In 1935 Sinclair Lewis wrote It Can't Happen Here. It was a book about how authoritarian fascism came to America. The Amazon summary of the book reads:
A cautionary tale about the fragility of democracy, it is an alarming, eerily timeless look at how fascism could take hold in America. Written during the Great Depression, when the country was largely oblivious to Hitler's aggression, it juxtaposes sharp political satire with the chillingly realistic rise of a president who becomes a dictator to save the nation from welfare cheats, sex, crime, and a liberal press.America is not experiencing a Great Depression economy. Unemployment is low. There is inflation because people have money to spend. The Federal Reserve is trying to cool off the economy, not stimulate it. Yet people tell Gallup the country is on the wrong track. Only 16% are satisfied, 83% are unsatisfied.
My post yesterday gave a warning about democracy. I have attempted in this blog to understand the Trump phenomenon. I have considered him to be a performer, essentially doing an act, playing a larger-than-life character, always the center of attention. He is the disruptor, a character who willfully breaks the rules. Rules of law. Rules of politeness and decorum. Rules of fair play. People frustrated with the status quo liked his performance and still do. Like Archie Bunker a generation earlier, Trump says aloud forbidden things many people agree with. Even that most strait-laced of politicians, Mike Pence, expresses his honor and joy at being part of the Trump team -- except for that one moment when Trump incited a mob to kill him and overthrow the government.
I had thought that Trump-ism would not survive Trump. That was wrong. Trump's rivals are voicing Trump's issues, and the issues that brought Sinclair Lewis' fictional autocrat to power. Patriotism. Traditional faith. Elites. Anger over matters of sex and gender. Presidential candidate Nikki Haley called trans athletes "the women's issue of our time." Binary gender is significant enough to Oregon Republicans that state senators shut down the legislature by denying the senate a quorum. GOP presidential candidates talk about immigrants at the southern border coming to collect welfare on the backs of hardworking Americans. (Ask any farmer trying to get agricultural work done if that is their observation. They will tell you the opposite is the case.)
A significant number of Americans have lost commitment to democracy. A NYTimes/Sienna College poll in October included these results:
I get regular fundraising letters from candidates. I consider these a primary source. Ted Cruz's appeal is tested and re-tested to see what motivates his contributors. There is a market for this content and tone.
We have a legitimacy problem in America. It is bigger than just "crazy Trump" tweeting in the early morning hours.
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9 comments:
It is pretty mind-boggling that so many people are so obsessed with elites, wokeness, the deep state, and other people’s sex lives while climate change is literally killing us, a major political party is sabotaging our democracy and gun nuts are mowing down our children in their schools.
It’s no surprise people perceive the government as favoring the rich and powerful. If that weren’t the case, Trump and his co-conspirators would be in jail. We live in a country where money has been declared free speech by the Supreme Court. On the other hand, money doesn’t vote, it just influences voters. If the voters weren’t so ill-informed, they’d be able to see through the bullshit and tell fact from fiction. So ultimately, it’s our own fault the political system is what it is. I wish I knew the solution.
I had not read the Lewis book until about a year after Former Guy got installed. It is a chilling story, written as if Sinclair Lewis were watching what is happening in this Country today.
Most people are pragmatic. When they see themselves being screwed by the system, they don’t stop to consider high-minded principles about that system; they decide it’s time for something different.
The current system, piloted by our globalist elites, has screwed a critical mass of Americans. If the system refuses or fails to provide them with something different, the people will create it on their own.
It’s not just happening here: we also have the yellow vests in France, the Canadian truckers, and Brexit. Evolution doesn’t just happen in the realm of biology; adapt or die applies to elites as well.
Not only can ut happen here, a determined plurality of the Population seems bent on making it happen, while the rest of us watch. Iwish I had a solution to offer which guarantees the life of yhe Republic, but for now, the best I've got is Vote Democratic, not throw away your vote on a Marianne Williamson or any other vanity Candidate.
I guess nobody will notice there are no facts to support these allegations?
It may be instructive to point out that references to "the Deep State" date back to the turn of the century, in backward countries with corrupt bureaucracies. It's insulting to the traditions of America to use this term in the modern era, not to mention absurdly simplistic, but then consider the audience.
I would take issue with your characterization of Trump as a "rule breaker". He is under indictment for criminal offenses, with even more damaging charges pending. This is not some romantic cinematic notion of an outlaw and not giving it the seriousness it deserves is intellectually dishonest. Same goes for all the grifters surrounding him.
If anyone here believes it can’t happen here, he hasn’t “enjoyed” Rachel Maddow's great expose called “Ultra”
It is a four part series, total time abut 1 1/2 hours, and it’ll keep you glued to your seat. Guaranteed or your money back!
Should I be surprised that not a word about this attack on our democracy was even mentioned in any of the history courses I took?
The GOPee has been trying to destroy this country for years. It is essentially doing the work of our foreign enemies.
It's why corporations and religious groups generally support the GOPee - they want to fill that vacuum.
Can you imagine a country where corporations have more control over our lives? How about if religious groups have more influence?
Scary.
No comments on this date? Trump is now indicted on seven counts and speaker of the house McCarthy describes it as a travesty, not even knowing what the charges actually are. He has to appease the crazies so he does the easy thing. It seems to make the point of todays blog fitting.
Thank you, Rick, for clarifying that Former Guy** is not Robin Hood, but a wannabe Al Capone or John Gotti, without the intelligence of either, or the Class of the Teflon Don, who at least knew how to wear a tailored suit, despite his his overall despicability.
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