I really hope that generations of Americans are raised with a renewed appreciation for civic duty and participation. When MAGA and its ilk are finally defeated, millions of Americans will have engaged in the active fight against the unravelling of our country. With any luck, many of these folks will instill their newly-appreciated values in the next generation. The effects of WWII were felt for generations after the war's end (partly because of the Cold War that immediately ensued, but also the memory of the war itself). Unlike WWII, though, this fight has been on American soil* for American freedom. This literal fight for democracy and our constitutional values will hopefully have a similar effect. We absolutely need ways to reengage the citizenry with each other and our government. Now, more than ever, I'm open-minded about compulsory military or civil service to ensure the majority of Americans are exposed to people and ideas outside of their ideological bubble.
*Yes, there was Pearl Harbor, but that was a single isolated incident. The vast majority of fighting occurred elsewhere.
I really hope that generations of Americans are raised with a renewed appreciation for civic duty and participation. When MAGA and its ilk are finally defeated, millions of Americans will have engaged in the active fight against the unravelling of our country. With any luck, many of these folks will instill their newly-appreciated values in the next generation. The effects of WWII were felt for generations after the war's end (partly because of the Cold War that immediately ensued, but also the memory of the war itself). Unlike WWII, though, this fight has been on American soil* for American freedom. This literal fight for democracy and our constitutional values will hopefully have a similar effect. We absolutely need ways to reengage the citizenry with each other and our government. Now, more than ever, I'm open-minded about compulsory military or civil service to ensure the majority of Americans are exposed to people and ideas outside of their ideological bubble.
*Yes, there was Pearl Harbor, but that was a single isolated incident. The vast majority of fighting occurred elsewhere.