"The vast majority of Americans just want peace." Well, perhaps most Americans want peace, but I don't think is is a "vast majority." The MAGA (Confederacy rebranded) does not want peace; all its noise and its media outlets are focused on war drum beating, using metaphors of conflict. Everything from their rhetoric that liberals are trying to force them to be gay, get abortions, and destroy Christianity, to their Christmas cards showing their families armed with assault-style weapons, to their AR-15 pins. One "pastor" (no training, background checks or honesty required) came out recently and said men are losing their testosterone because of birth control pills in the water supply, signaling their next goal of continuing to strip rights from women and their families by banning birth control. They've been pretty open about this goal.
They don't want peace; they want war, which is why they've armed themselves to the teeth.
Thank you! Finally a diagnosis for so many of us, feeling overwhelmed, often helpless and depressed, even though we may be active voters, activists and working for Democracy. Weathering. Started for me when TFG, trump was elected and escalated daily until what felt like a culmination on January 6. That day, while watching the Televised political show, next door to my attached condominium, a beat-up pickup drove up with a Trump flag, confederate flag and a string noose hanging from the tail end. The driver stayed for months. Polite and cleancut. In our community only American flags are allowed to be displayed on the building. No rule about what is displayed from a vehicle. I won’t describe the next months, but even after he moved on, the terror and angst had become permanent residents. I’m active socially and politically, especially in Children’s and women’s Rights, but this daily assault has moved in. Permanently? I hope not. Weathering is real. And I already would never wear my star of david necklace identification as a Jewish person, in our downtown mainstreet, in my Northern California small town. I’m not paranoid, but I am cautious.
I think your headline as it relates to the body of your article is not entirely accurate. While the Republican campaign against health care access for transgender youth is appalling and I'm sure exhausting for their parents, the general lack of access to health care and the downward spiral of the health care system since the ACA was implemented is exhausting my patients (and me) to no end. I am exhausted by the division fomented by a media, including you Thom, that preaches to its choir in order to maintain viewership and revenue rather than encouraging the non-partisan, unbiased critical thinking that is necessary to unite people to overcome a political system that is killing us on both sides of the aisle. The Democrats are doing awful things to immigrants and furthering the militarization of our country and the world with a nationalistic fervor that is justified by a petrifying fear of Putin and China, while the former has invaded one sovereign nation, that latter none and we have invaded, bombed and subverted democracy in at least 20 over the past 30 years. So yes, I am exhausted by the impetus to prop up imperialist corporatist leaders whose terrible judgment has been proven time and time again, as if I am supposed to be working for Joe Biden instead of vice versa. Democrats have failed to protect us time and time again (see Obama's lies about passing legislation to codify Roe V Wade and his failure to do so when he had a supermajority) and yet all liberals can do is blame Republicans with your help and to no avail. Exhausting indeed.
Thank you! Finally a diagnosis for so many of us, feeling overwhelmed, often helpless and depressed, even though we may be active voters, activists and working for Democracy. Weathering. Started for me when TFG, trump was elected and escalated daily until what felt like a culmination on January 6. That day, while watching the Televised political show, next door to my attached condominium, a beat-up pickup drove up with a Trump flag, confederate flag and a string noose hanging from the tail end. The driver stayed for months. Polite and cleancut. In our community only American flags are allowed to be displayed on the building. No rule about what is displayed from a vehicle. I won’t describe the next months, but even after he moved on, the terror and angst had become permanent residents. I’m active socially and politically, especially in Children’s and women’s Rights, but this daily assault has moved in. Permanently? I hope not. Weathering is real. And I already would never wear my star of david necklace identification as a Jewish person, in our downtown mainstreet, in my Northern California small town. I’m not paranoid, but I am cautious. Add all that to the Pandemic and its isolation and controversy and we have the perfect storm.
