Great piece. If the last 9 years of American history have taught me anything, it's that cynicism is overrated on a micro scale, and a self-fulfilling prophecy on a macro scale. Trump feels like a more populist version of Joker in The Dark Knight: deep down, he wants to prove that everyone is just as morally depraved as he is, so he does everything he can to corrupt and debase us into acting as immorally as him.
Ah yes that is a brilliant analogy, I wished I had thought of. The Joker is indeed a great pop culture example of exactly this phenomenon. Eagerly trying to prove that we are all just animalistic, depraved and immoral.
Although I also suspect that someone like Trump has an actual narcissistic personality disorder and in this case the self-image is a form of delusion. The way they see themselves is a highly idealized form which is not a true reflection of their actual behavior.
Of course I think we all see ourselves somewhat better than we are, but my understanding is that for someone with a narcissistic personality disorder, it goes to extremes where your actual memory gets altered to be favorable to yourself. In other words a lot of what we would describe as lies are not lies to a narcissist. This is genuinely how they remember events. It is just that they have essentially false memory.
It is probably easier to lie with absolute conviction if you actually believe in the lie yourself because that is what your false memory tells you was the actual events. Not that I am an expert, but perhaps psychology is something we should all read in more detail to understand the political era we are entering, because rational analysis of what are beneficial or rational choices to advance a particular agenda may not work when trying to understand a person who is not purely driven by pure drive for his own benefit but rather operating within the framework of a narcissistic personality disorder.
I just subscribed to your feed because you hit the nail on the head. I have long been pulling my hair out over people criticizing the Democratic party's political messaging when the real problem is quite obviously the glut of right-wing propaganda that runs rampant in America.
Now, you mentioned the fight to de-privatize media monopolies. **Serious question: Is there such a fight?** Or were you merely suggesting that as an aspirational notion?
Because if there is, I would like to know everything I can about it and what I can do to contribute to it!! Because I am convinced that something like this is the only thing that can help us.
Even this, I fear, may not be enough since right-wing propaganda has now migrated outward toward the loose confederation of online influencers that has thrived as of late. But many of these people are mere aggregators of the garbage propagated by "conservative" media. So maybe destroying the Murdoch empire, Sinclair Broadcasting, and Clear Channel media would be a good start.
Thanks, yes that is unfortunately just something I advocate. Of course we do have examples of it such as the Guardian being a trust and many European countries have state broadcasters akin to BBC. But I think we must go beyond this, as I think you identified as well, as de-privatize social media platforms. These really ought to be viewed more like utilities than playgrounds for billionaires who can tweak algorithms to amplify their preferred message.
I seriously think major democracies should together create a fund to buy up a various social media platforms and turn them into trusts with a charter to inform the public and facilitate an enlightened discourse.
Not all, that isn’t realistic, but some sizable ones such that people have a very clear and obvious non-profit alternative and a significant percentage of online discourse happens on free platforms not designed for maximum profits and engagement, but rather for health usage and enlightenment.
Very interesting take, Erik. I think yet another related reason might be love and friendship only within the community that believes as you do. Try going into a church and announce to people that you don't believe as they do, and they will show you the door.
In such a belief system, outside of one's clan, charity is despised, unless it is dispensed by the group in which one is a member in such a way that is entirely consistent with the belief system. Example: mission work to convert people to your belief system. To be fair, real aid is also often administered by mission work.
Absolutely. That is essentially what my previous article was about. I just framed it different. I framed it as a fear of leaving that love and friendship you have come to hold dear.
If you built a whole life around numerous people with these shared beliefs then leaving is very hard. I read about this kind of problem in relation to second generation muslims here in Norway. There can be unreasonable demands on daughters (or sons) they want to get away from but at the same time they have love of their family and community.
It is the case with e.g. arranged marriage. Sometime escaping that means young women must turn their back on their whole family. That is very hard for many. It can be a serious sacrifice to have your freedom.
Maybe that is why we must have some generosity towards those with some more extreme views. I have noticed that it is actually possible to tell people straight that you think their political views are terrible as long as you take care to express other traits you admire about that person. People can often tolerate negative characteristics offered by a friend as long as that friends also recognize other qualities about your personality.
