Is America coming undone?

[Swammerdami]

I clicked to TFT intending to find the appropriate thread and just post a link to an opinion piece. But there was no appropriate thread. And I find that lack symptomatic of a myopia. TFTers and Americans more generally focus on January 6, 2021 as a bad day, and are happy that with Biden taking over soon the bad days are behind us. But this catastrophe isn't over; the worst days lie ahead.

Andrew Mitrovica sums up January 6, 2021 very eloquently. It's what I would have been proud to write if I were a hundred times more articulate than I am. Click and read the entire article; the brief excerpts I post here do not do justice to this brilliant article.

America has plunged off the precipice.

The Bastille-like storming of the US Capitol by a cretinous mob of Donald Trump fanatics was the predictable coda to a brutish presidency.

But the jarring bedlam the world witnessed on Wednesday is, I suspect, only the beginning. Over the next four years, the remaining shreds of American "democracy" may not just continue to unravel, but the whole rotten edifice could implode....

It borders on lunacy to trust that Trump's 74 million fellow insurgents will be swayed miraculously by President-elect Joe Biden's halting, anachronistic appeals for "unity" and the illusory pursuit of America's common good. It is not going to happen.

Instead, the toxic, entrenched brew of ignorance, demented conspiracy theories and belief in the righteousness of one messianic saviour that are, today, irrefutable and defining aspects of the virulent American political landscape will not only persist, but may prosper.

Soon-to-be "citizen" Trump and his large, extended family of loathsome sycophants and enablers will make sure of that -- largely because these lifelong, unrepentant grifters know there are bushels of easy money to be made off of their horde of gullible marks. The foundation has been cast. The cement is well past dry. It is much too late to undo the deep damage done....

In the coming days, Trump's collaborators ... must not be permitted to rewrite their sordid history of complicity, nor should they be congratulated for [belatedly] discovering a moral or ethical compass ... The neon-bright scarlet letter of infamy they all have thoroughly earned cannot be allowed to fade with time and from memory....

Aljazeera is a better source for news and opinion about American politics than all the American sources (except Atlantic) put together. Here are some of their other recent opinions about Trumpism:

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/1/8/the-delusion-of-american-exceptionalism
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/1/8/a-very-american-riot
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2020/11/4/we-now-know-what-america-is
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/1/7/the-day-trump-finally-lost-it

 

[TSwizzle]

Yes but not because of anything this blogger has highlighted. Trump supporters are the least of our worries.

 

[Elixir]

I clicked to TFT intending to find the appropriate thread and just post a link to an opinion piece. But there was no appropriate thread. And I find that lack symptomatic of a myopia. TFTers and Americans more generally focus on January 6, 2021 as a bad day, and are happy that with Biden taking over soon the bad days are behind us. But this catastrophe isn't over; the worst days lie ahead.

Andrew Mitrovica sums up January 6, 2021 very eloquently. It's what I would have been proud to write if I were a hundred times more articulate than I am. Click and read the entire article; the brief excerpts I post here do not do justice to this brilliant article.

America has plunged off the precipice.

The Bastille-like storming of the US Capitol by a cretinous mob of Donald Trump fanatics was the predictable coda to a brutish presidency.

But the jarring bedlam the world witnessed on Wednesday is, I suspect, only the beginning. Over the next four years, the remaining shreds of American "democracy" may not just continue to unravel, but the whole rotten edifice could implode....

It borders on lunacy to trust that Trump's 74 million fellow insurgents will be swayed miraculously by President-elect Joe Biden's halting, anachronistic appeals for "unity" and the illusory pursuit of America's common good. It is not going to happen.

Instead, the toxic, entrenched brew of ignorance, demented conspiracy theories and belief in the righteousness of one messianic saviour that are, today, irrefutable and defining aspects of the virulent American political landscape will not only persist, but may prosper.

Soon-to-be "citizen" Trump and his large, extended family of loathsome sycophants and enablers will make sure of that -- largely because these lifelong, unrepentant grifters know there are bushels of easy money to be made off of their horde of gullible marks. The foundation has been cast. The cement is well past dry. It is much too late to undo the deep damage done....

In the coming days, Trump's collaborators ... must not be permitted to rewrite their sordid history of complicity, nor should they be congratulated for [belatedly] discovering a moral or ethical compass ... The neon-bright scarlet letter of infamy they all have thoroughly earned cannot be allowed to fade with time and from memory....

Aljazeera is a better source for news and opinion about American politics than all the American sources (except Atlantic) put together. Here are some of their other recent opinions about Trumpism:

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/1/8/the-delusion-of-american-exceptionalism
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/1/8/a-very-american-riot
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2020/11/4/we-now-know-what-america-is
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/1/7/the-day-trump-finally-lost-it

Not a bad article. I agree that the strength underpinning the persistence of our amoral cabal of Republican kleptocrats is that "these lifelong, unrepentant grifters know there are bushels of easy money to be made off of their horde of gullible marks". Not so sure the cement is as dry as they portray though.
The overall tone is that this makes their endurance insurmountable and their eventual dominance inevitable. They cite the shameful 74 million number in support of that view. I am fairly certain that less than a third of that number are actually fully committed, even after decades of preparatory messaging and four years of full immersion in fascist fearmongering propaganda. If the truth is given loud enough voice, all is not yet lost. But IMHO, until we very visibly settle scores with the scoundrels who aided and abetted Trump's coup attempt, we can't even start to change the minds the two thirds who are not entirely ossified in their views. It is heartening to remember that after all, these are people who are susceptible to what they are told. We just have to make sure that what they are told is not what they've been hearing from Rupert and Donald.

