"Our task is the opposite: not to conquer, but to preserve democracy, and to make it stronger, fairer, and more worthy of the people it serves."
Amen, brother.
What's sad and disheartening for me is the lack of will or desire, and the kind of political and social, planetary alignment, needed to implement meaningful democratic reforms. Worse, there's really no interest or meaningful roadmap or goals, no firm idea or conception of what is needed (other than a vague feeling that where we are and where we are headed is the wrong direction), other than our nation's founding documents whose mythology of perfection blinds us to all possibilities for improvement.
Why does the United States have such a poor ranking in quality of democracy compared to other industrialized nations, or such things as happiness or quality of life?
We are classified as a "Flawed Democracy" at 34 (EIU Democracy Index), for happiness, Upper-Middle Tier at 23 (UN World Happiness Report), and for Quality of Life at 32 (UN HDI & SPI), all from recents surveys and to top this off, we are in a downward trend in every category, the worst being happiness, where we fell from 11th to 23th (or 28th depending on the exact year or survey) place in the last ten years. Mexico, where I now live, is at 12 for Happiness, and let me tell you, you can feel the difference in each country; the contrast is stark.
It's funny how one category, such as happiness, can outweigh the other two, but if you look at the top tier, countries like Denmark come out near the top in all three categories. I could live in Denmark if I wanted to. Married to a Mexican, I could emigrate to Spain, and due to EU Freedom of Movement, emigrate to Denmark. Done. I would then live in one of the top democracies and one of the happiest countries, etc.
This is great to know, but in reality, I work very hard to make wherever I am the happiest place on earth. Isn't that what we're here for? That mindset makes all the difference; you won't find that in any pamphlet on Fascism.
Thanks so much, Joe, for sharing for this incredible explanation of fascism from 1945. It should be widely read today to demonstrate how fragile our democracy is. I will certainly pass it on. Very, very thought provoking.
Nothing more to say. I copied and posted.
It reads like it was written for Trump instead of Hitler. Nuff said
and didn’t it read like it was written for Trump instead of Hitler!
good
Joe Doss, another wonderful piece and another I will be sharing with others!!!
It reads like it was written for Trump instead of Hitler. Now that says something in itself.
Harrowingly familiar tactics
It reads like it was written for Trump instead of Hitler. Enough said.
"Our task is the opposite: not to conquer, but to preserve democracy, and to make it stronger, fairer, and more worthy of the people it serves."
Amen, brother.
What's sad and disheartening for me is the lack of will or desire, and the kind of political and social, planetary alignment, needed to implement meaningful democratic reforms. Worse, there's really no interest or meaningful roadmap or goals, no firm idea or conception of what is needed (other than a vague feeling that where we are and where we are headed is the wrong direction), other than our nation's founding documents whose mythology of perfection blinds us to all possibilities for improvement.
Why does the United States have such a poor ranking in quality of democracy compared to other industrialized nations, or such things as happiness or quality of life?
We are classified as a "Flawed Democracy" at 34 (EIU Democracy Index), for happiness, Upper-Middle Tier at 23 (UN World Happiness Report), and for Quality of Life at 32 (UN HDI & SPI), all from recents surveys and to top this off, we are in a downward trend in every category, the worst being happiness, where we fell from 11th to 23th (or 28th depending on the exact year or survey) place in the last ten years. Mexico, where I now live, is at 12 for Happiness, and let me tell you, you can feel the difference in each country; the contrast is stark.
It's funny how one category, such as happiness, can outweigh the other two, but if you look at the top tier, countries like Denmark come out near the top in all three categories. I could live in Denmark if I wanted to. Married to a Mexican, I could emigrate to Spain, and due to EU Freedom of Movement, emigrate to Denmark. Done. I would then live in one of the top democracies and one of the happiest countries, etc.
This is great to know, but in reality, I work very hard to make wherever I am the happiest place on earth. Isn't that what we're here for? That mindset makes all the difference; you won't find that in any pamphlet on Fascism.
Thanks so much, Joe, for sharing for this incredible explanation of fascism from 1945. It should be widely read today to demonstrate how fragile our democracy is. I will certainly pass it on. Very, very thought provoking.