[MrGilbert]

I cannot help but wonder how many decades it will take the U.S. to recover from the damage that the current administration is causing, both economically and in trust on a global scale. While in no way comparable, as a German, that topic feels familiar non the less - and to this day, it's a long and rocky road.

[burnt-resistor]

Much of the damage is irreparable. Organizations that no longer exist have lost workers, other stakeholders, resources, and trust permanently.. and in cases like USAID and healthcare, people have suffered permanent injuries or died.

These clueless assholes don't care about or understand the implications of the damage they've caused... they're gangs of criminals rapists and pillagers scorching the earth and leaving chaos and destruction in their wake.

[PigeonHolePncpl]

Economically? No idea.

Global trust? I'd give it 20-40 years.

[surgical_fire]

That presumes a sharp correction in the direction the US is heading, whatever it is.

Is that a given?

[bediger4000]

No. Sure, MAGA Republicans are only 25-30% of the population, but most of the people share at least some beliefs that would hold the entire nation back. There's widespread economic illiteracy, that leads to people generally favoring monopolies, and not believing in economy of scale in some circumstances. It's an article of faith that the press has a liberal bias. Lots of people distrust elections. There are lots of authoritarians, which is the fertile ground that let Trump take power in the first place.

[tim333]

Maybe they could elect someone normal next time around?

[rolph]

the big problem we have is we really dont nominate candidates publicly, there is a process the party goes through vetting nominees.

when the public voting occurs there is a line up of some familiar and some a case of who is that from where?

recently it has been, "really? is that the best candidate that party has to proffer? they both did it, now what?"

[M95D]

No, that's not a/the problem. You had the chance to vote independent - Bernie. You didn't.

[jfengel]

He did have to leave his independent status and join the Democratic party in order to participate in the primaries. But that was just a formality; he filled out a form.

Some people did vote for him. Just nowhere near a majority. A lot of people resented that, and stayed home rather than vote for the primary winner. So she lost, and the rest is very literally history.

[jfengel]

Outsiders can and do win in the primaries. Trump is the most prominent example. He was not a familiar regular, and nobody in the party leadership wanted him.

He won the primary, and went on to win the Presidency. The party leadership came around to support him, and the new leadership is vetted by him rather than the other way around.

[bestouff]

I'm not even sure the Nazi regime was that much anti-science.

[jfengel]

They kinda were. Both relativity and quantum mechanics were dubbed "Jewish science", which made it a lot harder for them to progress in those fields.

[karmakurtisaani]

A lot of great scientists left Europe because of them tho.

[burnt-resistor]

True. And they forced some scientists to work for them to build terror and WMDs. This regime doesn't even want technological supremacy in many other domains like drones and counter-drones except maybe hypersonic missiles and unworkable pocket battleships.

[rexpop]

The fascist "suicidal state" fundamentally rejects reason, rationality, and civil progress.

[bryanlarsen]

The US got to its preeminent position because the rest of the world screwed things up badly, and the US played a key role in rescuing it. Hopefully we never again see a global conflict on the scale of WW2, so hopefully the US never again is in a position to gain the rewards from rescuing the world.

[red-iron-pine]

the US got it it's preeminent position because it was a resource and manufacturing powerhouse that was unrivaled in the world at the time. it was already overtaking the aging British and French empires when the WW's happened, and both of those wars gutted everything.

it'd be like if WW3 happened now and every other major country got nuked except China.

[bryanlarsen]

Yes, that's a good analogy. China's position as the world's manufacturing powerhouse isn't unassailable at the moment, but it certainly would be if wars devastated its competitors.