HOW WE GOT HERE: THE 2020 POLITICAL CRISIS AND THE FUTURE OF SOCIAL CHANGE
For convenient reference, this thread compiles all of the parts of the treatise entitled, "How We Got Here." As each part is released, I will add it to this thread.
After four years of experiencing Trump’s assaults, we can and we must do better—because we all have the power to adjust our strategies to overcome his agenda.
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“To understand how we arrived at our present circumstances—and how the progressive movement may have done better in forestalling this scenario—we also need to more deeply examine the origins of extremist hate.”
“Hate does not arise in a vacuum. Hate arises from known conditions, especially severe inequality, which predispose certain populations to extremism. It is these conditions which make a population vulnerable to exploitation by a demagogue.”
This thread contains excerpts from Part VII of “How We Got Here.” This part focuses on the failure of the Democrats to speak to Trump's base, along with the empathy shortage in our politics.
“Instead of speaking to the grievances of Trump's base of supporters—many of which overlap with the grievances of other vulnerable groups—the Democrats have fallen for every ploy laid by Trump over the past four years.”
“In playing into his traps, they have effectively pitted themselves against his supporters, allowing members of this group to be further manipulated by a demagogue.”
This thread contains excerpts from Part VI of “How We Got Here.” This part addresses the personalization of politics and the need to instead focus on systems and ideas to achieve justice.
“Another fundamental problem in our political discourse, which spans the political spectrum but also applies to the progressive movement, has been the conflation of person and idea.”
“We can hate a person's speech without hating the person. In fact, we can hate a person's speech even while loving the person. Our discourse and debate must fundamentally revolve around ideas, not persons.”
TRUMP’S TACTICS ON NOVEMBER 3—PART I: UNDERSTANDING THE ADVERSARY
Let the events of Trump’s Covid infection—true or not—be a preview of the much taller tidal wave of disinformation that will very likely be unleashed against our country on November 3.
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As the Covid ordeal was merely the latest in a four-year string of escalating dramas, we can only expect further—in fact, exponential—escalation from here.
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Because our strategic response to Trump’s stunts may make the difference between redemption and collapse for our country, we must draw lessons from the Covid drama.
Fundamentally, to successfully defend against such attacks, we must understand how the adversary operates.
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HOW WE GOT HERE: PART V—AN IDENTITY-BASED MOVEMENT FOR THE PROGRESSIVE CAUSE
This thread contains excerpts from Part V of “How We Got Here.” This part critiques identity-based movements and lays out a new vision of togetherness.
“Instead of capitalizing on the cause for national economic justice as an opportunity to unite the country, the progressive movement has grown increasingly identity-based in recent years.”
“The progressive movement has a challenging path to navigate. In particular, we must think critically about how to achieve long-overdue social justice in a fashion that is and that feels inclusive for all groups in society.”