Government Teacher Roundtable: Chaos in the Capital, The Presidential Transition, Social Media Bans, The World's Opinion, Is Our Political System Broken? What Does the Next Administration do?

The Best Paragraph I've Read: "Last week, many asked whether the assault on the Capitol, fueled by Trump and his many political and media enablers, was the start of something or an end.  It is neither, of course. It is a moment when we each get to decide how we want to proceed." This paragraph comes from Ken Burns who made a guest appearance on Politico's Playbook.  The paragraph and more can be read here: https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2021/01/12/americas-fourth-great-crisis-491367 To discuss America's current political issues Zac and Don have reformed the Government Teacher Roundtable.  They are joined by their Government Teacher friends Kevin and Tom.  The four educators share thoughts on the recent capital riots, the presidential transition, social media bans, the world's opinion of America, and what we may see with the new administration.    The following are other articles and books that are quoted during the discussion: "The decision Friday night by Twitter to permanently ban Trump from its platform is a signal moment — a historic move, even before we know the consequences that will flow from it." https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/01/09/trump-twitter-are-you-sure-456794 "The problem is that something is too obviously wrong. Too many diplomats and politicians on this side of the Atlantic now believe that the U.S. is simply too divided to stand alone in the world for much longer. It is too riven and aggrieved, shorn of a unifying cause. Oddly, the weirdness of the moment normalizes America. It is becoming just another country, richer and more powerful than the rest, but less so than it was. So is this how greatness ends—not with a bang, but by being sullied and made normal?" https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2021/01/donald-trump-us-capitol-europe/617584/ "Political donations, especially the $5 or $10 hits on ActBlue or WinRed, make “you feel good about yourself. It takes five seconds. And you feel like your identity is that you’re the good guys, you’re smart, and the other side is evil and stupid,” Eitan Hersh, a political scientist at Tufts University, told me. This is what politics has become in America: not a means to implement policy goals or improve people’s lives, but an expression of hatred for the other side." https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/01/money-spent-georgia-senate-runoffs/617545/ Book: Uncivil Agreement: How Politics Became Our Identity Uncivil Agreement: How Politics Became Our Identity: Mason, Lilliana: 9780226524542: Amazon.com: Books