A historian’s alarm: when these twelve familiar steps appear in a nation, the result is often irreversible—unless citizens rise up and demand otherwise…
I say non violent "stand Up" or "Rise Up" means boycott corporations as much as possible like Disney loosing subscriptions bc Kimmel firing made them reverse their decision. What the public needs is more information about corporations to boycott. Even Rogan believes in Free Speech, IMHO "fussing" over Kimmel in America was the right thing to do, not a "petty issue". In the big picture it was where the American public found a cause and used their purchase power to fight back. Thus protecting FREE SPEECH. IMHO Rogan has his own agenda.
Perhaps we should explore ways that it does. The more resistance to them becomes increasingly universal, the more they become the pariahs of society. Even golden bubbles can be popped.
Here is what is going on in Donald Trump’s America:
On Tuesday, just before dawn, federal agents rappelled from a Black Hawk helicopter onto the rooftops of residential buildings in Chicago. They stormed an apartment building without warrants, splintered doors and yanked families from their beds. Naked children watched as agents dragged their parents into the hallway and zip-tied their hands. U.S. citizens were detained alongside immigrants, instructed to “wait until we look you up.” Hours later, the building’s residents were left shaken, humiliated, and terrified. One man, who later came home from work to find all his electronics and furniture missing, summed it up bluntly: “I feel defeated.”
And the fact that Hegseth and Trump have taken full control of the military, declared war on it's citizens and told the assembled generals (who didn't walk out and thus submitted) that the cities are training grounds.
This is a mxed war, a war of the government against the people.
Snopes only covers stuff that has cooked for awhile, not breaking news. And frankly I don't accept Snopes as 100% reliable, no such animal exists, everything is tainted by beliefs, predisposition
Attack, attack, attack: Relentlessly go on the offensive against opponents.
Admit nothing, deny everything: Never concede any wrongdoing.
Claim victory and never admit defeat: Always declare a win, no matter the circumstances.
Donald is much more rudimentary than the twelve steps, but the people that paved his way figured out the twelve steps decades ago. He and his Cult are the useful regressive tools for the oligarchs and technocrats that mean to own us.
Thom has given us the key, ".... democracy can fall into tyranny if its citizens grow cynical, give up, or look away.".
Representative Dean just told the Speaker that the President is "unwell". That conversation was all over the news, MSM and the internet. Johnson tried to equivocate. He didn't defend Dear Leader. I can't wait to see what happens to both of them. I won't be sitting around in the meantime. See you in the streets.
I'd really like to know who's calling the shots on a daily (hourly?) basis. Russell Vought seems to be piloting the shutdown, but what about everything else? The one thing clear to me is that trump is too, stupid, too unfocused, too preoccupied with personal aggrandizement to be the the ship of state's helmsman.
You wrote, Thom: "ext, we’d want to immiserate as many Americans as possible, creating a huge pool of mostly white men who are pissed off because they’d been left behind economically and feel locked out of the American Dream."
I differ it is not economics Thom, the diehard MAGAts and Trumphumpers are doing well economically, it is the culture war Thom. The Incel and Viagra crowd. Male grievance, they are pissed because they lost the power to dominate and control women. The first clue is their drive to criminalize abortion and to prohibit the sale of Misefprone. This also underpins book banning, homo and trans phobia, , xenophobia and racism.
None of those that assaulted the Capitol on Jan 6th were economically deprived, it cost money to travel to DC, stay in a hotel and eat.
I would argue, it's both. There were a lot of pissed off white male voters, maybe they didn't go to DC on Jan 6, but there had to be a lot of them among the 77 million who voted for him. Here is an interesting analysis from Paul Krugman about men, women and jobs.
Definitely both, but the emotional fanatics are the pissed off while male voters.
You can hardly turn on the TV when you hear some Mom or Young male, and dolts like Bill Maher whining about the poor lost, disempowered young male
They are the driver of MAGA, persons who feel economically pinched are fellow travelers, but hanging on long enough and they become part of the grievance cult.
Maslow's hierarchy of needs, while not "Bible" are explanatory, even those who feel economically pinched, still have a cell phone, a computer, stream, a place to lay their head at night that is dry and warm, and food to eat. They have met the lowest level of the the pyramid, and then some, then come sexual needs .
It's as if Putin and Orban unlocked the Ghostbusters' "Containment Unit" and every type of metaphorical ghost (think The Traitor Robert E. Lee), zombie, and monster, has been released in America.
If we believe the many nations of this land are stronger together as One Nation, then we better start defending that belief at every level. From our personal beliefs and actions; to our local and state politics ; and taking back the federal government from truly tedious and yet brutally inhumane people. One Nation of by and for the people. For all of the people who grace its shores, for the visitors, for all who make up its intricate web of humankind meant to stand as a beacon to our better angels. We don’t have to be perfect, just human. All of us, every One is human and worthy and precious.
I’m having difficulty placing what step a phenomenon that is occurring in rural communities fits. Going back 50 or more years rural counties banded together to make regional libraries. Pooled resources made these libraries excellent resources comparable to larger cities facilities. Now the these counties are breaking up the regional libraries because they doing what libraries do and this is too woke.
A tragedy. There is a war on education and the homeless coming from the cruel, ignorant, and religious radical right. They are so far away from Jesus's teachings! The other support comes from tax haters that think $5 is too much to spare.
“The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.” —Marcus Aurelius
And when the storm comes, the indelible dye steps forth.
🪶 The Parable of the Clay Lantern
In a quiet village nestled between two mountains, there lived a potter named Elan. He was known not for his artistry, but for his silence. Each morning, he walked to the river, gathered clay, and shaped lanterns—simple, unadorned, and always hollowed with care.
One day, a storm swept through the valley. The villagers panicked, rushing to protect their homes. But Elan walked calmly to the center of the village and placed one of his lanterns on the wet earth. He lit a small flame inside and sat beside it, unmoved.
A child asked, “Aren’t you afraid?”
Elan replied, “This lantern was shaped in silence. Its walls
remember the rhythm of my breath. The flame inside is not mine—it’s the echo of every morning I chose stillness over fear.”
The storm passed. The lantern remained. And the villagers began to ask Elan for clay—not to make lanterns, but to learn how to shape silence.
Reflection
“Go into yourself and see how deep the place is from which your life flows.” —Rilke
Let this parable be a mirror.
Ask not what you would do in the storm—
Ask what you’ve already shaped in silence.
What reflex lives in your clay?
The courage of the American citizen is being sought today.
We're not dead - metaphorically or literally - until we're dead. Until then, we press on in spite of any odds because that's what all successful life has done and continues to do.
Perhaps we should consider the dumbing down of society. When trump was considering politics as his next scam & dog & pony show he said he would become a Republican because their supporters are stupid, or words to that effect. Second, he came right out & said he loved the uneducated & undereducated. Why, because uneducated & undereducated people are much easier to control. It's not that they are not smart, it's that without the benefit of education it is very hard to develop critical thinking skills. I have to interject here that having an education does not guarantee critical thinking, there are an awful lot of highly educated people that are going along with this crap, though I don't think it's lack of critical thinking. It's using that critical thinking to benefit their desires for wealth, fame, influence & control. We have that in abundance. Look at the cabinet, I'm sure there are quite a few impressive diplomas among that bunch & look how they are using that. Also, a good education does not prohibit falling for scams, lies & manipulation. I think that avoiding much of that comes from common sense. And many uneducated people have an abundance of common sense which helps them avoid the pitfalls that seem to have encompassed so many of our fellow citizens. Sadly many of those citizens are my family members & there is NOT one "dumb" one in the bunch. They also have the benefit of good educations & a wealth of common sense. So, I guess what I'm saying is that we don't know how anyone will act or react in the situation we are faced with now. For people of faith now is the time they pray for those of us that do not follow that route we deal with it in different ways. The important thing is to come together, E Pluris Unum!
