Here, in a nutshell, is what just happened: we held an election between candidates A and B.
Candidate A is an uncouth White male, a convicted felon, a habitual liar and grifter, a vengeful, hateful, racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, antisemitic, anti-LGBTQ, anti-science, anti-NATO, anti-free-press, fascist who kowtows to foreign dictators and who ran on a campaign of grievance and anger designed to pit us all against one another.
Candidate B is an accomplished, ethical Black woman who ran on a campaign of unity, inclusion, economic prosperity for all, freedom for women to control their own bodies, and for bringing us all closer together as a nation under the rule of law.
Those millions of citizens whose votes gave a clear mandate to Candidate A said they voted for him largely because the price of eggs is too high, and because they don’t want so many foreigners coming into our country illegally, and because they didn’t know enough about Candidate B.
Now, our newly elected leader, Candidate A, already is working busily to staff our nation’s government from top to bottom with people who share his values, people like himself, and, moreover, people answerable only to him. And the US Supreme court has given him total immunity to do as he pleases.
Meanwhile, I fear that we, the rank and file citizens, are in for a sh*t-show such as we never could have imagined. The election results have already given a green light to our nation’s worst haters and bigots to go ahead and do their worst with little or no fear of consequences.
Oh, and in case we don't like any of it, we can't look to future elections to turn it around, because our future "elections" will be like the so-called "elections" in Russia, Hungary, and other authoritarian states.
I hope the people who voted for Candidate A will get to enjoy some cheaper eggs while they watch our nation tearing itself apart, much to the delight of our foreign adversaries.
“The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.” — Plato
John Smith's letter is provocative, especially in his apparent prediction of complete victory of tyranny over the spirit of liberty, equality and fellowship that inspires democrats. In my opinion, an upset against long odds is not just possible but greatly desired and within reach of the resourceful and creative minority of Americans.
George, thank you for your comment. I did not intend to predict that tyranny will prevail over the SPIRIT of liberty, equality and fellowship that inspires democrats. We can say truly that tyranny did not prevail over the spirit of Russian freedom fighter Alexei Navalny; his spirit was only finally stifled by a Russian prison camp. I only intended to say that being a freedom fighter in an authoritarian state is a challenge few of us can begin to comprehend. I applaud your optimism and hope it proves to be well founded. I'll be out there doing everything in my power to assist in democracy's return to full health.
John, I'm sorry for misunderstanding your point. I agree that it's asking too much to call people to heroism. I just hope that, in the spirit of Gandhi, peaceful resistance will come forth from people and groups of like mind.
Oh come on…you didn’t actually expect to win with a muddled message about finding spaces for joy. Do you want to know how to beat authoritarianism and defend democracy? You make it clear that you stand for the working people. This looks like prive controls, rent controls, child tax credits, forgive student loans, in short, restore rhe welfare state you turned your back on decades ago. What’s more, you no longer support genocide.
The messaging problem is a symptom of a deeper problem, the failure to defend the people. Stop lying to yourselves that corporate interests benefit everyone. The fact are, you either represent people or profits, you can’t do both. As long as you believe this lie, you’ll have a muddled message. And you know what’s more, this may require organizing a third party. I’m not confident that the Democratic party can be won back from corporate interests.
This didn’t just happen. Political Technology applied by Putin’s gangsters amplified fissures that have been there for a long while. The people need to wise up or get played. We don’t live in a nanny state where we can just demand what we want. We have to understand the problems and the biggest problem is understanding how we allowed this to happen in our democracy. We get the leaders we deserve. We have to see ourselves as we are, and that we don’t have a shared reality. The orange one is the symptom. If we are honest with ourselves, he wouldn’t be power if the body politic, we the people, really cared for each other. It’s a matter of self care on a grand scale. So yes, make sure you are OK. Then look to your fellow citizens to see what’s with them. Find common cause and be decent, kind, generous and tough minded.
