It makes me sad to agree with you - it wasn’t a fluke that we reelected Trump, this IS what people wanted. I’m 68 years old and I always knew there was a dark side of America (KKK, etc), but I always believed it to be a small minority. The America I grew up in was strong, but also proud and generous. I keep thinking that eventually most Americans will snap out of this, with some combination of grass roots movement and a young inspirational leader.
We have a long history of contradictory behaviors. And we seem to be leaving behind all epochs of past. What will come next a hard guess and at moment not comforting
It is time to stop, describe, observe the ground shifting forcibly, uncontrollably beneath us.
Thank you, Anand, and to your son, for doing so, clearly and beautifully here.
Note: even the Wall Street Journal editorial board is on board, naming and describing the dark, seismic shift, the dangerous realignment to a pre WWII world order. It is time we get clear that we are on a sinking ship and taking on water in shark filled seas.
Another thought of many: why are diversity, equity and inclusion being lambasted as dangerous and illegal? These principles create opportunities for productive and enriching school, work and community experiences for all...why are schools and businesses and elected leaders under assault for doing what is just, right and productive for all? The alternative to DEI is homogeneity, unfairness and exclusion not named or explored. Who would want or celebrate H.U.E -- homogeneity, unfairness and exclusion? Really? I don't think so.
The more we name what these brutes, cons, kooks and criminals are selling and the sweeping damage we are facing right now, the less appealing and the more repulsive we can see that they and their agenda are.
Name it all, explain it all, in real time, and let's work to put a stop to the intentionally incoherent and mind numbing cruelty of the hostile takeover of our country.
We need to stop getting baffled by their bullshit and stand up together for the country and the principles we believe in...Let's work together to put this disgraceful and tragic epoch in American life and history where it belongs, in the trash heap of history.
The dark side of America has been with us since the Jamestown colony in Virginia. What's happening now is that people feel emboldened to fully show who they are. This is what people voted for. Let them reap what they sow.
This is brilliant. America is these dark sides and these light sides. I think the strong support for the dark side rises in part from all the work we have been doing in last few years to bring the dark side into consciousness, to examine our history. 1619 may have just been too much for the people who want to have nostalgia for our love of freedom and justice without confronting the violent cost of colonization both in the past and in the present. Trump played on all this. Blaming him and Musk and Co won't solve the problem. Looking at ourselves, as you suggest, is what we will need to do. Who are we? What do we stand for? What are we willing to die for?
Anand, thank you! Beautifully spoken, a chef’s kiss to Orion for the piano accompaniment. I’m currently struggling not to be too cynical, I currently feel like we’ve replaced American yes we can optimism and ingenuity with white Christian nationalism and an oligarchy run by mediocre white men.
The music was masterful! Thank you Orion for hitting just the tones at just the right moments to emphasize the importance of the message. Brilliant!!♥️🎶♥️
As a European with family members living in the US, I shudder at the thought of them living in a climate of « meanness and smallness and cruelty and cynicism and solipsism », as aptly described by Anand. This is what defines America today. This is why Europe needs to break away from what has now become, in the minds of many Americans, a transactional business relationship. Europe still believes in democratic values and in commitment to its allies. Our respective views are glaringly incompatible.
Thank you, Anand, for your excellently written and clearly insightful essay. I just read that despite everything that has happened since Trump took office, his approval rating still stands at 48 percent—another shocking statistic that highlights what the US has become. Perhaps I’m being naive, but I believe a small percentage of Trump voters may be experiencing buyer’s remorse.
When my friend Richard Skolnik, a public and global health expert, published a video on the deadly consequences of dismantling USAID, I began collaborating with him on a series of posts/ads that clearly demonstrate how the Trump administration's actions will negatively impact every American. Here’s the first one:
I plan to continue this series, with the second one featuring the headline: A New Pandemic—Courtesy of the New Trump-Musk Administration. In addition to focusing on medical issues, I want to tackle topics like environmental damage and economic consequences. I could really use some help in generating more ideas, writing copy, and getting these messages out to as many people as possible.
Let me know if you're interested in collaborating or can suggest others who might be.
