Yep.- you hit every aspect of the Insidious Fascist plague that is now the 47th Regime .
Can't count the times after the No Kings Protests, that I have ended my emails & phone conversations with my Fascist Republican House Rep Kevin Kiley/CA-3: We the people know full well what all the Congressional Republicans & this 47th administration want ' a Psuedo Democracy ' 7million American protested at the No Kings protest because they
Lillian, I understand the intensity behind what you’re saying...and the anger makes sense. When people believe democratic norms are being deliberately hollowed out...outrage is a rational response...not a defect.
And...I'd add this: the most important thing those protests signal isn’t rage...it’s legitimacy refusal.
Seven million people showing up...isn’t just symbolism. It’s a message that a large portion of the public does NOT CONSENT to a pseudo-democracy...even if they disagree on everything else.
That matters more than slogans...because authoritarian projects don’t fail when they’re called names...they fail...when they can’t normalize themselves.
Pressure...documentation...persistence...and refusal to disengage are what keep systems from quietly flipping. The danger isn’t people being angry. The danger is people deciding it’s pointless...to keep insisting on standards.
Anger can burn out.
Legitimacy denial...sustained over time...is MUCH harder to extinguish.
Great article Jack! I do have a question? (I almost feel I should know this answer, but here goes). You stated rapid economic collapse hastens authoritarianism. It would seem to me that rapid economic collapse would stifle authoritarianism, and the people would really push back against it, because the economy is collapsing. Maybe I’m not seeing the big picture. Thank you!😊
That’s a great question, Deborah...and you’re NOT missing anything obvious. You’re thinking intuitively...and the intuition makes sense on the surface. It does.
The key...is that economic collapse doesn’t move people toward one reaction...it changes WHICH reaction becomes psychologically AVAILABLE.
Here’s the big picture.
In stable or mildly stressed economies...people do push back. They protest...organize... vote... litigate...and demand reform. They still believe pressure can work.
But...rapid economic collapse changes the psychology of the public...and the incentives of elites... at the same time...and that’s the dangerous combination.
When collapse is fast and severe...several things happen simultaneously:
Fear replaces agency.
People stop asking, “What’s fair?” and start asking, “Who can stop this?”
Order becomes more valuable than process. Speed becomes more valuable than legitimacy.
The public fragments instead of unifying.
Some people radicalize against the regime. Others cling to it out of fear. Others disengage entirely just trying to survive. That fragmentation weakens coordinated resistance.
Elites defect for self-preservation.
Business leaders...media owners...bureaucrats...and even judges often decide that accommodation is safer than resistance if collapse threatens their status...assets..or physical safety. This is historically decisive.
Authoritarians gain a justification narrative.
Emergency powers become “necessary.”
Rule-breaking becomes “temporary.”
Repression becomes “stability.”
Collapse gives authoritarians cover they otherwise lack.
Institutions lose capacity before they lose principle.
Courts, agencies...and watchdogs may still want to resist...but lack resources...staffing... legitimacy...or enforcement power when systems are breaking down.
So your instinct isn’t wrong...not at all; it’s just incomplete without the timing and coordination piece.
That’s also why the current moment is STILL open-ended. We have stress...not collapse. Pressure...not panic. Resistance STILL has organizational oxygen.
Your question goes right to the heart of the issue...and you’re seeing more of the picture than you think!
I’m glad that resistance in many small ways is part of our slog to a return to the rule of law and respect for the US constitution by all as we continue, our communal search for a more perfect Union. This week’s activity is sending a letter to corporations that are pro Trump explaining we do not shop there anymore.
Laura...that instinct is exactly right...and it’s more powerful than it often feels in the moment.
Authoritarian drift is slowed not just by grand gestures...but by distributed...persistent refusal.
Letters like the ones you’re sending do two things at once: they register dissent... and they introduce uncertainty into places...that care deeply about predictability: corporate decision-making.
Economic signaling matters because corporations are not ideological actors...they’re risk managers. When support for authoritarian politics starts to look like brand risk...consumer loss...or reputational drag...behavior changes quietly...long before anyone issues a press release.
Equally important...is what you said about the slog. Democracies don’t usually snap back ...they grind forward...through countless small acts of insistence: writing...withholding... documenting...voting...showing up...and refusing to normalize what shouldn’t be normal.
