@Sharon, this is fine but I hope you're preparing something about the ongoing constitutional crisis. The administration has made a number of illegal moves which violate the separation of powers, and while numerous court orders have been passed down to stop them, the administration is thus far ignoring them. If the executive cannot be che…
@Sharon, this is fine but I hope you're preparing something about the ongoing constitutional crisis. The administration has made a number of illegal moves which violate the separation of powers, and while numerous court orders have been passed down to stop them, the administration is thus far ignoring them. If the executive cannot be checked by the legislature or the judiciary, then the Constitution is effectively suspended and we are in a dictatorship. I'm afraid that there is no one to enforce legal limits on this administration, and the possibility that we will simply accept authoritarianism or that any opposition could escalate dangerously. Please discuss this seriously this week. 🙏🏻
Also, I'd like to quote Sharon here that that the antidote to despair is action. Clearly, you're already aware that what's going on is dangerous (unless you were hoping Sharon would debunk our fears on that or something). Unfortunately the only tools we have to fight against things like this is just calling our representatives. The point isn't to have any sort of constructive conversation over the phone (trust me you never will, although some of them are slick enough to make you think you just did until you hang up), but just to overwhelm them with the number of calls they're getting about the same thing. We all know they're not out for us at all, but overwhelming push back from people enough to overload their phones does FACTOR into their decision making (or at least I hope). But unfortunately that's all we got for now.
Of course, I've been calling my reps almost daily! But my options for impact are limited in a solid blue state. I'm getting engaged with local support systems, like food banks, immigration services, and LGBTQ advocacy groups, but I fear that everything is collapsing while the general population has no clue about the danger. Our institutions are not holding, and the first step to rescuing them is to inform people.
I think i misread you. you are doing way more than me. Lol. But trust me, I'm totally in the same place as you as far as feeling the need to inform people. In MY case, that meant that everytime I hear or see something that I know is false rhetoric or just straight up parroting breitbart I feel the need to correct and fact check ALL OF THEM all the time. You know, to combat misinformation. (I too live in a blue state, but I work in a very right leaning field and my social circle is also mostly right leaning). I was always on the verge of losing my mind being drowned by all that, and I'm sure as you know, there is no such thing as informing someone with facts. Every single one of us here can't escape speaking with our emotions instead of fact statements even when we're sharing factual articles (and I do mean every single one of us here). Look at how Sharon can write a factual article as objective and non-partisan as humanly possible, but people here take away completely opposite views from it, or its showing too much personal bias, or it's too neutral and complacent. I'm not saying to discourage you from trying combat misinformation. I'm trying to offer my point of view on a different approach. More of trying to get to a mutual understanding of how we all came to different conclusions on dangers are real and not. Generalizing for a second here, us on the left have many common assumptions on why right leaning come to their conclusions, and I'm sure right leaning people have common assumptions on why we have our views. The only way we're gona get past that is if we're both listening and trying to understand where the other is coming from. And in each conversation if it's obvious that it's still only going one way, for your own sanity just change the subject like in Thanksgiving dinner, or get off the comment section or whatever. But I promise, you will lose your mind just trying to output information to deaf ears, and I don't wish that on anyone.
I appreciate this, but I also don't see why after nearly a decade of lies, conspiracy theories, corruption, and wilful ignorance, I should continue to extend good faith to people actively causing massive and lasting harm. I admire those who can - fight the good fight, I'm rooting for you! - but I don't have it in me any more. For my own sanity, I have to focus on harm reduction, and hope that those in Trump's thrall will someday find their way out.
@Sharon, this is fine but I hope you're preparing something about the ongoing constitutional crisis. The administration has made a number of illegal moves which violate the separation of powers, and while numerous court orders have been passed down to stop them, the administration is thus far ignoring them. If the executive cannot be checked by the legislature or the judiciary, then the Constitution is effectively suspended and we are in a dictatorship. I'm afraid that there is no one to enforce legal limits on this administration, and the possibility that we will simply accept authoritarianism or that any opposition could escalate dangerously. Please discuss this seriously this week. 🙏🏻
Sharon is no slacker, and is doing a great job sharing about our precarious constitutional crisis. Keep watching!
For the best--imho--coverage regarding the ongoing fight FOR democracy, check out democracydocket.com.
Agreed, they're doing a great job over there!
Also, I'd like to quote Sharon here that that the antidote to despair is action. Clearly, you're already aware that what's going on is dangerous (unless you were hoping Sharon would debunk our fears on that or something). Unfortunately the only tools we have to fight against things like this is just calling our representatives. The point isn't to have any sort of constructive conversation over the phone (trust me you never will, although some of them are slick enough to make you think you just did until you hang up), but just to overwhelm them with the number of calls they're getting about the same thing. We all know they're not out for us at all, but overwhelming push back from people enough to overload their phones does FACTOR into their decision making (or at least I hope). But unfortunately that's all we got for now.
Of course, I've been calling my reps almost daily! But my options for impact are limited in a solid blue state. I'm getting engaged with local support systems, like food banks, immigration services, and LGBTQ advocacy groups, but I fear that everything is collapsing while the general population has no clue about the danger. Our institutions are not holding, and the first step to rescuing them is to inform people.
I think i misread you. you are doing way more than me. Lol. But trust me, I'm totally in the same place as you as far as feeling the need to inform people. In MY case, that meant that everytime I hear or see something that I know is false rhetoric or just straight up parroting breitbart I feel the need to correct and fact check ALL OF THEM all the time. You know, to combat misinformation. (I too live in a blue state, but I work in a very right leaning field and my social circle is also mostly right leaning). I was always on the verge of losing my mind being drowned by all that, and I'm sure as you know, there is no such thing as informing someone with facts. Every single one of us here can't escape speaking with our emotions instead of fact statements even when we're sharing factual articles (and I do mean every single one of us here). Look at how Sharon can write a factual article as objective and non-partisan as humanly possible, but people here take away completely opposite views from it, or its showing too much personal bias, or it's too neutral and complacent. I'm not saying to discourage you from trying combat misinformation. I'm trying to offer my point of view on a different approach. More of trying to get to a mutual understanding of how we all came to different conclusions on dangers are real and not. Generalizing for a second here, us on the left have many common assumptions on why right leaning come to their conclusions, and I'm sure right leaning people have common assumptions on why we have our views. The only way we're gona get past that is if we're both listening and trying to understand where the other is coming from. And in each conversation if it's obvious that it's still only going one way, for your own sanity just change the subject like in Thanksgiving dinner, or get off the comment section or whatever. But I promise, you will lose your mind just trying to output information to deaf ears, and I don't wish that on anyone.
I appreciate this, but I also don't see why after nearly a decade of lies, conspiracy theories, corruption, and wilful ignorance, I should continue to extend good faith to people actively causing massive and lasting harm. I admire those who can - fight the good fight, I'm rooting for you! - but I don't have it in me any more. For my own sanity, I have to focus on harm reduction, and hope that those in Trump's thrall will someday find their way out.