The only way to deal with an abuser is to cut them out of your life. I think it's becoming clear we need to decentralize the government and go back to a city-state system where cities govern themselves. 80% of the population lives in cities and the 100 most populous cities are largely Democrat. I'm sure of the ones that aren't will have a more balanced political outcome. It will be the rural areas where this nonsense will be sequestered. And even then it will be too toxic for women to want to stay and raise families.
This is what the rich white rePUGliCONs want...CHAOS. The maggots who support these 💩’s think hey if these white guys can do it, I can do! Since media is owned by rich white rePUGliCONs who are mentally ill, they don’t care about America!
The Republican representtive of my new gerrymandered state District 69 is Jody Barrett who got in trouble with his racist, misogynistic party boys in TN State House. They accuse him of making them look bad by voting not to kick out the white woman of the TN3. "She didn't do anything wrong.' he told them. But, then, neither did the 2 young black representatives he voted to remove from his club. Them boys was uppity, ya' know. Gloria couldn't be uppity if she worked at it. She's just a compassionate, tough 60 year old white woman who gives her all to serve the people in her district-- Just as the 2 black representatives work to serve the people in their districts. OK, all 3 offended the decorum of the TN House, but that House decorum offends me very much. That decorum is killing our kids. Is killing us all. I think it is time for Tennesseans to fire these representatives who are more concerned for decorum than responsibly serving their constituents.
Well, sure. What do we do. We ask ourselves, and we tell ourselves. This is terrible. We are exhausted.
Thom, today's report is spot on alright.
But asking what do we do? That is the hard nut, is it not?
I think. We are all exhausted from hearing the same heartaches by degrees eay in, day out, week in, week out, and on and on. With no future that seems to tell us, what do we do.
We need strength. We need strategy. We need resolve that points us, bends toward justice, but with clarity, not despair.
Here is one idea. How can we win and help to repair those broken souls who are now so full of this poison that so many have become our enemies?
We must infiltrate. We must be willing to do things that run against our own peaceful natures.
At some point I fear that this will not even be possible.
But clearly whatever we should be doing, we are not getting very far.
Another Tucker will pop up soon enough. And we'll have another target to point at. But with only blanks in our guns.
One phrase I say, "Get out from under the bed!!!" You have to show your face.
Have you heard about...
This poor transgender woman Montana legislator. She is exiled from the chamber to represent her constituents. Seated outside in the hall, listening. And a group of old lady Republicans have actually chosen to take all of the chairs so she can have no place to even sit.
What should we do?
What can we do?
Sick, sick, sick. poisoned by falsehearted righteousness..
Remember Bruce Cockburn's song in the 1980s, about the Nicaraguans?
"If I had a rocket launcher." New lyrics are needed to that powerful "for the people" song.
It is not the blowhards on right wing hate radio, it is "comedians" like Bill Maher and Chapelle.
I surrounded comedieans with"air quotes" because comedians punch up,not down, and Maher and Chapelle punch down, and that is the style of fascist comedians.
Maher describes himself as a libertarian, but as my wife says, her first husband was a libertarian, is that a libertarian is a Republican who smokes weed, and wants to eliminate taxes.
Libertarians are not progressive, the movement was founded by the Koch Brothers and David Koch ran for President in1984
Every Friday show of Bill Maher finds him having a guest or panelists on that support his transphobia, he claims that he isn't but he is obsessed with trans women (not men) maybe because he is "friends" with Ann Coulter who some say was born Alan.
He is also obsessed with masks and vaccines, as he is overly obsessed with something he calls woke, or cancel culture.
His obsession with masking, even if it is prophylactic and voluntary (as in myself, a 84 year old with a compromised immune system (cancer treatments), and"cancel culture" are motivated because both have resulted in a monetary loss, and probably more important, a loss in an opportunity to receive the adulation he so desperately needs.
When one guest pointed out that he doesn't complain about the cancel culture of the south and Desantis, his response was "it doesn't affect me"
His take down of Trump is nothing more than infighting between narcissists.
“And if enough of us turn out at the polls in 18 months, we may be able to pull it off.”
