Mindsets

Ed Pilkington, The Guardian:

Black members voted for masks, in order to prevent more families losing six loved ones. White members voted against masks, to preserve the fundamental right not to attach a cloth to your face.

In a 4-4 tie, the ordinance failed. As he left the chamber, Dr Saliski uttered just one word: “Unbelievable.”

Unbelievable accurately describes America today.…

The most worrying aspect of the tone being set by Trump is that it is starting to shift the mindset of ordinary Americans. Everywhere you look there are anecdotal signs of people falling in line with the president – shrugging and saying it’s no big deal.

So no more Leibniz or Zeno jokes – I still like the thought, but sometimes I bore even myself. What interests me here are the observations „unbelievable accurately describes America today“ and the mindset of ordinary Americans is being shifted. Leaving aside consideration of what the mindset of ordinary Americans was pre‑pandemic and pre‑Trump, for several years now I have been seeing a constant stream of media criticizing the Trump Administration for flagrantly lying, there were several years of Märchen about the evil Dr. Putin robbing poor Hillary Clinton, and now an elderly dementia sufferer is being championed as the Democratic savior. What has this done to the critical thinking abilities of ordinary Americans – not what might it do, or what is it starting to do, but what has it done? When Ed Pilkington says „unbelievable accurately describes America today“ or Nick Bryant says America is „a country in an irreconcilable state of division and decline; a broken superpower“ these seasoned journalists are describing their observations of a society which displays manifest irrationality and decline. Where are the analyses of the mindsets of the Americans who experience this decline while assuring themselves theirs is the nation with the best Netflix shows on Earth?

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