How much do you want to stop His Royal Heinous and the fascist takeover of the country?
Enough that you’re willing to make a small sacrifice? Like altering your spending habits for a month or two or three? That could be all it would take to get the attention of the oligarchs (formerly known as The Robber Barons in the first Gilded Age, also The Fat Cats, The Greedy Bastards).
A brief demonstration of We, the People’s, power of the purse could persuade them to quit supporting HRH and the politicians who enable him.
We quit spending, except on essentials, businesses lose money, stock market goes down, Greedy Bastards pay attention to our demands.
Greedy Bastards own most of the politicians of both major parties. GBs start losing money, then they tell the politicians to change course and do what We, the People want.
We are running out of peaceful options. The legislature and Supreme Court are controlled by HRH. He controls the executive branch, including the Military, Justice Department, FBI, ICE, the IRS. He controls all levers of power.
We, the people, still have the power of the purse. No one can control our spending, or lack of spending. When all else fails we can go on a spending strike until the business community stops supporting HRH and the politicians who enable him.
Economic warfare is the only thing the oligarchs, the business community will understand and act on. Call it a Surreptitious General Strike. Stop spending money except on essentials. Quit feeding the corporate beast that supports HRH.
Stop participating. Nearly 70% of the U.S. economy is driven by consumer spending. All of us. Hobble the economy and the stock market. Mahatma Gandhi drove the British from India by peaceful civil disobedience and boycotts. We can stop the fascist takeover in the same way.
We can keep rehashing past and present atrocities until our access to the internet is taken away by the regime, or we can DO something!
Now is the time for this Peaceful Solution.
The Peaceful Solution-Part 2
Why a Spending Strike is the Best Option:
TINA: There Is No Alternative. There is no peaceful alternative.
Plan A
Plan A consists of phoning/writing your legislators, and street demonstrations, neither of which have worked nor give any sign of working. His Royal Heinous controls the majority party in the legislature and they are doing his bidding. As for street demonstrations:
From Professor Erica Chenoweth:
…”they often subject their participants to a higher risk of repression or communal violence from opponents. So movements that are capable of having the capacity to shift to methods of dispersion, like stay-at-homes or strikes or forms of economic noncooperation, tend to be much more effective because they have the capability of maneuver when the state begins to ramp up violence against them.”
Soft Secession :
Federal funds make up 35% of California’s state budget, with $173 billion in federal grants awarded in Fiscal Year 2021 alone, making up a significant portion of state and local budgets for programs like health, education, and infrastructure.
Are they really going to anger HRH to the extent that he cuts off their federal funding?
Soft secession? Only to the point when HRH feels threatened.
He will move in with all his resources and stop it.
It’s another distraction to the resistance in that it keeps us from organizing and uniting around what must be done and what will work. It’s another example of hoping for an easy fix, one that will not take any sacrifice.
In addition, soft secession is divisive, pitting blue states against red states, playing into the narrative of HRH, who wants to start a civil war. MAGA not only wants to “own the libs”, they’d like to kill as many as possible, to eliminate the opposition.
Targeted boycotts:
Why targeted boycotts are ineffective:
Boycotts often fail because they require massive, sustained participation to create meaningful financial pressure, lack clear alternatives for consumers, generate insufficient negative media attention, and are easily weathered by companies waiting for the protest to fade. Additionally, the complex nature of modern capitalism and the proliferation of corporate conglomerates can make it difficult for boycotters to effectively target and impact a company's bottom line or reputation, especially when companies have multiple revenue streams, like real estate, that aren't affected by consumer boycotts.
In 2020, Goya Foods praised President Donald Trump on social media, which caused those in opposition to Trump to boycott their products. Trump loyalists simultaneously initated a counter-boycott, where consumers bought mass quantities of their products, in response. The boycott caused Goya profits to increase dramatically because Trump supporters started an opposing campaign.
The midterm election:
Will it be free and fair? It won’t be. Will it occur at all? HRH has already said that if we’re at war there’ll be no election. Guess what? If it’s looking bad for him, we’ll be at war to stop the election. The election is important to him because having the majority in the legislature gives the fascist regime the look of legitimacy.
