Will we ever recover from the political mess the far right has made of American politics?

[lees1975]

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2023/06/will-we-ever-recover-from-this.html

Every succeeding human generation tends to think it has mastered and conquered the problems of its past, the things that led to hatred, war, destruction, the stunted growth of cultures and societies and nations, the evil that led human beings, who are theoretically the most intelligent beings on the planet, to torture and murder each other and bring down each other's civilizations because they were perceived as weak and inferior. And yet here we are, in the United States of America, in the twenty-first century, with serious problems that have the potential to bring down our 247 year old democracy.

I don't expect that there will be a quick turnaround in the thinking of those who have become caught up in the anti-patriotic, un-American MAGA movement or the subversive white supremacists, conspiracy theorists and anarchists that direct its movements. That kind of dark, negative ideology lasts a long time. We're still dealing with the effects of the racism and hatred that spewed out of the old Confederacy after Reconstruction was brought to an end. But we can keep it from spreading, growing, and render it ineffective in achieving its goals. I do have a few suggestions.

1. The former President must be brought to justice, not only for stealing classified documents, or in business fraud or civil sexual assault cases, but for charges of seditious conspiracy and inciting insurrection on January 6th, 2021.
2. All Americans who have seen this for what it is, must make a commitment to use the tools that Democracy gives them, which are free expression and THE BALLOT BOX! All elections matter.
3. The public education system, from pre-Kindergarten to the graduate level of colleges and universities, need to experience major reform in civics education.

[LoisB]

1. I agree with all your points.

[lees1975]

2. Last line of the article

Ignorance is the real enemy. It will take more than a generation to get rid of the evil that has infiltrated our society and culture. We must always be proactive and on the lookout for an invasion of ideology intended to destroy us from within. And the only cure for ignorance is education.

[Martin Eden]

5. "invasion of ideology intended to destroy us from within"

The malefactors of great wealth who finance the Republican Party have long been crafting a poisonous ideology which cloaks unfettered greed in the American flag and claims the moral high ground by usurping the Christian religion to serve Mammon. Their politicians and pundits are skilled at manipulating the fear, bigotry, and ignorance of voters whose inadequate education and narrow minded culture made them useful idiots.

It was only a matter of time before a foreign adversary like Russia learned how to exploit and widen this rift in American democracy. Putin's asset Donald Trump, despite his ignorance and mental pathologies, boiled the poisonous ideology down to its base elements and beat all the Republican lackey candidates at their own game. This grifting con man spewed a cavalcade of lies his audience was eager to believe. He liberated their inner Deplorable, and they love him for it. The boundaries and norms which the GOP establishment had steadily been pushing rightward were utterly smashed and carried to new extremities which have since become the key to success in Republican primaries.

The American people have not been so bitterly divided since the Civil War. Putin's asset did not create the poisonous ideology, so the "invasion" was initially an inside job, but it provided an opening for the tool of a former KGB agent to further pry apart a divided America into a seemingly irreconcilable chasm.

A house divided against itself cannot long stand. The question is whether an ideology built on a foundation of greed and lies and hatred born of ignorance can survive long enough to tear the house down.

The answer depends on each and every one of us. Complacency is not an option. Voting is mandatory.

[Easterncedar]

8. Very true

Reading this in the context of the current (9/25) thread begun by H2O Man. I so agree. I’m sorry I missed this earlier and am glad to see it now. Thanks for saying what needs to be heard.

[Thunderbeast]

3. Public secular education and voter participation are the only way out

The elites can pamper their spawn in private academies. The Christian dimwits can continue to home school. The ballot box and the public schools are the key to a just society.

[lees1975]

6. This is not as monolithic as it may appear.

There are many private academies, including those operated by Christians, who are emphatic in their support for complete church-state separation and in their understanding that their own liberty is dependent on democracy which ensures freedom of conscience. I got much of the conviction I hold in this regard at a Christian university where the history, civics, pre-law and constitutional law professors were strong advocates of the constitutional guarantees of freedom of conscience and made sure students had a clear understanding of what is now being labelled as a "liberal," or "woke" approach to social justice.

But I agree, since 92% of American students go to public school, that's where the convictions about this must be taught and taught well. With math and science ramping up over the past couple of decades, we have neglected social studies. It should be equally demanding and covered as thoroughly as Pre-calculus and microbiology.

[Kablooie]

4. The far right is never going to go away.

They are a permanent part of the US so the goals mentioned will never be achieved by a large portion of the US.
So no, we will never fully recover.

[republianmushroom]

7. good posting.

I agree.

[Skittles]

9. no

we still haven't recovered from REAGAN, let alone DUBYA and TRUMP

[Dulcinea]

10. To quote the late Congressman John Lewis:

"The right to vote is precious, almost sacred. It is the most powerful nonviolent tool or instrument in a democratic society. We must use it." --Rep. John Lewis, D-GA, 1940-2020