Why America didn't see fascism coming:

[eand.co]

"How did America end up so hilariously, amazingly, spectacularly stupid, it couldn’t even figure out when fascism, comic-book fascism, in fact — replete with cartoon dictator, demonization, scapegoating, camps, bans, and so on — was rising right in front of its eyes? I mean: how much more obvious could it ever be?"

After a surreal conversation with my adult daughter where we both admitted that we've given some serious thought to whether we should get out while it's still possible, I completely relate to the author of this thought piece.

I didn't live through a societal collapse like this before, but I'm a student of history, and I have a working set of eyes and ears.

Yet I suspect I'll get some blowback to this post, even here among thinking people, about how what's happening in America isn't THAT bad. To calm down and stop rocking the boat.

In my view the author's mistake is relating the primary cause of our collective denial to patriarchalism. I'm sure that's not helping, but there are plenty of otherwise woke women and minorities who are in denial also. I think it's more like getting awakened from a deep and satisfying sleep full of nice dreams and being told it's time to face reality. It's a function of relative prosperity and privilege, of never having had to do any personal work to defend democracy and its institutions.

Oh well.