Do We Have Any Decency?
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Have a look in the mirror
Osama bin Laden is applauding from his watery grave.
Cognitive scientist George Lakoff famously argued (contra liberal “ best interests ” arguments) that people do not vote their interests; they vote their identities. So, just who are we? Americans should do some soul-searching and ask themselves. Do we have any decency? We elected Donald Trump not once but twice, the second time as a twice-impeached, convicted felon. We knew just who and what he was and installed him back in the Oval Office, some say over the price of eggs. (Jonathan Swift could write a biting satire.) What kind of people do that?
The world is asking (The Washington Post, gift link) :
Outside the U.S., the perceived havoc wrought by federal agents has also left its mark. This week, Giuseppe Sala, mayor of Milan, spoke out against the expected arrival of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as part of a routine deployment of U.S. personnel to the Winter Olympics in Italy. “I’m sure that the Milanese are unhappy with having this sort of militia” here, “which kills people in the U.S., entering houses without permission,” Sala told my colleagues , referring to recent events in Minneapolis . Of the Italian government, he asked: “Is it possible that you could say ‘no’ once to Mr. Trump? Once! Quite simply.”
Then of course there was the attempted breach of the Ecuadorian consulate in Minneapolis this week. Nations from around the world with diplomatic missions stationed here must be questioning the safety of their personnel.
Trump’s Interior Ministry
Germany has issued a travel advisory to its citizens.
Trump officials balk at criticism of their actions, and have cast descriptions put forward by Democratic lawmakers and activists of ICE as a modern-day “Gestapo” as endangering U.S. federal officers. But viewed from afar, the developments in the U.S. seem familiar. “You have your own Interior Ministry,” an Arab business executive told me on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week.
They were gesturing to the all-powerful policing apparatuses that exist in other countries, especially autocracies where strongmen leaders lean on security forces distinct from the army to consolidate control and suppress dissent. During the upheavals of the Arab Spring more than a decade ago, for example, it was the notorious Interior Ministry of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak that was the focal point of popular rage.
The whole world is watching.
In its cover story this week on the excesses of ICE, the Economist pointed to three “warning signs” of states giving way to “paramilitarism”: “One is when governments start to rely on armed force as a first resort, rather than the last. Another is when internal disciplinary mechanisms cease to function properly,” noted the British publication . “A final red flag is when forces looking for bad guys treat local civilians ‘as support networks of the enemy,’ perhaps because polarizing politicians describe them as such.”
I’ve entertained the notion of creating a protest sign reading HONK IF YOU’RE A DOMESTIC TERRORIST .
Joy Reed early this morning posted a collection of political cartoons inspired by current events. The one at the top struck a nerve and inspired this post.
Trolling, taunting, spamming, and off topic comments may be removed at the discretion of group mods. NT members that are known plagiarists, repeat comments, or continue to disrupt/deflect the conversation risk having all of their comments deleted. Please remember to quote the person(s) to whom you are replying to preserve continuity of this seed. Any use of the phrase "Trump Derangement Syndrome" or the TDS acronym in a comment will be deleted. Any use of the term "Brandon", "Traitor Joe", or any variations thereof, when referring to President Biden, will be deleted. Right wing trolls can expect to have their irrelevant questions and comments deleted. Posting debunked lies will be subject to deletion. Use of the terms "leftist" or "lefty" will also be subject to deletion. ©
Tags
Who is online
90 visitors
when your own government fails to follow the US constitution, it's time to address those issues in a language they understand.
What, in God's name, have you people done to your country?
Trump is continuing his rampage of the Western Hemisphere by now strangling Cuba.
I would like to somewhat understand how anyone can still —with all we know— try to defend the administration by blaming the victims (Good and Pretti).
[✘]