General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: When you stay home or vote third party, THIS is what happens. Make a different choice next time. [View all]GliderGuider
(21,088 posts)An institution in this case can be either economic (a company) or political (a country).
The common problem I see is complacency. The fewer threats an institution faces, regardless of whether they are external or internal, the greater the complacency becomes. Complacency can only be overcome by being aware of threats and taking them seriously.
Looking in at the USA from the outside, over the last 60 years I've seen complacency growing in lockstep with your power on the world stage. I see economic complacency, social complacency, technological complacency, military complacency, environmental complacency and especially political complacency. The underlying message, whether spoken or unspoken, is that the way you're doing things in any of these arenas is so obviously the right way to do them that there is no need to stress out about reform. This feeling compounds the normal operational inertia of any large system, and in the end the combination produces stasis.
Unfortunately, once a very large institution like the USA or a major corporation has become static, the only way to introduce movement is through a shock to the system. The shock is required to force people to accept that there may be better ways of doing things, as well fostering the understanding that agility is the only real defense against stasis. It takes such a shock to restore motion, self-criticism, and a serious exploration of alternatives.
IMO Trump's election is your system's shock. There were previous shocks - like W for example- but they were not severe enough to prompt the degree of change that is needed to restore the system's health. With Trump, it's do-or-die time. (FWIW I expect similar shocks to be occurring shortly in both the economic and environmental arenas.)
I see the lack of voting as a sign of complacency rather than moral turpitude, and I suggest that particular problem will resolve itself once people get a taste of the consequences. Unfortunately, if you avoid the consequences, perhaps by impeaching or assassinating Trump before he has had his full impact, you will simply be setting the stage for an even more severe "lesson from the universe" a bit later.