I literally cried this morning when I read about the order to stop all cybersecurity plans to protect us from Russian hacking and which also included the teams that secured our voting machines.
I am really sick of hearing people say this is what people wanted - and I'm sick of trying to converse with MAGA minds too. I think only a small percentage wanted the total destruction of our government and even wonder if they were smart enough to know the full consequence of that. The rest of those who voted for him were duped into thinking this con man, KGB asset, traitor to America was actually going to do something for them.
Thank you for so eloquently calling out the cultural roots of the moment we are in. This is the tragic culmination and moral corruption of the Reagan revolution's economic project, though the addiction to external validation is something that cuts across political ideology. But this may be a crystallizing moment, when enough of us realize how far we've drifted from who we can be so that the wave starts to roll in the other direction. I believe the majority of people in this country don't actually want to live in this kind of culture. The influencers-followers dynamic is insidious because it makes people think the noise is the signal, and we'll only correct that if we can break the psychological hold of entertainment media technology so that we use the tools (or make new ones) for education and critical thinking rather than continue to be manipulated by them.
This post convinced me to finally be a paid subscriber. Also, I saw you on MJ trying to get Tammy Baldwin to snap out of it when you said that people don’t feel defended. You actually gave her a great suggestion. Sadly, she was clueless. Thank you for the honesty & thoughtfulness of your words & the piano was perfect! 🙏🏻
Your recommendation on Morning Joe to the congresswoman was lost in translation to an extent because there is no precident for a spokesperson for the minority party who is charged with the responsibility of "ministering" to democrats at large. Extreme times demand extreme solutions. We are lagging behind Russia; Gary Kasparov said this morning that Putin's propaganda is so extensive that Ukraine doesn't even exist for primary school kids in Russia.
Thank you for asking Senator Baldwin the question, what and how are the Democrats figuring out a unifying message to share with those Americans who are "undefended," which is a perfect description. I was so disappointed in her response, you definitely pushed her, but she only shared what any Congress would do when they are in the minority. These are very different times.
It makes me sad to agree with you - it wasn’t a fluke that we reelected Trump, this IS what people wanted. I’m 68 years old and I always knew there was a dark side of America (KKK, etc), but I always believed it to be a small minority. The America I grew up in was strong, but also proud and generous. I keep thinking that eventually most Americans will snap out of this, with some combination of grass roots movement and a young inspirational leader.
We have a long history of contradictory behaviors. And we seem to be leaving behind all epochs of past. What will come next a hard guess and at moment not comforting
This is sad, beautiful and so true. Thank you for writing it and for how you are using your voice and spirit.
It is time to stop, describe, observe the ground shifting forcibly, uncontrollably beneath us.
Thank you, Anand, and to your son, for doing so, clearly and beautifully here.
Note: even the Wall Street Journal editorial board is on board, naming and describing the dark, seismic shift, the dangerous realignment to a pre WWII world order. It is time we get clear that we are on a sinking ship and taking on water in shark filled seas.
Another thought of many: why are diversity, equity and inclusion being lambasted as dangerous and illegal? These principles create opportunities for productive and enriching school, work and community experiences for all...why are schools and businesses and elected leaders under assault for doing what is just, right and productive for all? The alternative to DEI is homogeneity, unfairness and exclusion not named or explored. Who would want or celebrate H.U.E -- homogeneity, unfairness and exclusion? Really? I don't think so.
The more we name what these brutes, cons, kooks and criminals are selling and the sweeping damage we are facing right now, the less appealing and the more repulsive we can see that they and their agenda are.
Name it all, explain it all, in real time, and let's work to put a stop to the intentionally incoherent and mind numbing cruelty of the hostile takeover of our country.
We need to stop getting baffled by their bullshit and stand up together for the country and the principles we believe in...Let's work together to put this disgraceful and tragic epoch in American life and history where it belongs, in the trash heap of history.
The dark side of America has been with us since the Jamestown colony in Virginia. What's happening now is that people feel emboldened to fully show who they are. This is what people voted for. Let them reap what they sow.