None of this is glamorous.
All of it counts.
That’s how a return to the rule of law actually happens...not all at once...but through sustained...collective pressure...that NEVER quite goes away.
Mary E, that’s not a misimpression...it just needs one key clarification.
Yes...the U.S. runs on debt. But...the issue isn’t how much debt; it’s who holds it...and whether they trust the system behind it.
As you are almost certainly aware, (so I write this for anyone who might not be) U.S. debt isn’t like household borrowing. Treasuries are the world’s primary safe asset. Banks.. pension funds...insurers...governments...and central banks need them to function.
Most U.S. debt is actually held domestically...not by foreign governments...and global demand for Treasuries remains strong...even during political chaos.
So...the real risk isn’t “running out of lenders.”
Thanks, Jack, for the sacrifices you make every day to bring to us not only what is happening but set out what we can expect if we do nothing, or conversely, something.
My Sudanese sons talk of their thousand mile trek when some of the children simply stopped, sat down in the dirt and died, not from injury or even hunger, but of despair. Is that what trump and his handlers want? They want us to become so tired of the never ending stream of turd soup he dishes out that we shut down? Give up? Submit?
Fuck that. I turned 77 today. Too damn old to change now.
#HoldFast and if you can be nothing else be a damn irritant.
Sue...thank you for trusting me with something that personal. Seriously.
What you shared about your sons is devastating...and it lands exactly where this conversation actually lives.
Despair is not just an emotion. It’s a strategy in a lot of these moments...not always consciously plotted...but structurally produced.
The flood of chaos...insult...threat...and degradation isn’t only about winning arguments. It’s about exhausting the human capacity to care...to orient...to keep standing.
And...you’re right to reject it.
Authoritarian movements don’t need everyone to submit. They only need enough people to sit down...and to decide that staying upright...costs too much.
History shows that again and again. The danger isn’t fear alone. It’s learned futility.
What you’re doing, Sue...refusing to shut down...refusing to normalize...refusing to disappear... is the antidote. Not heroics. Presence. Persistence. Irritation.
Turning 77 and still choosing to hold fast isn’t stubbornness. It’s proof of something authoritarians can’t manufacture: a spine...built over a lifetime.
Thank you, Jack. We must keep on speaking out by writing letters and signing petitions, paying attention to who is running for what position, and paying close attention to details for sure! Hope and persistance help! Your details and explanations of patterns make a difference.
Thank you, JP...and you’re exactly right. None of this turns on a single heroic act. It turns on attention...persistence...and refusal to disengage.
Writing letters...signing petitions...tracking who’s running for what...and paying attention to details may feel small...but they’re how democratic muscle stays active.
Authoritarian drift feeds on distraction and fatigue. It stalls...when people keep insisting on standards...over and over...even when it’s tedious.
Hope...by itself isn’t enough.
But hope...paired with persistence...is how systems bend back.
I’m grateful you’re still in the work...and I’m glad the patterns and explanations are useful.
Great work again, Jack! I'm hopeful that we will survive this in some form. I think we are ALL sick to death of Oligarchs thinking they know what's best for the rest of us! Screw them!
I have always possessed a true disdain for greedy wealth, that I never truly understood...until now. I never knew where it came from, but I've had it since I was a kid. I find their greed truly despicable! I guess this "wiring" was preparing me for the future, which is now. There are wealthy people who are good, but I can't say that for the majority of them. Who the hell do these greedy assholes think they are??!!
TimE...I hear the anger...and honestly...it’s a moral anger...not a petty one. You're on fire...in a GOOD way....and for a good REASON.
What you’re reacting to isn’t wealth itself. It’s unaccountable power wrapped in entitlement.
That “wiring” you describe? That’s a sensitivity to illegitimate authority. Some people feel it early...when they notice that those with the most money...often mistake possession for wisdom...and insulation for superiority. You didn’t hate success. You hated the assumption...that success confers the right to rule.
You’re also right to make the distinction you did. There are wealthy people who act with restraint...humility...and civic responsibility. Historically, those people understand something crucial: wealth is a tool...not a crown.
