"Humility isn't an option for these people. "

-Average Americans get increasingly left behind by the culture and the economy

-Enough of those Americans feel disillusioned with the system that they elect Donald Trump, a scathing rebuke to a broken system run by people not interested in fixing it.

-What begins as shock and embarrassment quickly morphs into resentment and vindictiveness on the part of the establishment that was rejected and rebuked by this election. This was a personal affront to the pride held by those who proclaim themselves the moral and intellectual betters of society. Their scorn is primarily directed at the man, Donald Trump, but always contains the implicit inclusion of those who support him and what he represents, as well as anyone not in lock-step with the establishment.

-The establishment machine begins to coalesce around one goal: stopping whatever it is that rejected them. As a practical matter, this meant first and foremost defeating the man, Donald Trump. But it wasn't limited to this. The scorn of their rhetoric was matched by the intensity of their response to anyone who dared oppose the establishment machine. "The Cancelations will continue until morale improves."

-A year in which hypocrisy and incompetence of the establishment institutions is more evident than ever before culminates in an election with highly dubious results. Transparency is actively avoided. The establishment had won power, and had no desire to understand the grievances and concerns of those who had lost. "Move on, or move out. If you can't do either, we're coming for you."

-Repeated calls for transparency and investigations into the election are ignored. In this milieu, another election is held which determines the legislative fate and ideological control of the entire country. The results favor the establishment. Again, transparency is actively avoided.

-The disenfranchised, however justified in this perception, descend upon the capital of the United States. Their appearance can be accurately distilled down to one or two ideas, the primary being "You can't ignore us. We must be heard. We're part of this country, too, and we deserve to be heard."

-The establishment experiences PTSD of the 2016 election results, only this time, they have the power. They're faced with two choices: listen (humility), or lash out, as they have done for the past 4 years (pride). They opt for the latter. Why?

Because humility isn't an option for these people.

-The unheard, the disenfranchised, the left behind, and the silenced, have now been upgraded from "deplorable," to "domestic terrorists." Those in power now look at the collective of those who aren't, and offer a choice: "Reject those whose frustration in being unheard led to the capital protest, or join them under the gauntlet once we finalize our ascent to power."

-The establishment Right will accept their offer. The piecemeal attempts at reaching out to the unheard will be noticeably insincere, and summarily ignored.

Now what? What happens when another populist comes along and taps into the frustration of these folks? What happens when that person is in actuality, what the establishment falsely claimed his predecessor to be? What about the opposite, what happens when a significant portion of the country becomes so disenfranchised, that they mentally "check out" of the process altogether, allowing one-party rule to become the norm? How sustainable is the situation we find ourselves in?

The establishment won't change. Their pride won't allow them to. Every decision we make, every action we consider, every path we contemplate, must be built around the static nature of the establishment. There is dynamism in their responses, but the ideology that drives those responses is static. Humility isn't an option. The hierarchy is hermetically sealed from mechanisms of introspection and questioning the status quo.

I hate this metaphor, so there's your disclaimer. But here it is: the post-credits scene of Avengers: Age of Ultron features Thanos putting on the Infinity Gauntlet, saying to himself "Fine. I'll do it myself."

All of the entities he had trusted to successfully act in what he considered his best interest had failed, and he finally came to terms with the fact that he was the best agent of his own success. He realized that if he wanted something done, he probably had to do it himself.

We're now in the situation. The institutions have failed. Now is the time to come to terms with the fact that it's up to us. Storming the Capital is something I neither condone, nor condemn. I understand it, but I also find it foolhardy. There is only one way that ends. But those in the midst of a mental riot aren't thinking clearly. A person who has taken hostages and requests a plane, or a helicopter, or some other unreasonable outcome to their situation isn't thinking that there is no world where they don't end up dead or in custody. When we transfer our faith on the agents of change from broken institutions, to ourselves, our families, and our communities, it is significantly easier to deal with the fallout when broken institutions remain broken.

More to come. I try to keep my thoughts to a minimum when I'm still working through them, but I'm also trying to get back into the digital space after my hiatus. Hope you're all doing well. We will get through this, eventually 🤙