longer.blue

People who want to split hairs, argue semantics, and discuss how many angels can fit on the head of a pin don't get that when we say things like "The U.S. is a [quasi-]fascist state" we don't have the time—the ecosphere is *collapsing*, WMDs *still* exist, and we've almost reached the point of having the world's first half-*trillionaire*—to get into how the modern U.S. is *specifically* "an oligarchy- and corporatocracy-swayed federal presidential constitutional republic functioning on watered-down, controlled opposition uniparty-based representative democracy formed out of settler colonialism that resulted in the butchering and enslavement of Indigenous peoples and people of color; an imperialist project riding on an out-of-control military-industrial-apocalypse-complex with a lackluster, so-called "mixed economy" that emphasizes neoliberal economics that often lean laissez-faire in the most heartless ways possible; characterized by traditionally market-driven—but increasingly influenced by effectively unchecked bribery—policies, as well as deregulation, privatization, and highly limited and inconsistent government intervention in social welfare; all rooted in what has become a highly corrupted form of pseudo-classical liberalism, championing a Mad Max-esque twisting of the ideals of individual liberty, property rights, and free markets; the country also maintaining longstanding but "just enough so they don't riot too much" social safety nets—if you wanna call them that—and regulatory frameworks that too often dissolve and mutate at the whim of lobbyists and financial institutions; its political and economic system heavily influenced by the interests of big business and the power of the corporate elite, an idiocratic kleptocracy with an ever-growing presence of demagogue-loving populist, ultranationalist, quasi-theocratic, and neo-fascist movements; forever claiming that it retains strong legal institutions and democratic traditions, yet everywhere these evidently strained by propaganda-fueled polarization, unconscionably deep systemic inequities, and the disempowerment of the common citizen; altogether evincing the inability to genuinely and consistently defend and protect democratic norms and real liberty." (Much, much more can obviously be said, but let's just call that a start.)