“America” is not a nation, it is a process. The Constitution was created by white men, many of them slaveowners. Women couldn’t vote. Black people were considered 3/5 of a human. To say we were an imperfect union is a vast understatement. America was built on patriarchy and slavery — and we’ve spent 248 years, in fits and starts, moving away from it.
But two weeks ago, “America” committed suicide. We got collectively conned by a Jim Jones-like demagogue and drank the Flavor-Aid when he offered it, again. So, we are now in a sort of comatose purgatory, waiting for the poison to kill “America” — to end once and for all the process of forming a more perfect union and return us to permanent state of patriarchy and slavery.
“Make America Great Again” is a slogan steeped in revanchist, regressive ideology — a desire to destroy the fruits of our progress so they can be pocketed by a cabal of oligarchs who only care about themselves. “MAGA” appeals to the grievance of those who feel that progress is the problem, not the solution. Similarly, “America First” is not an embrace of “America,” it is a desire to return us to a long-abandoned road to perdition.
The upcoming Trump regime, with its parade of white supremacists, Christian nationalists, oligarchs and criminals set to be running the show, is designed to end the American process of progress, permanently. The “shock and awe” of Trump picking people like accused Venmo child-trafficker Matt Gaetz to replace Merrick Garland, treasonous moron Kash Patel to replace Chris Wray, and Russian propagandist Tulsi Gabbard to lead our intelligence community, was the atomic flash before the shockwave destroys us once and for all.
So how do we survive this nuclear strike on American progress? How do we get through a regime that wants to end our freedom, steal our resources, and exploit our labor? The truth is I don’t know if we can, but if we do I think we will need a simple message to break through — Make America America Again.
The reality is that we have been hijacked by immigrant billionaires and foreign dictators who find American progress and democracy to be inconvenient for their unquenchable thirst for power. Foreign-born oligarchs in the PayPal Mafia conspired with the Russians and the Saudis to co-opt the failing Trump movement and force it down our throats.
As the economic, cultural and geopolitical disaster they’re planning for America unfolds, my hope is that “MAGA” can be transformed into “MAAA.” I believe the basic American value of self-governance, of allowing the people to decide what’s best for themselves must become a movement that unites people who don’t agree on politics, but recognize that politics is necessary to the pursuit of happiness granted to us by the Constitution.
It’s going to be a long road back, if we ever get there, but we must try. It is the American way.
Make America America Again. 🇺🇸
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America is, of course, very different from the European countries where fascism rose and flourished 100 years ago. Geographically (vastly bigger), technologically (in too many ways to count), and in time (much historical ‘water under the bridge’). Still, in the same way America benefitted by receiving many (sadly, not enough) refugees fleeing persecution, other lands today will, and should, benefit from an inflow of intelligent, skilled, and experienced Americans. We may beat back American fascism eventually. But that will take a while, too long for the best and brightest of our youth.
I’m watching a show on Netflix called The Secret City
For the second time …
Has anyone else seen it ?
It portrays the important role of independent journalism-
Thank you Jim