An unexpected thing has happened over the past year: I've become a political junkie. Like most people, I used to keep track of the primaries once people actually started voting, tune in for a debate or two, and scan an article here and there. But at some point in 2019, I started reading The New York Times and scanning a few other political websites on a daily basis. And though part of me would prefer reading non-political articles and books, I don't see myself getting off of the political treadmill for very long until next November, at the earliest-- but probably much later than that.
The reason I've lately felt so pulled in a political direction is that the post- Cold War world order dominated by America that I've known my entire life is shattering. Dozens of countries all around the world that a decade or two ago seemed on the verge of developing into semi-stable democracies have either plunged back into the darkness of authoritarianism or are teetering on that slippery ledge. Perhaps the most stable democracy of them all-- the USA-- has elected an amoral strongman who daily chips away at our democratic norms, traditions, and laws, one trolling tweet at a time-- who consistently favors murderous dictators over longtime alliances, his own uninformed and twisted judgment to wise counsel, and personal benefit over national security.
And the most mind-blowing thing of all is that, over the past decade, the Republican party has gone from a fairly reputable organization that at least paid lip service to real values like truth-telling, ethical behavior, fiscal conservatism, free trade, humanitarian values, international engagement, and military strength, to a personality cult, the focus of which has consistently undermined every single one of those values. Though Trump's approval rating has stayed under 45% since taking office, a majority of Fox News- watching conspiracy theory- touting rural Republican voters still love him-- despite the fact that everything and everyone Trump touches gets contaminated. Every single politician or bureaucrat who has gotten pulled into his orbit, even the most respected general of his generation, James Mattis, is disgracefully disgorged from the Administration just months later. The pattern is striking in its consistency. Half a dozen of his closest aides are already behind bars, and more are sure to follow. Yet there seems to be no end to the procession of power-hungry dupes ignorant of history willing to bend the knee for a scrap from Trump's table, heedless of their own impending fall. And this is just one of many details of the Trump administration that seem to defy explanation.
Sooner or later, Trump will no longer occupy the White House and Republicans will lose power. Though this should console us on some level, what happens after this transition is actually the most concerning thing of all, because the majority of rural voters in this country will then feel more disempowered than ever. As their 45% share of the electorate dips below 40%, some on the far right may no longer feel that they have anything to lose from taking to the streets in bloody protest. The violence we saw in Charlottesville in 2017 and the surging gun violence of our time may then be viewed as a modest warm-up to the conflagration that followed.
A little less surprising, but just as tragic, is how the so-called Christian right has walked lock-step with the Republican party into amoral oblivion. If we needed a modern-day echo of the 4th-century corruption of Christianity by way of complicity with the Roman Empire, look no further than the late-20th and early 21st- century evangelical-Republican alliance. Though Trump will be out of the picture before too long, the wreckage of evangelical Christianity in America will remain, and will only continue to worsen as long as scientifically obvious facts such as evolution by natural selection, psychologically damaging dogmas such as eternal conscious torment for all non-Christians, simplistic salvation formulas, and a narrow literalist approach to the Bible continue to be defended. The moral bankruptcy of the sanctimonious Christian right will continue to be on full display to all.
In case I needed more cause for concern, the climate crisis is quickly zooming past the tipping point. Yet, beholden to the oil companies and unable or unwilling to reason clearly, one of our two major political parties (alone in the entire world) denies the irrefutable existence of the crisis, the equally irrefutable case that humans are causing it, and the solutions that are truly our only hope of survival. Consequently, Republicans have reversed as many Obama-era environmental protections as they can over the past three years, squandering precious time-- which the planet can simply no longer afford.
Political stability and the Earth itself are slipping from our hands. We are truly declining, more precipitously than anyone two decades ago imagined we could. Nihilist fascism is being effectively exported from Russia while repressive Communism rises out of the East. Our country is descending into Trumpistan, too paralyzed from polarization to even agree on a shared set of facts, much less respond to mortal threats external and internal. And the left, which should be seizing this hour of destiny with moral authority, often seems more interested in enforcing uncompromising ideological purity tests upon its own members. Free speech itself, the backbone of liberty, is suffering as a result. Yet "free speech" of the most toxic and insidious kind has never gotten more play on Facebook that it is getting now. Democracy itself, not to mention the mental health of tens of millions of impressionable teens and preteens, is under concerted attack by Mark Zuckerberg and his ilk.
There are a few bright spots. Young people are leaving the Republican party and certain toxic evangelical churches in droves, progressive Christianity is mounting a comeback, and appreciation for science, secular ideals like pluralism, and humanitarian values is on the rise among millennials and Generation Z. Women continue to be empowered. Equal rights for members of the LGBTQ community is becoming a given. Advances in science and technology are accelerating. Electric cars are on the roads. Cultured meat is hitting the shelves. The ubiquity of plastic is being challenged. Alternative energy is thriving. Heck, wolves and elk are even making a comeback.
But for every one of those gains, I hear a story about heavier deforestation, desertification, and pollution, a new humanitarian tragedy, and a dozen more newly endangered or extinct species. Then the next superstorm hits the Caribbean and another fire consumes the West. So I write this post out of a slurry of resignation, frustration, concern, and yes, a little bit of hope. Hope that enough minds will be changed by reading articles and posts like this one that the ranks of world-saving movements will swell and hate groups will shrivel. Hope that more people will open up to reason, science, and universal love. And hope that humanity can arrest its descent into ruin, if we still have time.
