Almost anything but sit there politely because it's "protocol" and "custom." And whatever you do, do it as a block. The Republicans step in line no matter how offensive and ridiculous the line might be. For once the democratic party needs to show it can be unified in opposition.
A lot of people are so busy just trying to survive their day to day that caring about politics looks like an act if privilege. Particularly when they feel they have no power and no one in their corner.
It is striking how many of the policies of this administration harkin back to the late 1800s - an era of hoarded wealth amd massive social inequality. It isn't a "golden age" they are reaching back to, it is the Gilded Age.
Compared to the inhumane practices of the previous century it was a radically humane approach. Compared to today's practices it was patronizing, restrictive, unsuccessful, expensive, and often times damaging. The asylums proved expensive and soon found overcrowding to be a common solution.
The staff were to act as a strong patriarchal family. The patients were encouraged towards contact with nature and physical labors (such as farm work). This is the origin of America's asylum system. These "Mad Doctors" claimed extraordinary cure rates (spoiler: they were fake).
Much like the focus upon "toxins" and "Terrain Theory" (also popular among MAHA) "moral treatment"was popular throughout the 19th century. "Mad Doctors" like William Tuke and Thomas Kirkbride argued that the "mad" needed compassionate care and resocialization in an institutional setting.
Did you know that RFK's proposed "Wellness farms" for the mentally ill have been tried before? Like so many of the ideas in the MAHA movement it isn't a new idea, it's an old one - 19th century old! "Moral Treatment" was all the rage at the turn of the 19th century. Let's dive in!
