I don't know if I'm particularly pessimistic today, or the sheer weight of nightmarish stories are taking their toll, but it feels as though the US is a rubber band that has been stretched to its limits. We're on the cusp of an irrevocable fracturing.
Too many institutions are broken, too many states are passing laws detached from reality or reason (open carry of AR-25s by 12-year-olds, refusal to fill prescriptions of pregnant women because a pharmacist decides a medication could affect a fetus).
The state of moral rot in the media is evidenced by Brett Stephen's recent NYT' piece where he posited that the role of the journalist isn't to determine 'truth', which he believes is 'subjective'.
Not only are there multiple systems of justice, but the systems of accountability for the wealthy and powerful have become vaporware. Zero criminal repercussions for the Sackler family despite hundreds of thousands of deaths at their hands, SBF is free to tamper with witnesses despite 'allegedly' embezzling billions, Banon and Trump continue to strengthen the fascist movement they ignited with no effort to restrain their continued efforts to incite violence. It's been months, and there's still no accountability for the rampant dereliction of duty by offices in Uvalde.
The massive greed of railroad owners, cutting workers to the bone, led inevitably to the horrific train derailment in Ohio. Even this is barely covered by media, because as with the two recent airline near misses (atop the disastrous Southwest holiday debacle), it's clear that there will be no repercussions.
At a certain point, when there are no consequences for any actions...no matter how large or terrible, the media ceases to cover the stories...and focuses on the few things that apparently can sustain attention spans (large Chinese balloons).
I feel as though I'm constantly braced in anticipation of the rubber band snapping.
Perhaps it's just me, perhaps I'm too cynical, or perhaps people will find the collective will to protest in numbers too large to ignore.
Thank you for writing about this horror.
I don't know if I'm particularly pessimistic today, or the sheer weight of nightmarish stories are taking their toll, but it feels as though the US is a rubber band that has been stretched to its limits. We're on the cusp of an irrevocable fracturing.
Too many institutions are broken, too many states are passing laws detached from reality or reason (open carry of AR-25s by 12-year-olds, refusal to fill prescriptions of pregnant women because a pharmacist decides a medication could affect a fetus).
The state of moral rot in the media is evidenced by Brett Stephen's recent NYT' piece where he posited that the role of the journalist isn't to determine 'truth', which he believes is 'subjective'.
Not only are there multiple systems of justice, but the systems of accountability for the wealthy and powerful have become vaporware. Zero criminal repercussions for the Sackler family despite hundreds of thousands of deaths at their hands, SBF is free to tamper with witnesses despite 'allegedly' embezzling billions, Banon and Trump continue to strengthen the fascist movement they ignited with no effort to restrain their continued efforts to incite violence. It's been months, and there's still no accountability for the rampant dereliction of duty by offices in Uvalde.
The massive greed of railroad owners, cutting workers to the bone, led inevitably to the horrific train derailment in Ohio. Even this is barely covered by media, because as with the two recent airline near misses (atop the disastrous Southwest holiday debacle), it's clear that there will be no repercussions.
At a certain point, when there are no consequences for any actions...no matter how large or terrible, the media ceases to cover the stories...and focuses on the few things that apparently can sustain attention spans (large Chinese balloons).
I feel as though I'm constantly braced in anticipation of the rubber band snapping.
Perhaps it's just me, perhaps I'm too cynical, or perhaps people will find the collective will to protest in numbers too large to ignore.