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"Grotesque subservience" is what _creates_ authoritarian environments.

Meh, so does violence and conquest and coups. Certainly there's a feedback cycle between them, but the path to autocracy has many forks. Again it's the rule of law that's the exception, not autocracy.

> That this has not been historically true in the United States is the notable outlier.

So, bootlicker, got it.

And yes, it is very much a character thing...

It's still a character thing, though.

To be clear: it's not a notable character thing. Yes, yes, some people are uncorruptible paragons who'd never bend to the will of an autocrat, not matter the personal cost. Most of us aren't. Bezos isn't. The notable people are the paragons, not the bland rule-followers.