100% this. We first need to find the leadership to make this happen, because the status quo of opposition leadership ain't it. If we don't, we'll be forced to endure this fascist movement until it inevitably eats itself.
They are in control; they rule. We’re the outsiders now. We are the ones who aren’t normal.
For some reason, I find the idea of being an outsider far more comforting and inspiring. It perfectly explains why I feel like I’m living in the upside down. It puts me in the position of promoting my values and fighting for them instead of assuming everyone thinks like I do.
Also, this essay is brilliant and everyone should read it.
Absolutely! Trump exploded the complacencies of the previous status quo and then took the worst parts of that state of affairs, inflated them, and formed a new status quo. In a way, he did us a favor. We can now dismiss the old status quo as long gone, dismantle the MAGA quo as monstrous, and forge a new future. That’s all the optimism I have the wherewithal to muster at the moment.
The paragraph describing the “shuffling orange gaseous bag…” was such a viscerally great image of this horrible creature. I can’t stand to look at or listen to him at all!
This is great work Noah, I agree with the others. I want to believe that the desire for a truly democratic and representational government that works for the well-being of all of those who live here exists in more hearts and minds than those who choose this current gangster capitalism. At this point though when I try to be realistic with myself I have to ask: even if the majority of us wanted better, does it matter now that the US government is not won by votes but by wealth? Which isn't an entirely new thing but it's certainly more true in more ways now than ever before, and the wealth is so unevenly distributed at this point. I try not to give in to despair and cynicism but maybe I have.
I think the main thing we need to do is turn "norms" into laws along with the other things you suggest. Things like the independence of the DOJ; dismantlement of DHS into the separate entities they once were before 9/11; making immigration courts Article 3 courts so that they don't answer to a corrupt Executive--the list goes on. There also needs to be Congressional action on qualified immunity for the misconduct of government officials and perhaps a codifying of Bivens relief, to let people have a better chance of THEMSELVES to work against oppression. And perhaps putting into certain statutes a form of taxpayer standing, again to challenge actions where the DOJ fails to act or acts corruptly--things like those collusive lawsuits of Flynn and now, quite probably the J6rs. There should also be a statutory requirement that the DOJ has to show good cause to waive obvious defenses like statutes of limitations, as they did with Flynn.
Expansion of the court seems necessary so long as they continue to push the supremacy of the Executive Branch. There need to be laws regarding presidential discretion in things like "determining an emergency" or the use of "national security" as an excuse for the executive doing just about anything. Simply some definitions in a multitude of statutes would help. And Congressional control of the Extreme's agenda could be a way of making the court face the need for serious, enforceable ethical standards. It can't reduce the judicial power, but it CAN prosecute for criminal activity , which historically has led to impeachment or resignations. And it has the power to limit the use of the shadow docket by removing certain things from the Extreme's jurisdiction (outside "Original Jurisdiction" in Article 3).
I do note that the things you mention trump "draws on" were all before the 60s and 70s Civil Rights accomplishments and the Women's movement. There is certainly been all along since then a core of racism and misogyny amongst our voters, but even after Reagan, the Tea Party, and such it didn't really burst out until trump gave them permission to speak, and then act, out.
The core of MAGA will remain active for a long time; what we CAN do is try to make their racist/misogynist statements socially unacceptable again, as they were after the 60s/70s. We don't have to let MAGA define us.
It isn't clear what exactly let trump win in 2024; I think it was a combination of factors and I doubt the GOP could muster them again. Sadly, I think it isn't yet time for a woman president. There is still a large strain of what I call "misogyny lite" which is an attitude of otherwise liberal men supportive of women who just can't QUITE see a woman as their actual boss.
As always, great piece of writing, Noah. Speaking of uncomfortable truths, last night I finished watching “Exterminate All The Brutes” by Raoul Peck. Good lord. I haven’t seen anything that impactful since the other Peck doc (I Am Not Your Negro) I watched a couple weeks ago. “This isn’t who we are” as a call-to-arms sure rings hollow. Nevertheless, we persist
More things to add to the list: complete overhaul of the education system to get all the Christian nationalist horseshit out of it. Also putting major safeguards and regulations on homeschooling. Evangelicals have a huge amount of influence in that sphere and some of the biggest homeschooling programs are basically just propaganda for them.
And, as a treat, making the day the fucking mango finally grunts his last a national holiday.
Thank you, Noah. for seeing that Trump / MAGA is a continuation of America’s history of bad people doing bad things (including even President Eisenhower) not an aberration. In this 250th anniversary of America’s birth, Trump is giving us a unique and special gift: the opportunity to take a hard look at who America has been since the beginning (see how we broke treaties with Native American tribes for how untrustworthy we have always been)… and declare an end to the immoral and unethical societal behavior patterns that have been part of who we are all along! And the motivation for doing so need not exclusively be the shame we feel at recognizing this truth. The motivation can include knowing all the good we’ll be able to accomplish when we behave - as a nation - in line with the best of who we can be … the best we were (with exceptions, like Japanese-America internment camps) during WWII or during the 1960s when NASA took us to the Moon.
