I think the key here is there needs to be consequences. There were consequences after WWII, and Germany did not keep electing Nazis. There were no consequences after the 2008 crash. There were no consequences for trump after the first term. It was as good as permission.
Reposted from
Duncan Jones
If we can pull out of this nosedive into Authoritarianism, I think theres a silver-lining... We have steered clear of fascism's pull for 80 years due to the living memory of the Greatest Generation, but now, with them gone, we need a new inoculation from the virus, and this period might be it.
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If there are no consequences to Trump II and authoritarian *will* eventually succeed in cowing the United States.
Which really sucks because the next President could say “you’re fired!” to Trump.
Agreed, their have been no consequences. The elections have been about the lesser of two evils for decades now and ambivalence has set in.
Hubris. Pure and contemptible as it ever was.
So long as it continues the good purposes of government are subverted.
Imagine if Biden had taken a step back from his own ego and history, and listened to the students who protested to him because they believed he would listen, hear, and care.
That Biden might have changed the world for the better.
But here we are. And this is his legacy.
Denazification was very effective everywhere it took place.
Fascism was allowed to fester and resurge, after all.
The Brooks Brothers riot was seen as a success story, repeated with the same people and an end run on the courts, and... well. Here we are.
He served on his town council immediately after the war, but emigrated to USA because he couldn't stand how many Nazis were allowed back in power.
But denazification did work. Everyone learned the lessons of fascism.
I can imagine top-down reforms, but the authoritarians now have a firm grasp over our institutions.
See also: Brazil. South Korea. This is how you keep a democracy functioning.