A Word About the World Today

My book collection and this website have always been about history. I am a passionate believer in the value of preserving that history and in learning about and from it. And I have always believed in the importance to our shared societal values of recognizing and celebrating the thinkers and leaders of the past (warts and all) who have made our world a better place than it would have been had they not acted as they did when they did.

But I am acutely aware, and indeed sick with worry, about the current state of this country and its future direction. I cannot and will not remain silent.

To put it very bluntly: I believe Dumpy Trumpy and his fascist lackeys are doing everything they can to destroy the laws, institutions, customs, norms, manners, and international relationships that have made this country, imperfect as it is, a leader and a beacon in this world. This applies not just to the environment, but to the very fabric of our country.

I am not going to spend time listing the abuses of this administration - suffice to say that this post was specifically spurred by this week's action by the EPA to reverse the 2009 bedrock scientific determination that climate change endangers human health and the environment.

I am angry. And I am not just angry with this administration - I am angry with the people who elected him. In 2016 one could make a (weak) argument that one might not really know what Trump represented. In 2024, no such argument exists - every voter knew exactly who and what he is, and he is now doing exactly what he promised to do. I am angry at Biden and the Democratic Party for completely screwing up the primary process to choose a presidential candidate. I am angry at the Supreme Court for converting the once most respected branch of government into an absolute fucking mockery. And I am angry with Congress for dropping the bar for the least respected branch of government as low as it has been in many decades, if ever.

I despair. After the past year+ of carnage, nearly 40 percent of Americans still believe this administration is doing a good job. If anything augers ill for the long-term future of our republic, it is that fact. Trump cares about absolutely nothing but himself. Period. He doesn't even try to hide it. Yet people believe he cares about them and about this country. I am sorry - these people are...misguided [not my initial choice of adjective, but if we are ever to repair anything I suppose we will need to start with civil discourse]. The other side, not incidentally, is also very flawed - all too often they are self-righteous prigs who need to learn (among other things) that intolerance in defense of tolerance is insultingly stupid. But I believe they mostly care about this country and the people in it.

I worry. I believe that the chances of this country continuing its recent tradition of (mostly) free and (mostly) fair elections are very low indeed. I think there is a higher probability that Proud Boys and ICE agents are deputized this November to provide federal "security" at voting sites in blue areas of swing states than that a dark-skinned person will have the ability to walk in and vote unintimidated and unmolested at one of those same voting sites.

When I talk to people about this, they inevitably say that this country has been through worse crises (referring mostly to the Civil War), and will get through this period too. I am not so sure. The Civil War was much worse in terms of human suffering - and of course in the implications for the enslaved peoples of the South had the North lost. But I am not at all certain that even the Civil War represented the same level of threat to our underlying system of government that we face today. At worst, we would have had a smaller democracy. I fear that going forward, we will have no democracy at all.

The digital and AI revolutions to my mind exacerbate the risks, because people can and increasingly do live in a digital world of their own construction, ignorant and indifferent to the world around them. Situational awareness, empathy and social skills are increasingly rare. I believe our country requires a bedrock of shared historic knowledge and cultural values to thrive, or even survive. I have no faith that the technological journey we are on will do anything but further weaken these foundations. [Incidentally, I use no AI in the generation of this website. That will make both me and this site increasingly anachronistic over time. So be it. I've been called a lot worse.]

My wife and I were actively involved, in various ways, in trying to get Harris elected (despite the imperfect process through which she became the nominee) in the 2024 election. If there are elections in 2026 and 2028, we will support of the opposition again. But even if I am overly pessimistic and one day we see a return to responsible government run by people whose first loyalty is to this country rather than themselves, it will take a long time indeed to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. I just pray we get the chance.

If that happens, I hope the history and lessons of the environmental movement, and even in some small way this project of mine, might help guide the way.