In the past week or so, the courts have begun to try to set some boundaries on the MuskāMillerāTrump administrationās early blitz of recklessness.
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This judicial review provides at least a small reprieve, hope that some of the administrationās most destructive impulses will be stopped. Or at least pared back. But even with the courts stepping up, and even with the reality of the administrationās ineptitude sinking in, this early MuskāMillerāTrump blitz remains veryāmaybe irreparablyādamaging. Of course, there are a lot of moles to whack: the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are being dismantled at an alarming rate, and the court system is not known for being nimble. The administration is betting, perhaps rightly, that at least some of its thoughtless, lawless efforts will slip through the cracks.
But even if the courts caught them allāand even if every court facing each lawless escapade said, āNope, thatās not a thingāāstill the entire process would be doing serious damage to our institutions. Think of it as someone spoofing your identity and going on a shopping spree with your credit cards. Even if the goon gets caught, you still have to go store by store to argue that the fraudulent purchase wasnāt legitimate and hope the debt is forgiven. And all the while, perhaps long after all the debts are dealt with, the torrent of uncertainty kills your credit score.
Letās assume youāre correct, and you got that fact from an actual survey and statistical analysis that has undergone peer-review. It really doesnāt come as a surprise that there are masses of people cheering on policies that work against their own interests.
The American public education system is a disaster that can barely teach basic adulting, let alone critical thinking or identifying untrustworthy reporting. Add in how most of the past century has been nonstop propaganda about how showing compassion to anyone outside your family is socialism, and socialism is communism, and communism is the antichrist. Now, throw in a heaping dose of social media and viral misinformation where the loudest person making the most emotionally reactive claims gets the most attention and positive reinforcement.
Itās really no wonder that a majority of people are metaphorically, ritualisticly throwing gasoline onto a tire fire while complaining about the toxic fumes that surround them. They literally lack the skills to know any better.
Keeping in mind itās a majority of the voting population. Millions sat out that didnāt in 2020. Millions more donāt show up consistently because theyāve been systematically conditioned into apathy or forced to jump through hoops they canāt prepare for like voter id laws or polling stations being shut down. Same issue - they lack the media literacy or just reading comprehension in general at times.