Liberal Forum

Cannonpointer » 12 Jul 2024, 4:42 am » wrote: ↑

12 Jul 2024, 4:42 am

I just spent seven weeks in southern Brazil, where they are going thru a very similar thing to what we are going thru - and they insist the CIA did it. The "it" in question being that the cia supposedly installed biden-like Lula as their president, when trump-like Bolsonaro was the people's choice. Their Real was going up against the Dollar under Bolsonaro, and now, under Lula, the Real is going down (which helped me but sucks for them).

What I noticed mostly was how peaceful the people were in Florianopolis, how little threat of violence existed. Now, Rio is another story - but just being away from the US for that extended period in a place where zombies do not wander the streets reminded me of how inured we are to so, so, so much that is off on these shores.

The people seemed to have every bit as much freedom as we do, but never once did I apprehend their government or their press reminding them 200 times a day how free they were and how great and lucky it was that they were Brazilians. 

One thing I liked a lot - the thing I liked best about living in San Francisco in its better days - was not needing to own a car. When I lived in SF, I could certainly rent a car when I needed one, so it's not like I was stuck being a perpetual pedestrian reliant on public transport. I liked that the city was walkable and that small businesses proliferated (for now; Lula is working hard to kill them off). When you have all sorts of mom and pop shops specializing in different consumer goods, it makes shopping more pleasurable and keeps a city very walkable. Though it was very different in many ways, it put me in mind of the America I used to know: An America where small businesses were everywhere, and consumers genuinely had choices.