Nothing Will Ever Be The Same

It's Time We Start Acting Like It

Before I get to my essay today, I offer two mea culpas:

1. I’ve been preaching to take deep breaths and not jump at every Trump outrage. I felt steam come out of my ears as I read about the Republican administration’s arbitrary funding shutdowns.

2. I’ve said multiple times that, while Donald Trump may be a lizard in human form, there are very smart people around him. Today’s incompetence puts paid to that notion. They’re ideological zealots, but they’re no geniuses. The truth is, as Hal Holbrook told us, these are not very bright guys, and things are getting out of hand (and will further unspool.)

Now, on with the show…

I’ve seen a couple of pieces that claim we’re at an “inflection point.”

The Oxford Dictionary definition is: A time of significant change; a turning point.

We have turned. The last decade we were inflected. We’re fully inflected. The inflection is now just a reflection in the rearview mirror of recent American history.

We’ve transited into a new era, epoch, period. Call it Mid Trumposcene.

Donald Trump is taking the tech (and authoritarian) mantra “move fast and break things” to heart. What he did yesterday, in the next 100 days or the next 100 weeks will reverberate for at least the next 10 or 20 years.

Like a tsunami, we all stood watching the water rushing away from us, dumbfounded. Now the ocean has returned, rushing over us, knocking down structures in its path and sweeping people off their feet, carried along by its force.

Trump’s raging rapids are still rising, as they will for the coming weeks and months. At some point we’ll reach some equilibrium, such as it is in our new reality. Those with their heads still above water, or who were able to get to high ground (I love this metaphor, can you tell) will have the challenge, opportunity, and responsiblity to begin rebuilding.

As the waters will recede, we’ll see the true extent of the damage The blight could be extensive, and we should prepare as though it will be. If we assume that all we’ve known: Governmentally, politically, socially, and culturally, has changed, then what can we do to project out what needs to happen next?

“And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That what this storm’s all about.” - Haruki Murakami

Let me start with the gratuitous. The Republican Party I grew up with, as I’ve known for many years, is dead and gone. No one should county on any of them to ‘do the right thing’ or ‘vote their conscience.’ Even Mitch McConnell’s vote against Pete Hegseth last week only came after he knew that Haircut McGee would be confirmed.

To my Democratic friends: You deserve better than your party. Our country does, too. There is no leadership, no thought, no fight left in anyone with any level of authority, standing or responsibility.

I ask the Chuck Schumers of the world to heed George Patton’s words: “Lead, follow, or get out of the way.”

The party has not been, nor is it now, ready to contend with what has befallen us. If it was, Trump wouldn’t have been elected president twice. While you figure out what meeting to schedule next, the rest of us will get to work.

To the rest of us: Watch and learn from the last few days. The administration’s actions in this first week are already reverberating out into the countryside. I’ve already heard stories of individuals having to scramble as Medicaid portals were shut down. (No worries there, I’m sure Dr. Oz will come up with a miracle cure when he runs the place.)

Start communicating with your friends who are most affected by these actions. Make sure you’re communicating with local reporters, news outlets, and online influencers to make sure that their viewers, readers, and listeners are hearing what’s going on and how to protect themselves.

We must get back into our communities, have conversations, and find those leaders who will carry us for you. I know some of you reading this are already leading fights in your own right. We need you to recruit a few more.

If you’ve considered running for office in the past, give it another hard look. The only think I can promise you is that it will be exponentially harder than you imagine. However, as we look ahead to state and local elections in 2025 and 2026, we cannot and must not let ANY Republican politician, ANYWHERE (I don’t care how red the state) run unopposed.

Friends, readers, countrymen: A new era is beginning in America. The institutions, structures, and parties that guided us for the last 250 years are worn out, weakened, and unprepared for the future. BUT WE CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

I’ll have more to say how you can get directly involved very soon. In the meantime, keep the faith.

News and Notes:

Listen to the latest edition of the Home Front Podcast. This week, journalist Abigail Tracy and I break down the first week of Trump 2.0.

Go to Sez.us and join the social media network where YOU decide what you see and who you hear from. Now in the Apple App and Google Play stores.

Now is the time to sign up for the future! Go to JoinTheUnion.us and join us today.

Programming note: The Home Front Book Club is coming in February. Tune in for our first read!