Not to ruin the wonderfully positive vibes on this site, but is anyone else here concerned that American society, politics, and culture have become morally and psychologically addled?
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I am hoping that the good people of the USA have been hoodwinked rather than have made a calculated and reasoned decision. We are all made fools of from time to time and typically we learn from our mistakes. In the meantime let's all hope there is a safety net available however threadbare it may be.
It concerns me that the direction nearly half in the country seem to want to go (despite the obvious negative effect that direction will actually have on them) is so regressive. And diametrically opposed to what the other half wants. And any compromise (within reason) appears to be anathema.
The hardest fact is that half the country feels our way of government needs upended. Talk about a black box. Is that because they have never traveled beyond what is here? Or they blame theor problems solely on the government? Can't figure it out still.
It is hard to say across the board. There can be so many reasons but it does seem many are disillusioned and want an “other” to blame their problems on. Trump has capitalized on that. They really don’t understand that we need to stick together. Turning to clueless Elites like Trump isn’t the answer.
The problem is our media environment that constantly shits on dems and let's right wingers skate free to their song of stupidity. We must start a campaign that calls out the right wing bias in our media, to hopefully get them to normalize some what.
The biggest problem with todays mainstream media is that they incessantly talk about the bad and ugly and skip the good that does not produce viewership or clicks. But really, think about that. The fact that the masses suck it up is the real problem. If they didn't, their plan would fail.
Oh you’re so right. That nonsense ticks me off. I always want to call them and ask WTF they are doing. They gave orange tird a free ride for over 8 years.
It’s what they have been told for generations now
Blame the government
Blame women working
Blame Hillary
Blame the immigrants
Blame Saddam
Blame the poor that need assistance
Blame the Seniors that paid for their social security & Medicare
Blame Obamacare
Because they are being told it needs to be upended. Elon‘s propaganda machine told them what Trump’s campaign wanted them to hear. They pumped all kinds of lies into them about Harris’ so-called transgender agenda. Over and over again.
75% of voters have no idea what government does or how the President interacts with it. Proof? Huge numbers think the President is like a boss over everything. Lots think ACA is different than ObamaCare. Many don’t know that SocSecurity and Medicare are fed programs. It’s like a fuzzy cloud to them
It is because lazy thinking has taken over the US. People want to be told what to think for reasons other than having knowledge. It's like they want to repeat the blather to be famous or something instead of actually doing something to improve their lives. It's rather nuts really.
Imo. The what about me ism. The uneducated, hard-working Americans are feeling left out. And they're being radicalized by propaganda on Fox News.
And republicans who are dooping them just to stay in power. And us preaching to them till we're blue in the face is not working. So let them fail.
All of the above. Gerrymandering (in Texas at least) has been aimed at pandering to the small town at the expense of the suburban & Urban communities terrified of change, terrified of big cities and the people who live in them.
This is one way people like Trump gain power. He takes the onus off them. None of it is their fault. It’s illegal Migration, poor schools, etc but it all boils down to one common enemy, the Libs. And while they are up in arms over this false bogeyman, the real culprits continue to enrich themselves.
It’s not even half. 60% of voting-age citizens cast a ballot. Not sure which I find more disappointing though— The 30% who want to tear down everything America ever stood for, or the 40% who don’t care whether the American Experiment continues past its 250th birthday.
True. I do tell people that we are actually the majority. I hope, when push literally comes to shove, those who didn’t vote (for whatever reason) will stand on the side of true freedom and safety for all.
It is always a fascinating thing to me that it is not compulsory voting in USA. Where I live voter turnout is usually anywhere between 92-94% and the few who don't vote are usually overseas or sick at the time or have a belief such as being a JW
Unfortunately low turnout in American elections is partly by design. Historically, some politicians here intentionally have made it difficult for people of color to vote (e.g., putting fewer polling places in urban centers) because they didn’t want those people to have that voice.
Yes, there are so many ways we could reform our system to ensure it is equitable. As a 2nd gen immigrant, I was raised in an area where I never saw voting occur. I was about 25 before I realized I could vote! Unfortunately I know too well there are those who will fight tooth and nail against reform
It's certainly a sad thing to see, and I saw a lot of that happening. Here it is the complete opposite, voting places everywhere, you can vote early, mail in votes, nothing is an issue. Rarely will ever even see a line. usually takes only 5 minutes to pull over, duck in, cast your vote, and done.
