Every four years, locusts descend on America. They tear through civic society, devouring any organization or community they can reach. Ideological movements, charitable causes, even hobbyist communities—all are food, to be ripped apart and turned into more buzzing drones, serving no ends but the swarm’s. When it finally disperses, it leaves behind a trail of wounded communities and withered institutions.
This resonates. I wrote last week about how much of what happens in Washington is a distraction from the more important problems we face, and can influence, in our own backyards (https://puzycki.substack.com/p/joe-biden-cant-pave-your-potholes). My thought is that the trend you identify at the national level is related to the lack of civic engagement at the local level. We need to but don't do local defense: most of us don't take politics at any level seriously, ignoring our local communities while only tuning into the national news coverage of the DC circus. I suspect we need to rebuild the muscle of local democracy before we can exercise it responsibly at a national level again. Great read!
Once in a while, when someone says that an election is important, they're actually right. Consider the two elections in which Abraham Lincoln was a candidate. On the other hand, most people aren't in a position to have a significant impact on the outcome (unless they do something very illegal) so even when the election is important, that doesn't mean you personally have to do something about it.
Various politicians saying "This is the most important election": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72KhiU96YXM
This resonates. I wrote last week about how much of what happens in Washington is a distraction from the more important problems we face, and can influence, in our own backyards (https://puzycki.substack.com/p/joe-biden-cant-pave-your-potholes). My thought is that the trend you identify at the national level is related to the lack of civic engagement at the local level. We need to but don't do local defense: most of us don't take politics at any level seriously, ignoring our local communities while only tuning into the national news coverage of the DC circus. I suspect we need to rebuild the muscle of local democracy before we can exercise it responsibly at a national level again. Great read!
Once in a while, when someone says that an election is important, they're actually right. Consider the two elections in which Abraham Lincoln was a candidate. On the other hand, most people aren't in a position to have a significant impact on the outcome (unless they do something very illegal) so even when the election is important, that doesn't mean you personally have to do something about it.