Your comments so far are so thoughtful that you’ve prompted me to jump in earlier than I had planned. Many thanks for this wonderful forum.
First, to summarize points that several of you have made, I see three existential threats to American democracy: (1) Big money, from large corporations and wealthy individuals, that goes into political campaigns and into issue ads. The money is essentially bribing lawmakers. There’s almost no countervailing sources of big money. Labor union contributions don’t come close. (2) Authoritarian, anti-democratic moves by Trump Republicans to rig elections in ways that suppress the votes of likely Democratic voters and give Republican legislators power over election officials – based on the Big Lie that the 2020 election was “stolen,” but really based on the Republican Party’s assessment that demographic trends work against it unless it shrinks the electorate. (3) A media (especially Fox News and Facebook) that lies incessantly to spread outrage, anger, panic, and paranoia in order to boost ratings and revenues.
Unless these three threats are contained and reversed, I see little hope for American democracy as we know it. Ten years from now we’ll be an oligarchy. We might still call ourselves a democracy. Hopefully we’ll still maintain the rule of law. But America will a democracy in name only.
What can we do? Fortunately, there are four immediate things we can do. But time is wasting. Each can be accomplished now, but each will become harder to achieve in coming months and years as anti-democratic forces gain ground.
1. Get big money out of politics. The Supreme Court is unlikely to reverse its shameful decision in Citizens United vs. FEC and related cases, especially given the current makeup of the Court. And a constitutional amendment allowing government to limit amounts of money spent on campaigns is extremely unlikely. But campaign finance reform is possible, especially reforms that provide matching public dollars for every small donation. Such a reform was in the original “For the People Act.” It can and should be added to the Freedom to Vote Act, now in the Senate. Small versions of it can and should be enacted in your state.
2. Enact the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Amendment Act. Both are necessary to set national voting rights standards. Both have been passed by the House. Almost every Democrat in the Senate supports them. But because no Republican senator supports them, to be enacted the filibuster must be abolished or at least altered to carve out voting rights. This is where Manchin and Sinema come in. If they fail to join other senate Democrats in this, history will remember them as traitors to the cause of American democracy.
3. Hold Trump and his authoritarian lawmakers accountable for their anti-democratic moves, particularly those that entailed an attempted coup in the months after the 2020 election. Hopefully, the House investigation will reveal the coup in all its disgraceful detail. (When the history of this shameful period is written, lawmakers like Rep. Liz Cheney will be remembered as heroes.) The Justice Department must take action against Trump and all lawmakers implicated in the coup.
4. Constrain the divisive lies coming from social media, Fox News, and other outlets. How to do this without undermining freedom of speech? Two ways:
(1) Revoke Section 230 of the Communications Act, which protects digital media providers from liability for the content posted by their users—even if that content is harmful, hateful, or misleading. There is no continuing justification for this legal protection, particularly at a time when the largest of these providers are vast monopolies.
(2) Create a new “fairness doctrine,” requiring all broadcasters – including cable -- to cover issues of public importance in ways that present opposing perspectives. Obviously, this will be difficult to enforce but at least it would affirm the public’s interest in knowing more than one side of a controversial issues.
These four fixes are only a start. Over long term, as several of you have said, we need an educational system that emphasizes civic virtue and citizen responsibilities; a Supreme Court more dedicated to constraining big money than suppressing votes, and which respects the critical wall between church and state rather than the weaponizing of religion; and a broad rejection of the use of racism to undermine our democracy.
Robert, you are a wonderfully optimistic and thoughtful person but let me ask you something. All these measures rely on a government that’s rigged and unlikely to do the right thing. My question is what can we as individuals do? We know that many of the people in this community contact their representatives and work with advocacy groups but honestly that doesn’t seem like enough anymore. I like Norm G’s idea of a massive strike and withdrawing our spending from companies that contribute to this mess (although I think there aren’t many alternatives, which makes that difficult). But organizing something like that would be a huge undertaking. What I’d like to know is how the grass roots can bypass government and actually achieve something. Thoughts?
Thank you for this forum! I am encouraged that there are people out there such as yourself, (and Dan Rather’s STEADY) that affords people of intelligence to communicate about issues of paramount importance in a respectful, deliberate manner.
I am in total agreement with WHAT needs to be done. For me, the question is HOW?
As important as all of the above are, I’m thinking sub-numbers (1) and (2) will need to be prioritized above the rest so all Americans receive the same truthful information regardless of which media you partake. Once this occurs it will be more likely that the majority of Americans will be less divided. But, what is the best process to accomplish this?
Todd, all of this -- including media reforms -- require organizing. Unless a portion of the public is organized, mobilized, and energized to demand these, they'll simply remain in the realm of possible ideas. Never underestimate the importance of organizing -- or its difficulty.
These are really good goals and well-articulated. I think the difficulty here will be in broadcasting these goals to the majority of people. We are deluged by so much "up to date" information on a daily/hourly basis that it is difficult for ordinary people to separate the wheat from the chaff. Add to that the hate and fear mongering and people tend to shut down. But I do believe that there are a lot of people out there who are sick of the hype and the dystopian view of society. A clear, articulate agenda would be welcome. Getting big money out of government and elections would go a long, long way toward making a saner and safer society.
I love the goals—and now for the methods and objectives? I for one would like to hear your take on that “action steps for the masses. Tangible action steps could be immensely important if we could get the information out into the hands of action minded pro-democracy citizens! Thank you.
All Great Ideas. Question: How do we go about making these ideas happen? Is our White House strong enough to handle these ideas? Biden needs help here I think. I think the very first thing that needs to be taken care is getting the Trump mess out of the way. Until Trump is unable to be floating around making more trouple every day, we will have trouble getting any of the other ideas into focus. His whole purpose in life is to keep trouble as his main focus. Actually, TROUBLE is the only thing he knows how to do well. But the general public really has no voice or power to address the other issues. We are not equipped to deal with the Rich and Famous Money People. If we were able to get anything done in that arena, we would already have Medicare-For-All in place. So we need a big group of political support to make these things happen. That is my view on these issues.
