I became a reporter because I wanted to understand people different from me. Then I gave in to a culture that tells us to reduce others. One day, my friend called me out
This is a brave statement of self-reflection that should be heeded by every serious journalist, particularly those who disengaged from on-the-spot, first-hand reporting to join the cushier, bloated ranks of the punditry. As a former national journalist from a bygone era, I've watched with dismay the relentless march of opinion trafficking into the once separated arena of reporting. It has infected our most august news outlets like the NY Times and Washington Post and has contributed mightily to the loss of the trust they and so many of their traditional peers once enjoyed. And of course it has helped fuel the toxic polarization that has led to our present political discontent. Anand speaks of re-animating empathy for his subjects, for seeing everyone as fully human, not just as pawns in the ether of the algorithm-driven internet. I'll suggest reviving something simpler: old-fashioned curiosity, the desire to explore unfamiliar - possibly hostile - territory, to discover, to be surprised. Anand also decries the certitude he acquired from his high perch in the commentariat. Here's another word for it: complacency. I look forward to his new book.
It is a truth too often forgotten, that our duty as moral and spiritual beings is to hate the sin and love the sinner. When we confuse the two, we alienate ourselves from our own humanity and become a part of that sin. In fact, this may be the actual original sin. Our politics and our culture, both of which thrive on and nurture ever-shorter attention spans-- through the media which each uses to infect our hearts and minds-- teach us to personalize animosity, in the name of political and social effectiveness.
I think it cannot be easy to be a journalist who doesn't personalize. We are too accustomed to regarding gossip as news, and vice versa. "Who, what, when, why?" As a journalist, how do you escape such a mindset? Perhaps
it is more about avoiding animosity than about avoiding the questions. But it's probably helpful to keep in mind that one does not have to give up conscience or truth or right and wrong to give up animosity.
When I was in graduate school, we would sometimes self-derisively refer to Sociology as "slow journalism."
From what I read, you were both a damn good journalist at a really fine sociologist.
I agree that our society and culture were a fertile medium for an opportunistic virus like Trumpism.
However the good news is that the culture that's made by us can be unmade by us. Thanks for being a strong advocate and reporter who can put the choice clearly before us.
I don't pretend to have consumed more than a small fraction of your essays and opinion pieces, but you have never struck me as someone who had anything other than respect and humanity for all. I do think there is a place for certitude and the proselytizing of that certitude when it comes to discussing / condemning moral and political atrocities, which are committed by this administration and its enablers/supporters to a degree and at a frequency that turns the stomach. Yes, 'hate the sin but not the sinner'; however, when the sinner is unrepentent and persists, indeed revels, in his/her unconscionable behavior, well . . .
In 2016 I was saved from descending into hate by a sermon on Bayard Rustin. The UU minister said Rustin called for the rabid racist Mississippi Senator Eastland to be loved, “and the way we should love him is to take away his power.”
Excellent! Just think how truly miserable a person must be to behave the way those currently in power are behaving. Can you imagine what profoundly sad lives they lead? Taking away their power would not only help those they harm (all of us) but would set the limits they need personally, like a child needs limits. Let’s do that.
I'm inclined to say that Trump embodies a character type which is dangerous to democracy and that character IS hateful. "We are the problem" in the sense that we Americans gave him the attention he craved and the platform he needed to be elected. Were we more concerned with virtue and wisdom, were we less bored by the good and more bored by entertainment, spectacle and gossip, we would not find ourselves in this predicament. Moral compasses may not offer the thrill and drama of continuous online content; but they do offer reliable guidance and orientation on how to be better people.
Thanks, Anand. I've read others of your books, followed your Substack for a while, love your writing and had refrained from ordering The Man in the Mirror. When I read this post today, I was compelled to order it now. One of the things I admire most about you is your vulnerability, your sharing with your readers not only your process (many writers do that) but what's behind them, your motivations, your frustrations and your doubts. Few writers are willing to demonstrate their humanity in the way that you do. You are a special talent, and a special human being.
Oops—my sponsor taught me to struggle with the word Humble. I learned that Humility is Self-Knowledge and that is something humans must learn and relearn.
Thank You for bringing me to that place w your essay.
Hi Anand, SO excited for your book. I'm especially interested in how you've changed and grown from this experience so I can deepen my commitment to our wacky world with less judgement. You already have good emotional intelligence vibes so I expect you will wow me. No pressure!
