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I'm no expert, but I observe this:
What is happening today is the culmination of both 40 years of backlash against progressive and civil rights victories, and more than 200 years of wealthy white privilege in what is now the United States.
What is happening today is the culmination of both 40 years of backlash against progressive and civil rights victories, and more than 200 years of wealthy white privilege in what is now the United States.
Racism as we know it today was never really about race. It was about rich white folks trying to resolve their concept of power vs. the concept of democracy. It was about getting poor white folks to keep in line by giving them one up on indigenous peoples and slaves.
It was a cynical process designed to get dumb white folks to do what rich white folks wanted without complaint. It was used not just against black and brown people, but Italians and Jews and Irish and many others who today are considered "white," but weren't then.
The arc of history brought us an end to slavery and an end to Jim Crow, but the certain portion of wealthy white folks who didn't want to relinquish power realized they had to continue to game the system to retain that power.
Thus, what the Republican Party became was a party of reducing protections, reducing safety nets, reducing education. Undermining news. Expanding economic risk. Democrats aren't blameless, because under their watch, corporate profits soared and wages stagnated.
No longer can one income support a family, now most families can't live securely on two incomes. Meanwhile, the wealthy establishment, mostly but not exclusively white, worked tirelessly at the local level to impose city and state legislation to bolster their cause.
Through gerrymandering, voter suppression tactics with a sheen of reasonable security, and further undermining of education and information, about 1/3 of the population now lives in a giant bubble of vaguely plausible untruths.
What the leaders of this 40 year campaign fail to understand, however, is that they will be subject to the same consequences as every progressive, every Democrat. Why? Because they don't understand the lies they've been telling.
"Government doesn't work." "Elections are frauds." "Representatives want to take your freedoms." "Laws don't matter."
Once you've breached these ideals, why should anyone who accepts these lies look to you for truth?
Once you've breached these ideals, why should anyone who accepts these lies look to you for truth?
Not enough money in people's pockets doesn't require an education to understand.
Despite the cognitive dissonance of believing COVID is a hoax, not preventing family members from dying doesn't require an education to understand.
Despite the cognitive dissonance of believing COVID is a hoax, not preventing family members from dying doesn't require an education to understand.
Corruption is corruption, and it hasn't been this blatant for decades. The current administration entered in on the idea of stopping corruption. Well, no matter what their supporters believe, it won't protect everyone else's corruption.
Today, our Congress has felt the fear of all of this coming to a head. Nobody storming Capitol Hill said "Don't worry if you're a Republican."
This is not a logical movement, it's an emotional one, and that's been the whole point of this plan from the beginning.
This is not a logical movement, it's an emotional one, and that's been the whole point of this plan from the beginning.
Perhaps we will get through this today with a semblance of law. Perhaps the perpetrators will be arrested and sentenced.
If you think that will be the end of it, you don't know your history.
If you think that will be the end of it, you don't know your history.
Much like the errors made in Afghanistan led to Al Queda, so too will this lead to whatever the descendants of these terrorists will call themselves.
This isn't over, it doesn't end with Trump. Mitch McConnell can't control this. We are due for a generation of domestic fear.
This isn't over, it doesn't end with Trump. Mitch McConnell can't control this. We are due for a generation of domestic fear.
The only hope I have is that this was all already there and ignoring it didn't fix it. Thus, this is an opportunity to see what's really true and try to actually do something about it.
Not just identity politics. Not even just fixing systemic racism, which may frankly never be totally fixed. But finally codifying our democracy against the selfish influence of our greediest people.
Democracy can work, but it requires constant vigilance and an understanding of its weaknesses.
And that doesn't even take into account the coming AI/robotic revolutions that will surely make everything more difficult.
And that doesn't even take into account the coming AI/robotic revolutions that will surely make everything more difficult.
What we need:
- Lobbying reform
- A true free (non-profit) press
- Political reform including abolishing the Electoral College and gerrymandering
- Lobbying reform
- A true free (non-profit) press
- Political reform including abolishing the Electoral College and gerrymandering
- Voting reform, and not requiring IDs (although every American should get a free ID instead of having to pay); but instead restructuring voting with ideas like ranked choice voting to break us out of the two party system.
- Universal basic health care to take the burden off of both individuals and businesses, and standing up to the leeches in the insurance and health billing industries.
- Getting mega corps like Google and Facebook, and yes, Twitter, to pay for unbiased news like RCA had to do in the early 20th century.
- A new vision of anti-trust, anti-monopoly legislation.
- Reform of the investment markets.
- A new vision of anti-trust, anti-monopoly legislation.
- Reform of the investment markets.
- High quality free public education.
- A reform of wages and employment that moves forward and not backward.
Not to mention things like the Green New Deal and programs to mitigate climate change.
Without the rest, though, there can be no lasting progress on anything else.
- A reform of wages and employment that moves forward and not backward.
Not to mention things like the Green New Deal and programs to mitigate climate change.
Without the rest, though, there can be no lasting progress on anything else.
The last 4 years demonstrate the weaknesses in our system.
We have been warned.
There's still a chance to fix it.
If we don't, there are ample examples in history as to what can happen next.
We have been warned.
There's still a chance to fix it.
If we don't, there are ample examples in history as to what can happen next.
