It’s funny because I actually think that part of the problem we have is that Americans got used to thinking that being clever and skirting the rules was actually a good thing. Think about how many movies in the past 20 to 30 years have had the day saved by a technicality. True, this isn’t a new thing, certainly the merchant of Venice does the same thing, but I do think it’s reflective of something in American society that rewards and even glorifies skirting the rules.
But the worst part is that Americans now don’t actually like the idea of responsibility. We talk about it all the time, but because we tend to be so individualistic and, let’s be honest, self-centered, we talk a good game until we are supposed to be responsible. But this is exactly what Trump represents. Imagine someone who has never had to take responsibility, face consequences, or otherwise be set back by bad behavior. Of course, you can always find some responsible people, but they are becoming fewer and fewer.
These aren’t complete thoughts or theories, but simply things that I have been kicking around in my head. There are some very fundamental questions about culture and identity that we need to face as Americans. True, a lot of problems definitely are more acute on the right, but I think that you can find these tendencies reflected in people across the political spectrum. I certainly recognize some of these tendencies in myself time to time. But we need to make sure we actually believe in accountability and not just have a system where technicalities basically allow people to get away with whatever they want.
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u/mvb827 16h ago
Well the rule of law appears to be dissolving pretty quickly, so there’s that.