I agree with some of the points made in this article; however, I think it shows a glaring lack of perspective for how the current immigration crisis really is pressing communities across the country right now.
As a Chicagoan, I’ve seen myself how our poorest citizens have been expected to stomach cuts to social programming and reappropriated community spaces in order to accommodate the surge. It’s important we have compassion for those seeking asylum, and even those entering illegally, but it’s also important that if we’re welcoming all of these people into the country, that we don’t dump them on communities that we are already failing, with no additional resources.
Our current immigration policy is failing our poorest communities, and while congressional republicans shoulder much of the blame, so too does President Biden, who has done little at the border or in our communities to improve the situation.
There are a few mislead misunderstandings. One in the constitution, it states the power is left to the states or to the people. Why? Why is a convention of the states in the constitution if the federal government is absolute authority? It is there because if the government runs afoul of the states the can take control. Let's be clear 25 states sided with Texas, including Texas makes 26. That is over half of the united states standing against the federal government. Why? You really want us to believe it's because of white America? That's a lame excuse of what's going on ,it leaves you not understanding the problem. These so called migrants are not entering the United states thru a point of entry,but illegally sneaking into the United states. Hence illegally not thru a point of entry.to the tone of 300,000 in 1 month. That's a very large mass of people continuing on more than that in waves everyday. Yes it is an invasion. Second they are not just brown as you say,showing you have no knowledge of what your talking about, they come from every country in the world,speak several languages,and all coming in not from a point of entry. There are laws already passed thru congress,and the government/president disregards the law,instead of helping Texas he sues them to let illegals not migrants come to the country illegally, migrants apply for citizenship illegal aliens don't.
I applaud your use of the term "legitimacy crisis." But I would add that the legitimacy crisis has been manufactured and developing over decades, formally since 1991. I've written extensively on William S. Lind's concept of Fourth Generation Warfare (4GW--a hybrid conflict featuring moral conflict fought with a pervasive use psychological operations against the target audience (the American people) with some kinetic operations (mass killings) inspired by the Great Replacement conspiracy theory.
In a 4GW conflict, a non-state actor is pitted against a central government in which the objective is to turn the loyalties of citizens away from the central government and towards the non-state actor. The non-state actor could be a movement or party based on race or religion or another ideological motivator.
The Christian Right has been waging 4GW since at least the 1980s and it was premised on their conviction and collaborative documents that the federal government was inherently illegitimate because it did not conform to God's laws, as they interpreted the Bible. Moreover, the clash on earth in real-time was reflective of a clash between God and Satan. Thus, Newt Gingrich and his Christian Right power backers characterized liberalism and the Democratic Party as satanic agents. Democrats were anti-God and anti-religion. All right-wing conspiracy theories cast the Democratic Party as illegitimate, evil, and serving some other higher purpose--be it communism, socialism, or Satan. QAnon is only the latest conspiracy theory in a long line of conspiracy theories going back to the John Birch Society.
Frederick Clarkson and others have written how and why the Christian Right fashioned a narrative that America was a "Christian Nation" and that the separation of church and state is a hoax. Andre Gagne's most recent book examines the New Apostolic Reformation, the fastest growing religious movement worldwide and their political program for dominionism. I prefer the secular term, domination. I use the term domination because the NAR's ideology of the Seven Mountains entails that only certain Christians must rule and run the seven (now eight) key institutions of society.
But all these conflicts are rooted in the fundamental premise that liberalism, a secular view of the Constitution, the Democratic Party, and the party's voters, are illegitimate and that America must be "reconstructed," to use the Christian Reconstructionists' term, as a Christian state run by certain Christians, with all others held in a second-class status.
You are absolutely correct that this is a "legitimacy crisis" and that it could result in a kinetic civil conflict, if not civil war. We are in the most dangerous of times and have long left the era of "normal politics." The GOP, in my view, has become what political scientists used to describe communist parties in the West--an anti-system party.
Very well written article, thank you. I don't particularly agree with you in that you don't consider it an invasion, but you have done very well to inform me of opinions that oppose my own and i am better for it.
Texans need to figure out right quick what they plan on doing with this outlaw governor and his minions. Do they want to be Americans or not? Do they want to continue to receive the benefits of the American Federal Government or not?
And non-white and non-evangelical (looking at you Catholics) Texans should get clear pretty quickly on what will happen if these outlaws get the upper hand. You will lose your liberty and your property. Once the “invading hordes” are dealt with they will turn on you.
Reading this on January 30th, which is, as you know, the 91st anniversary of Hitler accepting the Chancellorship of Germany, under false pretenses.
This crisis, like the Ukraine crisis, and the action - or inaction - of the most radical judges on the SCOTUS, are all in service of one thing: reinstating Donald Trump.
And his reinstatement is expressly desired in order to accomplish what the GOP realizes true democracy cannot - fascistic white supremacy in a structure of completely unfettered capitalism.
We need to connect the dots.
We need to find a way to unite the Left and stop internecine fighting.
