It's funny how we demand immigrants "assimilate" but the majority party courts the least-assimilated

[marylandblue]

12. This is not about sweetness or nuance

Many people have observed the rising tide of authoritarianism around the world. Here in the US, we tend blame Donald Trump. We think all we have to do is remove or vote him out and then return things to "normal." But he is a symptom of the disease not a cause. If we don't cure the disease, authoritarianism will continue to rise, with or without Trump. And sooner or later, your vote won't matter.

People become authoritarians when they feel threatened by outside forces they can't control. It doesn't matter if the threats are real or not, existential or cultural. Fear takes them over, and they look to repressive or violent solutions. This is why they put children in cages. Not because they are bad people. But because they are afraid.

Obama did what he could, but he failed on this issue. Not necessarily his fault, and perhaps more in perception than reality, but that's a different discussion.

Hate comes from fear. The fear has to be resolved. There are calming strategies and there are inflaming strategies. We need calming stratwgies.