What would we do if we discovered a large asteroid on course to impact Earth?
This was the high-consequence scenario discussed by NASA and FEMA two weeks before a national election made Donald J. Trump president-elect of the United States. At the “Deep Impact” convention on Oct. 25, a NASA and FEMA joint exercise held in El Segundo, Calif., the discussion was not around “if, but when” such an asteroid would strike the earth.
Similar to the U.S. electorate tracking the political rise of Mr. Trump, NASA and FEMA simulated a tracking scenario which began with a 2 percent probability of planetary impact. When it reached 65 percent, scientists mounted a deflection mission to move the asteroid off its collision course, only to learn it was too late. There was a 100 percent probability of impact on the U.S.
“The high degree of initial uncertainty coupled with the relatively long impact warning time made this scenario unique and especially challenging for emergency managers,” said FEMA.
The probability of the Trump asteroid hitting the U.S. has now jumped to 100 percent.
What do we do now? On Jan. 20, Mr. Trump will take the oath of office. This is a bi-partisan national emergency. This is not a drill.
Mr. Trump ran an anti-American campaign. It is incumbent upon all Americans--Republicans, Democrats, and Independents--to refuse to cooperate with any action that will irreversibly alter the United States and the Constitution.
On Jan. 20, the Oval Office will be occupied by a person who has stated that he intends to use the power of that office for un-American activities. Some of his actions--particularly in the areas of deportations and climate change--will be irreversible if not resisted.
Mr. Trump presents a wicked problem. How do we resist an authoritarian leaders who was democratically voted into office by a white voting bloc and “elevated his call for a new nationalism, centered on white Americans,” as Jamelle Bouie described Trump’s white nationalism?
When Denmark underwent a “soft occupation” by the German army in 1940, the Danes launched massive civil resistance.
During an occupation, write Peter Ackerman and Jack Duvall and in A Force More Powerful, both the people and the invaders are subject to a strange game of mutual suspicion:
“The occupier acts like a new owner and wants the tenants to behave and pay the rent on time, but those invaded feel violated – they know the country, by right, belongs to them, and while they cannot physically throw the occupiers out, they may well want to resist the invader's terms. Perhaps, if the invader finds the game is not worth the effort, he will leave. Or perhaps he will start killing uncooperative tenants. But the game gives one major advantage to those occupied: They will define the extent to which they are going to cooperate. And the offender, ironically, will have to defend his ill-gotten gains.”
Danish resisters took the offensive against occupying forces through a list of “ten commandments,” written by 17-year-old Arne Sejr to his fellow Danes. Here is a version for the Trump asteroid headed for America.
Ten Commandments of Resistance for All Americans
- You shall block all attempts to change the U.S. Constitution by executive fiat.
- You shall provide civilian accountability to local law enforcement to assist them in implementing community-oriented policing services.
- You shall meet a federal hiring freeze with a federal work stoppage.
- You shall protect and defend through obstruction or intervention any person or persons threatened by mass deportation, round-ups, silent raids, work-site raids, hate crimes, and mob or vigilante violence.
- You shall impede the elimination of any federal agency, regulation, or restriction that protects the physical, environmental, or financial health and safety of Americans.
- You shall condemn all forms of racially-motivated violence and expressions of white supremacy.
- You shall resist and impede all attempts to expand the definition of “criminal alien,” or attempts to coerce foreign nations to receive deportees from the United States.
- You shall engage in an examination of conscience. If necessary, you shall engage in work slow-downs to block white nationalist policies or those that conflict with one’s oath to uphold the Constitution.
- You shall release from within the Trump administration or businesses documents that relate to illegal or unethical actions; you shall err on the side of transparency and protecting citizens’ right-to-know.
- You shall boycott the businesses owned by or products made by the Trump Organization, the Ivanka Trump Collection, and Eric Trump Wine Manufacturing or other private corporate ties for the duration of the Trump presidency.
At the present moment, we do not know if Mr. Trump’s impact on our nation will be catastrophic or whether it will be somewhat mitigated by the “separation of powers.” By the time we find out, it will be too late.
Too much is at stake to be unprepared. We are facing high-consequence disaster scenarios. It is time to activate a broad-based citizens’ defense.
Inauguration Day is heading straight for us.
Rose Marie Berger, a senior associate editor at Sojourners magazine, is a Catholic leader in Washington, D.C.