"In other words there is a vacuum of meaning, in our politics, and the really scary question is what will fill it. The right strongman, whether R or D, could ride in and get 65% of the electorate to support him as he casually dispensed with law and democracy, giving the people the firm hand they so desire. We've just been lucky that our recent leaders have been so corrupt, feckless, and decrepit that no one's taken the reins. But we won't be lucky forever."
Thought this article by Freddie deBoer was an excellent summary of the current situation in America. Words don't mean anything, each side is pitting the other with this or that discontent, all making 'the People' ripe for a monster. If you know me, you know I love the quote by Voltaire that reads, "History is filled with the sound of silken slippers going downstairs and wooden shoes coming up." Another great quote that captures the same idea is, "Hard times make great men, great men make good times, good times make weak men, weak men make hard times." (G. Michael Hopf)
We live in an time where we have ultimate luxury...so much so, that we have the luxury of debating things that have utterly zero meaning...and not only do they have absolutely no lasting meaning, but we can argue even about whether those things matter or not. This is the situation that deBoer is describing above, whether he realizes it or not. The lack of meaning has been created by the luxury of society, where we are at a point where there is, for the vast majority of people, no existential threat on a daily, monthly, yearly (and perhaps even lifetime-long) basis, and so we have turned on each other. It is 'silken slippers' on the feet of a nation full of 'weak men/women'. Woe to us when the monster comes, for we are either asleep, or have forgotten how to fight.
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