This month marks the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. The People's Liberation Army was used by Chinese authorities to crush a citizens' protest movement, literally using tanks against its own citizens. There was world-wide outrage in response, not least in the US. A lasting image of this event is the photograph of a man with two shopping bags standing in the way of a tank. I don't think there is reliable information about the fate of that man. It appeared that the tank did not crush the man but tried to circumvent him. Even the communist Chinese apparently shied away from being associated with cold-blooded murder in public. Some three decades on we have video of an elderly man in Buffalo, New York, a peaceful protester to all appearances, pushed down by law enforcement officers and left to bleed on the street. We Americans have prided ourselves on our principled stand on individual liberty wherever it has been threatened, and rightly so. How do we live with what is happening on our streets today? We have a president who has openly expressed admiration for dictators around the world saying he wishes he had the unquestioning obedience of the people that those dictators enjoy. The draft-dodger with heel spurs is exhorting governors to use whatever force is necessary to "restore law and order". The only thing keeping him from ordering the military out himself is probably the effect that would have on the election. The man who claimed he could shoot someone in public without affecting his chances at the polls may be worried this may be the final straw. So what are we supposed to do? To quote Maya Angelou, when someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. We did not follow this advice in 2016. But as the saying goes, "Fool me once...".
A closing thought about Tiananmen: the symbol chosen by Chinese protesters to rally their movement was our own (via France) Statue of Liberty. Protesters in Hong Kong today are also turning to Lady Liberty in their (likely losing) struggle. Let us ask ourselves, how much longer can we expect to be a beacon for people around the world if the status quo in our country continues?