Blog, 31 December 2020 Modified August 2021.
Things we have learned over the last Four-ish years.
We learned that rich people really do think they are above the law. I think, in fact, they do not consider it either way but just assume “consequences” does not mean them.
We learned that people can be turned-on to participate in society and government. But can it last more than four years?
We learned how much of the US government functions on norms, traditions, and submission to the rule of law.
We learned that a third of the population is full of resentment (and hate?) and completely willing to follow people without morals or truth to “get back at” or feel power over others.
We learned that a large portion of the population are discontent with their lives to the point that they want a savior from it no matter who or what they do, and an additional twenty percent will follow this person no matter the results.
We learned that congress is only able/willing to hold the executive to account if: 1, the executive is abiding by the norms of the law; 2, that a majority of both houses are abiding by the norms of the law; 3, that their re-election possibilities are not hindered by the accountability.
We learned that the concept of American fair play and democratic principles are dead for a large portion of the population.
We learned that democrats do not know how to win the hearts of the people and their minds alone are not enough.
We learned that men do not really understand how they treat women, or should I say, how women receive it.
We learned that neither whites nor the rich understand the lives of minorities or the poor.
Conclusion:
The United States is still on the edge of losing democracy. The destruction began with Nixon and the southern strategy; through the attempts by congress at election finance reform that backfired and added more money to the system; to Newt Gingrich and the Republican shift to ideology and power without conscience; to Trump—the white power response. As we speak the Trump/Republicans are trying to negate an election they lost by seven million votes and the administration is sandbagging the new administration’s transition so Republicans can call them incompetent in two years. Then Trumpism tried to overthrow the congress and kill the Vice-President on Trump/Republican encouragement on January 6, 2021. Can Biden fix the damage Trump/Republicans have done in two years; can the Democrats win the hearts and minds in two years; will the Republicans have another white supremacist narcissist to put forward in four years but this time someone who is not so stupid and inarticulate; will the American people see through him and vote for good governance and their own interests rather than the rich white supremist?
I have not put anything in here on the state of “public” Christianity and the Trump/Republicans. In short what we have learned is the destructive nature of hyper-focus.
Hark 