But, when does hoping against hope and indulging in obsessive optimism become self-sabotage? Does buying a little time substitute for taking meaningful action, or does it mean giving fascism more time to spread and grow its roots and branches?
Knowledge is power; but only if it is consciously and purposefully acknowledged and only if put to use in taking power from those who have illegitimate power and authority or from those who use their power and authority illegitimately. It is not enough to merely know that Kevin McCarthy, MTG, Gym Jordan, Mitch McConnell, and the other hate and fear mongers are power hungry, delusional, corrupt, and anti-American. They will practice their corrosive politics and propagandizing until they are stopped by activists and advocates for the people who are aware of the danger they pose and who take effective action to dethrone them.
However, voters in barely adequate numbers who are informed can temporarily put a crimp in the style of such miscreants and send them home from Congress. If they are just puppets, they will be replaced by others like them and the problems they bring will come back again and again.
There must be dramatic, comprehensive, and holistic systemic change from the bottom up if democracy is to be preserved and enhanced. Changing the names or associations of malefactors and corrupt leaders will not suffice. The changes that are necessary for meaningful progress must happen among the people, who after all were responsible for giving unwarranted power and influence to those who could not be trusted.
The unpleasant questions must be asked relative to how the people have been misled or improperly educated for making our democracy function adequately, and the unpopular answers must not be dodged because they might offend certain people or because they may challenge certain universal false beliefs and illusions. The buck actually stops with ‘we the people’ and not with the place-fillers.
The moment of truth has arrived. The time for excuses, diversions, mythology, and polite evasions has long since passed. Our schools have not lived up to their promises and reputation. Our citizens are not being given the most fundamental opportunities to learn citizenship, the most basic skills for discretion and “critical thinking”, or the proper grounding and experience in what living in a free and fair society necessarily entails. The result has been a generations-long slide towards authoritarianism, plutocracy, oligarchy, and theocracy. Now, we are witnessing naked fascism.
I was born an optimist. I have remained an inveterate optimist for 80 years. But the silly kind of Polly Anna encouragement that educators foist on students to try to motivate them to take up fights which they shied away from when they had their chance to work to rectify a deplorable situation will not cut it. I am very reluctant to borrow cheer from someone who is so deluded about our failing school paradigm that he actually gives it a rating of AAA+. In what universe? Where is the solid empirical evidence documenting that fact? It’s all smoke and mirrors and failing to recognize that is just our first collective mistake.
According to Plato, all men desire good. I would change that to, "All people in their right mind desire good". It is pretty obvious that the mega crowd do not desire boredom. They have a need to keep being distracted from truth and reality. Most shallow thinkers watch a lot of sports, or they fight with their relatives or spouses or so-called friends constantly, just as long as they are distracted they are happier. We need to distract them, I suggest we buy them some toys and treat them like toddlers. Toys in the form of motorcycles, race cars, or anything else that distracts their shallow minds. After all humans were born on Earth to have fun not to torture each other. The government needs to provide fun for these sadists. Even if it means bringing back the Roman Colosseums. The mega mind cannot connect the dots properly. It appears when children get exposed to phony or fake religion it cripples them for life.
Earlier today, I listened to your audio-book on privacy, "The Hidden History of Big Brother". I have a slightly different take on privacy, which I believe is relevant to your column today. I don't think "privacy" is by nature a phenomenon of human culture, people lived and worked together in common (hunter-gatherers), and even afterwards in smaller villages when settling. There was little need for privacy, in fact it could be detrimental to the community's survival if individuals withdrew "privately". But even after communities began to grow into kingdoms and the individuals involved in doing work, slaves, peasants, servants were never granted privacy, only the lords or lieutenants, etc. The idea of privacy is essentially attached to property, and until recent post-20th century culture was it ever entrusted to the non-elite. But as you point out, that grant was always attached to govt, and business trying to "spy" on those who they now might have granted certain rights of privacy too. My point being I don't think privacy should be necessary, but is necessary for all the reasons you point out in your book. People need "privacy" for protection from those who tread into their public lives.
