A New Chapter...

 begins soon.

On a purely objective level, it's fascinating to watch the self-destruction of a democratic superpower. On the other hand, my heart breaks for the suffering that is already the result. For many, the unavoidable knowledge that, in spite of the regular exhortations to the contrary, this is who 'we' are, is painful. Just a smidge over half of the voting public looked at a fascist, incoherent, mentally ill, cognitively declining, cruel, vindictive, easily manipulated, ignorant, damaged useful idiot/toddler and said, 'Yup, that's my guy.' Then they chose some more MAGA fascists for Congress to round things off. Once the new Senate is sworn in, I'm sure there will be no time wasted in completing the transformation of the federal judiciary into another MAGA-fascist-christian nationalist branch of the government. And just like that, the idea of separation of powers is gone. The people appointed will be young. This damage will last for decades. I will not be around to see the end of it. It's interesting to me to consider that my father was born to Nazi parents during the Nazi regime in Germany. I will die a citizen of a country with a fascist government--the country he arrived in as a teenager after the Nazis were defeated. The sad circle will be complete.

For those of you who did not choose this path, I know your pain is real, it is justified, it is terrifying, and it is so, so hard. Anger, fear, grief, and sadness are appropriate emotions. It's important to care for yourself and your loved ones. For anyone who wants to learn more about what's coming, I can highly recommend Ruth Ben Ghiat's book, Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present, as well as her Substack, Lucid. Of course, the authoritarian regime that's coming in the US will look different than those in places like Italy, Germany, Russia--these things always have to be culturally appropriate or they won't work--but Ben-Ghiat does an excellent job of explaining what's happening and putting things in context. For myself, being informed about what is going on and why helps me navigate.

For some of the people who voted for MAGA fascism, the resulting pain and suffering is exactly what they wanted because the cruelty always was, and will remain, the point. This isn't the majority of them, though. For the rest, the pain will come--and probably fairly soon. To those people, remember, you chose this.

You've been promised--clearly and unambiguously--by the MAGA fascist party themselves, that things will be nasty and economic hardship is to be expected. When that hardship arrives and you don't like it, remember, you chose this.

When prices go up due to tariffs and other bad economic policies and you don't like it, remember, you chose this.

When you watch a woman or girl you love suffer and die, remember, you chose this.

When your health care options are few and your insurance is more inadequate than it is now, remember, you chose this.

When workers businesses rely on to do the work no one else would do, some of whom may be your friends, are rounded up and taken away, remember, you chose this.

When civil and human rights, including yours, are removed one by one, remember, you chose this.

When health care policy is dictated by a lunatic conspiracy theorist with a worm-eaten brain and public and individual health suffers as a result, remember, you chose this.

When vaccines are no longer available and disease spreads, remember, you chose this.

When the air you breath and the water you drink becomes more toxic as corporations are invited to destroy the natural environment in your neighborhood and beyond, remember, you chose this.

When you're forced to live under laws dictated by the religious beliefs of a small minority of extreme christian nationalists, and you don't like them, remember, you chose this.

When you want to read a book but you can't because it has been banned, remember, you chose this.

When everyone in the US is less safe because the sane people from other governments don't dare to share intelligence information with the administration of an unstable, incoherent puppet in DC, remember, you chose this.

When the failing, cognitively impaired POTUS is completely incapacitated, which by the looks of things won't be long now, and you're stuck with the VP-elect, remember, you chose this.

When the constitution is a hollow shell that no longer has any real meaning, remember, you chose this.

As the 'experiment' in US democracy comes to an end, remember, you chose this.

In the words of Charles Dickens in A Christmas Carol, 'May you be happy in the life you have chosen.'

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