Here’s what I think will be very valuable – – and that is to keep shining a light on the truth. Keep putting the truth out there. For me, one method is to write letters to the editor. I live in a small town, with a small town newspaper, in a ruby red rural area.
When I post to blogs, I know I’m speaking to my own tribe. When my letters are published in the newspaper, people outside my own echo chamber, read them. If I can create any doubt in a few minds, or change one vote, it’s worth the time and effort.
It’s not as hard as you think. It doesn’t have to be long or fancy What would you say to a friend sitting across the table? Something like “I’m mad that they’re using public funds for private school vouchers.” Or “I believe candidate X will do a better job on bringing costs down.“
By the way,
I used to have a newspaper column, and I’ve written letters for years. I always found this guiding principle helpful. I never attacked the person. I attacked his policies.
Sign it and send it in.
When you see your words in print in the newspaper, you will feel so empowered. I hope you will send in something, and good luck.
The truth will eventually be revealed to everyone, the timing is uncertain. That is why we must not give up trying to improve our adherence to our professed values.
Reality always asserts its dominance in the end. Always, the truth wins out, because it is the truth. The only unknown — ever — is how much damage liars will inflict, by misleading the gullible, promoting the evil, and aggrandizing themselves.
Well, I wonder what you mean by "win" in your question "will the truth win out?" What would that win actually look like? We've been watching our American friends and family with something akin to horror, wondering what in the world it will take for you all to actually put a stop to the most obvious and rapid embrace of fascism the world has ever had to witness. I admit to being quite shocked at how much pearl-clutching is going on and how little concrete action. With all due respect, most Americans seem to be waiting for someone else to fight for their rights, while every single day the "move fast and break things" crowd in Washington sets fire to the public good, thus far without consequence. True, the regime keeps losing court cases, but there apparently is no one to enforce those losses so in reality there have been no meaningful consequences. In fact, judging by some of the recent performances in hearings on Capitol Hill, decorum, decency, and respect are not just being ignored, they're being laughed at by crooks such as Todd Blanche. And if they're laughing at you in public, just imagine what they are doing behind closed doors. Trillions of your tax dollars are being flushed down the toilet -- or literally stolen. And now it seems abundantly clear that the election in November is going to be a real shit show, and it is quite likely that in at least half the country you will not know who really won -- so then what? If the courts can't save your democracy, the midterms are a total fiasco for more reasons than we can count, and ICE and the National Guard have become armed troops on the streets (and at the polling places) of American cities, the "truth" that will "out" will not be the truth you are hoping for. Freedom is never given, it must always be won (Simone de Beauvoir). I don't see a way forward for you that does not involve bloodshed. Each and every person -- all of us, not just Americans -- must ask ourselves "what am I willing to do to defend democracy?" "How bad does it have to get for me and my family before it is no longer business as usual?" "If I am okay, but my neighbour is not, is that reason enough for me to stand and fight?" And answer truthfully. Maybe then, the truth will win out.
I see. Well, I’ve noticed the folks who openly advocate bloodshed are almost always folks who don’t expect to be involved. As for the implied pointlessness of court rulings — It was court rulings that led to the National Guard being withdrawn from cities*. Nothing like handing him the excuse he’s long sought to declare Martial Law so that he may use the military against US citizens under the protection of law.
Because you like quotes, I will offer one. “The first casualty of war is truth.”
*(DC is the exception re: National Guard because it is under federal control with fewer rights than states.)
Please do not think for a moment that I am advocating bloodshed. Certainly not. But I fear there will be no escaping it -- tho' I don't think it will be "our side" that starts it. There have already been many deaths, but not by our hands. And please do not assume I am not involved -- as an American citizen, albeit living abroad, I am very much involved, as are my family and lifelong close friends stateside. I think you are perhaps being a bit naive to think you can avoid the imposition of Martial Law. He doesn't need to be handed an excuse to declare Martial Law -- he will manufacture his own, as he has with so many other violations of civil liberties and the law. As for court cases, they certainly are not "pointless" -- far from it. They are absolutely necessary (hence my rather substantial monthly donations to Marc Elias' Democracy Docket, the ACLU, and the Southern Poverty Law Center). My point is that the regime frequently ignores the decisions against them (current example: Todd Blanche simply refusing to abide by the judge's orders in Katie Phang's lawsuit) and thus far there have been no consequences, only admonishment from the bench. This regime also breaks the law with seeming impunity (Epstein Transparency Act anyone?) As for the National Guard being withdrawn from deployment in "support" of ICE roundups, given the regime's propensity for ignoring court orders you'd have a hard time convincing me that the troops were withdrawn because the courts told them the deployments were illegal. They were testing the waters with these deployments, and they'll be back closer to the election. They're still deployed in DC not only because they CAN be, but to condition Americans to the sight of armed troops on their streets. And they are still there in New Orleans and Memphis, albeit in smaller numbers. Peace, friend. I'm sure we are on the same side.
