There’s a (fallacious, in my opinion) belief among some historians that particular eras have a kind of historical theme. They would argue that the Orange mistake, Bolsonaro, Kim, Putin and others are surfing the wave of history by playing to the nationalists, know-nothings and bigots. My personal opinion is more organic: The good people get tired of fighting off the unending pressure from the corrupt or corruptible, from the obscenely rich or those who aspire to that, and all too often, from cult/religious grifters. And when they take a break, this kind of cr★p happens. There’s a bit more, too: Good people, doing good, support each other, so when some drop away, the others are more easily overwhelmed. It’s really too bad that bad people don’t seem to have that problem.
There’s a (fallacious, in my opinion) belief among some historians that particular eras have a kind of historical theme. They would argue that the Orange mistake, Bolsonaro, Kim, Putin and others are surfing the wave of history by playing to the nationalists, know-nothings and bigots. My personal opinion is more organic: The good people get tired of fighting off the unending pressure from the corrupt or corruptible, from the obscenely rich or those who aspire to that, and all too often, from cult/religious grifters. And when they take a break, this kind of cr★p happens. There’s a bit more, too: Good people, doing good, support each other, so when some drop away, the others are more easily overwhelmed. It’s really too bad that bad people don’t seem to have that problem.