It’s probably beyond the power of human nature to prevent this from happening again, but we must not resign ourselves to another authoritarian movement now rising to power in America. Get active!
Thom Hartmann, you are an accent to life! I thank the stars above for your being a part of the world and at the same time as me! Love and light, elevated good man!
Hitler, of course, was just part of the endless stream of authoritarians going back to the archetype of Cain and Abel, but the man who put him in power, Carl Schmitt, lived on and continued to write books. He was Hitler's political architect.
Back in the '70s, I started noticing a disturbing trend. I traced it back and followed from where I was then. More and more Republicans had become "civic-minded" and run for office in their local PTAs. Then it was town councils, city councils, county boards of supervisors and when I noticed something was not right, the majority of state legislatures were Republican, where gerrymandering cemented their gains. There was nothing to alarm anybody, no outrages to disturb the populace. This was Carl Schmitt's plan in operation, and it had started in the '60s. I have Republican friends who have read all of Schmitt's books and think they are wonderful, so I assume many Republicans do, as well as, obviously, the political shapers such as the Koch brothers.
Going forward, Ronald Reagan was the first fully-ripened fruit of their evil tree, as has every subsequent Republican president who sat in the White House, as well as one Democrat - Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush's best friend. Donald Trump was simply the latest, and he just kind of slipped and fell into it.
At this point, everything has been set up just as Carl Schmitt layed it out. If you look at the numbers, those who are threats are many and wide spread, not just in a few states, not even just in the southern states.
Yes, be active. Be very active, to plagarize a movie. I am deeply concerned about the mid-term elections. If they do not go well, I do not hold much hope for our democracy. And we can thank Carl Schmitt and those who learned from him.
Do you think the guy who threw his tantrum at the airport needs a "hug" or maybe some other outlet for his testosterone? Oh hell I am just going to say it, a lot of people need to get laid.
For some, human cruelty knows no bounds; it never has. Then there are those who are not neurologically wired to adapt or change. They learn when something lands on their doorstep. We have to evolve without their cooperation.
The more you try to control the authoritarians, the more you become them. We do need to fight their ideology with voting, laws, and shaming. "Canceling" is criticized but banishment is the oldest tactic in the world. It's the ultimate time-out.
There are many reasons for anti-vaxers. Most of us have one we love or work with, Maybe we could plant a seed by saying "If you change your mind, it's really easy to get a FREE shot in this location.".
Thanks for providing grist for the information mill that is worth promoting.
As you say, authoritarianism has "played a huge role throughout the centuries of our history." Riane Eisler and Douglas P. Fry have written about its role over the milenia of humankind in Nurturing Our Humanity - How Domination and Partnership Shape Our Brains, Lives, and Future, https://global.oup.com/academic/product/nurturing-our-humanity-9780190935726. John Dean and Professor Robert Altemeyer have detailed dominance of right-wing authoritarians (RWA) in the Republican Party in two books: Conservatives Without Conscience and Authoritarian Nightmare, https://www.mhpbooks.com/books/authoritarian-nightmare/. I've been posting about this threat since 2005 in my blog subtitled Monitoring the Growth of American Authoritarianism, https://the-wawg-blog.org/author/admin/.
As for what to do about it, I suggest:
- Prosecuting their "social dominator" leaders for treason,
- Developing a modern Fairness Doctrine to disable the media that are enabling and emboldening the RWA followers,
- Democratizing the workplace to disempower the oligarchs and stop them from buying our political system, as Richard Wolff suggests,
Thom, yesterday I sent the email version of this fine rant to several friends and one responded with this:
Dave.....Dave my friend,
Trump shouldn’t be taking up space in your head or your heart anymore.....let him go.
Just look at each of the claims raised in this article [your Daily Rant]...the subjugation and torture of women, not allowing legal voting, putting teachers lives at risk from Covid, climate change Armageddon....and tell me specifically how Trump, or anyone else for that matter, is doing this.
You being a bright and thoughtful guy, I expect you won’t just send me back a bunch of propaganda....specifics please. Thank you!
Bob
I replied to Bob with this:
Bob,
Before we engage in another political discussion, I think we first need to agree on our government’s purpose. I believe that the Preamble to the Constitution describes that purpose and Alexander Hamilton gave us a great summary of it when he said that with the Constitution they were going to abolish factions and unite for the general welfare. I would contemporize his quote and propose the purpose of our government is to abolish the oligarchs (the evilest of the factions), and unite for the general welfare using best practice-based solutions. That means our government should work with our citizens to build and manage a role model public education system, a role model healthcare system, and role model management of all of our other commons (like our parks, military, courts and infrastructures). Please let me know if you have a pithy and Constitutionally accurate description of what our government should do. And not do.
Talking about religious fever. Is the anti mask movement a religious freedom cult. A Colorado County asked for email input to its mask decisions. They got 18472 responses, which seems high considering the normal response rate. Only 6310 responses were considered valid. IP adresses were checked. "Of the disqualified responses, 1,055 were sent from IP addresses outside the state of Colorado or outside the United States, while 10,961 came from IP addresses that submitted two or more responses.One single IP address sent nearly 6,800 responses. Another IP address submitted about 2,300, according to a summary presented to the board."
Thom Hartmann, you are an accent to life! I thank the stars above for your being a part of the world and at the same time as me! Love and light, elevated good man!