And this should not be hard. Most people have some admirable trait you can put emphasis on or express. I think if people in a tribe like that have friends outside the tribe, it might be easier for them to leave.
And it may be easier to trust a friend who is very frank about aspect of you which he or she dislikes but still chose to be your friend.
But this is not true at my (former) church or the synagogue of my in-laws. There was tremendous diversity of belief. And this was a Catholic church! Liberal spaces have room for diversity of thought—but it’s true that they don’t really attract people from the far right. So there might be limits there. But people disagreed about most Catholic things.
It’s not paradise though. I still get the newsletter from that church and one lay woman left in protest —the gist of her leaving is her objection that women still do not get the respect they deserve in the Catholic Church and also in that Church. That’s probably true! They’re not THAT liberal even though they found ways to let women speak from the pulpit (which is officially forbidden by the church, which is truly absurd—they made up a kind of loophole for this.) But they published her letter of dissent IN the newsletter. And she was criticizing them directly. That’s kind of typical for liberal Christians, even Catholics.
This is partly why the ‘cancel culture’ thing was so ridiculous to me, having grown up partly in a rightwing atmosphere around conservative Christians. They were extremely intolerant of my views. But this did not stop me from saying them. (They didn’t exactly show me the door, they just made my life a lot harder.) My own academic department has people with completely opposing views on several major issue and we simply get along, and focus on the people. We don’t necessarily argue about our views, which I suppose would be the true test of open-mindedness. We just listen to what people’s views are, and try to respect them as people. There aren’t any places in this world where people accept EVERY view but liberals are much more committed to open debate on issues of disagreement.
Explains why whataboutism is always the Trumper’s defense—and it’s hard to argue against because nobody is perfect. “Trump is doing X, and it’s horrible.” “Whatabout when Biden/Obama/Hillary did Y, and you didn’t complain?” And yes, prominent Democrats have done things that aren’t great.
So if everybody is irretrievably bad, then Trump stands out as better for being honest about it. It’s powerful.
But there is a categorical difference between Democrat (or old-school ordinary Republican) errors and Trump’s behavior, and this piece gets at it.
Pointing out one or two judgment errors of a normal politician does not establish that politician as a total nihilist. It establishes them as human, and Obama/Biden/Hillary/whoever support maintaining the institutions (including public support for norms) that act as guardrails against constant wrongdoing.
Trump seeks, and has gotten half the public to accept, that he should be allowed to do anything whatsoever, because wrongdoing does not even exist as a category.
The whataboutism is an intellectual defense and a perfect way to change the subject. Wouldn’t it be refreshing to engage a MAGA on a single topic, in a linear fashion, without it devolving into whataboutism? In my experience, it’s impossible for MAGA to do.
I think it’s necessary to insist the conversation stay on subject. “We aren’t talking about what Biden did. Justify Trump’s actions on their own terms. In fact, justifying them because of someone else’s alleged wrongdoing is a concession that the actions constitute wrongdoing. And isn’t Trump supposed to be better?”
I have read although I don’t remember where, that “whataboutism” is a Russian propaganda technique that has been pushed in right wing circles, by trolls who push things like antivax crap.
Yeah. Fuck the maggots. That’s where you went wrong. We honestly do not want their fucked up world view on our side. We want them to feel so much pain they’ll cry, beg for us to take them back.
In experiments of giving pain to a hidden participant the louder the person cried out begging it to stop the bigger the jolt of electricity the object of the experiment administered. Humans are the worst kind of animal. We destroy other people for the sheer joy of it. We kill for pleasure and we rape the land of every resource until it is as barren as our hearts. It's a dog eat dog world and the empathetic are being selected for extinction. Women, children, and anyone to whom those in power feel threatened by will be drowned in the mud with a boot heal to our necks. I don't know how to stop the nonsense. I don't know if it can be stopped. I do know it's going to have to stop or there's going to be no one left to discriminate against and destroy.
