This was posted on Dialykos.com, a website dedicated to the support of the Democratic party, where I have been active for over a decade. What I describe should be meaningful to those who have a similar dedication to the Republican party, as it is an argument for transcending partisanship at this crucial moment in time.
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The sky is falling, the sky is falling !!!!!! It is common to dismiss warnings of an impending Armageddon as an individual or group pathology. Those on this website are realists; religion, if they have it, is consigned to a realm that does not dictate personal beliefs, or replace the quest for knowledge. We generally dismiss those who rely on codified messages of God to define truth and the behavior that will appease him in this life and for eternity. There are, however, secular ideologies that take on the color of religions, in that they are utopian, promising a heaven on earth when all impediments to its universal acceptance are overcome.
This Dialykos diary addresses this problem of a secular religion, made more difficult because it is the one that is associated with liberalism, the ethos of the American Democratic party. “Get behind me Devil” is a concept of literal Christianity, meaning that the force of evil is too pernicious to engage; “the “great deceiver” shall not be given the opportunity to wield his power.” Yet, I will argue that this Manachaenism infects, and diminishes the ability of this website to respond to the real and pressing danger represented by the Trump presidency.
A video war game is a computerized program that allows the players to merge into a synthesized world where they become the heroes who battle against forces of evil. The technological platform has become more realistic, from earlier black and white computers to the current virtual realty devices, but the human-social structure remains the same, which is the reduction of all the complexities of human existence into good against evil, with the player united with others to “win” the battle and then the war.
“Video game” as a metaphor has other manifestations. The “StarWars” series is a benign example, the “Force” being a spiritual goodness, a secular religious spirit that is not from an ancient biblical God, but similar as an ineffable essence of wisdom and infinite power that has the qualities of such. This 2013 article in Atlantic describes another quality of video war games, their being used in training soldiers to organize to kill the enemy, learning both real techniques and the dehumanizing of the foe.
Dailykos is structured somewhat within this metaphor, functional, until what I call the Occupation of the Presidency by Trump, which we now see would replace the post WWII bi-partisan consensus with the alt-right movement, Previous to this event, Dailykos was part of the national infrastructure, a reflection and player in an America divided along the political party lines, even including a counterpart, Redstate.com. It was less divisive than most public participation venues, openly partisan yet with rules against advocating violence against the other side, the most extreme expressions of disdain limited to cogent essays and the use of words such as “rethugs” for Republicans, as a talisman of contempt.
In the run up to the election, the website became more overtly authoritarian, including defining a point in time when advocating for Hillary Clinton’s opponent would be cause for being “banned.” This meant that years of belonging, with the emotional comfort that it provided would be withdrawn. For those without other real life social connections this was a dire threat, so most complied. There is no report of how many were banned for this infraction against the authority of the owner of this web site, this world within a world, this computerized war game.
At this moment, only nine days into the Trump occupancy of the Presidency of this country, by his illegal executive order to refuse entry of those with the right to enter, he has crossed the line beyond mere threats and calumny. It is the difference between his henchman Steve Bannon, “Railing to the media to shut up" and Trump ordering the FBI to cordon off the offices of the Washington Post.
The sky is falling, the sky is falling !!!!!! In a way it is, but like other catastrophes, such as the run up to WWI, there are actions that could have then, and can now be taken that could possibly prevent it -- but first the uniqueness of the threat has to be acknowledged, and the response must be commensurate with the potential catastrophic harm. These are my suggestions, which skirt the limitation of membership in Dailykos, but the pressing danger demands it.
1) The ridicule and vilification of President Trump is counter productive, as it denies that he has by his election acquired vast power that is not dependent on approval by liberals. In fact, such condemnation will only embolden his supporters.
2) It is valuable to fully appreciate the degree of hatred of liberals by his most avid supporters. A venue for this is the Washington Times, with a focus on the comments. One article I read a few days ago reveled in the possible death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, suggesting means to achieve this.