The global community inspired by the pioneering work of futurist. Buckminster Fuller will meet April 22-26 at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale Illinois. I invite you to join this gathering of people who represent the best America can be in the area of innovation… In doing things we’ve never done before. The link below will tell you more about what is called the Fuller Futures Festival. I hope to see you there!
Absolutely agree. I see people comparing Trump unfavorably to Biden and I think it's the wrong approach, given the nasty traits they have in common - support for genocide being first on that list. Far better, as you advocate, to acknowledge we've got a real mess on our hands and then take major steps to fix it.
To your last two paragraphs, I am afraid that no matter the great intentions of citizens like us, current bipartisan leadership has no intention of doing even a single thing you have suggested. They like the status quo just fine for all their bluster.
So many people are counting on Democratic wins in the midterms to save us and restore democracy. I say the only thing that might give us is the sense of false security that allows us to tune out and go back to perusing the new releases on Netflix and keep bopping along as if the entire system is not a deeply corrupt failed experiment.
Maybe it does all need to fall apart so that we can build back better. Yet there are those who have positioned themselves to rebuild Western civilization in the image of a new and just as terrible form of neoliberalism if given the slightest opportunity. The scary thing is that they have been building and creating that opportunity for decades and are now evidently speed running some sort of collapse.
This chokehold we are in at the mercy of the oligarchs, kleptocrats, technocrats, evangelicals, etc., will be difficult to overcome. The current leadership vacuum on the side of democracy isn't helping us to do that at all. I am trying to be clear eyed about the extent of the corruption and backroom dealing, our compromised two party system and the shaky foundation of a democracy that was never truly realized in the sense that it was conceived of. I'm not hopeless, though, just uncertain.
The more the curtain is pulled back, the more these things are revealed, the more accepting I am of how dangerous our current reality is. The structure they've been building, as you rightly pointed out, never started with and won't end with Trump. We need to see the full picture and understand it. This piece is important and these things need to be said. I always value your analyses.
I'll leave you with one last thing in case anyone still thinks the midterms will save us.
no one thing will save us. but that doesn’t mean we should stop working for and demanding better. D wins in the midterms will change the dynamic a lot…but of course it won’t be sufficient in itself. but that doesn’t mean people are deluded for working for D wins!
I didn't mean to imply that it's deluded or hopeless. Just that we should be aware that we are looking at significant limitations even with them winning because we've got centrist leadership. Just the facts.
100% this. We first need to find the leadership to make this happen, because the status quo of opposition leadership ain't it. If we don't, we'll be forced to endure this fascist movement until it inevitably eats itself.
They are in control; they rule. We’re the outsiders now. We are the ones who aren’t normal.
For some reason, I find the idea of being an outsider far more comforting and inspiring. It perfectly explains why I feel like I’m living in the upside down. It puts me in the position of promoting my values and fighting for them instead of assuming everyone thinks like I do.
Also, this essay is brilliant and everyone should read it.
oh thank you!
Absolutely! Trump exploded the complacencies of the previous status quo and then took the worst parts of that state of affairs, inflated them, and formed a new status quo. In a way, he did us a favor. We can now dismiss the old status quo as long gone, dismantle the MAGA quo as monstrous, and forge a new future. That’s all the optimism I have the wherewithal to muster at the moment.
The paragraph describing the “shuffling orange gaseous bag…” was such a viscerally great image of this horrible creature. I can’t stand to look at or listen to him at all!
This is great work Noah, I agree with the others. I want to believe that the desire for a truly democratic and representational government that works for the well-being of all of those who live here exists in more hearts and minds than those who choose this current gangster capitalism. At this point though when I try to be realistic with myself I have to ask: even if the majority of us wanted better, does it matter now that the US government is not won by votes but by wealth? Which isn't an entirely new thing but it's certainly more true in more ways now than ever before, and the wealth is so unevenly distributed at this point. I try not to give in to despair and cynicism but maybe I have.
I think the main thing we need to do is turn "norms" into laws along with the other things you suggest. Things like the independence of the DOJ; dismantlement of DHS into the separate entities they once were before 9/11; making immigration courts Article 3 courts so that they don't answer to a corrupt Executive--the list goes on. There also needs to be Congressional action on qualified immunity for the misconduct of government officials and perhaps a codifying of Bivens relief, to let people have a better chance of THEMSELVES to work against oppression. And perhaps putting into certain statutes a form of taxpayer standing, again to challenge actions where the DOJ fails to act or acts corruptly--things like those collusive lawsuits of Flynn and now, quite probably the J6rs. There should also be a statutory requirement that the DOJ has to show good cause to waive obvious defenses like statutes of limitations, as they did with Flynn.