If you’re talking about the Stanley Milgrim experiments, that is not an accurate summary of what happened or what it showed. Every single one of the subjects stopped administering shocks at some point as the apparent pain escalated. The scary thing about that study was that most of them then continued, at least for a time, if told to by the authority figure. So it does relate to this article in the way that we look to the people around us—especially people in positions of power—to decide what behaviors are normal or acceptable, including cruelty. But it definitely doesn’t show that people are inherently cruel (almost all of the subjects showed signs of stress as the experiment continued) who enjoy destroying other people.
Absolutely and fight more dirty. I think Democrats have been touching Trump with silk gloves. They need to actively sabotaging him. Now they are too concerned with being responsible. When the Nazis occupied my home country Norway, the resistance involved destroying things in Norway to hurt the Nazis. Saboteurs and resistance fighters didn't go "Oh but we need to think of what is best for Norwegians and we cannot do this thing as it will hurt the Norwegian economy."
Lots of resistance against Trump is going to hurt us directly, but one has to take the longer perspective. It is a short term sacrifice for a longer term gain.
Hence things like shutting down government, general strikes etc are needed. They will hurt the very people we want to protect short term, but if one do not go hard against hard, he will not get the message that you mean business.
Of course this is hard... but simple short term fairly effective approach which is to boycot anything from Elon Musk. I think if his power crashes, so does a lot of Trump. Say Elon's finances collapse and he has to sell Twitter. That will take away an important propaganda outlet for the Trump administration.
100% with you, Erik. Many Liberals still need to wake up. Like some of my friends who disagree and say that tough tactics like sabotage are "unhelpful" -- makes me want to scream.
We’re not debating policy with principled conservatives -- we’re facing people enabling fascism through loyalty, ignorance, or malice. Yet, too many Democrats cling to civility and respect for opinions, even as democracy erodes in real time.
Respect is earned, and those pushing lies, bigotry, and authoritarianism deserve none. Tolerating intolerance is how democracies die. Politicians, CEOs, media figures, or neighbors supporting this movement should face social, economic, and personal consequences:
Shun them: Stop inviting them to events or pretending they’re just “misguided.”
Mock their ignorance: Challenge their fact-free worldview publicly and relentlessly.
Hit them where it hurts: Boycott businesses and networks tied to fascist agendas.
We've all said it a million times by now: This isn’t a debate club -- it’s about power. The other side fights dirty while stubborn Democrats keep playing their losing "strategies." I guess we need to keep repeating it.
Liberals who insist on some vague moral high ground fail to grasp the stakes. If sabotaging fascists feels “too far,” ask yourself how far they’re willing to go -- even our most recent history shows us the answer.
Authoritarians and their dimwitted supporters will keep doing more dangerous, deadly, and outrageous things until they are stopped.
Civility and etiquette simply serve the fascists as handcuffs on the rest of us. Fuck that. And fuck MAGA 👊🇺🇸
Yeah, you got ask these people "How bad does it need to get before you resist? Will you start resisting when it could cost you your job, or land you in prison?"
I don't think many of these "moderates" grasp that there is a closing window here. Right now people with moderate levels of bravery can still resist because you don't risk your whole existence. Further down the road resistance will become increasingly risky. I ask how many of them have the guts to resist then?
I always try to be honest about this: I am no hero. In a serious dictatorship I would shut up and go with the flow. Just survive. That is why I think it is important to speak up and speak up loudly while free speech and democracy exists, albeit flawed.
People too chicken to speak up now, will certainly not be brave enough to speak up later. I would ask people "If you cannot find your courage now, then what makes you think you will find it later?"
I think we have all been in situations where stuff is going around and we wonder "isn't somebody going to step up and do something?" And then you get that creeping realization.... "that is what EVERYONE is thinking."
I am going to avoid buying American products myself. Not all... that is just impractical. Naturally that will hurt Americans I also care about, but I see this as a short term problem. An effective resistance pushing back MAGA extremism will long term help all Americans.