Xoxo, Frances in Cottage Grove, WI
Hitler, of course, was just part of the endless stream of authoritarians going back to the archetype of Cain and Abel, but the man who put him in power, Carl Schmitt, lived on and continued to write books. He was Hitler's political architect.
Back in the '70s, I started noticing a disturbing trend. I traced it back and followed from where I was then. More and more Republicans had become "civic-minded" and run for office in their local PTAs. Then it was town councils, city councils, county boards of supervisors and when I noticed something was not right, the majority of state legislatures were Republican, where gerrymandering cemented their gains. There was nothing to alarm anybody, no outrages to disturb the populace. This was Carl Schmitt's plan in operation, and it had started in the '60s. I have Republican friends who have read all of Schmitt's books and think they are wonderful, so I assume many Republicans do, as well as, obviously, the political shapers such as the Koch brothers.
Going forward, Ronald Reagan was the first fully-ripened fruit of their evil tree, as has every subsequent Republican president who sat in the White House, as well as one Democrat - Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush's best friend. Donald Trump was simply the latest, and he just kind of slipped and fell into it.
At this point, everything has been set up just as Carl Schmitt layed it out. If you look at the numbers, those who are threats are many and wide spread, not just in a few states, not even just in the southern states.
Yes, be active. Be very active, to plagarize a movie. I am deeply concerned about the mid-term elections. If they do not go well, I do not hold much hope for our democracy. And we can thank Carl Schmitt and those who learned from him.
Do you think the guy who threw his tantrum at the airport needs a "hug" or maybe some other outlet for his testosterone? Oh hell I am just going to say it, a lot of people need to get laid.
For some, human cruelty knows no bounds; it never has. Then there are those who are not neurologically wired to adapt or change. They learn when something lands on their doorstep. We have to evolve without their cooperation.
The more you try to control the authoritarians, the more you become them. We do need to fight their ideology with voting, laws, and shaming. "Canceling" is criticized but banishment is the oldest tactic in the world. It's the ultimate time-out.
There are many reasons for anti-vaxers. Most of us have one we love or work with, Maybe we could plant a seed by saying "If you change your mind, it's really easy to get a FREE shot in this location.".
Hi Thom,
Thanks for providing grist for the information mill that is worth promoting.
As you say, authoritarianism has "played a huge role throughout the centuries of our history." Riane Eisler and Douglas P. Fry have written about its role over the milenia of humankind in Nurturing Our Humanity - How Domination and Partnership Shape Our Brains, Lives, and Future, https://global.oup.com/academic/product/nurturing-our-humanity-9780190935726. John Dean and Professor Robert Altemeyer have detailed dominance of right-wing authoritarians (RWA) in the Republican Party in two books: Conservatives Without Conscience and Authoritarian Nightmare, https://www.mhpbooks.com/books/authoritarian-nightmare/. I've been posting about this threat since 2005 in my blog subtitled Monitoring the Growth of American Authoritarianism, https://the-wawg-blog.org/author/admin/.
As for what to do about it, I suggest:
- Prosecuting their "social dominator" leaders for treason,
- Developing a modern Fairness Doctrine to disable the media that are enabling and emboldening the RWA followers,
- Democratizing the workplace to disempower the oligarchs and stop them from buying our political system, as Richard Wolff suggests,
- Removing the profit motive from the news room,
- Ending moneyed speech, and
- Ending personhood for corporations.
Some of them DO deny that the Earth revolves around the sun.
Thom, yesterday I sent the email version of this fine rant to several friends and one responded with this:
Dave.....Dave my friend,
Trump shouldn’t be taking up space in your head or your heart anymore.....let him go.
Just look at each of the claims raised in this article [your Daily Rant]...the subjugation and torture of women, not allowing legal voting, putting teachers lives at risk from Covid, climate change Armageddon....and tell me specifically how Trump, or anyone else for that matter, is doing this.
You being a bright and thoughtful guy, I expect you won’t just send me back a bunch of propaganda....specifics please. Thank you!
Bob
I replied to Bob with this:
Bob,
Before we engage in another political discussion, I think we first need to agree on our government’s purpose. I believe that the Preamble to the Constitution describes that purpose and Alexander Hamilton gave us a great summary of it when he said that with the Constitution they were going to abolish factions and unite for the general welfare. I would contemporize his quote and propose the purpose of our government is to abolish the oligarchs (the evilest of the factions), and unite for the general welfare using best practice-based solutions. That means our government should work with our citizens to build and manage a role model public education system, a role model healthcare system, and role model management of all of our other commons (like our parks, military, courts and infrastructures). Please let me know if you have a pithy and Constitutionally accurate description of what our government should do. And not do.
Thanks,
Dave
Talking about religious fever. Is the anti mask movement a religious freedom cult. A Colorado County asked for email input to its mask decisions. They got 18472 responses, which seems high considering the normal response rate. Only 6310 responses were considered valid. IP adresses were checked. "Of the disqualified responses, 1,055 were sent from IP addresses outside the state of Colorado or outside the United States, while 10,961 came from IP addresses that submitted two or more responses.One single IP address sent nearly 6,800 responses. Another IP address submitted about 2,300, according to a summary presented to the board."
https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/local-politics/arapahoe-county-opt-out-mask-mandate-tri-county-health/73-0a8024bd-8194-4801-9e99-443edf31e6e8