The problem we’re living with now...is a class of oligarchs who believe money entitles them to rewrite rules...hollow out democracy...and treat the rest of society as an obstacle to be managed. (Personally, I have...ummm...unkind thoughts...when I think about someone treating those with lesser means like that.)
That’s not leadership. That’s extraction.
And here’s the part that matters for hope: oligarchic arrogance...is almost always their undoing. They overreach. They underestimate public memory. They mistake exhaustion... for consent. History is ruthless about this.
Your disgust isn’t corrosive...it’s clarifying. Just don’t let it turn into despair or dehumanization...because that’s what they rely on.
The antidote to oligarchy isn’t rage alone...it’s SUSTAINED refusal to accept their moral authority.
You’re not wrong to feel this way. I LIKE...that you DO.
You’re responding to a real abuse of power.
And...yes...I STILL believe we survive this in some form. Not because oligarchs suddenly grow consciences...but because enough people eventually say, “No. You don’t get to decide this alone.”
That’s how the story usually turns.
Do I believe this will get uglier than many people are prepared for...before we ever feel a genuine wave of “We’re prevailing”?
Absolutely.
And “uglier”...probably doesn’t even begin to cover it.
That’s the primary reason I started this newsletter in the first place. I saw what was coming...how destabilizing and traumatic it was likely to be...and I wanted to play a role in helping people face it with more clarity...resilience...and effectiveness.
If anything...that purpose feels even MORE urgent now.
Excellent article Jack. Neither comfortable nor terrifying. Analytic as is expected from your articles. That’s why I’m here. I got a lot out of the “Questions for Skeptics.” Aren’t we all skeptics these days? I think we should be. I’m probably as exhausted, traumatized and depressed as I’ve ever been at this point. Some personal issues adding to the burden but I’ll never give up. Never stop fighting. Taking a short break in some areas but not quitting. It was a tough weekend. Two mass shootings, which I’m never going to become desensitized to and then the murders of Rob Reiner and his wife. Add to that the reaction (expected but disgusting) of our so-called president and yeah, it’s been a tough few days.
As I do with many of your articles, I’ll re-read this again in a day or so.
Susan, thank you for writing something that honest. And...I want to say this carefully: what you’re describing doesn’t sound like weakness...or burnout in the moral sense. It sounds like a nervous system...that’s been carrying too much...for too long...without enough time to metabolize it.
You’re right...skepticism is rational now. It’s a form of self-protection. And exhaustion doesn’t mean disengagement...it means you’ve been engaged for a very long time...in conditions that keep escalating without resolution.
That takes a real toll...especially when the events are violent...senseless...and morally grotesque; mass shootings never become abstract if you’re still human...and I hope they never do.
Taking a short break in some areas is not quitting. Historically...and psychologically...it’s how people stay in the fight over the long haul.
Every sustained resistance movement has cycles of advance...consolidation...rest...and return. Anyone who pretends otherwise...is selling a fantasy...that burns people out.
What matters is exactly what you said...never giving up...even if you step back...narrow your focus...or choose where to spend your limited energy for a moment.
Persistence is not constant intensity. It’s CONTINUITY.
Re-reading later is often when things land differently... not because the facts change...but because your system...has a little more space to absorb them.
I’m glad the “Questions for Skeptics” section resonated. (I actually benefit as great deal from writing and answering them. It pushes me to think even deeper) We are all skeptics now...and that’s not cynicism...it’s discernment.
I’m really glad you’re here.
I’m really glad you’re holding fast...EVEN when it’s heavy.
No one seems to know why my brain fires as it does, but not only was this was, for me, a cheerful piece, thought provoking and much needed; it also reminded me of a version of “The Arkansas Traveler” I’ve been enjoying lately:
Two things I can envision that would alter the situation dramatically are:
1) A stock market crash resulting in increased unemployment.
2) A declaration of war and institution of a military draft.
Either of these stressors would tilt the table in favor of authoritarian consolidation. Worse, I think Trump could manufacture either crisis on a whim.
Will Democracy die? Only if Americans let it. Action, no matter how small, shows resolve, and resolve is the first step toward saving Democracy from the worst of us.