The current administration is mostly following the Orban handbook. It didn’t take bloodshed to remove him. To say bloodshed is the only way is to give up on our rights.
One of the problems with this comparison is that the American regime is moving very quickly, much more quickly than the Orban regime did, and has a much more robust machinery of state-sanctioned violence, which by all appearances they are chomping at the bit to use. We will not give up our rights; we will need to defend them, with our lives if necessary.
If most Americans concluded war was inevitable we would already be in the midst of one. There would be no steps toward election protection or encouragement to vote. A drumbeat of inevitable war is demoralizing. It spreads fear. There is nothing positive about it. In the real world there is a lot of space between Pollyanna and doom. Too bad you can’t find it & so can’t encourage others.
A US president does not have a pathway to endless re-election as in Hungary. The speed is due to fear of losing seats in the midterms. Early on Miller goaded him to move faster knowing if the midterms go as anticipated, Drumpf will be effectively be a 2 yr president. The current legislative majority has faltered. Project 2025 implementation is stuck at 43%. The GOP is failing a lot. It’s a fact.
The WH is unable to control the judiciary or election rules like Orban. The legislature is not able to amend the Constitution with a 2/3 majority & president’s signature as in Hungary. In Hungary the new guy shared most of the old guy’s policy views. He ran on the corruption. People in the US are not united behind the ‘cultural values’ behind Drumpf’s policies - not the values, policies nor the results. Red states like mine are among the ones which refused to turn over their voter rolls and/or to sign the Confidential Memorandum of Agreement after releasing them to DOJ — DOJ has not one a single case on this.
Because of bad behavior by DOJ, courts are no longer giving federal prosecutors & DOJ “the presumption of regularity”. This means their word is not accepted without proof attached to sworn statements, sworn written statements or testimony under oath. After shutting down the ‘slush fund’ scam, a federal judge in FL called Blanche out by name; referred Blanche & some other prosecutors for potential disciplinary action. Disbarment would mean an attorney cannot be a federal prosecutor. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/judge-trump-justice-department-irs-lawsuit-anti-weaponization-fund-settlement/
Yes, they are stealing our tax dollars and dismantling democratic institutions, but IMO in the end it will only lead to their demise; they are just a pack of greedy, lying, power-hungry idiots with little concept of how to properly run a modern government/country, or appease the population, and the backlash is building. There will most certainly be arduous work to do in the future to restore functionality to and trust in government institutions, but I fully expect them all to be tossed out by their ears in the coming year(s), paving the way for a renewal and rebirth that will excise the rot that has set in. It may look bleak now but I think there are still better days in our future.
I’m not ignorant of what is happening here or why.
The law says National Guard cannot be brought into a state by the federal government without the approval / agreement of the state except in limited - very limited - circumstances. The governors of Louisiana & Tennessee invited or approved federal deployment of National Guard in their states. Those are lawful but despicable decisions in their states.
MN, IL, CA etc did not want them and won the lawsuit all the way through & including SCOTUS. Drumpf avoided admitting defeat by saying they had completed their objectives.
This constantly litany of what is wrong and only the most extreme measures could possibly maybe right it feeds hopelessness. It is the sort of defeatism that leads to us to defeating ourselves. It is a form of “voter suppression.”
Yes, the truth will prevail. Because the majority of us are truthful people, we will see to it that the truth is known. I believe in my fellow Americans.
