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Michael L's avatar

I have to confess I felt nauseous reading this piece. I actually felt sick to my stomach. This is obviously not the first time Tucker has done something dreadful. But, for what it’s worth, this was so blatant and jarring, that reading Ruth’s words actually made me feel sick.

People wonder about me. They wonder how I can be so alarmist. They wonder why I read all these books about authoritarianism - about how democracies die and how civil wars start. My wife thinks my confirmation bias is off the charts. She doesn’t seem to really worry about democracy dying
along with most of the people I work with. Sometimes I think, maybe she’s right. Maybe I should just stop ringing the alarm bells and telling people “this is NOT going to END well!”

But then, I come to read the comments here (or I join Ruth’s zoom talk on Friday) and know that I am not alone. I know that there are hundreds of thousands of people who are both sickened and alarmed at what is going on.

It’s unfolding right before our eyes
just like it did 100 years ago. I know exactly what side of history I want to be on and I sense everyone else here feels exactly the same way.

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Peter's avatar

When the history books are written as we hope that one day they will, the decline and fall of American democracy will be traced to a) the death of the Fairness Doctrine at the hand of Ronald Reagan b) the rise of right wing hate radio led by Rush Limbaugh and c) most importantly, Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, owners of Fox News. These two, more than anyone else, perfected the art of partisan propaganda.

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