Expansion of the court seems necessary so long as they continue to push the supremacy of the Executive Branch. There need to be laws regarding presidential discretion in things like "determining an emergency" or the use of "national security" as an excuse for the executive doing just about anything. Simply some definitions in a multitude of statutes would help. And Congressional control of the Extreme's agenda could be a way of making the court face the need for serious, enforceable ethical standards. It can't reduce the judicial power, but it CAN prosecute for criminal activity , which historically has led to impeachment or resignations. And it has the power to limit the use of the shadow docket by removing certain things from the Extreme's jurisdiction (outside "Original Jurisdiction" in Article 3).
I do note that the things you mention trump "draws on" were all before the 60s and 70s Civil Rights accomplishments and the Women's movement. There is certainly been all along since then a core of racism and misogyny amongst our voters, but even after Reagan, the Tea Party, and such it didn't really burst out until trump gave them permission to speak, and then act, out.
The core of MAGA will remain active for a long time; what we CAN do is try to make their racist/misogynist statements socially unacceptable again, as they were after the 60s/70s. We don't have to let MAGA define us.
It isn't clear what exactly let trump win in 2024; I think it was a combination of factors and I doubt the GOP could muster them again. Sadly, I think it isn't yet time for a woman president. There is still a large strain of what I call "misogyny lite" which is an attitude of otherwise liberal men supportive of women who just can't QUITE see a woman as their actual boss.
As always, great piece of writing, Noah. Speaking of uncomfortable truths, last night I finished watching “Exterminate All The Brutes” by Raoul Peck. Good lord. I haven’t seen anything that impactful since the other Peck doc (I Am Not Your Negro) I watched a couple weeks ago. “This isn’t who we are” as a call-to-arms sure rings hollow. Nevertheless, we persist
More things to add to the list: complete overhaul of the education system to get all the Christian nationalist horseshit out of it. Also putting major safeguards and regulations on homeschooling. Evangelicals have a huge amount of influence in that sphere and some of the biggest homeschooling programs are basically just propaganda for them.
And, as a treat, making the day the fucking mango finally grunts his last a national holiday.
Thank you, Noah. for seeing that Trump / MAGA is a continuation of America’s history of bad people doing bad things (including even President Eisenhower) not an aberration. In this 250th anniversary of America’s birth, Trump is giving us a unique and special gift: the opportunity to take a hard look at who America has been since the beginning (see how we broke treaties with Native American tribes for how untrustworthy we have always been)… and declare an end to the immoral and unethical societal behavior patterns that have been part of who we are all along! And the motivation for doing so need not exclusively be the shame we feel at recognizing this truth. The motivation can include knowing all the good we’ll be able to accomplish when we behave - as a nation - in line with the best of who we can be … the best we were (with exceptions, like Japanese-America internment camps) during WWII or during the 1960s when NASA took us to the Moon.
The global community inspired by the pioneering work of futurist. Buckminster Fuller will meet April 22-26 at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale Illinois. I invite you to join this gathering of people who represent the best America can be in the area of innovation… In doing things we’ve never done before. The link below will tell you more about what is called the Fuller Futures Festival. I hope to see you there!
http://www.buckminsterfuller.com
Absolutely agree. I see people comparing Trump unfavorably to Biden and I think it's the wrong approach, given the nasty traits they have in common - support for genocide being first on that list. Far better, as you advocate, to acknowledge we've got a real mess on our hands and then take major steps to fix it.
To your last two paragraphs, I am afraid that no matter the great intentions of citizens like us, current bipartisan leadership has no intention of doing even a single thing you have suggested. They like the status quo just fine for all their bluster.
So many people are counting on Democratic wins in the midterms to save us and restore democracy. I say the only thing that might give us is the sense of false security that allows us to tune out and go back to perusing the new releases on Netflix and keep bopping along as if the entire system is not a deeply corrupt failed experiment.
Maybe it does all need to fall apart so that we can build back better. Yet there are those who have positioned themselves to rebuild Western civilization in the image of a new and just as terrible form of neoliberalism if given the slightest opportunity. The scary thing is that they have been building and creating that opportunity for decades and are now evidently speed running some sort of collapse.
This chokehold we are in at the mercy of the oligarchs, kleptocrats, technocrats, evangelicals, etc., will be difficult to overcome. The current leadership vacuum on the side of democracy isn't helping us to do that at all. I am trying to be clear eyed about the extent of the corruption and backroom dealing, our compromised two party system and the shaky foundation of a democracy that was never truly realized in the sense that it was conceived of. I'm not hopeless, though, just uncertain.
The more the curtain is pulled back, the more these things are revealed, the more accepting I am of how dangerous our current reality is. The structure they've been building, as you rightly pointed out, never started with and won't end with Trump. We need to see the full picture and understand it. This piece is important and these things need to be said. I always value your analyses.
I'll leave you with one last thing in case anyone still thinks the midterms will save us.
https://substack.com/@qasimrashid/note/c-236951303
no one thing will save us. but that doesn’t mean we should stop working for and demanding better. D wins in the midterms will change the dynamic a lot…but of course it won’t be sufficient in itself. but that doesn’t mean people are deluded for working for D wins!
I didn't mean to imply that it's deluded or hopeless. Just that we should be aware that we are looking at significant limitations even with them winning because we've got centrist leadership. Just the facts.