Of course I look at US politics from a rather ill-informed distance; I haven't experienced its consequences on a daily basis my entire life. So Batlord is entitled to some passion on the subject, though I was surprised at how vociferously he attacked an idea that I didn't think was particularly controversial: that the future is as yet unwritten, and could bring with it change for the better. Not "will bring", which would be over-optimistic, but "could bring", allowing for a possibility that Batlord seems determined to deny in advance.
There may be many terrible things in store for the US; evictions, unemployment, hunger are all set to rise. But I will stand by what I said: when the going gets tough, that can often be a catalyst for change for the better. To my mind, the recent election result could be read as an example of that, with its unprecedented voter turnout, an unprecedented popular-vote majority for Dems, first female black VP, etc.
As for Batlord's analysis of the legislature, I felt myself out of my depth on that, though I can see that if the GOP retains the Senate, there's going to be a lot of unproductive deadlock. But again, those Georgia run-offs haven't been decided yet. Depending on the results on Jan 5, either Batlord should prepare for a tsunami of unrestrained optimism from me, or I will steel myself for a corrosive "told you so" post from him. But that is also one of my points; that the future could go either way.
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"Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953
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