On April 12, 1861, the South Carolina Militia artillery fired at the Union garrison at the Battle of Fort Sumter, signifying the start of the Civil War.

On May 28, 2020, Republican pooh-bahs in Conway, South Carolina held a send-off event for Cleo Steele, a longtime Republican operative in Horry County. GOP Sens. Lindsay Graham and Tim Scott attended the festivities, which featured a bronze bust of President Trump, lots of hand-shaking, high-fiving and hugging, and many sarcastic jokes about the coronavirus. Most people in attendance did not wear masks. As one person said, “When the good Lord calls you home, a mask ain’t going to stop it.”

South Carolina may be serving once again as the canary in the coal mine.

The Civil War was fought to “preserve state rights,” which is to say the right to own human beings. The recent GOP gathering served, in part, as a rebuttal to guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control, a federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services. Republicans at this event were modeling the “values” of their dear leader, Donald Trump, by eschewing masks, which Trump derides as “politically correct” and views as wimpy. Treating the coronavirus as something to be feared was a political act incongruous with the values of those in attendance and, horrors of horrors, disloyal to Trump.

Trump’s rally on June 20, continued the freedom-means-ignore-the-health-experts theme. Trump’s sheep-like fans were packed indoors into an arena, not wearing masks, cheering his every utterance. Yahoo!

Trump dismisses the advice of experts, including health experts. He embraces climate change-deniers, ignoring the views of the scientific community. Trump has repeatedly stated that he knows best about every matter, domestic or foreign. Trump’s followers love his braggadocio; maybe it makes them feel bigger to be devoted to such a self-proclaimed genius. Moreover, if Trump does their thinking for them, they can go on living their lives, oblivious to greater truths.

It’s time to let Trump and his followers secede from the United States and form their own country, one that needn’t bother with scientific facts or trouble with the truth. Oh, and let’s not launch a civil war to convince them to stay. Their new country (Trumpistan) could develop guidelines suited to their tastes. Trump would have absolute power, unimpeded by that pesky checks and balances thing. There would be one state-run television channel and one state-run newspaper. Abortion would be illegal. Climate change would be ignored. Same-sex marriage would be outlawed. No one would be allowed to speak a language other than English. Guns would be allowed everywhere. There would be no environmental regulations. All members of the Supreme Court would be appointed by Trump. Christianity would be designated as the national religion; there would be no separation between Church and State. Whites would be designated as the national race, and people of other colors or from other countries would have to endure a lengthy application process in order to be granted full legal privileges. The Statue of Liberty would be replaced by the Statue of Trumpity. The phrase “Give me your tired, your poor. Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” would be replaced by “Keep out!”

The citizens of Trumpistan would be granted their total “freedom” — a word they love to bandy about — to live life as they want. While they might be freer, they’d also be poorer. Keep in mind that residents of blue states currently pay a much higher percentage of the federal budget than residents of red states; whereas, residents of red states get a much greater return per capita than residents of blue states.

What say you, dear readers, does this plan make sense? If Trump had been a reasonable Republican who truly cared about the well being of all United States citizens (not just his base), I wouldn’t have proposed such a drastic solution. But he is neither reasonable nor, in truth, a Republican; the Republican party has become the Trump party, thanks to the spinelessness of Republicans in Congress and the blind allegiance of his hard-core supporters.

Just as the nation had to quash the scourge of slavery during the Civil War, we Americans must now quash the scourge of Donald Trump. The time is running out to save our nation and the principles upon which it stands.

David Treadwell, a Brunswick writer, welcomes commentary and suggestions for future “Just a Little Old” columns. dtreadw575@aol.com.

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