But you can do something. Keep exposing the lies and misinformation. Show people how their lives will be impacted by Trump’s presidency. Keep writing and telling the truth. Simplify it so anyone can understand. You have a gift for words and clarity. Continue to use it and maybe the outlet will keep your blood pressure (and Sophie’s) down! Xoxo
The root of our current political dilemma is RW Media. Specifically, FOX News--and its lesser imitators like Sinclair, OANN, etc.--that have completely embraced a tabloid form of journalism almost completely devoid of actual facts, where Dems murder (abort) babies after birth, and Haitian immigrants are eating beloved dogs and cats.
Barring some reappearance of the Fairness Doctrine, we need a "Truth in News vs. Opinion" law, that requires news shows to be one or the other, with the former required to adhere to actual journalistic standards, like 2+ sources regarding allegations, citations of actual studies, and so on.
If we wish to preserve our free-market representative democracy, we need to harness our collective creativity, stay healthy, and deepen our capacity to laugh at the absurd.
How many times does RFK Jr have to say aloud that he’s NOT anti vax? How does not studying why people ARE anti vax stop most people getting vaccinated? Lastly, why use the AP as a source since they have proven themselves to be a purveyor of leftist ideology and propaganda? Surely there must be a better source to be used?
There have been rare cases of deaths from vaccine side effects among children who are immune compromised, which is why it is recommended that they don’t get the vaccine. So he's not wrong.
You can choose to trust RFK over the CDC. I think that's an error in judgment. And one can assign blame to the CDC for eroding trust during Covid. But that doesn't change the numbers or the scientific guidance.
We all need to remember that unfortunately many children die of disease and there are tens of millions of children who take vaccines. Correlation is not causation, which is something that trips people up again and again.
His recent failed nomination for CDC director is further confirmation of his hostility--or at least aversion--to vaccines.
What he says regarding the deterioration of our collective health--mainly do to poor dietary choices--strongly resonates with me, due to my 30 years in healthcare. But his lack of medical training in understanding how vitally important many vaccines are-- like MMR--can and will produce some serious spikes in infant mortality.
He was anti-vax for how many years? And now, suddenly, he is not? Come on, he was trying to get confirmed, he'd say anything. And, no one would check him, and his supporters would automatically believe him, and he would be confirmed and he would carry out the wishes of those who wanted him as their puppet. And he'd go vacay in beautiful SoCal while folks were sickened and spreading the measles. How does he improve the health of Americans, which he said he wanted to do, while the admin he is a part of cancels the work of brilliant doctors and scientists?
David, I have been loving your Substack. I hope Debbie’s surgery goes well and your self inquiry leads to relief for you and our country. Here is my lengthy response to this very important issue I have great experience with:
I came to some dark places, at the edge of vitality and hope, after gaining momentum in focusing on what I did not like and in fact despised on the grand scale, wanting so deeply to change big things of my control, namely the lies of Covid and 911, and in personal relationships. but - what we focus on grows. resistance breeds persistence. it’s easier to start something than end something. when you focus on ending something you’re still focused on that thing. when we give a lot of attention to something we are giving fuel to it, and people and systems in power know how to alchemize any energy for fuel. this is why divide and conquer is hugely powerful; it provides for a lot of mileage. so I am learning the key is to practice each moment giving energy to the thoughts and things that I would like to see gain momentum, to what we want as opposed to what we do want. it is not about ignoring the issue we dislike but about knowing that this is universe of inclusion and expansion. we know this law when we say to a child don’t run and we see their being really only heard, “run!” the universe hears, “run”. this is why teachers often say now, “walking feet.” it works, but the kid still wants to expand and run. like the universe. so what are we making most enticing and interesting and fun to run towards? what is the momentum we want to build instead of the opposite. the universe is a creator first and foremost. I think this is why railing against reality as I see it instead of building the one I want feels so awful and draining of vitality. nature made it so, so we would create.
It’s always possible to learn more history. When Germany invaded Poland, Polish citizens thought Britain and France would send troops to defend them and they believed the war may not have escalated if they actually had. Poles fought hard on the Allied side, including the 63 day, Warsaw uprising, the deadliest resistance battle after Stalingrad in the century. And yet Poland was abandoned in the February 1945 Yalta conference when Europe was carved in two and Stalin got Poland. Most Poles feel the Allies abdandoned them at the beginning and the end.
You are right about Sudetenland in 1938.
If I might add as a Canadian, it’s not time to be Stoic. What is happening is a travesty of epic proportions. It affects my country and the world.
