As Trump continues to flood the zone with executive orders and brainless pronouncements designed to commandeer our attention while he attempts to install autocracy as our operating system, I’m reminded of the typology of trauma response. When pursued by a sabre-toothed tiger, we are told, our ancient ancestors experienced the same three impulses that beset …
In 2018, the egregious Trump strategist Steve Bannon—erstwhile investment banker, Hollywood executive producer, and cofounder of Breitbart News—was interviewed by the writer Michael Lewis, who inquired about the Trumpists’ strategy to vanquish the Democrats. “The Democrats don’t matter,” Bannon said. “The real opposition is the media. And the way to deal with them is to …
You know which political insult I hate the most? It’s when people talk about “pearl-clutching.” This is a left phenomenon, usually arising relation to someone being shocked by something the speaker finds unshocking. (“Snowflake” has a similar connotation: too sensitive and delicate for the real world; a weakling.) The image it evokes is so strong …
Like just about everyone I know, Wednesday started with a bad mood. In the interests of actually sleeping Tuesday night, we decided to block all incoming news, distract ourselves, and pull up the covers early. When I woke up, I imagined the delight I would feel when I saw the headlines proclaiming Kamala Harris President. …
This is the first of two essays I am writing about a new book that I love (yes, love!): We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite. This one derives a lesson strongly related to the upcoming election from Musa al-Gharbi’s sweeping analysis of “symbolic capitalists.” My dream is that some …
I have been thinking a lot about people who are deciding that not voting in the upcoming presidential election—or voting for a spoiler party with no chance of winning—is the only righteous thing to do in November. I have been searching for some way to express my hope that they will awaken from that belief …
I’m recuperating from arthroscopic knee surgery I had earlier this week. Not sure if it’s the pain or the drugs that are giving me a somewhat distanced perspective on our national shitshow of a presidential campaign, but suddenly the whole thing has the aspect of a miniature landscape viewed from a great height. As nearly …
In normal times, I fantasize that something I see or say might help save the world. I’m aware of the grandiosity of my ambitions—and their psycho-spiritual roots—but what can I say? “An ill-favoured thing, sir, but mine own,” wrote Shakespeare. But when the current pandemic hit a triple (virus, climate crisis, and response to violence …
There is only one thing I am absolutely sure of when it comes to the future: people who don’t get their hopes up will never see their hopes realized. Nothing can be created that has not first been imagined. It may be slightly tacky to quote oneself, but since they say that all the cells …
On Friday, my virtual residency in arts ethics with Francois Matarasso ended with a Zoom conversations with 70 or so participants. I really enjoyed it (and a gratifying number of participants said they did too). If you would like to view the video of that conversation or listen to the audio, you can find links …