We need to call out the motives behind ALL of these projects - border crisis, congressional gridlock, destruction of public education, attacks on LBGTQ people, reversal of affirmative action, climate change denial, all of it...
We need to overwhelm mainstream media with demands to report the stakes accurately.
CW2 need not imitate CW1. But yeah, all the rhetoric is in place (or in prep) for deployment of a stochastically white hot armed response toward that end. Not that the PTB actually want such an outcome. Bad fer bizness...
If Biden decides to nationalize the state Guard that would be trigger for such a response – maybe not from the Guard itself, but from the locked&loaded wannabes.
LOTUS is the current Shit-Stirrer in Chief, but there'll be another to take up the banner soon enough.
I'm old enough to remember a previous round of this when President Eisenhower (a Republican!) had to federalize the Arkansas National Guard to protect Black students engaged in court ordered school integration in 1957. This seems to me the relevant precedent.
While I agree with this entire essay, this particular threat to US democracy somehow is in 3rd place amidst competing crises.
The refusal of Congress to protect Ukraine is eviscerating the world order.
The inability of the DC Circuit Court to swiftly rule that a president does not have the right to order Seal Team Six to assassinate his political rival is eviscerating the rule of law.
The issue with Texas may be the final straw, though it amazes me that 4 Justices would agree with a governor's position that SCOTUS is irrelevant.
Thank you professor Zimmer, as always, your words are straight and to the point. As a grandmother of 10, I wish I had words of wisdom to give my beloved grandchildren to guide them through this horrible time.
You’re right in your take on things. Abbott’s arguments were defeated when Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse in April 1865, but bad ideas never seem to die.
The perspective is appreciated. And, yes, this is terrifying. Regrettably, this is competing with other terrifying issues (real or less real based on MSM editorial priority). It seems like the Fed is responding in a measured way. This could be de-escalated. On the other hand, we have armed (I believe) people flocking to the border. And will other states really activate their national guard to this region? That's where the rubber will meet the road.
I live in Australia, and I'm aware of this evolving issue, so I can't agree that the crisis isn't getting any real coverage in your MSM, including the NYTs.
In the House, an elected official's position on the border is comparable to one's position on Jan. 6. It has become a marker, as cemented in concrete stronger than any border wall.
My sense is that MAGA Americans wantssome kind of Civil War for many reasons not the least of which is that they seem to believe that if they can launch a new Civil War, Trump will become either their General Lee or Jefferson Davis and at least be kept out of prison.
I agree with some of the points made in this article; however, I think it shows a glaring lack of perspective for how the current immigration crisis really is pressing communities across the country right now.
As a Chicagoan, I’ve seen myself how our poorest citizens have been expected to stomach cuts to social programming and reappropriated community spaces in order to accommodate the surge. It’s important we have compassion for those seeking asylum, and even those entering illegally, but it’s also important that if we’re welcoming all of these people into the country, that we don’t dump them on communities that we are already failing, with no additional resources.
Our current immigration policy is failing our poorest communities, and while congressional republicans shoulder much of the blame, so too does President Biden, who has done little at the border or in our communities to improve the situation.
There are a few mislead misunderstandings. One in the constitution, it states the power is left to the states or to the people. Why? Why is a convention of the states in the constitution if the federal government is absolute authority? It is there because if the government runs afoul of the states the can take control. Let's be clear 25 states sided with Texas, including Texas makes 26. That is over half of the united states standing against the federal government. Why? You really want us to believe it's because of white America? That's a lame excuse of what's going on ,it leaves you not understanding the problem. These so called migrants are not entering the United states thru a point of entry,but illegally sneaking into the United states. Hence illegally not thru a point of entry.to the tone of 300,000 in 1 month. That's a very large mass of people continuing on more than that in waves everyday. Yes it is an invasion. Second they are not just brown as you say,showing you have no knowledge of what your talking about, they come from every country in the world,speak several languages,and all coming in not from a point of entry. There are laws already passed thru congress,and the government/president disregards the law,instead of helping Texas he sues them to let illegals not migrants come to the country illegally, migrants apply for citizenship illegal aliens don't.
I applaud your use of the term "legitimacy crisis." But I would add that the legitimacy crisis has been manufactured and developing over decades, formally since 1991. I've written extensively on William S. Lind's concept of Fourth Generation Warfare (4GW--a hybrid conflict featuring moral conflict fought with a pervasive use psychological operations against the target audience (the American people) with some kinetic operations (mass killings) inspired by the Great Replacement conspiracy theory.
In a 4GW conflict, a non-state actor is pitted against a central government in which the objective is to turn the loyalties of citizens away from the central government and towards the non-state actor. The non-state actor could be a movement or party based on race or religion or another ideological motivator.
