06 May 2025 6 min read Opinion

Wading Through the Ruins of Capitalism

Every day, the United States seems to sink further into decline. Democratic optimists will persist that change is possible, how can we truly expect "the midterms" or "in the next general" voting to fix not only the damage that has been done?

Photo by T.H. Chia / Unsplash

@emilmaltz

Every day, the United States seems to sink further into decline. Democratic optimists will persist that change is possible if we fight every day, no matter how long it takes... but in the face of violent erosions of rights and liberty, how can we truly expect "the midterms" or "in the next general" voting to fix not only the damage that has been done (some of which is irreversible) address the systemic rot at the core of American capitalism? TL;DR: We can't, and without cohesive rebellious national action, we are just wading through the decay of American capitalist society.

The Republican Party has increasingly embraced authoritarian nationalism, with it rearing its ugly head under Bush in 2001 and full on roaring in 2016 with the installation of Donald Trump as its figurehead. But to place the blame solely on DJT is overly generous—he is merely the self-absorbed wave that broke the dam; the cracks of democracy have been forming since the nation's founding where high ideals of a society that acted in the defiance of tyranny have been tainted by definitions of who deserves freedom (because remember Americans, freedom is fought for and you should appreciate what others don't have /s). A well-argued example of this erosion of democracy into authoritarian fascism is Friendly Fascism by Bertram Gross, but for now, it is important to understand that DJT, MAGA, Project 2025, and so on, are all catalysts for what has been brewing in the background long before any of the current leadership even existed.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party’s lack of decisive leadership leaves many Americans searching for alternatives, many of which have disillusioned themselves into voting (abetting) for the current administration. Representative Hakim Jeffries would rather have a smug attitude towards the American people for not encouraging enough people to blindly vote Democratic in every election, instead of doing the bare minimum, which is what we see being done by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders with their Fighting Oligarchy rallies.

Democrat leaders should be protesting, holding rallies, and "causing good trouble" every waking hour because the American people are sick, tired, and dying. Those elected have a duty to serve the people because the people's rights have been stripped, and now the color of your skin, the status of your immigration, the tattoos you have, and the spelling of your last name can land you thousands of miles away in a concentration work camp without any due process. Free all those who are falsely imprisoned across the world, and especially those in Venezuela right now.

We are past optimistic for a brighter tomorrow. We are being crushed by fascists, and we are desperate for an energetic, lasting change.

Protests serve as a temporary outlet, but their impact is limited by the entrenched power and wealth of the oligarchy. The Democratic Party, reliant on many of the same corporate interests as Republicans, hesitates to push back forcefully, instead drifting toward the political center in ways that ultimately enable the right’s success. Then you have places like rural Northern Nevada Congressional District 2 where Mark Amodei has been serving as Representative since 1996 and he is the epitome of the "good ol' boy" stereotype which is a patriarch that is self-absorbed and only interested in restoring a Christian caucasian country heritage in Nevada that never existed and is grossly conflated with the culture of Basque settlers. Mr. Amodei has been the recent target of protests in his district for not holding a town hall like other politicians. If you call his office with a concern, you are often greeted with cold, entitled office staff, a voicemail, or sometimes just radio silence. Emails are only responded to with auto-responses cut and pasted by some office intern. The icing on the cake is reported in Gabby Birenbaum's article from the Nevada Independent on March 8th, 2025:

“Town hall is now a code word for, ‘Let's go bully the shit out of somebody in public,’” Amodei said. Amodei argued that he’s an accessible member, between interviews and meetings with interest groups and constituents. He also pointed out that his district has voted for Donald Trump at every opportunity. “There's stuff we agree with, there's stuff we don't agree with, but I don't need to be screamed at by a bunch of people who are just pissed because I got elected,” Amodei said. “It’s like, hey — we reflect the district.”

Amodei has no interest in responding to his constituents who have concerns because blue-leaning Washoe County only represents a sliver of his district. When he says "we reflect the district, he is saying he reflects the MAGA supporting hogs of rural counties who overwhelmingly outvote the (arguably larger) portion of sane independents and liberals. And there in lies the issue of the "good ol' boy" is that he confuses those beneath him that he has their back and it's just him fighting against this cruel world.

"Don't worry. He is the protector, and by the grace of god, we will get rid of the scary immigrants and restore Nevada to a great white American country state. /s"

And when we do hear him actually speak to his constituents in audio interviews, the my-shit-don't-stink entitled attitude in his voice overpowers all other sounds in the video. He has been in office 29 years and isn't even one of the longest sitting politicians. Yet our country and the leading party is ran by "good ol' boys and girls" who eat MAGA up and will sell each constituent down the river if it means they get a gold star and good words from the party leadership.

While I am still angry with every MAGA supporter for being stupid, naive, and/or selfish enough to support DJT, MAGA, and the Republican party, I am also deeply depressed and highly anxious about how we recon with that subset of the population. We can all recite "First They Came" by Pastor Martin Niemöller from the rooftops loud enough for the heavens to hear, but that won't reach the level of brain rot MAGA hogs have for the movement and by the time it has "hit home" for most of them, we will be too far along our journey into fascism (think Nazi Germany 1942). However, until we as a society find the leftist(s) that will start a counter culture that can take on the MAGA movement, we can't be silent.

We must write words of dissent.

We must voice opinions of dissent

We must sing songs of dissent.

They will come after those who speak out, and many will suffer great consequences. However, no consequence will be greater than the consequence of doing nothing. That being said, let's end this first post with the cautionary words of Pastor Martin Niemöller.

First They Came by Pastor Martin Niemöller

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me

Articles Dump:

First They Came by Pastor Martin Niemöller

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