People are putting too much faith in what the midterms will do. They may have a beneficial psychologic effect but in reality the outcome will have little or no practical effect, unless the Dems can get 2/3 majority in the house and senate, which they won’t. They will not be able to undo anything HRH has done or pass new legislation because of his veto power.
The Courts:
While some lower courts have ruled against HRH, slowing his takeover, the rulings have been fast tracked to the Supreme Court. It has almost universally ruled in HRH’s favor. SCOTUS members Roberts and Barrett may have an epiphany and save the country from civil war, but it’s doubtful. It’s going to be up to us to stop this.
Time is running out for a Peaceful Solution. Please Spread the Word!, far, wide, and quickly, before the fascists takedown our means of communication.
The Peaceful Solution-Part 3
How to accomplish a Spending Strike
“It’s the economy, stupid” as James Carville famously told Bill Clinton. It was then, and still is, in politics. The reelection of His Royal Heinous is largely attributed to the misperceived state of the economy. That’s what must be attacked, not individual corporations. The overall economy must suffer before the Greedy Bastards will pay attention.
HRH will not destroy the economy on his own (TACO). He will find a way to prop it up (like lower interest rates) because the economy and stock market are his report card and key to keeping power. The key to keeping power, as it is in Russia, China, Hungary, Turkey. They give the people a somewhat decent standard of living, and in exchange, the people have no political power. Only the autocrat has that. Unlimited.
Our best chance of success lies in obtaining high profile, national leadership and spokespersons. Fragmented, unknown groups leading the charge might work but would take much longer, and time is of the essence. Since the Disney boycott there have been more “bigger” names taking up the cause.
There will have to be a great amount of grassroot support before a national “leader” will take up the cause. Most of our supposed leaders are really followers of movements. They’ll get out front after it’s shown to have popular support. So, we recruit more foot soldiers, like ourselves, and spread the word on various Substacks and other social media platforms.
After mustering much grassroots support we can then approach some Substack writers who have many subscribers and appeal to them to take up the cause and spread the word. Writers like Robert Reich, who has over a million subscribers , and Heather Cox Richardson, who has over 2.5 million subscribers. There are several Substack writers with large followings who have been promoting this concept, such as Truth Matters, Marie Newman, Danielle Moodie, Mark Mansour, and Everybody’s Mama. Truth Matters leads with 84,000+ subscribers. Their Substacks are great places to Spread the Word and to reinforce what they are saying.
This will be a tough sell. Americans are addicted to buying. We are brainwashed from the cradle by advertising, popular culture, and peer pressure, to consume. If you want to be happy and fulfilled, you must have this or that product. To overcome this, our fellow citizens must be convinced that this is the only viable peaceful solution to stop and reverse the fascist takeover. And it is.
But, if a single dollar doubles every day for 30 days, it reaches a total of over $536 million ($536,870,912) at the end of the 30th day.
So, a single voice that doubles everyday would become 536 million voices after 30 days.
Defeating the fascists in WWII did not happen without sacrifice from the citizens of the Allied countries. We will have to sacrifice to stop and reverse the fascist takeover of our country. We can sacrifice a little now or a much greater amount later. What kind of world will our children and grandchildren live in if we allow this to continue?
Spending Strike, Spending Freeze, Spending Suspension, Spending Pause, Economic Disengagement, Economic Warfare, Stop Spending!, even Boycott. Choose your favorite but Do It, and Spread the Word!, far, wide, and quickly, before the fascists takedown our means of communication.
Fantastic comment! I am copying and re-posting it. I am doing all of the above and thinking about withholding my federal taxes, which is scary. I am but one citizen. Your "double every day" explanation gives me some hope.
I too think we should all withhold our taxes. Stop the gravy train that feeds the fascist regime. I know it's scary but they can't throw us all in jail. We live in a lawless nation now. And stop buying stuff you don't need. Bring the economy to a halt. It's a nonviolent way to oppose what's happening to the US.
When power follows the same psychological patterns as abuse — charm, tension, normalization, escalation — the danger isn’t that we fail to recognize it. The danger is that we wait too long to act.