America can save its democracy if, before the next ten year, we pass meaningful campaign reform legislation. I believe that Senator Warren has the right idea, in that it all comes down to overblown influence by special interests and those who pay to get "their guy" elected. If we can pass laws to control the campaign $$, and level the field for all who run for public office, then I think we have a chance to save our form of government. Fingers crossed.
Couldn't agree with you more, Joan. Biden needs to put all his remaining political capital into getting the latest version of the "For the People" and "John Lewis Voting Rights Amendment" acts passed, as well as campaign finance reform.
Something obvious about big money in politics that I don't see discussed much: Citizens United raised the ante for BOTH sides. Political campaigns today closely resemble media ad campaigns for commercial products, with both depending on ad buys and repetition. Ads are typically short, banal and expensive, which good for media profits but not healthy for democracy. A friend and I tried going door to door campaigning a few years ago. People were unreceptive, suspicious, even hostile. But I bet they all saw a lot of TV ads for candidates who ran in that election. TV defines retail politics and makes a lot of money off it.
At our current pace and direction, the US won’t exist as as it does now in 2031. To solve this you need to find a cure for the rampant ‘willfully ignorant’ disease in this country’, the loss if critical thinking skills, overturn citizens United, severely cap or end lobbying and the revolving doors and democrats need to grow a backbone and hold the fascists and insurrectionists fully accountable.
Seeing a report yesterday on the hundreds of people thronging in Dallas with double-size Kennedy masks on sticks waiting for the return of not only John-John, but JFK, Sr. (he'd be 104. BTW) I think we are headed for a dark ages level of willful ignorance. All this seems to be an attempt to distract from the very real accomplishments of the current administration and promote a return to power of the T-Rump regime. We need to expose the forces paying for the ongoing demonstrations and funding the mob waiting for the "second coming."
It has taken most of my 77 years of living for our country to get to this point in time. It will not get fixed overnight. It will take generations, not just months or a few years, to bring our country back to any kind of safe living level. And I have not seen any mention of getting our weapons problems in check for a while. Violence is a major part of all of the upset we have to deal with every day now. Anger and mistrust has infiltrated our political system. We don't know who to turn to for help with all of these issues.
Responsible citizens must now step up to approve the BBB Act, as well as the Freedom to Vote & John Lewis Acts. We must then win the midterm elections. If Democrats lose the House or Senate in 2022, we have an uphill battle to preserve our democratic republic. We must now think short term, to preserve our democratic republic long term.
Watch out. Those wonderful do nothings on the take in Washington are hoping that you will forget about the John Lewis act but remember that do nothing Democrats always must be elected to Congress.
M & S are not the only Republocrats. Rumor in NY has it that Vance wouldn’t indict Trump because of all the dirt Trump has on the NY Dems he bribed during his heady real estate days.
A hotel and casino owner holding blackmail info on patrons? Doesn't "What happens in Vegas stay(s) in Vegas?" ];-)> That's why it was no surprise to me that Cuomo got whacked as soon as he told ol' Chins McConnell where he could stuff his language about "blue state bailouts."
1. Our federal government passes the Freedom to Vote and John Lewis Acts, pronto.
2. Republican state governments are called out for their authoritarian actions and are held accountable for their anti-democracy overreach in terms of voting, draconianian legislation, and cheating to.maintain power.
3. Trump is criminally charged with treason and convicted, not only for his part in the January 6 insurrection, but for the dismantling of our election system from inviting foreign interference in our elections, to subverting the USPS to attack mail-in voting, to the Big Lie, to his takeover of elections in swing states leading to partisan players being able to overturn elections if Republicans do not like the results. If this is not treason, what is??
4. Louis Brandeis, Former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, once said: The most important political office in the United States is that of citizen. Truer words were never spoken. I am starting a movement in Ohio to mobilize our citizens to become what I am calling a Model of Democracy State to answer the three questions being debated in real time right now:
1. Who are we as a state/nation? My answer: In a Model of Democracy State, we are who we CHOOSE to be.
2. Who decides who "we" are? In a Model of Democracy State we, the people, with humility, say: We Do.
3. What is the foundation of our state/ nation going forward? In a Model of Democracy State, ALL people are created equal. They are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. Among them are the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. There is no nobler goal than for citizens to work toward a just society. ALL MEANS ALL.
Donna Plunkett, Concernef Ohio and American Citizen and Accidental Activist
"Democracy" is an empty shell in the United States. The present regime is a corporatocracy. As long as there is money in politics, the people (demos) will have no voice. This was brilliantly analyzed in its different aspects by the late Sheldon Wolin in a book titled Democracy Incorporated.
Unless the majority of Americans become educated, involved and caring voters, ten years from now the country will essentially be a corporate oligarchy. Legislators beholden to large donors will carry out their wishes to further stack the economic odds in their favor. Unions will be powerless to protect their members, and big employers will dictate the terms of employment, and restrict salaries and benefits to the minimum necessary to support the consumer economy. Major corporations will continue to move production offshore to better access cheaper labor and world markets outside the USA. Multinational corporations will join domestic firms in their domination of the country's politics and further dilute the power of ordinary people to control their lives and pocketbooks. Right-wing politicians will continue to use wedge issues to further divide and disempower the ordinary citizens by making concessions in the areas of social policy (eg: destroying the safety net) and military power (keep the defense budget high regardless of the level of outside threats). In other words, the country will resemble a 3rd World dictatorship. That is UNLESS most citizens realize what's happening, and what they can do about it.
