"it deserves a place alongside George Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language” and Harry G. Frankfurt’s “On Bulls---.” It’s a brilliant dissertation on Trump’s patented brand of balderdash. That makes it one of the most important political books of this perilous summer." WOW!
Here's another story of conflict of interest without regulations (and why we now have food safety regulations). Do you like arsenic in your milk? No? But it makes it look so white and fresh and covers up the rotten stink, the business folks said: pbs.org/wgbh/americane…
"Deregulation" sounds innocuous, maybe even good--who likes rules? Regulations are rules (too many rules, they say). But enforced regulations make our world cleaner, safer & prevent businesses from cutting costs (maybe killing us in the process) for profit. Deregulation is a con.
Trump is a dangerous demagogue who wants to become dictator in America. That's been clear since 2015 and undeniable since 2021. You could always tell by the way he used language.
Which is why it's crucial for everyone to defend democracy in America. One way to do that is for Democrats to use the language of national stability (rule of law, patriotism, and freedom): On Defining Democratic America via @resolutesquareresolutesquare.com/articles/2Ydsq…
"In the fantasy of the strongman, politics vanishes and all is clear and bright. In fact, a dreary politics penetrates everything. You can't run a business without the threat of denunciation. You can't get basic services without humiliation. You feel bad about yourself."
"You think about what you say, since it can be used against you later. What you do on the internet is recorded forever, and can land you in prison. Public space closes down around you. You cannot escape to the bar or the bowling alley, since everything you say is monitored."
"The person on the next stool or in the next lane might not turn you in, but you have to assume they will. If you have a t-shirt or a bumper sticker with a message, someone will report you. Even if you just repeat the dictator's words, someone can lie about you and denounce you."
I don't usually use my @ResoluteSquare Rhetorical Tricks articles to offer rhetorical advice and strategy, but I did with this one. I see a rhetorical opportunity in the political chaos of the Trump era. resolutesquare.com/articles/2Ydsq…
We're in what is sometimes called a "hinge of history" within which everything that was once known, assumed, and predictable--including the form of government, definitions of key terms, who or what the nation is, are being questioned and contested.
Since Nixon the Republican Party has tried to colonize America by making essentialist arguments and defining America on their terms. They've claimed the key terms of stability: rule of law, patriotism, and freedom as their own, defining their party against the Democratic Party.
Predict: If Donald Trump wins the presidency, then the United States will pull out of the NATO alliance and form a new alliance with the autocratic (or competitive autocratic) regimes of the world, including Russia, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, etc. The whole world order would change.
You can find evidence that this is the plan--Steve Bannon has been talking about it for years. Trump has always aligned himself with autocrats and doesn't see the value of democracy.
To be clear: If the US shifts from a democratic alliance to an autocratic alliance we'll lose democracy around the world. Autocrats will allow one another to commit atrocities in their own nations & no "human rights" organization will be able to intervene.