Guest Editorial: Lemming Alert
By Keith Mobley of Dufur
Keith Mobley
Small rodents plunging over cliffs in mass suicide were filmed by Walt Disney Productions in 1958, and helped build a myth about lemmings. Once a lemming leader made a leap, the followers do not hesitate.
According to Wikipedia, “The misconception of lemming "mass suicide" is long-standing and has been popularized by a number of factors. Due to this misconception, "lemming" is sometimes used allegorically to describe humans who exhibit a lack of independent thinking and a willingness to follow orders from superiors, social trends, or fads even to the point of self-harm.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Wilderness_(film)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemming#In_popular_culture_and_media
Allegorically, it seems appropriate to characterize the current condition of the Republican party as at least “lemming-like.” The leader of that party has been taking actions and making statements that have led to continuing losses of public support, but little or no significant loss of MAGA or other Republican support.
Polls are showing him to have negative numbers in about every category in which measurements are made. If the President continues on his current path, it will almost certainly include a cliff. Who will follow him?
According to former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, we can expect the followers he calls “America’s leadership class” to be there.
“The sad fact is that, like so much else Trump’s reign of terror has revealed, America’s leadership class no longer leads. It hides. It has relinquished its obligations to the common good — to freedom of speech, freedom to assemble, freedom from government arrest and imprisonment without due process, freedom to vote and participate in our democracy, freedom from arbitrary and capricious government decisions. Instead, people in positions of significant responsibility have succumbed to greed, small-mindedness, insularity, and cowardice.”
On top of the long list presented by Secretary Reich, the recent clumsy efforts to demonstrate power and influence over the military must be noticed.
Consider this quote from the President, putting senior military officers on notice:
“I'm going to be meeting with generals and with admirals and with leaders. And if I don't like somebody, I'm going to fire them right on this spot.”
And consider this recent lead from an Associated Press article:
“QUANTICO, Va. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday proposed using American cities as training grounds for the armed forces and spoke of needing U.S. military might to combat what he called the “invasion from within.”
A retired U.S. Army officer had this observation: “On one hand, you have the secretary of defense, who is saying lethality, lethality, lethality. He wants the troops to be more lethal. And then on the other hand, you have the president of the United States saying, I want training to happen in American cities.”
Here is another Associated Press lead, dated October 5, 2025:
“NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — President Donald Trump did not let the government shutdown interfere with a stop in Norfolk, Virginia, on Sunday to salute the Navy as it celebrates its 250th anniversary — using his speech to praise both the Navy and himself.
“Trump delivered remarks that by his own recognition bordered on making it more like a campaign event, generating some cheers from the crowd before closing out with a recording of his theme song, “YMCA” by Village People.”
“Let’s face it, this is a rally,” Trump told the crowd of about 10,000 sailors in their dress-white uniforms.”
Our Commander in Chief is making very clear his desire to have the military ready and willing to follow his directions, including his goals of retribution and revenge against those who have opposed him. Portland is fighting back against his call for the mobilization of 200 Oregon National Guard and other soldiers, raising the possibility of it becoming the first city to provide the training he seeks. We can hope any could-be lemmings will recognize and loudly condemn this as a leap we should all avoid.
