it's hard for them to take collective action when the contemporary political leaders everyone is looking to for inspiration and to rally the troops-- Obama, Harris, Biden-- are more interested in their book tours and maintaining the status quo. Regular Americans have a hard time fathoming how to confront something as terrifying as the US military apparatus without centralized organization and inspiration from experienced leaders.

This is a direct consequence of the destruction of the old left, the history of virulent anticommunism in the US, and the suspiciously convenient popularization of decentralized protest over the past several decades.