The diplomacy of 1939 was complex. At the same time that Britain and France gave Poland their unconditional guarantee, Britain was trying to forge an alliance with the USSR. Placing troops in Poland would have hurt that ultimately failed effort. The guarantee to Poland itself was remarkably unconditional:
"in the event of any action which clearly threatened Polish independence, and which the Polish Government accordingly considered it vital to resist, His Majesty’s Government would feel themselves bound at once to lend the Polish Government all support in their power."
Once Germany and the USSR signed their pact just days before Germany invaded Poland, the die was cast for Poland. That treaty divided Poland between Germany and the USSR. Any troops that the Allies might have sent before the war would have been lost. And there was no route to send troops after the war since they would have had to traverse Germany, the French were set up for a defensive war, and the British had not yet mobilized.
And armed conflict with the USSR in 1939 might have made it more difficult to be allies in 1941.
So I conclude that it would have been wrong to send troops.
Most people don't know that the Sudetenland is mostly mountainous terrain that the Czechs had fortified with bunkers, pillboxes, trenches, etc. during the interwar period. From Ostrava near the Polish border, all the way to the Austrian border, the Czech heartland (Moravia) was ringed on three sides by superb defensive terrain that could've held the Wehrmacht off for many, many months of fighting, or even repulsed them.
The Germans did not have the troops to both militarily breach the Czech defenses, AND hold off the French along the Rhine/Rhineland. Which was why they suckered Chamberlain into his folly. In much the same way DJT is throwing Ukraine under the bus right now, and will do with Taiwan in the near future.
There is a real debate among military historians about what would have happened if war came in 1938. I agree with you that the outcome would have been better for the world. Although the French were so set on defense that I’m not sure they would have been able to mount a proper offensive.
Part of Chamberlain’s misjudgment was due to an overestimation of German power, particularly in the air. It was unusual back then for countries to overestimate their forces. So people believed Hitler’s boasts. The British were racing after Munich to catch up, especially in the air.
After the Anchluss, Moravia was added to Czechoslovakia's effective borders militarily, and they repositioned their forces accordingly. There's no question--in my mind at least--that if they'd had to unilaterally fight off the Germans in '38 or '39 they would've lost. But such a fight would've cost the victors men and materiel, and accelerated the pace of rearmament of the Allies and Poland. In other words, it would have substantially moved events in the allies favor.
German industrial capacity, strategy and tactics 1936-45 is something I've studied extensively since adolescence. And spent literally thousands of hours wargaming on different platforms. Which are still simulations, but which allow accurate-ish recreations for "what-if" scenarios. The Czechs choosing to fight, being one of them.
Even a year later, in Fall 1939 when Hitler moved on Poland, he and the Wehrmacht High Command left only 12 of their 75 divisions along the French border, with a full 60 committed to Fall Weiss. Which was why younger French officers like De Gaulle pushed for a full offensive into Germany before the Germans could reposition their forces.
Right now Ukraine and Taiwan are the modern day equivalents of Czechoslovakia. For the former, we can only hope the EU can step it up enough to stave off a more serious Russian victory; and ultimately blunt or even reverse Putin's humiliating peace terms. For the latter, we can only hope Trump is out of office when the Chinese decide to attack, because I have little doubt he will give them Taiwan--and thus 70% of the planet's advanced semiconductor capacity--on a silver platter.
Their divisional TOE's were almost identical to many/most equivalent Wehrmacht units. If they'd dug in even one more infantry division at Sedan--with 2-3 more in reserve--they could've utterly blunted the decisive Ardennes penetration. The Germans were still advancing through the Low Countries, and could have quite likely amassed Army Group A and their other panzer divisions for a breakthrough later in the summer along the French-Belgian border. The Allies could've held out for another month or two; or even held the line entirely inside France proper. Either way, Germany would've paid dearly in men and materiel they could scarce afford to lose.
The French high command even after German panzer units were streaming across the Meuse was painfully slow to react and reposition reserve units held behind the Maginot Line to cauterize the breach. History has judged them as overcautious, timid old men that thought they were still fighting WWI.
All I can say is Poland lost 6 million (3 million Jews and 3 million non Jews). At the end they were handed over to Stalin and remained behind the Iron Curtain for 45 years.
I think there are parallels between hitler and trump.
Regardless abandoning Ukraine has serious implications for the world order. I realize this was not the point of your essay.
Czechoslovakia was abandoned and did not suffer the devastation that Poland suffered. I believe Poland lost more of its population than any other country in WW2. Tragedy upon tragedy.