A closing window indeed... I am nonetheless heartened by the droves of protests all over the US -- with just as many in "red" areas as blue. I'm in Boston and I don't interact with people much on a day-to-day basis. Yet I sense that people still feel relatively protected here and maybe they just haven't found their fighting spirit yet. That said, I protested in front of the Tesla dealership in town here last week and it felt really good. Folks were definitely animated. I also sense that this anti-Trump movement is a sleeping giant that is starting to open its eyes. I'm looking forward to the fallout after the signal text scandal yesterday. All those abject imbeciles need to go, now. Not least of whom, Waltz and Hegseth. I just can't believe I have this much hatred for these people. I have never felt hatred like this in my life.
A car is crashed. It is rebuilt and, sadly, crashed again. There comes a point where it is no longer a car, but a mess of welding, bondo, and suspect safety, if it's even reliable enough to be considered transportation. That's where America is, it's no longer a shining city on a hill, it's a terrible, dystopian neighborhood that's unsafe at any hour, and all these pieces of crap cars keep driving through it anyway.
Cooperation isn't stable. Tit-for-tat is stable. so is contrite tit-for-tat. we want to be cooperative but we can't always be cooperative with defectors.
Thank you for this clear explanation of something that I have sensed in my interactions with a Trumpist former friend, but struggled to describe. Does the word nihilism fit here? Definition: “
: a doctrine or belief that conditions in the social organization are so bad as to make destruction desirable for its own sake independent of any constructive program or possibility”
My former friend seemed to have no moral foundation. When interacting with him, I couldn’t put my finger on what bothered me except to think, “wow, I don’t want to live in his concept of the world.” When I finally realized that we did not share the same fundamental values, and that Trump 2.0 was going to demand all of me to fight against it, I broke up the relationship.
Conservatives are terrified individuals. Fear is the root of their entire worldview. They fear others that don’t look like them, think like them, worship like them. But it goes deeper than that. They elevate greed as a virtue, but that greed comes from a need to control their environment. With enough money, they will finally be safe. Giant trucks, guns, security details, gated communities. They fear the needy because they think they will be assaulted. I could go on, but conservative fear is the locus of their evil.
Great piece. If the last 9 years of American history have taught me anything, it's that cynicism is overrated on a micro scale, and a self-fulfilling prophecy on a macro scale. Trump feels like a more populist version of Joker in The Dark Knight: deep down, he wants to prove that everyone is just as morally depraved as he is, so he does everything he can to corrupt and debase us into acting as immorally as him.
Ah yes that is a brilliant analogy, I wished I had thought of. The Joker is indeed a great pop culture example of exactly this phenomenon. Eagerly trying to prove that we are all just animalistic, depraved and immoral.
Although I also suspect that someone like Trump has an actual narcissistic personality disorder and in this case the self-image is a form of delusion. The way they see themselves is a highly idealized form which is not a true reflection of their actual behavior.
Of course I think we all see ourselves somewhat better than we are, but my understanding is that for someone with a narcissistic personality disorder, it goes to extremes where your actual memory gets altered to be favorable to yourself. In other words a lot of what we would describe as lies are not lies to a narcissist. This is genuinely how they remember events. It is just that they have essentially false memory.
It is probably easier to lie with absolute conviction if you actually believe in the lie yourself because that is what your false memory tells you was the actual events. Not that I am an expert, but perhaps psychology is something we should all read in more detail to understand the political era we are entering, because rational analysis of what are beneficial or rational choices to advance a particular agenda may not work when trying to understand a person who is not purely driven by pure drive for his own benefit but rather operating within the framework of a narcissistic personality disorder.
Mr. Engheim, if you would:
I just subscribed to your feed because you hit the nail on the head. I have long been pulling my hair out over people criticizing the Democratic party's political messaging when the real problem is quite obviously the glut of right-wing propaganda that runs rampant in America.
Now, you mentioned the fight to de-privatize media monopolies. **Serious question: Is there such a fight?** Or were you merely suggesting that as an aspirational notion?
Because if there is, I would like to know everything I can about it and what I can do to contribute to it!! Because I am convinced that something like this is the only thing that can help us.
Even this, I fear, may not be enough since right-wing propaganda has now migrated outward toward the loose confederation of online influencers that has thrived as of late. But many of these people are mere aggregators of the garbage propagated by "conservative" media. So maybe destroying the Murdoch empire, Sinclair Broadcasting, and Clear Channel media would be a good start.