When I grew up homosexuality of any kind was forced into dark corners of privacy because they could not openly be public. I don't think I even conceived that there were any other ways of expressing intimacy, I had never heard of it. Some of my classmates didn't even "know how babies are made" until they made one because it was so repressed that a lot of us really didn't exactly make the connection. We knew we had desires but sex was so private we never really learned exactly what our passions meant or the consequences, but we were told the consequences were bad--we would go the bad place. In the 60's,as I was maturing, everything began to change and we could be public. Women could only challenge bosses who attempted to seduce and gays could be "proud". The return to the public sphere gave people feelings of dignity, dignity of individuals could challenge those who might try to control their behavior or demand their submission. It gave rise to a threat, or a perceived threat, to those who might believe they were entitled to all of the dignity, and all of the authority. At first, when workers' rights began becoming suppressed, people could still publicly proclaim certain rights of dignity, choosing an abortion or not; attending a gay pride march.
Now I'm not overly concerned about "maga followers" because, as you pointed out, they are being algorithmically programmed to follow. What does concern me though, is the megaphones that are in the hands of those who are leading the charge away from "democracy". Because you only have to look at history to know that the majority cannot prevent a coterie of oligarchs successfully overthrowing a government. I'm quite sure in the first civilized grain governments there was no majority consensus that they wanted to be enslaved and provide food for the leaders. And I fear that what everyone is misunderstanding from the "left" is that the majority will vote to stop the erosion of liberties. If there is enough chaos created by the minority, the majority will vote to end the chaos, and ironically, history has repeatedly shown, ends up being blamed not by the creators of those who create it, but on those who don't end it. Therein becomes my problem. How do you then end the chaos without exercising authoritarianism against the chaos? Authoritarians thrive by making people need to retreat to being private, as you illustrate with your story about your trip to Singapore.
It is playing into the hands of those who are attempting to shut people out of the public sphere by complaining about taking away the rights of privacy. To accept others we must embrace them publicly, and shut us up, out of fear against being exposed.If I fear someone will steal my money, my identity, my thoughts, or whatever, then I must retreat back to my private self and rescind from my public participation. Privacy becomes necessary only when our openly public identities become threatened.
Safety and security in America has never been---we are simply delusional. I could go on and on about the pretty stories we tell compared to the reality, but I won't bore you or myself.
Society has come a long way concerning the LGBTQ+ issues, and we are much farther along with racial equality. Will we ever get it right? Never, because the religious and hateful will always be with us. At least we are at the stage where we can call them out. It's really easy because they are loud and proud of their MAGA attitudes.
So that's what we do too. We need to be loud and proud about these issues and those folks in our families and lives. We let the right-wing and religious zealots know who we stand by. We pass the necessary laws and vote for the people that will make and enforce them. We take care of each other and work on everyone's mental health together.
Yes! Hitler used FEAR-mongering to cover up his own sick predilections. The Southern White man used FEAR-mongering to cover up their own sick predilections; how many times did a Southern white mob Lynch a young black man for allegedly raping a young white girl? Who raped her? The White guy! Best defense is an offense. Fast forward to DeSantis and his crew; DeSantis taught at a wealthy private high school in Rome, GA where he partied with underage students, none of whom would tell The NY Times their stories (as adults) for fear of repercussions. DeSantis directly supervised Navy personnel who... yup, shoved garden hoses into rectums of detainees, anally raping them, and pouring Ensure into their rectums under the excuse of 'rectal feeding'. Just the chip of the tip of the iceberg on the sexual abuse and perversion perpetrated on detainees at Guantanamo. DeSantis hates Disney (he got married there!) and hates Queer people, Black and Brown people.... And DeSantis is just one of many - Jordon, MTG (chick as issues), Trump and all his Epstein Cabal buddies, Thomas, Alito.... Best defense is an offense.
Another spot-on essay, Thom. Thank you.
