Never Be Afraid

Matthew R. Bishop — June 7th, 2021

It is a scary moment in American history: A far-right insurgency, opposed to the legitimate government of the United States and to the concept of democracy itself, sweeps across the nation, continuing to grow in strength even after its historic electoral loss in both Congress and the White House. Even after its formal defeat, this movement continues to grow. Demagogues and aspiring far-right dictators cultivate the masses with conspiracy-laden propaganda, seeking to radicalize their followers and then leverage them against the state.

This insurgency presents a clear and present existential…

How to Prevent the Second Civil War

Matthew R. Bishop — June 2, 2021

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This article makes recommendations for policymakers, lawmakers and elected officials on how to mitigate the risks of armed conflict and a second American Civil War. For those outside the formal corridors of power, including corporations, lawyers, journalists, academics, business leaders, civil society leaders, concerned citizens, and anti-Trump Republicans, see this article instead for specific recommendations on the role you can play in preventing a second civil war.

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In 1875, ten years after the end of the first US Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant warned…

Senate Republicans Blocked Coup Investigations. Here’s Why That Matters and What Happens Next.

Matthew R. Bishop — May 28th, 2021

What Happened in January and May, 2021?

On May 28th, 2021, Senate Republicans used a procedure known as the filibuster to block an investigation into the causes, actors and events surrounding the terrorist attacks against the United States which occurred in Washington, D.C. on January 5th and 6th, 2021. This is a dereliction of duty and an act of felony sedition against the United States.

It is worth briefly revisiting the events of this 36-hour period in January, 2021 to…

Matthew R. Bishop — April 16th, 2021

The American Empire today is declining at a much faster pace and in much the same manner as one of its most storied predecessors, the Roman Empire, did almost two thousand years ago: Military overstretch, a commitment to unsustainable goals of global defense, and the consequent disconnect between those goals and the more depressing reality of collapsed economic, physical, and social infrastructures at home.

As it was true then, so it remains true today: The adversaries of the collapsing empire see opportunity in the same spaces where we see crisis. Conflict, tragedy, and…

Matthew R. Bishop — March 19, 2021

The US Civil War never ended. It devolved into a post-war terrorist insurgency of lynchings, assassinations, election-rigging, and propaganda campaigns, all constructed around core beliefs in White supremacism, ethnonationalism, Christian nationalism, and Southern self-sovereignty.

From the very beginning, this insurgency rejected the right of a freely elected government to rule, and violently sabotaged the actions of the United States federal government in an attempt to deny even the basic right to vote to those who did not fit within its White-Christian-nationalist vision.

The Confederacy surrendered. Confederate insurgents did not.

Theirs was a powerful…

Once upon a time, there was America.

At the end of the 18th century, a nation born of immigrants, refugees and settlers threw off the shackles of tyranny, monarchy, privilege and nobility. They did so with a singular purpose in mind: To create a more perfect union for all of humankind.

Now history has its eyes on us: What will America do? Will she abide by the promise of her founding oath — that All Men Are Created Equal? Or will she forsake that oath, will she finally surrender to tyranny after a quarter millennium of pro-democracy progress?

The fight…

The International Criminal Court Must Prosecute Former US President Donald J. Trump for Crimes Against Humanity.

Matthew R. Bishop — February 1st, 2021

*EDIT: A new Lancet article adjusts the 70% avoidable mortality figure down to 40%, using averaged data from G-7 nations, here*

Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States, did everything within his power to destroy democracy, to divide Americans, to install himself as an unelected dictator, and to sabotage both the sovereign national security of the United States and the larger global interests of the liberal-international order as a whole. History will remember him not only…

The Republican Party Must Stand Trial

Matthew R. Bishop — January 27th, 2021

With their recent 45–5 vote in the US Senate, Republicans have signaled their intent not to hold the trial of former President Donald Trump at all.

That trial will happen. It ultimately passed, 55–45.

But we now know this: Just days after the most horrific terrorist attack against the United States of America since 9/11, 45 Republican Senators are planning to betray their own nation in defense of the terrorist himself.

If this does occur — if these same 45 Republican Senators vote in defense of the…