Thanks, yes that is unfortunately just something I advocate. Of course we do have examples of it such as the Guardian being a trust and many European countries have state broadcasters akin to BBC. But I think we must go beyond this, as I think you identified as well, as de-privatize social media platforms. These really ought to be viewed more like utilities than playgrounds for billionaires who can tweak algorithms to amplify their preferred message.
I seriously think major democracies should together create a fund to buy up a various social media platforms and turn them into trusts with a charter to inform the public and facilitate an enlightened discourse.
Not all, that isn’t realistic, but some sizable ones such that people have a very clear and obvious non-profit alternative and a significant percentage of online discourse happens on free platforms not designed for maximum profits and engagement, but rather for health usage and enlightenment.
Very interesting take, Erik. I think yet another related reason might be love and friendship only within the community that believes as you do. Try going into a church and announce to people that you don't believe as they do, and they will show you the door.
In such a belief system, outside of one's clan, charity is despised, unless it is dispensed by the group in which one is a member in such a way that is entirely consistent with the belief system. Example: mission work to convert people to your belief system. To be fair, real aid is also often administered by mission work.
Absolutely. That is essentially what my previous article was about. I just framed it different. I framed it as a fear of leaving that love and friendship you have come to hold dear.
If you built a whole life around numerous people with these shared beliefs then leaving is very hard. I read about this kind of problem in relation to second generation muslims here in Norway. There can be unreasonable demands on daughters (or sons) they want to get away from but at the same time they have love of their family and community.
It is the case with e.g. arranged marriage. Sometime escaping that means young women must turn their back on their whole family. That is very hard for many. It can be a serious sacrifice to have your freedom.
Maybe that is why we must have some generosity towards those with some more extreme views. I have noticed that it is actually possible to tell people straight that you think their political views are terrible as long as you take care to express other traits you admire about that person. People can often tolerate negative characteristics offered by a friend as long as that friends also recognize other qualities about your personality.
And this should not be hard. Most people have some admirable trait you can put emphasis on or express. I think if people in a tribe like that have friends outside the tribe, it might be easier for them to leave.
And it may be easier to trust a friend who is very frank about aspect of you which he or she dislikes but still chose to be your friend.
But this is not true at my (former) church or the synagogue of my in-laws. There was tremendous diversity of belief. And this was a Catholic church! Liberal spaces have room for diversity of thought—but it’s true that they don’t really attract people from the far right. So there might be limits there. But people disagreed about most Catholic things.
It’s not paradise though. I still get the newsletter from that church and one lay woman left in protest —the gist of her leaving is her objection that women still do not get the respect they deserve in the Catholic Church and also in that Church. That’s probably true! They’re not THAT liberal even though they found ways to let women speak from the pulpit (which is officially forbidden by the church, which is truly absurd—they made up a kind of loophole for this.) But they published her letter of dissent IN the newsletter. And she was criticizing them directly. That’s kind of typical for liberal Christians, even Catholics.
This is partly why the ‘cancel culture’ thing was so ridiculous to me, having grown up partly in a rightwing atmosphere around conservative Christians. They were extremely intolerant of my views. But this did not stop me from saying them. (They didn’t exactly show me the door, they just made my life a lot harder.) My own academic department has people with completely opposing views on several major issue and we simply get along, and focus on the people. We don’t necessarily argue about our views, which I suppose would be the true test of open-mindedness. We just listen to what people’s views are, and try to respect them as people. There aren’t any places in this world where people accept EVERY view but liberals are much more committed to open debate on issues of disagreement.
Profound and clear thinking. Subscribed.
Explains why whataboutism is always the Trumper’s defense—and it’s hard to argue against because nobody is perfect. “Trump is doing X, and it’s horrible.” “Whatabout when Biden/Obama/Hillary did Y, and you didn’t complain?” And yes, prominent Democrats have done things that aren’t great.
So if everybody is irretrievably bad, then Trump stands out as better for being honest about it. It’s powerful.
But there is a categorical difference between Democrat (or old-school ordinary Republican) errors and Trump’s behavior, and this piece gets at it.
