Nice conversation. Having known many people from Britain since the 1980s (and being an Anglophile much of my life), I'm amazed how alien the Brits seem to me these days. The whole episode with the grooming gangs and how nonchalant the reaction by the public has been makes me wonder if they have any fight left. The police there seem like robots out of some dystopian Orwell novel -- carrying out thought crime arrests against their fellow citizens seemingly without any remorse. When they do let their feelings show, they often seem to rationalize and even enjoy their role as the thought police.
The situation in the US is very different. There is a sense of purpose and resolve in the movement to take back our country and our freedoms from the deeply entrenched left-wing bureaucracy. The police here are mostly working class, right of center patriots who I really can't see enjoying the prospect of putting people in handcuffs and carting them off to jail for a mean tweet. The more "educated" white collar law enforcement personnel (e.g., in the FBI) are a different story. They seem quite committed and comfortable supporting the deep state.
Finally, I don't believe that the true "far right" poses any meaningful threat to democracy anywhere in the West these days despite what the fear mongers on the left say. Their numbers are far too small. On the other hand, the "far left" (read mainstream liberals) who make up almost 50% of the electorate, are a persistent threat. The left controls the language, defining themselves as moderates, and labeling everyone to the right of them (e.g., the ~80% of people who understand that there are two sexes) as the "far right". It's a sort of linguistic calibration issue.
Nice conversation. Having known many people from Britain since the 1980s (and being an Anglophile much of my life), I'm amazed how alien the Brits seem to me these days. The whole episode with the grooming gangs and how nonchalant the reaction by the public has been makes me wonder if they have any fight left. The police there seem like robots out of some dystopian Orwell novel -- carrying out thought crime arrests against their fellow citizens seemingly without any remorse. When they do let their feelings show, they often seem to rationalize and even enjoy their role as the thought police.
The situation in the US is very different. There is a sense of purpose and resolve in the movement to take back our country and our freedoms from the deeply entrenched left-wing bureaucracy. The police here are mostly working class, right of center patriots who I really can't see enjoying the prospect of putting people in handcuffs and carting them off to jail for a mean tweet. The more "educated" white collar law enforcement personnel (e.g., in the FBI) are a different story. They seem quite committed and comfortable supporting the deep state.
Finally, I don't believe that the true "far right" poses any meaningful threat to democracy anywhere in the West these days despite what the fear mongers on the left say. Their numbers are far too small. On the other hand, the "far left" (read mainstream liberals) who make up almost 50% of the electorate, are a persistent threat. The left controls the language, defining themselves as moderates, and labeling everyone to the right of them (e.g., the ~80% of people who understand that there are two sexes) as the "far right". It's a sort of linguistic calibration issue.