This is brilliant. America is these dark sides and these light sides. I think the strong support for the dark side rises in part from all the work we have been doing in last few years to bring the dark side into consciousness, to examine our history. 1619 may have just been too much for the people who want to have nostalgia for our love of freedom and justice without confronting the violent cost of colonization both in the past and in the present. Trump played on all this. Blaming him and Musk and Co won't solve the problem. Looking at ourselves, as you suggest, is what we will need to do. Who are we? What do we stand for? What are we willing to die for?
Anand, thank you! Beautifully spoken, a chef’s kiss to Orion for the piano accompaniment. I’m currently struggling not to be too cynical, I currently feel like we’ve replaced American yes we can optimism and ingenuity with white Christian nationalism and an oligarchy run by mediocre white men.
The music was masterful! Thank you Orion for hitting just the tones at just the right moments to emphasize the importance of the message. Brilliant!!♥️🎶♥️
As a European with family members living in the US, I shudder at the thought of them living in a climate of « meanness and smallness and cruelty and cynicism and solipsism », as aptly described by Anand. This is what defines America today. This is why Europe needs to break away from what has now become, in the minds of many Americans, a transactional business relationship. Europe still believes in democratic values and in commitment to its allies. Our respective views are glaringly incompatible.
GREAT JOB ORION!!!
Thank you, Anand, for your excellently written and clearly insightful essay. I just read that despite everything that has happened since Trump took office, his approval rating still stands at 48 percent—another shocking statistic that highlights what the US has become. Perhaps I’m being naive, but I believe a small percentage of Trump voters may be experiencing buyer’s remorse.
When my friend Richard Skolnik, a public and global health expert, published a video on the deadly consequences of dismantling USAID, I began collaborating with him on a series of posts/ads that clearly demonstrate how the Trump administration's actions will negatively impact every American. Here’s the first one:
https://immigrantsareus.org/Tuschman-030225-2.pdf
I plan to continue this series, with the second one featuring the headline: A New Pandemic—Courtesy of the New Trump-Musk Administration. In addition to focusing on medical issues, I want to tackle topics like environmental damage and economic consequences. I could really use some help in generating more ideas, writing copy, and getting these messages out to as many people as possible.
Let me know if you're interested in collaborating or can suggest others who might be.
I literally cried this morning when I read about the order to stop all cybersecurity plans to protect us from Russian hacking and which also included the teams that secured our voting machines.
I am really sick of hearing people say this is what people wanted - and I'm sick of trying to converse with MAGA minds too. I think only a small percentage wanted the total destruction of our government and even wonder if they were smart enough to know the full consequence of that. The rest of those who voted for him were duped into thinking this con man, KGB asset, traitor to America was actually going to do something for them.
Thank you for so eloquently calling out the cultural roots of the moment we are in. This is the tragic culmination and moral corruption of the Reagan revolution's economic project, though the addiction to external validation is something that cuts across political ideology. But this may be a crystallizing moment, when enough of us realize how far we've drifted from who we can be so that the wave starts to roll in the other direction. I believe the majority of people in this country don't actually want to live in this kind of culture. The influencers-followers dynamic is insidious because it makes people think the noise is the signal, and we'll only correct that if we can break the psychological hold of entertainment media technology so that we use the tools (or make new ones) for education and critical thinking rather than continue to be manipulated by them.
This post convinced me to finally be a paid subscriber. Also, I saw you on MJ trying to get Tammy Baldwin to snap out of it when you said that people don’t feel defended. You actually gave her a great suggestion. Sadly, she was clueless. Thank you for the honesty & thoughtfulness of your words & the piano was perfect! 🙏🏻
Your recommendation on Morning Joe to the congresswoman was lost in translation to an extent because there is no precident for a spokesperson for the minority party who is charged with the responsibility of "ministering" to democrats at large. Extreme times demand extreme solutions. We are lagging behind Russia; Gary Kasparov said this morning that Putin's propaganda is so extensive that Ukraine doesn't even exist for primary school kids in Russia.
Thank you for asking Senator Baldwin the question, what and how are the Democrats figuring out a unifying message to share with those Americans who are "undefended," which is a perfect description. I was so disappointed in her response, you definitely pushed her, but she only shared what any Congress would do when they are in the minority. These are very different times.