Jack, I think it worth additional consideration of two significant conditions that were not listed among the factors you outlined: the structure of the U.S. as a republic and the vast geography of the nation that are relatively immutable. When you consider that outside of Texas and Florida the vast majority of the high economically functioning states tend to be led by Democrats and the weakness of the ability of the federal government to effectively control them without literally destroying them, the idea of totalitarian capture seems remote. Even a substantial attempt at doing so would completely undermine the financing of the country which is already precarious. Add to that the vast expanse of space, the number of people and the percentage of them who won’t take that kind of shit for even a second makes the idea that this group of incompetent fascists could impose such a capture very far fetched in my opinion. Degradation of democracy? Certainly. But totalitarian capture? Not likely in my view.
Yep.- you hit every aspect of the Insidious Fascist plague that is now the 47th Regime .
Can't count the times after the No Kings Protests, that I have ended my emails & phone conversations with my Fascist Republican House Rep Kevin Kiley/CA-3: We the people know full well what all the Congressional Republicans & this 47th administration want ' a Psuedo Democracy ' 7million American protested at the No Kings protest because they
don't accept this Psuedo Democracy!
Lillian, I understand the intensity behind what you’re saying...and the anger makes sense. When people believe democratic norms are being deliberately hollowed out...outrage is a rational response...not a defect.
And...I'd add this: the most important thing those protests signal isn’t rage...it’s legitimacy refusal.
Seven million people showing up...isn’t just symbolism. It’s a message that a large portion of the public does NOT CONSENT to a pseudo-democracy...even if they disagree on everything else.
That matters more than slogans...because authoritarian projects don’t fail when they’re called names...they fail...when they can’t normalize themselves.
Pressure...documentation...persistence...and refusal to disengage are what keep systems from quietly flipping. The danger isn’t people being angry. The danger is people deciding it’s pointless...to keep insisting on standards.
Anger can burn out.
Legitimacy denial...sustained over time...is MUCH harder to extinguish.
And that’s the lever...that still exists.
#HoldFast, Lillian Holsworth!
-Jack
Great article Jack! I do have a question? (I almost feel I should know this answer, but here goes). You stated rapid economic collapse hastens authoritarianism. It would seem to me that rapid economic collapse would stifle authoritarianism, and the people would really push back against it, because the economy is collapsing. Maybe I’m not seeing the big picture. Thank you!😊
That’s a great question, Deborah...and you’re NOT missing anything obvious. You’re thinking intuitively...and the intuition makes sense on the surface. It does.
The key...is that economic collapse doesn’t move people toward one reaction...it changes WHICH reaction becomes psychologically AVAILABLE.
Here’s the big picture.
In stable or mildly stressed economies...people do push back. They protest...organize... vote... litigate...and demand reform. They still believe pressure can work.
But...rapid economic collapse changes the psychology of the public...and the incentives of elites... at the same time...and that’s the dangerous combination.
When collapse is fast and severe...several things happen simultaneously:
Fear replaces agency.
People stop asking, “What’s fair?” and start asking, “Who can stop this?”
Order becomes more valuable than process. Speed becomes more valuable than legitimacy.
The public fragments instead of unifying.
Some people radicalize against the regime. Others cling to it out of fear. Others disengage entirely just trying to survive. That fragmentation weakens coordinated resistance.
Elites defect for self-preservation.
Business leaders...media owners...bureaucrats...and even judges often decide that accommodation is safer than resistance if collapse threatens their status...assets..or physical safety. This is historically decisive.
Authoritarians gain a justification narrative.
Emergency powers become “necessary.”
Rule-breaking becomes “temporary.”
Repression becomes “stability.”
Collapse gives authoritarians cover they otherwise lack.
Institutions lose capacity before they lose principle.
Courts, agencies...and watchdogs may still want to resist...but lack resources...staffing... legitimacy...or enforcement power when systems are breaking down.
So...paradoxically...collapse doesn’t silence opposition...it disorganizes it...while simultaneously accelerating elite alignment...behind whoever promises control.
That’s why history shows this pattern over and over:
Weimar Germany
Post-Soviet Russia
Venezuela
Chile pre-1973
In each case...there was resistance. It just couldn’t consolidate fast enough under collapse conditions.
The reason this matters for the U.S....is that economic stress alone...isn’t enough. People can...and DO resist under stress.
What changes the equation...is speed and severity.