A while ago I heard you say that the way we go about helping through philanthropy and charity is from the top down. An angle I had never considered and yes, a structural problem. This resonates with me since in my career as a CPA and a tax professional I've been a strategist/technician and as I have grown I am also a student of the psychology of money. I know we can overhaul US policy through raising our consciousness and opening our hearts and discovering our humanity through economic justice. That would be game changing.
Anand, I have only been following you for a couple of years so I can't speak from much authority, but I don't see what you're talking about. For as long as I've been listening to and reading you you've been extremely thoughtful and seem to have gone out of your way not to judge people with whom you disagree. You never cut people off or belittle anyone. And from what I can see, you bend over backwards to be fair and inclusive. But if you say you haven't been those things, I have no choice but to believe you.
That said, I am really looking forward to reading and listening to the book. You've really whetted my curiosity. I do just ask one thing though: please don't insult my hometown. We're not all googly-eyes moonies here in LA. Many of us are actually quite sane.
Thanks for your courage to look inward. And I fully agree: DJT is a symptom of and a metaphor for our failings as a hyper-individualistic society. I’m old enough to remember when “the commons” were common. I’m excited to read your book for so many reasons - and I thank Sam for nudging you toward your greatest gifts.
Dear Anand, I subscribed to The Ink in November 2020 and have read with great curiosity, appreciation, and understanding, all that you’ve shared these (almost) six years! And I want you to know that this is the post that has moved me the most and made me the happiest! Your honesty, humility, clarity, and compassion so shine through! And dare I say it, more beautiful than anything, is your deep LOVE for every one - your devotion to the truth of our humanity alone and together. Loving you all these years yet never more than today! Blessing you and Sam. I am so looking forward to my two signed copies! Christina xoxo
Anand -- regarding the Sept 30 interview. For those of us distant from NYC, it is possible to create the ability to purchase a ticket which allows us to hear the interview via zoom or some other remote platform? Thanks.
Hi Anand! Looking forward to your new book and I will pre-order. The story of your journey is very moving. Your willingness to let us see the honest struggle you have gone through is a gift to us. I am not surprised that a person with your public exposure and sense of justice might develop some strong us/them kinds of feelings. I am also not surprised that you totally suited up for the job of deep digging into your heart for the truth of your being. Your passionate connection to the humanity of people permeates everything you do. My favorite book of yours is The True American. It went right to the bone. You have been very supportive to me in my struggle with politically divergent siblings. I lost 2 sisters in '24 and just lost a brother I was very close to. there are now only 5 Massie kids left of 9. My brother and I did not talk politics. I went to his funeral in Hawaii last month where I was immersed in his family: wife, kids, grandkids, a big Filipino bunch that are now my family. I was welcomed so warmly. All of these grown and young people missed their "Lolo" (Filipino for Grandfather.) I learned that my brother was a dad who could hold the bar high, but never put them down, hit them, or shame them. He listened, and was loved and grieved mightily. It was very direct confrontation with the reality that some of my brother's beliefs were terrible to me, but that he was the kind of father and husband that I have nothing but admiration for. "Both things can be true" is a cliche but it is what I am absorbing. I connected with another brother, and we came to a very good place with each other. One bro does not speak to me on account of my being a "Cultural Marxist and an anti-Catholic." (his words) A pretty big job for a grandma like me. I am doing my best to shoulder it. Thank you for your work. And God bless our friends who are truth tellers in the spirit of love. Your friend, Stephanie Massie Clark
"Donald Trump is not just a president. He is a culture. While only some of us have voted for him, all of us belong to that culture." So well said. For the same reason all Americans are connected to mistakes from our past—and can, when fortunate, partake in the country's prosperity—the man is the president of all of us.
Thanks looking forward to reading my signed copy.😊
I delivered mail in Boston and worked among the unhoused. I’m glad you’re starting this conversation. I’ve never had such visceral feelings about a president and the greed that surrounds him. I’ll definitely be reading and listening to everyone. Thanks again. Maddy R.
This is a brave statement of self-reflection that should be heeded by every serious journalist, particularly those who disengaged from on-the-spot, first-hand reporting to join the cushier, bloated ranks of the punditry. As a former national journalist from a bygone era, I've watched with dismay the relentless march of opinion trafficking into the once separated arena of reporting. It has infected our most august news outlets like the NY Times and Washington Post and has contributed mightily to the loss of the trust they and so many of their traditional peers once enjoyed. And of course it has helped fuel the toxic polarization that has led to our present political discontent. Anand speaks of re-animating empathy for his subjects, for seeing everyone as fully human, not just as pawns in the ether of the algorithm-driven internet. I'll suggest reviving something simpler: old-fashioned curiosity, the desire to explore unfamiliar - possibly hostile - territory, to discover, to be surprised. Anand also decries the certitude he acquired from his high perch in the commentariat. Here's another word for it: complacency. I look forward to his new book.
