I agree entirely. It’s impressive the act of deception that produced a nation so anti-socialist while looking at it’s own history it’s been the socialist who’ve done the most for the people.

Yeah, the sadistic ratchet-effect of American politics. D Party moves nanometers in the right direction, R Party moves kilometers in the wrong direction, D Party moves nanometers from the new center, repeat until… well this shite.

I appreciate that you’ve got some hope for our rotted out system. I don’t. The only hope for the future I see is a present in flames.

That being said, while I don’t think there’s any hope of reform the point I was making was that incrementalism has brought us tRump while bold action, not even revolution, almost a century ago staved off fascism for this long. If I’m mistaken and reform is possible I find it wholly inconceivable that it would be brought by the incrementalists, rather it would come by some stroke of luck that someone like Sanders… probably a bit harsher than him would attain high office and force positive change like FDR did.

I don’t think anyone wants the conditions of a revolution or the immediate aftermath thereof but it is a question of how bad would that be in the short-term verses how bad will it be in perpetuity, barring revolution at some later date. As is I couldn’t morally justify bringing kids into this apocalyptic hellscape.

The people of Vietnam rebelled against their French overlords with effectively nothing but their chains to begin with and then fought off a superpower to keep their independence. The people of Cuba deposed a fascist tyrant from similar destitution. It’s not easy but it’s entirely possible no matter how totalitarian the state is.

Honestly, we’ve had the “little steps in the right direction” off and on for eight decades now. Look where it’s gotten us.

• When was the last time a powerful politician gave a damn about the poor rather than going on about the “middle class”?
• Where have all our Unions gone?
• Has the federal government ever done anything even approaching the scale of change needed to address Climate Change?
• What’s happened to our infrastructure?
• Where has our freedom gone? Has it taken peace with it when it left?

We’ve already lost everything that could be said for the United States being good, setting aside any claims of greatness entirely, and have lost almost everything that would qualify it as decent. The politicians have realized they can get the votes of some of the people who want change by branding themselves incrementalists and then putting indefinitely many increments between what we have now and meaningful change.

Contrast with history. When has incrementalism ever worked for us? We got the New Deal from one President who knew how to lead. He didn’t give us a 1/2*Xth measure of making the American economy work for the workers. No, he got as much as possible then died wanting to do more.

This can/will likely be truthfully said about every tRump appointee. Mango Mussolini should’ve met the same fate as default Mussolini, not be rewarded with a second time trying to put the nation into a nosedive.

So, exactly what is to be expected from the new Nazis. Wholly unsurprising, however still something that everyone should be aware of.

Why are we assuming there is a why to the universe? Most of us don’t look at natural phenomena and truly wonder why. We may use that word erroneously but what is being wondered is “how”.

Seconding this; any meaning life has is created by the beings living it.

They’re the cult that venerates the rich and famous in a dystopia where money is power. Of course they’re powerful. Especially because some of the narcissistic fucks who they venerate have joined up and tithe to the vile organization.

Yeah. My grandmother sent my father to a Catholic school in part for the cult indoctrination… at least she has enough sense to be appalled about that specific school being one of the Catholic facilities involved in their child rape scandals at the time he was attending.

In the American Dystopia factual things are upsetting to some people on the basis of conflicting with their preferred fictions. They are, unfortunately, numerous enough that the sane people here don’t always have the time or energy to argue with those who actively refuse to see reason.

Truly disgusting. The culture of genocide, slavery, and colonialism with only the thinnest veneer of decency haphazardly draped over it and people who could see through the big lie about it become entangled in its trappings for fucking what?

Ah, yes another example of the exceptional moral fiber of the religious. The higher standard that the religious hold themselves and their leaders to that makes all of us atheists look bad…

Oh wait that’s never the case. They use their vile faith as a shield from the consequences of their own abhorrent actions. Seriously, can someone differentiate faith and infectious disease for me?