Let us hope indeed, that the truth will prevail. Our democracy depends on it. I don’t think there’s any other way to rescue our tattered republic. Basic truths are torn, no, shredded. These remnants are so diminished that they are becoming buried under all of the lies that this regime chooses to further or to pass off as some sort of balanced view. Further, they expound upon its moral foundation as evidence of some sort of super patriotism among its adherents.
This has to stop. I don’t know how we’re going to stop it if Congress cannot step up to the plate to help all of us distinguish facts from lies. The same is true of the media. It has to tell the truth…no… it must be the harbinger of our collective truth. One truth is becoming painfully clear; we are the keepers of the truth, and the keepers of the flame of democracy.
Alas, Steven, while I appreciate your listing the specific disasteric activities of Trump's rot-filled presidency, I feel a flash of that warning: "You're preaching to the wrong crowd." Your readers (including me, of course), have been saying "Yes, Steven. Give it to him, with each of your brilliant words. The difficulty is, while we are marching behind you, a tough-looking group of troublemakers are in our path. Not only do they spell trouble, but stupid, bigoted, and dangerous are in their bios. How to reach them? It's not the Republican legislators I'm speaking about. They already know what a calamity Trump has been. They may be worthless, but I doubt dangerous. It's the "basket of deplorables" (thank you, Hillary) that I worry about. Tough guys whose cruelty has replaced brains or compassion. Their shotguns are loaded. They practiced Jan. 6, 2021. I fear they may be ready for the real thing.
Here's an idea: "Deplorables" don't come in baskets, and they don't wear I'M A DEPLORABLE T-shirts. You probably know some of them. I know I do, and I'm in a blue area of blue Massachusetts. Most likely you have something in common with at least a few of them. It's almost certainly not politics -- maybe it's a hobby, or a TV show, or you go to the same mechanic. Start there.
I have some family members and some friends who are Trumpers. Nothing I can say or show them will change their minds. Because in their minds “we” are the evil ones. I have written them off. Yes, I have to see them every now and then but I do not go out of my way to do so. It’s a waste of time to try and change their minds as they are in a cult. The only way to stop this is to get the people who sat out the 2024 election, those who did not like Harris or Trump and decided it was better to not vote at all than choose. Those are the people who need to be turned. Unfortunately, I do not know anybody like that. But some of you might. Concentrate on those people and leave the Trumpers behind.
I wonder how much or how little they have in common with, say, the diehard anti-commies of yesteryear, or those who were outraged by the advances made in the ‘60s and ‘70s by people of color and women. Or (going further back) those who refused to accept the outcome of the Civil War and, within just over a decade, had it their way for almost a century. My gut says there’s a strong connection, but historians are going to have to show how it works.
I agree with you and think they have a lot in common with all of the groups you mentioned. I’m originally from NY and live in Atlanta now. Been here since 1995. I remember back in 2010, I was in the car with a friend and he just started going off on Obama. We had never discussed politics before and I was totally surprised how animated he was. He was saying how he was ruining the country. I said what is he doing? He said, he just wants to take everything from us give it to his people. I could not even respond to that. Then he said he was not born here and should not have been eligible to be president. I just stopped talking. In 2017, my wife and I had dinner at a mutual friend’s house and he had a portrait of Trump on the wall. Who does that? Both of these people are college graduates and are professionals in their fields. I just don’t understand the attraction to someone like Trump.
Me either. I don’t really understand how a dyed-in-the-wool white supremacist could be all in with Trump, or how Trump, a billionaire at least on paper, has managed to sell himself as a populist white-working-class hero. OTOH, Reagan managed to fuse white + male grievance with endless benefits for his corporate and mega-rich backers, including union-busting. Come to think of it, that’s where the “modern” Republican Party came from. I wonder if it’s going to survive, and if so, what will it look like.
I am hoping the truth wins out! It is frightening though that he has the men with guns and could make it difficult for people in key positions all over the country to say no to him.
I wonder what does it take for Congress to fully see and understand your laundry list of lies, incompetence, and attack on our freedom and economy to final take action to stop this descent to fascism. If not for their own conscience, but what about our children and grandkids!? What are they leaving for the next generation!? This is not governing in a democracy, but a dismantling of our freedoms and democracy. I still hope and pray that our better angels must and will prevail.
