Hrm ... probably depends upon how long a historical baseline you take, looking to define your standard deviations. Jefferson and Hamilton would certainly recognize the fever-pitch of partisan mistrust currently happening. Boss Tweed would recognize the workings of money in politics. Of course, none of them would recognize the globalized context, or the empowering technologies that complicate and accentuate all these features, but my sense is that none of these elements are (in and of themselves) without precedent in American history.
Does that make it "normal"? I don't know. That's not a word I have a particularly chummy relationship with.
By comparison with Rome during the rule of Augustus? No big deal. Melania Trump is not poisoning Jared Kushner, etc. Yet. I mean, as far as we know. He looks pretty healthy, right? So far.
The crassness and obviousness, at least in terms of what straight white folks can see and are saying to each other, hasn't been normal in the US for a long while. Possibly as far back as the Gilded Age. We may look back at the 20th century as a hundred years of beautiful lies.
I think one major change now is that everyone has the ability to go be vocal all the time. Everyone has some kind of audience. People have always been this divided, they just never had loud and public rallying points (the Internet and current media). Everything is louder now.
Contrary to what people at the time might have claimed, no. We have had people and parties that relied upon public misapprehension of the truth, but the brazen willingness to try to create truth in Orwellian fashion is something that has flared up, but that our country has usually rejected once it's in the spotlight.
Might I recommend George Clooney's rich work Good Night, and Good Luck as hopeful viewing?
Yeah, the conservatives used to be the group to which starry-eyed liberals gradually migrated as life showed them the importance of compromise and incrementalism.
NOPE.
ReplyDeleteIt's normal in Bizarro-cabinet. That's the only explanation, we've slipped into Bizzaro earth.
ReplyDeleteHrm ... probably depends upon how long a historical baseline you take, looking to define your standard deviations. Jefferson and Hamilton would certainly recognize the fever-pitch of partisan mistrust currently happening. Boss Tweed would recognize the workings of money in politics. Of course, none of them would recognize the globalized context, or the empowering technologies that complicate and accentuate all these features, but my sense is that none of these elements are (in and of themselves) without precedent in American history.
ReplyDeleteDoes that make it "normal"? I don't know. That's not a word I have a particularly chummy relationship with.
By comparison with Rome during the rule of Augustus? No big deal. Melania Trump is not poisoning Jared Kushner, etc. Yet. I mean, as far as we know. He looks pretty healthy, right? So far.
ReplyDeleteThe crassness and obviousness, at least in terms of what straight white folks can see and are saying to each other, hasn't been normal in the US for a long while. Possibly as far back as the Gilded Age. We may look back at the 20th century as a hundred years of beautiful lies.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is normal. Remember that less than 10 years ago a major US party officially became pro-torture.
ReplyDeleteI think one major change now is that everyone has the ability to go be vocal all the time. Everyone has some kind of audience. People have always been this divided, they just never had loud and public rallying points (the Internet and current media). Everything is louder now.
ReplyDeleteRight, the Bush Doctrine of total annihilation.
ReplyDeleteHave we always had a party of reason, and a party of crazy?
Contrary to what people at the time might have claimed, no. We have had people and parties that relied upon public misapprehension of the truth, but the brazen willingness to try to create truth in Orwellian fashion is something that has flared up, but that our country has usually rejected once it's in the spotlight.
ReplyDeleteMight I recommend George Clooney's rich work Good Night, and Good Luck as hopeful viewing?
William Nichols The Dems being "the reasonable ones" is pretty recent, too.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the conservatives used to be the group to which starry-eyed liberals gradually migrated as life showed them the importance of compromise and incrementalism.
ReplyDelete