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| Liberty and Justice for ALL |
Have we reached the conclusion of the Southern Strategy? Remember that? When the Republican Party gave up on just having better ideas and decided to sell their souls to the highest bidders. Ever since, they've only cared about two things- deregulation and tax cuts for the wealthy. These ideas are unpopular but they had to get them done somehow. Welcome to the age of the culture wars. Welcome to mass gerrymandering. And let's not forget to blame all of our problems on the most marginalized and vulnerable groups. Oh yeah, and to make this all possible we are going to need billions and billions of dollars. (And let's add a right wing media propaganda component.) The money poured in, enough to actually buy both political parties. Never forget the Democrats largely support the same systems and structures that keep the powerful powerful. Democrats are also on board with the Great American Empire. But to their credit, they hold back on the misogyny, bigotry and scapegoating. They are also more interested in at least the window dressing of democracy, whereas the Republicans have gone full authoritarian. We did not get here overnight and any possible solution or solutions will take time. With a climate crisis bearing down on us like an unstoppable freight train, “the fierce urgency of now” has never been more true.
The outcome is anything but decided already. Although much of the media tends to ignore it, we are seeing protests on a massive scale. We are starting to see effective strategies against the Gestapo like ICE. We are seeing more and more young people, who have a stake in the future, step up. The old guard leadership of centrist Democrats are fading away. Fortunately for us, it will be very difficult to undo 250 years of democracy in just two to four years. But unless we are vigilant, the bitter seeds of authoritarianism being planted now may morph into something far more dangerous than Trump and his MAGA movement. It's entirely possible our authoritarian streak will find a much younger, smarter and even more charismatic leader whose name we probably don't know yet. He or she will find fertile ground to nurture the seeds being planted today. If we are to have any chance of preventing this dark future, all of us are going to have to pitch in. What does that mean?
For me, it means this- writing. Speaking the truth as I see and understand it will not change the world but hopefully will create a ripple. Perhaps I can inspire you to add your own ripple and so on and so on. If enough of us act, we can create waves large enough to end any authoritarian movement. Here's the thing, don't rely on other people to do it for you. Reversing the effects of creeping authoritarianism will take all of us. We need to co-create a system that looks out for everyone, not just the wealthiest. We have to figure out how to build a better tomorrow than centerest, do nothing Democrats are offering. They basically want the status quo. I believe that's an expressway to authoritarianism. If you more or less agree, here are some places you can look to get involved:
https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.org/
https://bsky.app/profile/sonsofliberty.bsky.social
There are countless other things you can get into. You can also create your own. Remember, this struggle is going to take all of us. One last thing- be happy. Happiness is Kryptonite to authoritarianism.
