I'll add one for you: more than half of Supreme Court cases in the last 5 years were decided by 8-1 or greater majorities. You wouldn't know this from the press, though.
Saying, "we mostly agree and we'll muddle through" is a boring headline compared to "We're more divided than ever and the other side is evil." Gotta sell those clicks.
I like this piece a lot. We should remember something, I think - we kind of forgot about foreign agents being a big part of the shit-stirring department. We know the Russians honed in on existing divisions during the 2016 election, and had some kind of impact. They hone in on existing divisions and blow them up. Of course, the entire media does this, but does anyone think these foreign actors have stopped doing this? Why wouldn't the Russians keep doing it, along with the North Koreans, the Chinese, and the Iranians? They learned a valuable lesson in 2016. They're still doing it. It's a part of the problem.
What, exactly, is it that you think "the Russians" did in 2016 that had a dire effect on public opinion in the US and are still doing today -- and what remedy you propose to insulate the American public from nefarious Russian influencers?
This poll tells me that Americans are far too critical of institutions or people they do not know and not nearly hard enough on themselves. It is not surprising me to that there is a large convergence between left and right on these issues. Most on both extremes believe that others are depriving them of something to which they are entitled for no obvious reason, which, of course, is total nonsense.
The author makes some very important points. However, the article itself represents what is wrong with political discourse in the United States. Our society has become coarsened by the overuse of profanity in our written and oral communication. Profanity should be used for effect and, when used too often, loses its emotional affect. During my career, I rarely resorted to profanity and then only in oral communication, but when I did, it had its intended effect. Am I the only one left who believes this?
I appreciate that, Ralph, and in some ways I agree - I was at Barnes and Noble the other day, where they had an entire display with just books with the words "Fuck" and "Shit" in the titles. For the record, though, when I use it, I use it deliberately, and I use it here because I feel it is not just justified, but demanded. We are being driven to a very dark place, and for myself, I am beyond being polite with those who would have us kill each other for profit. As Bukowski wrote, "I prefer people who scream when they burn," and Ralph, we're being set on fire.
How absolutely lovely and funny. Sigh, but somehow we still have two embarrassingly awful presidential candidates neither of whom will likely reflect what more than 80% of Americans want. How the fuck did that happen?
A two-thirds majority favors decriminalizing abortion: OK.
But are we to rejoice because more than two thirds of the US public agree that "life doesn't begin at conception" -- i.e., don't believe that human embryos are alive?! Or was the semantic scope of "life" narrowed in the context of the question by a modifier like "legally-protected"?
Barry Goldwater lost the 1964 election but his coalition overthrew civil society. with "The New Federalism" . The idea was or is "benign neglect" which is like leaving a barking dog outside with the expectation that it will "learn" to not bark. This left State Government to do what thou wilt or not regarding local government with absolute immunity, qualified immunity, good faith immunity and cartoon depictions from elementary school "social studies" books showing people in colonial garb at a water color depiction of a local town hall that exists nowhere. Out of all government officials in the USA the ones that care the absolute least are local government officials and they are now the ones that Rule. What are the goals of the - wait what is it - the Federal gov. the national gov or just the war against the world gov ? What about the states ? What about local gov ? O we take care of the streets sort of , pick up your garbage and depending on where you live once in a while somebody gets murdered and sometimes they find out who did it or appears to have. From my perspective there are no aspirations to have any sort of civil society. If someone doesn't like you they harass you local gov says go lease a lawyer which creates a monopoly and your left with the choice to knuckle under and submit to illegal activity local government allows to go with impunity or lay out $10 grand for a lawyer that maybe is able to buy you a few years of piece, but probably not. That will costs much more and they can't drop everything just for you. All of which breeds ruthlessness which is rewarded with cash flow and then you buy your rights from people - you pay protection. And then watch television and pretend reality is not what it is. Unless you're really ruthless then you get to travel abroad.
It’s fine and good to point out what values and attitudes most Americans share. There’s a great deal more, including the promise of the opportunity to “make it in America” and to live our shared and even not-shared values. And so we also share the sense that when we or our neighbors are deprived of their rights or of their livelihoods and left without hope or help to get through “the hard times,” eventually after the various stages of grief, the shit starts to stir us.
Polarization and things like MAGA Trumpism aren’t stirred by what we don’t share. They are stirred by what we do share or ought to share: Forty+ years of trickledown economics and unfettered neoliberal economic globalization literally decimated millions of families and untold communities in our industrial heartland and elsewhere. At the same time, Reaganism was built around the demonization of people who “relied” on welfare. So, tens of millions denied living wages and also denied any remaining sense of dignity that could be salvaged by a governmental handout/hand-up. Deaths of despair became a thing.