Steven, I agree. Education is the key. Our public school curricula used to include "civic education," which was mostly BS but often focused on the central importance of what we owe one another as members of the same society. That's a key missing element in today's education, in my view.
You can see the importance that the far right puts on controlling educational content: It shows in the money and effort they put into getting their adherents elected to local and national offices. It also shows in the amount of media they devote to pushing those elements of their agenda. It seems that it is easier to unite that part of the spectrum than the more leftist activists. Reminds me of the internal squabbles between different members of the anti-war movement in the 60s. Ideological fervor is a great motivator, but can be an obstacle to practical politicking.
I have no memory of what '31 will be because I can only remember what has already come to pass. From that perspective, one thing I've been banging on about here (and probably annoyingly so), because it has been a virtually irresistible player in the past, is the weaponization of religious belief. It's not that the US is particularly religious, as a whole. It's that somehow, most frequently in the name of religion, conservative forces in the US have managed to capitalize on a collective "suspension of disbelief" with regard to their theocratic "war on facts," that has quietly gone on subverting public perceptions for quite some time now. It's a propaganda war fought on the battleground called entertainment, that we freely consume. Here, I'm not speaking of the kind of traditional fanaticism we see in other parts of the world based on abject ignorance and poverty. Cliché, perhaps, but "the genie is out of the bottle," and rational forces need to find some way of bringing it under control, lest the current trend continue unturned. The only thing >I< can think of that can possibly counter it is for everyone to "catch on" that it's happening - no less than a simultaneous, collective insight. Of course, I make no claim that I know how that can happen. I only have a vague idea of how it works. After all, the war on facts transparently insinuates itself into our consciousnesses - I'd have preferred to say "collective consciousness," but it the term itself is so overburdened with pseudo-theological clap-trap - in the form of entertainment - as we surrender our disbelief to the alternative reality - the "alternative facts" - of what is entertaining us. For example, the US public is vulnerable to well-know entertainers. The former president is a role model of my case in point. Should I attempt to predict anything about '31, I predict the trend will continue far into "the information age."
The "weaponizing of religion" is what anti-democratic movements have done repeatedly in history to justify their authoritarian movements. Sometimes it's been in favor of a particular religion and against others. Sometimes it's against all religion. The Framers understood the central importance of maintaining a wall between Church and State.
Yet that aspect of conservative messaging is seldom discussed publicly, out loud, with a critical eye, in the mainstream. The retaliatory messaging - and perhaps even "public gatherings" at such outlets - should be predictable and obvious. The most cynical part of all that is the likelihood it's all a manipulation by those who have >no interest at all< in what the theocratic weapons they bring to bear are actually preaching, as long as it serves their >true interest.< Think a fully vaccinated Tucker Carlson preaching against vaccination on behalf of FOX, who mandates said vaccination. Recall, Machiavelli advises "The Prince," that most importantly of all, the prince should >always appear< to be righteous.
We need freedom *from* religion more than freedom *of* religion for me …
In your challenge for today, Professor, I wasn’t thinking about religion. Crucial, thanks DZK.
We are hearing casually and frequently that a number of ‘religious exemptions’ to our laws are on the dockets, and we can name some that have been granted … insane.
Religion covers the afterlife ( good luck with that ). Law governs *this* world and *this* life, and it’s past time for the overwhelming majority of US to affirm and sustain that principle.
Except now, bonanza! My religion says I can’t pay taxes! My car doesn’t need a license, my shaman gave me a pass! And headlights? Everybody else has headlights, so I can see fine! Just the beginning …
… this is going to be great! …
… and no, that insanity has to stop now. — b.rad
ps Professor you allude to past episodes of religion in regimes … the Thirty Years War and the Treaty of Westphalia come to mind … Wikipedia threw in Genghis Khan, didn’t see that coming …
… people often, almost always say that morals come from religion … I see the opposite, that secular society with humanist morals and ethics has had to reign in and limit religious extremism and oppression over and over again, as you reminded me.
I failed to thank you for your well-taken response, Mr Reich. My apology. However, the implicit question I'm attempting to elicit in my statement is: "How do we disrupt and discredit that that religious narrative?", per my comment about Machiavelli's advice to The Prince. It appears for all the world as being righteous - regardless of how cynical its intent. It's more a question for the thoughtful people to quietly consider for themselves, rather than any kind of call to action here. These clowns have had centuries of experience in cultivating a certain kind of follower, the kind of follower for whom ol' Tweety publicly proclaims his love - as he makes public display of embracing the flag that he and his followers would - and have in the Capitol - gleefully trod underfoot under the banner "Don't Tread On Me." And as ol' Sam Clemens once said, you should never try to argue with these people because "they'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience" - if you catch my drift here.
Good point on the weaponizing of religion. This should not be ignored. We must stop undeservedly privileging religion and its intrusion into our secular government, schools etc.
On your last point, I hope you’re wrong but you won’t be if we continue to limit saying the truth out loud! Free speech does not include talk to have deadly coup attacks and verifiable lies spouted on national media platforms.
As a former born and bred Republican, even before the last back breaking straw of the 2008 economic meltdown fiasco, I was already starting to sour on the Republican party because of the increasing influences of the Religious Right and the militancy of the NRA. I simply could not abide the hypocrisies.
I'm glad you picked up on that right-wing tag team, as well. In a remark on an earlier "Office Hours," I banged on about those two "pawns" fronting a "queen" not seen as clearly in the background. Think "trinity!"
Unless we protect our institutions, such as the three branches of government, voting rights, education, and the rule of law, baby democracy will drown in a sea of greedy bullies.
As a child I learned in school that democracy requires an educated public, a free press, and a strong middle class. Those have been gradually weakened as we closed our eyes to them being dismantled.
