REPORT FROM THE TRENCHES 2

Bill Strong Report: From the Trenches 

Date: November 18, 2024

The battleground of reason feels quiet—a stark and chilling silence. I report what can only be called a dire vacuum from the rural blue trenches of a state that has not yet forgotten its values. The Rationales, our loosely collected hope, remain leaderless, voiceless, and fractured. Standing at the crossroads of historic potential, Biden hesitates to declare Donald Trump ineligible—a bold action that history demands but present politics shuns.

Where are the Harrys, the Franklins, and the Johns of our time? Those who confronted tyranny not as a distant threat but as an immediate danger to the republic. Their courage has not passed to their successors. The Rationales today are mired in hesitation while the opposition—those whose platform is rooted in deception and division—marches forward with a precision that should terrify anyone paying attention.

The delusionals, as they rightly are, have laid out their strategy, a playbook of bait-and-switch. Trump, ever the showman, is poised to betray even his most loyal supporters. History has taught us that authoritarians require only tools for their rise, not companions for their reign. And yet, the Rationales remain silent.

No Plan, No Hope—Unless
From this disarray, a question arises: Are we journalists who must become the leaders? Corporate capitalists control the megaphones of our profession, but if we can wield them with conviction, perhaps we can ignite the spark of resistance. HL Mencken once told truths that shocked a nation into seeing its reflection. Where is that voice now? Who will step into the gap to rally the Rationales and make the case for rational governance and truth?

Trump’s strategy is painfully clear: seduce, betray, and consume. He has baited millions, but his ultimate move will be to abandon them for power's sake. The Rationales must seize this moment to reveal the emperor’s naked ambition.

Propaganda of Truth
We can start with the facts, the raw and unyielding truths that power cannot refute. Report on Trump’s disregard for those who believed in him. Show his betrayal of working families, the environment, and democracy itself. These stories are not ours to keep but to amplify. Let the Rationales hear their own voices in the echoes of our reporting.

This is the crossroads. A strategy waits to be forged, but it will not come from the current generation of leaders. It must come from the trenches—from us. If we wait for a rallying cry, it may come too late. We must write, report, and let it echo until it drowns out the lies.

The Rationales must rise—or we will fall.