That was nicely said. As a person with several degrees I totally agree that education and intelligence, let alone good sense, do not have much to do with each other. But at least in narrow areas solid training can get a person to know accurate information--public health or climate change, for example.
But these days many Americans seem to be listening to those who at least claim to be "rich" and "successful businessmen" rather than genuine experts. I guess it is because they have been conditioned to think of money as the only true measure of success. And in a time of economic uncertainty, following the rich may give one the illusion that they too can make it.
You also have the people who know better but want to get what they can, or are just petty tyrants in their own right and don't care who they are following. Every dictator depends on a big cadre of such workers. And here are your more cynical bureaucrats and police. They simply have turned off a big part of their moral code, if they ever had one. As usual it is easier to get along if you go along, and honestly it does take the courage to lose everything if you oppose the system. Some wake up, but many don't or won't.
And finally you mentioned the Cabinet. I would say at that level it's the morality of The Walking Dead, because there's nothing left inside them. At best there's self-justification without responsibility, success being measured solely by money and power. Perhaps the smartest ones really do have a vision of a dystopian society with themselves on top, and some may be nice to their kids and pets. But to actually understand the harm they are doing...no. Moral (and often scientific) illiterates, they wouldn't be slave traders. But they sure would invest in the companies that did it.
The radical reactionaries in our midst have always pushed this selfish agenda; it's not a recent development. The confounding thing about this is that people keep giving them an audience, and falling for their poisonous pandering. Human history is full of the death and destruction they cause us, and just walk away from. Given the choice between this and a democratic and just society, how do people ever succumb to their perverse persuasion?
One of their main tools being the dividing of the populace into increasingly smaller subgroups, we need to learn how to reverse that process. One of the first hurdles, and a difficult one at that, is to identify areas of common ground with members of the other side, no matter how small or seemingly trivial, and work together to resolve them. I'm not suggesting fawning over them or groveling at their feet. Instead, we should acknowledge that although there are significant differences between us it would be in the best collective interest were we, even temporarily, to put them aside to work together to resolve what we can.
Not all that many years ago we were, in spite of everything else, a group of united states. Of course there were significant differences, competing ideologies, different visions of the future, but we were drawn together by shared beliefs and values. Those beliefs and values were the bedrock that our country was founded upon, out of which our constitution arose. Except for 4 bloody years, we might disagree intensely but there still was that unifying document. Even were our side to be in the minority, we knew that could change with the next biennial election.
We now are faced with a clique that day by day is clearly invested in overthrowing those shared values. When Trump talks about the United States he means his side only; his "We, those opposed to his monarchial ambitions, are transmogrified into "the enemy within". We The People" has become "We, Not You". These United States are no longer united. Trump has, so far, successfully driven a wedge into the heart of us. At least for the moment, his followers aren't the enemy, Trump (and I refer to him as little more than a figurehead) is. Wedges have a point (I know, I know...). That point enters the designated target and breaks its initial resistance. The duller the point the less capable the wedge. We need to blunt it, something that can be done by cooperation.
We don't need to agree, we're not going to agree, on all things with the other side but the more cohesive we become the less effective is the other side. We are dealing with a top-down assault; what we need to build is a bottom-up, grassroots movement.
When the means of communication between the two groups is destroyed, working together is not the answer. Your panacea out of the gate has lost. Today, democrats are behind the 8 ball before they even utter their first claim. Their words are never heard by the other group.
I'm not foolish enough to believe the two groups can work together. We can't really work together with ourselves. What I am suggesting is that there are admittedly small areas where some/ a few of them will be willing to work with us. I am suggesting a (very) slow path forward. I neither propose or believe in a panacea. If we can't, or won't talk to the other side all we will increase is polarization. Nothing could cause the oligarchs more joy.
I agree, no sense in demonizing Schumer, but playing nice isn't going to help.. As Weiss states, we have a coup to stop. The Democrats desperately need to unite, but they need to unify under a banner not yet fleshed out. That unified body needs to include Independent as well. The Republicans love nothing more than to seee a heavily fragmented Democratic Party.