Yes "The trurh will always come out." My Mom taught me that. Also, that, sometimes, it will take longer than we'd like. I've found that all to be true.
If there is one person working night and day to weaken this country it is the President. He wants people to doubt what they know to be true, because when you don’t believe he believes lies will work. Most of his crap falls apart with little inspection.
I just went back to Sally Yates's May 24, 2017, Class Day address at Harvard Law School:
"The arc of the moral universe does indeed bend toward justice, but it doesn't bend there on its own. And so I would urge you to grab hold of that arc and not let go, because the people of our country and indeed the entire world are counting on you."
The truth *will* win out, but only if we all "grab hold of that arc" and don't let go.
You can always be hopeful. Whether its rational is a separate issue. Trump is a combination of hatred towards minorities, poor and middle class. He exhibits pure evil, dishonesty and corruption. Hes getting worse. And there is no bottom.
Reason for hope is evaporating since hes emboldened by so many powerful people whose religion is supporting the devil for personal gain. The new commandments: thou shalt lie, torture, steal .....
Is there escape? Not if you're poor, alone, etc.
Is artificial intelligence a solution? No. It is information about specific questions.
Metaphorically, the skies above the US have been polluted, dark, evil, menacing, unhealthy anti human.
It has been said that: "truth can never be told so as to be understood and not be believed." However, with about 1/3 of the country that just files right over their heads... and they believe the lies regardless. So, if the other 2/3rds hold them accountable, then it will win out. Hopefully.
Here’s what I think will be very valuable – – and that is to keep shining a light on the truth. Keep putting the truth out there. For me, one method is to write letters to the editor. I live in a small town, with a small town newspaper, in a ruby red rural area.
When I post to blogs, I know I’m speaking to my own tribe. When my letters are published in the newspaper, people outside my own echo chamber, read them. If I can create any doubt in a few minds, or change one vote, it’s worth the time and effort.
I have thought about doing the same: writing to local papers but don’t feel comfortable putting words on paper.
It’s not as hard as you think. It doesn’t have to be long or fancy What would you say to a friend sitting across the table? Something like “I’m mad that they’re using public funds for private school vouchers.” Or “I believe candidate X will do a better job on bringing costs down.“
By the way,
I used to have a newspaper column, and I’ve written letters for years. I always found this guiding principle helpful. I never attacked the person. I attacked his policies.
Sign it and send it in.
When you see your words in print in the newspaper, you will feel so empowered. I hope you will send in something, and good luck.
The truth will eventually be revealed to everyone, the timing is uncertain. That is why we must not give up trying to improve our adherence to our professed values.
Hope is eternal.
So true.
Reality always asserts its dominance in the end. Always, the truth wins out, because it is the truth. The only unknown — ever — is how much damage liars will inflict, by misleading the gullible, promoting the evil, and aggrandizing themselves.
The struggle we face is ancient and eternal.
Well, I wonder what you mean by "win" in your question "will the truth win out?" What would that win actually look like? We've been watching our American friends and family with something akin to horror, wondering what in the world it will take for you all to actually put a stop to the most obvious and rapid embrace of fascism the world has ever had to witness. I admit to being quite shocked at how much pearl-clutching is going on and how little concrete action. With all due respect, most Americans seem to be waiting for someone else to fight for their rights, while every single day the "move fast and break things" crowd in Washington sets fire to the public good, thus far without consequence. True, the regime keeps losing court cases, but there apparently is no one to enforce those losses so in reality there have been no meaningful consequences. In fact, judging by some of the recent performances in hearings on Capitol Hill, decorum, decency, and respect are not just being ignored, they're being laughed at by crooks such as Todd Blanche. And if they're laughing at you in public, just imagine what they are doing behind closed doors. Trillions of your tax dollars are being flushed down the toilet -- or literally stolen. And now it seems abundantly clear that the election in November is going to be a real shit show, and it is quite likely that in at least half the country you will not know who really won -- so then what? If the courts can't save your democracy, the midterms are a total fiasco for more reasons than we can count, and ICE and the National Guard have become armed troops on the streets (and at the polling places) of American cities, the "truth" that will "out" will not be the truth you are hoping for. Freedom is never given, it must always be won (Simone de Beauvoir). I don't see a way forward for you that does not involve bloodshed. Each and every person -- all of us, not just Americans -- must ask ourselves "what am I willing to do to defend democracy?" "How bad does it have to get for me and my family before it is no longer business as usual?" "If I am okay, but my neighbour is not, is that reason enough for me to stand and fight?" And answer truthfully. Maybe then, the truth will win out.
