America’s Five Revolutions

And how the Sixth will determine the fate of our nation

The United States of America has had five revolutions. That’s right — five, not one. Each one since “The Revolution” has centered on the eternal tension in American politics between a strong federal government and “states’ rights.” And let’s cut the bullshit: states’ rights has never meant limited government — it has always meant a state’s right to oppress people and take away their freedom and rights without the pesky federal government getting in the way. Each revolution has rejected “states’ rights” and dramatically redefined the relationship between the citizens and the state. Each revolution has also seen a counter-movement or backlash to reassert “states’ rights.” So, in order to understand where we are currently as a nation and where we might be going, we need to look back to where we’ve been.

So, where are we now? In a rough spot. We’ve been living in the midst of the counter-movement to Revolution #4 and Revolution #5 for over half-a-century — the one simultaneously rejecting the New Deal and the Civil Rights movement (more below). This counter-movement seems to have come to a head via Trumpism, though very importantly, is not reliant on Trump. In pretty much every way imaginable, Ron DeSantis is the rightful heir to the GOP’s authoritarian throne — and in pretty much…