It only looks like half because near 35% of the country doesn't vote and is completely checked out of anything remotely political. Combined with an electoral college that gives weight to land over people and judicially sanctioned gerrymandering and it makes it appear the minority is the majority.
This. The sheer regressiveness is the sign of the sickness, “conservative” devolved into regression.
The entire Trumpian project feels like a primal scream from people who need their blankie because the culture won’t center them EXCLUSIVELY and they want all of daddy’s attention
It’s this aspect I’ve been most concerned with as a historian.
Regressive movements - early 20th euro-fascist, Pol Pot/Mao, Chavez, Putin - are almost always populist in origin and ALWAYS end in war and/or social collapse.
These are the moments in history that have come to my mind also and the reason I’m having so much trouble sleeping. We must, somehow, figure out a way to avoid either outcome here.
And many somewhere in between!! Where is a middle group- honest, decent and not on the autocracy extreme or the
Kooky end. We need strong leadership that are not strongmen rather leaders that are the brave and true to our founding promises.
Remember it's not even half. Nearly 90 million eligible voters just sat this one out. That's more then each candidate got on either side. If didn't vote was a candidate for president they would have won.
The words I use are morally, and ethically bankrupt. Did you see they caught Don Jr on video doing coke at the Space X launch? What a lovely bunch of addicts and crooks. 😂
Yes. Someone needs to do a FOIA request to the ATF/FBI for Don Jr.’s gun background check to see if he completed it honestly. I’d bet $ he did the same thing as Hunter 🤔
Yes, but you know this is part of the dictorial playbook.
Lie, con, conspiracy theories, night & day, have the bully push them & make it all real.
30% of our population needs counseling from being in a cult for 10 years.
This is not a joke!
Of course, but the concern isn't new. Millennials grew up during Columbine, 9/11, and multiple wars. Gen Z grew up with a country at war and a severe recession. We've seen it 'morally and psychologically addled' for decades; they've just given up trying to hide it now.
It's always been that way it's just become more obvious. A culture found it on slavery and genocide that continues to export genocide globally yeah we're a sick sick culture the fascist States of America
I just looked at top podcasts under “news” search for Apple and was pretty shocked
#2. Megyn Kelly (wtf?!!!!)
#4. Ben Shapiro
#5. Charlie Kirk
#6. Tucker Carlson
#8. Candace Owens
#10. Dan Bongino
It’s a moron brigade of right wing apologists/cheerleaders.
I live around those people who follow these losers & have asked why most just say they get their news from them very sad lots of brainwashed folks out there
one thing about maga
they eat, live, listen, and breathe this sh*t….it keeps
them up at night…their lives
are as miserable as the people that they listen to are..wretched existence
I'm hoping a new DNC chair will realize the need for a D talk radio station/show.
I love podcasts - but I'm thinking of truckdrivers, farmers, & anyone that can listen while working. That d*** 24/7 source of repetitive propaganda is a D challenge to overcome.
The neighbor idea is good, but it’s been my experience with the younger crowd that they don’t want to connect via the front porch like we did growing up.
I have been saying this for a long time. In particular my husband who spends too much time listening in his vehicle traveling for jobs. Then only has the ear of the other guys at the jobs that have listened to the exact same thing. I cannot break the cycle with the 5 minutes a day I have with him.
Fear, hate and anger sell, however misguided and false. Doesn’t help that the MSM sold out too. There’s no source for facts. Just sanewashing or outrage.
I have been worried about that since Reagan. I know he is your hero, we can agree to disagree, but it's still the direction American society was headed I guess even if he had not been President, so....
Right?! If you're like me, we grew up with these movements and now see them threatened as never before. ... I got pepper gassed at age 14 on a college campus protesting the Vietnam war. The rest is history, as they say. :)
My generation hasn't really had a big national mass protest movement that caught on. And because we didn't have it, it has skipped a generation or two. We've forgotten about the power we have if we band together and take to the streets
When I was young, criminalization of homosexuality kept me in the closet and underground. Trump's SCOTUS might reverse Lawrence v Texas, and it's probably on the MAGA agenda. I don't want to see that happen, now that I'm old.