After 40 years, a candidate comes along who intuits the opportunity to turn the ensuing despair and resentment in these millions of people over the loss of things we ALL value, like opportunity to make it in AMerica — and dignity;, and he turns it into an almost instant political movement because he gives all of these people “others” to blame for their plights rather than themselves.
These millions of people did and do deserve a champion. In fact they deserve many, many champions, But Trump was about the worst such champion that could have come along because, embedded in all of his rhetoric was and remains the only cause he cares about: himself. He cares only about adulation (what he calls “crowd size”) and self-enrichment. And he has led millions of fellow Americans into the deep, dark black hole that is his depraved existence.
So yes, we all do share many fundamental values, views, and aspirations. And what the MAGA faithful need from U.S. (that’s “us” writ large) is champions who will work with them to bring back the opportunities to actually share in these cherished fundamentals — to live the American Dream.
So, while Trump and his thuggish, autocratic co-conspirators continue to plan and fight only for their own dark plans and power, there is now a new “sense” spreading like some of the wildfires our planet has recently experienced: It’s been labeled (and Trump-derided) as “Joy.” But that’s simply shorthand for “There are better, more dedicated champions now assembling all around you who see the pain and share the aspirations for somethings so much better than the dark depraved place that Trumpism has on offer.”
It’s because we fundamentally share so much, that there is an increasingly large and “Joyful” coalition now gathering to stop Trumpism. We the People are the champions we need to bring U.S. back together.
I have serious misgivings about Trump and think that some of his policy proposals are pernicious, but I will vote for him because I believe that the consequences of victory by the other major-party candidate would be worse. If, in your eyes, that makes me an autocracy-craving accomplice of thuggish co-conspirators who prefers the course of darkness and depravity they offer to the joyful aspirations of enlightened people like you and Kamala Harris I guess I'll have to live with it.
How many of the 81% of American adults who agree that parents should limit minors' access to social motherfucking media, I wonder, think that puberty-blocking "therapy" should be freely available to minors who desire it?
Allow me to introduce Mr. Auslander to the concept of "cognitive dissonance." You can look it up. By the way, in my opinion, this is terrible, terrible writing. I would almost call the author a S-F-B, but I'll resist.
I'll add one for you: more than half of Supreme Court cases in the last 5 years were decided by 8-1 or greater majorities. You wouldn't know this from the press, though.
Saying, "we mostly agree and we'll muddle through" is a boring headline compared to "We're more divided than ever and the other side is evil." Gotta sell those clicks.
I like this piece a lot. We should remember something, I think - we kind of forgot about foreign agents being a big part of the shit-stirring department. We know the Russians honed in on existing divisions during the 2016 election, and had some kind of impact. They hone in on existing divisions and blow them up. Of course, the entire media does this, but does anyone think these foreign actors have stopped doing this? Why wouldn't the Russians keep doing it, along with the North Koreans, the Chinese, and the Iranians? They learned a valuable lesson in 2016. They're still doing it. It's a part of the problem.
What, exactly, is it that you think "the Russians" did in 2016 that had a dire effect on public opinion in the US and are still doing today -- and what remedy you propose to insulate the American public from nefarious Russian influencers?
This poll tells me that Americans are far too critical of institutions or people they do not know and not nearly hard enough on themselves. It is not surprising me to that there is a large convergence between left and right on these issues. Most on both extremes believe that others are depriving them of something to which they are entitled for no obvious reason, which, of course, is total nonsense.
Snarky, I like it. Good points made.
Negativity bias is out of control. Thank you!
The author makes some very important points. However, the article itself represents what is wrong with political discourse in the United States. Our society has become coarsened by the overuse of profanity in our written and oral communication. Profanity should be used for effect and, when used too often, loses its emotional affect. During my career, I rarely resorted to profanity and then only in oral communication, but when I did, it had its intended effect. Am I the only one left who believes this?
I appreciate that, Ralph, and in some ways I agree - I was at Barnes and Noble the other day, where they had an entire display with just books with the words "Fuck" and "Shit" in the titles. For the record, though, when I use it, I use it deliberately, and I use it here because I feel it is not just justified, but demanded. We are being driven to a very dark place, and for myself, I am beyond being polite with those who would have us kill each other for profit. As Bukowski wrote, "I prefer people who scream when they burn," and Ralph, we're being set on fire.
How absolutely lovely and funny. Sigh, but somehow we still have two embarrassingly awful presidential candidates neither of whom will likely reflect what more than 80% of Americans want. How the fuck did that happen?
A two-thirds majority favors decriminalizing abortion: OK.