Your reply is brilliant and so very accurate. Thank you.
Amen.
I see. Well, I’ve noticed the folks who openly advocate bloodshed are almost always folks who don’t expect to be involved. As for the implied pointlessness of court rulings — It was court rulings that led to the National Guard being withdrawn from cities*. Nothing like handing him the excuse he’s long sought to declare Martial Law so that he may use the military against US citizens under the protection of law.
Because you like quotes, I will offer one. “The first casualty of war is truth.”
*(DC is the exception re: National Guard because it is under federal control with fewer rights than states.)
Please do not think for a moment that I am advocating bloodshed. Certainly not. But I fear there will be no escaping it -- tho' I don't think it will be "our side" that starts it. There have already been many deaths, but not by our hands. And please do not assume I am not involved -- as an American citizen, albeit living abroad, I am very much involved, as are my family and lifelong close friends stateside. I think you are perhaps being a bit naive to think you can avoid the imposition of Martial Law. He doesn't need to be handed an excuse to declare Martial Law -- he will manufacture his own, as he has with so many other violations of civil liberties and the law. As for court cases, they certainly are not "pointless" -- far from it. They are absolutely necessary (hence my rather substantial monthly donations to Marc Elias' Democracy Docket, the ACLU, and the Southern Poverty Law Center). My point is that the regime frequently ignores the decisions against them (current example: Todd Blanche simply refusing to abide by the judge's orders in Katie Phang's lawsuit) and thus far there have been no consequences, only admonishment from the bench. This regime also breaks the law with seeming impunity (Epstein Transparency Act anyone?) As for the National Guard being withdrawn from deployment in "support" of ICE roundups, given the regime's propensity for ignoring court orders you'd have a hard time convincing me that the troops were withdrawn because the courts told them the deployments were illegal. They were testing the waters with these deployments, and they'll be back closer to the election. They're still deployed in DC not only because they CAN be, but to condition Americans to the sight of armed troops on their streets. And they are still there in New Orleans and Memphis, albeit in smaller numbers. Peace, friend. I'm sure we are on the same side.
Fascism has never been defeated without bloodshed , Carol.
The current administration is mostly following the Orban handbook. It didn’t take bloodshed to remove him. To say bloodshed is the only way is to give up on our rights.
One of the problems with this comparison is that the American regime is moving very quickly, much more quickly than the Orban regime did, and has a much more robust machinery of state-sanctioned violence, which by all appearances they are chomping at the bit to use. We will not give up our rights; we will need to defend them, with our lives if necessary.
If most Americans concluded war was inevitable we would already be in the midst of one. There would be no steps toward election protection or encouragement to vote. A drumbeat of inevitable war is demoralizing. It spreads fear. There is nothing positive about it. In the real world there is a lot of space between Pollyanna and doom. Too bad you can’t find it & so can’t encourage others.
A US president does not have a pathway to endless re-election as in Hungary. The speed is due to fear of losing seats in the midterms. Early on Miller goaded him to move faster knowing if the midterms go as anticipated, Drumpf will be effectively be a 2 yr president. The current legislative majority has faltered. Project 2025 implementation is stuck at 43%. The GOP is failing a lot. It’s a fact.
The WH is unable to control the judiciary or election rules like Orban. The legislature is not able to amend the Constitution with a 2/3 majority & president’s signature as in Hungary. In Hungary the new guy shared most of the old guy’s policy views. He ran on the corruption. People in the US are not united behind the ‘cultural values’ behind Drumpf’s policies - not the values, policies nor the results. Red states like mine are among the ones which refused to turn over their voter rolls and/or to sign the Confidential Memorandum of Agreement after releasing them to DOJ — DOJ has not one a single case on this.
