A democracy is only as good as its people and if they vote in bad leaders, they then must face the consequences. American civilization is in decline. Can it be saved?
There are a lot of parallels between the rise of Hitler's autocracy in Germany and the rise of Trump's power in the U.S., but of course, the comparison is far from exact. Fortunately for us, Trump, while immoral and lawless, is considerably less competent than Hitler and even on good days doesn't quite know what he is doing. He is more like a blithering Crassus setting the stage for Caesar.
Timothy Ryback just wrote an excellent study: "Takeover: Hitler's Final Rise to Power." I strongly recommend it for what it does and doesn't say about our current predicament.
For those interested in the fall of the Soviet Union (an entirely different process), here is a cable Embassy Moscow did in July 1990 that showed that at least a few of us were on the ball, even though the folks in Washington continued to be in various stages of denial. https://shoeone.blogspot.com/1990/07/90-moscow-23603-looking-into-abyss.html
Well done. That’s a tough read but I can’t find anything I disagree with. In my mind, we can mitigate if not reverse the decline and “obliteration” of American democracy/civilization by aggressively attacking corruption, including campaign finance, systematically reducing income inequality, and promoting and protecting civic understanding and, as much as possible, unity. The corruption issue is perhaps the least difficult though will by no means be easy. Everyone is against corruption. Likewise, income inequality will be complicated but not impossible. There are plenty of good ideas out there that could start to make a real impact. Instilling a sense of civic understanding and responsibility while simultaneously promoting what we value and have in common will be next to impossible in the current media and political environment. Not only is this the most difficult challenge we face, it is the prerequisite for achieving the other two, in any meaningful and lasting manner. As long as chaos, hate, and division are profitable for a few, the future is bleak for the many.
I think our first responsibility, apart from maintaining our sanity and as much as possible our composure, is to take care of more vulnerable populations. We have to be prepared for failure. The gutting of USAID is an indication of what they want to do domestically, so we will be working against the weight of our government deliberately destroying the lives of its citizens. Our attempts at aid will be at cross-purposes with our own bureaucracy's efforts to worsen the lives of people they deem to be deserving of suffering because, well, they wouldn't be suffering if they didn't deserve it, which they actually believe with a conviction incomprehensible to us. They are serious fatalists.
I've encountered mental illness of the persecutory kind maybe four times in my life and the lesson was always the same -- get away from them. Nothing will work. Our situation is similar but there are those vulnerable populations we have a duty to try to protect. The recourse of a spouse in an abusive home situation -- getting the hell out with the kids -- is probably not available but it's worth keeping in mind. There might be a virtual version, but they are as blindly determined as they are crazy so I kinda doubt it. Republicans enjoy our suffering. Their consciences are never going to kick in -- not enough for it to matter. This wasn't an opportunistic outbreak of something that will fade.
A terrible but passing malaise. It's chronic, endemic and as old and older than our country, with deeps roots in religious extremism ...
Painful to read and perceptive in its analysis. It would have been better if Kamala had won because we wouldn’t have the masked kidnapping but many of the issues you mention would have continued to fester. I was a big fan of all Joe Biden’s legislative achievements- finally infrastructure week was delivered- yet it did nothing to turn the intensifying putrefaction. Feels now like bailing the ocean with a teacup and that the lesson of history is revolution, war, escalation and crumbling. My father the one time federal prosecutor is dead twenty years this summer. I know he would be appalled.
Biden’s landmark legislation across the board will bear fruit, but only years and decades from now and if we are able to reverse our current course. Should that occur, then Biden’s legacy will be similar to that of Truman’s, whose approval numbers were rock bottom when he left office, but whose legacy grew over the years to where today he is regarded as one of our best presidents.
There are a lot of parallels between the rise of Hitler's autocracy in Germany and the rise of Trump's power in the U.S., but of course, the comparison is far from exact. Fortunately for us, Trump, while immoral and lawless, is considerably less competent than Hitler and even on good days doesn't quite know what he is doing. He is more like a blithering Crassus setting the stage for Caesar.
Timothy Ryback just wrote an excellent study: "Takeover: Hitler's Final Rise to Power." I strongly recommend it for what it does and doesn't say about our current predicament.
For those interested in the fall of the Soviet Union (an entirely different process), here is a cable Embassy Moscow did in July 1990 that showed that at least a few of us were on the ball, even though the folks in Washington continued to be in various stages of denial. https://shoeone.blogspot.com/1990/07/90-moscow-23603-looking-into-abyss.html
Well done. That’s a tough read but I can’t find anything I disagree with. In my mind, we can mitigate if not reverse the decline and “obliteration” of American democracy/civilization by aggressively attacking corruption, including campaign finance, systematically reducing income inequality, and promoting and protecting civic understanding and, as much as possible, unity. The corruption issue is perhaps the least difficult though will by no means be easy. Everyone is against corruption. Likewise, income inequality will be complicated but not impossible. There are plenty of good ideas out there that could start to make a real impact. Instilling a sense of civic understanding and responsibility while simultaneously promoting what we value and have in common will be next to impossible in the current media and political environment. Not only is this the most difficult challenge we face, it is the prerequisite for achieving the other two, in any meaningful and lasting manner. As long as chaos, hate, and division are profitable for a few, the future is bleak for the many.
Tall order, isn’t it?
Probably too much to ask or expect in today’s world.
I think our first responsibility, apart from maintaining our sanity and as much as possible our composure, is to take care of more vulnerable populations. We have to be prepared for failure. The gutting of USAID is an indication of what they want to do domestically, so we will be working against the weight of our government deliberately destroying the lives of its citizens. Our attempts at aid will be at cross-purposes with our own bureaucracy's efforts to worsen the lives of people they deem to be deserving of suffering because, well, they wouldn't be suffering if they didn't deserve it, which they actually believe with a conviction incomprehensible to us. They are serious fatalists.
I've encountered mental illness of the persecutory kind maybe four times in my life and the lesson was always the same -- get away from them. Nothing will work. Our situation is similar but there are those vulnerable populations we have a duty to try to protect. The recourse of a spouse in an abusive home situation -- getting the hell out with the kids -- is probably not available but it's worth keeping in mind. There might be a virtual version, but they are as blindly determined as they are crazy so I kinda doubt it. Republicans enjoy our suffering. Their consciences are never going to kick in -- not enough for it to matter. This wasn't an opportunistic outbreak of something that will fade.
A terrible but passing malaise. It's chronic, endemic and as old and older than our country, with deeps roots in religious extremism ...
https://open.substack.com/pub/jonathanlarsen/p/tuesdays-senate-bible-lesson-god?r=8oyab&utm_medium=ios
Right. It fits with my description of rotting cultural psychology.
Painful to read and perceptive in its analysis. It would have been better if Kamala had won because we wouldn’t have the masked kidnapping but many of the issues you mention would have continued to fester. I was a big fan of all Joe Biden’s legislative achievements- finally infrastructure week was delivered- yet it did nothing to turn the intensifying putrefaction. Feels now like bailing the ocean with a teacup and that the lesson of history is revolution, war, escalation and crumbling. My father the one time federal prosecutor is dead twenty years this summer. I know he would be appalled.
Biden’s landmark legislation across the board will bear fruit, but only years and decades from now and if we are able to reverse our current course. Should that occur, then Biden’s legacy will be similar to that of Truman’s, whose approval numbers were rock bottom when he left office, but whose legacy grew over the years to where today he is regarded as one of our best presidents.