(Jessica Lehrman - NYT)
When you’re stuck wrestling a shit-covered bear, a little water, a towel, and some potpourri are considered big wins and help brighten the day.
I know, folks, the bar is very low, so bear with me. (See what I did with “bear?” That’s why you all pay me the big money.) But we all need some optimism for the next several years and every small ray of progress, accountability, and decency is life-affirming medicine. I don’t know about you, but I refuse to be cynical, apathetic, gloomy, and miserable 24-7. It’s just not sustainable.
For most of us, we understand Donald Trump’s second term is going to be chaos on steroids. Republicans are a great oppositional party, but they are terrible at governing and you can bet they’ll tank the economy. There’s also the threat of violence from right-wing militias, the mainstreaming of fascism thanks to the supplicant GOP that has turned into a Trumpian cult, climate change which Trump thinks is a hoax, gun violence, the potential threat of another pandemic, and every establishment entity bending the knee instead of resisting right-wing authoritarianism.
But, other than that, the trains are still (mostly) running on time (kind of, but not really)!
Political analyst, author, and commentator David Rothkopf of the Need to Know substack has his eyes wide open and understands the dire threats of Trump’s presidency to our democracy and nation, however, he also says there are enough examples of resistance that should give us hope for a potential rebound and reset. Today’s announcement that Matt Gaetz will no longer be seeking the role of Attorney General due to his sexual abuse scandals is a positive sign that even Republicans aren’t willing to indulge every item on the nihilistic Trump wish list from hell.
Is Rothkop’s optimism delusional or is he on to something? Grab a chai, give us a listen, and find out! (Also, pardon my face, I’m currently enduring Bell’s Palsy and have some minor paralysis. Hopefully, it all heals up soon enough inshallah.)
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