Slow stress produces reform pressure. Rapid collapse...produces fear-driven consolidation.
So your instinct isn’t wrong...not at all; it’s just incomplete without the timing and coordination piece.
That’s also why the current moment is STILL open-ended. We have stress...not collapse. Pressure...not panic. Resistance STILL has organizational oxygen.
Your question goes right to the heart of the issue...and you’re seeing more of the picture than you think!
#HoldFast
-Jack
I’m glad that resistance in many small ways is part of our slog to a return to the rule of law and respect for the US constitution by all as we continue, our communal search for a more perfect Union. This week’s activity is sending a letter to corporations that are pro Trump explaining we do not shop there anymore.
Laura...that instinct is exactly right...and it’s more powerful than it often feels in the moment.
Authoritarian drift is slowed not just by grand gestures...but by distributed...persistent refusal.
Letters like the ones you’re sending do two things at once: they register dissent... and they introduce uncertainty into places...that care deeply about predictability: corporate decision-making.
Economic signaling matters because corporations are not ideological actors...they’re risk managers. When support for authoritarian politics starts to look like brand risk...consumer loss...or reputational drag...behavior changes quietly...long before anyone issues a press release.
Equally important...is what you said about the slog. Democracies don’t usually snap back ...they grind forward...through countless small acts of insistence: writing...withholding... documenting...voting...showing up...and refusing to normalize what shouldn’t be normal.
None of this is glamorous.
All of it counts.
That’s how a return to the rule of law actually happens...not all at once...but through sustained...collective pressure...that NEVER quite goes away.
#HoldFast
-Jack
Really good post, Jack.
A question re 4. Economics: The Silent Decider
I am under the impression (perhaps misimpression) that the USA pretty much functions because the federal government borrows and borrows and borrows.
The U.S. National debt was/is about:
1985 $ 1.8 trillion
2005 $ 8.0 trillion
2025 $38+ trillion
If we need debt to function, who will our lenders be?
Mary E, that’s not a misimpression...it just needs one key clarification.
Yes...the U.S. runs on debt. But...the issue isn’t how much debt; it’s who holds it...and whether they trust the system behind it.
As you are almost certainly aware, (so I write this for anyone who might not be) U.S. debt isn’t like household borrowing. Treasuries are the world’s primary safe asset. Banks.. pension funds...insurers...governments...and central banks need them to function.
Most U.S. debt is actually held domestically...not by foreign governments...and global demand for Treasuries remains strong...even during political chaos.
So...the real risk isn’t “running out of lenders.”
It’s breaking confidence.
Debt becomes dangerous when:
Political instability threatens repayment norms
Rule of law looks negotiable
Default is used as a political weapon
Inflation or institutional credibility collapses
That’s when lenders pull back...rates spike...and economic crisis accelerates authoritarian consolidation.
So the short answer is:
The U.S. will keep finding lenders...as long as trust holds. Debt itself isn’t the trigger. Losing institutional credibility...is
.
That’s why democratic erosion and economics are inseparable...and why economic collapse...when it comes fast...changes everything.
#HoldFast
-Jack
Thanks, Jack, for the sacrifices you make every day to bring to us not only what is happening but set out what we can expect if we do nothing, or conversely, something.
My Sudanese sons talk of their thousand mile trek when some of the children simply stopped, sat down in the dirt and died, not from injury or even hunger, but of despair. Is that what trump and his handlers want? They want us to become so tired of the never ending stream of turd soup he dishes out that we shut down? Give up? Submit?
Fuck that. I turned 77 today. Too damn old to change now.
#HoldFast and if you can be nothing else be a damn irritant.
Sue
Sue...thank you for trusting me with something that personal. Seriously.
What you shared about your sons is devastating...and it lands exactly where this conversation actually lives.
Despair is not just an emotion. It’s a strategy in a lot of these moments...not always consciously plotted...but structurally produced.
The flood of chaos...insult...threat...and degradation isn’t only about winning arguments. It’s about exhausting the human capacity to care...to orient...to keep standing.
And...you’re right to reject it.
Authoritarian movements don’t need everyone to submit. They only need enough people to sit down...and to decide that staying upright...costs too much.
History shows that again and again. The danger isn’t fear alone. It’s learned futility.
