There is a reason hope is one of the three most important virtues. Hope, as you say, is the belief that our actions can change things. Charlie, your work and the work of the other Bulwark writers is important because it is like the continuous drumbeat of truth. Yes, it is exhausting and disheartening to live in our current time and place and to be so darned disappointed by the stupidity, not to mention meanness and nastiness, of so many of our fellow citizens. And it is tempting to just withdraw from it all into binge-watching TV, reading escapist novels, and planting my garden. But that is to descend into hopelessness. Thank you for your insistence on writing the truth about what is going on, even if it's just to express how tired you are of it. For change to happen, we must first know what IS happening that needs to be changed. If we at least stay well informed, then there is hope that we can recognize opportunities, should they every come, to take action to make things better.
I guess I'm just trying to encourage you not to give up--keep doing what you're doing because it is necessary for the rest of us.
Someone suggested to me to read Dietrich Bonhoeffer's writing on his theory of stupidity. This is a man who stood up to the nazi's and made it until two weeks before the liberation in a concentration camp where he was hung. His insights that he wrote about his experiences with this type of stupidity have helped me look at what is going on in a different light.
“Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force. Evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion in that it leaves behind in human beings at least a sense of unease. Against stupidity we are defenseless. Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed – in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical – and when facts are irrefutable they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental. In all this the stupid person, in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack. For that reason, greater caution is called for when dealing with a stupid person than with a malicious one. Never again will we try to persuade the stupid person with reasons, for it is senseless and dangerous.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison
Re: Chait's point - I make an effort to not use the word "conservative" when talking about proto-fascists like the Claremont Institute. They are Republicans, and reactionary, but not conservative.
What I find more exhausting is what appears to be an almost deliberate effort on the parts of most of the talking heads on the major networks and cable news shows to undermine the current administration. And this is being done while giving these other clowns free press as they prepare their upcoming campaigns. There have been some remarkable accomplishments since TFG was voted out of office, some notable missteps as well, but I believe we should be hearing far brighter reporting from those entrusted with that job. Does anyone remember any particular candidate who may have gotten an incredible amount of free campaign coverage in 2015? Does anyone remember the hell we all lived through for four years culminating in an attempted coup?
The unstoppable wave of demagoguing by mostly vaccinated ReTrumplican'ts about vaccinations and mask-wearing shredding their liberties, driving their like-minded cultists to illness or death, reminds me of the arrogant generals in World War One.
While miles behind the trenches, these arrogant fools on both sides, sent millions of soldiers to their deaths when ordering men "over the top" knowing many would be cut into mincemeat by cannons and machine guns.
Both groups, ReTrumplican'ts and war generals, put on brave faces and spout unChristian pabulum to cover their sociopathy.
It is exhausting, but what is truly dispiriting and defeating is the realization that the map to authoritarianism goes straight through the US Constitution, and short of scrapping the document or amending it, the blueprint is known, we can see it coming, and there doesn't seem to be a damned thing we can do about it. Pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act; getting everyone to the polls is not going to matter when state legislatures decide they're going to pick the winners instead. And the US Constitution not only doesn't prevent this, it positively states this is OK. People erroneously think the US Constitution is a democratic document; it is far from it, and scholars have argued it was created in part because of an excess of democracy floating around in the states that wealthy elites found distasteful.
There have been many indicators of the GOP's disdain for democracy, but I'll remind us all of this tactic they have used. In both Wisconsin and in North Carolina, state houses have been wildly Republican despite the rather moderate complexion of the overall electorate. When WI elected Scott Walker and when NC elected Pat McCrory, in both cases the state houses greatly enhanced the powers of the governor. When each lost reelection, and a Democrat was due to assume office, during the lame duck session before they lost their supermajorities they stripped the powers of the governor down to even less than they were before.
Methinks we're doomed. If it doesn't happen in 2024, it will still be a live possibility in 2028, and every four years after that; it's really not if, but when. We're only a democracy by norms, not by laws, and Republicans' guiding principle is not, "Should we?", it's "Why can't we?" The Constitution is flawed, the SCOTUS is 6-3, and there is no chance of amending the Constitution.
It is against the law to yell fire in a theatre when there is no fire. OAN, Fox News, Newsmax and Republicans are yelling fire about the last election when the election was fair. It is exhausting when the tools of journalism are perverted and used for evil purposes. Nixon lied and it shook our country but now large segments of our population are not able to discern truth.
Here is my strange "optimism" if that is the right word: People are beginning to notice that their unvaccinated friends and neighbors are dying not so much from Covid, but from prideful stupidity.
I share your exhaustion and remain hopeful that more of us will find the energy we need to move forward knowing we are not only doing it for ourselves but for our children and grandchildren. I have cut back on listening and reading more news, on either side, and find that is good for my sanity and my soul. Each day I hope for an article from the Bulwark that will shine the light on one good political move, statement or accomplishment each day. Surely that can't be that hard to find.