"The vast majority of Americans just want peace." Well, perhaps most Americans want peace, but I don't think is is a "vast majority." The MAGA (Confederacy rebranded) does not want peace; all its noise and its media outlets are focused on war drum beating, using metaphors of conflict. Everything from their rhetoric that liberals are trying to force them to be gay, get abortions, and destroy Christianity, to their Christmas cards showing their families armed with assault-style weapons, to their AR-15 pins. One "pastor" (no training, background checks or honesty required) came out recently and said men are losing their testosterone because of birth control pills in the water supply, signaling their next goal of continuing to strip rights from women and their families by banning birth control. They've been pretty open about this goal.
They don't want peace; they want war, which is why they've armed themselves to the teeth.
Thank you! Finally a diagnosis for so many of us, feeling overwhelmed, often helpless and depressed, even though we may be active voters, activists and working for Democracy. Weathering. Started for me when TFG, trump was elected and escalated daily until what felt like a culmination on January 6. That day, while watching the Televised political show, next door to my attached condominium, a beat-up pickup drove up with a Trump flag, confederate flag and a string noose hanging from the tail end. The driver stayed for months. Polite and cleancut. In our community only American flags are allowed to be displayed on the building. No rule about what is displayed from a vehicle. I won’t describe the next months, but even after he moved on, the terror and angst had become permanent residents. I’m active socially and politically, especially in Children’s and women’s Rights, but this daily assault has moved in. Permanently? I hope not. Weathering is real. And I already would never wear my star of david necklace identification as a Jewish person, in our downtown mainstreet, in my Northern California small town. I’m not paranoid, but I am cautious.
I think your headline as it relates to the body of your article is not entirely accurate. While the Republican campaign against health care access for transgender youth is appalling and I'm sure exhausting for their parents, the general lack of access to health care and the downward spiral of the health care system since the ACA was implemented is exhausting my patients (and me) to no end. I am exhausted by the division fomented by a media, including you Thom, that preaches to its choir in order to maintain viewership and revenue rather than encouraging the non-partisan, unbiased critical thinking that is necessary to unite people to overcome a political system that is killing us on both sides of the aisle. The Democrats are doing awful things to immigrants and furthering the militarization of our country and the world with a nationalistic fervor that is justified by a petrifying fear of Putin and China, while the former has invaded one sovereign nation, that latter none and we have invaded, bombed and subverted democracy in at least 20 over the past 30 years. So yes, I am exhausted by the impetus to prop up imperialist corporatist leaders whose terrible judgment has been proven time and time again, as if I am supposed to be working for Joe Biden instead of vice versa. Democrats have failed to protect us time and time again (see Obama's lies about passing legislation to codify Roe V Wade and his failure to do so when he had a supermajority) and yet all liberals can do is blame Republicans with your help and to no avail. Exhausting indeed.
Thank you! Finally a diagnosis for so many of us, feeling overwhelmed, often helpless and depressed, even though we may be active voters, activists and working for Democracy. Weathering. Started for me when TFG, trump was elected and escalated daily until what felt like a culmination on January 6. That day, while watching the Televised political show, next door to my attached condominium, a beat-up pickup drove up with a Trump flag, confederate flag and a string noose hanging from the tail end. The driver stayed for months. Polite and cleancut. In our community only American flags are allowed to be displayed on the building. No rule about what is displayed from a vehicle. I won’t describe the next months, but even after he moved on, the terror and angst had become permanent residents. I’m active socially and politically, especially in Children’s and women’s Rights, but this daily assault has moved in. Permanently? I hope not. Weathering is real. And I already would never wear my star of david necklace identification as a Jewish person, in our downtown mainstreet, in my Northern California small town. I’m not paranoid, but I am cautious. Add all that to the Pandemic and its isolation and controversy and we have the perfect storm.
LIKE (1)
Nice reference to Jim there at the end, thanks.
