This is good. Like the posts I have read, your capacity to present a well-structured, logical argument is impeccable. I was equally glued to The Camel, The Straw and The Bagel Shop. Unfortunately, as a very left wing Italian (as in born and raised in Rome,) after 40 years I see the faultlines between central/southern Europe and the US more clearly than ever. There are very few common motivating factors, and the kind of post-WWII groupthink (in a good way) I was raised with has not existed in the US since the 1980s - and even that was a hangover. Mindless individualism paradoxically combined with reason-free rule-following is the norm in 21st century America. Not only was it not so when I came here in '76, but I stayed because as a young, idealistic man, I saw a desire to question that was a bit stultified in Europe at the time. Alas, two generations of libertarian infantiles have buried that form of enlightenment. All this to say, Hungarian motivation will not translate to stateside ballots in the midterms, if they are held at all (I'm not so sure.) Having said that, if they progress fairly, it should be a landslide anyway, but only because he's stupid and senile enough to have pissed off his own constituents.
The East German government spent at least a sixth of its money, resources, citizen's talent on surveilling and jailing people. It devoted its days and weeks to making people's lives miserable. The American government has decided to spend hundreds of billions to removing a two thirds of the people. They see immigrants as an existential threat that the intelligence agencies are focusing on that. It's devoting its resources to building concentration camps.
None of this is going towards improving people's lives. I don't see this working out well. In East Germany, Poland, Hungary, and Romania the majority of the people rejected the old regime for something new and better. Almost half the US voters are not there yet.
Super analysis, Darcy!!
Excellent crafting.
Love the legitimacy subsidy/iceberg explainer, and terrific summary of the last 16 months in the U.S.
Excellent, Darcy. Thank you!
This is good. Like the posts I have read, your capacity to present a well-structured, logical argument is impeccable. I was equally glued to The Camel, The Straw and The Bagel Shop. Unfortunately, as a very left wing Italian (as in born and raised in Rome,) after 40 years I see the faultlines between central/southern Europe and the US more clearly than ever. There are very few common motivating factors, and the kind of post-WWII groupthink (in a good way) I was raised with has not existed in the US since the 1980s - and even that was a hangover. Mindless individualism paradoxically combined with reason-free rule-following is the norm in 21st century America. Not only was it not so when I came here in '76, but I stayed because as a young, idealistic man, I saw a desire to question that was a bit stultified in Europe at the time. Alas, two generations of libertarian infantiles have buried that form of enlightenment. All this to say, Hungarian motivation will not translate to stateside ballots in the midterms, if they are held at all (I'm not so sure.) Having said that, if they progress fairly, it should be a landslide anyway, but only because he's stupid and senile enough to have pissed off his own constituents.
The East German government spent at least a sixth of its money, resources, citizen's talent on surveilling and jailing people. It devoted its days and weeks to making people's lives miserable. The American government has decided to spend hundreds of billions to removing a two thirds of the people. They see immigrants as an existential threat that the intelligence agencies are focusing on that. It's devoting its resources to building concentration camps.
None of this is going towards improving people's lives. I don't see this working out well. In East Germany, Poland, Hungary, and Romania the majority of the people rejected the old regime for something new and better. Almost half the US voters are not there yet.
He's conservative but what you describe and Bogáta Timár wrote here https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/2043787197313139178.html Peter Magyar is a principled and courageous man.
You are conveying an important message