Peace isn’t the absence of conflict. It’s the ability to disagree without domination and resolve fear without violence. That requires systems that limit power, cultures that reward cooperation, and individuals who can recognize manipulation before it becomes normal.
We don’t need perfection. We need courage — to name patterns early, enforce boundaries, and stop mistaking strength for cruelty.
You point out the most logical ideas to truly get the attention of those in power and the wealthy who helped them get there. But how many Americans will participate. Some people are worried about economic repercussions from a significant boycott. And sacrifice seems to be viewed as something other people should do.
You were kind in stating: “Americans are addicted to buying.” I told my grown daughter today, “We Americans are spoiled.” It would be a great sociology experience to see how many Americans would refrain from shopping for 1 week and see the family’s response.
Since March of 2025, I have been saying that our most effective resistance to this authoritarian regime, is the power of our purse. But for a family to run out their favorite cereal, or favorite soda, or snacks would cause a ruckus most parents want to avoid.
Someone once told me that during a blizzard her neighbor took their child’s sled and walked to a store to get potato chips and sodas. Today, families could learn a lot about what is really important and how to accept what you have. It wouldn’t hurt if we learned to survive and thrive without our favorites. We may someday have things happen, and which we never expected, that would throw us into a “no choice” episode of our life. My fear is that this regime is pushing us in that direction quickly. And most Americans are not prepared.
The following excerpt is from a Washington Post Op-ed from 2020 regarding the Pandemic, but the lessons apply perfectly to opposing the current fascist takeover.
“Sacrifice is not easy and natural, but it can happen. And yet, the language of sacrifice faded in the aftermath of a more popular, more total and more demanding conflict for Americans. Following World War II, the “good war,” politicians, business leaders, unions and many Americans embraced the idea that mass consumption would drive economic prosperity. Even in the midst of the burgeoning Cold War, such a notion supplanted more collectivist notions of community and sacrifice, in part because those were increasingly stigmatized as “socialist” or “communist.” This offered an individualist reaffirmation of the nation’s democratic values and became central to American identity. Mass consumption and participation in the economy, not sacrifice, increasingly came to signal one’s patriotism.
The last military draft in the United States ended in 1973, and since then, service and sacrifice have been voluntary and borne unevenly. The fractures of national unity that came at the end of the Vietnam War and the distrust of government in the wake of Watergate helped to propel these changes. In their wake, collective sacrifice has been extolled by politicians but never urged, much less required. Instead, market logics and consumer-citizenship has been the default setting for how to practice engaged models of citizenship?
Shopping, traveling and showing confidence in the economy have come to define American citizenship and even responses to collective existential threats such as terrorism and emergencies, including deadly viral outbreaks?
The challenges the nation now faces are dire and require sacrifice, not consumption. The problem is that Americans have been actively discouraged by their leaders from making sacrifices in support of larger efforts — including wars, fossil fuel consumption, global warming, the Great Recession and the current pandemic. Confronting the looming public health, economic and climate challenges today requires a wholesale change in how citizens and the state conceive and construct a rhetoric as well as a practice of collective sacrifice.”
Christopher McKnight Nichols is professor of history and Woody Hayes Chair in national security studies at The Ohio State University. He is author of "Promise and Peril: America at the Dawn of a Global Age" and editor and author of "Rethinking American Grand Strategy" and "Ideology in U.S. Foreign Relations: New Histories” (Columbia UP, 2022).
Governor Waltz received a letter yesterday from DHS stating "we will pull ICE out of Minnesota if you hand over the voters scrolls". Proof this is not about illegal immigrants but about stealing the midterm elections.
So well phrased: “America is now a political Colosseum where democracy is being fed to the lions for the entertainment of white Christian nationalists.”
“The question is whether Republican lawmakers are prepared to put a stop to this assault on American communities and the values so many fought and died for.”
These lawmakers need to harassed unceasingly until a stop is put to Trump’s paramilitary. This is clearly not about immigration enforcement. I live in the borderlands in Arizona. We here are accustomed to the presence of CBP. THIS IS NOT THE NORMAL BEHAVIOR OF THIS AGENCY!!!! They are not tasked to sweep the streets, break down doors and torture and kill citizens.