It is nice to know other people feel this way, and aren't just turning away and trying not to think about it. I don't know what to do either. I've been getting so angry as well
Funnily, my husband asked me why I was being so testy and it dawned on me that it was a manifestation of the fear and rage simmering inside. You’re not alone (fortunately/unfortunately).
I’m a Brit. This year marks my 7th decade. I’m so sad all the time for Americans and for Palestinians, I worked in Palestine years ago.( occasionally I’m angry but it’s futile). What can we, from the other side of the pond do actively to stop the Trump Dystopia grow and spread. We are all tainted by association.
Thanks for the comment Carolyn. I didn't mention the treatment by Trump of our allies, which is also sad and enraging. As an American I apologize on behalf of my country.
“But then it happened. The Republican congressman, reaching for an historical analogy of appeasement, said that abandoning Ukraine to Russia would be like Britain and France abandoning Poland in 1939 to Nazi Germany.”
You know that even the undead corpse of this propaganda trope has been staked through the heart when even wealthy liberal people in Blue York are sick of it. It’s more played out than the Macarena, which shows how dull and out of touch politicians of both major parties have become.
On my side of the political divide, this Republican Congresscreature would be known as a Cuckservative. These are ostensibly conservative politicians who are rhetorically committed to preserving America and practically committed to furthering the interests of donors and various foreign countries, a policy known as ‘Invade the World; Invite the World.’ They mostly come from very solidly red states with docile voters mainly concerned with SEC football.
Hilariously enough, there’s a groundswell of anger on this side of things because Trump isn’t extreme enough, that the mass deportations are not mass enough, that DOGE hasn’t completely cleaned out all the slush fund sinecures like USAID, and that more isn’t being done to punish the people who waged aggressive lawfare against the right for the past four years. For my part, I’m patient, and I expect things to get better as time goes on. Housing will get cheaper. The regime of Woke will be broken. I can tell my students that they can look forward to a rebirth of American industry where young American men can actually flourish, instead of a system that prioritizes the proliferation of a servant caste of foreigners imported to code, clean houses and deliver food for the laptop class in big cities. I’m quite optimistic.
I really don’t think you have anything to worry about, and I can’t really think of anything Trump is advocating that would hurt your family. It’s not like there isn’t a precedent for this; were you significantly worse off in 2020 than you were in 2016 because of anything Trump did? Unless he gets sucked into a stupid war, I don’t how the general prosperity of the country could decrease.
On re-industrialization, I think that's going to be very hard as a driver of employment. Any new factories will be highly and increasingly automated because otherwise they won't be able to produce at affordable prices to consumers.
I hope you're right about Trump 2.0. I agree that his first term was more embarrassing than damaging. And I give him great credit for Operation Warp Speed.
I'm not a scientist or a businessman, but I think that the new industrialization will look very different than the old. I think you will see a combination of the gargantuan and the small, with machines and AI making it possible to have factory complexes dwarfing the facilities from the 40s, while 3D printing will make it possible to have cottage industries of local producers almost reminiscent of the 'letting out' or piecework systems of the early Industrial Revolution. With tariffs and immigration controls, this could- and should- represent a return to agency and financial security for workers.
Based on business experience, I don't see piece work coming back except for the arts. Ted Gioia writes well about that on his Sunstack.
You can impose tariffs and have trading partners retaliate but it's to everyone's loss because you can't issue an executive order outlawing the Law of Comparative Advantage.
The final fans of Reaganomics are Democrats. I know the theory, but the competitive advantage in practice seems to belong to the regimes with whom we run huge trade deficits and subsidize their own industries. Trump tariffs represent reciprocity more than protectionism.
By Reaganomics I mean the American variety of neoliberalism, birthed by the forebears of Cato, the idea that free trade would benefit everyone. It instead allowed a comparatively few people to get vastly wealthy as the whole economy became financialized allowing the people at to top to auction off a manufacturing base they didn’t build to a regime that would supply them with cut rate peon labor. The GDP goes up, the wealth distribution gets ever more unequal, and I can’t afford to buy the house I grew up in, that my dad acquired on a working-class salary. Trump got elected by people who hate Cato and everything it stands for.
I enjoyed David's essay here (as I enjoy most of his) but tend to agree with our Librarian here. We push for American Dynamism because for far too long, while we may have had decorum and good relations with our neighbors and allies (which we should strive to maintain, Ukraine included), we've been absolutely gutting ourselves from the inside due to a lack of leadership and action. That's been a bipartisan problem, and Trump, while not the vessel I would choose, certainly has a knack for identifying the many problems. Will he productively solve them remains to be seen.
If Trump/GOP were really serious about pumping American dynamism, they'd reinvigorate the Small Business Administration with funding, and let 10,000 entrepreneurial flowers bloom.
History will not likely be king to Trumpism. Unless they rewrite the books.
Thanks for this. My mind is racing as well. Stay sane and keep working. I don't have the resources you do, but seeing you come to grips with similar forces and issues is some consolation. Let's get through this together. I'm so happy to read your blog. It helps.
It's great to hear you are working on a novel and that's one positive way to deal with concern over what is going on. And great to hear family doing well as that is reassuring in terms of how one's or the collective future will go. I hope there is more research on Covid vaccines because my old school doctor advised no more vaccine shots after having six because of how it could adversely effect the heart as one gets older. I realize the vaccines are a choice and gamble with hopefully enough benefit to outweigh risk. It is great reading your thoughts as counterbalance to any and all fearmongering on either side. Any tilt towards reasonable practical solution is reassuring, welcomed and of some solace for these turbulent, tense times to mull and ponder our way through despite all the negative hullabaloo going back and forth seemingly over everything.
As a Canadian reading, it's surprising to me to hear a wealthy American saying "I can't fight back". You are in a unique position to be able to take risks that many other people cannot (because you are financially secure) and influence the groups of people that support and normalize what is happening. Your writing matters and you can fight back. Your thoughtful self-reflection show what it looks like to examine personal belief structures with curiosity and compassion, things the world needs right now. What we can do is different for everybody, but we can all do something.
Thanks Christine for the comment. I can and am helping people who are the most vulnerable to the deportation threats and cuts in Federal assistance. But the helplessness comes from knowing that my help is so small compared to what's being done. That won't stop me; it encourages me to do more.
And yes my writing is a way of fighting back. So I suppose I should have written that when I fight back it feels like a drop in the ocean. But it still counts so thanks for reminding me.
Laying on the sofa reading this as my ever-moody shih tzu, Travis, stares at me hoping I’ll do whatever it is he is silently pleading for and I’m reminded of my last conversation with grandfather then 95. It was 2015 and this Trump guy wanted to be president. What do you make of this guy, I asked, is this a joke? He replied, don’t get too invested in this stuff as it’s always been this way, just live your life as best you can. “Right now I’m just happy you’re here.”
I knew Trump 2.0 would be different than his first term. He is arranging everything to orchestrate martial law and eliminate elections. Period. He is trying to beat Hitler's takeover of Germany in 60 days. For the first time in my 62 years, expressing my opinions feels dangerous. My problem is when people lie to me I am insulted they think I am so dumb that I would credit them. And when politicians are incorrect, and/or lying, I am so mad they are in a position of power. I have no answers but I will continue to give monthly to various groups and people I hope will help us all. Best of luck with elbow surgery to your wife.
I am separated by a continent and still I find myself afraid of what devastation will be wrought by these dangerous men. At first I refused to enter the living room when the news was on and plugged my ears with my AirPods so I couldn’t hear them. I have also been avoiding political narratives here, but I am attempting now to be a little more stoic. I did not know the detail of Britain and France and Poland and Czechoslovakia - your letters are so often an education.
You are not the only one who takes history seriously... it's the truth that will set us free and it's the truth that will keep us free
But you can do something. Keep exposing the lies and misinformation. Show people how their lives will be impacted by Trump’s presidency. Keep writing and telling the truth. Simplify it so anyone can understand. You have a gift for words and clarity. Continue to use it and maybe the outlet will keep your blood pressure (and Sophie’s) down! Xoxo
Thanks Jen!
The root of our current political dilemma is RW Media. Specifically, FOX News--and its lesser imitators like Sinclair, OANN, etc.--that have completely embraced a tabloid form of journalism almost completely devoid of actual facts, where Dems murder (abort) babies after birth, and Haitian immigrants are eating beloved dogs and cats.
Barring some reappearance of the Fairness Doctrine, we need a "Truth in News vs. Opinion" law, that requires news shows to be one or the other, with the former required to adhere to actual journalistic standards, like 2+ sources regarding allegations, citations of actual studies, and so on.
If we wish to preserve our free-market representative democracy, we need to harness our collective creativity, stay healthy, and deepen our capacity to laugh at the absurd.
How many times does RFK Jr have to say aloud that he’s NOT anti vax? How does not studying why people ARE anti vax stop most people getting vaccinated? Lastly, why use the AP as a source since they have proven themselves to be a purveyor of leftist ideology and propaganda? Surely there must be a better source to be used?
Go to footnote 5. It's video of a recent RFK jr. interview with commentary from a leading epidemiologist.
The NIH studies that are being cancelled are aimed at increasing vax uptake. The quote is not AP but from the NIH itself.
Increasing vax uptake? Just curious what that means? Requiring vaccines the same way the Covid jab was required? Hmmm.
More like an examination of the psychology and other reasons behind vaccination-aversion. Some of which is probably just good old needle phobia.
Or is it all just a thinly disguised ploy by Lefties to steal our vital bodily secretions? You villl zign zee paperss!
RFK did indeed say that he's not anti-vax. He said it again in his confirmation hearing.
He said it but his post confirmation actions AND words have been anti-vax. See footnote five.
There have been rare cases of deaths from vaccine side effects among children who are immune compromised, which is why it is recommended that they don’t get the vaccine. So he's not wrong.
You can choose to trust RFK over the CDC. I think that's an error in judgment. And one can assign blame to the CDC for eroding trust during Covid. But that doesn't change the numbers or the scientific guidance.
We all need to remember that unfortunately many children die of disease and there are tens of millions of children who take vaccines. Correlation is not causation, which is something that trips people up again and again.
https://www.cdc.gov/covid/vaccines/immunocompromised-people.html
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4599698/
Deaths are rare but they do occur.
His recent failed nomination for CDC director is further confirmation of his hostility--or at least aversion--to vaccines.
What he says regarding the deterioration of our collective health--mainly do to poor dietary choices--strongly resonates with me, due to my 30 years in healthcare. But his lack of medical training in understanding how vitally important many vaccines are-- like MMR--can and will produce some serious spikes in infant mortality.
He was anti-vax for how many years? And now, suddenly, he is not? Come on, he was trying to get confirmed, he'd say anything. And, no one would check him, and his supporters would automatically believe him, and he would be confirmed and he would carry out the wishes of those who wanted him as their puppet. And he'd go vacay in beautiful SoCal while folks were sickened and spreading the measles. How does he improve the health of Americans, which he said he wanted to do, while the admin he is a part of cancels the work of brilliant doctors and scientists?
David, I have been loving your Substack. I hope Debbie’s surgery goes well and your self inquiry leads to relief for you and our country. Here is my lengthy response to this very important issue I have great experience with:
I came to some dark places, at the edge of vitality and hope, after gaining momentum in focusing on what I did not like and in fact despised on the grand scale, wanting so deeply to change big things of my control, namely the lies of Covid and 911, and in personal relationships. but - what we focus on grows. resistance breeds persistence. it’s easier to start something than end something. when you focus on ending something you’re still focused on that thing. when we give a lot of attention to something we are giving fuel to it, and people and systems in power know how to alchemize any energy for fuel. this is why divide and conquer is hugely powerful; it provides for a lot of mileage. so I am learning the key is to practice each moment giving energy to the thoughts and things that I would like to see gain momentum, to what we want as opposed to what we do want. it is not about ignoring the issue we dislike but about knowing that this is universe of inclusion and expansion. we know this law when we say to a child don’t run and we see their being really only heard, “run!” the universe hears, “run”. this is why teachers often say now, “walking feet.” it works, but the kid still wants to expand and run. like the universe. so what are we making most enticing and interesting and fun to run towards? what is the momentum we want to build instead of the opposite. the universe is a creator first and foremost. I think this is why railing against reality as I see it instead of building the one I want feels so awful and draining of vitality. nature made it so, so we would create.
Thanks Nina for your warm wishes and for your comment.
Thank you, David. Happy Spring. Sending my best wishes to you in this day, 3.20.
Thanks Nina.
It’s always possible to learn more history. When Germany invaded Poland, Polish citizens thought Britain and France would send troops to defend them and they believed the war may not have escalated if they actually had. Poles fought hard on the Allied side, including the 63 day, Warsaw uprising, the deadliest resistance battle after Stalingrad in the century. And yet Poland was abandoned in the February 1945 Yalta conference when Europe was carved in two and Stalin got Poland. Most Poles feel the Allies abdandoned them at the beginning and the end.
You are right about Sudetenland in 1938.
If I might add as a Canadian, it’s not time to be Stoic. What is happening is a travesty of epic proportions. It affects my country and the world.
The diplomacy of 1939 was complex. At the same time that Britain and France gave Poland their unconditional guarantee, Britain was trying to forge an alliance with the USSR. Placing troops in Poland would have hurt that ultimately failed effort. The guarantee to Poland itself was remarkably unconditional:
"in the event of any action which clearly threatened Polish independence, and which the Polish Government accordingly considered it vital to resist, His Majesty’s Government would feel themselves bound at once to lend the Polish Government all support in their power."
Once Germany and the USSR signed their pact just days before Germany invaded Poland, the die was cast for Poland. That treaty divided Poland between Germany and the USSR. Any troops that the Allies might have sent before the war would have been lost. And there was no route to send troops after the war since they would have had to traverse Germany, the French were set up for a defensive war, and the British had not yet mobilized.
And armed conflict with the USSR in 1939 might have made it more difficult to be allies in 1941.
So I conclude that it would have been wrong to send troops.
Most people don't know that the Sudetenland is mostly mountainous terrain that the Czechs had fortified with bunkers, pillboxes, trenches, etc. during the interwar period. From Ostrava near the Polish border, all the way to the Austrian border, the Czech heartland (Moravia) was ringed on three sides by superb defensive terrain that could've held the Wehrmacht off for many, many months of fighting, or even repulsed them.
The Germans did not have the troops to both militarily breach the Czech defenses, AND hold off the French along the Rhine/Rhineland. Which was why they suckered Chamberlain into his folly. In much the same way DJT is throwing Ukraine under the bus right now, and will do with Taiwan in the near future.
There is a real debate among military historians about what would have happened if war came in 1938. I agree with you that the outcome would have been better for the world. Although the French were so set on defense that I’m not sure they would have been able to mount a proper offensive.
Part of Chamberlain’s misjudgment was due to an overestimation of German power, particularly in the air. It was unusual back then for countries to overestimate their forces. So people believed Hitler’s boasts. The British were racing after Munich to catch up, especially in the air.
After the Anchluss, Moravia was added to Czechoslovakia's effective borders militarily, and they repositioned their forces accordingly. There's no question--in my mind at least--that if they'd had to unilaterally fight off the Germans in '38 or '39 they would've lost. But such a fight would've cost the victors men and materiel, and accelerated the pace of rearmament of the Allies and Poland. In other words, it would have substantially moved events in the allies favor.
German industrial capacity, strategy and tactics 1936-45 is something I've studied extensively since adolescence. And spent literally thousands of hours wargaming on different platforms. Which are still simulations, but which allow accurate-ish recreations for "what-if" scenarios. The Czechs choosing to fight, being one of them.
Even a year later, in Fall 1939 when Hitler moved on Poland, he and the Wehrmacht High Command left only 12 of their 75 divisions along the French border, with a full 60 committed to Fall Weiss. Which was why younger French officers like De Gaulle pushed for a full offensive into Germany before the Germans could reposition their forces.
Right now Ukraine and Taiwan are the modern day equivalents of Czechoslovakia. For the former, we can only hope the EU can step it up enough to stave off a more serious Russian victory; and ultimately blunt or even reverse Putin's humiliating peace terms. For the latter, we can only hope Trump is out of office when the Chinese decide to attack, because I have little doubt he will give them Taiwan--and thus 70% of the planet's advanced semiconductor capacity--on a silver platter.
The French military performance during WW2 will always be a mystery. I can only attribute it to a lack of leadership and morale.
Their divisional TOE's were almost identical to many/most equivalent Wehrmacht units. If they'd dug in even one more infantry division at Sedan--with 2-3 more in reserve--they could've utterly blunted the decisive Ardennes penetration. The Germans were still advancing through the Low Countries, and could have quite likely amassed Army Group A and their other panzer divisions for a breakthrough later in the summer along the French-Belgian border. The Allies could've held out for another month or two; or even held the line entirely inside France proper. Either way, Germany would've paid dearly in men and materiel they could scarce afford to lose.
The French high command even after German panzer units were streaming across the Meuse was painfully slow to react and reposition reserve units held behind the Maginot Line to cauterize the breach. History has judged them as overcautious, timid old men that thought they were still fighting WWI.
All I can say is Poland lost 6 million (3 million Jews and 3 million non Jews). At the end they were handed over to Stalin and remained behind the Iron Curtain for 45 years.
I think there are parallels between hitler and trump.
Regardless abandoning Ukraine has serious implications for the world order. I realize this was not the point of your essay.
Czechoslovakia was abandoned and did not suffer the devastation that Poland suffered. I believe Poland lost more of its population than any other country in WW2. Tragedy upon tragedy.
It is nice to know other people feel this way, and aren't just turning away and trying not to think about it. I don't know what to do either. I've been getting so angry as well
Thanks Naomi.
Funnily, my husband asked me why I was being so testy and it dawned on me that it was a manifestation of the fear and rage simmering inside. You’re not alone (fortunately/unfortunately).
Thanks Sri. There is comfort in knowing we are not alone.
I’m a Brit. This year marks my 7th decade. I’m so sad all the time for Americans and for Palestinians, I worked in Palestine years ago.( occasionally I’m angry but it’s futile). What can we, from the other side of the pond do actively to stop the Trump Dystopia grow and spread. We are all tainted by association.
Thanks for the comment Carolyn. I didn't mention the treatment by Trump of our allies, which is also sad and enraging. As an American I apologize on behalf of my country.
I'm surprised Carolyn's remark did not make you punch a pillow. Sad for the Palestinians and not Israelis? Really?
My comment was about Trump's treatment of our NATO allies and Ukraine. It had zero to do with Israel and Gaza.
I am sad for the Palestinian people AND I despise Hamas. Those two thoughts fit comfortably into my world view.
That’s a given but this reader did not mention Israelis. I would have pointed that out. People need to be educated.
That's a fair point, Carissa. And thanks for the wishes about Debbi's surgery.
“But then it happened. The Republican congressman, reaching for an historical analogy of appeasement, said that abandoning Ukraine to Russia would be like Britain and France abandoning Poland in 1939 to Nazi Germany.”
You know that even the undead corpse of this propaganda trope has been staked through the heart when even wealthy liberal people in Blue York are sick of it. It’s more played out than the Macarena, which shows how dull and out of touch politicians of both major parties have become.
On my side of the political divide, this Republican Congresscreature would be known as a Cuckservative. These are ostensibly conservative politicians who are rhetorically committed to preserving America and practically committed to furthering the interests of donors and various foreign countries, a policy known as ‘Invade the World; Invite the World.’ They mostly come from very solidly red states with docile voters mainly concerned with SEC football.
Hilariously enough, there’s a groundswell of anger on this side of things because Trump isn’t extreme enough, that the mass deportations are not mass enough, that DOGE hasn’t completely cleaned out all the slush fund sinecures like USAID, and that more isn’t being done to punish the people who waged aggressive lawfare against the right for the past four years. For my part, I’m patient, and I expect things to get better as time goes on. Housing will get cheaper. The regime of Woke will be broken. I can tell my students that they can look forward to a rebirth of American industry where young American men can actually flourish, instead of a system that prioritizes the proliferation of a servant caste of foreigners imported to code, clean houses and deliver food for the laptop class in big cities. I’m quite optimistic.
I really don’t think you have anything to worry about, and I can’t really think of anything Trump is advocating that would hurt your family. It’s not like there isn’t a precedent for this; were you significantly worse off in 2020 than you were in 2016 because of anything Trump did? Unless he gets sucked into a stupid war, I don’t how the general prosperity of the country could decrease.
On re-industrialization, I think that's going to be very hard as a driver of employment. Any new factories will be highly and increasingly automated because otherwise they won't be able to produce at affordable prices to consumers.
I hope you're right about Trump 2.0. I agree that his first term was more embarrassing than damaging. And I give him great credit for Operation Warp Speed.
I'm not a scientist or a businessman, but I think that the new industrialization will look very different than the old. I think you will see a combination of the gargantuan and the small, with machines and AI making it possible to have factory complexes dwarfing the facilities from the 40s, while 3D printing will make it possible to have cottage industries of local producers almost reminiscent of the 'letting out' or piecework systems of the early Industrial Revolution. With tariffs and immigration controls, this could- and should- represent a return to agency and financial security for workers.
Based on business experience, I don't see piece work coming back except for the arts. Ted Gioia writes well about that on his Sunstack.
You can impose tariffs and have trading partners retaliate but it's to everyone's loss because you can't issue an executive order outlawing the Law of Comparative Advantage.
The final fans of Reaganomics are Democrats. I know the theory, but the competitive advantage in practice seems to belong to the regimes with whom we run huge trade deficits and subsidize their own industries. Trump tariffs represent reciprocity more than protectionism.
When people refer to Reaganomics they typically mean "trickle-down" and I don't believe in that.
A trade deficit is not a loss. It's not necessarily a bad thing.here is the Cato Institute explainer.
https://www.cato.org/publications/trade-balance-winning-trade
By Reaganomics I mean the American variety of neoliberalism, birthed by the forebears of Cato, the idea that free trade would benefit everyone. It instead allowed a comparatively few people to get vastly wealthy as the whole economy became financialized allowing the people at to top to auction off a manufacturing base they didn’t build to a regime that would supply them with cut rate peon labor. The GDP goes up, the wealth distribution gets ever more unequal, and I can’t afford to buy the house I grew up in, that my dad acquired on a working-class salary. Trump got elected by people who hate Cato and everything it stands for.
I enjoyed David's essay here (as I enjoy most of his) but tend to agree with our Librarian here. We push for American Dynamism because for far too long, while we may have had decorum and good relations with our neighbors and allies (which we should strive to maintain, Ukraine included), we've been absolutely gutting ourselves from the inside due to a lack of leadership and action. That's been a bipartisan problem, and Trump, while not the vessel I would choose, certainly has a knack for identifying the many problems. Will he productively solve them remains to be seen.
Thanks David. I don't see the dynamism forming but I may be missing some knock-on effects. As a patriot, like you, I root for America to succeed.
If Trump/GOP were really serious about pumping American dynamism, they'd reinvigorate the Small Business Administration with funding, and let 10,000 entrepreneurial flowers bloom.
History will not likely be king to Trumpism. Unless they rewrite the books.
David,
Thanks for this. My mind is racing as well. Stay sane and keep working. I don't have the resources you do, but seeing you come to grips with similar forces and issues is some consolation. Let's get through this together. I'm so happy to read your blog. It helps.
Tim
Thanks Tim. I appreciate the solidarity!
It's great to hear you are working on a novel and that's one positive way to deal with concern over what is going on. And great to hear family doing well as that is reassuring in terms of how one's or the collective future will go. I hope there is more research on Covid vaccines because my old school doctor advised no more vaccine shots after having six because of how it could adversely effect the heart as one gets older. I realize the vaccines are a choice and gamble with hopefully enough benefit to outweigh risk. It is great reading your thoughts as counterbalance to any and all fearmongering on either side. Any tilt towards reasonable practical solution is reassuring, welcomed and of some solace for these turbulent, tense times to mull and ponder our way through despite all the negative hullabaloo going back and forth seemingly over everything.
Thanks Larry for the thoughtful comment.
NOT THE SHIH TZU SOPHIE!
As a Canadian reading, it's surprising to me to hear a wealthy American saying "I can't fight back". You are in a unique position to be able to take risks that many other people cannot (because you are financially secure) and influence the groups of people that support and normalize what is happening. Your writing matters and you can fight back. Your thoughtful self-reflection show what it looks like to examine personal belief structures with curiosity and compassion, things the world needs right now. What we can do is different for everybody, but we can all do something.
Thanks Christine for the comment. I can and am helping people who are the most vulnerable to the deportation threats and cuts in Federal assistance. But the helplessness comes from knowing that my help is so small compared to what's being done. That won't stop me; it encourages me to do more.
And yes my writing is a way of fighting back. So I suppose I should have written that when I fight back it feels like a drop in the ocean. But it still counts so thanks for reminding me.
Laying on the sofa reading this as my ever-moody shih tzu, Travis, stares at me hoping I’ll do whatever it is he is silently pleading for and I’m reminded of my last conversation with grandfather then 95. It was 2015 and this Trump guy wanted to be president. What do you make of this guy, I asked, is this a joke? He replied, don’t get too invested in this stuff as it’s always been this way, just live your life as best you can. “Right now I’m just happy you’re here.”
Thanks Tyler. Good perspective. Those pleading eyes!
I knew Trump 2.0 would be different than his first term. He is arranging everything to orchestrate martial law and eliminate elections. Period. He is trying to beat Hitler's takeover of Germany in 60 days. For the first time in my 62 years, expressing my opinions feels dangerous. My problem is when people lie to me I am insulted they think I am so dumb that I would credit them. And when politicians are incorrect, and/or lying, I am so mad they are in a position of power. I have no answers but I will continue to give monthly to various groups and people I hope will help us all. Best of luck with elbow surgery to your wife.
Thanks Sharon. I feel that expressing my opinion is more important than ever. But yes there is a world where I would come to suffer from it.
I am separated by a continent and still I find myself afraid of what devastation will be wrought by these dangerous men. At first I refused to enter the living room when the news was on and plugged my ears with my AirPods so I couldn’t hear them. I have also been avoiding political narratives here, but I am attempting now to be a little more stoic. I did not know the detail of Britain and France and Poland and Czechoslovakia - your letters are so often an education.
Thanks Emily. I appreciate your comment and it makes me happy that you value my writing.