But are we to rejoice because more than two thirds of the US public agree that "life doesn't begin at conception" -- i.e., don't believe that human embryos are alive?! Or was the semantic scope of "life" narrowed in the context of the question by a modifier like "legally-protected"?
Barry Goldwater lost the 1964 election but his coalition overthrew civil society. with "The New Federalism" . The idea was or is "benign neglect" which is like leaving a barking dog outside with the expectation that it will "learn" to not bark. This left State Government to do what thou wilt or not regarding local government with absolute immunity, qualified immunity, good faith immunity and cartoon depictions from elementary school "social studies" books showing people in colonial garb at a water color depiction of a local town hall that exists nowhere. Out of all government officials in the USA the ones that care the absolute least are local government officials and they are now the ones that Rule. What are the goals of the - wait what is it - the Federal gov. the national gov or just the war against the world gov ? What about the states ? What about local gov ? O we take care of the streets sort of , pick up your garbage and depending on where you live once in a while somebody gets murdered and sometimes they find out who did it or appears to have. From my perspective there are no aspirations to have any sort of civil society. If someone doesn't like you they harass you local gov says go lease a lawyer which creates a monopoly and your left with the choice to knuckle under and submit to illegal activity local government allows to go with impunity or lay out $10 grand for a lawyer that maybe is able to buy you a few years of piece, but probably not. That will costs much more and they can't drop everything just for you. All of which breeds ruthlessness which is rewarded with cash flow and then you buy your rights from people - you pay protection. And then watch television and pretend reality is not what it is. Unless you're really ruthless then you get to travel abroad.
It’s fine and good to point out what values and attitudes most Americans share. There’s a great deal more, including the promise of the opportunity to “make it in America” and to live our shared and even not-shared values. And so we also share the sense that when we or our neighbors are deprived of their rights or of their livelihoods and left without hope or help to get through “the hard times,” eventually after the various stages of grief, the shit starts to stir us.
Polarization and things like MAGA Trumpism aren’t stirred by what we don’t share. They are stirred by what we do share or ought to share: Forty+ years of trickledown economics and unfettered neoliberal economic globalization literally decimated millions of families and untold communities in our industrial heartland and elsewhere. At the same time, Reaganism was built around the demonization of people who “relied” on welfare. So, tens of millions denied living wages and also denied any remaining sense of dignity that could be salvaged by a governmental handout/hand-up. Deaths of despair became a thing.
After 40 years, a candidate comes along who intuits the opportunity to turn the ensuing despair and resentment in these millions of people over the loss of things we ALL value, like opportunity to make it in AMerica — and dignity;, and he turns it into an almost instant political movement because he gives all of these people “others” to blame for their plights rather than themselves.
These millions of people did and do deserve a champion. In fact they deserve many, many champions, But Trump was about the worst such champion that could have come along because, embedded in all of his rhetoric was and remains the only cause he cares about: himself. He cares only about adulation (what he calls “crowd size”) and self-enrichment. And he has led millions of fellow Americans into the deep, dark black hole that is his depraved existence.
So yes, we all do share many fundamental values, views, and aspirations. And what the MAGA faithful need from U.S. (that’s “us” writ large) is champions who will work with them to bring back the opportunities to actually share in these cherished fundamentals — to live the American Dream.
So, while Trump and his thuggish, autocratic co-conspirators continue to plan and fight only for their own dark plans and power, there is now a new “sense” spreading like some of the wildfires our planet has recently experienced: It’s been labeled (and Trump-derided) as “Joy.” But that’s simply shorthand for “There are better, more dedicated champions now assembling all around you who see the pain and share the aspirations for somethings so much better than the dark depraved place that Trumpism has on offer.”
It’s because we fundamentally share so much, that there is an increasingly large and “Joyful” coalition now gathering to stop Trumpism. We the People are the champions we need to bring U.S. back together.
I have serious misgivings about Trump and think that some of his policy proposals are pernicious, but I will vote for him because I believe that the consequences of victory by the other major-party candidate would be worse. If, in your eyes, that makes me an autocracy-craving accomplice of thuggish co-conspirators who prefers the course of darkness and depravity they offer to the joyful aspirations of enlightened people like you and Kamala Harris I guess I'll have to live with it.
How many of the 81% of American adults who agree that parents should limit minors' access to social motherfucking media, I wonder, think that puberty-blocking "therapy" should be freely available to minors who desire it?
Allow me to introduce Mr. Auslander to the concept of "cognitive dissonance." You can look it up. By the way, in my opinion, this is terrible, terrible writing. I would almost call the author a S-F-B, but I'll resist.