Thank you Charles
Don’t worry! No one will be getting it before 9/29. So you won’t be behind. And then, yes, many conversations we will have here!
It is a truth too often forgotten, that our duty as moral and spiritual beings is to hate the sin and love the sinner. When we confuse the two, we alienate ourselves from our own humanity and become a part of that sin. In fact, this may be the actual original sin. Our politics and our culture, both of which thrive on and nurture ever-shorter attention spans-- through the media which each uses to infect our hearts and minds-- teach us to personalize animosity, in the name of political and social effectiveness.
So well said
I think it cannot be easy to be a journalist who doesn't personalize. We are too accustomed to regarding gossip as news, and vice versa. "Who, what, when, why?" As a journalist, how do you escape such a mindset? Perhaps
it is more about avoiding animosity than about avoiding the questions. But it's probably helpful to keep in mind that one does not have to give up conscience or truth or right and wrong to give up animosity.
Yes. In the new book, I never say “I.” That’s one way
Arguably the one truly great book Norman Mailer ever wrote was the one that was not at all about him (The Executioner's Song).
When I was in graduate school, we would sometimes self-derisively refer to Sociology as "slow journalism."
From what I read, you were both a damn good journalist at a really fine sociologist.
I agree that our society and culture were a fertile medium for an opportunistic virus like Trumpism.
However the good news is that the culture that's made by us can be unmade by us. Thanks for being a strong advocate and reporter who can put the choice clearly before us.
Anand,
I don't pretend to have consumed more than a small fraction of your essays and opinion pieces, but you have never struck me as someone who had anything other than respect and humanity for all. I do think there is a place for certitude and the proselytizing of that certitude when it comes to discussing / condemning moral and political atrocities, which are committed by this administration and its enablers/supporters to a degree and at a frequency that turns the stomach. Yes, 'hate the sin but not the sinner'; however, when the sinner is unrepentent and persists, indeed revels, in his/her unconscionable behavior, well . . .
Yes that is what makes it complicated and a dilemma
In 2016 I was saved from descending into hate by a sermon on Bayard Rustin. The UU minister said Rustin called for the rabid racist Mississippi Senator Eastland to be loved, “and the way we should love him is to take away his power.”
I hold onto that clarity and bright line.
Excellent! Just think how truly miserable a person must be to behave the way those currently in power are behaving. Can you imagine what profoundly sad lives they lead? Taking away their power would not only help those they harm (all of us) but would set the limits they need personally, like a child needs limits. Let’s do that.
"I don't think Trump is the biggest threat to our democracy. I think we are."
Oof, that's a horse pill to swallow. Fine, I'll read your book.
I'm inclined to say that Trump embodies a character type which is dangerous to democracy and that character IS hateful. "We are the problem" in the sense that we Americans gave him the attention he craved and the platform he needed to be elected. Were we more concerned with virtue and wisdom, were we less bored by the good and more bored by entertainment, spectacle and gossip, we would not find ourselves in this predicament. Moral compasses may not offer the thrill and drama of continuous online content; but they do offer reliable guidance and orientation on how to be better people.
Thanks, Anand. I've read others of your books, followed your Substack for a while, love your writing and had refrained from ordering The Man in the Mirror. When I read this post today, I was compelled to order it now. One of the things I admire most about you is your vulnerability, your sharing with your readers not only your process (many writers do that) but what's behind them, your motivations, your frustrations and your doubts. Few writers are willing to demonstrate their humanity in the way that you do. You are a special talent, and a special human being.
Oops—my sponsor taught me to struggle with the word Humble. I learned that Humility is Self-Knowledge and that is something humans must learn and relearn.
Thank You for bringing me to that place w your essay.
Hi Anand, SO excited for your book. I'm especially interested in how you've changed and grown from this experience so I can deepen my commitment to our wacky world with less judgement. You already have good emotional intelligence vibes so I expect you will wow me. No pressure!