This needs to be called out for what it is by our Democratic lawmakers. GOP lawmakers need to join with Dems or be called out for their complicity with this thuggery.
Oh my God! That was just what I wrote to you a little earlier. Email about ICE and Minnesota. I said Minneapolis, perhaps I was in the wrong city, but you get my point. I am in fear for all of us. I live in California, and you’re aware of the clash between Governor Newsom and DJT. I think the only reason he hasn’t done more to California yet is because he’s afraid of Newsom.
What we need is a LAW stating that anyone THREATENING someone against voting their conscience, and what was right for their constituents, would be promptly arrested and removed from office.
The problem is the “Trump Regime” is basically MOB run. Long before he was president Trump dealt in corruption. He hired & learned from a MAFIA attorney, Roy Cohn. He then hired “fixers” like Michael Cohen to “strong arm” & threaten people for Trump which led to his prison term.
The Republicans in Congress have come out and said how terrified they are of Trump & his thugs. Romney said many Republicans would have voted to impeach Trump but they were AFRAID of the repercussions from his bullies. So we need to stop the threats & bullying and make it ILLEGAL.
Linda, can you feel that? It’s a virtual comforting hand on your shoulder. NEVER give up, NEVER. America is not defined by the thugs that have brought us to this point. I think I can say with some confidence, that we will get through this. It’s going to be a bumpy ride and things may get worse first.
This is about holding onto hope. Evil will not prevail. Collectively we will win this war because we believe in each other. The world hates Trump and everything he stands for, but they don’t hate the American people, there’s a big difference.
Keep your chin up. I know my ramblings can bit challenging at times, but believe me when I say the truth will eventually see justice done.
Every Blue state should immediately activate and mobilize its National Guard to protect itself from hostile invasion by the federal government. Blue and purple states should combine and coordinate forces, enlist the fired generals, admirals and commanders to take charge of these forces, neutralize ICE and secure our borders, and form alliances with Canada and NATO. Minneapolis is our Fort Sumter. They have begun a new civil war and we must defend ourselves and our patriotic values.
It’s just astonishing to me that HERE we are …. One year in … and the internal destruction and dysfunctional of the government has become quite evident. Lawlessness, corruption out front in your face , lies bigger and bolder … disrespect for our citizens, disrespect for our Constitution and disrespect of humanity and for life .
I agree. As you note, Americans sacrificed our lives to save Europe and the world from fascism in the past. Europe needs to stand in solidarity with America as we now fight this beast. Europe needs to do what it can now (stop hosting fascists, boycott Olympics, World Cup, etc) so it will not have to do more as this becomes more advanced. We are devastated and doing all we can here (even if you do not see it), but we need your help. This is constant, quiet, and unglamorous work for us. Everyday we organize with our neighbors, organize healthcare, food and education for those of us that need it. This isn't the work you are seeing from the propaganda arm of this country. But we do this now to keep us further from the spiral of violence and to keep us from spending. I recognize that it angers you that it looks like we aren't doing anything (and surely there are a lot of Americans that are blissfully unaware and selfish to the events that have yet to reach them) but trust me that we need and appreciate Europe's solidarity.
Make 1984 fiction again! - A great protest poster I've seen...
How to Stop His Royal Heinous
The Peaceful Solution-Parts 1-3
How much do you want to stop His Royal Heinous and the fascist takeover of the country?
Enough that you’re willing to make a small sacrifice? Like altering your spending habits for a month or two or three? That could be all it would take to get the attention of the oligarchs (formerly known as The Robber Barons in the first Gilded Age, also The Fat Cats, The Greedy Bastards).
A brief demonstration of We, the People’s, power of the purse could persuade them to quit supporting HRH and the politicians who enable him.
We quit spending, except on essentials, businesses lose money, stock market goes down, Greedy Bastards pay attention to our demands.
Greedy Bastards own most of the politicians of both major parties. GBs start losing money, then they tell the politicians to change course and do what We, the People want.
