“But over time, the executive branch grew exceedingly powerful. Two world wars emphasized the president’s commander in chief role and removed constraints on its power. By the second half of the 20th century, the republic was routinely fighting wars without its legislative branch, Congress, declaring war, as the Constitution required. With Congress often paralyzed by political conflict, presidents increasingly governed by edicts.”
And once Trump, the GOP and the oligarchs are deposed, we should declare the American Second Republic and write a new constitution.
we should all start delegitimising the USA and call it what it is: a long lasting colony committing multiple genocides
It’s not over yet
TBH I think peak democracy was between 2003 and 2010 before the Citizens United decision.
It gave us Obama and Medicaid expansion.
Nah, The US hasn’t been good since before Reagan. I’d say maybe the 1950s. Maybe 60s, space race years.
Maybe for you it might have been, or maybe not, but back then we didn’t have equal rights. After that Nixon actually helped save the Whales so that was cool, but he also perpetuated the war in Vietnam for seemingly no reason at all.
We like to fantasize about the past but quality of life has only gone up and crime has only gone down long term.
I personally am riding out the storm before I make any call on this type of stuff. As much as the current president is mucking things up, I’m holding hope.
Don’t just hope, Act!
Find and join your local democratic organization. The initial cost in time is almost nothing. Just meet up and introduce yourself.
Once part of the conversation, you can help influence your local party and select candidates for local office that share your values. You can select delegates who vote in larger offices, and through them promote your goals.
It’s not perfect, and we currently don’t have a flawless democratic system, but participating only every 2-4 years during the major elections is not how you get the results you want. A lot of complaints exist online around weak candidates, or ‘opposition party’ that exists only to be a foil for the Right. Those things can only exist if we are not engaged.
The time to be engaged is NOW. Help find or support new House and Senate candidates for your state legislature as well as federal. Contest every office. Even if your precinct/district seems 100% red, not having candidates on the ballot is a huge disservice to anyone who would want to vote for them and hides our strength.
Now is the time to be loud.
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I have voted every single time I could since I got registered to vote.
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If I didn’t absolutely jumble my words and such due to some form of anxiety when speaking with people over the phone, I probably would call elected officials in my area.
Best I can do outside of voting is going to some of the protests in my area and not posting anything about what happens online for safety reasons.
reviewing my replies much later.
What you are doing is perfect. “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs” is normally a quote around material goods, but still applies to things like time and involvement. If you are uncomfortable calling your elected officials, that’s fine. Adding a person to a protest is still an addition that shows engagement.
Your points indicate you are not only voting in presidential elections. You have choices to make things better: ‘Vote blue no matter who’, ceding your choice of “who” to others more involved; or to become involved even though it’s uncomfortable.
I’m not talking to you alone, but also to all those who read your comment, identified with it, and then could use a prod to get involved. I’m also poking at those who vote once every 4 years and are unhappy at their options.