Pointing out one or two judgment errors of a normal politician does not establish that politician as a total nihilist. It establishes them as human, and Obama/Biden/Hillary/whoever support maintaining the institutions (including public support for norms) that act as guardrails against constant wrongdoing.
Trump seeks, and has gotten half the public to accept, that he should be allowed to do anything whatsoever, because wrongdoing does not even exist as a category.
The whataboutism is an intellectual defense and a perfect way to change the subject. Wouldn’t it be refreshing to engage a MAGA on a single topic, in a linear fashion, without it devolving into whataboutism? In my experience, it’s impossible for MAGA to do.
I think it’s necessary to insist the conversation stay on subject. “We aren’t talking about what Biden did. Justify Trump’s actions on their own terms. In fact, justifying them because of someone else’s alleged wrongdoing is a concession that the actions constitute wrongdoing. And isn’t Trump supposed to be better?”
I have read although I don’t remember where, that “whataboutism” is a Russian propaganda technique that has been pushed in right wing circles, by trolls who push things like antivax crap.
Finally seeing someone talk about the real problem, this is incredibly insightful and spot on!
Yeah. Fuck the maggots. That’s where you went wrong. We honestly do not want their fucked up world view on our side. We want them to feel so much pain they’ll cry, beg for us to take them back.
In experiments of giving pain to a hidden participant the louder the person cried out begging it to stop the bigger the jolt of electricity the object of the experiment administered. Humans are the worst kind of animal. We destroy other people for the sheer joy of it. We kill for pleasure and we rape the land of every resource until it is as barren as our hearts. It's a dog eat dog world and the empathetic are being selected for extinction. Women, children, and anyone to whom those in power feel threatened by will be drowned in the mud with a boot heal to our necks. I don't know how to stop the nonsense. I don't know if it can be stopped. I do know it's going to have to stop or there's going to be no one left to discriminate against and destroy.
If you’re talking about the Stanley Milgrim experiments, that is not an accurate summary of what happened or what it showed. Every single one of the subjects stopped administering shocks at some point as the apparent pain escalated. The scary thing about that study was that most of them then continued, at least for a time, if told to by the authority figure. So it does relate to this article in the way that we look to the people around us—especially people in positions of power—to decide what behaviors are normal or acceptable, including cruelty. But it definitely doesn’t show that people are inherently cruel (almost all of the subjects showed signs of stress as the experiment continued) who enjoy destroying other people.
This is somewhat reductive, but we need to shout louder, in more places more often. It kinda comes down to that.
Absolutely and fight more dirty. I think Democrats have been touching Trump with silk gloves. They need to actively sabotaging him. Now they are too concerned with being responsible. When the Nazis occupied my home country Norway, the resistance involved destroying things in Norway to hurt the Nazis. Saboteurs and resistance fighters didn't go "Oh but we need to think of what is best for Norwegians and we cannot do this thing as it will hurt the Norwegian economy."
Lots of resistance against Trump is going to hurt us directly, but one has to take the longer perspective. It is a short term sacrifice for a longer term gain.
Hence things like shutting down government, general strikes etc are needed. They will hurt the very people we want to protect short term, but if one do not go hard against hard, he will not get the message that you mean business.
Of course this is hard... but simple short term fairly effective approach which is to boycot anything from Elon Musk. I think if his power crashes, so does a lot of Trump. Say Elon's finances collapse and he has to sell Twitter. That will take away an important propaganda outlet for the Trump administration.
100% with you, Erik. Many Liberals still need to wake up. Like some of my friends who disagree and say that tough tactics like sabotage are "unhelpful" -- makes me want to scream.
We’re not debating policy with principled conservatives -- we’re facing people enabling fascism through loyalty, ignorance, or malice. Yet, too many Democrats cling to civility and respect for opinions, even as democracy erodes in real time.
Respect is earned, and those pushing lies, bigotry, and authoritarianism deserve none. Tolerating intolerance is how democracies die. Politicians, CEOs, media figures, or neighbors supporting this movement should face social, economic, and personal consequences:
Shun them: Stop inviting them to events or pretending they’re just “misguided.”