We have been living in a plutocracy, however, most of us didn't realize it until tRump became president. I found the article in the Atlantic informative and terrifying by Barton Gellman. Here's how it began. “The democratic emergency is already here,” Richard L. Hasen, a professor of law and political science at UC Irvine, told me in late October. Hasen prides himself on a judicious temperament. Only a year ago he was cautioning me against hyperbole. Now he speaks matter-of-factly about the death of our body politic. “We face a serious risk that American democracy as we know it will come to an end in 2024,” he said, “but urgent action is not happening.”
The article in the Atlantic by Barton Gellman mentioned by another commenter is frightening. What I took away from that article, and other information over the years, is that one of the major factors, if not the major factor, in our descent into an authoritarian plutocracy is race. Gellman reports that the counties most likely to have produced a January 6 insurrectionist are those that are diversifying racially and ethnically, not the all-white rural counties. Republicans are able to incite vitriol against Biden and successfully convince millions that he is a usurper because he chose a Black woman as vice president. Republicans often refer to the "Biden-Harris administration," when they did not refer to the "Trump-Pence administration." I believe many of Republicans' anti-democratic actions are also still a backlash to Barack Obama as a Black president. There is an easily-exploited fear among MAGAs that Black people and brown-skinned foreigners will take over this country, and life as they know it will end.
So my unless is (are) 1) we need to confront our race problem in a non-threatening way. While I support the Black Lives Matter movement, maybe "Black lives matter as much as White lives matter" is a more useful approach; 2) we need to stop allowing the Supreme Court to judicially repeal Acts of Congress by declaring them "unconstitutional." Everything Congress tries to do to move this country forward, federal judges follow right behind and undo. This cannot continue. Only Congress should be able to repeal Acts of Congress. I call the Supreme Court the black-robed oligarchs, because that is what they are becoming; and 3), as other commenters have said, we need to get the obscene amounts of money out of politics.
Since the Black Lives Matter narrative has been taken out of context by the right wingers, I think one extra word should be added: Black Lives Matter EQUALLY
American democracy will be a memory by 2031 if we don’t get rid of the filibuster and pass the voting rights act now. The districts in the swing states have all been gerrymandered. We will lose the house in the mid-terms. Unless Manchin and Sinema suddenly flip flop on this, I’m not super hopeful that no matter how many democrats vote in an election (we are the majority in this country after all) that those votes will matter. If Trump gets back into office he is never leaving. And I agree with many of your other commenters. We have to take the money out of politics to really get back to something that functions properly. I’m not super hopeful. The question is how bad will it have to get for people to wake up and push for change. There is a lot of apathy here; a lot of “I’m just going to look out for myself and screw anyone else”. The sense that America is a community is gone. Also, Facebook is the devil. Facebook is throwing fuel on the fire of our dying democracy.
Don't you think ots a bit rich that Biden is holding a summit to organize democratic countries against authoritarian countries- while pushing a $150m dollar arms sale to Saudi Arabia - whose crown prince ordered the death of a journalist?
Let's be honest- this is a summit organizer around US economic interests - it has nothing todo with democracy- which frankly we don't have. I remember seeing a study several years ago - before Trump thst identified the US as an oligarchy due to how congress consistently represents the will of business interests and rarely the will of the people - even when these elements are opposed.
If we want real democracy in this country we should get money out of politics and embrace the JFK perspective from his speech at American University- peace not in our time but for all time - not PAX Americana. We should stop funding g petty tyrants, stop blockading poor nations that want nothing but to determine for themselves the policies their governments endorse (Cuba, Venezuela and protect oppressed people like the Yemeni and Palestinian peoples who are under constant threat by our Tier 1 allies.
I don't think it's currently easy to predict the site of US politics in 2031, including on a "this but for that" basis.
Something that I don't think is said enough is that while elected legislators should change institutions to follow through on investment in the nation, voters also need to act like responsible shapers of US politics and institutions. Not merely as infallible judges rating pols, demanding that any worthwhile liberal legislator can lift mountains if they just want to. being disappointed that Dems are imperfect and taking it in stride that Republicans are evil, since "we all *know* that."
The only demographic of voters who act with the responsibility and understanding of gravity that we should act with seem to be Black women, and we should stop resting on their strength.
I said I would not make a prediction about 2031, but after reading all the depressing comments, I decided to provide my hopeful prediction --> In 2031 President Reich is near the end of his first term. It has been a stunning success! He has implemented numerous changes of government policy (covered in his many books) to universal acclaim, with many passing Congress almost unanimously. As a result, the USA is entering a period of rapidly improving conditions for all.
Truth be told here, though, I'm almost certain both would agree we should be far more concerned about who controls Congress - at this juncture - and perhaps even state legislatures and governors. The presidency is just at the very tip of a very, very deep iceberg. A president with a hostile Congress and rebellious states is not the very model of effective governance!
That's gonna take a lot of candidates out there door-to-door in the neighborhoods personally shaking hands and kissing babies. Translate that: extremely hard work. Money is no substitute for that.
Your comments so far are so thoughtful that you’ve prompted me to jump in earlier than I had planned. Many thanks for this wonderful forum.
First, to summarize points that several of you have made, I see three existential threats to American democracy: (1) Big money, from large corporations and wealthy individuals, that goes into political campaigns and into issue ads. The money is essentially bribing lawmakers. There’s almost no countervailing sources of big money. Labor union contributions don’t come close. (2) Authoritarian, anti-democratic moves by Trump Republicans to rig elections in ways that suppress the votes of likely Democratic voters and give Republican legislators power over election officials – based on the Big Lie that the 2020 election was “stolen,” but really based on the Republican Party’s assessment that demographic trends work against it unless it shrinks the electorate. (3) A media (especially Fox News and Facebook) that lies incessantly to spread outrage, anger, panic, and paranoia in order to boost ratings and revenues.
