waved goodbye and signed off.

Chris had to admit, he was in awe of you. There was something about you that fascinated him. None of the elected officials he and Mark talked to for ASP had the liveliness you had. You were not jaded or defeated by the system, at least not yet, since you were still considered a junior member of congress. Chris hoped that the energy and enthusiasm you had for politics and helping people would not diminish. When his Uncle Mike was still a congressman, he shared with Chris that D.C. can cause a lot of strain on a person's values and beliefs. "I have seen too many of my colleagues succumb to the pressures of dirty politics," Uncle Mike once said.

Chris just hoped that you would not succumb to those pressures.

[sinrau]

Imagine any number of scenarios that come to pass over the next five months or so, just before the next American Presidential election.

Another black man’s killed by the police, triggering an ever bigger wave of protest and riots. Trump uses it as a pretext to declare the martial law he’s already threatened. The election goes on — but scores of minorities don’t get to vote. Trump coasts to an easy victory.

Or maybe Trump loses the election, by a narrow margin. He decides to contest it, mounting every kind of legal challenge he can muster. The nation’s plunged into nail-biting anxiety. The case goes before the Supreme Court — which leans heavily Republican. Who do you think they’ll decide it for?

Or maybe Trump loses the election by a wide margin. But he simply refuses to accede to a peaceful transfer of power. What happens then? The military has to decide whether to throw him out of office. But, as it turns out, Trump still has a loyal enough following amongst generals that the country plunged into the condition so many failed states have been in: the military decides its destiny — and after a period of infighting, its leaders choose Trump, who offers them the most funding, resources, and power.

Or maybe, thanks to a little help from his friends in the Kremlin, Trump “wins,” by a wide margin. One so wide that its flatly implausible. And while pundits debate and the opposition is flabbergasted, everyone sane person knows what’s gone on. The voting machines were hacked, the election quietly taken. The Kremlin really now does run America, in one of history’s grand ironic twists.

Or maybe…Trump just gets re-elected. White Americans still — still — support Trump by a wide enough margin over Biden to make the election a thing of nail-biting uncertainty. They talk a good game — haven’t they always? — but when it comes time to cast their votes, they vote the same way the have they tend to: for their own tribe. Trump gloats and preens. He’s pulled it off. White America’s backed him — maybe with a little disgust, maybe holding their noses — but what does it matter?

How many ways does America get to four more years of the lunatic known as Donald Trump? There are too many to count.

And that brings me a certain conclusion.

America has 150 days left to save its democracy.

Yes, really.

Now, on the one hand, that might be obvious to some of you. On the other hand, it might strike some of you with just the opposite beliefs as implausible.

Let me assure you, then. As someone who’s both lived through social collapses, studied them, and written about them extensively, nothing could be truer than this: America has 150 days.

If Trump gets four more years, American democracy as we know it is dead. Not just American democracy, by the way. But the hope of America ever becoming a modern, functioning society. The idea that America could be a society of free equals. Peace, prosperity, progress, freedom. All these die if Trump gets four more years. They already have, during the last four, haven’t they? What else do soldiers on the streets of American cities tell you?

It did happen here. The first stage — an authoritarian hoping to seize power. He did. The next stage is whether he keeps it. If he does, it usually lasts for life. Control is then transferred to his kids, via his flunkies and cronies. That’s the pattern that authoritarianism almost always follows. Kim Jong Un became Kim Jong Il. Saddam installed Uday and Qusay — Trump has his idiot kids.

America is now becoming an authoritarian state. Camps, bans, raids, cages, purges, soldiers on the streets. That’s been the last four years, up to now. Sadly, most Americans didn’t care very much until that last part — when they saw soldiers in their own streets with machine guns. Wait — shouldn’t literal concentration camps have been a warning that something was wrong? That one day, soon — the bad men would come for you, too, if you refused to join their insane quest for authoritarian power? That’s the problem: America cared too little too late. Now it has just 150 days left.

Let me drive that point home.

Trump has already told you what he wants to do. He’s told you his plan. That plan couldn’t be any clearer.

He threatened to declare martial law, from the steps of a church, no less. That is one thing he hopes to do in the next 150 days. Martial law.

He’s joked about a third term, or never giving up power at all. That is another thing he hopes to do: to cling to power as long as he can.

He’s talked about challenging the election legally, no matter the outcome. That’s another thing he’s going to do: use every legal tactic and maneuver he can to influence, sway, and manipulate whatever results the election comes back with.

He’s talked about who should have the right to vote. That’s another thing he’s going to do. Try to control the patterns of voting in America, restrict the rights of minorities to cast ballots, deter them from voting with every trick in the book.

He’s joked about his kids being in power. That’s another thing he hopes for: the dynastic control of a nation that’s so typical of failed authoritarian states.

I could go on endlessly, but I want you to see the point. America’s not getting this point yet, and it needs to, now if it’s to save its democracy.

This is what authoritarians do. They tell you exactly what they hope to achieve, and how they hope to do it. The problem is that nations don’t often take them seriously, because they can’t imagine the unthinkable. My friends: it’s time to imagine the unthinkable.

