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.
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.