The Christian Right has been waging 4GW since at least the 1980s and it was premised on their conviction and collaborative documents that the federal government was inherently illegitimate because it did not conform to God's laws, as they interpreted the Bible. Moreover, the clash on earth in real-time was reflective of a clash between God and Satan. Thus, Newt Gingrich and his Christian Right power backers characterized liberalism and the Democratic Party as satanic agents. Democrats were anti-God and anti-religion. All right-wing conspiracy theories cast the Democratic Party as illegitimate, evil, and serving some other higher purpose--be it communism, socialism, or Satan. QAnon is only the latest conspiracy theory in a long line of conspiracy theories going back to the John Birch Society.
Frederick Clarkson and others have written how and why the Christian Right fashioned a narrative that America was a "Christian Nation" and that the separation of church and state is a hoax. Andre Gagne's most recent book examines the New Apostolic Reformation, the fastest growing religious movement worldwide and their political program for dominionism. I prefer the secular term, domination. I use the term domination because the NAR's ideology of the Seven Mountains entails that only certain Christians must rule and run the seven (now eight) key institutions of society.
But all these conflicts are rooted in the fundamental premise that liberalism, a secular view of the Constitution, the Democratic Party, and the party's voters, are illegitimate and that America must be "reconstructed," to use the Christian Reconstructionists' term, as a Christian state run by certain Christians, with all others held in a second-class status.
You are absolutely correct that this is a "legitimacy crisis" and that it could result in a kinetic civil conflict, if not civil war. We are in the most dangerous of times and have long left the era of "normal politics." The GOP, in my view, has become what political scientists used to describe communist parties in the West--an anti-system party.
Very well written article, thank you. I don't particularly agree with you in that you don't consider it an invasion, but you have done very well to inform me of opinions that oppose my own and i am better for it.
Please continue to write essays such as these.
Texans need to figure out right quick what they plan on doing with this outlaw governor and his minions. Do they want to be Americans or not? Do they want to continue to receive the benefits of the American Federal Government or not?
And non-white and non-evangelical (looking at you Catholics) Texans should get clear pretty quickly on what will happen if these outlaws get the upper hand. You will lose your liberty and your property. Once the “invading hordes” are dealt with they will turn on you.
Reading this on January 30th, which is, as you know, the 91st anniversary of Hitler accepting the Chancellorship of Germany, under false pretenses.
This crisis, like the Ukraine crisis, and the action - or inaction - of the most radical judges on the SCOTUS, are all in service of one thing: reinstating Donald Trump.
And his reinstatement is expressly desired in order to accomplish what the GOP realizes true democracy cannot - fascistic white supremacy in a structure of completely unfettered capitalism.
We need to connect the dots.
We need to find a way to unite the Left and stop internecine fighting.
We need to call out the motives behind ALL of these projects - border crisis, congressional gridlock, destruction of public education, attacks on LBGTQ people, reversal of affirmative action, climate change denial, all of it...
We need to overwhelm mainstream media with demands to report the stakes accurately.
We need to take to the streets.
CW2 need not imitate CW1. But yeah, all the rhetoric is in place (or in prep) for deployment of a stochastically white hot armed response toward that end. Not that the PTB actually want such an outcome. Bad fer bizness...
If Biden decides to nationalize the state Guard that would be trigger for such a response – maybe not from the Guard itself, but from the locked&loaded wannabes.
LOTUS is the current Shit-Stirrer in Chief, but there'll be another to take up the banner soon enough.
I'm old enough to remember a previous round of this when President Eisenhower (a Republican!) had to federalize the Arkansas National Guard to protect Black students engaged in court ordered school integration in 1957. This seems to me the relevant precedent.
While I agree with this entire essay, this particular threat to US democracy somehow is in 3rd place amidst competing crises.
The refusal of Congress to protect Ukraine is eviscerating the world order.
The inability of the DC Circuit Court to swiftly rule that a president does not have the right to order Seal Team Six to assassinate his political rival is eviscerating the rule of law.
The issue with Texas may be the final straw, though it amazes me that 4 Justices would agree with a governor's position that SCOTUS is irrelevant.
Thank you professor Zimmer, as always, your words are straight and to the point. As a grandmother of 10, I wish I had words of wisdom to give my beloved grandchildren to guide them through this horrible time.
You’re right in your take on things. Abbott’s arguments were defeated when Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse in April 1865, but bad ideas never seem to die.
The perspective is appreciated. And, yes, this is terrifying. Regrettably, this is competing with other terrifying issues (real or less real based on MSM editorial priority). It seems like the Fed is responding in a measured way. This could be de-escalated. On the other hand, we have armed (I believe) people flocking to the border. And will other states really activate their national guard to this region? That's where the rubber will meet the road.
I live in Australia, and I'm aware of this evolving issue, so I can't agree that the crisis isn't getting any real coverage in your MSM, including the NYTs.
In the House, an elected official's position on the border is comparable to one's position on Jan. 6. It has become a marker, as cemented in concrete stronger than any border wall.
My sense is that MAGA Americans wantssome kind of Civil War for many reasons not the least of which is that they seem to believe that if they can launch a new Civil War, Trump will become either their General Lee or Jefferson Davis and at least be kept out of prison.