We are running out of peaceful options. The legislature and Supreme Court are controlled by HRH. He controls the executive branch, including the Military, Justice Department, FBI, ICE, the IRS. He controls all levers of power.
We, the people, still have the power of the purse. No one can control our spending, or lack of spending. When all else fails we can go on a spending strike until the business community stops supporting HRH and the politicians who enable him.
Economic warfare is the only thing the oligarchs, the business community will understand and act on. Call it a Surreptitious General Strike. Stop spending money except on essentials. Quit feeding the corporate beast that supports HRH.
Stop participating. Nearly 70% of the U.S. economy is driven by consumer spending. All of us. Hobble the economy and the stock market. Mahatma Gandhi drove the British from India by peaceful civil disobedience and boycotts. We can stop the fascist takeover in the same way.
We can keep rehashing past and present atrocities until our access to the internet is taken away by the regime, or we can DO something!
Now is the time for this Peaceful Solution.
The Peaceful Solution-Part 2
Why a Spending Strike is the Best Option:
TINA: There Is No Alternative. There is no peaceful alternative.
Plan A
Plan A consists of phoning/writing your legislators, and street demonstrations, neither of which have worked nor give any sign of working. His Royal Heinous controls the majority party in the legislature and they are doing his bidding. As for street demonstrations:
From Professor Erica Chenoweth:
…”they often subject their participants to a higher risk of repression or communal violence from opponents. So movements that are capable of having the capacity to shift to methods of dispersion, like stay-at-homes or strikes or forms of economic noncooperation, tend to be much more effective because they have the capability of maneuver when the state begins to ramp up violence against them.”
Soft Secession :
Federal funds make up 35% of California’s state budget, with $173 billion in federal grants awarded in Fiscal Year 2021 alone, making up a significant portion of state and local budgets for programs like health, education, and infrastructure.
Are they really going to anger HRH to the extent that he cuts off their federal funding?
Soft secession? Only to the point when HRH feels threatened.
He will move in with all his resources and stop it.
It’s another distraction to the resistance in that it keeps us from organizing and uniting around what must be done and what will work. It’s another example of hoping for an easy fix, one that will not take any sacrifice.
In addition, soft secession is divisive, pitting blue states against red states, playing into the narrative of HRH, who wants to start a civil war. MAGA not only wants to “own the libs”, they’d like to kill as many as possible, to eliminate the opposition.
Targeted boycotts:
Why targeted boycotts are ineffective:
Boycotts often fail because they require massive, sustained participation to create meaningful financial pressure, lack clear alternatives for consumers, generate insufficient negative media attention, and are easily weathered by companies waiting for the protest to fade. Additionally, the complex nature of modern capitalism and the proliferation of corporate conglomerates can make it difficult for boycotters to effectively target and impact a company's bottom line or reputation, especially when companies have multiple revenue streams, like real estate, that aren't affected by consumer boycotts.
In 2020, Goya Foods praised President Donald Trump on social media, which caused those in opposition to Trump to boycott their products. Trump loyalists simultaneously initated a counter-boycott, where consumers bought mass quantities of their products, in response. The boycott caused Goya profits to increase dramatically because Trump supporters started an opposing campaign.
The midterm election:
Will it be free and fair? It won’t be. Will it occur at all? HRH has already said that if we’re at war there’ll be no election. Guess what? If it’s looking bad for him, we’ll be at war to stop the election. The election is important to him because having the majority in the legislature gives the fascist regime the look of legitimacy.
People are putting too much faith in what the midterms will do. They may have a beneficial psychologic effect but in reality the outcome will have little or no practical effect, unless the Dems can get 2/3 majority in the house and senate, which they won’t. They will not be able to undo anything HRH has done or pass new legislation because of his veto power.
The Courts:
While some lower courts have ruled against HRH, slowing his takeover, the rulings have been fast tracked to the Supreme Court. It has almost universally ruled in HRH’s favor. SCOTUS members Roberts and Barrett may have an epiphany and save the country from civil war, but it’s doubtful. It’s going to be up to us to stop this.
Time is running out for a Peaceful Solution. Please Spread the Word!, far, wide, and quickly, before the fascists takedown our means of communication.
