Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

"The damage done by stunts like those in Michigan is deep and lasting. A functioning society depends on the ability to rely on and trust key institutions. Even force is insufficient to prevent the erosion and collapse of a government that has lost legitimacy in a large enough percentage of the population. The Soviet Union and other collapsed communist states are testament to this.

[...]

"The business of Michigan Republican Commissioners refusing to certify election returns without presenting evidence that would warrant such a vote is another nail in the coffin for the legitimacy of government in the United States. Whichever way it comes out, approximately half the nation is encouraged to regard the outcome as illegitimate.

"But this also proves it only takes one side to undermine these institutions, and a relatively few, loud actors. Unfortunately, as we have seen at other times in American history, it may take things getting much worse before enough people decide enough."

-- Harold Feld, 2020-11-18 (Facebook)

"The tragic thing which you do not understand -- which you cannot understand -- is that you've already lost. You cannot know exactly what -- that's the nature of chaos -- but know this. You will lose more than you can bear.

"We lost our children, playing at church. We lost our friends, sitting down to brunch. Muslims lost their dignity and rights. Your Republicans have set forces into play they cannot possibly understand and certainly cannot control. And they don't even want to. To them, chaos is a ladder.

"This is the point. You have taken an orderly system balancing a whole lot of chaos and fucked with it. I don't know how it's going to explode, but I can promise you this. It's going to explode.

"This is precisely why we have elections, and why both sides accept the results. To keep the chaos at bay. The whole point is that you have a regular, ritual fight rather than fighting all the time. Once one side breaks ritual then you're on the way to civil war. Once you break the rules then chaos ensues. What exactly happens? I don't know. It's chaos.

[...]

"I have lived through a coup. It felt like what you're feeling now. Like watching something stupid and just waiting for it to go away. But it doesn't go away. You can forget about it, but it doesn't go away.

"There's a ticking bomb at the heart of your democracy now. Your government, the very idea of governance is fatally wounded. Chaos has been planted at its heart. I don't know what this chaos will grow into, but I can promise you this. It won't be good."

-- Indi Samarajiva, "I Lived Through A Stupid Coup. America Is Having One Now", 2020-11-11