Politically and emotionally, it’s been a dark week / week-and-a-half. I suspect that’s the point of the new administration: create in groups and out groups and demoralize, terrorize, and exhaust the out groups. Part of their strategy to ram through their agenda, regardless of how unpopular it may be, is to cause so much disruption and chaos, to light so many fires, that those in opposition won’t know where to start. Do shit that’s illegal. Do shit with reckless abandon. Tie everyone up in litigation and analysis, but do so much of it so quickly that people feel both stunned and helpless. Shock and awe, but on the American people. Perhaps emboldened by a Supreme Court decision that has given immunity to a sitting president, the POTUS has already taken several actions that would otherwise be deemed illegal. We have moved well-past the violations of political norms that marked his first term.
This tactic of generating chaos works because our media landscape and how we consume media has shifted radically over the past twenty years. This tactic works because thanks to a fractured media environment further complicated by AI, we now have the attention span of squirrels trying to cross a freeway but we’re not even sure which cars are real or how many lanes exist. Skit skat, back and forth, splat. Some of what we’re seeing today was articulated by the George W. Bush era/administration when a senior white house aide (who many believe was Karl Rove) spoke with author and journalist Ron Suskind:
The aide said that guys like me were ‘in what we call the reality-based community,’ which he defined as people who ‘believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.’ […] ‘That’s not the way the world really works anymore,’ he continued. ‘We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors…and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do’.
That, very succinctly, sums up our current situation. We’ll act, you’ll study and oppose and litigate, and while you’re busy doing that, we’ll act again. If not fully extinct, endangered is the notion of a government for and by the people.
As an example of this in action, historian and writer Heather Cox Richardson does a fantastic job of recapping and putting into historical context the major political events of the day. But in an era when most Americans are getting their news from memes on Facebook (which has made clear it’s not in the business of fact checking) or Fox News (which has said in a court of law that then host Tucker Carlson’s commentary, “cannot reasonably be interpreted as facts”), there is little room or appetite for measured analysis and context. As vital as it may be for understanding the current moment and as accessible as the writing may be, Richardson’s judicious analysis is probably seen by many Americans as egghead, ivory-tower, woke fake news. And as we study what they do, they’ll continue to act, lie, and create new realities.
Lying, some would argue, has always been a part of the political landscape. Politicians have always been suspected, and often been accused, of talking out of both side of their mouth. What has changed, is that we used to be able to hold liars accountable. Our politicians, for the most part, held each other accountable. Our government had checks and balances. We used to have an independent press that served as a watchdog against the excesses of power. None of those things exist in the ways that they used to exist. Now, an entire political party has been hijacked by a demagogue. Our checks and balances (most notably the Supreme Court) has been stacked on one side and bought. Our media has, in some cases, bent over backwards in their both-sides approach to reporting, and in the worst cases, has outright run with the lies and presented them as fact (let’s not forget that the federal government controls the weather and Haitians were eating dogs in Ohio.) The amount of bat-shittery that has been passed off as the truth is staggering. We have endured years of gaslighting, and it’s only getting worse.
Amidst all of this, perhaps the media’s greatest failing is in believing in, and reporting on, a serial liar. The foundation of democracy, and any relationship, be it romantic, friends, business, community, or government, is based on the understanding the both parties are telling the truth and that facts exist. Like Charlie Brown hoping to kick the football, time and time again, our media reports on what the Tr*mp administration says as though he/they have credibility. And because the landscape and pace has quickened to milliseconds and been completely overrun by profits tied to clicks, corrections and accountability after the fact are often swamped by the newest outrage. Twain said, “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.” In the modern information/attention economy, I suspect the lie circles the world several times and is then lapped by another lie, while the truth is still putting on its shoes in its attempt to chase down the first lie.
Two headlines from October 2024 (just before the election), one from The Guardian (which usually does solid work) and one from Politico (which is more suspect) both repeated Tr*mp’s claim that people associated with Project 2025 would be blacklisted from working in the administration. The Guardian’s headline reads, “Trump team says it will blacklist Project 2025 people in sign of plan’s toxicity” and Politico’s headline reads, “Trump team preps list of banned staffers.” A month later, after the election, Politico’s headline read, “Trump fills his next administration with Project 2025 authors” But by that time, the election was over, the orange man had lied his way into office, and we had moved on to new outrages like taking Greenland and the Panama Canal, and a slate of unqualified cabinet choices (there was a lot of talk about Matt Gaetz when that second Politico headline was published). Giving a platform to a serial liar lends legitimacy to the lies and ultimately has consequences.