A while ago I heard you say that the way we go about helping through philanthropy and charity is from the top down. An angle I had never considered and yes, a structural problem. This resonates with me since in my career as a CPA and a tax professional I've been a strategist/technician and as I have grown I am also a student of the psychology of money. I know we can overhaul US policy through raising our consciousness and opening our hearts and discovering our humanity through economic justice. That would be game changing.
Anand, I have only been following you for a couple of years so I can't speak from much authority, but I don't see what you're talking about. For as long as I've been listening to and reading you you've been extremely thoughtful and seem to have gone out of your way not to judge people with whom you disagree. You never cut people off or belittle anyone. And from what I can see, you bend over backwards to be fair and inclusive. But if you say you haven't been those things, I have no choice but to believe you.
That said, I am really looking forward to reading and listening to the book. You've really whetted my curiosity. I do just ask one thing though: please don't insult my hometown. We're not all googly-eyes moonies here in LA. Many of us are actually quite sane.
Thanks for your courage to look inward. And I fully agree: DJT is a symptom of and a metaphor for our failings as a hyper-individualistic society. I’m old enough to remember when “the commons” were common. I’m excited to read your book for so many reasons - and I thank Sam for nudging you toward your greatest gifts.
Dear Anand, I subscribed to The Ink in November 2020 and have read with great curiosity, appreciation, and understanding, all that you’ve shared these (almost) six years! And I want you to know that this is the post that has moved me the most and made me the happiest! Your honesty, humility, clarity, and compassion so shine through! And dare I say it, more beautiful than anything, is your deep LOVE for every one - your devotion to the truth of our humanity alone and together. Loving you all these years yet never more than today! Blessing you and Sam. I am so looking forward to my two signed copies! Christina xoxo
Anand -- regarding the Sept 30 interview. For those of us distant from NYC, it is possible to create the ability to purchase a ticket which allows us to hear the interview via zoom or some other remote platform? Thanks.
Yes! There are virtual tickets available right there on the same website.
https://seats.92ny.org/single/210557?_gl=1*cymyvz*_gcl_au*Mzg1Mjg5NzkxLjE3ODU0MzMzNTc.*_ga*MjAxNjk3MzIzMS4xNzg1NDMzMzU3*_ga_SV9CMNFYCC*czE3ODYxMjUwMTckbzExJGcxJHQxNzg2MTI1MDE3JGo2MCRsMCRoMA..
Perfect! Thanks.
Hi Anand! Looking forward to your new book and I will pre-order. The story of your journey is very moving. Your willingness to let us see the honest struggle you have gone through is a gift to us. I am not surprised that a person with your public exposure and sense of justice might develop some strong us/them kinds of feelings. I am also not surprised that you totally suited up for the job of deep digging into your heart for the truth of your being. Your passionate connection to the humanity of people permeates everything you do. My favorite book of yours is The True American. It went right to the bone. You have been very supportive to me in my struggle with politically divergent siblings. I lost 2 sisters in '24 and just lost a brother I was very close to. there are now only 5 Massie kids left of 9. My brother and I did not talk politics. I went to his funeral in Hawaii last month where I was immersed in his family: wife, kids, grandkids, a big Filipino bunch that are now my family. I was welcomed so warmly. All of these grown and young people missed their "Lolo" (Filipino for Grandfather.) I learned that my brother was a dad who could hold the bar high, but never put them down, hit them, or shame them. He listened, and was loved and grieved mightily. It was very direct confrontation with the reality that some of my brother's beliefs were terrible to me, but that he was the kind of father and husband that I have nothing but admiration for. "Both things can be true" is a cliche but it is what I am absorbing. I connected with another brother, and we came to a very good place with each other. One bro does not speak to me on account of my being a "Cultural Marxist and an anti-Catholic." (his words) A pretty big job for a grandma like me. I am doing my best to shoulder it. Thank you for your work. And God bless our friends who are truth tellers in the spirit of love. Your friend, Stephanie Massie Clark
Thank you, Stephanie, for this beautiful message
"Donald Trump is not just a president. He is a culture. While only some of us have voted for him, all of us belong to that culture." So well said. For the same reason all Americans are connected to mistakes from our past—and can, when fortunate, partake in the country's prosperity—the man is the president of all of us.
Thanks looking forward to reading my signed copy.😊
I delivered mail in Boston and worked among the unhoused. I’m glad you’re starting this conversation. I’ve never had such visceral feelings about a president and the greed that surrounds him. I’ll definitely be reading and listening to everyone. Thanks again. Maddy R.