The only way to deal with an abuser is to cut them out of your life. I think it's becoming clear we need to decentralize the government and go back to a city-state system where cities govern themselves. 80% of the population lives in cities and the 100 most populous cities are largely Democrat. I'm sure of the ones that aren't will have a more balanced political outcome. It will be the rural areas where this nonsense will be sequestered. And even then it will be too toxic for women to want to stay and raise families.
This is what the rich white rePUGliCONs want...CHAOS. The maggots who support these 💩’s think hey if these white guys can do it, I can do! Since media is owned by rich white rePUGliCONs who are mentally ill, they don’t care about America!
The Republican representtive of my new gerrymandered state District 69 is Jody Barrett who got in trouble with his racist, misogynistic party boys in TN State House. They accuse him of making them look bad by voting not to kick out the white woman of the TN3. "She didn't do anything wrong.' he told them. But, then, neither did the 2 young black representatives he voted to remove from his club. Them boys was uppity, ya' know. Gloria couldn't be uppity if she worked at it. She's just a compassionate, tough 60 year old white woman who gives her all to serve the people in her district-- Just as the 2 black representatives work to serve the people in their districts. OK, all 3 offended the decorum of the TN House, but that House decorum offends me very much. That decorum is killing our kids. Is killing us all. I think it is time for Tennesseans to fire these representatives who are more concerned for decorum than responsibly serving their constituents.
Well, sure. What do we do. We ask ourselves, and we tell ourselves. This is terrible. We are exhausted.
Thom, today's report is spot on alright.
But asking what do we do? That is the hard nut, is it not?
I think. We are all exhausted from hearing the same heartaches by degrees eay in, day out, week in, week out, and on and on. With no future that seems to tell us, what do we do.
We need strength. We need strategy. We need resolve that points us, bends toward justice, but with clarity, not despair.
Here is one idea. How can we win and help to repair those broken souls who are now so full of this poison that so many have become our enemies?
We must infiltrate. We must be willing to do things that run against our own peaceful natures.
At some point I fear that this will not even be possible.
But clearly whatever we should be doing, we are not getting very far.
Another Tucker will pop up soon enough. And we'll have another target to point at. But with only blanks in our guns.
One phrase I say, "Get out from under the bed!!!" You have to show your face.
Have you heard about...
This poor transgender woman Montana legislator. She is exiled from the chamber to represent her constituents. Seated outside in the hall, listening. And a group of old lady Republicans have actually chosen to take all of the chairs so she can have no place to even sit.
What should we do?
What can we do?
Sick, sick, sick. poisoned by falsehearted righteousness..
Remember Bruce Cockburn's song in the 1980s, about the Nicaraguans?
"If I had a rocket launcher." New lyrics are needed to that powerful "for the people" song.
It is not the blowhards on right wing hate radio, it is "comedians" like Bill Maher and Chapelle.
I surrounded comedieans with"air quotes" because comedians punch up,not down, and Maher and Chapelle punch down, and that is the style of fascist comedians.
Maher describes himself as a libertarian, but as my wife says, her first husband was a libertarian, is that a libertarian is a Republican who smokes weed, and wants to eliminate taxes.
Libertarians are not progressive, the movement was founded by the Koch Brothers and David Koch ran for President in1984
Every Friday show of Bill Maher finds him having a guest or panelists on that support his transphobia, he claims that he isn't but he is obsessed with trans women (not men) maybe because he is "friends" with Ann Coulter who some say was born Alan.
He is also obsessed with masks and vaccines, as he is overly obsessed with something he calls woke, or cancel culture.
His obsession with masking, even if it is prophylactic and voluntary (as in myself, a 84 year old with a compromised immune system (cancer treatments), and"cancel culture" are motivated because both have resulted in a monetary loss, and probably more important, a loss in an opportunity to receive the adulation he so desperately needs.
When one guest pointed out that he doesn't complain about the cancel culture of the south and Desantis, his response was "it doesn't affect me"
His take down of Trump is nothing more than infighting between narcissists.
“The vast majority of Americans just want peace.”
