For those who do not subscribe, I will post some of the points the editorial board makes (it's behind a paywall), and I hope this will encourage discussion.
What do you think?
Countries that slide from democracy toward autocracy tend to follow similar patterns. To measure what is happening in the United States, the Times editorial board has compiled a list of 12 markers of democratic erosion, with help from scholars who have studied this phenomenon. The sobering reality is that the United States has regressed, to different degrees, on all 12.
Our country is still not close to being a true autocracy, in the mold of Russia or China. But once countries begin taking steps away from democracy, the march often continues. We offer these 12 markers as a warning of how much Americans have already lost and how much more we still could lose.
Authoritarian takeovers in the modern era often do not start with a military coup. They instead involve an elected leader who uses the powers of the office to consolidate authority and make political opposition more difficult, if not impossible. Think of Vladimir Putin in Russia, Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela and, to lesser degrees, Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey, Viktor Orban in Hungary and Narendra Modi in India. These leaders have repressed dissent and speech in heavy-handed ways.
Over the past year, President Trump and his allies have impinged on free speech to a degree that the federal government has not since perhaps the Red Scare of the 1940s and 1950s. His administration pressured television stations to stop airing Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show when Mr. Kimmel criticized Trump supporters after the murder of Charlie Kirk; revoked the visas of foreign students for their views on the war in Gaza; and ordered investigations of liberal nonprofit groups. Mr. Trump so harshly criticizes people who disagree with him, including federal judges, that they become targets of harassment from his supporters.
Many forms of speech and dissent remain vibrant in the United States. But the president has tried to dull them. His evident goal is to cause Americans to fear they will pay a price for criticizing him, his allies or his agenda."
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Personal note:
I cancelled my Twitter/"X" account recently. I joined Twitter in 2013 under my real name, but didn't post anything there; I just read it. I began posting my opinions on Trump when Trump became president, and all through Biden's presidency up to Trump's election in 2024. Needless to say, my posts on Trump were not friendly.
After observing what he's done so far, I decided to delete my account completely. And some members of my family have suggested I do the same with this blog (they're worried), since it's not been friendly to Trump, EVER!
In all my time as an American citizen, I had NEVER entertained the idea that retribution or harm would ever come to me or anyone who dared to criticize a sitting president and his administration.
After what we've seen Trump do to dissent, I've had second thoughts.
We still have three long agonizing years to see what else this anti-democratic president and his administration will do to our freedom of speech.
I made a decision to continue posting at P.E., but what the future holds is anyone's guess while we have an unstable, mentally deteriorating person untethered from reality and the rule of law and in a position of enormous power.
2 comments:
What the SOB want is to create is fear in people. Fear of retribution, fear of jail, or worse. Fearing repercussions the SOB is banking people simply shut-up, nod their head yes, and remain silent. The absolute exact opposite of what Ameican Patriots do when they see injustice. When they see wrong doing. When they see discrimination. When they recognize the creep of tyranny. All things people with open eyes to see and open ears to hear recognize is happening NOW in America, at this very moment. Which is why I will refuse to shut-up about what I view as unethical filth in my government, until they're gone or until they kill me. For that us EXACTLY the posistion our forefathers took when they put their life and limb on the line for liberty and the general welfare...
I for one will NEVER voluntarily shut my mouth about the truth of the KSoA and his illicit regime.
At the very worst Shaw, you could continue you brave work from Canada.
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