The Peaceful Solution-Part 3
How to accomplish a Spending Strike
“It’s the economy, stupid” as James Carville famously told Bill Clinton. It was then, and still is, in politics. The reelection of His Royal Heinous is largely attributed to the misperceived state of the economy. That’s what must be attacked, not individual corporations. The overall economy must suffer before the Greedy Bastards will pay attention.
HRH will not destroy the economy on his own (TACO). He will find a way to prop it up (like lower interest rates) because the economy and stock market are his report card and key to keeping power. The key to keeping power, as it is in Russia, China, Hungary, Turkey. They give the people a somewhat decent standard of living, and in exchange, the people have no political power. Only the autocrat has that. Unlimited.
Our best chance of success lies in obtaining high profile, national leadership and spokespersons. Fragmented, unknown groups leading the charge might work but would take much longer, and time is of the essence. Since the Disney boycott there have been more “bigger” names taking up the cause.
There will have to be a great amount of grassroot support before a national “leader” will take up the cause. Most of our supposed leaders are really followers of movements. They’ll get out front after it’s shown to have popular support. So, we recruit more foot soldiers, like ourselves, and spread the word on various Substacks and other social media platforms.
After mustering much grassroots support we can then approach some Substack writers who have many subscribers and appeal to them to take up the cause and spread the word. Writers like Robert Reich, who has over a million subscribers , and Heather Cox Richardson, who has over 2.5 million subscribers. There are several Substack writers with large followings who have been promoting this concept, such as Truth Matters, Marie Newman, Danielle Moodie, Mark Mansour, and Everybody’s Mama. Truth Matters leads with 84,000+ subscribers. Their Substacks are great places to Spread the Word and to reinforce what they are saying.
This will be a tough sell. Americans are addicted to buying. We are brainwashed from the cradle by advertising, popular culture, and peer pressure, to consume. If you want to be happy and fulfilled, you must have this or that product. To overcome this, our fellow citizens must be convinced that this is the only viable peaceful solution to stop and reverse the fascist takeover. And it is.
But, if a single dollar doubles every day for 30 days, it reaches a total of over $536 million ($536,870,912) at the end of the 30th day.
So, a single voice that doubles everyday would become 536 million voices after 30 days.
Defeating the fascists in WWII did not happen without sacrifice from the citizens of the Allied countries. We will have to sacrifice to stop and reverse the fascist takeover of our country. We can sacrifice a little now or a much greater amount later. What kind of world will our children and grandchildren live in if we allow this to continue?
Spending Strike, Spending Freeze, Spending Suspension, Spending Pause, Economic Disengagement, Economic Warfare, Stop Spending!, even Boycott. Choose your favorite but Do It, and Spread the Word!, far, wide, and quickly, before the fascists takedown our means of communication.

Fantastic comment! I am copying and re-posting it. I am doing all of the above and thinking about withholding my federal taxes, which is scary. I am but one citizen. Your "double every day" explanation gives me some hope.
I too think we should all withhold our taxes. Stop the gravy train that feeds the fascist regime. I know it's scary but they can't throw us all in jail. We live in a lawless nation now. And stop buying stuff you don't need. Bring the economy to a halt. It's a nonviolent way to oppose what's happening to the US.
History doesn’t repeat exactly. It echoes.
When power follows the same psychological patterns as abuse — charm, tension, normalization, escalation — the danger isn’t that we fail to recognize it. The danger is that we wait too long to act.
Peace isn’t the absence of conflict. It’s the ability to disagree without domination and resolve fear without violence. That requires systems that limit power, cultures that reward cooperation, and individuals who can recognize manipulation before it becomes normal.
We don’t need perfection. We need courage — to name patterns early, enforce boundaries, and stop mistaking strength for cruelty.
Peace doesn’t start with governments.
It starts when people refuse to normalize harm.
You point out the most logical ideas to truly get the attention of those in power and the wealthy who helped them get there. But how many Americans will participate. Some people are worried about economic repercussions from a significant boycott. And sacrifice seems to be viewed as something other people should do.
