Where Did America Go Wrong? Part 4: Learning From History To Defeat MAGA

We cannot count on Trump’s departure from the scene due to his advanced age and suspected bad health to solve the problem for us.

The MAGAs and the Man

It’s the unanswerable chicken-and-egg koan of populist authoritarianism: which comes first, the Leader or the Led?

The Sack of America

The mob that sacked the U.S. Capitol tore the veil asunder, and showed Uncle Sam to be nothing but a feeble, senescent old man who refuses even to admit that his life is coming to a close.

Is Love the Answer?

A new civil war would not be a replay of our first civil war, because whatever red-and-blue tiles or mosaics you may have seen, there is no way of geographically amputating “red” America; our future would look like present-day Syria or Iraq, with armed militias on every streetcorner and itchy-trigger-finger boys manning ubiquitous checkpoints.

T Minus 48 Hours: The Forbidden City

There are millions of American fascists who are willing to openly brag about their support for an armed uprising to a stranger over the phone.

The End of America?

During the January 6, 2021 putsch at the U.S. Capitol, it was the former Obama administration official Van Jones who put his finger on the right question. Speaking on CNN, he asked, “Is this the end of something, or the beginning of something?” The days that have passed since then have tilted the answer heavily

The Leader and His Followers, Part 2: The Tin God

Without at least an attempt at understanding where the followers come from, there can be no hope of avoiding an endless succession of dictators in the future.

Waiting for the Stab

The real danger after the dictator’s death will arise if one conspiratorial story line with a well-defined scapegoat coalesces, either spontaneously or by deliberate propaganda.

The Autumn of the Great White Father

Much of the nonviolent action by Republican officials and operatives to suppress African American and other minority votes, and to pursue “lawfare” against ballot counting seen as likely to produce a result undesirable to the GOP, can and will proceed without the dictator.

The Shadow of Civil War

Obey the dictator’s orders or refuse them, the military will be “tainted” with politics.