tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7884128379999766348.post7360740453679649907..comments2024-03-28T22:02:16.520-04:00Comments on Politics and its Discontents: At The Altar Of BaalLornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15741324981120408977noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7884128379999766348.post-17919457446324351532016-11-14T20:56:35.144-05:002016-11-14T20:56:35.144-05:00It does seem to me, Mound, that we are witnessing ...It does seem to me, Mound, that we are witnessing the beginning of the end of the U.S. empire. Although I am not truly a student of history, it seems to me that the collapses of most empires come from within rather than without. The seeds of destruction were sown long ago, with the rise of anti-intellectualism and its consequent disdain of education, and the worship of the gun.<br /><br />Ignorance and brute power are a deadly combination.Lornehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15741324981120408977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7884128379999766348.post-13270736698206468562016-11-14T17:19:15.049-05:002016-11-14T17:19:15.049-05:00Samantha Bee's "Caucasian Nation" is...Samantha Bee's "Caucasian Nation" is the new reality. If it is to avoid a future electoral backlash it will have to quickly find and implement the means to anchor white supremacy. Trump's Gullibillies can already see clear indications that his election promises where classic "bait and switch." He won't deliver what they sought. He can't even if he had any interest in radical reforms which he doesn't. The best he can offer is to institutionalize racism, bigotry and xenophobia for, whenever a demagogue runs afoul of his obligations he must find "others" to scapegoat and, on that score, Trump is masterful.<br /><br />As I read this, Lorne, my mind was drawn to Jared Diamond and the full title of his book, "Collapse, How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed." As Diamond illustrates, societies rarely collapse except of their own choices. I know that sounds perverse but isn't the election of Trump an act of great social perversion? Is this not a society willing to roll the dice knowing full well the cataclysmic consequences that await them if they're wrong?<br />The Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.com