A populist wave electing a shitbird in response to a global economic downturn does not mean democracy is being taken for granted or that no one gives a shit. It's only been a year and a half, we haven't even had the chance to rebuke him in the midterms yet.
There's an alternative viewpoint: democracy is experiencing a revival.
The old "cathedral-style" democracy is dying. People are seeing that the "regular" politicians are just ineffective and kinda boring. The old party-based structures are stifling and prevent changes. People want more direct participation in the governance.
So people are voting for a "new wave" of candidates that promise to work around the old institutions. Right-wingers were the first to harness this, initially with the Tea Party takeover and then Trump came in and crushed the entire Republican Party into his personal fiefdom.
Mamdani is doing the same with the Democratic Party now. After the recent primary victories, he's well-poised to become the left-wing Trump.
If you want historical analogies, the situation is similar to the start of the 20-th century when the wide masses first became politically active. Literacy spread, then radio broadcasts and daily nation-wide newspapers gave people the impression that they're a part of the same entity.
It ended well, with democracy winning over authoritarianism. But the middle part contained a couple of world wars and mass genocides.
A populist wave electing a shitbird in response to a global economic downturn does not mean democracy is being taken for granted or that no one gives a shit. It's only been a year and a half, we haven't even had the chance to rebuke him in the midterms yet.
Plenty of people give a shit. We are watching and making decisions about what to do about it as it develops.
Trust me, the US isn't even close to the kind of "ethnic unity" actions that China is taking, among many other things.
There's an alternative viewpoint: democracy is experiencing a revival.
The old "cathedral-style" democracy is dying. People are seeing that the "regular" politicians are just ineffective and kinda boring. The old party-based structures are stifling and prevent changes. People want more direct participation in the governance.
So people are voting for a "new wave" of candidates that promise to work around the old institutions. Right-wingers were the first to harness this, initially with the Tea Party takeover and then Trump came in and crushed the entire Republican Party into his personal fiefdom.
Mamdani is doing the same with the Democratic Party now. After the recent primary victories, he's well-poised to become the left-wing Trump.
If you want historical analogies, the situation is similar to the start of the 20-th century when the wide masses first became politically active. Literacy spread, then radio broadcasts and daily nation-wide newspapers gave people the impression that they're a part of the same entity.
It ended well, with democracy winning over authoritarianism. But the middle part contained a couple of world wars and mass genocides.