• AdelleChattre
    +3

    Near as I can tell, you're actually in vicious agreement with this article.

    • leweb
      +5

      It's really frustrating, seeing this all play like a movie in front of my eyes again. I tell people of all the parallels with Hugo Chavez's rise to power, and they all tell me I'm exaggerating. The media has caricaturized people like Chavez to the extent that people can't really recognize one when they have him in front of their eyes.

      • Appaloosa
        +4

        Much respect here, you fled a bad environment, and you speak freely of that. Is there a solution you can offer, the alarm is sent now, or are we on the same path you have gotten off of.

        • Gozzin
          +5

          I say we are...His feedback should be interesting and I look forward to it.

        • leweb
          +4

          This is very difficult. Chavez polarized the people in the country exactly like Trump has, and worked very hard to keep the two groups hating each other. That keeps people distracted from the real problems. In Venezuela you'd see Chavez supporters living in utter misery, saying "I don't care if my life is shit, as long as 'theirs' is shit too" ('theirs' meaning he rich, the oligarchs, the 'squalids' as Chavez like to call them, etc.). When polarization gets to this level it's essentially impossible to communicate, and those who can leave end up giving up and leaving the country. The problem is that the people who can leave tend to be those who are more educated and have useful skills. If you let the process continue for long enough you end up with a completely disfunctional country (Google "economy of Venezuela" and "crime in Venezuela" if you want to see what I'm talking about).

          People need to find a way to communicate and have a common vision. They need to get their asses off the couch and stop living in echo chambers fueled by their own favorite news channels, internet sites, etc. They need to be willing to listen. America has a longer democratic tradition and a more robust system of governance, so that's a plus, but we're headed very fast in the wrong direction.

          There are other things that come to mind, but I think this is the critical issue that we, the people, need to change. Irrational polarization is the best tool to break a democracy.

        • AdelleChattre (edited 7 years ago)
          +3

          If, in the 2018 midterms, the Republicans pick up one more state legislature they can call a constitutional convention. If, then, Trump declares himself president for life then maybe somebody should start paying attention for us.

          • leweb
            +3

            Google "1999 Venezuelan referendum". That was the next step after Chavez won the presidency.