General Discussion

Because confidence in institutions is vital for the continuance of democracy. If every time something doesn't go our way we start throwing doubt on everything and trying to tear it down, we're damaging the democratic foundations we claim to champion.

That's why Trump is so dangerous. It's not just his ego and narcissism. It's that he's blasting through norms, systems, and institutions to service it. That's where the damage is.

Biden and Harris know you don't start this sort of thing idly, without evidence, just because people on the Internet are having feelings. If we based policy on social media feelings, K-12 would be taught in meme format, TikTok would win Oscars, and the NY Times would be all celebrity gossip.

I am astonished at how quickly this pivot to Trumpish rhetoric is being managed. Not saying this is you, OP, but just the not insignificant eagerness to goad authoritarian measures, buy into fact-free supposition, and a belief that "We just don't know!" is an affirmative argument to start believing stupid shit peddled by whatever grifter comes along.

It's Al Qaeda all over again. AQ couldn't beat us, but our reaction to them could fuck up our freedoms. So with Trump. He's bad enough, but our reaction to him can determine how democracy manages going forward. And right now, I see an alarming number of people warming to the idea of chucking reason and norms for feelings and spite.

I'm hoping this is some kind of temporary crazy and not the norm going forward. Otherwise an already long four years is going to be that much longer.

And long after Trump's gone, as with AQ, we'll continue paying for it.