“And if enough of us turn out at the polls in 18 months, we may be able to pull it off.”
But, when does hoping against hope and indulging in obsessive optimism become self-sabotage? Does buying a little time substitute for taking meaningful action, or does it mean giving fascism more time to spread and grow its roots and branches?
Knowledge is power; but only if it is consciously and purposefully acknowledged and only if put to use in taking power from those who have illegitimate power and authority or from those who use their power and authority illegitimately. It is not enough to merely know that Kevin McCarthy, MTG, Gym Jordan, Mitch McConnell, and the other hate and fear mongers are power hungry, delusional, corrupt, and anti-American. They will practice their corrosive politics and propagandizing until they are stopped by activists and advocates for the people who are aware of the danger they pose and who take effective action to dethrone them.
However, voters in barely adequate numbers who are informed can temporarily put a crimp in the style of such miscreants and send them home from Congress. If they are just puppets, they will be replaced by others like them and the problems they bring will come back again and again.
There must be dramatic, comprehensive, and holistic systemic change from the bottom up if democracy is to be preserved and enhanced. Changing the names or associations of malefactors and corrupt leaders will not suffice. The changes that are necessary for meaningful progress must happen among the people, who after all were responsible for giving unwarranted power and influence to those who could not be trusted.
The unpleasant questions must be asked relative to how the people have been misled or improperly educated for making our democracy function adequately, and the unpopular answers must not be dodged because they might offend certain people or because they may challenge certain universal false beliefs and illusions. The buck actually stops with ‘we the people’ and not with the place-fillers.
The moment of truth has arrived. The time for excuses, diversions, mythology, and polite evasions has long since passed. Our schools have not lived up to their promises and reputation. Our citizens are not being given the most fundamental opportunities to learn citizenship, the most basic skills for discretion and “critical thinking”, or the proper grounding and experience in what living in a free and fair society necessarily entails. The result has been a generations-long slide towards authoritarianism, plutocracy, oligarchy, and theocracy. Now, we are witnessing naked fascism.
I was born an optimist. I have remained an inveterate optimist for 80 years. But the silly kind of Polly Anna encouragement that educators foist on students to try to motivate them to take up fights which they shied away from when they had their chance to work to rectify a deplorable situation will not cut it. I am very reluctant to borrow cheer from someone who is so deluded about our failing school paradigm that he actually gives it a rating of AAA+. In what universe? Where is the solid empirical evidence documenting that fact? It’s all smoke and mirrors and failing to recognize that is just our first collective mistake.
According to Plato, all men desire good. I would change that to, "All people in their right mind desire good". It is pretty obvious that the mega crowd do not desire boredom. They have a need to keep being distracted from truth and reality. Most shallow thinkers watch a lot of sports, or they fight with their relatives or spouses or so-called friends constantly, just as long as they are distracted they are happier. We need to distract them, I suggest we buy them some toys and treat them like toddlers. Toys in the form of motorcycles, race cars, or anything else that distracts their shallow minds. After all humans were born on Earth to have fun not to torture each other. The government needs to provide fun for these sadists. Even if it means bringing back the Roman Colosseums. The mega mind cannot connect the dots properly. It appears when children get exposed to phony or fake religion it cripples them for life.
Earlier today, I listened to your audio-book on privacy, "The Hidden History of Big Brother". I have a slightly different take on privacy, which I believe is relevant to your column today. I don't think "privacy" is by nature a phenomenon of human culture, people lived and worked together in common (hunter-gatherers), and even afterwards in smaller villages when settling. There was little need for privacy, in fact it could be detrimental to the community's survival if individuals withdrew "privately". But even after communities began to grow into kingdoms and the individuals involved in doing work, slaves, peasants, servants were never granted privacy, only the lords or lieutenants, etc. The idea of privacy is essentially attached to property, and until recent post-20th century culture was it ever entrusted to the non-elite. But as you point out, that grant was always attached to govt, and business trying to "spy" on those who they now might have granted certain rights of privacy too. My point being I don't think privacy should be necessary, but is necessary for all the reasons you point out in your book. People need "privacy" for protection from those who tread into their public lives.
