The number one problem with the situation we are in is without a doubt abject ignorance, particularly, the inability to connect political leaders with reality as it unfolds on the ground. Generally, during times of relative peace and in a democracy, there isn't much that changes day-to-day that a person would attribute to their leaders except in the capacity of theater.
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Unfortunately, we may need our evil leaders (who are supported by evil people, some of whom post on this board), to do far more damage than has been done before the message gets across to those who still have some goodness and wisdom within them that they can make the connection and course correct for the next round of elections.
For many retirement-age Trump supporters, the damage consequent on their voting choice will become very obvious indeed when they find their Medicaid drastically curtailed.
Is there a way this could be blamed on Biden? Or on undocumented immigrants?
We must never discount the desperate wish of people to maintain faith in their imagined saviours, no matter how loudly the said saviour yells "Frankly, my dears, I couldn't give a damn". They'll try as hard as they can not to blame Trump for what happens.
Maksutov:
That's the problem with this supernatural stuff, it doesn't really solve anything. It's a placeholder for ignorance.
Mayan Elephant:
Not only have I denounced the Big Lie, I have denounced the Big lie big lie.
Scardina is like the single parent who leaves their five-year-old at home while they go to the club, when they return to find the child unconscious, still has trouble making a connection between their decision and the consequence. Jail might fix that a little. However, unlike drunk driving and leaving a child home alone while forgetting to even lock the doors or turn off the stove, voting for an authoritarian leader -- the equivalent lapse in judgement and moral behavior -- is not illegal. Unfortunately, we may need our evil leaders (who are supported by evil people, some of whom post on this board), to do far more damage than has been done before the message gets across to those who still have some goodness and wisdom within them that they can make the connection and course correct for the next round of elections.
This is my fear. It may take our collective suffering for people who voted for this to begin to realize what a mistake they made. It is amazing that Donnie Doofus can sign a COVID relief check and win these people's affection, but then subsequently blame Biden for COVID and the concomitant "reckless" spending. "Biden was paying people not to work!" Dumbasses. So, recklessly mismanaging a pandemic was not enough to convince people that Trump was unfit to be president. These people were leaning into the idea of mass death being necessary to reach "herd immunity."
So, what will it take, exactly? As far as I can tell, only very painful and personal suffering moves the needle. We see stories of MAGA cult members questioning their choices when they lose that job or business because of Trump's stupid decisions. But even then, the wavering may be temporary. They may continue to stick by their decision of voting for the Orange Idiot.
I am at a loss. I don't even want to contemplate what will convince the cult members what is obvious to everyone else: Trump is an evil man and an incompetent one to boot. He should have stayed in the realm of reality tv and tabloid rumors (planted by Trump himself, of course). He has brought all of the stupidity of that world into the deadly serious realm of leading history's greatest superpower, and of course he is totally effing things up.
"I have learned with what evils tyranny infects a state. For it frustrates all the virtues, robs freedom of its lofty mood, and opens a school of fawning and terror, inasmuch as it leaves matters not to the wisdom of the laws, but to the angry whim of those who are in authority.”
President Donald Trump announced Thursday that “changes are coming” to protect farmers from losing workers to his aggressive deportation campaign, but no such policy changes are underway, according to three people with knowledge of the administration’s immigration policies.
Trump’s comments in a social media post sought to soothe industry leaders in the agriculture and hospitality fields, said a White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the president’s thinking, as many business leaders remain unnerved by the president’s sweeping deportation campaigns.
The official said there will be “no change” in the current approach to deportations, adding that no carveout exists currently for farm, hotel or other migrant workers who are in the country illegally. The administration previously directed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement workers to avoid raiding farms, the person said, noting that agents have swept food production facilities. Immigration enforcement activity appeared to take place at two farms in California this week, however, as the administration escalated deportation efforts.
Trump’s public comments and follow-up remarks Thursday reflected a president pulled in two directions, with some business owners pointing out that whole sectors of the economy depend on the labor of people Trump is deporting, while influential MAGA commentators press him to deliver on the aggressive campaign promises that helped lift him to office. As the day wore on, Trump appeared to swing between the competing factions, explaining farmers’ predicament to reporters and saying he thought the White House would “have an order on that soon,” but also posting on social media Thursday afternoon that undocumented immigrants “have stolen American Jobs.”
Maksutov:
That's the problem with this supernatural stuff, it doesn't really solve anything. It's a placeholder for ignorance.
Mayan Elephant:
Not only have I denounced the Big Lie, I have denounced the Big lie big lie.