# Will the U.S.A. pull its head out of its ass, or is it too late?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-u-s-a-pull-its-head-out-of-its-ass-or-is-it-too-late/1023139
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [September 18, 2025, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-u-s-a-pull-its-head-out-of-its-ass-or-is-it-too-late/1023139 "2025-09-18T00:58:15Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2025, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-u-s-a-pull-its-head-out-of-its-ass-or-is-it-too-late/1023139/41 "2025-09-18T04:32:27Z")
There will be no bail money, and even finding out where I am will be next to impossible. People aren’t being arrested-they are being abducted and detained, and some are being sent…elsewhere. I am almost 68 years old and diabetic, and I know that jail would be a walk in the park compared to what I may face.
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### Author:  [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2025, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-u-s-a-pull-its-head-out-of-its-ass-or-is-it-too-late/1023139/42 "2025-09-18T04:33:59Z")
Too late.
Y’all have sleepwalked into a fascist dictatorship. It’s over. You’re fucked.
(and the rest of the world is fucked too. Thanks for that.)
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### Author:  [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2025, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-u-s-a-pull-its-head-out-of-its-ass-or-is-it-too-late/1023139/43 "2025-09-18T04:40:09Z")
> [@wguy123](#):
>
> Do you think that shit hasn’t already been happening? Do you live in an inflation proof state? Shit is skyrocketing now around these parts. Has been happening for awhile.
And the Ministry of Truth is busy telling the rubes that it’s not happening.
And they believe it. Most of the population is still sleepwalking over the cliff.
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### Author:  [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2025, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-u-s-a-pull-its-head-out-of-its-ass-or-is-it-too-late/1023139/44 "2025-09-18T04:41:45Z")
I know that shit is happening. And it will reach a point where even the most MAGA Moron pulls the pin.
People who have never gone to the dentist will eventually go when the pain becomes unbearable. Its a shit situation, but the tide is gonna turn.
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2025, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-u-s-a-pull-its-head-out-of-its-ass-or-is-it-too-late/1023139/45 "2025-09-18T04:42:27Z")
That might have worked when people cared about their own well-being, because that at least was predictable, but when they started caring more about fucking over all that aren’t “them” then they do their own welfare, all bets were off. As long as they are openly showing the persecution of others they will put up with _anything_. Stop believing in a magical teeter-totter that will go the other way all on its own, and take a fucking look at that cliff that fast approaches.
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### Author:  [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2025, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-u-s-a-pull-its-head-out-of-its-ass-or-is-it-too-late/1023139/46 "2025-09-18T04:43:52Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#):
>
> look at that cliff that fast approaches
That’s the ground that’s fast approaching. The cliff is the blurry bit wizzing by to one side.
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### Author:  [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2025, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-u-s-a-pull-its-head-out-of-its-ass-or-is-it-too-late/1023139/47 "2025-09-18T06:25:36Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#):
>
> And the Ministry of Truth is busy telling the rubes that it’s not happening.
>
> And they believe it. Most of the population is still sleepwalking over the cliff.
I’m a pessimist, but the rubes are noticing. Shit ain’t getting cheaper. And it will just keep getting more expensive.
But, plenty will just ignore.
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### Author:  [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2025, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-u-s-a-pull-its-head-out-of-its-ass-or-is-it-too-late/1023139/48 "2025-09-18T06:44:26Z")
I’m in general optimistic.
The whole USA doesn’t have its head up its ass. Whatever % voted democratic didn’t. And there’s plenty others who didn’t vote or are aging up for ‘28 who know the truth.
We’ve been in hard hard places in this country since day 1.
These next months are gonna be challenging. Gonna be painful. There will be losses. The MAGA is just really loud and doing ignorant things, nobody is overseeing the zoo. The next few years will be lean, I’m afraid.
I won’t live long enough to see it but I think it will swing around. Enough voices screaming can change things. We need to find our voice.
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### Author:  [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2025, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-u-s-a-pull-its-head-out-of-its-ass-or-is-it-too-late/1023139/49 "2025-09-18T06:48:47Z")
> [@wguy123](#):
>
> But, plenty will just ignore.
‘It’s amazing, we’re 14 years into MAGA and we’re still suffering from the acts of O’Biden!’ ~ A future ‘’‘American’‘’
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### Author:  [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2025, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-u-s-a-pull-its-head-out-of-its-ass-or-is-it-too-late/1023139/50 "2025-09-18T13:14:51Z")
That’s just it though.
I feel like there are a LOT of people out there- probably a majority in fact, who are not at all cool with what’s going on.
But… they feel like demonstrating isn’t effective, especially these days (it’s not), so they’re not concentrating their energy there. They’re not in positions of much influence, so they’re not saying much out loud. But what they do say is pretty damning.
Basically they feel like their only peaceful out is voting in the midterms and staying between the lines. And realistically what else can they do? Gripe on the internet? Be that asshole who bitches about Trump at every gathering? Writing letters that won’t be read by their looney MAGA House rep? (I’m not wasting the ink to write Beth Van Duyne because there’s exactly 0 chance that anything I’ll write will even get close to her, for example)
None of them really feel like we’re at the violence point, but very, very few are sitting there thinking “Yes, let’s fuck around the \ _because we can_”, and they’re not excited about tariffs or the gutting of the Federal bureaucracy. Some were in favor of it in theory, but they meant in the guise of maybe redefining what the departments should do, and what they shouldn’t, and downsizing in an appropriate, legal, and rule-following way. Basically having a doctor diagnose that the leg needs to be removed, then removing it in an operating room with a real surgeon doing the surgery. And with appropriate post-surgical care and follow up. Instead they’ve got Leatherface and his chainsaw chopping limbs off semi-randomly and running off leaving the agencies bleeding and traumatized.