My hair is on fire with the recent news from Salty Politics, ABC, and HCR that helicopters invaded an apt. bldg. on the South Shore. We're way past a slow path that might lead to the present situation. Unfortunately, your thoughts on the situation ha inhabited democratic leadership as tRump since his 1st term in office set out to declare war on America. My proposal was and is to not only peacefully protest, but to have governors in America get organized with a plan to respond. Truth squads ready to respond in real time to the lies coming out of this administration on a daily basis, requesting all lawyers to offer their pro bono services to the people like the South Shore residents. These lawyers have to be ready to defend the American people as they are tied up, thrown to the ground and not seen for a month, or worse sent to CCOT. I am no expert in urban warfare, but an urban warfare expert should have been consulted by our democratic leadership yesterday!
I have no problem with any of this, Eadie. . Still, somewhere down the line dialogue needs to occur. I don't see why our views are somehow mutually exclusive. Indeed yours are critical in order for mine to be viable. If you have been reading the comments here over the last few months you will know how I feel about the current state of the Democratic Party.
To be brief, other than a few notable exceptions, I see a listless group —mainly composed of old men — who have been detached from the electorate for decades; who, when in control of the branches of goverment, have done little to act on their campaign promises; who have stood by as their opponents have repeatedly mocked and belittled them; who have demonstrated neither belief nor passion. I consider this a fight or flight moment. And I don't think it's up to the governors — they're like waiting for a derailed train. I have no doubt it's up to us, the people.
I am not a Democrat nor could I be: I'm somewhere over the leftist horizon from them. However, I also know that the only tool at this time to stop the shattering of our country is the Democratic Party and I see little evidence that it is prepared to do so.
Robert, thank you for expressing your point of view. I do read the comments and some like you in particular, because I respect your viewpoint. Where I differ is the present governors and a 'very' slow path' to encourage a few of them. Newsom and Pritzker have been leading the rest of the governors, and perhaps they will follow. Of course, we need the people, 11 million of them to make a difference. Time is of the essence. If you read Hartmann, we're already over the cliff. I also follow William Farrar's comments, a retired military officer, and he believes things have gone too far and there's no turning back.
Thank you, Eadie. FWIW, William and I frequently share thoughts, with an occasional growl thrown in for good measure.
People don't want to. hear that there's a n actual point of no return, that we are on a highway, now a bridge, over an abyss for which there is no other side. Our choices are either to turn back (and we better do it now because the bridge is starting to collapse) or fall. My guess is that inertia is going to win and we're going to take most of the biosphere with us.
Sorry, I get wound up In all of this - I've been studying the collapse of civilizations for over 30 years now — pronbaly longer but my memory is beginning to lose shingles off its roof. I babble, I'll stop. It's too beautiful an afternoon not to enjoy it.
Liars and lies are the foundation of fascism who say falsely that lies are simply a difference of opinion when in fact a lie is a lie. A difference of opinion requires that each side has debatable facts of a worldview that not everything is known but not a known falsehood. Known false principles can be unexamined assumptions. Falsities are not differences of opinion.
I say non violent "stand Up" or "Rise Up" means boycott corporations as much as possible like Disney loosing subscriptions bc Kimmel firing made them reverse their decision. What the public needs is more information about corporations to boycott. Even Rogan believes in Free Speech, IMHO "fussing" over Kimmel in America was the right thing to do, not a "petty issue". In the big picture it was where the American public found a cause and used their purchase power to fight back. Thus protecting FREE SPEECH. IMHO Rogan has his own agenda.
The loss of advertising revenue, market share are measurable in dollars.
If it costs shareholders, fear of litigation and affect on stock prices creates management anxiety.
Yes! And calling donors and advertisers who support politicians and corporations is a great way of getting their attention.
I guess if you are a multi-billionaire, your country going down the toilet doesn't affect you....
Perhaps we should explore ways that it does. The more resistance to them becomes increasingly universal, the more they become the pariahs of society. Even golden bubbles can be popped.
Not all are the same. E.G. Warren Buffet, George Soros etc. have not been extorted.