I feel your pain. Wildfires, met with derision by Trump, who slept thru Carter’s funeral and is getting his felony charges dismissed. Total evil and he wants to invade my country. I have lost my smile somewhere.
I’m hitting the mj a lot earlier in the day, because I was there in all those years and no longer have the strength or capability to fight this evil.
Distraught. Every single day.
The difference this time is you aren't fighting for more rights but for keeping the one's those brave people won for todays generation. Sadly it doesn't look like they have the backbone for the fight.
It’s astounding how easily those rights are being lost. And now they are attacking the 19th Amendment. Vance is scarier than Trump cuz he is a true believer & doesn’t owe Putin/Musk half a billion or more.
I have been saying the same thing to those who think all this will end when Trump is gone. Vance is way more dangerous because he actually believes in Project 2025. Trump will believe in anything he can profit by.
Frankly, I’m terrified for my country as well as myself. That thing has been in our lives for almost 10 years and literally all of the safeguards in place for 2 centuries have failed.
As it turns out, many of the safeguards we have always relied upon and respected are nothing more than time honored customs and traditions. We have learned that true safeguards must be codified!
Oh George I know you have been exposed to more liberal thinking so are getting close but think about it. “Become?” This society was built savagely on the backs of Black folks while wiping out a people and i could walk you example by example to today. This is who America is.
I didn’t say so. But your comment is literally “noT All AmERicans.” I have hope in people and think of Anne Frank’s quote in believing people are good a lot but we need to not act like what is happening now is an anomaly.
Concerned that it might be so? No. Convinced? Absolutely. Is it just human nature, it has this been carefully cultivated since the Southern Strategy, and either way, how do we reverse it?
Very worried about where social media is taking us. This indirect method of communication among people breeds contempt. We say things that we may never say face to face and when we do the reaction is visible which allows us reflection and most of the time an apology!
In social circles, I feel like a person close to me has died (democracy) and no one around me wants to talk about it because it will make me sad, while I want to scream their name everywhere so no one forgets them.
I am definitely concerned. I feel like I’m living in an Atwood or Orwell novel that I read back in high school and I thought, “Wow, these things can’t happen.” Now here we are 20 years later…
People have pointed at DJT and Reagan as the source of the hatred and lies. You can't omit the effects of Putin, Xi, Un and other propaganda sources nor the willingness of elected Republicans to support a liar who tried to subvert democracy. They know the truth.
They’re starting to show up. Just to poke us in the eye. Just to annoy us. The solution to keeping this as OUR turf is to never, ever engage them. Never answer them. Don’t give them fuel. Let them slink off totally unfulfilled. If you engage them, they’ll be all over you like a virus.
MAGA is proof that mass brainwashing works... Fox News and other r/w news, radio, online and other personalities have been fulfilling the Russian function of confusing the difference between truth and lies... right and wrong... unbelievable... approx 1/3 of the US is MAGA...
I wish all the Americans who think it'd be so cool to be a Russian satellite knew what the hell they were doing... because they wouldn't think that way... MAGA is proof that mass brainwashing works... the US is flooded w/ Russian talking points... Trump/Fox/r/w radio, etc...
I’m disappointed that I haven’t seen any politicians float, or even leak floating, the idea of a non-violent secession movement. Even if there were some rumblings, it might help pucker a few cheeks.
This election has done a number on my outlook and future prospects for indulging further in the "American experiment". I get the whole "keep up the fight" thing, but...not only is common sense a minority voting bloc now, but I'm afraid power is going to be permanently ceded without extreme action.
Yes and it is exactly why I can barely make it out of Publix without yelling at random strangers " You folks, don't have a clue what you voted for". We are planning on leaving Florida because my husband is concerned that he is going to start screaming the same at his Sr Golf league
I could not get out of a Friendsgiving event on Saturday. One of the guests voted for Trump because she has to have an admittance time for "Her" National Parks. According to her it's because the illegals are making the cities under and all the citizens are escaping to the NP. We left early.
If the states are going to take over education, you can bet little Ronnie will only allow christofascist schools with a stripped down curriculum. We will rank below Mississippi. We will be back to the days when discrimination was OK in schools.
The results of conservative beggaring of public education are on full display and if there's any way out of it, it will take a generation at least. I'm not optimistic.
