How has the Shallow State failed America? Let us count the ways -
What kind of failures are we talking about? Philosophical, moral, intellectual, legal, political? It's hard to keep these separate within the Shallow State.
The Enlightenment did nothing to enlighten the Shallow State. Facts, logic, empirical investigation - none of that matters if the only truth that matters is the truth about how you feel.
The war on objective reality, and the assertion of equivalence of all ideas, values, and systems, are tried-and-true techniques of authoritarians, designed to wean the citizen from reliance on any source except Dear Leader. This is perhaps the greatest damage from the Shallow State, and one that would have appalled the Founders, but it doesn't have much traction with the average American voter.
The Shallow State takes its cue from the top - personal loyalty is mandatory but only flows upward.
America's actual and prospective allies are re-assessing the risks of reliance on a Shallow State that might abandon them at any moment.
More on Syria and the Middle East.
Most American voters understand loyalty.
Inability or disinterest in learning from the past has led to a mindless game of imposing and lifting tariffs on whim and by tweet. This discourages businesses from making ANY long term plans or capital investments. Consequently the manufacturing sector is already tending toward recession at a time when foreign economies - Germany, England, China - are also on the verge or into contraction.
A failure to learn from previous failures in the Middle East has led to the current catastrophe.
The Shallow State's biggest political mistake seems to be doubling down on its shrinking permanent base even as the rest of the electorate that supported it in 2016 drifts away.
The Republican Party's collective failure to correct that cost them control of the House in 2018 and perhaps the Senate in 2020. Some are beginning to worry about that. If a recession becomes palpable before the election, loss of the Senate and White House are certain.
An ignorant self-serving opportunist attracts ignorant self-serving opportunists all the way down, who are not slow to realign if they find a better opportunity. Their love and loyalty is just like his - one way and not even skin deep. Note the different definitions of Trumpism -
Everything Trump says is true because Trump says it. Everything Trump does is right because Trump does it.
Their love and loyalty is utterly unconditional. This is called cult of personality.
Everything Trump says is true unless and until I find a better opportunity. Everything Trump does is right unless and until I find a better opportunity.
Their love and loyalty is utterly conditional based on their own advantage.
It was the same with Nixon. His loyal base was dumbfounded when his appointed and elected officials and major donors turned on him overnight.
https://www.brookings.edu/research/tracking-turnover-in-the-trump-administration/
https://www.thedailybeast.com/ben-carsons-ignorance-is-just-as-much-a-threat-to-our-democracy-as-trumps-corruption
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/08/books/review/border-wars-julie-hirschfeld-davis-michael-d-shear.html
https://time.com/5556331/mueller-investigation-indictments-guilty-pleas/
One point in favor of cruising shallow waters - it's convenient for bottom feeders. By their fruits shall ye know them.
What's the deepest part of the shallow state? Looks like it was Giuliani's secret missions to re-corrupt Ukraine for personal profit and Trump's political advantage.
The ball's in your court, senators! But they are running from it as if it were the nuclear football. self.
Shouldn't there be a less painful process for getting rid of an incompetent president? Why not replace the impeachment process and the 25th amendment process with something simple: the House may nominate a new president at any time for any reason, by 2/3 vote if the office is occupied, majority vote if the office is vacant; the nominee is sworn in unless the Senate vetoes the nomination by 2/3 vote with 3 days if the Senate is in session, 7 days otherwise. The same mechanism could replace the Electoral College as well.
More on Trump and impeachment at
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