Spin-off to tomorrow's outcome

I was watching the news earlier and I saw the no-scale fencing they are putting around the White House and I thought to myself

HOW DID WE GET HERE?????????

How did we get to a place where 545 children may never see their biological families ever again?

How did we get to a place where 1.5 million acres of a national forest will be destroyed to drill for oil?

How did we get to a place where 9.3 million acres of a different national forest will be destroyed to allow for logging and other development?

How did we get to a place where transgender individuals find out they cannot serve in the military via Twitter?

How did we get to a place where the Department of Justice filed amicus brief supporting discrimination against its own transgendered citizens?

How did we get to a place where congressional hearings on judicial appointees result in 7 judges being put on the bench when they have specifically been rated "not qualified" by the American Bar Association?

How did we get to a place where instead of banning a pesticide the EPA concludes causes neurological damage to children, and is commonly found in fruit, the discussion gets shelved until 2022? (this one I might know - Dow Chemical, who makes the pesticide gave Trump $1million)

How did we get to a place where its OK to shoot a mama bear and her cubs in their den?

How did we get to a place where violations of the Hatch Act are not prosecuted?

How did we get to a place where firing rubber bullets, and spraying your own citizens with tear gas doesn't garner outrage?

In many ways I understood the outcome 4 years ago. Hillary was villified for years in the media. Trump was an outsider who promised to "drain the swamp" and it seemed like a win for him would mean it wasn't business as usual in Washington.

But now, now after 20,000 lies or false statements now after seeing that his racist remarks are not rhetoric, but his actual beliefs, now after 200,000+ people in US are dead because reelection was more important than public health, now after a trade war with China has devalued steel below what it was 4 years ago, now that he has been impeached, now that he continually calls for harm to come to people he disagrees with, now when he refuses to commit to a peaceful transfer of power (and PS if he won't do it now, he won't do it 4 years from now either), now how can anybody support him.

Re: Spin-off to tomorrow's outcome

ITA.

Spin-off to tomorrow's outcome

All of this.

Re: Spin-off to tomorrow's outcome

ITA.

I think you might be mostly venting and/or asking rhetorically, but I will throw some thoughts out there anyway.

- For years we have had individuals, systems, and rules of decorum in place that hid a lot of the rot that festers. Now it's been exposed. Most presidents have been relatively smooth talkers. Even GWB with his gaffes at least created a veneer of civility. But we've been an apathetic lot for years, backwards in many ways compared to other "first world" countries, and while it's worse under Trump, a lot of it is just getting exposed more widely recently.

- I recommend everyone follow Heather Cox Richardson on FB. She is a historian who comments on what is going on almost daily. She has excellent analyses of some of the historical context that illuminates what is happening here. A lot of dates back to the crony capitalists aligning with the Southern racists to form the Republican party that we know today, largely in reaction to the social and economic equity gains put in place by the Warren court.

- Our elections are beyond corrupt. It is not normal for candidates to have to raise millions to run a campaign. In other democracies, that does not happen. It causes politicians to be beholden to the donors and not the people. This is why many of them support measures that are not to the benefit of the people they represent.

- Our capitalism is not regulated enough and our support system too weak. We tolerate this because of the corruption and our culture in general. We don't care enough about each other. I'm not talking about gofundmes. Please. Gofundmes you can opt in and out of. We need a real system that works for the people - affordable healthcare and education, secure retirement, etc. But many of us have been trained to think government is the problem (***** Reagan and that quote). Um, no. Government is supposed to help solve society's problems. If they can't, then we need a new government.

- There is something cultural that goes on that I can't pretend to understand. But for some people it's literally anything to "own the libs." Even if it means they lose their healthcare or their right to marry. There is currency in social and cultural identity. When that gets threatened, some are willing to give up their economic security. I don't know. It's stupid AF.

- Our education system fails in many ways. We don't see that as much on LI but many schools just don't teach their students to think critically. We lack a true separation of church and state in many of the country's schools and as a result science and reason aren't emphasized they way they should be. Many grow up not knowing about things like climate change, or even how their bodies work. Lots of ignorance.

- The Electoral College screws us royally. In 6 out of 7 of the last presidential elections the winner of the popular vote was a Dem. The will of the people is clear. There are ways to pass laws to neuter the EC but it would take the Executive and Legislative branches to both be blue and act quickly to pass the legislation and whenever they get in power they have to clean up the mess from the prior Republican administration. So it's a matter of priorities. So many competing ones.

I probably missed something but I'm tired. Thanks for letting me rant!

Re: Spin-off to tomorrow's outcome

I despise Trump but if I have to find a silver lining it’s that his corruption and evil have exposed the systems and enablers that allow it will happen.

I hope we have record voter turnout and when Biden wins people don’t get complacent again. This is a real risk if dems win the White House and senate. Dems will always win if people participate (it’s math).

Dems aren’t perfect and they’ve done a lot of harm too. We need common sense and good people in politics, not extremists who exploit a single minority view point. We need compromise and balanced/middle policies that represent majority opinions.

I can only hope this is the wake up call we all needed. I’ve been a lot more politically active in the last 6 months so by “we”, I am for sure including myself. I’ve sat by and stayed out of it for too long. No more excuses.

Re: Spin-off to tomorrow's outcome

Re: Spin-off to tomorrow's outcome

Re: Spin-off to tomorrow's outcome

I think people need to do their own research and use many sources on where they get their facts. I am a registered independent and upon researching the history of candidates and this country the "facts" depend on who is writing it.

If I ask people why they are voting for this person or that person they have a broad answer or none at all. You have to check their website and see what they stand for and/or how they voted in the past

Spin-off to tomorrow's outcome

It's no secret how we got here. The far right is responsible

Spin-off to tomorrow's outcome

It's no secret how we got here. The far right is responsible