it's no secret that all of you are about doing what's practical and what's possible. and there's nothing wrong with that logic. until what's practical and logical maintains an untenable status quo. your blame is now misdirected. something must change, someone must be bold. unless we push for change, insist on change, accept the risk of change, and move en masse for change, our descent into complete chaos will continue until it's too late. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/09/28/manchin-sinema-progressives-reconciliation/
None of our politicians are actually serious people. They are all too busy playing their particular game inside the confines of the DC aquarium, while we watch googly-eyed from the outside.
Seriousness died with the advent of the internet and the 24/7/365 news cycle, Twitter, and Facebook. Our politics is the politics of performance art--moreso now than ever. The performance is FAR more important than the actual substance.
It used to be less problematic because it took actual effort to keep abreast of what was happening in politics. Discussion was slower, more complex, more nuanced.
Now it is all slogans and outrage. Postman had it right with his book title... Amusing Ourselves to Death.
We have gotten the government we deserve, because we fail to punish people for performing rather than governing. For posing rather than legislating with due consideration. For being unserious or even wacky.
Conservatisms only real value was as a brake to over-rapid change. Most of what has passed as conservatism in the US was rooted in the preservation of existing power structures on economic and racial grounds.
Our political infrastructure gives too much power to a minority and creates the illusion that said minority is actually larger than it is The MSM's "fair and balanced" treatment cements this illusion.
The minority is angry because they sense that they are losing power (and would have lost it if we were less biased in our political infrastructure)--and the majority culture has moved away from them.
The majority is angry because the minority blocks everything they want.
It is at the breaking point.
Any serious person is, at this point, concerned about the actual survival of the Republic and is left scratching their heads at the foolishness that we see going on around us. It is all going to end because people are too busy playing games that will end up having NO meaning.
The Republic will end with confusion and crass stupidity, almost by accident. 100 years from now historians will point out the inflection points that some of us have seen, but that many of us have seen fit to ignore.
When Rush Limbaugh became more important than any other conservative voice mid to (late 90's) things changed. Most people on the right were okay riding the wave and sticking with their tribe. They were incapable of seeing the monster they had created and groomed.
Then Fox joined the fray with a reach that went far beyond radio listeners. And still the vast majority of folks on the right were willing to play along becasue it was their "side".
Trump is not a surprise. Trump is the bullshit that right wing media has been spewing for 30 years come to life.
I am a Bulwark+ member. I love the writers and all the podcasts. I think all you guys are fighting the good fight. I do however cringe everytime you attempt to blame the "left", even partially, for the debacle of the last 4-5 years. To me, it is like the parent of a 25 yr old that turned out to be a menace to society saying they have no idea why their kid is such an asshole even though they were too concerned with their own personal agenda and gave little or no attention to the toddler, child, teenager, young adult that all the neighbors were complaining about.
It's a gloomy prospect to "educate" people. The T party are in my family, they are amongst my closest friends. They don't understand Democracy or its mechanisms. They are lawyers that have never read James Madison. They are electricians that think immigrants are taking their jobs. They are beauticians that believe the anti-vax nurse sitting in their chair instead of a Dr. of epidemiology that writes 32 research papers. Quite simply, they went to school to socialize in the hallways, scrape by if at all, copy off their neighbor if they could. They can read and write but do not read or write. To be frank, they are one step above being illiterate.
Can Bulwark, Dispatch, StandUp Republic, Renew America, Republican Accountabillity Project, United America, New American Conservatives, perhaps the Libertarian Party, and other free market,c onstitutionalist, and/or lib ertarian leaning groups join together to educate well-intentioned Americans and prevent a second trum presidency? Or are some of these groups, at least, more about maintaining influence and privileges of their organizers and members?
it's no secret that all of you are about doing what's practical and what's possible. and there's nothing wrong with that logic. until what's practical and logical maintains an untenable status quo. your blame is now misdirected. something must change, someone must be bold. unless we push for change, insist on change, accept the risk of change, and move en masse for change, our descent into complete chaos will continue until it's too late. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/09/28/manchin-sinema-progressives-reconciliation/
None of our politicians are actually serious people. They are all too busy playing their particular game inside the confines of the DC aquarium, while we watch googly-eyed from the outside.
Seriousness died with the advent of the internet and the 24/7/365 news cycle, Twitter, and Facebook. Our politics is the politics of performance art--moreso now than ever. The performance is FAR more important than the actual substance.
It used to be less problematic because it took actual effort to keep abreast of what was happening in politics. Discussion was slower, more complex, more nuanced.
Now it is all slogans and outrage. Postman had it right with his book title... Amusing Ourselves to Death.
We have gotten the government we deserve, because we fail to punish people for performing rather than governing. For posing rather than legislating with due consideration. For being unserious or even wacky.
Conservatisms only real value was as a brake to over-rapid change. Most of what has passed as conservatism in the US was rooted in the preservation of existing power structures on economic and racial grounds.
Our political infrastructure gives too much power to a minority and creates the illusion that said minority is actually larger than it is The MSM's "fair and balanced" treatment cements this illusion.
The minority is angry because they sense that they are losing power (and would have lost it if we were less biased in our political infrastructure)--and the majority culture has moved away from them.
The majority is angry because the minority blocks everything they want.
It is at the breaking point.
Any serious person is, at this point, concerned about the actual survival of the Republic and is left scratching their heads at the foolishness that we see going on around us. It is all going to end because people are too busy playing games that will end up having NO meaning.
The Republic will end with confusion and crass stupidity, almost by accident. 100 years from now historians will point out the inflection points that some of us have seen, but that many of us have seen fit to ignore.
It saddens me.
Long time, first time. New Snap Chat/pod idea: Not My Reptilian Buffoon. Thanks listener Jim, you made my day
When Rush Limbaugh became more important than any other conservative voice mid to (late 90's) things changed. Most people on the right were okay riding the wave and sticking with their tribe. They were incapable of seeing the monster they had created and groomed.
Then Fox joined the fray with a reach that went far beyond radio listeners. And still the vast majority of folks on the right were willing to play along becasue it was their "side".
Trump is not a surprise. Trump is the bullshit that right wing media has been spewing for 30 years come to life.
I am a Bulwark+ member. I love the writers and all the podcasts. I think all you guys are fighting the good fight. I do however cringe everytime you attempt to blame the "left", even partially, for the debacle of the last 4-5 years. To me, it is like the parent of a 25 yr old that turned out to be a menace to society saying they have no idea why their kid is such an asshole even though they were too concerned with their own personal agenda and gave little or no attention to the toddler, child, teenager, young adult that all the neighbors were complaining about.
It's a gloomy prospect to "educate" people. The T party are in my family, they are amongst my closest friends. They don't understand Democracy or its mechanisms. They are lawyers that have never read James Madison. They are electricians that think immigrants are taking their jobs. They are beauticians that believe the anti-vax nurse sitting in their chair instead of a Dr. of epidemiology that writes 32 research papers. Quite simply, they went to school to socialize in the hallways, scrape by if at all, copy off their neighbor if they could. They can read and write but do not read or write. To be frank, they are one step above being illiterate.
Can Bulwark, Dispatch, StandUp Republic, Renew America, Republican Accountabillity Project, United America, New American Conservatives, perhaps the Libertarian Party, and other free market,c onstitutionalist, and/or lib ertarian leaning groups join together to educate well-intentioned Americans and prevent a second trum presidency? Or are some of these groups, at least, more about maintaining influence and privileges of their organizers and members?