Unless these three threats are contained and reversed, I see little hope for American democracy as we know it. Ten years from now we’ll be an oligarchy. We might still call ourselves a democracy. Hopefully we’ll still maintain the rule of law. But America will a democracy in name only.
What can we do? Fortunately, there are four immediate things we can do. But time is wasting. Each can be accomplished now, but each will become harder to achieve in coming months and years as anti-democratic forces gain ground.
1. Get big money out of politics. The Supreme Court is unlikely to reverse its shameful decision in Citizens United vs. FEC and related cases, especially given the current makeup of the Court. And a constitutional amendment allowing government to limit amounts of money spent on campaigns is extremely unlikely. But campaign finance reform is possible, especially reforms that provide matching public dollars for every small donation. Such a reform was in the original “For the People Act.” It can and should be added to the Freedom to Vote Act, now in the Senate. Small versions of it can and should be enacted in your state.
2. Enact the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Amendment Act. Both are necessary to set national voting rights standards. Both have been passed by the House. Almost every Democrat in the Senate supports them. But because no Republican senator supports them, to be enacted the filibuster must be abolished or at least altered to carve out voting rights. This is where Manchin and Sinema come in. If they fail to join other senate Democrats in this, history will remember them as traitors to the cause of American democracy.
3. Hold Trump and his authoritarian lawmakers accountable for their anti-democratic moves, particularly those that entailed an attempted coup in the months after the 2020 election. Hopefully, the House investigation will reveal the coup in all its disgraceful detail. (When the history of this shameful period is written, lawmakers like Rep. Liz Cheney will be remembered as heroes.) The Justice Department must take action against Trump and all lawmakers implicated in the coup.
4. Constrain the divisive lies coming from social media, Fox News, and other outlets. How to do this without undermining freedom of speech? Two ways:
(1) Revoke Section 230 of the Communications Act, which protects digital media providers from liability for the content posted by their users—even if that content is harmful, hateful, or misleading. There is no continuing justification for this legal protection, particularly at a time when the largest of these providers are vast monopolies.
(2) Create a new “fairness doctrine,” requiring all broadcasters – including cable -- to cover issues of public importance in ways that present opposing perspectives. Obviously, this will be difficult to enforce but at least it would affirm the public’s interest in knowing more than one side of a controversial issues.
These four fixes are only a start. Over long term, as several of you have said, we need an educational system that emphasizes civic virtue and citizen responsibilities; a Supreme Court more dedicated to constraining big money than suppressing votes, and which respects the critical wall between church and state rather than the weaponizing of religion; and a broad rejection of the use of racism to undermine our democracy.
Hope this helps.
Robert, you are a wonderfully optimistic and thoughtful person but let me ask you something. All these measures rely on a government that’s rigged and unlikely to do the right thing. My question is what can we as individuals do? We know that many of the people in this community contact their representatives and work with advocacy groups but honestly that doesn’t seem like enough anymore. I like Norm G’s idea of a massive strike and withdrawing our spending from companies that contribute to this mess (although I think there aren’t many alternatives, which makes that difficult). But organizing something like that would be a huge undertaking. What I’d like to know is how the grass roots can bypass government and actually achieve something. Thoughts?
Bob,
Thank you for this forum! I am encouraged that there are people out there such as yourself, (and Dan Rather’s STEADY) that affords people of intelligence to communicate about issues of paramount importance in a respectful, deliberate manner.
I am in total agreement with WHAT needs to be done. For me, the question is HOW?
As important as all of the above are, I’m thinking sub-numbers (1) and (2) will need to be prioritized above the rest so all Americans receive the same truthful information regardless of which media you partake. Once this occurs it will be more likely that the majority of Americans will be less divided. But, what is the best process to accomplish this?
Todd, all of this -- including media reforms -- require organizing. Unless a portion of the public is organized, mobilized, and energized to demand these, they'll simply remain in the realm of possible ideas. Never underestimate the importance of organizing -- or its difficulty.
I’m hoping that people participating in this, and/or a similar, forum(s) will do exactly that!
Organization, mobilization takes leadership. Would you be interested in that position? If not, name some people.
These are really good goals and well-articulated. I think the difficulty here will be in broadcasting these goals to the majority of people. We are deluged by so much "up to date" information on a daily/hourly basis that it is difficult for ordinary people to separate the wheat from the chaff. Add to that the hate and fear mongering and people tend to shut down. But I do believe that there are a lot of people out there who are sick of the hype and the dystopian view of society. A clear, articulate agenda would be welcome. Getting big money out of government and elections would go a long, long way toward making a saner and safer society.
I love the goals—and now for the methods and objectives? I for one would like to hear your take on that “action steps for the masses. Tangible action steps could be immensely important if we could get the information out into the hands of action minded pro-democracy citizens! Thank you.
All Great Ideas. Question: How do we go about making these ideas happen? Is our White House strong enough to handle these ideas? Biden needs help here I think. I think the very first thing that needs to be taken care is getting the Trump mess out of the way. Until Trump is unable to be floating around making more trouple every day, we will have trouble getting any of the other ideas into focus. His whole purpose in life is to keep trouble as his main focus. Actually, TROUBLE is the only thing he knows how to do well. But the general public really has no voice or power to address the other issues. We are not equipped to deal with the Rich and Famous Money People. If we were able to get anything done in that arena, we would already have Medicare-For-All in place. So we need a big group of political support to make these things happen. That is my view on these issues.
thanks gotta digest it be back
America can save its democracy if, before the next ten year, we pass meaningful campaign reform legislation. I believe that Senator Warren has the right idea, in that it all comes down to overblown influence by special interests and those who pay to get "their guy" elected. If we can pass laws to control the campaign $$, and level the field for all who run for public office, then I think we have a chance to save our form of government. Fingers crossed.