3) The most viable venue for preventing this Trump-led revolution is the Congress, specifically the Senate. To advance a movement for this resistance requires a realistic understanding of how this body operates, eschewing distorted simplicities such as the ability of a single Senator to block action with a “hold.” I will supply links of various complexity in an addendum if this diary remains prominent.
4) The luxury of DailyKos being one of the many echo chambers of both sides of the political divide, is too much of an indulgence at this time. There are rational erudite and compassionate expressions of the conservative ideology that do not deserve vilification, exemplified by Nobel Prize Laureate Friedrich Hayek. Paul Ryan claims to admire him, and I doubt President Trump has ever heard of him, but neither represent his values, much less his intellect.
5) This is a pivotal moment. Trump now has a tiger by the tail. He has redefined himself as a world leader, and can’t withdraw into being “only” a successful business mogul. His declaration of his inauguration as being “National Day of Patriotic Devotion" (link to official site) was either evidence of his ridiculousness, or the true elevation of a mere mortal to the pantheon of greatness.
6) We are now at a national crossroads similar to the run up to our Civil War, when it became impossible for those who were colleagues in Congress to continue a relationship that was the glue to a unified nation. As the time of conflict approached the difference overwhelmed the commonality, and a conflict ensued that caused the death of what would equate to six million men today. The conflict that threatens us today will not be defined by a straight line across the country, but perhaps worse, a division of hatred of one against the other that may never have a resolution.
7) There is nothing intrinsically evil about the Republican party. The primary of 1952 pitted the eventual nominee, Eisenhower, against two men. One was Robert Taft, who was a staunch conservative; but the other was Earl Warren, the person who as Chief Justice orchestrated the most meaningful liberalization of our country of his century.
This is a time of crisis, but to address it requires a rejection of the luxury of “our” side being with the angels. There can be a future of reasoned collegiality, but not if both sides retrench, which is now happening. Those Republicans who had resisted Trump before he was the nominee, some even after, must believe they will be accepted by the other side, and not destroyed by the continuation of the partisan wars.
The stakes couldn’t be higher.
The sky is falling, the sky is falling !!!!!! It is common to dismiss warnings of an impending Armageddon as an individual or group pathology. Those on this website are realists; religion, if they have it, is consigned to a realm that does not dictate personal beliefs, or replace the quest for knowledge. We generally dismiss those who rely on codified messages of God to define truth and the behavior that will appease him in this life and for eternity. There are, however, secular ideologies that take on the color of religions, in that they are utopian, promising a heaven on earth when all impediments to its universal acceptance are overcome.
This Dialykos diary addresses this problem of a secular religion, made more difficult because it is the one that is associated with liberalism, the ethos of the American Democratic party. “Get behind me Devil” is a concept of literal Christianity, meaning that the force of evil is too pernicious to engage; “the “great deceiver” shall not be given the opportunity to wield his power.” Yet, I will argue that this Manachaenism infects, and diminishes the ability of this website to respond to the real and pressing danger represented by the Trump presidency.
A video war game is a computerized program that allows the players to merge into a synthesized world where they become the heroes who battle against forces of evil. The technological platform has become more realistic, from earlier black and white computers to the current virtual realty devices, but the human-social structure remains the same, which is the reduction of all the complexities of human existence into good against evil, with the player united with others to “win” the battle and then the war.
“Video game” as a metaphor has other manifestations. The “StarWars” series is a benign example, the “Force” being a spiritual goodness, a secular religious spirit that is not from an ancient biblical God, but similar as an ineffable essence of wisdom and infinite power that has the qualities of such. This 2013 article in Atlantic describes another quality of video war games, their being used in training soldiers to organize to kill the enemy, learning both real techniques and the dehumanizing of the foe.