I think a lot of people do understand what is going on and are not fatigued, but have no avenue to oppose. There is simply no democratic leader leading the charge. Comment sections won’t do anything. It’s just passive noise. Bodily opposition in the form of physical protest in the streets is where it has come to and better now then later. Half the voters taking to the streets would be a force. Unfortunately, there is zero leadership for this. The Democratic congress is silent. No messaging, no rallying, nothing. It’s almost like they are ok with it. Do Democratic politicians even know how to use social media. Go look at the Democratic FB page or Biden’s. Absolutely nothing about the threat to democracy and business as usual. This passivity lets these domestic terrorists and traitors to democracy believe it is ok. There are a handful of Republicans on the way out the door. Why aren’t they leading the charge. They are going to need to compromise with Dems to change the course. I could get behind one of them if they would step up. The media is complicit in pretending there are two democratic parties. It will be awkward AF if trump runs and US politics and media all pretend he and his followers are anything but anti-democratic and authoritarian. Are we truly going to even entertain a debate from these people. It makes me sick. This country disgusts me right now in its lack of integrity and leadership. Greed over country.
Amen! It is impossible to have an honest discussion/debate with so many fellow citizens. They simply look at me with that knowing stare and their rebuttal is typically ‘I don’t agree’ or ‘that’s not what I hear’ or ‘the crazy libs at the Times and Post are wrong’…..and so it goes. Not only has our country lost the ability to have a civil discussion, we’ve also lost the ability or maybe it’s the desire, to consider any position that doesn’t agree with ‘what we heard’. I hope that isn’t also true for me!
I think back to January 6. It was a workday, and in my workplace of young, intelligent, progressive people, this was just another day. Everyone was pounding out a stream of messages on Slack as if it were a completely normal day.
It is then when I realized, this is probably fatal. This pessimism is not misguided. It. Is. Grim.
I grew up on Long Island during the 1960s when economic riots and burnings/lootings were rampant from Harlem & Newark, to Detroit and on to Watts (Los Angeles), not counting the 1968 Dem convention riots in Chicago.
While Americans were horrified, they mostly went about their life as if those situations were a movie. Except for the damage to the inner cities, most people didn't care.
If (when) the potential political riots come to suburbia, then people will wake up...too late.
Philip Marlowe, played by Dick Powell, in the 1944 film Murder, My Sweet:
"'Okay Marlowe,' I said to myself. 'You're a tough guy. You've been sapped twice, choked, beaten silly with a gun, shot in the arm until you're crazy as a couple of waltzing mice. Now let's see you do something really tough - like putting your pants on.'"
There is a reason hope is one of the three most important virtues. Hope, as you say, is the belief that our actions can change things. Charlie, your work and the work of the other Bulwark writers is important because it is like the continuous drumbeat of truth. Yes, it is exhausting and disheartening to live in our current time and place and to be so darned disappointed by the stupidity, not to mention meanness and nastiness, of so many of our fellow citizens. And it is tempting to just withdraw from it all into binge-watching TV, reading escapist novels, and planting my garden. But that is to descend into hopelessness. Thank you for your insistence on writing the truth about what is going on, even if it's just to express how tired you are of it. For change to happen, we must first know what IS happening that needs to be changed. If we at least stay well informed, then there is hope that we can recognize opportunities, should they every come, to take action to make things better.
I guess I'm just trying to encourage you not to give up--keep doing what you're doing because it is necessary for the rest of us.
Illegitimi non Carborundum. Hang tough, Charlie. We need you more than ever!
As my youngest son reminds me: You can't argue with idiots. They bring you down to their level then beat you with experience.
Someone suggested to me to read Dietrich Bonhoeffer's writing on his theory of stupidity. This is a man who stood up to the nazi's and made it until two weeks before the liberation in a concentration camp where he was hung. His insights that he wrote about his experiences with this type of stupidity have helped me look at what is going on in a different light.
“Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force. Evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion in that it leaves behind in human beings at least a sense of unease. Against stupidity we are defenseless. Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed – in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical – and when facts are irrefutable they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental. In all this the stupid person, in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack. For that reason, greater caution is called for when dealing with a stupid person than with a malicious one. Never again will we try to persuade the stupid person with reasons, for it is senseless and dangerous.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison
Re: Chait's point - I make an effort to not use the word "conservative" when talking about proto-fascists like the Claremont Institute. They are Republicans, and reactionary, but not conservative.
What I find more exhausting is what appears to be an almost deliberate effort on the parts of most of the talking heads on the major networks and cable news shows to undermine the current administration. And this is being done while giving these other clowns free press as they prepare their upcoming campaigns. There have been some remarkable accomplishments since TFG was voted out of office, some notable missteps as well, but I believe we should be hearing far brighter reporting from those entrusted with that job. Does anyone remember any particular candidate who may have gotten an incredible amount of free campaign coverage in 2015? Does anyone remember the hell we all lived through for four years culminating in an attempted coup?
The unstoppable wave of demagoguing by mostly vaccinated ReTrumplican'ts about vaccinations and mask-wearing shredding their liberties, driving their like-minded cultists to illness or death, reminds me of the arrogant generals in World War One.