The People don’t have a lot of options; there’s revolt, there’s ineffectual demonstrations, and then there’s voting.
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### Author:  [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2025, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-u-s-a-pull-its-head-out-of-its-ass-or-is-it-too-late/1023139/51 "2025-09-18T13:21:15Z")
Way too late. The damage is irreparable and too deep.
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### Author:  [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2025, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-u-s-a-pull-its-head-out-of-its-ass-or-is-it-too-late/1023139/52 "2025-09-18T14:29:30Z")
I think it depends on how solid the fascists hand in the tiller is when the inevitable consequences of their policies start to really bite.
They promised paradise and it’s not going to happen, furthermore the US is overdue for a recession and their policies look like they will provide one anyway.
So the point of decision will be when unemployment scalates dramatically and prices are still rising and rising and it’s obvious, even to apolitical people, that they not only can’t deliver on their promises but are actively driving the country off a cliff.
If, at that point they haven’t accumulated enough power to withstand the popular reaction (something that’s harder than it seems) and they are unable to somewhow redirect that anger against some minority or the other (this is easier but it still may fail) then there will be hope for the U.S. (and probably the rest of the world).
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### Author:  [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2025, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-u-s-a-pull-its-head-out-of-its-ass-or-is-it-too-late/1023139/53 "2025-09-18T14:42:36Z")
> [@madmonk28](#):
>
> This is pretty much my brother’s answer. He always says some version of “we’ll be okay.” He’s straight, white and he’ll just keep his head down and pretend he doesn’t see what’s happening.
I’m a straight white male myself. When Trump won the last election, one of my immediate thoughts was that we’d all have to eat a big shit sandwich, including Trump supporters, but some Americans were going to be taking much bigger bites than others. While I’m not ignoring what’s going on, it’s relatively easy for me to keep a low profile. Here in Arkansas, I do not stand out in a crowd of MAGAts as I look just like them.
To answer the OP, we are well and truly fucked. Admittedly, I held out a modicum of hope after the last election, but that was quickly dashed by spineless Republicans in Congress who openly declared their intention to abrogate their responsibilities in favor of blindly pushing Trump’s agenda. They made it clear they weren’t working with Trump they were working for him. Sometimes the Saurons of the world win.
The Trump administration will leave the United States with a weaker economy, we will be more vulnerable to our enemies, and we will have fewer freedoms. We’re not going to pull our heads out of our collective asses in time. We’re going to have to crash and burn before we even think about recovering.
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### Author:  [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2025, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-u-s-a-pull-its-head-out-of-its-ass-or-is-it-too-late/1023139/54 "2025-09-18T14:48:38Z")
> [@Odesio](#):
>
> The Trump administration will leave the United States with a weaker economy, we will be more vulnerable to our enemies, and we will have fewer freedoms. We’re not going to pull our heads out of our collective asses in time. We’re going to have to crash and burn before we even think about recovering.
Also, you’ve fucked over your allies to the point where we’re not going to trust ANY government you elect or ANY agreement you sign for a generation at least.
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### Author:  [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2025, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-u-s-a-pull-its-head-out-of-its-ass-or-is-it-too-late/1023139/55 "2025-09-18T14:51:27Z")
After a lot of wallowing-in-misery / contemplating-the-horrors time, I’m opting for a two-pronged approach:
a) I am finding other things in life to care about instead of having this clusterfuck eat up all my ability to care about anything and get immersed in total despair; and
b) I am remembering the resistance in Europe in WW II and contrasting it to the people who just shrugged and accepted that “that’s how it is”. It isn’t useful to set things up as a diametrical “either stop this from happening or get utterly defeated”.
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2025, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-u-s-a-pull-its-head-out-of-its-ass-or-is-it-too-late/1023139/56 "2025-09-18T15:02:38Z")
I truly believe that our only hope to extract our domes from our nether regions lies in the midterm elections. I’m sure that Trump will attempt to subvert them, but assuming a fair election, it’s possible that the left could take back the house and throw a wrench into the right’s agenda. Otherwise, we are well and truly fucked for the future.
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### Author:  [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2025, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-u-s-a-pull-its-head-out-of-its-ass-or-is-it-too-late/1023139/57 "2025-09-18T15:25:50Z")
> [@Frodo](#):
>
> I think it depends on how solid the fascists hand in the tiller is when the inevitable consequences of their policies start to really bite.
What if the head fascist has really tiny hands?
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### Author:  [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2025, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-u-s-a-pull-its-head-out-of-its-ass-or-is-it-too-late/1023139/58 "2025-09-18T15:45:09Z")
The age of the narcissist is about to come to an end. They will easily be identified and discredited by their speech patterns that they are helpless to control. Educate the public on narcissism and you will start to see things smooth out. It is simply a glitch in humanity’s social development that we are currently stumbling through.
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### Author:  [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2025, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-u-s-a-pull-its-head-out-of-its-ass-or-is-it-too-late/1023139/59 "2025-09-18T15:53:41Z")
People need to remember, he’s already dismantled huge swaths of the federal government. He could die tomorrow and the damage is done.
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### Author:  [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2025, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-u-s-a-pull-its-head-out-of-its-ass-or-is-it-too-late/1023139/60 "2025-09-18T15:54:10Z")
I’ll be 77 in November. At most, I have 20 years left stuck in this mortal coil.
I believe there will be some kind of backlash/correction down the road. I don’t know when or see how, as each generation seems less educated, less altruistic, and less capable of critical thinking than the previous one.
In any case, I won’t live to see how it turns out. Good luck to the rest of you.
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