Considerations on the polemics and polity of the day- Brian Keeler
When Germany provides a model of forthrightness by standing up against fascism and lecturing Americans on the dangers of coddling neo-Nazis, we know that we are indeed in perilous times of an inverted universe. It comes down to simply knowing right from wrong and standing up for righteousness that should be obvious to any thinking person. Yet the DT has proven over and over again that he does not have any moral compunction to do the right thing. In regards to fomenting fascism, I am referring to the encouragement of Elon Musk for Afd- the far right party in Germany as well as Vance and Trump's similar encouragement of other thugs around the world. One can easily wonder what happened to American principles? In a word, as a consequence of this last election, we as a nation are now on the wrong side.
In fact it is worse than it seems and more onerous than our fears indicate. In the February 26, 2025 issue of the New Yorker Magazine, this is what Kaya Chaka observes. And it is a textbook definition of fascism- with a 21st century twist; Techno-Fascism.
"When a phalanx of the top Silicon Valley executives— Mark Zuckerburg,, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Google’s Sundar Pichai— aligned behind President Trump during the Inauguration in January, many observers saw an allegiance based on corporate interests.The ultra-wealthy C.E.O.s were turning out to support a fellow-magnate, hoping perhaps for an era of deregulation, tax breaks, and anti-“woke” cultural shifts. The historian Janis Mimura saw something more ominous: a new, proactive union of industry and governmental power, wherein the state would drive aggressive industrial policy at the expense of liberal norms."
Above- Melissa Blake addresses the attendees at the gathering for Indivisible Tompkins County- held at the Unitarian Church in Ithaca on Sunday, February, 23.
We don't have to look at current events in Germany or elsewhere on the world stage today as there have been dozens of transgressions here that should have sent the perpetrators burrowing- as they would in normal times with any person having a scintilla of integrity. We could think of Charlottesville, VA with our own homegrown thugs- the equivalent of Nazi Brownshirts, causing mayhem and driving their cars into protestors. The list is endless.
Could we hope that American democracy would provide a direction by offering a polestar of vision and virtue? But nay, our twerp of a VP, J.D. Vance came off disastrously in his recent speech to the leaders of the E.U. by insisting that his boss's cultural wars should be assumed by the Continent. This we might call anti-proselytizing by negative example. We are seeing an inversion of principles and priorities that have long supplied the bonding of the free world. We are reminded of the DT's similar debacle when he attended a conference with Putin during his first term and belly-ached about American intelligence, the CIA and maligned the FBI instead of calling out Russia for years of oppression. Then with Vance similarly complaining about freedom of speech, we are left breathless as the DT brings frivolous lawsuits against the American press – (specifically, the Des Moines Register and others) and he has long and continually bad-mouthed the press. The irony and duplicity is screaming at us.
Rest assured, as the vileness and atrocious policies roll out of the White House we can assume that they will only get worse and more absurd. Just imagine what our parents and fallen heroes of WWII would think of suggesting that we should consider an attack of a NATO ally. I am speaking of Trump's harebrained plan to attack Greenland or Denmark. Are you serious? was the understandble reply to this idea from the Danish Prime Minister. Worse yet, the latest news from the UN is that America is now aligned with North Korea, Hungary and Russia as the only nations that will not condemn Putin's brutal invasion of Ukraine.
Yes, put bluntly, the DT is simply a preposterous ass. And baffling as it is, so many transgressions and violations of principles that should have brought him down have slid off as they would on a greased pig wallowing in slop. Even the Supreme Court has effectively said he is above the law. What recourse is there? The fragility of the courts now seems like the last line against the plague of ignorance and viciousness.
As the title of the essay asks, can we really assume that our country has voted for these cruel and destructive inversions? It is hard to believe that Republicans and die-hard followers of the DT even expected this level of perversion. We as a nation have better and more urgent concerns than renaming the Gulf of Mexico or developing the war zone of Gaza with glitz.
As artists and appreciators of the arts we look on in dismay as the bastions of our nation's art have come under the propaganda of the autocrat in chief- The Kennedy Center in DC is now under the thralldom. What could be next? Will authors need to have their manuscripts edited for subversive content by Musk and crew? Will playwrights need to submit their work to DC for approval? Maybe even classic works chronicling oppression and racial intolerance will be pulled from our libraries. Imagine the virtue of Atticus Finch in to Kill a Mockingbird, or the Joad family in the Grapes of Wrath could now be blacklisted as too woke or part of DEI. I had a previous essay about woke in regards to the ancient Roman, Pliny the Elder.
Here's what Pliny said;
"Vita Vigilia Est" Life is being awake
We may recall the actors in the Broadway play, Hamilton, standing in protest, as former VP Mike Pence was in the audience. And the irony today, is that Pence has become one of the few lone wolves of principle in the Republican party- most recently calling out the DT on his flagrant lies about Ukraine starting the war with Russia. It is indeed an Orwellian time.
