Most Mondays I write here about a single word or phrase that I’ve found timely or otherwise compelling. This week—well, one word doesn’t suffice. So I’m turning over the blog to other writers whose words have cut through the chaos and helped me find my bearings. Some of these pieces may be paywalled. Support journalism.
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“He has been dividing the country into us and them for as long as he has been in public. For them, a full-page ad calling for the death penalty. For us — go ahead and grab them by the pussy. His pitch has always been that some things belong to you not because you have earned them but because you did not have to earn them. They are your birthright, and to be denied them is an affront: Supreme Court seats, the presumption of innocence, deference from police officers, the presidency itself.” – Alexandra Petri, who usually writes humorously and satirically for the Washington Post, turned deadly serious in her January 7 column. The column’s headline is lifted verbatim from Trump’s address to the Capitol mob the previous day: “We love you. You’re very special. Go home.”
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Historian Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny and other books, wrote a long essay for the New York Times, “The American Abyss,” which was published on January 9:
These last four years, scholars have discussed the legitimacy and value of invoking fascism in reference to Trumpian propaganda. One comfortable position has been to label any such effort as a direct comparison and then to treat such comparisons as taboo. More productively, the philosopher Jason Stanley has treated fascism as a phenomenon, as a series of patterns that can be observed not only in interwar Europe but beyond it.
My own view is that greater knowledge of the past, fascist or otherwise, allows us to notice and conceptualize elements of the present that we might otherwise disregard and to think more broadly about future possibilities. It was clear to me in October that Trump’s behavior presaged a coup, and I said so in print; this is not because the present repeats the past, but because the past enlightens the present.
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“The Capitol Police made more arrests on each of the first three days of the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in September, 2018, than they did Wednesday,” writes Masha Gessen in “The Capitol Invaders Enjoyed the Privilege of Not Being Taken Seriously,” published January 7 in NewYorker.com.
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What should Biden and Harris do after they’re sworn in next week? “Usually ‘letting bygones be bygones’ is wise advice for individuals and for societies,” writes James Fallows in “Time for Consequences,” published January 10 in TheAtlantic.com. “Not in this case.”
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I did not vote for Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican who served two terms as governor of California (2003–2011), and whose celebrity-to-politico arc probably helped pave the way for Donald Trump. But this message is good, and if it reaches some otherwise unreachable audiences I’m all for it. I’d have nixed the sappy music, though.
My message to my fellow Americans and friends around the world following this week's attack on the Capitol. pic.twitter.com/blOy35LWJ5
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) January 10, 2021
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Finally: While branding may seem a trivial subject right now, I recommend this Adweek story about the decline of the Trump brand. “‘In terms of his brand, we know it’s deteriorated—you have financial evidence of that,” observed Hayes Roth, former CMO of Landor and now principal of HA Roth Consulting. ‘So it’s clear that the name has been tarnished from his early days as president. I’d say, without a doubt, after this [week’s events], his name is anathema. His power and his mental acuity are clearly waning. It doesn’t mean he won’t be a favorite [of some people] for years to come—but his brand I don’t think is going to survive.’” – Trump’s Name, Once a Brand, Is Now a Banner of Extremism
Happened to read the Snyder essay and then watch the Schwartzenegger video; they provided a stark contrast in two modes of persuasion, logic and emotion. Each can be effective for specific audiences. "American Abyss" was remarkable for its scholarship and perspective, as I had long sought an analysis of how so many members of Trump's party could support his use of blatant misinformation.
I was prepared to dismiss Schwartzenegger, whose past record for inclusive language has not been stellar, but was surprised to find myself grudgingly impressed.
Posted by: Duchesse | January 12, 2021 at 05:36 AM