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In times like these what society needs is a leader who appeals to our better angels, who pushes everyone toward the greater good. Instead we have one that puts

In times like these what society needs is a leader who appeals to our better angels, who pushes everyone toward the greater good. Instead we have one that puts the worst of human foibles on full display, thinking only of getting the blame elsewhere so ratings don't suffer. It normalizes that behavior across society. It will take a long time to recover from that. We will still be suffering for it long after the virus is tamed.

JacksonGariety 6y ago
This calamity is ripping apart the social fabric of the entire world. The the enormity of cascading consequences is beyond imagination.
basch 6y ago
>Instead we have one that puts the worst of human foibles on full display How did we get here? What drove the worldwide populist uprising? It's not like this event was unique to the USA, it happened all around the world, near simultaneously. Did people get left behind by globalism and a few influential people in the limelight (Wall Street, Hollywood in America)? Politics started speaking towards a narrower and narrower sect of the populations, confusing the loudest for the most. Or was it hate weaponized by a different elite, who themselves felt they were being left behind? Sort of a chicken and the egg.
- chkaloon 6y ago
  All of the above. I would add a breakdown of local community institutions - churches/temples/mosques, fraternal clubs, unions, etc., and the switch to online "communities" with no real human contact.
  - AnimalMuppet 6y ago
    And the pandemic didn't make that better. "No human contact" is maybe the toughest part of sheltering in place for many people.
  - Lammy 6y ago
    I'm not sure why this comment is downvoted considering how many references I've seen to "Bowling Alone" on HN over the years.
- mikestew 6y ago
  How did we get here? What drove the worldwide populist uprising? Speaking as one who never was in any danger of voting for Trump, what would be my alternative? The warhawk spouse of a womanizing politician I tired of 20 years ago? IOW, same shit, different decade? And then we're all shocked that the populist candidate actually pulled it off this time? Maybe the world collectively asked, "what's the worst that could happen?" Well, now we know.
  - krapp 6y ago
    >Speaking as one who never was in any danger of voting for Trump, what would be my alternative? The warhawk spouse of a womanizing politician I tired of 20 years ago? OW, same shit, different decade? Yes, between the "warhawk" with eight years of ancillary experience in the White House, who served in the Senate and as Secretary of State, and the reality tv show host whose only political experience was failing at a previous presidential run, the former was still the most viable candidate for the job, even though her husband got a blowjob that one time.
    - basch 6y ago
      Doesn't that depend what you want out of a candidate, someone to accelerate the status quo, or a forest fire? Nearly half the voting population voted for forest fire wrecking ball, on purpose.
      - krapp 6y ago
        Ok, fair enough. Just wanting to watch the world burn would be the exception. Although I don't consider that to be legitimate participation in the political process, so much as an act of sabotage.
        basch 6y ago
        20% of the population trying to burn up .5% of the population, with collateral damage, is not the same thing as self sabotage. There's a difference between burning your own neighborhood down, and burning Wall Street / Washington / Hollywood / Silicon Valley down. Lighting a fire doesn't affect everyone equally, it burns up who has the most wood. It's an attack proportional to inequality, not a uniform one.
- rapsey 6y ago
  My personal opinion is people voted for Obama out of hope. They felt betrayed as nothing really changed. Voted for Trump as a FU, voted brexit as FU and so on.
  - basch 6y ago
    And part of this "FU" must be that if you have nothing you have nothing to lose. If you have nothing in the stock market, you don't care how the SP500 or Nasdaq performs, as long as your job is safe. The top of the top outperforming everything else is just another transfer of wealth, and an increase in wealth inequality. Starting a mansion on fire, knowing your tent hundreds of miles away is safe, and even if its not, a new tent is relatively cheap. The tea party, occupy wall street, and the latest worldwide populist wave are different coin sides all rooted in the same feeling of victimization. It's a purposeful intent to crumble and erode institutions that have amassed wealth. The feedback loops of tax loopholes and lobbying, siphoning off and storing value, pretending their holdings dont cause others problems, are culpable.
- core-questions 6y ago
  > What drove the worldwide populist uprising? In America, it's easy to see why, if you're actually willing to pay attention to the complaints of the white working class. They are tired of being exploited for tax money while not receiving anywhere near the entitlements of other groups, tired of not being officially in the civil rights legislation, tired of their communities being flooded with foreigners that don't share their values, and tired of being replaced. Opiate crisis, brain-drain taking all the youth away from small towns, Walmart destroying Main Street, and other phenomena have combined to make much of America a desolate shadow of its former glory. A lot of this is the direct outcome of policy decisions nobody agreed to. Nobody would have agreed to the 1965 Hart-Cellar act if they had known that the result would be the end of American culture as they knew it. Such an uprising was inevitable and it will continue to get more strident as long as the actual concerns of these people are brushed off or claimed to be offensive concepts. It's not a matter of being "left behind", it's a matter of being replaced.
lumberingjack 6y ago
I know all the Congress man and woman are doing a terrible job they the absolute worst

