We should consider Trump as more than just a threat to democratic institutions/principles

[bigtree]

...but a threat to our democracy, itself.

Among the most troubling of Donald Trump's actions have to be the almost daily tweets and declarations from the Chief Executive denigrating the press for daring to criticize him, the majority of his statements opposing them proven demonstrably and unequivocally false.

There's also the, now rescinded, gag orders on several government agencies which would have effectively blocked the free flow of information about the actions and product of our government offices.

In addition, there has been a flurry of executive orders from Trump which has exceeded those issued during President Obama's first week., on track to far outpace the former president's reliance on EOs to overcome republican obstruction. There's no such barrier to legislative progress for Trump, so it's a curious and contradictory exercise considering his and other republicans' many criticisms of President's Obama's.

His behavior reeks of every pattern of the history of autocratic heads of state who fomented severe disruption and destruction of democratic institutions in their countries and ushered in dictatorships or other imperialistic rule.

That's not to suggest that our own democracy is so degraded to easily allow some sort of swift takeover. Yet, there's also a functionally compliant republican legislature in place, well prepared to manipulate our democratic process of law and elections to accommodate and perpetuate such an autocratic rule.

So, plainly speaking, we should be openly asking if Trump is dismantling our democracy in favor of autocratic rule, especially since many of his major actions are directed at taking away so many vestiges of our compacts between government and American citizens, like health care and other social and economic benefits; all the while enriching himself, personally, with unaccountable business interests conflicting with our nation's interests here and around the globe.

I believe, very reluctantly, but resolutely, that Donald Trump is proving himself to be a threat to our democracy. What's less sure to me is where we institutionally trigger that distinction or determination. What I fear is that the closer we allow ourselves to come to that point, the greater the risk that he succeeds.

[tblue37]

1. K&R. nt

[spanone]

2. i find him an extreme threat to my well being and that of my children and grand children.

[asiliveandbreathe]

3. And when does this POS come for me....eom

[GliderGuider]

4. The situation in the USA is part of an ongoing global war against democracy and liberalism.

Research Alexander Dugin. What most Americans believe is happening is not what is actually happening, and Trump is just one part of a much, much larger story. This is not about politics per se, but is one front in an all-out, no-holds-barred global war on liberal values and institutions.

[IamFortunesFool]

7. The Global Dominion

You are correct. Populism and fascist movements are sweeping across the western democracies. Our instinctual fear of outsiders (an evolved genetic inevitability, programmed from many tens of thousands of years of protective tribal life) and the very real oppression that is feeding both the support and opposition to such trends, is being masterfully wielded against us. Everywhere, we are being turned against each other while the ruling class reaps the profits. It's all carefully scripted theatre... Plays to all sides. They'd be fools not to...

[GliderGuider]

8. You got it.

Especially the evolutionary psych angle, That instinctive tribalism is their lever. Look for an upsurge in identity politics and tribalist conflict.

[IamFortunesFool]

16. I think we'e already seeing that...

We should be looking for the next "terror" event or global crisis. In the last 25 years, political correctness and identity politics have already castrated the left, and tribalism engulfed the right. We are at the boiling point. All that is needed now is the spark to set us actively aflame against each other. There are so many warring and overlapping factions that we will be engulfed into a sea of chaos once the violence truly starts, as nobody is prepared for this...we've been building cliques rather than alliances. We live in our distracted, detached, and abstracted digital reality, and when the screens don't function anymore and we actually have to fight, those who don't die quickly out of fear and inaction will survive to fight among themselves over what's left of our world.

It would take an alien invasion, N.E.O., global tectonic displacement, or some other sort of massive and external threat to our entire species to have even a dim chance of waking us up to the realities of the unsustainable nature of our way of life and destructive theory of self. There is no time for our biology to evolve or adapt out of this.

[IamFortunesFool]

5. Things are far worse than that...

Last edited Sat Jan 28, 2017, 12:46 PM - Edit history (2)

Our democracy is already forfeit. All we have is the illusion of freedom. We happily gave up what few rights we had left after 9-11 with the passing of the Patriot Act. The overt signs of the global economic cabal seizing control and breeding us to be fat and apathetic have been obvious to anyone who cared to see for several generations now. For decades, each successive administration, regardless of party affiliation, has marched us steadily towards this end. This country, and indeed the entire western world, has been governed and manipulated by the global financial elite who have been steadily consolidating and entrenching power since the institutionalization of modern central banking around the turn of the last century.

The election of Donald Trump represents the final emasculation of the voice of the people. We have discredited ourselves in the eyes of each other and the eyes of the world. All that is left is the overt seizure of power and enshrinement of the ascendant police state. We will demand it...just like after 9-11. The war on communism that became the war on drugs that became the war on terror that has become the war against each other... We have been set against ourselves so as to distract from the Dominion we are enslaved to. The average person is more concerned with how their attitudes and ideas are perceived on Facebook, than how their ideas and attitudes can translate to MEANINGFUL action. We are, by large, an ignorant and bovine culture. The signs were everywhere...we were too busy enjoying the indulgence and conveniences foisted upon our increasingly abstracted modern lives.

I appreciate all you keyboard activists with your sincere hope and call to action, but it is too late. The die is cast. Power and arms are too deeply entrenched against us. The world will have to tear itself apart before it will begin to heal; and we have only begun to feel the real heel of oppression. As our exploding global population continues to put unrestrained demands on the limited resources of this planet, the boiling point becomes exponentially nearer and unavoidable. You think the Plutocracy is bad now as we squabble over oil?... Just wait until the fight over clean water begins... We ain't seen nothing yet, folks.

[annabanana]

11. uh . . welcome to DU? . . . . . n/t

[IamFortunesFool]

12. I know it's a dim forecast...not trying to degrade the legitimacy and power of peoples current rage.

[bigtree]

13. the mobilization of opposition in the general public has been the most forceful response yet

...to Trump's presidency and actions in office, so far.

It's forums like this, and other organizing efforts such as protests and appeals to our legislators, which generate the measures of support and pressure needed to influence the political system, and to confront and address the things we see as unjust or anti-democratic.

If you've followed this forum, you'd recognize that our community is very aware of the stakes, risks, and consequences. You should also recognize that this is more than an organizing forum, it's also a place where folks come to vent and to find an outlet for ideas and concerns and share in discussions and participate in debates about those things we're witnessing and experiencing.

There is no singular path to what you want, or expect to be an adequate resistance. ALL of our efforts, collectively and individually, matter.

[Mister Ed]

15. Well, I love your screen name if not your dismal forecast. Welcome to DU. n/t

[yallerdawg]

6. As a private sector CEO with absolute power - his only experience -

he is going to push the envelope on executive branch authority.

His minions have bequeathed him "Our Savior" - these are among "the voices in his head."

It is up to the other two branches of our government to rein him in or remove him - whichever is most appropriate. If these fail, so does the last vestige of our experiment in Democracy.

[bigtree]

9. kick

...good responses, folks.

[annabanana]

10. And with Putin tugging at his short & curlies, too

He is completely compromised..

[mopinko]

14. no kidding. it has been a slippery slope for a while.

we let dick cheney get away w millions. we shouldnt have.

[JTFrog]

17. He is a threat to humanity. nt

[bigtree]

18. yes

...a threat to humanity.

[bigtree]

19. is it fascism yet?

Last edited Sun Jan 29, 2017, 12:23 PM - Edit history (1)

Link to tweet

Link to tweet