The events of the last week have captured the news media, the commentariat, and the online amateur philosopher sites — TwitteX and suchlike. Though they are connected, I think therein lie two separate compelling stories. Here, I hope to tell both of them, separately.
If you must know, the politician I admire the most was nevertheless wrong about most issues: William Jennings Bryan. So sticking up for Lincoln is not something I do from ideology, or if it is ideology, it’s only in the broadest possible sense. The country we have now, if there is something to preserve, we owe it to Mr. Lincoln.
Last night, Russia launched its largest drone attack yet in its war against Ukraine. Vladimir Putin does not want peace, he wants victory. And, as China’s ceremonial flexing this week emphasized, he’s not the only one. If President Trump wants to be the peace president, time is running out.
I’m more proud to be a neoconservative now than I was in the loftiest days of the second Bush administration. A little lonelier, sure, but as strange as it may sound, I’m hoping Elon Musk can bring America back to the party.
I’ll just illustrate something I’m on about, and maybe someone will get it. Bearing in mind that my opposition to Trump and all his insanity is loud, consistent, and well-known. I saw a commercial in the summer of 2024 by Trump — and I hoped I was wrong — but that’s when I knew the presidential election was over. The commercial said, “Kamala Harris cares about ‘they/them’; Donald Trump cares about you.” That’s when it ended.
One of the things I find most appealing about the Japanese anime art form is that you often hear characters encourage others by saying “Do your best!” Or characters who have been worried recover their courage and with renewed resolve lift a fist into the air and declare, “I’ll do my best!” Some of us remember when you didn’t need to watch a cartoon from overseas to find that sentiment expressed. In fact, it wasn’t all that long ago when it was expected of each of us, all the time. No longer.
This week, a Christian friend shared a new claim about an alleged health cure based on an event that never happened. Another shared what the briefest of searches would have revealed was a falsehood about a political foe. The short-term “win” is often a long way from the truth.
This is likely a week we will remember as the beginning of something truly awful. The only question, really, is how awful.
Is it acceptable to admit I’m conflicted? In our polarized society, it may not be, but I am. I’m talking about the president’s Easter Declaration and feel utterly conflicted about it.
Sanity. That is all most Americans want. Neither political party is willing to humor us and that makes them equal owners of our ongoing plunge.