<
https://theconversation.com/the-rich-white-powerbrokers-in-a-m-homes-new-novel-plot-to-be-kingmakers-in-the-name-of-democracy-189246>
"
Review: The Unfolding – A.M. Homes (Granta)
The website of the America First Secretary of State Coalition (“America First
SOS”) doesn’t include the word “democracy” anywhere. It goes hard on
“integrity”, mentioning “voter” and “election” integrity four times in about
800 words. But the Coalition isn’t interested in democracy.
America First SOS aims to get “America First” (that is, Trumpian Make America
Great Again) Republicans elected as secretaries of state across key
battleground states like Arizona and Nevada, precisely so they can influence or
even change election processes and outcomes in the lead-up to the 2024
presidential elections.
The America First candidates will, if elected, “counter and reverse electoral
fraud”. Their openly stated objective, in other words, is for state-level
election officials to both reverse-engineer Trump’s election loss in 2020
(never mind that this is impossible) and ensure that he (or his favoured
candidate) takes out the next one.
Across the United States, at every level of politics, democracy is under
attack. America First SOS is just one example. While the November midterm
elections are being treated by political analysts largely as a standard horse
race, they are nothing of the sort. What happens in November will be a critical
indicator of the strength of the United States’ political institutions. And the
signs are not good.
“Democracy,” as one of the characters in A.M. Homes’ brilliant new novel puts
it, “is fragile, more fragile than any of us are comfortable admitting”.
The Unfolding is fiction: a made-up story of American politics. But just like
in the real United States, the lines between truth and fantasy are perilously
thin."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