Some of us are in investor groups.... talk about this stuff all the time.
It's their opportunity for a complete takeover.
Thom: I think that we need to be talking about stuff like this: https://saltypolitics.substack.com/p/the-most-dangerous-thing-no-one-is
"
Here is what is going on in Donald Trump’s America:
On Tuesday, just before dawn, federal agents rappelled from a Black Hawk helicopter onto the rooftops of residential buildings in Chicago. They stormed an apartment building without warrants, splintered doors and yanked families from their beds. Naked children watched as agents dragged their parents into the hallway and zip-tied their hands. U.S. citizens were detained alongside immigrants, instructed to “wait until we look you up.” Hours later, the building’s residents were left shaken, humiliated, and terrified. One man, who later came home from work to find all his electronics and furniture missing, summed it up bluntly: “I feel defeated.”
And the fact that Hegseth and Trump have taken full control of the military, declared war on it's citizens and told the assembled generals (who didn't walk out and thus submitted) that the cities are training grounds.
This is a mxed war, a war of the government against the people.
Couldn't find a Snopes article or for that matter any article substantiating this claim. William, do you support Salty Politics?
Try again, it is all over the net, and news sources. ICE agents repelled from helicopters on to the roof of buildings
Took only one google https://abc7chicago.com/post/ice-chicago-federal-agents-surround-south-shore-apartment-building-dhs-requests-military-deployment-illinois/17908911/
Also reported by Google and Michael Sellers, Aaron Rupar
I tried Snopes, my go to place to check for the veracity of these headlines and Yahoo. I never use Google. Thank you.
Snopes only covers stuff that has cooked for awhile, not breaking news. And frankly I don't accept Snopes as 100% reliable, no such animal exists, everything is tainted by beliefs, predisposition
I see. Well, I also went out on Safari and searched the net. I came up with nothing.
I just read HCR's letter dated 10/2. She also reported on the South Shore Apt invasion.
Roy Cohn taught TRump the three rules to win:
Attack, attack, attack: Relentlessly go on the offensive against opponents.
Admit nothing, deny everything: Never concede any wrongdoing.
Claim victory and never admit defeat: Always declare a win, no matter the circumstances.
Donald is much more rudimentary than the twelve steps, but the people that paved his way figured out the twelve steps decades ago. He and his Cult are the useful regressive tools for the oligarchs and technocrats that mean to own us.
Thom has given us the key, ".... democracy can fall into tyranny if its citizens grow cynical, give up, or look away.".
Representative Dean just told the Speaker that the President is "unwell". That conversation was all over the news, MSM and the internet. Johnson tried to equivocate. He didn't defend Dear Leader. I can't wait to see what happens to both of them. I won't be sitting around in the meantime. See you in the streets.
I'd really like to know who's calling the shots on a daily (hourly?) basis. Russell Vought seems to be piloting the shutdown, but what about everything else? The one thing clear to me is that trump is too, stupid, too unfocused, too preoccupied with personal aggrandizement to be the the ship of state's helmsman.
trump is simply an unwell prop. Vought and Satan Miller are the ones pulling the strings....
Like a good bloodhound we need to put our noses on the ground and follow the stench.
You wrote, Thom: "ext, we’d want to immiserate as many Americans as possible, creating a huge pool of mostly white men who are pissed off because they’d been left behind economically and feel locked out of the American Dream."
I differ it is not economics Thom, the diehard MAGAts and Trumphumpers are doing well economically, it is the culture war Thom. The Incel and Viagra crowd. Male grievance, they are pissed because they lost the power to dominate and control women. The first clue is their drive to criminalize abortion and to prohibit the sale of Misefprone. This also underpins book banning, homo and trans phobia, , xenophobia and racism.
None of those that assaulted the Capitol on Jan 6th were economically deprived, it cost money to travel to DC, stay in a hotel and eat.
