@Allamanda Maybe it boils down to the question, how much do we devolve to lower forms of government, or to finally the individual her-or-him self, and how much do we reserve to an overarching authority?
The human brain is complex, and just like some people defer to the authority of the bible, others grant it to a secular government, it seems. But since the dominant force in this case is Christianity (putting aside our complaints), when the secular government leaves itself open to attack by people with greedy, manipulative motives, and employs religious people to then attack the underlying legitimacy of that government, it sows it's own whirlwind.
I'm speaking of course about abortion and the 2nd Amendment.
That opening was exploited by the super-rich, it's my contention, to manipulate, warp, and twist beyond recognition the constitution, and thereby gain control of the levers of political power.
In other words, this isn't about ideology or religion at all, but about a cynical attempt to establish a plutocracy, devoted to greed, with idelogical and religious undergirding.

@Allamanda Never happened elsewhere? Where has it NOT happened?
Europe went secular after WWII, but before that it was ruled by a theocratic state. Name one other place where religion and government was not allied to further the aims of the elite (rich)...
(Except 1917 Russia. And 1930 America. And a few others.)
Rather than put down our government, it seems to me it's worth fighting for (if we can stop watching Seinfeld reruns, get off our couches and go VOTE.)

@Allamanda Why don't you add more? This is supposed to be a discussion.
But we're on the same page.

I think it's a great time to be born, because hopefully before I die the 'tipping point' will have come and gone, and after the dust clears (and the rubble stops bouncing) we'll have a better picture if we're about to usher in a New Age, or going back to the caves.

@Storm1752 Understand that climate change happens at an unpredictable rate. We already see the result of a single degree's impact on global temperatures. Your children will live in a world totally changed by diminished food supply/drought/loss of imports/massive extermination of wildlife...which, of course, changes the balance of every ecosystem. The ''tipping point'' has already come..and gone. We've been ''tipping'' for decades but nobody noticed until about twenty years ago.

Complacency by an electorate who are doing well and don’t care about the rest ....no matter which party they belong to, is surely more accurate. Individualism is only another name for looking out for only yourself at the expense of others.

@Allamanda Having stopped short of wrecking a marriage over my need to fight for right, it’s surreal to imagine those having done nothing to help..

The American cult of the individual has infected the democratic party as well. It's a Republican Philosophy, but Democrats like Bill Clinton let it Grow on their watch by standing by. He called it "the Third way". I was a huge mistake for the Democratic Party to go to the centre and let the republican party away with what they were doing to America. It's time for the Democrats to go back to their core values that have been diluted by money in politics. When republicans say that these Democratic values are socialist indulgences, Democrats have to confront this lie and tell them it's not an indulgence. It's about caring for your community and treating everyone as if they count. And letting them know they count, not because they have wealth and power but because EVERYONE, no matter who they are or what they do are part of the community that makes America work.
If Covid19 has not woken up America to the flaws of it's cult of the individual, then I fear nothing will. America is running out of time on this one. The world looks on in Amazement as America seems to be promoting it's own decline. And if you think that the decline of America is a good thing then you should think about what the world would be like if China is the only superpower in the world in the near future.

@Allamanda Kudos for saying what has sometimes gotten me soundly trashed. I am one of the complacent, but I could see this coming. No one listened. My dad and I had chats about how we were going down the rabbit hole to destruction back in the late 1980's and into the early 90's. I miss him so much, he passed on July 4th, 1994. He would have enjoyed this site very much. I admit to being complacent .