Couldn't agree with you more, Joan. Biden needs to put all his remaining political capital into getting the latest version of the "For the People" and "John Lewis Voting Rights Amendment" acts passed, as well as campaign finance reform.
NOW YOU ARE COOKING ! ! !
Something obvious about big money in politics that I don't see discussed much: Citizens United raised the ante for BOTH sides. Political campaigns today closely resemble media ad campaigns for commercial products, with both depending on ad buys and repetition. Ads are typically short, banal and expensive, which good for media profits but not healthy for democracy. A friend and I tried going door to door campaigning a few years ago. People were unreceptive, suspicious, even hostile. But I bet they all saw a lot of TV ads for candidates who ran in that election. TV defines retail politics and makes a lot of money off it.
At our current pace and direction, the US won’t exist as as it does now in 2031. To solve this you need to find a cure for the rampant ‘willfully ignorant’ disease in this country’, the loss if critical thinking skills, overturn citizens United, severely cap or end lobbying and the revolving doors and democrats need to grow a backbone and hold the fascists and insurrectionists fully accountable.
Seeing a report yesterday on the hundreds of people thronging in Dallas with double-size Kennedy masks on sticks waiting for the return of not only John-John, but JFK, Sr. (he'd be 104. BTW) I think we are headed for a dark ages level of willful ignorance. All this seems to be an attempt to distract from the very real accomplishments of the current administration and promote a return to power of the T-Rump regime. We need to expose the forces paying for the ongoing demonstrations and funding the mob waiting for the "second coming."
Yes, I agree that there have been significant accomplishments. I just hope they're enough to turn the tide. It does seem painstakinly slow however.
It has taken most of my 77 years of living for our country to get to this point in time. It will not get fixed overnight. It will take generations, not just months or a few years, to bring our country back to any kind of safe living level. And I have not seen any mention of getting our weapons problems in check for a while. Violence is a major part of all of the upset we have to deal with every day now. Anger and mistrust has infiltrated our political system. We don't know who to turn to for help with all of these issues.
That’s incredible. What brought that on?
I think it's the non-stop propagandizing by Fox, OAN, Newsmax and other outlets that help keep this alive. Facebook probably exacerbates the drumbeat.
Responsible citizens must now step up to approve the BBB Act, as well as the Freedom to Vote & John Lewis Acts. We must then win the midterm elections. If Democrats lose the House or Senate in 2022, we have an uphill battle to preserve our democratic republic. We must now think short term, to preserve our democratic republic long term.
Watch out. Those wonderful do nothings on the take in Washington are hoping that you will forget about the John Lewis act but remember that do nothing Democrats always must be elected to Congress.
on the take...you must be referring to the obstructionist republicans and their two puppets...M and S
M & S are not the only Republocrats. Rumor in NY has it that Vance wouldn’t indict Trump because of all the dirt Trump has on the NY Dems he bribed during his heady real estate days.
A hotel and casino owner holding blackmail info on patrons? Doesn't "What happens in Vegas stay(s) in Vegas?" ];-)> That's why it was no surprise to me that Cuomo got whacked as soon as he told ol' Chins McConnell where he could stuff his language about "blue state bailouts."
It would have been a masculine virtue and clever business practice for ol' Tweety!
We will be an authoritarian country unless:
1. Our federal government passes the Freedom to Vote and John Lewis Acts, pronto.
2. Republican state governments are called out for their authoritarian actions and are held accountable for their anti-democracy overreach in terms of voting, draconianian legislation, and cheating to.maintain power.
3. Trump is criminally charged with treason and convicted, not only for his part in the January 6 insurrection, but for the dismantling of our election system from inviting foreign interference in our elections, to subverting the USPS to attack mail-in voting, to the Big Lie, to his takeover of elections in swing states leading to partisan players being able to overturn elections if Republicans do not like the results. If this is not treason, what is??
4. Louis Brandeis, Former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, once said: The most important political office in the United States is that of citizen. Truer words were never spoken. I am starting a movement in Ohio to mobilize our citizens to become what I am calling a Model of Democracy State to answer the three questions being debated in real time right now:
1. Who are we as a state/nation? My answer: In a Model of Democracy State, we are who we CHOOSE to be.
2. Who decides who "we" are? In a Model of Democracy State we, the people, with humility, say: We Do.
3. What is the foundation of our state/ nation going forward? In a Model of Democracy State, ALL people are created equal. They are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. Among them are the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. There is no nobler goal than for citizens to work toward a just society. ALL MEANS ALL.
Donna Plunkett, Concernef Ohio and American Citizen and Accidental Activist
"Democracy" is an empty shell in the United States. The present regime is a corporatocracy. As long as there is money in politics, the people (demos) will have no voice. This was brilliantly analyzed in its different aspects by the late Sheldon Wolin in a book titled Democracy Incorporated.
Unless The Freedom to Vote Act passes…. the great American democracy is over.
Unless the majority of Americans become educated, involved and caring voters, ten years from now the country will essentially be a corporate oligarchy. Legislators beholden to large donors will carry out their wishes to further stack the economic odds in their favor. Unions will be powerless to protect their members, and big employers will dictate the terms of employment, and restrict salaries and benefits to the minimum necessary to support the consumer economy. Major corporations will continue to move production offshore to better access cheaper labor and world markets outside the USA. Multinational corporations will join domestic firms in their domination of the country's politics and further dilute the power of ordinary people to control their lives and pocketbooks. Right-wing politicians will continue to use wedge issues to further divide and disempower the ordinary citizens by making concessions in the areas of social policy (eg: destroying the safety net) and military power (keep the defense budget high regardless of the level of outside threats). In other words, the country will resemble a 3rd World dictatorship. That is UNLESS most citizens realize what's happening, and what they can do about it.