I would argue, it's both. There were a lot of pissed off white male voters, maybe they didn't go to DC on Jan 6, but there had to be a lot of them among the 77 million who voted for him. Here is an interesting analysis from Paul Krugman about men, women and jobs.
https://mail.yahoo.com/n/search/keyword=paul%2520krugman/messages/1157701?.src=ym&reason=myc
Definitely both, but the emotional fanatics are the pissed off while male voters.
You can hardly turn on the TV when you hear some Mom or Young male, and dolts like Bill Maher whining about the poor lost, disempowered young male
They are the driver of MAGA, persons who feel economically pinched are fellow travelers, but hanging on long enough and they become part of the grievance cult.
Maslow's hierarchy of needs, while not "Bible" are explanatory, even those who feel economically pinched, still have a cell phone, a computer, stream, a place to lay their head at night that is dry and warm, and food to eat. They have met the lowest level of the the pyramid, and then some, then come sexual needs .
It's as if Putin and Orban unlocked the Ghostbusters' "Containment Unit" and every type of metaphorical ghost (think The Traitor Robert E. Lee), zombie, and monster, has been released in America.
Mad "King" George III has escaped the unit, also.
If we believe the many nations of this land are stronger together as One Nation, then we better start defending that belief at every level. From our personal beliefs and actions; to our local and state politics ; and taking back the federal government from truly tedious and yet brutally inhumane people. One Nation of by and for the people. For all of the people who grace its shores, for the visitors, for all who make up its intricate web of humankind meant to stand as a beacon to our better angels. We don’t have to be perfect, just human. All of us, every One is human and worthy and precious.
I’m having difficulty placing what step a phenomenon that is occurring in rural communities fits. Going back 50 or more years rural counties banded together to make regional libraries. Pooled resources made these libraries excellent resources comparable to larger cities facilities. Now the these counties are breaking up the regional libraries because they doing what libraries do and this is too woke.
A tragedy. There is a war on education and the homeless coming from the cruel, ignorant, and religious radical right. They are so far away from Jesus's teachings! The other support comes from tax haters that think $5 is too much to spare.
COURAGE?
What's that?
“The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.” —Marcus Aurelius
And when the storm comes, the indelible dye steps forth.
🪶 The Parable of the Clay Lantern
In a quiet village nestled between two mountains, there lived a potter named Elan. He was known not for his artistry, but for his silence. Each morning, he walked to the river, gathered clay, and shaped lanterns—simple, unadorned, and always hollowed with care.
One day, a storm swept through the valley. The villagers panicked, rushing to protect their homes. But Elan walked calmly to the center of the village and placed one of his lanterns on the wet earth. He lit a small flame inside and sat beside it, unmoved.
A child asked, “Aren’t you afraid?”
Elan replied, “This lantern was shaped in silence. Its walls
remember the rhythm of my breath. The flame inside is not mine—it’s the echo of every morning I chose stillness over fear.”
The storm passed. The lantern remained. And the villagers began to ask Elan for clay—not to make lanterns, but to learn how to shape silence.
Reflection
“Go into yourself and see how deep the place is from which your life flows.” —Rilke
Let this parable be a mirror.
Ask not what you would do in the storm—
Ask what you’ve already shaped in silence.
What reflex lives in your clay?
The courage of the American citizen is being sought today.
What will our reflex be; is our dye indelible?
We're not dead - metaphorically or literally - until we're dead. Until then, we press on in spite of any odds because that's what all successful life has done and continues to do.
Perhaps we should consider the dumbing down of society. When trump was considering politics as his next scam & dog & pony show he said he would become a Republican because their supporters are stupid, or words to that effect. Second, he came right out & said he loved the uneducated & undereducated. Why, because uneducated & undereducated people are much easier to control. It's not that they are not smart, it's that without the benefit of education it is very hard to develop critical thinking skills. I have to interject here that having an education does not guarantee critical thinking, there are an awful lot of highly educated people that are going along with this crap, though I don't think it's lack of critical thinking. It's using that critical thinking to benefit their desires for wealth, fame, influence & control. We have that in abundance. Look at the cabinet, I'm sure there are quite a few impressive diplomas among that bunch & look how they are using that. Also, a good education does not prohibit falling for scams, lies & manipulation. I think that avoiding much of that comes from common sense. And many uneducated people have an abundance of common sense which helps them avoid the pitfalls that seem to have encompassed so many of our fellow citizens. Sadly many of those citizens are my family members & there is NOT one "dumb" one in the bunch. They also have the benefit of good educations & a wealth of common sense. So, I guess what I'm saying is that we don't know how anyone will act or react in the situation we are faced with now. For people of faith now is the time they pray for those of us that do not follow that route we deal with it in different ways. The important thing is to come together, E Pluris Unum!
