If you think things are bad now, then, brace yourself: it is about to get a whole lot worse. If you are alarmed at the speed with which the Trump administration has set about dismantling every institution of American government and every pillar of the international order, you must understand that this is not just the initial burst of activity, the “shock and awe” phase after which things will settle down: if anything, the pace will continue to accelerate.
The world has never before been faced with such a threat. The United States has handed the nuclear codes to a madman, a criminal, a would-be dictator and a moron, all in the same person. Whatever the purpose to which he directs these powers – to impress his dictator friends, to further enrich himself and his cronies, to seize absolute power or just to watch the world burn – we must hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
They’re as likely to direct that violence at us as against their leadership. They’re authoritarian enablers who want to be abused. Most of them will never wise up, let alone rise up.
That’s the whole point of starting off with scapegoats. “Ermagod, the transgirl trying to use the bathroom in another state raised the price of eggs”. Or of course “we’re breaking up families and sending children to concentration camps at Guantanamo because they’re criminals “ and even “Canada deserves it because we need to stop fentanyl”