The first step is to tell the 74 million the truth about the election, about The Big Lie (Trump won) and about why Cruz, Graham, Hawley et al were so eager to support The Big Lie.
I'd like to see all the ringleaders brought up on sedition and/or treason charges and make them repent publicly to save their asses, and our Nation. That would be a good first step.

 

[ZiprHead]

The first step is to tell the 74 million the truth about the election, about The Big Lie (Trump won) and about why Cruz, Graham, Hawley et al were so eager to support The Big Lie.

They've been told the truth dozens if not hundreds of times. There's been recounts up the wazoo. Dozens of court filing where no real evidence was offered or presented. As the old saying goes, you cannot reason someone out of a position they didn't reason themselves into.

These people are solidly locked into the fantasies they've bought into (see RVonse). Which means we're fucked as a country.

 

[GenesisNemesis]

Trump supporters are the least of our worries.

Ah yes, the ol' lie about everything and blame it all on Antifa tactic.

 

[Elixir]

The first step is to tell the 74 million the truth about the election, about The Big Lie (Trump won) and about why Cruz, Graham, Hawley et al were so eager to support The Big Lie.

They've been told the truth dozens if not hundreds of times. There's been recounts up the wazoo. Dozens of court filing where no real evidence was offered or presented. As the old saying goes, you cannot reason someone out of a position they didn't reason themselves into.

These people are solidly locked into the fantasies they've bought into (see RVonse). Which means we're fucked as a country.

It needs to come from sources that they actually listen to, and it needs to come constantly. It doesn't even have to be sources they particularly trust, just has to be what's ambient in their environment.
We know this because that's exactly how they got their belief in the lies in the first place. There will be some whose environment is impenetrable, but not 74 million of them. It's even easier to sell the truth that way than it is to sell lies because reality tends to back up truths such as "Trump lost a free and fair election by more than seven million votes" whereas lies such as "Trump won the election, by A LOT!" do not comport with anything observable. Sure, there is high tolerance for cognitive dissonance in that crowd, but high isn't the same as infinite.
Even small things like parler being forced to clean house or shut down, can make a difference. Sure, they'll go somewhere else, but that's a bit of a PITA for them, takes some of the fun out of it. They get tired. Maintaining cognitive dissonance is an energy intensive thing. The truth is always there, and takes less energy to integrate.

 

[rousseau]

The most pressing problem in the U.S. is that your government seems incapable - probably from a combination of ineptitude, division, and lobbying - of actually solving the myriad of serious problems needing solutions in your country. If the problems get worse more quickly than you fix them, there's a problem.

In the 90s Canada was in serious fiscal trouble, but recognized it and actually course corrected. That's what needs to happen in the U.S. - your government needs to get organized, and actually accomplish something without regard to political affiliation.

 

[TSwizzle]

your government needs to get organized, and actually accomplish something without regard to political affiliation.

And there in lies the rub. The incoming administration will solve nothing. Charlatans one and all. More concerned with the social justice/equity theater than government.

 

[jab]

your government needs to get organized, and actually accomplish something without regard to political affiliation.

And there in lies the rub. The incoming administration will solve nothing. Charlatans one and all. More concerned with the social justice/equity theater than government.

more concerned with corporate stroking and appeasement than economic justice.

 

[Elixir]

your government needs to get organized, and actually accomplish something without regard to political affiliation.

And there in lies the rub. The incoming administration will solve nothing. Charlatans one and all. More concerned with the social justice/equity theater than government.

more concerned with corporate stroking and appeasement than economic justice.

We shall see. Capitalism has thrived most when built on a foundation of support that is now called "socialism". In the post-war era we experienced far greater economic equality than we have today. Taxes on the highest income brackets were several times what they are now, infrastructure was a priority and even a low wage earner could support a family. Yet, that was an environment wherein entrepreneurs thrived, and businesses new and old were growing like weeds. The golden age of capitalism, if you will. But greed at the top has upset the balance and sucked up all the nutrients from what was once rich soil. ANYTHING that would strengthen social safety nets, raise minimum wages or otherwise benefit those not in the top 1% of earners is reflexively labeled "SOCIALISM!" (imagine the halloween font, dripping with blood) and is reviled and if possible, prohibited by the Republican party, which has become the tool of the rich. It is used to soak their rubes in propaganda and make them feel that by picking their pockets, the top 1% is protecting them from the lowlife scumbags who want more than $7.25 and hour.
As a result, we have a class of megabillionaire oligarchs and a very quickly growing class of impoverished people stupidly pointing their fingers at the very poorest among them. <Edited> RVonse and Swizzle are truly and fully convinced that it is these dreaded "socialists" who are keeping them down, rather than the oligarchs who are actually pocketing their money.

 

[TomC]

Yes but not because of anything this blogger has highlighted. Trump supporters are the least of our worries.

Sorry, no.
Mitch McConnell and the rest of the TeaParty obstructionists are among the top two or three problems we have as a country.

Because their political interests don't match those of the USA we'll still be in a great deal of danger for the foreseeable future. Because Biden will be stymied ever time he tries to improve the country.
Tom