That was nicely said. As a person with several degrees I totally agree that education and intelligence, let alone good sense, do not have much to do with each other. But at least in narrow areas solid training can get a person to know accurate information--public health or climate change, for example.
But these days many Americans seem to be listening to those who at least claim to be "rich" and "successful businessmen" rather than genuine experts. I guess it is because they have been conditioned to think of money as the only true measure of success. And in a time of economic uncertainty, following the rich may give one the illusion that they too can make it.
You also have the people who know better but want to get what they can, or are just petty tyrants in their own right and don't care who they are following. Every dictator depends on a big cadre of such workers. And here are your more cynical bureaucrats and police. They simply have turned off a big part of their moral code, if they ever had one. As usual it is easier to get along if you go along, and honestly it does take the courage to lose everything if you oppose the system. Some wake up, but many don't or won't.
And finally you mentioned the Cabinet. I would say at that level it's the morality of The Walking Dead, because there's nothing left inside them. At best there's self-justification without responsibility, success being measured solely by money and power. Perhaps the smartest ones really do have a vision of a dystopian society with themselves on top, and some may be nice to their kids and pets. But to actually understand the harm they are doing...no. Moral (and often scientific) illiterates, they wouldn't be slave traders. But they sure would invest in the companies that did it.
The radical reactionaries in our midst have always pushed this selfish agenda; it's not a recent development. The confounding thing about this is that people keep giving them an audience, and falling for their poisonous pandering. Human history is full of the death and destruction they cause us, and just walk away from. Given the choice between this and a democratic and just society, how do people ever succumb to their perverse persuasion?
One of their main tools being the dividing of the populace into increasingly smaller subgroups, we need to learn how to reverse that process. One of the first hurdles, and a difficult one at that, is to identify areas of common ground with members of the other side, no matter how small or seemingly trivial, and work together to resolve them. I'm not suggesting fawning over them or groveling at their feet. Instead, we should acknowledge that although there are significant differences between us it would be in the best collective interest were we, even temporarily, to put them aside to work together to resolve what we can.
Not all that many years ago we were, in spite of everything else, a group of united states. Of course there were significant differences, competing ideologies, different visions of the future, but we were drawn together by shared beliefs and values. Those beliefs and values were the bedrock that our country was founded upon, out of which our constitution arose. Except for 4 bloody years, we might disagree intensely but there still was that unifying document. Even were our side to be in the minority, we knew that could change with the next biennial election.
We now are faced with a clique that day by day is clearly invested in overthrowing those shared values. When Trump talks about the United States he means his side only; his "We, those opposed to his monarchial ambitions, are transmogrified into "the enemy within". We The People" has become "We, Not You". These United States are no longer united. Trump has, so far, successfully driven a wedge into the heart of us. At least for the moment, his followers aren't the enemy, Trump (and I refer to him as little more than a figurehead) is. Wedges have a point (I know, I know...). That point enters the designated target and breaks its initial resistance. The duller the point the less capable the wedge. We need to blunt it, something that can be done by cooperation.
We don't need to agree, we're not going to agree, on all things with the other side but the more cohesive we become the less effective is the other side. We are dealing with a top-down assault; what we need to build is a bottom-up, grassroots movement.
When the means of communication between the two groups is destroyed, working together is not the answer. Your panacea out of the gate has lost. Today, democrats are behind the 8 ball before they even utter their first claim. Their words are never heard by the other group.
