412
submitted 1 month ago by Sunshine@lemmy.ca to c/politics@lemmy.world
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] ReallyActuallyFrankenstein@lemmynsfw.com 69 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I would have posted this as a post if not violative of Rule 1, but Jon Stewart's The Weekly Show posted a great episode yesterday with a very thoughtful political theorist guest. It focuses on why the disinformation campaigns are responsible for this election.

In short: We have already reached a point where real policy and positions is no match for propaganda. Political power was decisively proven this election to derive from creating and exploiting a false reality, with multiple groups in Trump's coalition directly and decisively voting against their interests because they simply believed Trump more than reality. In Russia this is called "political technology" and Trump followed that playbook exactly.

Is it even possible to learn that lesson in time? I don't think so - I think we missed our last chance. Because Trump's campaign so effectively recognized this, we can also expect them to recognize that media cannot be allowed to be independent and control of the media is how they maintain that false reality. Like Hitler, like Putin, like Xi, expect that Trump's team - given free rein by his sycophantic House, Senate and Supreme court - will ruthlessly crack down on free press. I'd be shocked if it doesn't happen in the first few months.

We're about to enter a very dark time, and by the midterms, it's likely that even with a "free and fair" election, it will be so tainted by state-sponsored misinformation there is no hope of the public voting out the right.

[-] kescusay@lemmy.world 19 points 1 month ago

You just explained precisely why I'm working on a plan to get out. This country is no longer safe for my family.

[-] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago

You have any good candidates to suggest?

[-] JDPoZ@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

There are no safe havens for multiple reasons… there are places you can probably guess will be less bad… but there are potential worse consequences for each. For example :

  • US military power already far exceeds that of every other country on Earth. It is not post WWI 🇩🇪 rearming after licking its wounds. If you go somewhere that “resists,” there is no guarantee you won’t fall under its 🎯
  • COVID has seemed to have a lasting effect EVERYWHERE in the world. Look how many other countries have now elected far right wing officials. In 🇩🇪, the non-right coalition government has just collapsed.
  • as an immigrant in any of those countries with newly elected right-wing anti-immigrant governments, you will be the first they punish for any perceived failures of said governments to improve their existing citizenry’s lives.

In truth, despite things like inflation getting “better” overall and other economic indicators seeming to point to improvement, an overwhelming number of constituents who participate in voting across the world have felt pain from price increases without sufficient wage increases to offset that pain… and without action being taken that “feels” like it improves people’s material conditions, they are further ripened for the 🐂-💩 scapegoating of demagogues who gladly lie to pretend they will make their lives better… so everywhere they are being elected.

It’s not fair, but history shows us this is what happens…

[-] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 month ago

Also. Even some of the places that are socially nice, could easily implode economically if and when the US does.

[-] nexusband@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

US military power already far exceeds that of every other country on Earth.

That isn't entirely true. Looking at soldier numbers in general, NATO without the U.S. has ~ 1.2 Million active, the U.S. as a whole over all branches has roughly 1.4 Million - that's however including National Guard. Without that, it's 1.1 Million. Most NATO countries however do reserves different, Germany alone has 930k in Reserves (meaning, they either had military training or are receiving it on a rotational basis), the U.S. has ~ 300k. All of that combined gives Europe roughly 2.5 Million Soldiers that can be put in to service very fast. Since organizational structures are very similar on all accounts, if need be, that would happen fast. Remember, the EU also has very similar guarantees as NATO, meaning if one is attacked, the others vowed to help. If Europe actually tried with their military spending, we'd be able to outspend the U.S. by a lot - easily. Keep in mind...we're (=Europe) supplying Ukraine with more than the U.S. does, and most of our arms industry is still not even trying. Airbus, Rheinmetall, BAE, KMW, Navantia, Safran, ThyssenKrupp...they are all "trotting along" right now. Except Nuclear Threats, the U.S. hasn't got much to "best" others, IF Europe actually kicks in to gear (granted, that all needs the European Union not to crumble as well...) even technology wise the U.S. isn't that "overwhelming". Look up U33 and U32 - they both sank entire U.S. Carrier Groups in many simulations regularly - they still do. Hell, they even put two Los-Angeles class U-Boats to shame, they sunk them too. Most of the European U-Boats are pretty similar on that aspect as well, the Italians actually have the same and the French Triomphant-class isn't that bad either.

Germany's "collapse" of a Coalition is not necessarily something unprecedent. It has happened a few times and is also a sign for a very healthy democracy. In Germany, most of the governing power comes from ministries and state secretaries - those do not change with the collapse of a coalition. Our system is more robust than that of the U.S. against those kinds of issues (it isn't when the truth just get's thrown out of the window) - however, i also believe that the U.S. System is more robust than most of you give it credit.

And i agree, it's unfair, but as an educated immigrant, actually wanting to work and putting the effort in to learn the language and be considerate of the culture - you'll be fine, even with more right leaning governments throughout Europe.

[-] kescusay@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

Depends. Some countries are easier to immigrate to than others. Ireland is pretty easy, if you have relatively recent Irish ancestry. Personally, I'm looking into Canada.

[-] MutilationWave@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

I have three Irish-German grandparents, and one West African grandparent. My DNA has me about 39% Irish. Is this a possibility for me?

[-] FarFarAway@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

You are automatically an Irish citizen if one of your parents was an Irish citizen who was born in Ireland. You can become an Irish citizen if one of your grandparents was born in Ireland, or you can become an Irish citizen if one of your parents was an Irish citizen at the time of your birth, but was not born in Ireland.

https://www.dfa.ie/irish-embassy/usa/our-services/citizenship/born-outside-ireland/foreign-births-registration-guide/

[-] MutilationWave@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Thank you. Unfortunately I'm deeply American in my roots.

[-] lennybird@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago

I watched that as well yesterday. Somber albeit pointed episode. Political theology nails it because we're entering a phase (see Michael Flynn going around promoting the Christian Nationalist movement) where GOP leadership is elevated to a religious faith. And we all know arguments of reason or ethics do not work on those whose belief set is forged on blind faith and loyalty.

It's probably best that we hope for the best and expect the worst. At this point, it seems the only way things will course-correct is when it all comes crashing down. And that won't be pretty for anyone.

[-] Today@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

Thank you for that. I'm not normally a podcast watcher and didn't know Jon had one. I'll check it out!

this post was submitted on 09 Nov 2024
412 points (99.0% liked)

politics

19246 readers
3603 users here now

Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!

Rules:

  1. Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.

Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.

Example:

  1. Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
  2. Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
  3. No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
  4. Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
  5. No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.

That's all the rules!

Civic Links

Register To Vote

Citizenship Resource Center

Congressional Awards Program

Federal Government Agencies

Library of Congress Legislative Resources

The White House

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

Partnered Communities:

News

World News

Business News

Political Discussion

Ask Politics

Military News

Global Politics

Moderate Politics

Progressive Politics

UK Politics

Canadian Politics

Australian Politics

New Zealand Politics

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS