On Patriotism: How to Practice a Constitution
Playwright Tony Kushner wrote of “beautiful systems dying, old fixed orders spiraling apart” in the 1990s, referencing the changes palpable at the e...
Month: November 2016
There’s Precedent for All of This Except Everything
Donald Trump will put all his business dealings in a blind trust. Except it’s not a blind trust, because it will be run by his kids. Not to worry. It̵...
One Nation, Divisible
There’s no sugarcoating it. This is it. This is the end of a noble dream of progress, dreamt happily and fully still a week ago by those who thought the m...
Note to Self: Do Not Normalize the Trump Presidency
You’ve already heard and read much about what the stunning result of Tuesday’s U.S. election means. Opinions are about a-plenty, so I won’t ma...
After Trump, What Now? Tell True Stories Well
True stories save lives and change the world. Historians, cultural anthropologists and other students of the culture, ideas and inner workings of societies past...
History Rhymes: The Trumpian Moment And Its Jacksonian Parallels
Mark Twain is credited with all sorts of things he never said or wrote. He did not say “history never repeats itself but it rhymes.” That exact line...