Dailykos is structured somewhat within this metaphor, functional, until what I call the Occupation of the Presidency by Trump, which we now see would replace the post WWII bi-partisan consensus with the alt-right movement, Previous to this event, Dailykos was part of the national infrastructure, a reflection and player in an America divided along the political party lines, even including a counterpart, Redstate.com. It was less divisive than most public participation venues, openly partisan yet with rules against advocating violence against the other side, the most extreme expressions of disdain limited to cogent essays and the use of words such as “rethugs” for Republicans, as a talisman of contempt.
In the run up to the election, the website became more overtly authoritarian, including defining a point in time when advocating for Hillary Clinton’s opponent would be cause for being “banned.” This meant that years of belonging, with the emotional comfort that it provided would be withdrawn. For those without other real life social connections this was a dire threat, so most complied. There is no report of how many were banned for this infraction against the authority of the owner of this web site, this world within a world, this computerized war game.
At this moment, only nine days into the Trump occupancy of the Presidency of this country, by his illegal executive order to refuse entry of those with the right to enter, he has crossed the line beyond mere threats and calumny. It is the difference between his henchman Steve Bannon, “Railing to the media to shut up" and Trump ordering the FBI to cordon off the offices of the Washington Post.
The sky is falling, the sky is falling !!!!!! In a way it is, but like other catastrophes, such as the run up to WWI, there are actions that could have then, and can now be taken that could possibly prevent it -- but first the uniqueness of the threat has to be acknowledged, and the response must be commensurate with the potential catastrophic harm. These are my suggestions, which skirt the limitation of membership in Dailykos, but the pressing danger demands it.
1) The ridicule and vilification of President Trump is counter productive, as it denies that he has by his election acquired vast power that is not dependent on approval by liberals. In fact, such condemnation will only embolden his supporters.
2) It is valuable to fully appreciate the degree of hatred of liberals by his most avid supporters. A venue for this is the Washington Times, with a focus on the comments. One article I read a few days ago reveled in the possible death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, suggesting means to achieve this.
3) The most viable venue for preventing this Trump-led revolution is the Congress, specifically the Senate. To advance a movement for this resistance requires a realistic understanding of how this body operates, eschewing distorted simplicities such as the ability of a single Senator to block action with a “hold.” I will supply links of various complexity in an addendum if this diary remains prominent.
4) The luxury of DailyKos being one of the many echo chambers of both sides of the political divide, is too much of an indulgence at this time. There are rational erudite and compassionate expressions of the conservative ideology that do not deserve vilification, exemplified by Nobel Prize Laureate Friedrich Hayek. Paul Ryan claims to admire him, and I doubt President Trump has ever heard of him, but neither represent his values, much less his intellect.
5) This is a pivotal moment. Trump now has a tiger by the tail. He has redefined himself as a world leader, and can’t withdraw into being “only” a successful business mogul. His declaration of his inauguration as being “National Day of Patriotic Devotion" (link to official site) was either evidence of his ridiculousness, or the true elevation of a mere mortal to the pantheon of greatness.
6) We are now at a national crossroads similar to the run up to our Civil War, when it became impossible for those who were colleagues in Congress to continue a relationship that was the glue to a unified nation. As the time of conflict approached the difference overwhelmed the commonality, and a conflict ensued that caused the death of what would equate to six million men today. The conflict that threatens us today will not be defined by a straight line across the country, but perhaps worse, a division of hatred of one against the other that may never have a resolution.
7) There is nothing intrinsically evil about the Republican party. The primary of 1952 pitted the eventual nominee, Eisenhower, against two men. One was Robert Taft, who was a staunch conservative; but the other was Earl Warren, the person who as Chief Justice orchestrated the most meaningful liberalization of our country of his century.
This is a time of crisis, but to address it requires a rejection of the luxury of “our” side being with the angels. There can be a future of reasoned collegiality, but not if both sides retrench, which is now happening. Those Republicans who had resisted Trump before he was the nominee, some even after, must believe they will be accepted by the other side, and not destroyed by the continuation of the partisan wars.
The stakes couldn’t be higher.
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