Mock their ignorance: Challenge their fact-free worldview publicly and relentlessly.
Hit them where it hurts: Boycott businesses and networks tied to fascist agendas.
We've all said it a million times by now: This isn’t a debate club -- it’s about power. The other side fights dirty while stubborn Democrats keep playing their losing "strategies." I guess we need to keep repeating it.
Liberals who insist on some vague moral high ground fail to grasp the stakes. If sabotaging fascists feels “too far,” ask yourself how far they’re willing to go -- even our most recent history shows us the answer.
Authoritarians and their dimwitted supporters will keep doing more dangerous, deadly, and outrageous things until they are stopped.
Civility and etiquette simply serve the fascists as handcuffs on the rest of us. Fuck that. And fuck MAGA 👊🇺🇸
Yeah, you got ask these people "How bad does it need to get before you resist? Will you start resisting when it could cost you your job, or land you in prison?"
I don't think many of these "moderates" grasp that there is a closing window here. Right now people with moderate levels of bravery can still resist because you don't risk your whole existence. Further down the road resistance will become increasingly risky. I ask how many of them have the guts to resist then?
I always try to be honest about this: I am no hero. In a serious dictatorship I would shut up and go with the flow. Just survive. That is why I think it is important to speak up and speak up loudly while free speech and democracy exists, albeit flawed.
People too chicken to speak up now, will certainly not be brave enough to speak up later. I would ask people "If you cannot find your courage now, then what makes you think you will find it later?"
I think we have all been in situations where stuff is going around and we wonder "isn't somebody going to step up and do something?" And then you get that creeping realization.... "that is what EVERYONE is thinking."
I am going to avoid buying American products myself. Not all... that is just impractical. Naturally that will hurt Americans I also care about, but I see this as a short term problem. An effective resistance pushing back MAGA extremism will long term help all Americans.
A closing window indeed... I am nonetheless heartened by the droves of protests all over the US -- with just as many in "red" areas as blue. I'm in Boston and I don't interact with people much on a day-to-day basis. Yet I sense that people still feel relatively protected here and maybe they just haven't found their fighting spirit yet. That said, I protested in front of the Tesla dealership in town here last week and it felt really good. Folks were definitely animated. I also sense that this anti-Trump movement is a sleeping giant that is starting to open its eyes. I'm looking forward to the fallout after the signal text scandal yesterday. All those abject imbeciles need to go, now. Not least of whom, Waltz and Hegseth. I just can't believe I have this much hatred for these people. I have never felt hatred like this in my life.
A car is crashed. It is rebuilt and, sadly, crashed again. There comes a point where it is no longer a car, but a mess of welding, bondo, and suspect safety, if it's even reliable enough to be considered transportation. That's where America is, it's no longer a shining city on a hill, it's a terrible, dystopian neighborhood that's unsafe at any hour, and all these pieces of crap cars keep driving through it anyway.
The one mistake I see in your thinking is this.. people don’t change. Not on the big stuff. We all want to believe that people do but they don’t.
Same
Very interesting ideas
Cooperation isn't stable. Tit-for-tat is stable. so is contrite tit-for-tat. we want to be cooperative but we can't always be cooperative with defectors.
Thank you for this clear explanation of something that I have sensed in my interactions with a Trumpist former friend, but struggled to describe. Does the word nihilism fit here? Definition: “
: a doctrine or belief that conditions in the social organization are so bad as to make destruction desirable for its own sake independent of any constructive program or possibility”
My former friend seemed to have no moral foundation. When interacting with him, I couldn’t put my finger on what bothered me except to think, “wow, I don’t want to live in his concept of the world.” When I finally realized that we did not share the same fundamental values, and that Trump 2.0 was going to demand all of me to fight against it, I broke up the relationship.
Conservatives are terrified individuals. Fear is the root of their entire worldview. They fear others that don’t look like them, think like them, worship like them. But it goes deeper than that. They elevate greed as a virtue, but that greed comes from a need to control their environment. With enough money, they will finally be safe. Giant trucks, guns, security details, gated communities. They fear the needy because they think they will be assaulted. I could go on, but conservative fear is the locus of their evil.
This one makes sense.