Our Western society is going to the Dogs. I'm not blaming any individual, group of individuals, or country in particular. It is an observation. Every society has its fair share of truly stupid people, irrespective of 'IQ' or level of education. People who opt to do things which are bad for themselves, as well as for society as a whole. That is not an original observation, but something brought to our attention by a Berkeley professor in economics, Carlo M. Cipolla, back in the Seventies. Extensive references to his work, and people extending his research are in previous essays on this blog.
It is not always easy to say for sure that someone is stupid, within that definition. Measuring his or her 'IQ', asking for paperwork related to finished education, or any other superficial approach is bound to deliver 'false results'. My own perception is based on the observation that we are confronted by an erosion of 'intelligent, informed exchanges' between people, even at the level of academics. Or in the military. In itself not an entirely new phenomenon, and there are certain historical episodes which reflect this same pattern. Communicating in 'One Liners', and using techniques to 'win' a debate which are clearly counterproductive, if you want the best solution, have been around for awhile. And with increasing time constraints in a 'rushed' society, we are often left with 'rushed' decisions.
Why would anyone in his of her right mind want to 'discuss' whether the 'salute' Musk gave to the audience at the inauguration ceremony was actually a 'Nazi-Salute'? It really doesn't matter if this was a deliberate distraction, or whether it is an attempt by his adversaries to create a 'straw man' which they can burn down, since all the 'facts' are not aligned in their favour. Musk denied that he gave a 'Nazi-salute', and to me it looked much more like a 'Bellamy salute' emerging from the present day 'pledge'. The 'Bellamy Salute' used to be the standard salute to the flag in the US, before the fascists hijacked the arm-bit, leaving the Americans with a 'hand-over-the-heart-pledge' instead, which Musk displayed before he stretched his arm at the crowd. But did anyone hear Musk cry out 'Sieg Heil!', or something like that? If you want to see a present day 'Nazi-salute', look for the Norwegian mass murderer Breivik raising his right arm in court. And no, I'm not going to provide a link to *that*. Doesn't look like the salute Musk gave, at all.
Do I know that Musk is *not* a 'NeoNazi'? No, how could I know that if he says he isn't? I mean, this former unrepentant SS-soldier from Ukraine who received a standing ovation in the Canadian Parliament last year, or some units in Ukraine openly flying Nazi insignia and using the names of SS-battalions, or politicians who were promoted by John McCain at the time, giving the Hitler-salute in his presence in identical fashion to Breivik, yes, those are Nazi's, obviously. Looking at Musk's 'walk of life', and his fight for the freedom of speech, I have a hard time accepting that he may be a 'closet Nazi'.
In other words, I propose to look at what people propose, and what they did up till now, instead of focussing on some vague cinematic analogy, or the 'judgement' of this or that 'expert' in character assassinations. Look at those 'Directives' signed by Trump, weigh them properly to see how they fit your own needs, beyond the purely materialistic needs, and decide to either support his team, or fight it. With civilised arguments, please. Invite them to discuss their plans, and convince you, as you try to convince them they are moving in the wrong direction. Unlikely that you will have a chance to debate them, less so if you are not an American, though still someone who may benefit, or get hurt by those policy shifts, but take it to their supporters. Test them. And maybe you will emerge with a different point of view yourself. Don't be afraid. Emancipate!
A true 'Conspiracy Theorist' might suggest that Musk *did* intent to suggest a 'Nazi-Salute' as a diversion. Make everybody talk about that, while Trump and his administration secretly reconfigure the USA. Which echoes this 'post reality' approach described by Ron Suskind as the way people within the Bush administration handled 'policy challenges', which stuck. But that suggestion flies in the face of how Trump and his team are going public with everything they are setting out to accomplish. Not 'hush-hush' or distractions, but very much 'in your face'. For instance, this 'Directive' saying the US will freeze support for other countries for ninety days goes a long way to end the war in the Middle East as well as that in Ukraine. No money, no weapons, no ammo, no war. Or, in the case of Ukraine, as I suggested before, a transfer of responsibilities to Europe, which is in no position to fulfil that task.
But how do you rate Biden's move to pardon no less than 7.000 people, an absolute record, among them people who have not even been indicted yet? 'Rule of Law'? What 'Law'? In 2020 he told a reporter in an interview that he and Kamala would *never* do that, because it would be the end of the 'Rule of Law'. So, we reached the end of the line then? Signed, Joe Biden? Don't you think that is far more important to debate?