In the closing paragraphs of a recent Salon article, Chauncey DeVega writes of the January 6 hearings, “It was tempting to believe that serious factual revelations might break the Trump fever. But it was also naive. … But considered in total, the American people’s reaction suggests a deep immaturity[,] a profound lack of civic engagement, civic literacy[,] and responsible citizenship. As shown in a new Monmouth University poll more than half of all Americans want the hearings to end ‘as soon as possible[.]’ Political expediency, partisanship and a limited attention span are more important to a large proportion of Americans than revealing the whole truth about Jan. 6 and its implications. It is impossible to have a healthy democratic culture in a climate of those beliefs and behavior. Those Americans who convinced themselves that the House Jan. 6 hearings would somehow save the country from Trumpism and the Republican fascists will have their idealism and hope severely tested in just a few weeks. There is likely to be great disappointment and sorrow, as well as continued incomprehension, in the wake of the November midterm elections. I sincerely hope I am wrong, but we must also find a way to go forward if I am not [emphasis added].” He’s not going to be wrong.
I have said many, many times: Listen to DeVega. He knows his sh*t, and this time is no different. Oh, sure! The hearings were interesting to watch, but they were mainly for the sake of posterity, for, in the end, no minds were changed (were ever going to be changed). And anyone who thought these hearings would be consequential is a moron of the highest f***ing order. No doubt, the naive and the “hope peddlers and happy-pill sellers” — as DeVega likes to call the MSM and the larger political class (i.e., dumbass Democrats) — thought the revelation of the hearings would be a game-changer. But they were not. People just don’t care. As the quote above plainly lays out, America is too stupid and too lazy to care, to understand the facts, and to apprehend the level of danger facing our democracy. These midterms will be a rude awakening for many of these hope peddlers, but by then, it will be too late. Hope does not win. Hope is aspirational. Fear and hate are tangible. I have long said that America is simply too stupid and too careless to survive. This November will prove my thesis right or wrong. Oh, well! Welcome to stupid America!