While miles behind the trenches, these arrogant fools on both sides, sent millions of soldiers to their deaths when ordering men "over the top" knowing many would be cut into mincemeat by cannons and machine guns.
Both groups, ReTrumplican'ts and war generals, put on brave faces and spout unChristian pabulum to cover their sociopathy.
It is exhausting, but what is truly dispiriting and defeating is the realization that the map to authoritarianism goes straight through the US Constitution, and short of scrapping the document or amending it, the blueprint is known, we can see it coming, and there doesn't seem to be a damned thing we can do about it. Pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act; getting everyone to the polls is not going to matter when state legislatures decide they're going to pick the winners instead. And the US Constitution not only doesn't prevent this, it positively states this is OK. People erroneously think the US Constitution is a democratic document; it is far from it, and scholars have argued it was created in part because of an excess of democracy floating around in the states that wealthy elites found distasteful.
There have been many indicators of the GOP's disdain for democracy, but I'll remind us all of this tactic they have used. In both Wisconsin and in North Carolina, state houses have been wildly Republican despite the rather moderate complexion of the overall electorate. When WI elected Scott Walker and when NC elected Pat McCrory, in both cases the state houses greatly enhanced the powers of the governor. When each lost reelection, and a Democrat was due to assume office, during the lame duck session before they lost their supermajorities they stripped the powers of the governor down to even less than they were before.
Methinks we're doomed. If it doesn't happen in 2024, it will still be a live possibility in 2028, and every four years after that; it's really not if, but when. We're only a democracy by norms, not by laws, and Republicans' guiding principle is not, "Should we?", it's "Why can't we?" The Constitution is flawed, the SCOTUS is 6-3, and there is no chance of amending the Constitution.
It is against the law to yell fire in a theatre when there is no fire. OAN, Fox News, Newsmax and Republicans are yelling fire about the last election when the election was fair. It is exhausting when the tools of journalism are perverted and used for evil purposes. Nixon lied and it shook our country but now large segments of our population are not able to discern truth.
Here is my strange "optimism" if that is the right word: People are beginning to notice that their unvaccinated friends and neighbors are dying not so much from Covid, but from prideful stupidity.
I share your exhaustion and remain hopeful that more of us will find the energy we need to move forward knowing we are not only doing it for ourselves but for our children and grandchildren. I have cut back on listening and reading more news, on either side, and find that is good for my sanity and my soul. Each day I hope for an article from the Bulwark that will shine the light on one good political move, statement or accomplishment each day. Surely that can't be that hard to find.
I think a lot of people do understand what is going on and are not fatigued, but have no avenue to oppose. There is simply no democratic leader leading the charge. Comment sections won’t do anything. It’s just passive noise. Bodily opposition in the form of physical protest in the streets is where it has come to and better now then later. Half the voters taking to the streets would be a force. Unfortunately, there is zero leadership for this. The Democratic congress is silent. No messaging, no rallying, nothing. It’s almost like they are ok with it. Do Democratic politicians even know how to use social media. Go look at the Democratic FB page or Biden’s. Absolutely nothing about the threat to democracy and business as usual. This passivity lets these domestic terrorists and traitors to democracy believe it is ok. There are a handful of Republicans on the way out the door. Why aren’t they leading the charge. They are going to need to compromise with Dems to change the course. I could get behind one of them if they would step up. The media is complicit in pretending there are two democratic parties. It will be awkward AF if trump runs and US politics and media all pretend he and his followers are anything but anti-democratic and authoritarian. Are we truly going to even entertain a debate from these people. It makes me sick. This country disgusts me right now in its lack of integrity and leadership. Greed over country.
Amen! It is impossible to have an honest discussion/debate with so many fellow citizens. They simply look at me with that knowing stare and their rebuttal is typically ‘I don’t agree’ or ‘that’s not what I hear’ or ‘the crazy libs at the Times and Post are wrong’…..and so it goes. Not only has our country lost the ability to have a civil discussion, we’ve also lost the ability or maybe it’s the desire, to consider any position that doesn’t agree with ‘what we heard’. I hope that isn’t also true for me!
I think back to January 6. It was a workday, and in my workplace of young, intelligent, progressive people, this was just another day. Everyone was pounding out a stream of messages on Slack as if it were a completely normal day.
It is then when I realized, this is probably fatal. This pessimism is not misguided. It. Is. Grim.
I grew up on Long Island during the 1960s when economic riots and burnings/lootings were rampant from Harlem & Newark, to Detroit and on to Watts (Los Angeles), not counting the 1968 Dem convention riots in Chicago.
While Americans were horrified, they mostly went about their life as if those situations were a movie. Except for the damage to the inner cities, most people didn't care.
If (when) the potential political riots come to suburbia, then people will wake up...too late.
Philip Marlowe, played by Dick Powell, in the 1944 film Murder, My Sweet:
"'Okay Marlowe,' I said to myself. 'You're a tough guy. You've been sapped twice, choked, beaten silly with a gun, shot in the arm until you're crazy as a couple of waltzing mice. Now let's see you do something really tough - like putting your pants on.'"