Because of bad behavior by DOJ, courts are no longer giving federal prosecutors & DOJ “the presumption of regularity”. This means their word is not accepted without proof attached to sworn statements, sworn written statements or testimony under oath. After shutting down the ‘slush fund’ scam, a federal judge in FL called Blanche out by name; referred Blanche & some other prosecutors for potential disciplinary action. Disbarment would mean an attorney cannot be a federal prosecutor. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/judge-trump-justice-department-irs-lawsuit-anti-weaponization-fund-settlement/
Yes, they are stealing our tax dollars and dismantling democratic institutions, but IMO in the end it will only lead to their demise; they are just a pack of greedy, lying, power-hungry idiots with little concept of how to properly run a modern government/country, or appease the population, and the backlash is building. There will most certainly be arduous work to do in the future to restore functionality to and trust in government institutions, but I fully expect them all to be tossed out by their ears in the coming year(s), paving the way for a renewal and rebirth that will excise the rot that has set in. It may look bleak now but I think there are still better days in our future.
I’m not ignorant of what is happening here or why.
The law says National Guard cannot be brought into a state by the federal government without the approval / agreement of the state except in limited - very limited - circumstances. The governors of Louisiana & Tennessee invited or approved federal deployment of National Guard in their states. Those are lawful but despicable decisions in their states.
MN, IL, CA etc did not want them and won the lawsuit all the way through & including SCOTUS. Drumpf avoided admitting defeat by saying they had completed their objectives.
This constantly litany of what is wrong and only the most extreme measures could possibly maybe right it feeds hopelessness. It is the sort of defeatism that leads to us to defeating ourselves. It is a form of “voter suppression.”
Yes, the truth will prevail. Because the majority of us are truthful people, we will see to it that the truth is known. I believe in my fellow Americans.
Let us hope indeed, that the truth will prevail. Our democracy depends on it. I don’t think there’s any other way to rescue our tattered republic. Basic truths are torn, no, shredded. These remnants are so diminished that they are becoming buried under all of the lies that this regime chooses to further or to pass off as some sort of balanced view. Further, they expound upon its moral foundation as evidence of some sort of super patriotism among its adherents.
This has to stop. I don’t know how we’re going to stop it if Congress cannot step up to the plate to help all of us distinguish facts from lies. The same is true of the media. It has to tell the truth…no… it must be the harbinger of our collective truth. One truth is becoming painfully clear; we are the keepers of the truth, and the keepers of the flame of democracy.
The hour is nigh. “Let’s GO.”
(As an aside:
The newest strange aberration is whopper Maker Mark Wayne - over the top exuberant Trump Lie enthusiast.
Why?)
….
Truth
You ask. “So what do you think? Will the truth win out?”
Yes
I dream it will; I fantasize it shall;
I WILL it shall, because I need it, deeply.
We need it deeply.
TRUTH
Thank you again, Steven
Alas, Steven, while I appreciate your listing the specific disasteric activities of Trump's rot-filled presidency, I feel a flash of that warning: "You're preaching to the wrong crowd." Your readers (including me, of course), have been saying "Yes, Steven. Give it to him, with each of your brilliant words. The difficulty is, while we are marching behind you, a tough-looking group of troublemakers are in our path. Not only do they spell trouble, but stupid, bigoted, and dangerous are in their bios. How to reach them? It's not the Republican legislators I'm speaking about. They already know what a calamity Trump has been. They may be worthless, but I doubt dangerous. It's the "basket of deplorables" (thank you, Hillary) that I worry about. Tough guys whose cruelty has replaced brains or compassion. Their shotguns are loaded. They practiced Jan. 6, 2021. I fear they may be ready for the real thing.
Here's an idea: "Deplorables" don't come in baskets, and they don't wear I'M A DEPLORABLE T-shirts. You probably know some of them. I know I do, and I'm in a blue area of blue Massachusetts. Most likely you have something in common with at least a few of them. It's almost certainly not politics -- maybe it's a hobby, or a TV show, or you go to the same mechanic. Start there.
They are immune to truth and reason. There’s nothing to start with. It’s like speaking to a rock.
Unfortunately this is also true of some on “our” side. Did you have to deal with the "Bernie Bros" in 2016? We definitely have work to do.