I'm not foolish enough to believe the two groups can work together. We can't really work together with ourselves. What I am suggesting is that there are admittedly small areas where some/ a few of them will be willing to work with us. I am suggesting a (very) slow path forward. I neither propose or believe in a panacea. If we can't, or won't talk to the other side all we will increase is polarization. Nothing could cause the oligarchs more joy.
What's your proposal?
Read Jerry Weiss. https://jerryweiss.substack.com/
Can happen today. Takes persuasion. Shared government.
I agree, no sense in demonizing Schumer, but playing nice isn't going to help.. As Weiss states, we have a coup to stop. The Democrats desperately need to unite, but they need to unify under a banner not yet fleshed out. That unified body needs to include Independent as well. The Republicans love nothing more than to seee a heavily fragmented Democratic Party.
Daniel, view my comment to Robert Heresshoff.
My hair is on fire with the recent news from Salty Politics, ABC, and HCR that helicopters invaded an apt. bldg. on the South Shore. We're way past a slow path that might lead to the present situation. Unfortunately, your thoughts on the situation ha inhabited democratic leadership as tRump since his 1st term in office set out to declare war on America. My proposal was and is to not only peacefully protest, but to have governors in America get organized with a plan to respond. Truth squads ready to respond in real time to the lies coming out of this administration on a daily basis, requesting all lawyers to offer their pro bono services to the people like the South Shore residents. These lawyers have to be ready to defend the American people as they are tied up, thrown to the ground and not seen for a month, or worse sent to CCOT. I am no expert in urban warfare, but an urban warfare expert should have been consulted by our democratic leadership yesterday!
I have no problem with any of this, Eadie. . Still, somewhere down the line dialogue needs to occur. I don't see why our views are somehow mutually exclusive. Indeed yours are critical in order for mine to be viable. If you have been reading the comments here over the last few months you will know how I feel about the current state of the Democratic Party.
To be brief, other than a few notable exceptions, I see a listless group —mainly composed of old men — who have been detached from the electorate for decades; who, when in control of the branches of goverment, have done little to act on their campaign promises; who have stood by as their opponents have repeatedly mocked and belittled them; who have demonstrated neither belief nor passion. I consider this a fight or flight moment. And I don't think it's up to the governors — they're like waiting for a derailed train. I have no doubt it's up to us, the people.
I am not a Democrat nor could I be: I'm somewhere over the leftist horizon from them. However, I also know that the only tool at this time to stop the shattering of our country is the Democratic Party and I see little evidence that it is prepared to do so.
Robert, thank you for expressing your point of view. I do read the comments and some like you in particular, because I respect your viewpoint. Where I differ is the present governors and a 'very' slow path' to encourage a few of them. Newsom and Pritzker have been leading the rest of the governors, and perhaps they will follow. Of course, we need the people, 11 million of them to make a difference. Time is of the essence. If you read Hartmann, we're already over the cliff. I also follow William Farrar's comments, a retired military officer, and he believes things have gone too far and there's no turning back.
Thank you, Eadie. FWIW, William and I frequently share thoughts, with an occasional growl thrown in for good measure.
People don't want to. hear that there's a n actual point of no return, that we are on a highway, now a bridge, over an abyss for which there is no other side. Our choices are either to turn back (and we better do it now because the bridge is starting to collapse) or fall. My guess is that inertia is going to win and we're going to take most of the biosphere with us.
Sorry, I get wound up In all of this - I've been studying the collapse of civilizations for over 30 years now — pronbaly longer but my memory is beginning to lose shingles off its roof. I babble, I'll stop. It's too beautiful an afternoon not to enjoy it.
Also, here's an excellent video courtesy of Sabrina Haake -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=29QX2dPA2Y2tcQs0&v=tj6XciSHjV8&feature=youtu.be
Liars and lies are the foundation of fascism who say falsely that lies are simply a difference of opinion when in fact a lie is a lie. A difference of opinion requires that each side has debatable facts of a worldview that not everything is known but not a known falsehood. Known false principles can be unexamined assumptions. Falsities are not differences of opinion.