Thread by @JYSexton

America created a presidency that could literally destroy the world.

Donald Trump made it clear this power could fall into dangerously incompetent hands. We shouldn't have to rely on soft military coups and insubordination to avoid nuclear disaster.

1/

jaredyatessexton.substack.com/p/a-sick-and-b…

The story of how we arrived here is horrifying. In pursuit of empire, America has made itself a lumbering juggernaut that can destroy the world many times over, all while perpetuating a myth of meritocracy and benevolence that hides an awful truth.

2/

penguinrandomhouse.com/books/611439/a…

We had to learn yesterday, from a new book, that Gen Milley and other military leaders agreed to disobey any orders Trump might make regarding a nuclear strike.

This is both unconstitutional and telling. We live in a terribly dangerous system that could fail.

3/

Quietly, and without much scrutiny, we are learning that political leaders scrambled to undermine the very real authority of the presidency in order to protect everyone from Trump.

We have to look at this system and reckon with what we have created.

4/

The truth is that we live in a time where someone as dangerous and unhinged as Donald Trump can become president, meaning the office we have imbued with incredible, unprecedented power, can become a seat for unthinkable tragedy.

It's not enough to rely on these small coups.

5/

The President of the United States of America has been vested with incredible and terrifying powers.

This is a symptom of our larger pursuit of empire and hegemony. We have created a perfect situation for massive, unthinkable tragedy.

6/

We have to remember that Donald Trump is not the disease, but a symptom of a much larger problem.

Just because we survived his presidency doesn't mean we'll be so lucky moving forward or that anything is secure. In fact, we've seen some of these threats before.

7/

We don't like to remember this part of history, but Richard Nixon was also undermined in using the authority of the president to launch strikes.

Reports tell that Nixon drunkenly ordered the incineration of North Korea, only for subordinates to ignore the order.

8/

Later, as Nixon unraveled during Watergate, more informal procedures were adopted to ignore any nuclear strike.

Here's the point: we shouldn't have a system where unconstitutional actions are the only thing protecting us from nuclear apocalypse.

9/

The origin of this system lies with the invention of the atomic bomb, which was put under the purview of the president in order to keep the power in "civilian hands."

In the developing Cold War, it was meant as a deterrent and expedient means of protection.

10/

While the ability to order nuclear strikes was created with singular bombs, the power would soon grow to the point where the President could theoretically eradicate humankind in an instant.

The office was imbued with unthinkable power.

11/

Since World War II, the American arsenal has grown and grown to unbelievable size.

We now live in a world where someone like Donald Trump can be elected and have control over apocalyptic power.

12/

What's more is that, in the post-9/11 world, actors like George W. Bush have consistently grown the presidency into an all-powerful position.

The thought, at that point, was that responsible individuals would always have control over that vast power.

13/

Meanwhile, our military-industrial complex has grown and grown, to the point where its actions and interests are forwarded by presidents of both parties without much in the way of interruption.

This has created a strange relationship between POTUS and the military.

14/

In recent years, the divide between political and military leaders, as well as the eradication of representative politics, has created a conspiratorial narrative of a Deep State that controls all actions.

The only answer, to believers, is some sort of military coup.

15/

The essence of QAnon and affiliated conspiracies is that America is beyond redemption via political means, even the presidency, and that any solution must involve some sort of military coup that destroys the conspiracy and hands over power to "patriots."

16/

The QAnon movement, though ridiculous in beliefs, has more or less been a delivery method of introducing the idea of a military coup in the country as not just palatable but absolutely necessary.

It's part of the ongoing war to destroy liberal democracy.

17/

It's not a coincidence, after all, that military figures like Mike Flynn have played a role in QAnon and forwarded the idea of a military coup as beneficial and needed.

This is about transfer of power and the destruction of our political systems.

18/

Even Gen. Milley himself, in regarding the idea of Trump carrying out a coup, mused that the military *could* in fact carry out a coup itself.

This has changed the perspective and reality we live in to the point where our political crisis is seen as unsolvable.

19/

This moment of political crisis continues to worsen, creating an environment where demagogues like Trump can win the presidency and where others continue to call upon the military to take matters into their own hands

The struggle over authority/weapons is incredibly telling

20/

What we must recognize is that we have created a volatile system and its flaws are beginning to show themselves.

The contradictions and power struggles we're witnessing won't just go away. They're going to get worse. And we have elements in place for tragedy.

21/

Reports of a general and leadership having to agree not to obey leaders from an unstable, violent president should give all of us pause.

This wasn't a bullet we dodged. It should be the recognition that there are PLENTY OF BULLETS that we must dodge.

22/

The empire we have constructed, the hegemony we have pursued, has created an unstable political environment and weapons capable of destroying the world.

We must recognize this and change before it's too late and the consequences come to bear.

23/

We are an empire in decline, and as that decline sets in, the actions and weapons we've employed to construct the empire will be brought to bear.

These reports aren't just anecdotes or harmless stories. They're precursors to more tragedy, more crisis.

24/

This seems like a moment of profound danger, but if we fail to reckon with these things, we'll look back on this as the calm before the storm.

We do not have much time, but we must work to reconsider all of this before the forces we put into motion escalate.

25/25