I haven't written about politics lately, because honestly I don't have a lot to add that isn't already out there. But these are weird fucking times, where senators are getting manhandled for asking questions of cabinet members, and the backbone of the farming and hospitality industries are being dragged away by ICE agents who are not wearing uniforms but are wearing masks. And yeah, the president is doing a hundred things that violate the Constitution and obvious laws. This weekend, there are protests being planned all over the US, while the president attends a parade that is not about the necessary humility of having a powerful military for the protection of our citizen, but rather a boastful demonstration of power.
The strangest cultural phenomenon that we're enduring right now is that the segment of the population that, during the Obama and Biden years, constantly harped on the ideas that the Constitution was being violated, talking about freedom and rights (which were not at all endangered), is now silent about the clear violations of civil liberties. You'd think that the people who were so certain that they might be limited by an "oppressive" executive branch are now witnessing the very thing that they were worried about, but are now silent.
The reason is not a mystery. A notable difference between the right and left, is that factions of the more recent right are not concerned with their ethos if it doesn't benefit them. It didn't used to be this way. I used to find that right-wing folks were dogmatic in their beliefs, but it was at least consistent. But now, the belief system only applies when it aligns with their broader world views. In other words, all bets are off if it involves brown people, non-heteros, etc.
Remarkably, despite the appointment of judges by Trump, the judicial branch has mostly aligned itself with the broader intent of the Constitution. That's not to say that there haven't been losses in terms of women's healthcare rights, but that's more because we haven't seen the right laws passed. (For real, how has the ERA still not been passed, and why haven't more people advocated for it?)
The last week has been interesting, in part because the administration keeps losing in court when it tries to enforce an authoritarian motif of absolute power. The sketchy part is whether or not military leaders will push back and say, "Hey, I can't do that, it's not legal." Kind of makes you appreciate the way the founding fathers set up the separation of powers.
As much as I find everything going on right now distressing, there's small comfort in seeing the response, and the direction that the larger populace seems inclined to drive toward. The next few months should be interesting.
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