JacksonGariety 6y ago

This calamity is ripping apart the social fabric of the entire world. The the enormity of cascading consequences is beyond imagination.

basch 6y ago

>Instead we have one that puts the worst of human foibles on full display How did we get here? What drove the worldwide populist uprising? It's not like this event was unique to the USA, it happened all around the world, near simultaneously. Did people get left behind by globalism and a few influential people in the limelight (Wall Street, Hollywood in America)? Politics started speaking towards a narrower and narrower sect of the populations, confusing the loudest for the most. Or was it hate weaponized by a different elite, who themselves felt they were being left behind? Sort of a chicken and the egg.

chkaloon 6y ago
All of the above. I would add a breakdown of local community institutions - churches/temples/mosques, fraternal clubs, unions, etc., and the switch to online "communities" with no real human contact.
- AnimalMuppet 6y ago
  And the pandemic didn't make that better. "No human contact" is maybe the toughest part of sheltering in place for many people.
- Lammy 6y ago
  I'm not sure why this comment is downvoted considering how many references I've seen to "Bowling Alone" on HN over the years.
mikestew 6y ago
How did we get here? What drove the worldwide populist uprising? Speaking as one who never was in any danger of voting for Trump, what would be my alternative? The warhawk spouse of a womanizing politician I tired of 20 years ago? IOW, same shit, different decade? And then we're all shocked that the populist candidate actually pulled it off this time? Maybe the world collectively asked, "what's the worst that could happen?" Well, now we know.
- krapp 6y ago
  >Speaking as one who never was in any danger of voting for Trump, what would be my alternative? The warhawk spouse of a womanizing politician I tired of 20 years ago? OW, same shit, different decade? Yes, between the "warhawk" with eight years of ancillary experience in the White House, who served in the Senate and as Secretary of State, and the reality tv show host whose only political experience was failing at a previous presidential run, the former was still the most viable candidate for the job, even though her husband got a blowjob that one time.
  - basch 6y ago
    Doesn't that depend what you want out of a candidate, someone to accelerate the status quo, or a forest fire? Nearly half the voting population voted for forest fire wrecking ball, on purpose.
    - krapp 6y ago
      Ok, fair enough. Just wanting to watch the world burn would be the exception. Although I don't consider that to be legitimate participation in the political process, so much as an act of sabotage.
      - basch 6y ago
        20% of the population trying to burn up .5% of the population, with collateral damage, is not the same thing as self sabotage. There's a difference between burning your own neighborhood down, and burning Wall Street / Washington / Hollywood / Silicon Valley down. Lighting a fire doesn't affect everyone equally, it burns up who has the most wood. It's an attack proportional to inequality, not a uniform one.
rapsey 6y ago
My personal opinion is people voted for Obama out of hope. They felt betrayed as nothing really changed. Voted for Trump as a FU, voted brexit as FU and so on.
- basch 6y ago
  And part of this "FU" must be that if you have nothing you have nothing to lose. If you have nothing in the stock market, you don't care how the SP500 or Nasdaq performs, as long as your job is safe. The top of the top outperforming everything else is just another transfer of wealth, and an increase in wealth inequality. Starting a mansion on fire, knowing your tent hundreds of miles away is safe, and even if its not, a new tent is relatively cheap. The tea party, occupy wall street, and the latest worldwide populist wave are different coin sides all rooted in the same feeling of victimization. It's a purposeful intent to crumble and erode institutions that have amassed wealth. The feedback loops of tax loopholes and lobbying, siphoning off and storing value, pretending their holdings dont cause others problems, are culpable.
core-questions 6y ago
> What drove the worldwide populist uprising? In America, it's easy to see why, if you're actually willing to pay attention to the complaints of the white working class. They are tired of being exploited for tax money while not receiving anywhere near the entitlements of other groups, tired of not being officially in the civil rights legislation, tired of their communities being flooded with foreigners that don't share their values, and tired of being replaced. Opiate crisis, brain-drain taking all the youth away from small towns, Walmart destroying Main Street, and other phenomena have combined to make much of America a desolate shadow of its former glory. A lot of this is the direct outcome of policy decisions nobody agreed to. Nobody would have agreed to the 1965 Hart-Cellar act if they had known that the result would be the end of American culture as they knew it. Such an uprising was inevitable and it will continue to get more strident as long as the actual concerns of these people are brushed off or claimed to be offensive concepts. It's not a matter of being "left behind", it's a matter of being replaced.

lumberingjack 6y ago

I know all the Congress man and woman are doing a terrible job they the absolute worst