Canadian here. I've been watching the decline of democracy in the US with increasing concern (actual concern, not in the Susan Collins sense), not least because what ever you guys do, sooner or later it will creep up on us up here as well. And it is happening - your MAGA ass hats are our "Freedom Convoy".
So far we've managed to keep our heads above water, largely because
(a) we don't have as many guns, so we don't get the masked morons with the AR-15s marching into our public squares to scare the shit out of people;
(b) our political cultures are different - when you say "Don't tread on me!!", we say "peace, order and good governance", and actually welcome the state's role in such things as universal health care and social security - without reflexive shouts of "SoCiALiSm!!"; and
(c) we have actual laws in place that govern elections across the country, rather than subject them to the whims of local strongmen. Laws that take the money out of politics to a large degree, including caps on campaign spending as well as on political contributions an individual or corporation can make; transparency requirements for both lobbying activities and political donations; a Supreme Court where no one remembers which government appointed which judge, because they don't get tested for ideology only legal qualifications; and very time-limited election campaigns (the longest we had was 10 weeks - the nation groaned because normally it's 6 weeks, and seriously who needs this shit).
I cannot imagine how the US can recover without addressing these points.
And I am reminded, quite painfully, of the lessons I learned while working in counter-terrorism capacity building: violent extremism rises FAST in ungoverned spaces, where people do not feel that there is a central government that has their interests at heart, and delivers results for them. Your GOP with its "all government is evil except when we want to repress stuff and people we hate, or get paid to do things" ideology is well on the way to creating those ungoverned spaces.
Thank you, Charlotte...throughout my life I've struggled feeling that the best we could do was The Pendulum, and that it was absurd, and so obviously 2 dimensional for such an 'advanced' society, through the last 3 decades of the last century...is it possible we're moving to 3 dimensions and the evolution of political thought and manifestation will be a tripod (3 options - oh my, can we handle the abundance?). If so, your pendulum image will now be required to swing off the axis of the past few centuries to take up that 3rd leg, which is what I speculate is the general foreboding and unease we and our fellow humans constantly feel, and may continue to feel, for years to come (at least folks with history - kids under 25, not so much politically, but definitely economically, so they'll help us with the 'by the people, for the people' power transition).
Yeah, I'm on edge, too... it's hard to see clearly while we're going through that type of change and stressful in full, however I'm hoping it's the necessary transition to societal health. The reason I'm subscribed to your intelligent, thoughtful and brave 'Thoughts' is because I/we need you to keep communicating while you/we are going through it. Thank you!
Looking forward to Part II. I checked the cited Gallup surveys, and was struck that they didn't even feel the need to include "science", until recently.
Canadian here. I've been watching the decline of democracy in the US with increasing concern (actual concern, not in the Susan Collins sense), not least because what ever you guys do, sooner or later it will creep up on us up here as well. And it is happening - your MAGA ass hats are our "Freedom Convoy".
So far we've managed to keep our heads above water, largely because
(a) we don't have as many guns, so we don't get the masked morons with the AR-15s marching into our public squares to scare the shit out of people;
(b) our political cultures are different - when you say "Don't tread on me!!", we say "peace, order and good governance", and actually welcome the state's role in such things as universal health care and social security - without reflexive shouts of "SoCiALiSm!!"; and
(c) we have actual laws in place that govern elections across the country, rather than subject them to the whims of local strongmen. Laws that take the money out of politics to a large degree, including caps on campaign spending as well as on political contributions an individual or corporation can make; transparency requirements for both lobbying activities and political donations; a Supreme Court where no one remembers which government appointed which judge, because they don't get tested for ideology only legal qualifications; and very time-limited election campaigns (the longest we had was 10 weeks - the nation groaned because normally it's 6 weeks, and seriously who needs this shit).
I cannot imagine how the US can recover without addressing these points.
And I am reminded, quite painfully, of the lessons I learned while working in counter-terrorism capacity building: violent extremism rises FAST in ungoverned spaces, where people do not feel that there is a central government that has their interests at heart, and delivers results for them. Your GOP with its "all government is evil except when we want to repress stuff and people we hate, or get paid to do things" ideology is well on the way to creating those ungoverned spaces.
Thank you, Charlotte...throughout my life I've struggled feeling that the best we could do was The Pendulum, and that it was absurd, and so obviously 2 dimensional for such an 'advanced' society, through the last 3 decades of the last century...is it possible we're moving to 3 dimensions and the evolution of political thought and manifestation will be a tripod (3 options - oh my, can we handle the abundance?). If so, your pendulum image will now be required to swing off the axis of the past few centuries to take up that 3rd leg, which is what I speculate is the general foreboding and unease we and our fellow humans constantly feel, and may continue to feel, for years to come (at least folks with history - kids under 25, not so much politically, but definitely economically, so they'll help us with the 'by the people, for the people' power transition).
Yeah, I'm on edge, too... it's hard to see clearly while we're going through that type of change and stressful in full, however I'm hoping it's the necessary transition to societal health. The reason I'm subscribed to your intelligent, thoughtful and brave 'Thoughts' is because I/we need you to keep communicating while you/we are going through it. Thank you!
Looking forward to Part II. I checked the cited Gallup surveys, and was struck that they didn't even feel the need to include "science", until recently.
Thank you. As dire as things are, simply listening to your voice calms me.