When I first started this blog, I had several goals: To clarify my own thoughts on politics, to explain how my experience with math & physics informed those views, and to provide longer-term plans about what comes after the lawlessness of the Trump Administration, the blatant self-dealing, authoritarianism & racism of his strongest supporters. I also wanted to build a repertoire of carefully thought-out, researched, and reasoned articles that could be used in political arguments aimed at the persuadable middle, at conservatives whose instinct was to back Trump-like authoritarians but who had misgivings have portions of that agenda, and at liberals who might be tempted to take Trump-like actions on the left end of the policy spectrum.
I wanted (and still want) a calmer, more reasoned style of public discourse based in facts, references, and solid logic - rather than ad hominem attacks, political theater, incendiary language, and short-term memories. I feel I’ve had some mixed successes. “Mixed” because it’s hard to get beyond the outrage of the day, and because I rarely have the energy and time necessary to do all the research and writing I feel’s appropriate to the moment. “Success” because I’ve found a few conservative friends & contacts shifting their views away from DJT. The shifts are small, and I am far from the sole voice seeking to persuade them, but it’s there and I’m going to take a little bit of credit for it.
But in theory I want to get beyond “Trump is bad” and “Impeach him now” talking points, to focus on realistic political objectives - both now and for years in the future, beyond his time in office. I have said for a few years (since early in Trump’s first term) that I thought a Constitutional Amendment would be required to get us out of the current predicament. I’m now feeling that such would be insufficient and might not be necessary. Partisans in Congress and the Supreme Court have refused to enforce the US Constitution, and Trump’s Cabinet has not shied away from scandal, bribery, blatant lies, and a willingness to openly flout the law. The problem in short, is not merely that this Administration has abused its power and done abhorrent things not anticipated by the Constitution & law, but also that the system of checks & balances has broken down: Other Republicans have seen backing Trump as a ticket to increasing their own political power. Trump performed best with “low-information” voters, and many of the rural working class voters who backed him don’t seem to realize how they will be harmed by his policies.
In other words, fixing the current mess requires fixing more than just a few weaknesses in the US Constitution. I see several components of the larger system in need of attention:
There is too much money in politics - Billionaires wield outsized political influence, and bribery & corruption scandals abound. Trump is taking bribery to a new level, but focusing too much on that lets off the hook Clarence Thomas getting paid vacations from those with business before the Supreme Court, members of Congress involved in insider trading, and the overwhelming grind for campaign donations, fundraisers, and pay-for-play schemes. SCotUS’s ruling against campaign-finance regulations was tone-deaf and furthered the US slide toward oligarchy.
Compatible with that, wealth inequality has become a massive feature in US & global politics. The wealthy can afford bribes and lobbyists to decrease their tax burden, and to carry out propaganda campaigns aimed at convincing voters of their own mythology & politics. Meanwhile many of those millionaires & billionaires awarding each other with positions of power have proven breathtakingly out-of-touch and incompetent. Being born with a silver spoon in your mouth seems to put you at elevated risk of Dunning-Kruger disease - presumably because growing up wealthy lets you buy approval and grades rather than working for it.
Our politics have become highly polarized, such that voters listen primarily to those who agree with them, politicians openly gerrymander Congressional districts to choose voters who agree with them, and media moguls simultaneously curry favor with politicians and seek to shape voters’ opinions. All this together makes it difficult to see the weaknesses of our own arguments, and decreases the options & incentives for bipartisan / non-partisan, solution-focused discussions about problems & potential solutions.
Scapegoating opposing political parties, or racial / religious / ethnic groups associated with those parties has become easier as the politics has grown more polarized, and as voters & politicians succumb to their self-imposed media bubbles.
Experts & experienced officials are being driven from the government in droves because their fact-based opinions don’t fit the desired conclusions of those running the show.
Achieving improvements in US political discourse will take addressing all the above issues. Some of those mitigations may look like Constitutional Amendments. Other pieces might be more in tune with societal conventions, or restructuring information-consumption and political-discussion landscapes. Options include broader education, exposure of more people to folks with different socio-economic backgrounds, reinforcing the checks & balances between branches of government, illuminating financial backing for different media & political enterprises, and improving communications between white-collar specialists and the public. It’s going to be a lot of work. I hope to help.