ABSTRACT
This chapter begins during the Reconstruction Era following the Civil War with a historical overview of frightening or fear-inducing stereotypes of racial, religious, and political identities that were used to motivate or stimulate grievance and revenge up through the emergence of the Cold War following WWII at the height of McCarthyism. This is shadowed by a debunking of the bipartisan myths about law and order as well as about crime and crime control from the 1940s through the 2022 midterm elections. A critique of limitless campaign spending and partisan politics is then presented as a rationale for publicly financed elections. Next, the dynamics of the 118th Congress are explored to foreshadow the next Trumpian White House with or without the Corruptor-in-Chief should that materialize in 2024 or 2028. The chapter finishes with an outline of the unfinished business of American democracy.