Steven, I agree. Education is the key. Our public school curricula used to include "civic education," which was mostly BS but often focused on the central importance of what we owe one another as members of the same society. That's a key missing element in today's education, in my view.
You can see the importance that the far right puts on controlling educational content: It shows in the money and effort they put into getting their adherents elected to local and national offices. It also shows in the amount of media they devote to pushing those elements of their agenda. It seems that it is easier to unite that part of the spectrum than the more leftist activists. Reminds me of the internal squabbles between different members of the anti-war movement in the 60s. Ideological fervor is a great motivator, but can be an obstacle to practical politicking.
I have no memory of what '31 will be because I can only remember what has already come to pass. From that perspective, one thing I've been banging on about here (and probably annoyingly so), because it has been a virtually irresistible player in the past, is the weaponization of religious belief. It's not that the US is particularly religious, as a whole. It's that somehow, most frequently in the name of religion, conservative forces in the US have managed to capitalize on a collective "suspension of disbelief" with regard to their theocratic "war on facts," that has quietly gone on subverting public perceptions for quite some time now. It's a propaganda war fought on the battleground called entertainment, that we freely consume. Here, I'm not speaking of the kind of traditional fanaticism we see in other parts of the world based on abject ignorance and poverty. Cliché, perhaps, but "the genie is out of the bottle," and rational forces need to find some way of bringing it under control, lest the current trend continue unturned. The only thing >I< can think of that can possibly counter it is for everyone to "catch on" that it's happening - no less than a simultaneous, collective insight. Of course, I make no claim that I know how that can happen. I only have a vague idea of how it works. After all, the war on facts transparently insinuates itself into our consciousnesses - I'd have preferred to say "collective consciousness," but it the term itself is so overburdened with pseudo-theological clap-trap - in the form of entertainment - as we surrender our disbelief to the alternative reality - the "alternative facts" - of what is entertaining us. For example, the US public is vulnerable to well-know entertainers. The former president is a role model of my case in point. Should I attempt to predict anything about '31, I predict the trend will continue far into "the information age."
The "weaponizing of religion" is what anti-democratic movements have done repeatedly in history to justify their authoritarian movements. Sometimes it's been in favor of a particular religion and against others. Sometimes it's against all religion. The Framers understood the central importance of maintaining a wall between Church and State.
Yet that aspect of conservative messaging is seldom discussed publicly, out loud, with a critical eye, in the mainstream. The retaliatory messaging - and perhaps even "public gatherings" at such outlets - should be predictable and obvious. The most cynical part of all that is the likelihood it's all a manipulation by those who have >no interest at all< in what the theocratic weapons they bring to bear are actually preaching, as long as it serves their >true interest.< Think a fully vaccinated Tucker Carlson preaching against vaccination on behalf of FOX, who mandates said vaccination. Recall, Machiavelli advises "The Prince," that most importantly of all, the prince should >always appear< to be righteous.
We need freedom *from* religion more than freedom *of* religion for me …
In your challenge for today, Professor, I wasn’t thinking about religion. Crucial, thanks DZK.
We are hearing casually and frequently that a number of ‘religious exemptions’ to our laws are on the dockets, and we can name some that have been granted … insane.
Religion covers the afterlife ( good luck with that ). Law governs *this* world and *this* life, and it’s past time for the overwhelming majority of US to affirm and sustain that principle.
Except now, bonanza! My religion says I can’t pay taxes! My car doesn’t need a license, my shaman gave me a pass! And headlights? Everybody else has headlights, so I can see fine! Just the beginning …
… this is going to be great! …
… and no, that insanity has to stop now. — b.rad
ps Professor you allude to past episodes of religion in regimes … the Thirty Years War and the Treaty of Westphalia come to mind … Wikipedia threw in Genghis Khan, didn’t see that coming …
… people often, almost always say that morals come from religion … I see the opposite, that secular society with humanist morals and ethics has had to reign in and limit religious extremism and oppression over and over again, as you reminded me.
I failed to thank you for your well-taken response, Mr Reich. My apology. However, the implicit question I'm attempting to elicit in my statement is: "How do we disrupt and discredit that that religious narrative?", per my comment about Machiavelli's advice to The Prince. It appears for all the world as being righteous - regardless of how cynical its intent. It's more a question for the thoughtful people to quietly consider for themselves, rather than any kind of call to action here. These clowns have had centuries of experience in cultivating a certain kind of follower, the kind of follower for whom ol' Tweety publicly proclaims his love - as he makes public display of embracing the flag that he and his followers would - and have in the Capitol - gleefully trod underfoot under the banner "Don't Tread On Me." And as ol' Sam Clemens once said, you should never try to argue with these people because "they'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience" - if you catch my drift here.
Good point on the weaponizing of religion. This should not be ignored. We must stop undeservedly privileging religion and its intrusion into our secular government, schools etc.
On your last point, I hope you’re wrong but you won’t be if we continue to limit saying the truth out loud! Free speech does not include talk to have deadly coup attacks and verifiable lies spouted on national media platforms.
Or publicly inviting hostile, foreign powers to mount >any< kind of attack on >any< domestic actor(s).
Thanks for confirming - to me - I've made my point, whether anyone else here agrees or not.
As a former born and bred Republican, even before the last back breaking straw of the 2008 economic meltdown fiasco, I was already starting to sour on the Republican party because of the increasing influences of the Religious Right and the militancy of the NRA. I simply could not abide the hypocrisies.
That kind of trinity is also known as an "iron triangle," if memory serves. Just sayin'. In this case, it's wealth, weapons, & religion.
I'm glad you picked up on that right-wing tag team, as well. In a remark on an earlier "Office Hours," I banged on about those two "pawns" fronting a "queen" not seen as clearly in the background. Think "trinity!"
