Way back in 2005, I called this place "Happening Here," meaning to comment on the day's political events when I had something to observe or explore. But soon enough the horrors of George W.'s Iraq war -- torture and carnage without defensible purpose -- led me to amend to "Can It Happen Here?" echoing the title of Sinclair Lewis's novel about the advent of fascism in America.
Lots more happened here -- and then Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016 and the blog tag line changed again, to its current iteration: "Seeking a way forward ... since it has happened here."
It seems accurate to believe and understand that the country's slide in the direction of autocracy and general inhumanity, though sometimes interrupted, has been all too steady, perhaps since 1980. We have our moments, but we have failed to make democracy -- rule of the people and by the people -- work for enough of the people to defend the system. We left room for the vicious, greedy, and vengeful and we're seeing today where they'll take us.
I had thought, before the last election, that if the Dems won, I might pull back from this exercise, read more, and share thoughts about books while watching the moments' events glide past. But today to fall silent would seem dereliction of duty to the people of these disunited states and to the dreams of my ancestors. I may be forced to fall silent, but not yet. And I'm pretty stubborn.
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