Norms can be good or bad--like everything else. It depends upon what the norms are. Some behaviors from 10 years or longer ago are now abhorrent (and rightfully so).
Norms divide as well as unify. Norms often get in the way of the advancement of civilization and actually have to be destroyed. Many stateless societies are prisoners to th…
Norms can be good or bad--like everything else. It depends upon what the norms are. Some behaviors from 10 years or longer ago are now abhorrent (and rightfully so).
Norms divide as well as unify. Norms often get in the way of the advancement of civilization and actually have to be destroyed. Many stateless societies are prisoners to their norms (by which I mean that these norms actually oppress significant sections of the population (like women) and keep the population in poverty.
We have willfully destroyed the norms around politics in this country in pursuit of power (and of profit by the media). Part of this is intentional on the part of the people involved--but it happened because FAR too many people took things for granted or simply did not pay attention.
As I said in a post yesterday, far too many of these people are unthoughtful and will destroy civilization because they do not understand how it works, how fragile it is, or how stupid they are being in return for short term gains or (in the case of McCarthy) not much of anything at all.
"No raindrop feels responsible for the flood"! Fabulous quote!
I agree that it is the Stupid Caucus that is destroying the Republic. Unthoughtful. Lacking understanding. But also lacking any interest in learning or doing their job (also true of Trump himself). But it began with the Greed of the Gingrich Faction and was intentional and has continued through to the MAGgot Caucus (now half divorced from Trump) which includes the McCarthy's and McConnells and all GOPers in between imho. It may be fun to watch the MTGs and Boeberts spit at each other and McCarthy go down to a humiliating non-win. But they are two sides of the same filthy coin. That may be what saves the Republic.
As a 70 year old female, I have benefited immensely from the destruction of the norms that governed women’s lives when I was growing up. I now live with a level of freedom I never could have imagined as an 18 year old. So the whole discussion about the value of norms is complicated.
One thing the Trump years taught us, in an unfortunate way, is the surprising fact that many gears in our federal functioning are based on norms, not laws. When there’s a brigade of Republicans who don’t even follow laws (like holding campaign events on the White House grounds), what power does a flimsy norm (like releasing presidential tax records) have?
Excellent point! But a very sad one! When you have to have a law to make people barely civil, you may be in trouble. And I think we do need laws requiring candidates to have some kind of basic knowledge if not values or morals or character or integrity. For starters.
Exactly. Norms are complicated, but I'd be happy if we could enforce existing laws. If we ever get to that point, where we punish lawbreaking, then we can start looking to shore up norms.
Nor snowflake for the avalanche. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Thoughtfulness and thinking are two distinct things, with people engaging in too much of the latter and not nearly enough of the former. I think.
Rodin's statue not necessarily a tribute to the human race.
See...QED...Just shot my mouth off here without giving it a second thought.
I think there were a lot of people who destroyed norms willingly, happily, joyfully, and purposefully. Look at how McConnell got the Supreme Court he wanted, who willingly, happily, joyfully, and purposefully went straight for the right to privacy in this country. And if we don't confront this, say that people like McConnell were not just wrong but should not be allowed to continue to lead this country, well, we'll go on purposefully skipping our way into fascism.
I do think that in any other country on earth, Trump would have been hauled off in handcuffs two years ago (as the sane persons in the WH expected) and McCarthy and the rest of them would have been hauled out by the hair and jailed for helping the insurrectionists. People at the Top should be in jail now! "Only in America, land of the foolish!"
Re right to privacy, it’s in the South Carolina constitution and the SC Supreme Court ruled the 6 weeks law re abortion violated that right - something like that.
Norms can be good or bad--like everything else. It depends upon what the norms are. Some behaviors from 10 years or longer ago are now abhorrent (and rightfully so).
Norms divide as well as unify. Norms often get in the way of the advancement of civilization and actually have to be destroyed. Many stateless societies are prisoners to their norms (by which I mean that these norms actually oppress significant sections of the population (like women) and keep the population in poverty.
We have willfully destroyed the norms around politics in this country in pursuit of power (and of profit by the media). Part of this is intentional on the part of the people involved--but it happened because FAR too many people took things for granted or simply did not pay attention.
As I said in a post yesterday, far too many of these people are unthoughtful and will destroy civilization because they do not understand how it works, how fragile it is, or how stupid they are being in return for short term gains or (in the case of McCarthy) not much of anything at all.
As someone said in a reply to that post:
No raindrop feels responsible for the flood.
Interesting book:
https://www.amazon.com/Narrow-Corridor-States-Societies-Liberty/dp/0735224382
"No raindrop feels responsible for the flood"! Fabulous quote!
I agree that it is the Stupid Caucus that is destroying the Republic. Unthoughtful. Lacking understanding. But also lacking any interest in learning or doing their job (also true of Trump himself). But it began with the Greed of the Gingrich Faction and was intentional and has continued through to the MAGgot Caucus (now half divorced from Trump) which includes the McCarthy's and McConnells and all GOPers in between imho. It may be fun to watch the MTGs and Boeberts spit at each other and McCarthy go down to a humiliating non-win. But they are two sides of the same filthy coin. That may be what saves the Republic.
As a 70 year old female, I have benefited immensely from the destruction of the norms that governed women’s lives when I was growing up. I now live with a level of freedom I never could have imagined as an 18 year old. So the whole discussion about the value of norms is complicated.
One thing the Trump years taught us, in an unfortunate way, is the surprising fact that many gears in our federal functioning are based on norms, not laws. When there’s a brigade of Republicans who don’t even follow laws (like holding campaign events on the White House grounds), what power does a flimsy norm (like releasing presidential tax records) have?
Excellent point! But a very sad one! When you have to have a law to make people barely civil, you may be in trouble. And I think we do need laws requiring candidates to have some kind of basic knowledge if not values or morals or character or integrity. For starters.
Exactly. Norms are complicated, but I'd be happy if we could enforce existing laws. If we ever get to that point, where we punish lawbreaking, then we can start looking to shore up norms.
Slavery, segregation, stoning adulterers, and burning "witches" were once norms (and still are in some places) if anyone wants some bad examples
Nor snowflake for the avalanche. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Thoughtfulness and thinking are two distinct things, with people engaging in too much of the latter and not nearly enough of the former. I think.
Rodin's statue not necessarily a tribute to the human race.
See...QED...Just shot my mouth off here without giving it a second thought.
I think there were a lot of people who destroyed norms willingly, happily, joyfully, and purposefully. Look at how McConnell got the Supreme Court he wanted, who willingly, happily, joyfully, and purposefully went straight for the right to privacy in this country. And if we don't confront this, say that people like McConnell were not just wrong but should not be allowed to continue to lead this country, well, we'll go on purposefully skipping our way into fascism.
I do think that in any other country on earth, Trump would have been hauled off in handcuffs two years ago (as the sane persons in the WH expected) and McCarthy and the rest of them would have been hauled out by the hair and jailed for helping the insurrectionists. People at the Top should be in jail now! "Only in America, land of the foolish!"
Re right to privacy, it’s in the South Carolina constitution and the SC Supreme Court ruled the 6 weeks law re abortion violated that right - something like that.