AZGrizFan said:
Ursus was talking about eroding democracy. The first and second amendments are fairly important to that concept, dontchathink?
The erosion of Democracy is happening globally, not just here. Take a look at the right-wing strongmen in Poland, Hungary, India, Turkey and Brazil. The rise of neo-nazism and the far right in Western Europe. Much of it fueled by xenophobia, hatred and fear toward immigrants, outsiders and domestic political enemies.
They all use the same playbook to tear down the fundamental institutions of democracies: degradation of the rule of law, restrictions and denunciation of a free and vigorous press, attack and manipulate free and fair elections, using the judiciary to go after their domestic enemies, and, attacking the nation’s intelligentsia, replacing subject-matter experts with apparatchiks that will follow the party line.
Democracies are incredibly fragile.
I encourage anyone who doesn’t believe me to read Twilight of Democracy by right of center historian and journalist Anne Applebaum. It’s an important book that records the decline of democracy in the US and Western Europe.
I dare any of you doubters to read the book and come back here and debate its contents.
We’re heading to a barbecue, depending on my post-event sobriety, I will try and respond to other posts.