Snip, Cut, Buy And Muffle
There is right now so much bubbling beneath the surface in the United States, beyond the daily public outrages. Much of it is intentional and meant to overwhelm the structure and function of our government, but much of it also is meant to radically change and rearrange the entire society in which we all live, whether one likes it or not. Debate, discussion, analysis and compromise are not the intended goal. The trappings of democracy will be barely visible.
Some of us will be in total agreement for numerous reasons, some of us will resist in any way possible. Some of us of course will merely wait and see and weigh our opportunities and our chances, and many of us will simply be confused and not move at all. But regardless, there will likely not be “peace in our time.”
It quite obviously has a lot to do in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022. Health Affairs, a medical journal, found that from May to August 2022, vasectomies jumped by 95 percent and tubal sterilization by 70 percent among adults aged 19 to 26.
JAMA (Journal of American Medical Association) reported last year that the increase in permanent contraception procedures among 18 to 30 years increased significantly. After Trump’s election Planned Parenthood of Northern New England reported a 368 percent increase in “consultations” for vasectomies. Franziska Haydanek, a OB/GYN in Rochester, New York, stated that, “now we’re seeing a huge increase in the number of couples who think the world is too awful a place to bring children into.” (Source: Population Connection, Vol 57, March 2025)
The irony of course is that it is the young men that have been targeted by Trump and many conservatives for special treatment, in order to bring back manly virtues, breed the right kind of children, reestablish paternalism and so forth and so forth But this yapping has been heard before at many times and in many places.
For me personally, one of the greatest examples of good public policy was the establishment of our national park system, which really got its official start with President Theodore Roosevelt in the early 20th century. Over the years groups of individuals, especially in the West have tried to privatize public lands. They have consistently failed but not for lack of trying. Trump and gang are trying again to destroy this national legacy. This group of predators are worth confronting tooth and nail. See, Republicans Aim to Generate Support For Selling Off Public Lands
I suppose I think of it as simply authentic freedom, which means for me, understanding individual responsibility and consideration for those one disagrees with. It’s easy to say and difficult to carry out. It is I think why many of us ultimately accept authoritarianism in one form or another. It requires us to “accept” of course but its promise is to provide a degree of security and certainty. Oh so beguiling and comforting is it not?
(1) A case quietly working its way through the Supreme Court. It’s about charter schools, public schools and specifically religious institutions. Oh and it’s about your tax dollars. It’s about separation of church and state. See, The urgent Supreme Court case that's not getting your attention
(2) For those of you that subscribe to The Atlantic, I recommend that you read Trump’s Attempts To Muzzle the Press Look Familiar. It’s worth reading if you want to learn something about where some of Mr. Donny’s ideas come from. In this case it’s from the Hungarian autocrat Viktor Orban, who Trump know quite well. It’s a playbook about how to destroy a free media in general and thus get rid of democracy.
(3) On PBS this coming Tuesday March 25 is the show Frontline, with a special entitled “The Rise and Fall of Terrorism.” Keep in mind that public television and public radio are now in Trump’s crosshairs.
(4) Can you imagine the collapse of Higher Education in America? Let me rephrase that. Can you envision an overarching censorship, a control over what can be said, what can be taught and what can be expressed? See, The Authoritarian Endgame
(5) Be very careful what you say citizen. No I’m not speaking of a foreign country. See, Inside Trump;s crackdown on dissent.
(6) It has always been divided here in America. See, America's Fatal Division Is Nothing New.
Seeing It
Heather Cox Richardson, the American historian, is for me a kind of national treasure. She has a way of telling the story of America, its history and its connections that make sense to not only for people like me with a history background, but for folks that are simply interested and curious about how we’ve stumbled along for over the past 200 years or so. I’ve put up a talk she gave March 11. See, Heather Cox Richardson
Of course the biting comments of John Oliver are worth watching. See, U.S. Immigration Detention a Disgrace
(Just scroll down to the video)
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