Here, in a nutshell, is what just happened: we held an election between candidates A and B.
Candidate A is an uncouth White male, a convicted felon, a habitual liar and grifter, a vengeful, hateful, racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, antisemitic, anti-LGBTQ, anti-science, anti-NATO, anti-free-press, fascist who kowtows to foreign dictators and who ran on a campaign of grievance and anger designed to pit us all against one another.
Candidate B is an accomplished, ethical Black woman who ran on a campaign of unity, inclusion, economic prosperity for all, freedom for women to control their own bodies, and for bringing us all closer together as a nation under the rule of law.
Those millions of citizens whose votes gave a clear mandate to Candidate A said they voted for him largely because the price of eggs is too high, and because they don’t want so many foreigners coming into our country illegally, and because they didn’t know enough about Candidate B.
Now, our newly elected leader, Candidate A, already is working busily to staff our nation’s government from top to bottom with people who share his values, people like himself, and, moreover, people answerable only to him. And the US Supreme court has given him total immunity to do as he pleases.
Meanwhile, I fear that we, the rank and file citizens, are in for a sh*t-show such as we never could have imagined. The election results have already given a green light to our nation’s worst haters and bigots to go ahead and do their worst with little or no fear of consequences.
Oh, and in case we don't like any of it, we can't look to future elections to turn it around, because our future "elections" will be like the so-called "elections" in Russia, Hungary, and other authoritarian states.
I hope the people who voted for Candidate A will get to enjoy some cheaper eggs while they watch our nation tearing itself apart, much to the delight of our foreign adversaries.
“The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.” — Plato
John Smith's letter is provocative, especially in his apparent prediction of complete victory of tyranny over the spirit of liberty, equality and fellowship that inspires democrats. In my opinion, an upset against long odds is not just possible but greatly desired and within reach of the resourceful and creative minority of Americans.
George, thank you for your comment. I did not intend to predict that tyranny will prevail over the SPIRIT of liberty, equality and fellowship that inspires democrats. We can say truly that tyranny did not prevail over the spirit of Russian freedom fighter Alexei Navalny; his spirit was only finally stifled by a Russian prison camp. I only intended to say that being a freedom fighter in an authoritarian state is a challenge few of us can begin to comprehend. I applaud your optimism and hope it proves to be well founded. I'll be out there doing everything in my power to assist in democracy's return to full health.
John, I'm sorry for misunderstanding your point. I agree that it's asking too much to call people to heroism. I just hope that, in the spirit of Gandhi, peaceful resistance will come forth from people and groups of like mind.
Oh come on…you didn’t actually expect to win with a muddled message about finding spaces for joy. Do you want to know how to beat authoritarianism and defend democracy? You make it clear that you stand for the working people. This looks like prive controls, rent controls, child tax credits, forgive student loans, in short, restore rhe welfare state you turned your back on decades ago. What’s more, you no longer support genocide.
The messaging problem is a symptom of a deeper problem, the failure to defend the people. Stop lying to yourselves that corporate interests benefit everyone. The fact are, you either represent people or profits, you can’t do both. As long as you believe this lie, you’ll have a muddled message. And you know what’s more, this may require organizing a third party. I’m not confident that the Democratic party can be won back from corporate interests.
This didn’t just happen. Political Technology applied by Putin’s gangsters amplified fissures that have been there for a long while. The people need to wise up or get played. We don’t live in a nanny state where we can just demand what we want. We have to understand the problems and the biggest problem is understanding how we allowed this to happen in our democracy. We get the leaders we deserve. We have to see ourselves as we are, and that we don’t have a shared reality. The orange one is the symptom. If we are honest with ourselves, he wouldn’t be power if the body politic, we the people, really cared for each other. It’s a matter of self care on a grand scale. So yes, make sure you are OK. Then look to your fellow citizens to see what’s with them. Find common cause and be decent, kind, generous and tough minded.