What you’re doing, Sue...refusing to shut down...refusing to normalize...refusing to disappear... is the antidote. Not heroics. Presence. Persistence. Irritation.
Turning 77 and still choosing to hold fast isn’t stubbornness. It’s proof of something authoritarians can’t manufacture: a spine...built over a lifetime.
You’re right, Sue.
Fuck despair.
And Happy Birthday...truly!
#HoldFast
-Jack
“A burr under the saddle” jumped to mind, although in this case I’d prefer a nest of ticks.
Randy, a nest of ticks...SUPERB!
-Jack
Thank you, Jack. We must keep on speaking out by writing letters and signing petitions, paying attention to who is running for what position, and paying close attention to details for sure! Hope and persistance help! Your details and explanations of patterns make a difference.
#HOLDFAST
Thank you, JP...and you’re exactly right. None of this turns on a single heroic act. It turns on attention...persistence...and refusal to disengage.
Writing letters...signing petitions...tracking who’s running for what...and paying attention to details may feel small...but they’re how democratic muscle stays active.
Authoritarian drift feeds on distraction and fatigue. It stalls...when people keep insisting on standards...over and over...even when it’s tedious.
Hope...by itself isn’t enough.
But hope...paired with persistence...is how systems bend back.
I’m grateful you’re still in the work...and I’m glad the patterns and explanations are useful.
That...is how we keep each other standing.
#HoldFast
-Jack
Great work again, Jack! I'm hopeful that we will survive this in some form. I think we are ALL sick to death of Oligarchs thinking they know what's best for the rest of us! Screw them!
I have always possessed a true disdain for greedy wealth, that I never truly understood...until now. I never knew where it came from, but I've had it since I was a kid. I find their greed truly despicable! I guess this "wiring" was preparing me for the future, which is now. There are wealthy people who are good, but I can't say that for the majority of them. Who the hell do these greedy assholes think they are??!!
TimE...I hear the anger...and honestly...it’s a moral anger...not a petty one. You're on fire...in a GOOD way....and for a good REASON.
What you’re reacting to isn’t wealth itself. It’s unaccountable power wrapped in entitlement.
That “wiring” you describe? That’s a sensitivity to illegitimate authority. Some people feel it early...when they notice that those with the most money...often mistake possession for wisdom...and insulation for superiority. You didn’t hate success. You hated the assumption...that success confers the right to rule.
You’re also right to make the distinction you did. There are wealthy people who act with restraint...humility...and civic responsibility. Historically, those people understand something crucial: wealth is a tool...not a crown.
The problem we’re living with now...is a class of oligarchs who believe money entitles them to rewrite rules...hollow out democracy...and treat the rest of society as an obstacle to be managed. (Personally, I have...ummm...unkind thoughts...when I think about someone treating those with lesser means like that.)
That’s not leadership. That’s extraction.
And here’s the part that matters for hope: oligarchic arrogance...is almost always their undoing. They overreach. They underestimate public memory. They mistake exhaustion... for consent. History is ruthless about this.
Your disgust isn’t corrosive...it’s clarifying. Just don’t let it turn into despair or dehumanization...because that’s what they rely on.
The antidote to oligarchy isn’t rage alone...it’s SUSTAINED refusal to accept their moral authority.
You’re not wrong to feel this way. I LIKE...that you DO.
You’re responding to a real abuse of power.
And...yes...I STILL believe we survive this in some form. Not because oligarchs suddenly grow consciences...but because enough people eventually say, “No. You don’t get to decide this alone.”
That’s how the story usually turns.
Do I believe this will get uglier than many people are prepared for...before we ever feel a genuine wave of “We’re prevailing”?
Absolutely.
And “uglier”...probably doesn’t even begin to cover it.
That’s the primary reason I started this newsletter in the first place. I saw what was coming...how destabilizing and traumatic it was likely to be...and I wanted to play a role in helping people face it with more clarity...resilience...and effectiveness.
If anything...that purpose feels even MORE urgent now.
#HoldFast
-Jack
Thanks, Jack. That helps me to further understand why I've felt the way I have. I appreciate your wisdom and insight!