As an upshot, and to show the arts fighting back, a run of Hamilton was slated for the Kennedy Center in 2026, but it was cancelled by the shows creater. Lin-Manuel Miranda. Here's what he had to say, as quoted in the NY Times.
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“This latest action by Trump means it’s not the Kennedy Center as we knew it,” the show’s creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, said in a joint interview on Wednesday with its lead producer, Jeffrey Seller. “The Kennedy Center was not created in this spirit, and we’re not going to be a part of it while it is the Trump Kennedy Center. We’re just not going to be part of it.”
In regards to this despicable mandate of anti-woke that has obsessed the right- who came up with this appalling design that is nothing more than codified hatred? Should they be called "Slept" for being the opposite of awake to the needs of others. And there is the penchant for blaming everything on the Deep State. I have a rejoinder; these fanatics should be called the "shallow state" for their superficial appraisal. And then all this railing against the administrative state is equally ridiculous and destructive. Why wouldn't anyone want a government that competently administers?
Above- The irony of another time- In this 1937 photo by Margaret Bourke-White she captures the juxtaposition of the hype with the reality of victims of a flood in Louisville, KY.
These are indeed dark times. Some believe the current disasters are worse than anything we've experienced in our lifetimes: more so than Watergate, the Vietnam War, the Twin Towers attack on 9-11, Iran-Contra, or the previous two DT impeachments combined.
Take heart though, as we have seen some pushback. The response is nothing like the march in DC after the first election of the current POTUS. This election, after all, was a slim majority and it hardly represents a mandate. Yet by the degree of legislative assault on our democracy we are justifiably alarmed. On a grassroots level it is reassuring to see organized resistance. I have attended two inspiring rallies here in Ithaca in February organized by Indivisible Tompkins County. One gathering was on the Commons with several hundred braving freezing temperatures to hear inspiring speakers and to sing songs of hope. The other on Sunday at the Unitarian Church had an overflow audience to hear speakers and organizers speak out for social justice and rights of the oppressed. (See the photo at the top) The upshot was an effort to build functional coalitions and networking. The talk by Anna Kelles on the Commons was particularly impassioned and inspiring. The Indivisible groups have ongoing protests planned all across New York and every state has chapters.
The name Indivisible has resonance and should connect with many as it is part of our American principles. A nation undivided by the polemics and fractious partisanship and culture wars on certain groups of people or genders or sexuality is inherent in this name. In short, it is a principled effort with a vision of hope.
The news from the trenches is not inspiring, however. Whenever I read incisive and honest reportage from reliable sources without an agenda, like the NY Times, NPR, The Guardian and others - I have to pause realizing that millions of Americans are tuned into the lies of Faux News, Steve Bannon and a slew of rightwing conspiracy promoters. Now we have these spin perpetrators in the highest echelons of the government from deluded wackos like RFK, Jr, Kash Patel heading the FBI and others.
As Volodymyr Zelensky recently answered the DT's support of Russia by stating that he was in an information bubble- it might be good if we heeded Zelensky. There are a few FB posts that come through with a few remaining republicans (on my page) that show just how pathetic, misinformed and dangerous their admonitions are. And then there's the press in my hometown, which happens to be my family's newspaper since close to 1887. The editorial policy is decidedly right wing and tends to repeat talking points of various news outlets of that ilk. There has been pushback and letters taking to task the misinformation perpetuated there. One wonders what they read. We don't need to have the stuff of Breitbart News or Tucker Carlson regurgitated ad infinitum. As the DT has repeatedly demonized the press, called newspapers and other media the enemy of the people, it is hard to fathom any newspaper supporting him and repeating the party line of the current administration. This is the case in my hometown,\.
We are what we read- as the saying goes. Or one man's truth is another man's propaganda could be the aphorism for these divided times. I encountered the MAGA mentality from a tenant who was a veritable fusilade of stuff from faux news and mixed with evangelical inflections. He would often remark about my supposed naivete at not hearing the latest screeds out of these sources. Should I be up on the latest stuff out of Senator Jim Jordan's mouth or subscribe to the hatred like believing that everyone coming across the Mexican border is a violent criminal or from a mental institution? We heard these lies and the malarky about the cat eaters from the DT in the debates. But this is the stuff that they traffic in and promote.
The final irony, (well I think it is the final irony, but we know there's more to come) here is from a recent assertion from Trump that we are entering a new golden age. The dark comedy continues, as this would be risible if the results of his actions were not so tragic and destructive. And as the ironies compound and get more ludicrous and blatant, Europe is now finding new common cause as a result of the DT's backstabbing and disloyalty. So, there may be poetic justice and a silver linning to this bizarre time.
So in the end, I would invoke Pliny the Elder's words and hope for the science and facts that he espoused. I would also aspire for being awake, while considering Buddhist and Biblical principles of compassion rather than hatred and vengeance. Will my words convince anyone to abandon the DT and his policies? Probably not, after all the transgressions we've witnessed, if his followers are still on that ship there's probably no lifeboats to hop on. Still, we pursue our dreams and truth.
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