Reflections on Six Months Into Our Transformation Into an Authoritarian Society

Oh well... I had hoped that by today (July 20), more people would have become horrified by what's happening to the country I love, but bluntly speaking, that's not happening.

I've never felt so hopeless in my life. I'm astonished at what tens of millions of people support, or at least, blithely accept.

I see another tens of millions of people who are trying to resist, but there's virtually no path to doing so beyond protests because there's no effective leadership or strategy within the resistance movement.

The Democratic Party is even worse. They seem to be utterly incapable of doing anything but clutching their pearls. If any elected official believes that making speeches on the floor of the House or Senate in the current environment is going to make a damned bit of difference, they're too stupid to be worthy of holding office.

There are so many things the party could be doing, but they're just not, and because the party structure has become so insular, they have no interest in any ideas coming from outside their inner circle. They really don't believe they have been or are doing anything wrong.

I thought maybe the opposition would be significant enough to flip Congress in 2026, but I now have absolutely no hope of that happening. The Democrats are doing nothing but their usual apocalypse-themed fundraising ("If you don't send us $15 by midnight, EXTRATERRESTRIALS WILL INVADE THE EARTH!!!").

Sadly, I believe a major part of the problem is that holding elected office has become such a gawd-awful, miserable experience that no one who cares about enjoying life wants to run, and who can blame them? Why would the best and brightest want to subject themselves and their families to the toxicity of modern political life? 

I actually wrote a column about this very issue all the way back in 2012:

Why would anyone want to go through this?

And it's gotten so much worse than when I wrote it.

Another problem is the money involved. Nowhere else in the world do politicians spend as much as the GDP of a third-world nation to run for office. And what is it used for? Propaganda, pure and simple. Can you think of any paid media from any politician that told you something you didn't know? Or can you think of an advertisement that changed your mind about how you planned to cast your vote?

It seems to me that someone running for office should be rewarded for displaying the kind of fiscal responsibility we'd all like to see from them if they're elected, instead of spending like a drunken sailor on leave in a foreign port.

If someone is an incumbent running for reelection, half of their time in office is spent fundraising and campaigning. Campaigns now are years-long instead of weeks or months.

And then there's the issue of the plurality of eligible voters who don't bother to participate. In 2024, 30% voted for Harris, 31% voted for DJT, and 38% didn't vote. How do we get these people to care enough about their democracy to take an hour or two out of their day once or twice a year to vote? I don't have an answer, but I think this problem would be reduced if these people had candidates they could feel some enthusiasm towards rather than just feeling like they have to vote against someone to keep them from instigating an agenda they don't like. (I also find it intriguing that in Australia, you can be fined for not participating in elections.)

Besides eliminating Citizens United, I still strongly believe the long-term solution is to dismantle the two-party system. But even though I've been advocating this for almost 50 years, Americans just can't seem to warm up to the idea. I wrote this not too long ago:

It's past time to re-evaluate our political system

In the short term, I have a sense of dread I just can't shake. Unless Democrats can get their shit together for the 2026 midterms, and maybe 2028, or if by some miracle, the two-party system finally collapses under the weight of its own rot and decay, I just don't see how our democracy will persevere.

So, here I sit... Pondering whether or not my country will survive this flirtation with fascism. I'm skeptical because of the amount of institutional carnage wrought by 47's administration with the slavish acquiescence of the Republicans in Congress and a right-wing Supreme Court.

I Believe There's No Other Solution But a National Divorce

Should I not feel guilty that what's going on impacts me much less than some? I do, but the fact that my white male privilege has shielded me also means I don't have as much to lose as many, so I'll keep making good noise, for what it's worth.