I am living in the middle of a red state, and even the bluest of my neighbors don't seem to think that the president will have any direct effect on their lives.
In reflecting on the previous term prior to Biden, I only remember the gish gash assault of horrifying news day after day, but struggle to conjure the major issues I took umbrage with.
I am left with general issues, but lack the specifics to engage in actual discourse.
I remember the immigration stance was horrifying, but the previous administrations wasn't substantially better in my recollection.
I know the Mueller report indicated there was major collusion with America's adversaries, which was intertwined with disgusting foreign policy.
There was also the depleting of America's coffers, as our national debt skyrocketed, which likely coincided with his cronyism and the issues with the emoluments clause.
That was coupled with the complete mockery of the justice system, with obvious corruption in every entanglement he had.
All of these issues point to my view of the administration as corrupt, self-serving, and power hungry, but none of that serves as exact examples that I can have in my pocket when speaking with apathetic blue voters and red-voting neighbors.
They are unlikely to be swayed by the Martin Niemöller "First they came for the Communists and I did not speak out” line of reasoning.
Is there a list of exact tangible examples I can point to, as to why the current administration is so much of a disaster for the everyday citizen?
*As an aside, it seems to me every administration following the New Deal economic plan has made it a pet project to reverse it an reclaim any power ceded to the working class.
All of the policies that allowed a vibrant middle class have been whittled away. Public education, trade unions protections like the Fair Labor Act, social security, accessible healthcare, etc., have been constantly attacked since initially gaining any leeway in the 1930's.
Decreased government protections and funding for the working class, to me, are obvious negatives to be pointed to, but are not so obvious to those entwined in the current hegemonic narrative.
Are there obvious points I could be making that would provide clarity to my contempt with the current situation?
It's like boiling a frog. You won't know that life has changed until there's no way back.
You've already lost abortion rights, that's the kind of thing that's going to keep happening. By systematically infecting places like the Supreme Court, EPA, FCC, FDA, CIA, FBI, etc. one by one you're losing protections that have been built up over generations.
Laws and policies are changed, staffing is changed, and long after the Orange has gone you're left with those legacies.
The changes are insidious and sometimes almost imperceptible, but make no mistake, they're happening.
Will you personally notice? Maybe not. Will the world? Yes it definitely will.
Having said that, this is not the first despot in office and unless he blows us all up, it won't be the last. In other words, this too shall pass, perhaps not in our lifetimes, but it will pass.
Edit: Forgot to mention the for want of a better word, "emboldened effect", people who are bigoted, racist and mysogonistic suddenly feeling able to be "heard". People like Elmo, making Nazi salutes, people who when the day of reckoning comes will attempt to defend themselves with "I was just following orders".
Insidious is a good word for it.
Though, I worry that we are not as resilient as you might imply. America left World War II with half the world's wealth, a healthy middle class, and was responsible for half the world's manufacturing.
As a result, even with all of that wealth being transferred, we were wealthy enough as a country that the full effects of the wealth transfer have not been felt in its entirety.
With The US ostensibly transferring into late-stage capitalism, and the consequential income inequality, I am not as optimistic as you in our recovery from despotism.