There is no "compromise" or a sense of comity between differences. When you have "the truth" it is a violation to "compromise".
It is not just wrong
& it is not just the epitome of historical ignorance,
& a comprehensive misunderstanding of the relationship of religious and civil society,
This is the declaration of a much deeper intention of instantiating an "American Fundamentalism".
Think "Gilead".
Georgia Republican candidate Kandiss Taylor goes full theocracy explaining her \u201cJesus, guns, and babies\u201d slogan:
— PatriotTakes \U0001f1fa\U0001f1f8 (@patriottakes) April 9, 2022
\u201cDon't talk to me about separation of church and state.\u201d
\u201cWe are the church and we run the state.\u201d
\u201c[Jews, Muslims, and Buddhists] don't get to silence us.\u201d pic.twitter.com/9nkkn3JRbM
There is no "compromise" or a sense of comity between differences. When you have "the truth" it is a violation to "compromise".
It is useful demagoguery.
One distinctive characteristic of America, has been keeping this level of fundamentalism out of secular power. Individuals, yes, but not the entire system.
It creates a condition of deep tribal devotion
This is comically seen in the many interviews of these believers who, confronted with simple contradictions, reject it all in favor of
In our time we look at the Taliban as the summa bona of a decrepit contortion of a religion that claims to reject such extremes.
To no avail, of course.
Fundamentalisms have a powerful pull on its tribe.
In 1984, there was the 2-minute hate. Today we have Fox News Prime Time.. a 2 hour assault on the mind.
It is a powerful force. When it formalized its grip on the principles and power of the country, it will not be reasoned with to return to another time or condition.
Not until the fires burn all that can be consumed,
More from Michael Beaton
What is lost in this maelstrom of Trump(ism) and its nonsense, so well called out by @GabrielSterling, is the underlying fact that partisans are in control of what should be a
I encourage any of you that haven't voted yet here in Georgia, you have between 7am-7pm at your polling location. And as much as this may disappoint some, please join me in voting for Senators Perdue and Loeffler. A divided government will serve Americans best right now. #gapol
— Gabriel Sterling (@GabrielSterling) January 5, 2021
non partisan function.
As welcome is the pushback the office of the Sec State of GA is, it is only barely sufficient. And when coupled with the equally sever problem of voter suppression, including purging the rolls, shutting down voting locations, all aimed at minority
populations, making it unnecessarily difficult, sometimes impossible, for these citizens to register their vote...When the larger issue is taken into account it is clear that we, and GA, are still reeling from ancient social problems.
As good as @GabrielSterling has been re this extreme Trump lying and BS...it is only because Trump is so very far out of sync with reality and facts that he falls outside even the very generous boundaries of what voter suppression is officially sanctioned. That itself is amazing
So, appreciate that, thankfully, there actually is a line that some people, even in their partisan positions of power, will not cross.
And then recognize that in this tweet is embodied the substrate of the problem....
A non partisan function is being administered in a partisan
Irrational anger & outrage which is easily manipulated, as we see being done, into tribal affiliation. Predicated not on some devotion to core ideals & principles of the country, but something else.
Notice what ea side appeals how they express it.
Wait for it, we\u2019re about to unleash 73 MILLION of this guy! https://t.co/34x0rTzC77
— President-Elect Lynn \u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f (@lynnemiles01) November 20, 2020
One side largely is moved by wanting a system, a society, a government that is responsive to the situation and needs of the public. This has a number of aspects, from infrastructure, taking care of the environment, BLM, taking care of the 'least among us' &etc.
These folks...
These folks on "the other side"... Not sure what to call this other side. It is a collection of right wing people, some who are simply "members" by affiliation, by tradition, by location in the country...others by reasoned choice.
However they get there, a large % are like this.
Lets call this the Trumpian side, Trumper Cohort, since that is the current center around which these "73M" are organized.
Within this cohort, there are many who are simply "Republicans" by inertia. Their family has been so forever, and so they are too. In actual fact they
do not like what is being done in their name, wonder what happened to the party, but cannot imagine voting for a "Democrat", no more than the feud over Ford vs Chevy would resolve in welcoming in the other 'team'.
These don't really know or und what a "Democrat" is these days,
As is the corollary question being tossed about, "How to heal the Nation?".
There is a #systems principle
An excellent piece that raises a key question going forward:
— Bob Geiger (@GeigerNews) January 16, 2021
Should we ever "unify" with the worst among us?
"Unifying with those seeking white supremacy, voter suppression, and government overthrow seems like the very definition of madness."https://t.co/UgmPQfy05F
that is a powerful insight into these, & related, questions.
"You cannot solve a problem at the same level it was created."
If the problem we were solving for were some detail, 'where to place a road; what $ to allocate to this or that project' sort of thing, then the way to
think about the problem, the impasse, is to appeal first to the functions of prior planning, history - meaning what did we do the last time, maybe pragmatics...Eventually, if the organization (whether business, community, or governance) may make a decision and that becomes the
decision. Often, typically, the decision is some sort of amalgam of the various ideas and 'camps' in the room. Rarely, but sometimes, the decision is made out of pure hierarchy..."What the boss says goes, I don't care what you think..." sort of thing. Largely that is old school
and is not the normal way of conflict resolution. Especially in the context of solving a problem.
But a decision is made, and typically people, and the various factions, come together and get to work in the context of the decision. Sometimes called 'teamwork'.
We have tried that path multiple times already.
It does not work.
Rep. Jordan does not see!..
(thread)
Rep. Jordan on potential Trump impeachment: \u2018I do not see how that unifies the country\u2019 https://t.co/GiiQtKTqvv @SundayFutures @FoxNews @Jim_Jordan
— Maria Bartiromo (@MariaBartiromo) January 10, 2021
Of course not. It is imperative that he not see.
Here is how it works...The way you and your team always put up a concrete wall when it comes to the relatively petty crimes some people do. They need to learn the lesson by suffering the consequences of their choices.
Consequences you absolve those who actually do deep and structural damage to the country from. At least until it cannot be ignored any longer, and you need a "sacrificial lamb".
Looking forward to seeing which 'lambs' will be offered up for this monumental moment.
Eventually
Eventually when the lesser 'lambs' are insufficient to the crime, sometimes, the responsibility finally lands on the leader, the head perp, the mob boss goes to prison after all. Or like Spiro Agnew, allowed to resign quietly... (one of the lucky ones).
Trump has the option to
Trump has the option to resign. The quick (and cowardly) way out. It won't heal the nation as well as a deep investigation would.
However, regardless of how these next few days play out, that investigation that has been called for before Jan6 still needs to happen.
So there
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As a dean of a major academic institution, I could not have said this. But I will now. Requiring such statements in applications for appointments and promotions is an affront to academic freedom, and diminishes the true value of diversity, equity of inclusion by trivializing it. https://t.co/NfcI5VLODi
— Jeffrey Flier (@jflier) November 10, 2018
We know that elite institutions like the one Flier was in (partial) charge of rely on irrelevant status markers like private school education, whiteness, legacy, and ability to charm an old white guy at an interview.
Harvard's discriminatory policies are becoming increasingly well known, across the political spectrum (see, e.g., the recent lawsuit on discrimination against East Asian applications.)
It's refreshing to hear a senior administrator admits to personally opposing policies that attempt to remedy these basic flaws. These are flaws that harm his institution's ability to do cutting-edge research and to serve the public.
Harvard is being eclipsed by institutions that have different ideas about how to run a 21st Century institution. Stanford, for one; the UC system; the "public Ivys".