American Authoritarianism
And the rise thereof.
http://www.vox.com/2016/3/1/11127424/trump-authoritarianism
An intriguing read. I have often found myself (a|be)mused by the cry of "FREEDOM" that echoes from coast to gleaming coast, only to find that, when you get into the fine print, the HOA says you can't paint your house this or that colour, and you better cut your grass or they'll force you out, and the IRS makes you fill out a truly stupendous form every year, and if you don't go to church in some parts you'd better be ready for social ostracision, and you've got the right to bear arms, but if the cop even smells your gun he's going to shoot your dog and you, but not necessarily in that order, and the NSA are reading your email, and there's freedom of religion as long as you mean "freedom to be Christian all up in everyone's grille" and so on and so on. Not to mention the truly staggering size of the MIC, which is surely the ne plus ultra of the authoritarian dream.
tl;dr: for a country that loves freedom, you don't half like rules. At least over here we don't even go through the motions of striving for any kind of consistency.
http://www.vox.com/2016/3/1/11127424/trump-authoritarianism
An intriguing read. I have often found myself (a|be)mused by the cry of "FREEDOM" that echoes from coast to gleaming coast, only to find that, when you get into the fine print, the HOA says you can't paint your house this or that colour, and you better cut your grass or they'll force you out, and the IRS makes you fill out a truly stupendous form every year, and if you don't go to church in some parts you'd better be ready for social ostracision, and you've got the right to bear arms, but if the cop even smells your gun he's going to shoot your dog and you, but not necessarily in that order, and the NSA are reading your email, and there's freedom of religion as long as you mean "freedom to be Christian all up in everyone's grille" and so on and so on. Not to mention the truly staggering size of the MIC, which is surely the ne plus ultra of the authoritarian dream.
tl;dr: for a country that loves freedom, you don't half like rules. At least over here we don't even go through the motions of striving for any kind of consistency.