02-05-2017, 12:45 PM
(02-05-2017, 04:19 AM)Mickey123 Wrote:(02-05-2017, 01:48 AM)Eric the Green Wrote: The storm is already here, and I have predicted this storm for decades. 2016 is the beginning of a storm that will continue through the rest of the 4T. The weather has now changed and the forecast is for this 2017 storm to build. It will be primarily a domestic storm, some kind of revolution and/or civil strife, as the divisions in our country lead to fundamental choices we must make. No, the storm is here; not with China. We have no beef with China that's worth nuclear war or huge invasions. We are mutually dependent. Trump is the catalyst, and the opposition to him is the regeneracy. It must be unrelenting from now on, until we take power again and through further domestic struggle enact the reforms we need.
There is a way in which what you're predicting and hoping for is possible, and that is some sort of socialist revolution. Perhaps it would also be possible to have a civil war, with the country breaking into pieces, with one or more of the pieces representing the values you share. Such things are absolutely possible in a Crisis.
I think a socialist revolution is entirely unlikely, as the climate for it does not exist here. The average person is too well off, and socialism (beyond the socialist programs we already have, such as social security) is not well regarded.
Inequality and declining middle class and ecological destruction and domination of our economy by reckless and ruthless big money speculators are real issues. It's easy to dismiss them by putting the label "socialist" on those who want a different direction, and thus attribute to them an ideology that doesn't do well in America. But Bernie Sanders did pretty well anyway, and a broad-based American Left can do well, and it might do well. We must break the aversion to social programs and government action in the name of "freedom." This "smaller government" obsession is the root of all our problems today.
No, people are not doing well. Both Trump and Sanders and also Elizabeth Warren speak to that point. No, many people are just scraping by, have lost good paying jobs or are saddled with debt. Trump wants to shift the blame from the rich guys like himself who are to blame, to immigrants, refugees, welfare recipients, high taxes and regulations. This is the same program that created this problem: Reaganomics. We've had all progress and constructive programs and laws blocked for 40 years now because of Reaganomics. This counter-revolution must be overturned, and the reason conflict is likely, is because of the rigid and fanatical dedication which the reactionaries have to Reaganomics and its allied ideologies like the religious right and resentments against people of color, immigrants and refugees.
Quote:The country breaking into pieces is more likely. I can easily see it being sparked by the legalization of marijuana in the western states, for example. The federal government attempts to crack down on marijuana sales in Colorado or Washington State, the state in question calls out the police and the national guard to defend its citizens, and various states start taking sides. I see this as more of a more of a last ditch scenario, though, where the country can't find any other reasonable way of acting out the crisis and just breaks into pieces. I don't think much of the country would end up with the set of values you're hoping for if this is how the crisis plays out, though.
It's going to be about much more serious issues than marijuana or transgender bathrooms. It's about our livelihood and our survival. If the Republicans and their resistance to all government action on behalf of the people continue to block all progress and turn back the clock on all social programs and investments, then a break-up of the country is likely. Whether that's a good solution is doubtful, but at least the blue side would be free to keep the polluters and speculators in line in their own territory, and stop attacks on those who are different and seek advancement.