ARE AMERICANS INDEED IN A BIG YELLOW TAXI?

Welcome to a new era in American democracy. For years many would say “It can’t happen here” referring to an ultra-extremist takeover or Nazism. Then immediately after the election some said “It has happened here.”

Now the new mood among many is “It has happened here. So what?”

But if a time comes when “it” has “happened here” for real — with a massive change in government, institutionalized and embedded rejection of traditional, political and societal and social norms, and flourishing extremism, will there come a time when those who yawned “So what?” will belatedly become alarmed when it’s too late?

Progress Pond’s Martin Longman, in a post titled “We’re All in a Big Yellow Taxi” asks that question. His sub headline is: The American people are not in the mood to uphold our institutions and we won’t know what we’ve got until it’s gone.

He looks a poll showing a decreasing number of Americans across the board (Republicans, Independents and Democrats”) who’d be concerned if a President Donald Trump suspend some laws and constitutional provisions and writes:

The American people just don’t seem to be in a mood to uphold much of anything, whether its norms against murder in the streets, the independence of the Justice Department, disqualifying politicians who commit business fraud, rape, and coup attempts, or the importance of upholding the Constitution.

I would never suggest that living in America has been a paradise, but I think this really is a case of people not knowing what they have until it’s gone. If there’s widespread rage on the frontend here, there will be another kind of outrage on the backend when people see what it’s like when everything breaks and radicals take away the things they take for granted.

[…]But the real challenge here is that someone has to preserve our right to vote out these people when we grow disenchanted. That’s where the importance of the Constitution really matters, because if no one will enforce the law there’s no way to ensure we’ll have another free and fair election.

Heroes may be required.

One thing we’ve all seen over the past 10 years: the easiness with which societal, political and institutional norms and traditions can be shattered. And how many are also willing to ignore laws if applied to their political tribal sports team.

However, there have been other moments in American history when traditional American democracy seemed shaky and democracy survived.

And this time?

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