You were kind in stating: “Americans are addicted to buying.” I told my grown daughter today, “We Americans are spoiled.” It would be a great sociology experience to see how many Americans would refrain from shopping for 1 week and see the family’s response.
Since March of 2025, I have been saying that our most effective resistance to this authoritarian regime, is the power of our purse. But for a family to run out their favorite cereal, or favorite soda, or snacks would cause a ruckus most parents want to avoid.
Someone once told me that during a blizzard her neighbor took their child’s sled and walked to a store to get potato chips and sodas. Today, families could learn a lot about what is really important and how to accept what you have. It wouldn’t hurt if we learned to survive and thrive without our favorites. We may someday have things happen, and which we never expected, that would throw us into a “no choice” episode of our life. My fear is that this regime is pushing us in that direction quickly. And most Americans are not prepared.
Sacrifice is not easy
The following excerpt is from a Washington Post Op-ed from 2020 regarding the Pandemic, but the lessons apply perfectly to opposing the current fascist takeover.
“Sacrifice is not easy and natural, but it can happen. And yet, the language of sacrifice faded in the aftermath of a more popular, more total and more demanding conflict for Americans. Following World War II, the “good war,” politicians, business leaders, unions and many Americans embraced the idea that mass consumption would drive economic prosperity. Even in the midst of the burgeoning Cold War, such a notion supplanted more collectivist notions of community and sacrifice, in part because those were increasingly stigmatized as “socialist” or “communist.” This offered an individualist reaffirmation of the nation’s democratic values and became central to American identity. Mass consumption and participation in the economy, not sacrifice, increasingly came to signal one’s patriotism.
The last military draft in the United States ended in 1973, and since then, service and sacrifice have been voluntary and borne unevenly. The fractures of national unity that came at the end of the Vietnam War and the distrust of government in the wake of Watergate helped to propel these changes. In their wake, collective sacrifice has been extolled by politicians but never urged, much less required. Instead, market logics and consumer-citizenship has been the default setting for how to practice engaged models of citizenship?
Shopping, traveling and showing confidence in the economy have come to define American citizenship and even responses to collective existential threats such as terrorism and emergencies, including deadly viral outbreaks?
The challenges the nation now faces are dire and require sacrifice, not consumption. The problem is that Americans have been actively discouraged by their leaders from making sacrifices in support of larger efforts — including wars, fossil fuel consumption, global warming, the Great Recession and the current pandemic. Confronting the looming public health, economic and climate challenges today requires a wholesale change in how citizens and the state conceive and construct a rhetoric as well as a practice of collective sacrifice.”
Christopher McKnight Nichols is professor of history and Woody Hayes Chair in national security studies at The Ohio State University. He is author of "Promise and Peril: America at the Dawn of a Global Age" and editor and author of "Rethinking American Grand Strategy" and "Ideology in U.S. Foreign Relations: New Histories” (Columbia UP, 2022).
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/12/07/americans-used-sacrifice-public-good-what-happened/
Excellent POV.
I also recommend being prepared to resist more directly as necessity demands and safety permits:
https://digitalcanary.substack.com/p/the-art-of-simple-sabotage
Slowing the hate machine’s advance is important work!
https://substack.com/@rebecca310932?r=7awn9c&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=profile&shareImageVariant=image
Governor Waltz received a letter yesterday from DHS stating "we will pull ICE out of Minnesota if you hand over the voters scrolls". Proof this is not about illegal immigrants but about stealing the midterm elections.
Governor Waitz - KEEP your VOTER Scrolls SAFE!!!
🇺🇸 WE KNOW! 🇺🇸
So well phrased: “America is now a political Colosseum where democracy is being fed to the lions for the entertainment of white Christian nationalists.”
I appreciate you
And I appreciate your support my friend
Trump in a campaign photo op at Arlington National Cemetery (illegal BTW) back in 2020 referred to the interred vets as “suckers”.
Heartbreaking … https://open.substack.com/pub/simonwdc/p/alex-pretti-patriot-the-big-fight?r=3codzl&utm_medium=ios
“The question is whether Republican lawmakers are prepared to put a stop to this assault on American communities and the values so many fought and died for.”