Unless we protect our institutions, such as the three branches of government, voting rights, education, and the rule of law, baby democracy will drown in a sea of greedy bullies.
As a child I learned in school that democracy requires an educated public, a free press, and a strong middle class. Those have been gradually weakened as we closed our eyes to them being dismantled.
We have been living in a plutocracy, however, most of us didn't realize it until tRump became president. I found the article in the Atlantic informative and terrifying by Barton Gellman. Here's how it began. “The democratic emergency is already here,” Richard L. Hasen, a professor of law and political science at UC Irvine, told me in late October. Hasen prides himself on a judicious temperament. Only a year ago he was cautioning me against hyperbole. Now he speaks matter-of-factly about the death of our body politic. “We face a serious risk that American democracy as we know it will come to an end in 2024,” he said, “but urgent action is not happening.”
Bart Gellman Atlantic
The article in the Atlantic by Barton Gellman mentioned by another commenter is frightening. What I took away from that article, and other information over the years, is that one of the major factors, if not the major factor, in our descent into an authoritarian plutocracy is race. Gellman reports that the counties most likely to have produced a January 6 insurrectionist are those that are diversifying racially and ethnically, not the all-white rural counties. Republicans are able to incite vitriol against Biden and successfully convince millions that he is a usurper because he chose a Black woman as vice president. Republicans often refer to the "Biden-Harris administration," when they did not refer to the "Trump-Pence administration." I believe many of Republicans' anti-democratic actions are also still a backlash to Barack Obama as a Black president. There is an easily-exploited fear among MAGAs that Black people and brown-skinned foreigners will take over this country, and life as they know it will end.
So my unless is (are) 1) we need to confront our race problem in a non-threatening way. While I support the Black Lives Matter movement, maybe "Black lives matter as much as White lives matter" is a more useful approach; 2) we need to stop allowing the Supreme Court to judicially repeal Acts of Congress by declaring them "unconstitutional." Everything Congress tries to do to move this country forward, federal judges follow right behind and undo. This cannot continue. Only Congress should be able to repeal Acts of Congress. I call the Supreme Court the black-robed oligarchs, because that is what they are becoming; and 3), as other commenters have said, we need to get the obscene amounts of money out of politics.
Since the Black Lives Matter narrative has been taken out of context by the right wingers, I think one extra word should be added: Black Lives Matter EQUALLY
This would put an end to all of the bs.
Or: Black Lives ALSO Matter!
Excellent suggestion!
American democracy will be a memory by 2031 if we don’t get rid of the filibuster and pass the voting rights act now. The districts in the swing states have all been gerrymandered. We will lose the house in the mid-terms. Unless Manchin and Sinema suddenly flip flop on this, I’m not super hopeful that no matter how many democrats vote in an election (we are the majority in this country after all) that those votes will matter. If Trump gets back into office he is never leaving. And I agree with many of your other commenters. We have to take the money out of politics to really get back to something that functions properly. I’m not super hopeful. The question is how bad will it have to get for people to wake up and push for change. There is a lot of apathy here; a lot of “I’m just going to look out for myself and screw anyone else”. The sense that America is a community is gone. Also, Facebook is the devil. Facebook is throwing fuel on the fire of our dying democracy.
Don't you think ots a bit rich that Biden is holding a summit to organize democratic countries against authoritarian countries- while pushing a $150m dollar arms sale to Saudi Arabia - whose crown prince ordered the death of a journalist?
Let's be honest- this is a summit organizer around US economic interests - it has nothing todo with democracy- which frankly we don't have. I remember seeing a study several years ago - before Trump thst identified the US as an oligarchy due to how congress consistently represents the will of business interests and rarely the will of the people - even when these elements are opposed.
If we want real democracy in this country we should get money out of politics and embrace the JFK perspective from his speech at American University- peace not in our time but for all time - not PAX Americana. We should stop funding g petty tyrants, stop blockading poor nations that want nothing but to determine for themselves the policies their governments endorse (Cuba, Venezuela and protect oppressed people like the Yemeni and Palestinian peoples who are under constant threat by our Tier 1 allies.
I don't think it's currently easy to predict the site of US politics in 2031, including on a "this but for that" basis.
Something that I don't think is said enough is that while elected legislators should change institutions to follow through on investment in the nation, voters also need to act like responsible shapers of US politics and institutions. Not merely as infallible judges rating pols, demanding that any worthwhile liberal legislator can lift mountains if they just want to. being disappointed that Dems are imperfect and taking it in stride that Republicans are evil, since "we all *know* that."
The only demographic of voters who act with the responsibility and understanding of gravity that we should act with seem to be Black women, and we should stop resting on their strength.
I said I would not make a prediction about 2031, but after reading all the depressing comments, I decided to provide my hopeful prediction --> In 2031 President Reich is near the end of his first term. It has been a stunning success! He has implemented numerous changes of government policy (covered in his many books) to universal acclaim, with many passing Congress almost unanimously. As a result, the USA is entering a period of rapidly improving conditions for all.
Or a Sanders-Reich ticket!
Truth be told here, though, I'm almost certain both would agree we should be far more concerned about who controls Congress - at this juncture - and perhaps even state legislatures and governors. The presidency is just at the very tip of a very, very deep iceberg. A president with a hostile Congress and rebellious states is not the very model of effective governance!
Agreed, but it's not that really that much different from what we have now. 😉
My point, exactly.
Yep, as Joe Manchin told me, if you want progress, you better start electing progressives and I'm taking him at his word.
That's gonna take a lot of candidates out there door-to-door in the neighborhoods personally shaking hands and kissing babies. Translate that: extremely hard work. Money is no substitute for that.
Yaaaay, Tim!!!
HEAR, HEAR!
I LIKE it!!