> This is an obviously impossible burden to load on someone, and I think you know that.
Oh yes, I very much do know that, it is why I asked the question.
> If democracy is legitimately lost in America, it will happen via a series of events that we today cannot conceive of.
I don't know about that, it depends on the level of precision you would require in predictions. That the future is unknown, and causation is extremely complex, are kind of my regular talking points, for which I am downvoted to negatives on quite literally every single post I make on this website.
The reason I ask difficult questions that cut through rhetoric (or "load impossible burdens on" people who engage in rhetoric), is because I actually take these matters seriously. This isn't a game, not entirely at least. The situation at the US Capitol is "a big deal" in my books, and but one of a very long string of big deals. Others proclaim to share this belief. And yet, if they are asked to speak truthfully and precisely, free of rhetoric and framing, they can't bring themselves to do it. There seem to be very few people who are willing or able to respond to simple but precise questions, to state their beliefs in unambiguous and unequivocal terms.
You don't put a man on the moon with vagueness and rhetoric, you do it with precise measurement and conformity to reality. Rhetoric can get you a very long ways in politics, but eventually Mother nature will prevent you with a bill for the party. It seems to me that we are nearing that point. It may take another decade or two, but we will pay for our actions, eventually.
> It is more useful to think events like the Capitol incident as causing long-lasting damage to democracy
I'm open to the idea, I really am. I hear all sorts of people making this claim, but very little of the supporting reasoning.
Perhaps starting with a definition of the phrase "damage to democracy" would be a good idea. I have no idea what that means.
> and there is a non-negligible possibility that societal schisms will widen, as opposed to heal. What that will look like in the future is anybody's guess.
Yes indeed! The societal schisms sure have widened because of this, and it was utterly predictable. That a large group of angry, extremist Trump supporters was on its way that day was very well known. And yet for some unknown reason, security was incredibly light that day. Was this an unfortunate oversight? Maybe. Maybe not. Will this be seriously investigated, or will it get the standard circus of rhetoric in the press? We shall see what happens, and we shall see if anyone cares if a proper investigation, that truly seeks The Truth, is performed.