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IsItJustMe

(7,012 posts)
Sat Nov 28, 2020, 11:51 AM Nov 2020

Op-Ed: To stamp out Trumpism, the U.S. needs to deal with these six things Ian Bassin and Justin Flo

Source: Los Angeles Times

The United States barely survived the most acute threat to its political system since the Civil War by averting a second Trump term. But Donald Trump was always just a carrier for a political virus that predated and will outlast him. As evidenced by the finding that 8 in 10 Trump voters do not think he should relinquish power, Trumpism as a political movement very much remains.

A return of Trumpism to the White House would mirror the second wave of COVID-19, which has been worse than the first. Trump 2.0 would have seen America’s openness to strongman rule — and likely be more competent at it.

To avoid that, the political virus that gave us Trump must be addressed. It is a disease with two strains, global and national.

The global strain is a wave of authoritarianism. Over the past 15 years, democracy has been in retreat around the world, with autocrats supplanting democratic governments in countries such as Turkey, Hungary, Venezuela and Poland. Across the globe, citizens are growing less committed to democracy and more open to alternatives. These trends are being driven by factors that transcend borders and include globalization, migration and new information technologies.

The United States has not been immune. Openness to the idea of military rule jumped from 1 in 16 Americans 30 years ago to 1 in 6 pre-Trump. And while some of the shift is likely attributable to global factors, this political virus also carries a uniquely American strain...

CONTINUED...

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/op-ed-stamp-trumpism-u-110525344.html
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I feel that we may have just dodged a bullet. Extremely disturbing that so many people voted for such an ineffective, anti-intellectual, corrupt and corruptible leader. Not sure where we go from here, but our country does not seem to be as freedom loving as it use to be. Strange days indeed.

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Op-Ed: To stamp out Trumpism, the U.S. needs to deal with these six things Ian Bassin and Justin Flo (Original Post) IsItJustMe Nov 2020 OP
the bullet hit home in congressional and senate races as well as state and local races, beachbumbob Nov 2020 #1
Trumpism yankee87 Nov 2020 #2
You make a good point about the tyranny of the minority. IsItJustMe Nov 2020 #3
And what Madison called "the tyranny of the majority"... marble falls Nov 2020 #5
and This! KPN Nov 2020 #7
This ... KPN Nov 2020 #8
Never Expected this yankee87 Nov 2020 #9
That is my thinking. IsItJustMe Nov 2020 #11
This .... KPN Nov 2020 #6
We dodged this bullet. "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." marble falls Nov 2020 #4
Emphasis on History and Civics Objectives in Grades K through 12 and beyond lees1975 Nov 2020 #10
 

beachbumbob

(9,263 posts)
1. the bullet hit home in congressional and senate races as well as state and local races,
Sat Nov 28, 2020, 12:00 PM
Nov 2020

we dodged ONE bullet but got massacred by many others

yankee87

(2,075 posts)
2. Trumpism
Sat Nov 28, 2020, 12:10 PM
Nov 2020

The problem with the analysis is rethuglicans have a vested interest in keeping the current system in place and will never want that kind of thinking and analysis. Like what has been said before, they love the tyranny of the minority. Until the little nothing states like the Dakotas, Montana, etcetera, only have representation according to their population, I don't see things changing. I'll admit I don't know the answers, but the current system works well for the right wing.

IsItJustMe

(7,012 posts)
3. You make a good point about the tyranny of the minority.
Sat Nov 28, 2020, 12:51 PM
Nov 2020

States like California (Pop. 39,512,223), which in and of itself represents the sixth largest economy in the world, only has two senators, just like Wyoming (Pop. 578,759). Then you have the problem of gerrymandering in Republican held state legislatures.

Normally, I would not see this as a critical problem if both parties (and the people who comprise those parties) were strongly committed to the principles of Democracy. But this is no longer the case as we watched and are watching the Republican party punt the ball, when these principles are fragrantly being violated.

In an age of misinformation with mass communication on a grand scale, it seems like education and reframing the debate will be key in moving forward. Easier said than done. I know.

marble falls

(56,353 posts)
5. And what Madison called "the tyranny of the majority"...
Sat Nov 28, 2020, 01:51 PM
Nov 2020

... is exactly why each state has two Senators. The interests of Wyoming are not the interests of California.

This sort of situation is made clear with the disputes in the Upper Colorado River Commission between Upper Colorado River states (Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico) for water and its division between the Lower Colorado River states Arizona, California, and Nevada, and the Republic of Mexico.

With equal footing in the UCRC, smaller populated states don't get screwed by California's population that equal the population of all the other states put together.

Texas already screws up education in a lot of poorer states and school districts by being one of the largest if not the largest market for school books and a state mandate to determine what goes into Texas school textbooks. I might be in the minority, but I really don't want creationism taught in public schools. I have no choice here in Texas, but forcing it down the throats of other states due to economics is just plain wrong, almost certainly inevitable. Texas teaches the Civil War was about "State's Rights", not slavery.

yankee87

(2,075 posts)
9. Never Expected this
Sun Nov 29, 2020, 12:07 PM
Nov 2020

We still have a system that has not kept up with time. While the Founding Fathers were definitely ahead of their time, they couldn't see the future.

IsItJustMe

(7,012 posts)
11. That is my thinking.
Mon Nov 30, 2020, 02:01 AM
Nov 2020

our system seems rickety and backward. Electoral college to start out with. It worked well back then, when it probably took a few weeks to find out who won an election, but to me anyway, it has become a detriment to democracy, especially when you have unscrupulous people willing to subvert the system for their own self interests.

lees1975

(3,718 posts)
10. Emphasis on History and Civics Objectives in Grades K through 12 and beyond
Sun Nov 29, 2020, 07:53 PM
Nov 2020

The rigor of history and civics education in this country, particularly in the public school system, is a joke. I'm in favor of a whole overhaul of educational requirements that focus students on critical thinking skills and places the emphasis on core subjects. I recently worked at a job for eight years that put me in regular contact with state legislators and I was absolutely appalled by how little they knew of how a democratic republic works and how badly they misinterpreted history, or were simply ignorant of it. I don't think we've had a White House press secretary in the past four years who could pass an eighth grade constitution test, and probably not a President who could either.

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