…Then last night, as I was doomscrolling (which I really need to stop doing), came the news that the administration has ordered a freeze on all federal grants and aid. Again, the country awoke to chaos (and yes, I suspect these late night orders and press releases are strategic in their timing – intended to disorient us, keep us in reactionary mode, and cause chaos the following day). As the AP reported, “Chaos ripples through country as Trump orders federal funding freeze” – a headline that has since been changed to “Federal judge temporarily blocks…” The larger point here is that we have a sociopath in the White House intent on causing disruption to every system in our government with very little concern for the rule of law or the consequences. While it would be correct to state that he has neither the patience nor the mental acuity to be making half of the decisions he’s making (as exemplified by his response to administration staff debating which J6 criminals should or shouldn’t be released, “Fuck it. Release them all.”) making rash decisions that cause chaos isn’t a technical bug of this administration but is, instead, a design feature.
It’s been barely a week and the orange menace has violated the constitution (with his executive order overturning birthright citizenship), defied a 2022 law that required 30 days congressional notice of the terminations when he fired 17 inspector generals, started/threatened a trade war with an ally (Colombia), and has now usurped congresses’ spending authority (granted by the constitution) by instituting a funding freeze.
The net effect of all of this is one of exhaustion and resignation. More than once per day, I ask myself if any of the things I’m doing matter with so much chaos going on? Or perhaps more accurately, given the grave threats to our democracy AND our environment AND our freedoms, my efforts at making the world a better place feel akin to changing the curtains or re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Add to this, the brazen lawlessness embraced by this administration – releasing, pardoning, and sitting with known and violent criminals (the leader of the Oath Keepers was invited to sit on stage with the President at a recent rally), and I’m stuck wondering why should any of us play by the rules?
I’ve always known that the system was rigged. I have naively believed that constitutional and legal guardrails would prevent the rigging from becoming too lopsided. I have naively believed in, or wanted to believe in, concepts like fairness and meritocracy and justice. For most of my adult life, I’ve accepted the deal as a fairly rotten deal, but that by playing along, I can eek out a modest living and enjoy my time here on earth… and with any luck, I can put my modest skills and meager means to the benefit of other people – ease a little suffering, spread a little joy. But I got to be honest, the effort to participate in this system is becoming increasingly taxing under an administration that seems hell bent on increasing suffering and squashing joy. I have friends who tell me they don’t want to bury their heads in the sand, but they’ll be miserable if they pay too much attention. I have colleagues who remind each other to practice self-care. At some point though, when is enough, enough?
Wanting to have some sense of control, I recently unfriended the Tr*mpers in my social media feeds. Now, more than ever, I’m giving serious consideration to dropping out of most social media altogether… but these are small actions that, at best, will better align my life with my conscience. I’m pretty sure nobody else will notice. Beyond that, how does one boycott something like Google (who has agreed to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico on their maps)? How does one take a principled stance against companies like Salesforce, Microsoft, and Amazon whose tech has become part of our infrastructure, but whose CEOs have offered support to, and seemingly bowed down to, the current administration? Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Google, Tim Cook (Apple), Sam Altman (OpenAI) and many others contributed $1 million each to Tr*mp’s inaugural fund. The Washington Post, owned by former Amazon CEO Bezos, tanked their endorsement of Kamala Harris (even though it was written and ready to publish) stating that they would be getting back to their roots of not publishing endorsements… but later reversed course when their editorial board endorsed all but four of Tr*mps cabinet picks. Time magazine, owned by Salesforce’s CEO, has made Tr*mp person of the year (despite him being an adjudicated felon and sexual predator). The only excuse there is that Time had also had Hitler and Stalin as their person of the year…
It’s been a disheartening week-and-a-half and the news seems to get worse by the day. The flooded zone is only getting more flooded – and this is by design. These issues seem like they are of the utmost importance, and I, along with many people, feel powerless to address them.
Thanks Void, you’re a good listener, I’m sorry for screaming.