Thread by @kazweida

When Trump was acquited by a GOP Senate of sycophants who admitted his guilt, it should have been the match that set off a tinderbox of fury among the American people.

This #SundayMorning we're asking why citizens didn't stand up and protest. Where is our revolution?
(THREAD)

(2) First off, as I've addressed in previous threads, it's hard for the US to engage in mass protests because of basic geography

Our biggest city isn't the capitol & urban centers are pockets of dense population that are vast distances from one another

https://twitter.com/kazweida/status/1168203424095068161?s=20

(3) We haven't had sustained mass protests in decades. Someone else fights & dies in our wars in places we can't locate on a map.

We have the appearance of equality in theory if not in practice. We live in a wealthy country where success seems possible.

commondreams.org/views/2019/11/…

(4) In short, despite tinpot dictator Trump, the day to day fabric of most folks' lives remains unchanged. We're comfortable in our cocoons & use social media bubbles to tune out the turmoil.

The GOP has convinced us that corruption is the new normal.

time.com/5523785/2020-e…

(5) And frankly, most Democrats and Independents who were more engaged at the beginning of Trump's presidency have become convinced of one thing.

The GOP doesn't care about their constituents & they don't work for the people. Elections seem to be the only power we have left.

(6) If that all sounds depressing, here's the good part. We're investing in elections because we saw them work in 2018. The blue wave enabled the impeachment of Trump.

We still have faith in the electorate because we watched our fellow citizens rise to the occasion 2 years ago.

(7) And as much as folks rant and rave about slacktivism, online activism has become a powerful organizing and fundraising tool.

It enables us to feel like we have power and that we can contribute to change, even in remote, rural, deep red corners of this country.

(8) So yes. I get the frustration that we don't see the kind of passionate response that other countries have when faced with corruption. And I'm not sure what it will take to rouse that sort of outrage in America.

People are going to have to get a lot more uncomfortable.

(9) There is hope. More people are paying attention to politics. We're raising a new generation of activists. I hope it's not too late.

Many people insist on believing in the American dream despite its flaws. We'll need to commit to decades of hard work to make that a reality.

(10) It's ok to pour your energy and hard work into the upcoming election. It's our chance to grab power back for the people.

But to make the American dream work for everyone, we need to adopt the mindset of engaged citizens who work for change daily, not just in election years.

(END) Thanks for stopping by for our #SundayMorning thread, suggestion courtesy of @oosterom_m . Come back next week and we'll do this again.

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