I was just a child then, but I remember 1968. Burning cities, violent demonstrations, MLK, RFK, Chicago–it seemed like the country was coming apart at the seams. It was a crisis. Ultimately, it passed.
Maybe it is just because I’m not sick or unemployed, but 2020 has a different feel to it. It doesn’t feel like a fever; it is more as if the foundations of our political system are rotting away before our eyes. Today, we have a president who doesn’t respect the authority of Congress to control the purse or hold him accountable. Tomorrow, it will probably be something even worse.
The people dodging tear gas in the streets are not ultimately a threat to the system, because they believe it can be made to work for them. The real danger today comes from get off my lawn white reactionaries who think they have a divine right to rule, and will sell out our institutions in a heartbeat to maintain it. They are a minority, but they are too numerous to crush. They have to be appeased until they are converted or die out.