Fascism is on the ballot

[pbrower2a]

(10-12-2020, 05:28 AM)Classic-Xer Wrote:

(10-12-2020, 04:20 AM)Eric the Green Wrote:

(10-12-2020, 04:12 AM)Classic-Xer Wrote:

(10-11-2020, 08:07 AM)Isoko Wrote: I actually do have to agree with you here Eric. Trump is very much an authoritian leader modeled on the Mussolini model. Just his own comments I have observed recently are quite frankly anti-democratic and more fitting for that of a dictatorship. The only thing preventing Trump from a total take over is Congress, the military and other aspects of American governance that still want to keep the democratic project alive.

You know, my wife the other day made an interesting comment about Trump. She said that not only is he finished but also the entire movement of populism is finished in America. The country is too attached to democracy to fully go down a populist path. Europe on the other hand is a different story and regularly flitters between democracy and populism (Liberal rulership vs strong man Conservative rulership) every so many generations. Trump would do quite well in a country such as Italy, Greece, even France or Poland. Heck, even here in Russia, they say the vast majority of Russians would vote for Trump...

Now this itself is an interesting debate. Trump himself is basically a caesar. America has had a taste of it yet still feel uncomfortable with the idea. For now. However, how long until another potential caesar comes along in America? Trump was in essence quite weak as caesar. He did not tear down Congress, do a march on Washington or try to get powerful people on his side. Yet could Trump be a test drive for future American politics?

Im not sure. As I said before, caesarism always does well in Europe after several generations. Even Britain is not alien to the caesar style of leadership as was the case with both Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher. Although they acted within democratic means, they still had policies that were very caesarish. Even Tony Blair exhibited these qualities during his Premier ship.

We will have to wait and see. My prediction for America is that the country will drop Trump but the democratic mandate is too weak and fractured to handle the future problems of the country. Too many MAGA people, too many economic problems down the line and a declining empire. Whether a caesar stops this, democracy rebounds and takes it head on or the country eventually fractured and secedes is anyone's guess.

Dude, an authoritarian leader wouldn't hand over authority to the states and their governors like he did with the COVID19 crisis.

But he would demand that the courts hold him above the law. He would announce that he plans to get rid of the ballots so that he will continue to stay in power. He would gas and arrest peaceful protesters. He would ram a justice onto the Court who will abuse and remove the rights of workers, consumers, women, voters, Nature and more. He would staff the government with unqualified and corrupt loyalists. He would demand that his Attorney General arrest his political opponents. He would not promise a peaceful transfer of power and would call on militias and soldiers to keep him there.

The Covid crisis is exactly where he needed to exert more authority, and he failed, which will result in his loss in the election.

Blah, blah, blah... You know, the sad thing is that there are millions of imbeciles and morons who believe the same as you which is why we need some more time for sorting out so to speak.

It is difficult for me to decide whether solipsism is stupidity or madness. We do not get to decide on our own what the truth is except on things that we can somehow influence or do ourselves. Maybe I can decide what dinner is tonight, but I cannot decide on my own that Donald Trump is no longer President. I cannot decide that global warming will stop. I cannot get a recording of Mozart's 28th concerto for piano and orchestra or watch a 
movie in which both John Wayne and Clint Eastwood star. I cannot turn the cat on my lap into a dog. I cannot make π or e  into rational or algebraic numbers or make a real number for which x^2 = -1. (There is such a number i for which i^2 = -1, but it is not on the real number line. I have made plenty of jokes about that number, as in "Donald Trump can expect to get 10i electoral votes from Maryland this year"). 

I have seen much in human nature that compels certain conclusions and much that allows no conclusion. Someone as egocentric as Donald Trump is someone who can do me little good. I would not want to make a business deal with him because I would get burned.  He looks out for himself and himself alone. He is a systematic liar who sees others as disloyal for failing to accept the lie and a fool for accepting it. He completely lacks empathy. He tries to make the world what he wants it to be. 

Little so elicits cynicism as does a plutocracy that demands much from the common man and offers little in return. Donald Trump is the classic exploiter who can do nobody any good except for being in his tiny circle.  

We have all seen what he does, and it is impossible to separate deeds from being.