WOW 😳 another interesting article today, Jack. What this feels like is the beginning of the Fall of Rome?!! Thank you and will reStack ASAP 🙏
Excellent article Jack. Neither comfortable nor terrifying. Analytic as is expected from your articles. That’s why I’m here. I got a lot out of the “Questions for Skeptics.” Aren’t we all skeptics these days? I think we should be. I’m probably as exhausted, traumatized and depressed as I’ve ever been at this point. Some personal issues adding to the burden but I’ll never give up. Never stop fighting. Taking a short break in some areas but not quitting. It was a tough weekend. Two mass shootings, which I’m never going to become desensitized to and then the murders of Rob Reiner and his wife. Add to that the reaction (expected but disgusting) of our so-called president and yeah, it’s been a tough few days.
As I do with many of your articles, I’ll re-read this again in a day or so.
ReStacking as always!
#HOLDFAST
~Susan
Susan, thank you for writing something that honest. And...I want to say this carefully: what you’re describing doesn’t sound like weakness...or burnout in the moral sense. It sounds like a nervous system...that’s been carrying too much...for too long...without enough time to metabolize it.
You’re right...skepticism is rational now. It’s a form of self-protection. And exhaustion doesn’t mean disengagement...it means you’ve been engaged for a very long time...in conditions that keep escalating without resolution.
That takes a real toll...especially when the events are violent...senseless...and morally grotesque; mass shootings never become abstract if you’re still human...and I hope they never do.
Taking a short break in some areas is not quitting. Historically...and psychologically...it’s how people stay in the fight over the long haul.
Every sustained resistance movement has cycles of advance...consolidation...rest...and return. Anyone who pretends otherwise...is selling a fantasy...that burns people out.
What matters is exactly what you said...never giving up...even if you step back...narrow your focus...or choose where to spend your limited energy for a moment.
Persistence is not constant intensity. It’s CONTINUITY.
Re-reading later is often when things land differently... not because the facts change...but because your system...has a little more space to absorb them.
I’m glad the “Questions for Skeptics” section resonated. (I actually benefit as great deal from writing and answering them. It pushes me to think even deeper) We are all skeptics now...and that’s not cynicism...it’s discernment.
I’m really glad you’re here.
I’m really glad you’re holding fast...EVEN when it’s heavy.
Take the breath you need.
Then...we keep going.
#HoldFast
-Jack
Thank you Jack. Your reply was helpful and a bit reassuring.
~Susan
Thank you, Jack. I will restack ASAP. Important info to digest. #HOLDFAST
You're welcome, Pamela. Thank YOU for the restack!
#HoldFast
-Jack
Truly excellent and helpful, thank you Jack.
No one seems to know why my brain fires as it does, but not only was this was, for me, a cheerful piece, thought provoking and much needed; it also reminded me of a version of “The Arkansas Traveler” I’ve been enjoying lately:
(spoken):
“Hello stranger
“Well, hello stranger
“Can't you see that your roof is leaking?
“Why don't you fix it?
“Well, right now it's rainin' too hard
And when the suns a-shinin', why, it don't leak”
Might as well subtitle it “AKA Congress”.
Two things I can envision that would alter the situation dramatically are:
1) A stock market crash resulting in increased unemployment.
2) A declaration of war and institution of a military draft.
Either of these stressors would tilt the table in favor of authoritarian consolidation. Worse, I think Trump could manufacture either crisis on a whim.
Will Democracy die? Only if Americans let it. Action, no matter how small, shows resolve, and resolve is the first step toward saving Democracy from the worst of us.
Jack, I think it worth additional consideration of two significant conditions that were not listed among the factors you outlined: the structure of the U.S. as a republic and the vast geography of the nation that are relatively immutable. When you consider that outside of Texas and Florida the vast majority of the high economically functioning states tend to be led by Democrats and the weakness of the ability of the federal government to effectively control them without literally destroying them, the idea of totalitarian capture seems remote. Even a substantial attempt at doing so would completely undermine the financing of the country which is already precarious. Add to that the vast expanse of space, the number of people and the percentage of them who won’t take that kind of shit for even a second makes the idea that this group of incompetent fascists could impose such a capture very far fetched in my opinion. Degradation of democracy? Certainly. But totalitarian capture? Not likely in my view.
Thank you. #HOLDFAST