The morbidly rich have taken over politics, nobody trusts anybody, violence is up, gun sales have exploded & our nation experienced its first armed assault from traitors within since the Civil War
This is pretty accurate for a brief summary. Obviously there are cross-currents but the thrust has been on a downward spiral, with the rot visible for all to see, not that so many wanted to look closely at it. Sometimes I wonder if we're in a brief interregnum between the Age of Great Powers and a more chaotic period of regional ones. Since mid-century we've see the British, French and Soviet empires vanish, and there's really no reason why the American one won't too, though in this case we seems to be committing suicide. And really, how much does the U.S. even exist for the average citizen? They use the money, maybe travel on a passport, salute the flag, sing meaningless songs, perhaps vote and often have a very jumbled idea of history. Like most times and places people are involved in their local issues and lives. But somewhat unlike the past the majority of folks probably feel quite isolated and ignored by the national government. There might not have been any sharp break in the bond such as occurred with Russia's 1905 Bloody Sunday massacre by the czar's troops or India's 1919 Amritsar slaughter by the British. But the ties are just fading away. And maybe that's what those at the top really want.
How would David Brooks respond to this rant? For him to acknowledge its accuracy means he would have to concede that he’s been part of the problem, and conservatives tend to be bad at accepting inconvenient truths (hence his confusion as to why these horrible things are happening). The decision-making of our elected and appointed officials is severely tainted by the Supreme Court spawned legal fictions like money is speech, corporations are people, and America no longer needs the protections of the Voting Rights Act. Our through-the-looking-glass “democratic” processes allow the oligarchs to con poorly educated Americans by manipulating them with racism as well as the other otherisms, abortion, and guns. With these classic wedge issues, the oligarchs can get enough Manchin-like rent boys elected to persist in doing things adverse to our rights and our communities’ interests.
Finally, what would the Lincoln Project Republicans think about the rant? I believe that they would continue to deny the truths found in Thom’s bulleted history of America’s kleptocratic assholes, regardless of the facts and evidence that proves that they, too, are not part of the solution, even if they do produce clever ads that trash Trump.
Money is what keeps the rightwing machine running. Walking corpses like McConnell want the country to backslide into their antebellum fantasy world that is free of "radicalism." And by "radicalism" he means any people not fully subscribed to the Southern Baptist ideology of God electing his leaders based on their wealth.
This is pretty accurate for a brief summary. Obviously there are cross-currents but the thrust has been on a downward spiral, with the rot visible for all to see, not that so many wanted to look closely at it. Sometimes I wonder if we're in a brief interregnum between the Age of Great Powers and a more chaotic period of regional ones. Since mid-century we've see the British, French and Soviet empires vanish, and there's really no reason why the American one won't too, though in this case we seems to be committing suicide. And really, how much does the U.S. even exist for the average citizen? They use the money, maybe travel on a passport, salute the flag, sing meaningless songs, perhaps vote and often have a very jumbled idea of history. Like most times and places people are involved in their local issues and lives. But somewhat unlike the past the majority of folks probably feel quite isolated and ignored by the national government. There might not have been any sharp break in the bond such as occurred with Russia's 1905 Bloody Sunday massacre by the czar's troops or India's 1919 Amritsar slaughter by the British. But the ties are just fading away. And maybe that's what those at the top really want.
I love it when someone connects the dots in clear language! Thanks!
I hope your non-subscribers are getting the message, too, somehow.
Thank you for this clear and jolting summary of how we got to this unthinkable low point as a nation.
How would David Brooks respond to this rant? For him to acknowledge its accuracy means he would have to concede that he’s been part of the problem, and conservatives tend to be bad at accepting inconvenient truths (hence his confusion as to why these horrible things are happening). The decision-making of our elected and appointed officials is severely tainted by the Supreme Court spawned legal fictions like money is speech, corporations are people, and America no longer needs the protections of the Voting Rights Act. Our through-the-looking-glass “democratic” processes allow the oligarchs to con poorly educated Americans by manipulating them with racism as well as the other otherisms, abortion, and guns. With these classic wedge issues, the oligarchs can get enough Manchin-like rent boys elected to persist in doing things adverse to our rights and our communities’ interests.
Finally, what would the Lincoln Project Republicans think about the rant? I believe that they would continue to deny the truths found in Thom’s bulleted history of America’s kleptocratic assholes, regardless of the facts and evidence that proves that they, too, are not part of the solution, even if they do produce clever ads that trash Trump.
Money is what keeps the rightwing machine running. Walking corpses like McConnell want the country to backslide into their antebellum fantasy world that is free of "radicalism." And by "radicalism" he means any people not fully subscribed to the Southern Baptist ideology of God electing his leaders based on their wealth.