Tout à fait et une réflexion majeure s'impose pour ceux et celles qui ont toujours cru que la démocratie mérite beaucoup mieux que ça. Bonne réflexion pour les 4 prochaines années et ne lâchez surtout pas.
We run into an individualist society, and the problem isn't just in america, i see it too in France
"The fuck it i got mine" spirit is stronger each day
I REALLY DESIRE more USA citizens recognize that misogyny and white supremacy are BIG problems in (white) male youth (and white women one), so they could try to do or make ANYTHING to solve them in the next fifteen or twenty years.
I hope the payment freeze (clinics, meals on the wheels, etc), still in place, despite a restraining order, will make some MAGAs realise that Trump doesn’t care for them.
A large grassroots movement could get the republicans in congress to vote with their own brain, rather than do Trump's bid.
2/3s of the ppl of the United States might change this around. Maybe when the 98M ppl who sat on ass instead of voting will see things differently when there is enough pain involved
Some of his supporters will turn it around.. when they feel the affects of double digit inflation.. seems like rent my go down when the housing market implodes.. so there’s that.. sigh.. 😳 I want off this ride.. it’s terrible..
I don’t believe that it is 💯 apathy. We still have some obstacles to voting both nefarious and some completely without intent. Making voting day a federal holiday. Early voting is a step in the right direction. Have a voting week. Free public transportation to voting polls.
THAT PART. Kind of frustrating that we've been saying for years that the toddlers are about to burn their hands on the hot stove and yet they insist upon doing it.
Since Bush '90, I thought "well it just has to get a little worse before it gets better...before young people notice and vote and become the majority that they could be." Still waiting.
Quite frankly, at this moment I’d prefer less people vote. If they don’t have the will to research their candidates and learn a little about how governing works, they should let those who do decide. The ignorant are killing us.
I’m with the belief that the collapse of global shipping and everything that goes with that will provide Trump with an unmanageable problem. See “the end of the world is just the beginning”
if that's the same as hope, I can do that. faint though it may be. My optimism ran out on 05Nov2024. i can and will #Resist til I run out of breath though.
So much soul searching needs to be done, and not by the pundits. There is so much in the power balances that is upside down right now. And defunding education, libraries and so on is not going to help
Until the concerns of the flyover states are addressed , they quite frankly don’t give a damn how it’s done on the coasts! Infrastructure, employment, education and housing have all suffered. Who should this society be angry with?
Concerned? A lot of us have been concerned for years while the republican party embraced the crazy again and again and then went fully overboard because they couldn't handle the fact a black man became president.
I believe that war, famine and disease have historically restarted society and the culture but we’ve evolved to where they no longer happen, or if they do they don’t disrupt society the way they used to.
Biden needs to revoke El0ns citizenship and deport him now, before it's too late. What is his handle on here? We all need to press him to do this. This man can't come to this country and buy and destroy our Democracy. He's a trait0r to our country!
one problem is the scale of interaction. I see you already have 2K replies. how can you read them all?
we have fractured discourse due to alternative sets of facts. in media and law, we've lost science and critical thinking as accepted standards for all.
Mandate is the word the other side uses. It was not a mandate, it was a tight race, there’s always the gerrymandering. Did not help that a few key POC coalition broke down because I listened to that guy over Harris. So let’s pull ourselves up and get ready for the next round of elections.
It's like, half the country is screaming its head off at the gravity of this situation....and the other half are either blissfully ignorant or morally depraved enough to agree with the events unfolding. How do I sleep at night... ?
Personally, I'm rather glad that I get to watch it all unfold from afar. I think if I lived in USA I would be deeply concerned about the "unknown" on which way it will go.
Unfortunately this will affect everyone everywhere. When the US rolls over for Putin and revokes all environmental protections, the whole planet suffers
It's truly sad but we will fight for justice when he does something extreme things. It's the only way! We can't sit back and do nothing! I've been caught up in protest from Vietnam when I was a teenager running track. All of a sudden tear gas everywhere! It was scary!
You have no choice but to move forward. I feel the same way. But we have faced adversity as a country and as individuals and, really, the only way out is through. We have much work to do if we are going to resist!
Absolutely and you have exported it north to the dismay of informed Canadians. The only thing that may help us beat it back on election day is if Trump so spectacularly disenfranchises his base over the next 6 months it makes folks think twice about voting for the same thing here🤔
Not denying your statement in the least (personally believe it’s true) but have you got a link to any article that can confirm?
