In this chapter, Timothy Snyder notes that in 2016, US journalists blithely stated things like, “Trump talks about a Muslim ban but he would be stopped by” Congress not passing it, or the Constitution, or the courts, or other guardrails.
In 2017, new president Trump did it anyway.
Snyder points out that there was
one group of observers who took a different position: east Europeans and those who study eastern Europe. To them, much about the president’s campaign was familiar, and the final outcome was no surprise. Ukrainian and Russian journalists who sniffed the air in the Midwest said more realistic things than American pollsters who had built careers on understanding the politics of their own country.
If you have friends outside the US, stay in touch. Read world news, and some news from other countries. The perspective shift can help you.
Living ~400lbs 