On Shock and Flaw
My apologies for the delay in this week’s post. It’s been a hell of a week around here. As they say, “life happens.”
Like many of us, our recent political chaos has short-circuited my cranial bandwidth. I never intended for this to be a politically focused endeavor, but we must meet the moment at hand.
On he who shall not be named.
Once again, “he who shall not be named” has reared his ugly head, as manifest in this week’s announcement of his cabinet appointments.
The Circus is in town.
The nomination of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, and Matt Gaetz (who would have been more appropriately cast as finalists on “America’s Least Qualified”) to crucial positions in the emerging “Clown Car Cabinet” sent shockwaves through the political world.
While we’re at it, why not consider the recommendations of New Yorker cartoonist Bob Eckstein? They would certainly make things interesting.
Where did that come from?
We want to think that there is a simple and comprehensive answer to this question. It would be convenient if we could hold a single, agreed-upon culprit responsible for our looming dilemma. But, as is nearly always the case, a political crisis doesn’t just “happen,” and the cause is never just one thing.
Outside of the MAGA camp, of course, the nearly universal response to these potential appointments has been one of shock. I find these appointments to be repulsive. They are most certainly a threat to our Republic. But, to be shocked by them is to reveal a fundamental flaw in our thinking. Our soon-to-be “Lunatic-in-Chief” has shown and told us who he is since 2016. He has not been speaking in code or metaphorically, as some might argue. He has repeatedly and explicitly told us what he was going to do. If we are shocked, we haven’t been paying attention. The historian and Yale professor Timothy Snyder drove this home in a 2021 interview on David Zwirner’s Dialogues podcast when he asserted that “if we are outraged now, it is because we were looking away then.” His words still ring true today.
We are right to be alarmed. But we should not be surprised.
Some Food for thought.
Consider this piece from the great editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes.
Some help along the way.
Finally, I recommend three Substack authors who are better qualified than I am to comment on these complex issues. I have included links to their publications. The biographical notes come from their Substack biographies.
Heather Cox Richardson - is a history professor interested in the contrast between image and reality in American politics. She believes in American democracy despite its frequent failures.
Timothy Snyder - is an American historian of Europe and a public intellectual on both continents. Among his books are On Tyranny and Bloodlands, which appear in new editions in 2022.
Robert Reich - is a retired Professor, writer, former Secretary of Labor, and author of The System, The Common Good, Saving Capitalism, Aftershock, Supercapitalism, and The Work of Nations. Co-creator of "Inequality for All" and "Saving Capitalism." Co-founder of Inequality Media.
This list is, of course, not comprehensive, but I think it’s a good start.
I hope these are helpful to you.
Until next time, breathe deeply. Resistance is not futile.
Ray