This is the most fulsome treatment/analysis of our current devolution as a nation I have read…and I’ve read a lot. Personally, I hold no single individual responsible. Nevertheless, it will take all of us to recover from this hysterical and historical dilemma we find ourselves in. Is it possible? Frankly I have to say cautiously …“maybe”. But this piece gives me more hope than I thought I had. Pogo was correct of course, “We have met the enemy and he is us”!
Blame is a dangerous game to play when a potential existential crisis lies ahead. It can and will distract us from finding salvation for our collective sins. Let’s ALL remember that we ALL have played a part here.
Republicans continue to exploit weaknesses in our political system to cement their hold on power. Once they have governing majorities, they use them to continue passing laws that make it hard for opponents to win an election. Their attacks on democracy are ratified by compliant federal courts.
There’s never a hot civil war. Republicans legislate themselves into minority rule, then conduct a lawfare campaign against political opponents, the media, uncooperative businesses, etc. It may not be entirely bloodless, as Republicans will use ‘2nd Amendment enthusiasts’ for harassment and intimidation and people will inevitably get hurt. Then the US becomes a soft autocracy, like Viktor Orban’s Hungary.
Though Republicans may accomplish this, it won’t last forever. They don’t have the numbers for an outright majority and demographic change isn’t on their side. Once they take the reins it could nonetheless take decades to wrest them away.
The flow of this piece captivated me. As for the “and yet--“ alt-reality/utopian world-building optimism at the end, I want to believe. I truly do.
This is the most fulsome treatment/analysis of our current devolution as a nation I have read…and I’ve read a lot. Personally, I hold no single individual responsible. Nevertheless, it will take all of us to recover from this hysterical and historical dilemma we find ourselves in. Is it possible? Frankly I have to say cautiously …“maybe”. But this piece gives me more hope than I thought I had. Pogo was correct of course, “We have met the enemy and he is us”!
https://library.osu.edu/site/40stories/2020/01/05/we-have-met-the-enemy/
Blame is a dangerous game to play when a potential existential crisis lies ahead. It can and will distract us from finding salvation for our collective sins. Let’s ALL remember that we ALL have played a part here.
dmc
A non-optimistic alternative scenario:
Republicans continue to exploit weaknesses in our political system to cement their hold on power. Once they have governing majorities, they use them to continue passing laws that make it hard for opponents to win an election. Their attacks on democracy are ratified by compliant federal courts.
There’s never a hot civil war. Republicans legislate themselves into minority rule, then conduct a lawfare campaign against political opponents, the media, uncooperative businesses, etc. It may not be entirely bloodless, as Republicans will use ‘2nd Amendment enthusiasts’ for harassment and intimidation and people will inevitably get hurt. Then the US becomes a soft autocracy, like Viktor Orban’s Hungary.
Though Republicans may accomplish this, it won’t last forever. They don’t have the numbers for an outright majority and demographic change isn’t on their side. Once they take the reins it could nonetheless take decades to wrest them away.