When I grew up homosexuality of any kind was forced into dark corners of privacy because they could not openly be public. I don't think I even conceived that there were any other ways of expressing intimacy, I had never heard of it. Some of my classmates didn't even "know how babies are made" until they made one because it was so repressed that a lot of us really didn't exactly make the connection. We knew we had desires but sex was so private we never really learned exactly what our passions meant or the consequences, but we were told the consequences were bad--we would go the bad place. In the 60's,as I was maturing, everything began to change and we could be public. Women could only challenge bosses who attempted to seduce and gays could be "proud". The return to the public sphere gave people feelings of dignity, dignity of individuals could challenge those who might try to control their behavior or demand their submission. It gave rise to a threat, or a perceived threat, to those who might believe they were entitled to all of the dignity, and all of the authority. At first, when workers' rights began becoming suppressed, people could still publicly proclaim certain rights of dignity, choosing an abortion or not; attending a gay pride march.
Now I'm not overly concerned about "maga followers" because, as you pointed out, they are being algorithmically programmed to follow. What does concern me though, is the megaphones that are in the hands of those who are leading the charge away from "democracy". Because you only have to look at history to know that the majority cannot prevent a coterie of oligarchs successfully overthrowing a government. I'm quite sure in the first civilized grain governments there was no majority consensus that they wanted to be enslaved and provide food for the leaders. And I fear that what everyone is misunderstanding from the "left" is that the majority will vote to stop the erosion of liberties. If there is enough chaos created by the minority, the majority will vote to end the chaos, and ironically, history has repeatedly shown, ends up being blamed not by the creators of those who create it, but on those who don't end it. Therein becomes my problem. How do you then end the chaos without exercising authoritarianism against the chaos? Authoritarians thrive by making people need to retreat to being private, as you illustrate with your story about your trip to Singapore.
It is playing into the hands of those who are attempting to shut people out of the public sphere by complaining about taking away the rights of privacy. To accept others we must embrace them publicly, and shut us up, out of fear against being exposed.If I fear someone will steal my money, my identity, my thoughts, or whatever, then I must retreat back to my private self and rescind from my public participation. Privacy becomes necessary only when our openly public identities become threatened.
Safety and security in America has never been---we are simply delusional. I could go on and on about the pretty stories we tell compared to the reality, but I won't bore you or myself.
Society has come a long way concerning the LGBTQ+ issues, and we are much farther along with racial equality. Will we ever get it right? Never, because the religious and hateful will always be with us. At least we are at the stage where we can call them out. It's really easy because they are loud and proud of their MAGA attitudes.
So that's what we do too. We need to be loud and proud about these issues and those folks in our families and lives. We let the right-wing and religious zealots know who we stand by. We pass the necessary laws and vote for the people that will make and enforce them. We take care of each other and work on everyone's mental health together.
Yes! Hitler used FEAR-mongering to cover up his own sick predilections. The Southern White man used FEAR-mongering to cover up their own sick predilections; how many times did a Southern white mob Lynch a young black man for allegedly raping a young white girl? Who raped her? The White guy! Best defense is an offense. Fast forward to DeSantis and his crew; DeSantis taught at a wealthy private high school in Rome, GA where he partied with underage students, none of whom would tell The NY Times their stories (as adults) for fear of repercussions. DeSantis directly supervised Navy personnel who... yup, shoved garden hoses into rectums of detainees, anally raping them, and pouring Ensure into their rectums under the excuse of 'rectal feeding'. Just the chip of the tip of the iceberg on the sexual abuse and perversion perpetrated on detainees at Guantanamo. DeSantis hates Disney (he got married there!) and hates Queer people, Black and Brown people.... And DeSantis is just one of many - Jordon, MTG (chick as issues), Trump and all his Epstein Cabal buddies, Thomas, Alito.... Best defense is an offense.