I have some family members and some friends who are Trumpers. Nothing I can say or show them will change their minds. Because in their minds “we” are the evil ones. I have written them off. Yes, I have to see them every now and then but I do not go out of my way to do so. It’s a waste of time to try and change their minds as they are in a cult. The only way to stop this is to get the people who sat out the 2024 election, those who did not like Harris or Trump and decided it was better to not vote at all than choose. Those are the people who need to be turned. Unfortunately, I do not know anybody like that. But some of you might. Concentrate on those people and leave the Trumpers behind.
I wonder how much or how little they have in common with, say, the diehard anti-commies of yesteryear, or those who were outraged by the advances made in the ‘60s and ‘70s by people of color and women. Or (going further back) those who refused to accept the outcome of the Civil War and, within just over a decade, had it their way for almost a century. My gut says there’s a strong connection, but historians are going to have to show how it works.
I agree with you and think they have a lot in common with all of the groups you mentioned. I’m originally from NY and live in Atlanta now. Been here since 1995. I remember back in 2010, I was in the car with a friend and he just started going off on Obama. We had never discussed politics before and I was totally surprised how animated he was. He was saying how he was ruining the country. I said what is he doing? He said, he just wants to take everything from us give it to his people. I could not even respond to that. Then he said he was not born here and should not have been eligible to be president. I just stopped talking. In 2017, my wife and I had dinner at a mutual friend’s house and he had a portrait of Trump on the wall. Who does that? Both of these people are college graduates and are professionals in their fields. I just don’t understand the attraction to someone like Trump.
Me either. I don’t really understand how a dyed-in-the-wool white supremacist could be all in with Trump, or how Trump, a billionaire at least on paper, has managed to sell himself as a populist white-working-class hero. OTOH, Reagan managed to fuse white + male grievance with endless benefits for his corporate and mega-rich backers, including union-busting. Come to think of it, that’s where the “modern” Republican Party came from. I wonder if it’s going to survive, and if so, what will it look like.
Not shotguns, AR-15s.
I am hoping the truth wins out! It is frightening though that he has the men with guns and could make it difficult for people in key positions all over the country to say no to him.
The truth, by definition, has already won. But the battle for the truth does not end when liars surrender, because they never do.
I wonder what does it take for Congress to fully see and understand your laundry list of lies, incompetence, and attack on our freedom and economy to final take action to stop this descent to fascism. If not for their own conscience, but what about our children and grandkids!? What are they leaving for the next generation!? This is not governing in a democracy, but a dismantling of our freedoms and democracy. I still hope and pray that our better angels must and will prevail.
Yes "The trurh will always come out." My Mom taught me that. Also, that, sometimes, it will take longer than we'd like. I've found that all to be true.
If there is one person working night and day to weaken this country it is the President. He wants people to doubt what they know to be true, because when you don’t believe he believes lies will work. Most of his crap falls apart with little inspection.
When he says anything, don’t believe him.
I just went back to Sally Yates's May 24, 2017, Class Day address at Harvard Law School:
"The arc of the moral universe does indeed bend toward justice, but it doesn't bend there on its own. And so I would urge you to grab hold of that arc and not let go, because the people of our country and indeed the entire world are counting on you."
The truth *will* win out, but only if we all "grab hold of that arc" and don't let go.
Is there hope.
You can always be hopeful. Whether its rational is a separate issue. Trump is a combination of hatred towards minorities, poor and middle class. He exhibits pure evil, dishonesty and corruption. Hes getting worse. And there is no bottom.
Reason for hope is evaporating since hes emboldened by so many powerful people whose religion is supporting the devil for personal gain. The new commandments: thou shalt lie, torture, steal .....
Is there escape? Not if you're poor, alone, etc.
Is artificial intelligence a solution? No. It is information about specific questions.
Metaphorically, the skies above the US have been polluted, dark, evil, menacing, unhealthy anti human.
There is nobody else on earth whose face exudes evil selfishness and cruelty like trumps.
stephen miller's is worse
Most ebil among most evil
It has been said that: "truth can never be told so as to be understood and not be believed." However, with about 1/3 of the country that just files right over their heads... and they believe the lies regardless. So, if the other 2/3rds hold them accountable, then it will win out. Hopefully.