Just curious to read more.
I knew this was coming down when we switched from putting a ballot in a box and hand counting to using computers. No way to trust programmers. Only hope is for Biden to exercise his immunity, send special forces to arrest the criminals, and Kamala to have the courage to do what Pence refused to do.
Beg to disagree. The election results were dramatically skewed due to bomb threats at key blue voting sites, people being sent home, Elon tampering with results, & much more. Her rallies were packed, his were not. To think dems did not turn out is absurd. Dem votes were thwarted. They promised it.
Of course!
American society has areas in need of reform or renewal; but what should be a controlled burn by
experienced handlers has become a four-alarm inferno lit by a deranged, infantile pyromaniac.
To be actively concerned would require first being surprised. I'm not surprised. It's a bit like watching a car crash in slow motion. You know what's about to happen so you're prepared. Thus, "concern" isn't really the word. You hear an earthquake warning, you get the fuck out of there, right?
Of course no doubt about it. Social media, even us lovely benign people, exacerbate this. This is not the only time we have been found wanting its just all the other times we of like mind didn’t all voice opinions at the same time.
Yes, but I keep reminding myself that it is cyclical. The problem is that the upcoming administration can really burn the place down more than we have seen in our history. Never been so close to an other than democratic republic. And most don't realize it.
George to say I'm worried is an understatement, and I live in Ireland. I have come to really appreciate the country I live. Democracy with a good social conscience is the only way for societies to flourish. Thankfully Ireland has most of that. LGBTQI and women are respected here.
Do you think when Americans see men women and children being dragged from their homes and deported. When they see the heartbreak will they turn against Trump and project 2025?
I’m struggling with the notion that this guy who was impeached twice, a convicted felon, a guy who transferred classified docs to his bathroom in FL was allowed to run for the highest office and ‘won’ and may not face any repercussions for his actions? I’m very concerned.
Frankly, it is the only issue worth discussing. All the “she should have done X, the media should have done Y” stuff needs to be replaced with “why are we so fucked people believed the lies of a rapist/felon/insurrectionist - and is there any way back for a population like that?”
… and all the hand wringing over which interest group did what while ignoring the depravity of white men. It is the soft bigotry of low expectations. Men have to be challenged to do better.
not sure why you’d ask. we’ve been taken over by a low-IQ-malignant-narcissist and his band of sycophantic-flying-monkeys…..who don’t GAF about anyone but themselves…..what could possibly go wrong?
It is hard not to notice how the fiber of our American way of life has become “addled”. The root cause is the addle brained thought process of a certain cult leader and his minions. Still struggling with the election results and wondering why anyone would vote for he who shall not be named.
For the past few days I am with my schmaga little bro & repub dad. Both assuring me nothing will ever happen to SS, Medicare, ACA, women's rights "as they are today", gay rights.. on and on. Some "what abouts". I just do the Z formation and they stop! They are living in an alt reality.
As these things *do* get eroded away-- or occasionally obliterated all at one--
At every turn they will tell you that what's happening isn't really happening.
I hope I'm wrong about that. But that's the general trend with these things.
CERTAIN OF IT! Pervasive disinformation got us here, and the Dem. Party has to combat it with true messaging in diverse media. Read The New Yorker, "Republican Victory & The Ambience of Information."
Yes. Our inability to communicate with one another because of our atomized information system has disrupted our ability to form, as Durkheim described, a "collective consciousness." So--yes!
Comments
Rest of the world:
Not sure why more aren’t realizing this or talking about it.
There *are* candles in the night.
And we should only support those who vote for us.
Blame the government
Blame women working
Blame Hillary
Blame the immigrants
Blame Saddam
Blame the poor that need assistance
Blame the Seniors that paid for their social security & Medicare
Blame Obamacare
And republicans who are dooping them just to stay in power. And us preaching to them till we're blue in the face is not working. So let them fail.
The entire Trumpian project feels like a primal scream from people who need their blankie because the culture won’t center them EXCLUSIVELY and they want all of daddy’s attention
It’s this aspect I’ve been most concerned with as a historian.
Regressive movements - early 20th euro-fascist, Pol Pot/Mao, Chavez, Putin - are almost always populist in origin and ALWAYS end in war and/or social collapse.
