I have just finished a long article in Truthdig by Chris Hedges that explains what has happened to our politics and nation. It is an older article so I include the link here:

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/sheldon-wolin-and-inverted-totalitaria...

This article should be required reading for every American. It describes our current state of affairs perfectly and succinctly. Here is a crucial paragraph:

Inverted totalitarianism is different from classical forms of totalitarianism. It does not find its expression in a demagogue or charismatic leader but in the faceless anonymity of the corporate state. Our inverted totalitarianism pays outward fealty to the facade of electoral politics, the Constitution, civil liberties, freedom of the press, the independence of the judiciary, and the iconography, traditions and language of American patriotism, but it has effectively seized all of the mechanisms of power to render the citizen impotent.

Because it describes the situation so well and thoroughly, I'm going to stop writing. I hope you will begin reading.