Trump has told you exactly what he wants, and how he’s planning to get it. Power for life, for himself and his kids, using any means necessary, right down to martial law.

He’s told you that. The question is why you don’t believe him.

Let’s go back a step in history.

The whole time, America’s problem hasn’t just been Trump, but also America. Trump’s been telling America exactly what he’s going to do. The problem is that either America didn’t take him seriously enough, or didn’t care enough. He said he was going to put bans in place. He did. He said he was going to build his stupid wall. He did. He talked of immigrants and refugees as animals and vermin — his words, not mine — and then he built camps.

Like any good aspiring dictator, Trump’s been telling you exactly what he was going to do.

So why didn’t Americans believe him? They couldn’t think the unthinkable. America, a country of camps, cages, bans, raids, purges…in just four short years? Come on, don’t be ridiculous. I understand that it’s hard to imagine such things. But if you can’t the unthinkable, then the authoritarians win. You must — must — believe them when they promise to do terrible things.

That is the one things authoritarians don’t lie about. They lie about everything else — who’s to blame for the people’s woes (the hated minorities), what kind of leaders they themselves are (perfect and strong, not the kind who pay porn stars hush money), what kind of economy there is (always strong, never broken), and so on. So there’s a kind of paradox that results, a haze that leaves bewildered. Should we believe him when he says he wants to do these absurd, terrible things?

That’s the one truth you must hold on to: authoritarians hope to do what they proclaim, from ethnic cleansing, to having total control of a society, to handing it to their kids. The rest is a Big Lie (those are Hitler’s words, by the way, and one of the things that clued people like me onto the fact that Trump was a real fascist was his love for…Mein Kampf.)

The second thing that authoritarians do is never give up. Trump was defeated in his first attempt at passing a ban — and then, when America had stopped caring, he passed them on his second try. He never gave up on putting kids in camps — they’re still there. He’s never given an inch on any issue, really. Why is that? Because authoritarians have an authoritarian psychology. They don’t give up — they double down. Right on into the abyss.

So when Trump threatens to declare martial law, don’t think that just because he seems to have backed down, he’s not serious. He is, because that is who he is. He will try and try again until he can and does. Think the unthinkable, and think it now.

America’s been in deep, profound denial about what authoritarianism is — and therefore, how to fight it, too. (The link above, by the way, is a piece I wrote about this — almost two years ago.) Authoritarianism isn’t really just one man. It’s a structure of power. The one at the top is the most hateful and violent one. He commands the respect of people like him because he is the one willing to transgress boundaries the most. They’re a little more fearful, a little more hesitant. He’s their “alpha,” the one willing to do what they won’t. Trump still commands an army of people like this, from the peroxide blondes with the crazy eyes to the men in suits with the dead eyes. They are willing to do exactly what he says — and to sacrifice everything for him, too, whether their careers, dignity, future, or families.

Americans don’t understand the grimmest truth of all about authoritarianism. A tiny number of committed enough fanatics can indeed control a whole society. They just have to be violent, loud, and threatening enough. It doesn’t take a huge number of people to control a nation — it never has. A small gang committed to enough violence can rule a whole city. So it is with authoritarians. Saddam, Gadhafi, Kim — needed a few torturers, and a secret police, and a few administrators — a whole society fell under their thumb. Terrorizing a society into submission isn’t a job of large numbers. A relatively small number can do it.

That is what America faces now. Trump and his authoritarian army — terrorizing it into submission. Who are those dudes in riot gear that won’t answer any questions, anyways? What about the Supreme Court — do they really care about democracy? How about the GOP — why don’t they ever seem to rein in this lunatic? How on earth do white voters still prefer Trump? What the? But that is what Trump’s army of authoritarians is made of.

It may not be a big army. And its numbers may be declining. But that is very much besides the point. The question is: is this army violent, loud, and fanatical enough to do the job of trying to terrorize, intimidate, and threaten the rest of America into submission?

And is America now cowed enough to be frightened into giving up its democracy?

On the other side, against Trump’s authoritarian army, we have a last few remaining institutions. Generals who won’t obey Trump. A media that barely functions. An intellectual class that seems bewildered. An opposition who’s barely opposed Trump’s worst abuses of power. The American people, who’ve emerged from their shock for the first time in years, to protest en masse.

All these parties must work together if American democracy is to be saved. They must come together, put their differences aside temporarily, and prepare for the worst. The challenges to the election. The hacking of an election. The martial law. The voter suppression. The incitement of violence. The endless misdirection. All that has to be anticipated, and worked against, together, now. In these next 150 days.

They are going to decide whether America stays a democracy, or becomes something more like, in the best case, Russia, or in the worst, Nazi Germany. A society made of hate, with a dictator, where secret police forces, militarized violence, institutionalized hate, and a grand ideological crusade of brutality led by a madman controls every last aspect of life.

Deep down, you already know what I’m about to tell you next. You’ve thought it a hundred times by now — and then you’ve doubted yourself. Doubt it no longer.

This is America’s last chance.

Umair June 2020