"She said early all of her small down is now dead from the new coronavirus. " This is inaccurate. She clarified her remark to say that the death toll of all of South Dakota is almost equal to the population of her small town. Probably a good idea to edit the essay.
1) I do not doubt that many people refute reality to clutch firmly to their alternative beliefs, even unto the grave. Obvious and eternal. I do have doubts that Covid disbelief alone drove them to the polls just so they could vote Trump, however.
2) For awhile now I've had the stark realization that the one thing standing between Trump and victory is the quarter million dead of Covid (and rising, I know, but the election was 2 weeks ago). Covid drove millions to vote Biden. Make no mistake – were it not for the Covid dead (and his ghastly abandonment of them) Trump would be planning his next (maskless) inauguration. That leads directly to this: We are at war with mindful, relentless authoritarian fascism (it CAN happen here; it HAS happened here). We've suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties already (more Americans than were lost in WWI, Korea, Viet Nam, Persian Gulf, Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, New Dawn, Inherent Resolve...OFFS...enough). We must honor THEM as we have our other revered dead, whose sacrifices paved way for victory (in this case 306 electoral college votes). And those who live on – lungs clouded, minds reeling, lives shortened – must receive our everlasting care and sympathy, even as more get infected and die. It's war, people – politics by other means – and the vets need us.
There is a very strong correlation with people who have a "Death Before Dishonor" mindset and support for fascistic, authoritarian politics. People like that equate stubbornness and aggression with strength even when it kills them. It's not really that surprising that Trump's support is higher in places where the pandemic is now raging.
I think we're too close to unfolding events to adequately understand the underlying reasons behind the votes for Trump. There are many single-issue voters: abortion, 401K/stock market portfolio/lower taxes, guns. There are many who were taught to vote Republican from the time they could speak. There are many who despise the Democratic party based on a diet of Fox News and right-wing media. There are many who feel betrayed by years of voting for Democrats and seeing little change in their lives, while corruption and income inequality thrives. There are many whose lives hold little meaning, so they are drawn to the GOP to replace impotence with rage. I'd argue that few would choose actual fascism since so few understand the reality of fascism. Freedom is the first casualty of fascism. I don't know if voter behavior would have changed had the stark reality been presented to them, but I do believe that reporters and leadership alike failed to educate the country.
"She said early all of her small down is now dead from the new coronavirus. " This is inaccurate. She clarified her remark to say that the death toll of all of South Dakota is almost equal to the population of her small town. Probably a good idea to edit the essay.
Two things about election outcomes & Covid:
1) I do not doubt that many people refute reality to clutch firmly to their alternative beliefs, even unto the grave. Obvious and eternal. I do have doubts that Covid disbelief alone drove them to the polls just so they could vote Trump, however.
2) For awhile now I've had the stark realization that the one thing standing between Trump and victory is the quarter million dead of Covid (and rising, I know, but the election was 2 weeks ago). Covid drove millions to vote Biden. Make no mistake – were it not for the Covid dead (and his ghastly abandonment of them) Trump would be planning his next (maskless) inauguration. That leads directly to this: We are at war with mindful, relentless authoritarian fascism (it CAN happen here; it HAS happened here). We've suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties already (more Americans than were lost in WWI, Korea, Viet Nam, Persian Gulf, Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, New Dawn, Inherent Resolve...OFFS...enough). We must honor THEM as we have our other revered dead, whose sacrifices paved way for victory (in this case 306 electoral college votes). And those who live on – lungs clouded, minds reeling, lives shortened – must receive our everlasting care and sympathy, even as more get infected and die. It's war, people – politics by other means – and the vets need us.
There is a very strong correlation with people who have a "Death Before Dishonor" mindset and support for fascistic, authoritarian politics. People like that equate stubbornness and aggression with strength even when it kills them. It's not really that surprising that Trump's support is higher in places where the pandemic is now raging.
I think we're too close to unfolding events to adequately understand the underlying reasons behind the votes for Trump. There are many single-issue voters: abortion, 401K/stock market portfolio/lower taxes, guns. There are many who were taught to vote Republican from the time they could speak. There are many who despise the Democratic party based on a diet of Fox News and right-wing media. There are many who feel betrayed by years of voting for Democrats and seeing little change in their lives, while corruption and income inequality thrives. There are many whose lives hold little meaning, so they are drawn to the GOP to replace impotence with rage. I'd argue that few would choose actual fascism since so few understand the reality of fascism. Freedom is the first casualty of fascism. I don't know if voter behavior would have changed had the stark reality been presented to them, but I do believe that reporters and leadership alike failed to educate the country.
Typo here somewhere: "She said early all of her small down is now dead"