Republicans don't care about truth, law, rules, compassion, community, democracy, or anything like that.
They don't suffer from cognitive dissonance, and hypocrisy is only a tool to use against Democrats.
Republicans will say one thing and a moment later say the opposite - because it serves their purpose to do so. Whatever works to push their agenda. Whatever will help them in that moment.
Power and control are what they want, and they will stop at nothing to get it.
Democracy only matters to them if they can twist it to make it work for them.
Once they start losing, democracy is just another impediment to their ultimate goal.
I came across something I wrote some years back, and I think it is relevant to the "Man or Bear?" conversation. So, a thread, but first some observations:
When a woman is in an abusive relationship, what's the first thing people say?
"Why doesn't she just leave?"
And I'd like to point out, first of all, that this puts the onus to fix things on the woman. Again.
She's being abused, and fears for her life, but it's on HER to fix it.
Why?
So here's my older post:
Why don’t women leave?
Because of financial reasons.
Because they’ve been programmed by subtle, abusive propaganda to believe that they cannot survive on their own. That they’re not good enough, not smart enough, not capable enough.
When I was a child, my parents taught me to be against racism (I was lucky).
When I was a young adult, I wasn't racist.
Middle-aged, I was still learning.
At 64, I have realized that although I thought my entire life that I wasn't racist, this American culture bakes it in.
I have never been willingly, intentionally, or knowingly racist.
But even after 64 years, I keep finding bits and shreds and pieces of racist garbage in my brain. Assumptions. Unintentional (but still hurtful) micro-aggressions.
I'm trying to weed it all out...
But it's a journey.
For a while in my 30's, I was "color-blind" or tried to be.
In my 50's, I caught myself thinking "bad neighborhood" when I saw mostly Black people in a store. Had to stop, immediately, and challenge that in my head. And it pissed me off that it was THERE.