Kooky end. We need strong leadership that are not strongmen rather leaders that are the brave and true to our founding promises.
And it feels like the train has left the station-
like there’s nothing we can do.
Lie, con, conspiracy theories, night & day, have the bully push them & make it all real.
30% of our population needs counseling from being in a cult for 10 years.
This is not a joke!
#2. Megyn Kelly (wtf?!!!!)
#4. Ben Shapiro
#5. Charlie Kirk
#6. Tucker Carlson
#8. Candace Owens
#10. Dan Bongino
It’s a moron brigade of right wing apologists/cheerleaders.
they eat, live, listen, and breathe this sh*t….it keeps
them up at night…their lives
are as miserable as the people that they listen to are..wretched existence
This is disturbing!
I love podcasts - but I'm thinking of truckdrivers, farmers, & anyone that can listen while working. That d*** 24/7 source of repetitive propaganda is a D challenge to overcome.
I've read posts that recommend connecting w/ neighbors, starting w/ nonpolitical chitchat.
When TR***'s horrid plans are enacted, we can be ready to give bits of facts to the FaceEating Leopards Club members. Little bits of info...
And MAGAts - aren't you just loving how your fucking hero has fixed the price of eggs?
I never expected to be fighting against voter suppression more than fifty years later.
Republicans who try to prevent other folks are evil. And the ones who do it while claiming to be Christians are damned.
https://bsky.app/profile/deniseks.bsky.social/post/3lhojhfwues2g
Christians have always been cruel and war has always been their weapon of choice in their zest to control the world.
Their way or the highway.
Distraught. Every single day.
Nov18 episode
This makes me so sad for this country!
I’m giving them squat. I ignore them all while seeking new ideas and better solutions for the issues of my life.
Be positive. Be grateful. Be a force for good. 💙🇺🇸💙
A small % of voters make the majority of decisions for everyone. The rest tune out & stay home. It's been that way forever.
The Libs just need to sell their message better. If schlock & awe politics is what it takes, then so be it. Game on...
When humanity changes its basic operating system, things go nuts for a while...
On your last flight, what was the ratio of people reading a book to people watching a screen?
They are so pathetic. I love we can be here w/o them.
It all feels like a rutterless ghost ship now. 🏴☠️
We’re all riding on the Black Pearl! 😳
the gop isnt for america, its actively for perverts.
It’s so fitting for where we are at. History may not always repeat itself, but it does rhyme.
"The fuck it i got mine" spirit is stronger each day
Also, nothing about the previous conversation, but you look like one of my professor when i was in my 10 years old in France
All of it seems absurd. From the amount of money sloshing around to the characters involved.
I'm hoping America can find it's feet again and offer some shining example to the world.
At the moment, across the western world, the political class appear to do as they wish.
Provided we survive their games, there is every chance that mother nature will re-align things.
Optimism is needed. Without it we are lost.
Vote NO on #HR9495
Here’s some folks to call ☎️
202-225-0855
202-225-6730
202-225-4811
202-225-6416
202-225-5711
202-225-5643
@mikelevin.bsky.social
Vote NO 💙💙 #HR9495
Let’s get it done they’ve already had over 8K calls keep the pressure up
A large grassroots movement could get the republicans in congress to vote with their own brain, rather than do Trump's bid.
we have fractured discourse due to alternative sets of facts. in media and law, we've lost science and critical thinking as accepted standards for all.
thanks for your efforts.
Cognitive decline is still intact 12 months post infection
Cognitive impairment while driving with an active infection is similar to a blood alcohol level at the legal limit.
Infection (and reinfection) cause IQ loss
Just curious to read more.
Resist!
Question is, what does the individual do about it? Where are the leaders to take decency back?
American society has areas in need of reform or renewal; but what should be a controlled burn by
experienced handlers has become a four-alarm inferno lit by a deranged, infantile pyromaniac.
It truly is a dark night of the soul times
I don't think it will be so "easy"
I do not know what it would look like, but the constrictor is tightening it's grip.
You know, a phase. We’ll outgrow it.
I hope.
As these things *do* get eroded away-- or occasionally obliterated all at one--
At every turn they will tell you that what's happening isn't really happening.
I hope I'm wrong about that. But that's the general trend with these things.