I can’t remember where I found this link, but it’s a Google doc outlining how we got to our current political situation and what we can do to change the direction our country is going. One paragraph stood out above others, and it bears repeating here because I haven’t seen any of the chuckleheads on TV saying this, and I don’t think I’ve really fully processed what happened yet:
Voters rejected the status quo — they didn’t embrace fascism. The best way to understand this is that voters were given a choice between the status quo and “not the status quo.” President Biden’s approval rating sat under 40% for this entire election season; by wide margins, Americans said the country was on the wrong track, and large majorities cited lingering and intense economic pain due to inflation and the aftermath of COVID. Vice President Harris ran an impressive campaign on an impossible timeline — but she couldn’t overcome the widespread frustration with the incumbent. The result was that a bunch of people chose “not the status quo,” either by voting for Trump or not voting at all.
There’s so much more good stuff in here—I’ve read through it once and my head is kind of full—but I’m going to return to it for a reality check and a roadmap to help make things better.
in chinese there’s a proverb: “he who’s terminally ill will seek for cure in all the wrong places”, first thing that sprung into my mind here
If I’m taking your comment the way I hope it’s meant, Leonard, I hope we can find a better cure through collective action and common sense.
idk how to knock common sense into maga fanatics’ heads, but if what just happened in South Korea is anything to go by, then i can confidently say, so long as the people are willing to fight back, democracy will hold.