1. At this point, I think it needs to be said that there’s a great big feeling among liberals and Democrats, and I would suggest especially *affluent white* liberals and Democrats, that liberal democracy isn’t really dead.
Comments
Log in with your Bluesky account to leave a comment
Affluent white liberals maybe. But I think if you're a liberal, no matter what color, you see the demise of democracy. It's media that doesn't see the cognitive dissonance.
How do I really feel? Jk. I feel in myself a bit of Robespierre right now - our elites have mostly failed. That they couldn’t agree to not sell stock being a glaring pathetic example. And How many politicians have lobbyist family members? Barf.
The rich can afford to "feel" all they want. They have the luxury of resources. Most of us are afraid of being like ordinary citizens in 1930s Germany or communist Russia: victims of a government of thugs.
3. I would say there’s also a good deal of magical thinking in this denial, as if the criminals who shot their beloved will soon come to justice, and once they do, their beloved will rise again, good as new.
4. I think this needs to be said because liberals and Democrats keep telling themselves that democracy itself depends on the integrity of democratic institutions and democratic norms, and that without them, the country will manifest the founding fathers’ fear of despotism.
5. I think this needs to be said, because the founding fathers’ fear of despotism is about to be made manifest, and that’s because the democratic institutions and democratic norms that liberals and Democrats keep telling themselves that they hold dear have failed.
True, but liberal democracy was always only self-sustaining if we make it so. As German constitutional judge Böckenförde said: The liberal democratic state lives on moral and cultural preconditions (shared values, civic virtue, social bonds) that it cannot itself manufacture or guarantee by law.
Truth. Our institutions have been shaken to the core and I have no doubt they will be severely damaged, but we cannot give up fighting to regain them. That is what they want.
Oh come on - the Founders did not plan for institutions overtaken by dark money and partisanship. . They weren’t perfect by any stretch. We could fix that. We being the people. Or we can just become sad little
Cogs.
6. Denial is natural, as is the impulse to seek comfort, and MSNBC and others outlets that are attuned to the tastes of privileged liberals are ready to capitalize on that impulse.
7. I’m generalizing here, perhaps grossly, but even so, the tenor seems to be one of patronizing solace, as if to say: Don’t worry, the evil that’s coming won’t be too evil, and anyway, the evil that does come will be remedied by the next election.
I don’t believe that “Democratic Institutions “ failed, I believe our elected officials failed to be zealous and diligent in upholding our “Democratic Institutions “.
The institutions and norms that those people keep trying use to reassure us are nothing but the integrity and courage of ordinary men and women willing to do the right thing.
They've failed miserably.
They would do well to remember the closing of the Declaration of Independence:
As much as we'd like the idea of American democracy to be real, the truth is we've never had it. The Constitution fully institutes an Oligarchic Republic, run by wealth and racism. Our struggle on the Left has always been to turn that document into a manifesto of democracy. That is our task.
Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech "Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution" urged people to stay awake and take action against racism, poverty, and war. He gave this speech at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC on March 31, 1968.
american liberals as a whole would rather accommodate than fight. upsetting people's feelings to them is WORSE than speaking truth to power. and on top of that they are deathly afraid of holding power themselves.
Comments
Most people don‘t realize that fashists get to power by elections, but they NEVER left them by elections.
All the famous checks and balances proved to be worthless during his presidency, and even more after it.
This won‘t be 4 years. The world will be lucky if it‘s 12.
Cogs.
They've failed miserably.
They would do well to remember the closing of the Declaration of Independence:
"And for the support of this Declaration... we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DO BOTH.
notice how they always try to get bipartisan support to do anything great. they are deathly afraid of taking credit for anything good.