For those interested in the mechanics of how the authoritarian program is being pushed forward in just one sector of government, the following link is worth your time.
I was dimly aware that tech business leaders have been commissioned as military officers but never saw the reasons for this, the deep conflicts of interest, etc., so carefully laid out.
This essay also shows how this dystopian program is spreading worldwide from the initial locus of infection here in the US.
This is nothing terribly new. Roosevelt faced a potential coup from the private sector.
The difference now is they have a demented narcissist in the White House they can fawn over that is more than happy to enable their agenda. They can stay in the shadows and act with impunity.
The public is out looking for mushrooms and trapped in a “look squirrel!” mentality.
Class war?..did anyone say Class War?
And Eisenhower felt it important to warn us about the “military-industrial complex”.
I don’t recall captains of industry made into commissioned officers by fiat though. Probably yet another misappropriated power intended to be used in wartime or some such extreme situation. Or some loophole that no one contemplated would ever be used in bad faith, ha-ha.
Yes there’s a lot of Shiny Object Syndrome going around but I do like the degree to which protests and work stoppages / general strike sentiment is taking hold. You wouldn’t know it from the lack of media coverage but I’m seeing videos of tens of thousands out in the streets in city after city. An enthusiastic rally in Chicago in blizzard-like conditions. People are pissed. I hope they stay pissed.
The last No Kings rally put 7 million on the streets. The 3.5% of the populace that needs to be in the streets to destabilize the regime is about twice that number. The next rally is in late March IIRC. At this rate we might be there just from less formal / planned events. I sure hope so.
And that’s the issue. Will enough people with intent actually show up? Will it be the intent to reinstate democracy and codify the rule of law…or just replace a tyrant and go home?
In total, India spent 90 years gaining its sovereignty from the British. The non-violent phase under Gandhi started in 1919 and lasted 29 years. Social Acceleration Theory suggests that a similar sea change like that would only take 5-7 years in 2026.
It’s not that Trump and his shit circus isn’t going away. He’s a 79 year old man with documented cardiac issues, a family history of dementia\Alzhiemer, decades of untreated mental illness…and he eats like a college freshman.
It’s the shit circus that will entail more vigilance than I believe Americans are capable of. While much of American mythology centers around our alleged “exceptionalism”, in practice and reality, as with most mythologies, we excel at projecting an image. We are entirely too self centered as a society to actually adhere to or actually deliver on them.
When I see a unified effort across this country to address and confront economic disparity I may get interested. When I see a unified effort to address systemic racism and classism I’m on board. When I see a unified effort to demand the redistribution of wealth based on need I’m in the street.
People in Chicago are pissed for a multitude of reasons. I was born and raised here and currently live here. Here’s a Cliff Notes version of the top three systemic unresolved issues since the beginning of the 20th century.
1.) Systemic corruption and cronyism.
2,) Systemic racism entailing engineered government sponsored segregation and economic investment\disinvestment based strictly upon race.
3.) Systemic police brutality.
You may notice that Trump and Republicans figure nowhere on this list. Chicago has been a city ruled and essentially owned by Democrats. Of the 20 elected mayors since 1900, only 2 have been Republican. The last Republican mayor left about the same time Capone did.
For all the hyperbole about this being a struggle for the soul of America, I believe this misses the point. Certainly the country is at a crossroads. We are firmly in the nightmare Hamilton warned us was coming. Most of us know it’s fucked up.
Where Americans fall down on the assignment of reform is accountability. It’s not Trump or the Republicans that are to blame. It’s the citizens of this country who either didn’t see it coming, were too self absorbed to care or held their identity closer than their integrity. Then there’s the significant portion of the population disenfranchised from participation that could only watch.
If I sound pessimistic, it’s because I am. It may improve as my generation and my parent’s generation dies off. I don’t know, I won’t be here to see it.
Every society endures by the deeds of it’s younger members to take it into the future. Any hope for survival rests solely on their shoulders. I would advise them to run for office or become directly involved in the process.
The 5-7 year clock is running.