The reason I've lately felt so pulled in a political direction is that the post- Cold War world order dominated by America that I've known my entire life is shattering. Dozens of countries all around the world that a decade or two ago seemed on the verge of developing into semi-stable democracies have either plunged back into the darkness of authoritarianism or are teetering on that slippery ledge. Perhaps the most stable democracy of them all-- the USA-- has elected an amoral strongman who daily chips away at our democratic norms, traditions, and laws, one trolling tweet at a time-- who consistently favors murderous dictators over longtime alliances, his own uninformed and twisted judgment to wise counsel, and personal benefit over national security.
And the most mind-blowing thing of all is that, over the past decade, the Republican party has gone from a fairly reputable organization that at least paid lip service to real values like truth-telling, ethical behavior, fiscal conservatism, free trade, humanitarian values, international engagement, and military strength, to a personality cult, the focus of which has consistently undermined every single one of those values. Though Trump's approval rating has stayed under 45% since taking office, a majority of Fox News- watching conspiracy theory- touting rural Republican voters still love him-- despite the fact that everything and everyone Trump touches gets contaminated. Every single politician or bureaucrat who has gotten pulled into his orbit, even the most respected general of his generation, James Mattis, is disgracefully disgorged from the Administration just months later. The pattern is striking in its consistency. Half a dozen of his closest aides are already behind bars, and more are sure to follow. Yet there seems to be no end to the procession of power-hungry dupes ignorant of history willing to bend the knee for a scrap from Trump's table, heedless of their own impending fall. And this is just one of many details of the Trump administration that seem to defy explanation.
Sooner or later, Trump will no longer occupy the White House and Republicans will lose power. Though this should console us on some level, what happens after this transition is actually the most concerning thing of all, because the majority of rural voters in this country will then feel more disempowered than ever. As their 45% share of the electorate dips below 40%, some on the far right may no longer feel that they have anything to lose from taking to the streets in bloody protest. The violence we saw in Charlottesville in 2017 and the surging gun violence of our time may then be viewed as a modest warm-up to the conflagration that followed.
A little less surprising, but just as tragic, is how the so-called Christian right has walked lock-step with the Republican party into amoral oblivion. If we needed a modern-day echo of the 4th-century corruption of Christianity by way of complicity with the Roman Empire, look no further than the late-20th and early 21st- century evangelical-Republican alliance. Though Trump will be out of the picture before too long, the wreckage of evangelical Christianity in America will remain, and will only continue to worsen as long as scientifically obvious facts such as evolution by natural selection, psychologically damaging dogmas such as eternal conscious torment for all non-Christians, simplistic salvation formulas, and a narrow literalist approach to the Bible continue to be defended. The moral bankruptcy of the sanctimonious Christian right will continue to be on full display to all.
In case I needed more cause for concern, the climate crisis is quickly zooming past the tipping point. Yet, beholden to the oil companies and unable or unwilling to reason clearly, one of our two major political parties (alone in the entire world) denies the irrefutable existence of the crisis, the equally irrefutable case that humans are causing it, and the solutions that are truly our only hope of survival. Consequently, Republicans have reversed as many Obama-era environmental protections as they can over the past three years, squandering precious time-- which the planet can simply no longer afford.
Political stability and the Earth itself are slipping from our hands. We are truly declining, more precipitously than anyone two decades ago imagined we could. Nihilist fascism is being effectively exported from Russia while repressive Communism rises out of the East. Our country is descending into Trumpistan, too paralyzed from polarization to even agree on a shared set of facts, much less respond to mortal threats external and internal. And the left, which should be seizing this hour of destiny with moral authority, often seems more interested in enforcing uncompromising ideological purity tests upon its own members. Free speech itself, the backbone of liberty, is suffering as a result. Yet "free speech" of the most toxic and insidious kind has never gotten more play on Facebook that it is getting now. Democracy itself, not to mention the mental health of tens of millions of impressionable teens and preteens, is under concerted attack by Mark Zuckerberg and his ilk.
There are a few bright spots. Young people are leaving the Republican party and certain toxic evangelical churches in droves, progressive Christianity is mounting a comeback, and appreciation for science, secular ideals like pluralism, and humanitarian values is on the rise among millennials and Generation Z. Women continue to be empowered. Equal rights for members of the LGBTQ community is becoming a given. Advances in science and technology are accelerating. Electric cars are on the roads. Cultured meat is hitting the shelves. The ubiquity of plastic is being challenged. Alternative energy is thriving. Heck, wolves and elk are even making a comeback.
But for every one of those gains, I hear a story about heavier deforestation, desertification, and pollution, a new humanitarian tragedy, and a dozen more newly endangered or extinct species. Then the next superstorm hits the Caribbean and another fire consumes the West. So I write this post out of a slurry of resignation, frustration, concern, and yes, a little bit of hope. Hope that enough minds will be changed by reading articles and posts like this one that the ranks of world-saving movements will swell and hate groups will shrivel. Hope that more people will open up to reason, science, and universal love. And hope that humanity can arrest its descent into ruin, if we still have time.
