They Do Protest Too Much, Methinks

From Professor Michael Curtis, at the Commentator, "Anti-Trump rallies: They do protest too much, methinks":

The endless protests against Trump's victory can be seen as an exercise in free speech, but they must also be seen less kindly as undemocratic and indeed reactionary in their refusal to accept the validity of the democratic election result. Communist East Germany offers a poetic lesson

The ongoing protests, now in their ninth day, against the election of Donald Trump as US President can be seen in benign fashion as democracy in action, illustrations of the exercise of the right of free speech.

Some of the protestors may be sincere, open minded critics of what they perceive are Trump's policies and intentions. They do not deny the validity of his election, nor seek to disqualify it.

But the protests must also be seen less kindly as undemocratic and indeed reactionary in their refusal to accept the validity of the democratic election result.

The United States today has nothing in common with the Communist regime in East Germany in the 1950s. Nevertheless, it is well to remember the bitter remark of the German poet and playwright Bertolt Brecht after the failure of the uprising of June 17, 1953 in East Germany against poor economic  wage and working conditions, an uprising  that was put down brutally by Soviet troops.

In his poem The Solution, critical of the brutality, Brecht ironically wrote it was easier for the Communist government to maintain control by dissolving  the people and electing another.

The present day U.S protestors , whether choreographed or not or organized by groups said to be sponsored by billionaire George Soros, in their refusal to accept the will of the people want to dissolve the American people and demand both the reversal of the election result and changes in the Constitution.

Based on the fact that Hillary Clinton, defeated in the vote for the Electoral College but obtaining a slim majority in the overall  popular vote, the protestors call  for the Electoral College to be abolished.

They appear ignorant that 2016 is not unique. Five times before in American history, a presidential candidate has been elected by winning a majority in the Electoral College but not the popular vote in the country.

Nevertheless, the protestors argue for the Electors on December 19, 2016 to ignore the votes of their states and vote for Hillary Clinton.

Protests by American citizens have been part of political theatre in American politics for some time but it is surprising that some of the present actors seem unknowingly to be playing the end of Shakespeare's King Lear.

The present day protestors overplay their role in viewing  the election of Donald Trump as U.S. President as "the weight of this sad time."

No supporter of Trump has ever claimed that he is, like Abraham Lincoln or Oliver Cromwell, the instrument of divine purpose.

Some protestors, whether from the Democratic Party, believers in identity politics, African-Americans, Latinos, Environmentalists, and LGBT, genuinely differ from President-Elect Trump on many policy issues...

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