I agree that we are in very dark times, and likely the darkest we have been in the history of our country, or at least since the Civil War.

But we seem to so quickly forget Operation Wetback, committed under a Republican (but back when Republicans could still plausibly relate to Lincoln and Democrats will ruled the Jim Crow south) and Japanese Internment, committed under FDR, everyone's favorite progressive Democrat. We forget how Truman prosecuted the Korean war without a declaration from Congress, while both parties in Congress failed to assert their power to stop him.

To be clear, I'm not picking on Democrats because I think they're the same as Republicans. The Democratic base is much more compassionate, which forces the politicians in the party to be so as well. I'm picking on Democrats because I fear that if we do escape from this Trumpian nightmare without addressing the Oligarchic Duopoly, we will at best have a very temporary reprieve from techno-fascist dystopia. Certainly not the world of compassion, courage, and curiosity that I want to see.

And I agree that Trump is a war criminal and domestic terrorist. That just doesn't make what was happening before him OK. And it doesn't absolve his predecessors of their responsibility for helping erode our Constitutional framework.

The Oligarchy is scared of what's coming: climate change, AI, the loss of American unipolarity in the world. They don't think they can maintain their status and privilege while continuing to give us the modicum of liberty and societal openness we have enjoyed here in The West (at the expense of much of the rest of the world) for the past 80 years. So they need to clamp down, and the base of the Republican party was always going to be their vehicle to do that. Because people who will support a fascist are going to be in the Republican tent by and large. But the parties themselves are both owned by the same Oligarchy. Just look at the top donors to R and D candidates for the highest federal offices. There's a lot of overlap between them. And while there are some Dems (and even some Reps) in Congress and more at the state and local level who genuinely want to do right by their constituents, the core of each party are soulless, unprincipled sociopaths who just want power and have chosen one team or the other to get it.

By the way, thank you for not attacking me personally and instead engaging in the content of my comment. It is rare and refreshing.

EDIT: Punctuation