These lawmakers need to harassed unceasingly until a stop is put to Trump’s paramilitary. This is clearly not about immigration enforcement. I live in the borderlands in Arizona. We here are accustomed to the presence of CBP. THIS IS NOT THE NORMAL BEHAVIOR OF THIS AGENCY!!!! They are not tasked to sweep the streets, break down doors and torture and kill citizens.
This needs to be called out for what it is by our Democratic lawmakers. GOP lawmakers need to join with Dems or be called out for their complicity with this thuggery.
Oh my God! That was just what I wrote to you a little earlier. Email about ICE and Minnesota. I said Minneapolis, perhaps I was in the wrong city, but you get my point. I am in fear for all of us. I live in California, and you’re aware of the clash between Governor Newsom and DJT. I think the only reason he hasn’t done more to California yet is because he’s afraid of Newsom.
What we need is a LAW stating that anyone THREATENING someone against voting their conscience, and what was right for their constituents, would be promptly arrested and removed from office.
The problem is the “Trump Regime” is basically MOB run. Long before he was president Trump dealt in corruption. He hired & learned from a MAFIA attorney, Roy Cohn. He then hired “fixers” like Michael Cohen to “strong arm” & threaten people for Trump which led to his prison term.
The Republicans in Congress have come out and said how terrified they are of Trump & his thugs. Romney said many Republicans would have voted to impeach Trump but they were AFRAID of the repercussions from his bullies. So we need to stop the threats & bullying and make it ILLEGAL.
"It was the final most essential command." ~ George Orwell
One can only hope this will be their last...
I often wonder where Trump’s ‘Women Corps’ received/s their training?
Thank you for your amazing clarity regarding the facts...yes, we are now a fascist state. I am devastated. Yet, I can't give up hope, yet. Linda, USA
Linda, can you feel that? It’s a virtual comforting hand on your shoulder. NEVER give up, NEVER. America is not defined by the thugs that have brought us to this point. I think I can say with some confidence, that we will get through this. It’s going to be a bumpy ride and things may get worse first.
This is about holding onto hope. Evil will not prevail. Collectively we will win this war because we believe in each other. The world hates Trump and everything he stands for, but they don’t hate the American people, there’s a big difference.
Keep your chin up. I know my ramblings can bit challenging at times, but believe me when I say the truth will eventually see justice done.
Martin
Thank you. I appreciate the informed definition and history of facism.
Why is Cruz “wimpy” now?
Every Blue state should immediately activate and mobilize its National Guard to protect itself from hostile invasion by the federal government. Blue and purple states should combine and coordinate forces, enlist the fired generals, admirals and commanders to take charge of these forces, neutralize ICE and secure our borders, and form alliances with Canada and NATO. Minneapolis is our Fort Sumter. They have begun a new civil war and we must defend ourselves and our patriotic values.
It’s just astonishing to me that HERE we are …. One year in … and the internal destruction and dysfunctional of the government has become quite evident. Lawlessness, corruption out front in your face , lies bigger and bolder … disrespect for our citizens, disrespect for our Constitution and disrespect of humanity and for life .
Disrespect for Life .
DISRESPECT for LIFE
DISRESPECT FOR LIFE .
There is no Depth of Depravity that goes lower .
And that is where we are .
I agree. As you note, Americans sacrificed our lives to save Europe and the world from fascism in the past. Europe needs to stand in solidarity with America as we now fight this beast. Europe needs to do what it can now (stop hosting fascists, boycott Olympics, World Cup, etc) so it will not have to do more as this becomes more advanced. We are devastated and doing all we can here (even if you do not see it), but we need your help. This is constant, quiet, and unglamorous work for us. Everyday we organize with our neighbors, organize healthcare, food and education for those of us that need it. This isn't the work you are seeing from the propaganda arm of this country. But we do this now to keep us further from the spiral of violence and to keep us from spending. I recognize that it angers you that it looks like we aren't doing anything (and surely there are a lot of Americans that are blissfully unaware and selfish to the events that have yet to reach them) but trust me that we need and appreciate Europe's solidarity.