Thinking of daughters and the invocation of the “fatherland,” I could not help but hear the song from Cabaret, “Tomorrow Belongs To Me.” The eradication of the past and the infantilizing of people to children of a fabricated quasi-religious father are very scary.
You are so right. I actually have been listening to several songs from Cabaret a fair bit, lately, but I hadn’t listened to that song closely enough. But now I can’t help but reflect on those lyrics. What you are suggesting makes the proclamation even more ominous.
Wow. You really made the transition from a focus on history to one on policy so stunningly clear. There is also a strong visual element to this as well, given the use of young white cis girls as background props for his executive orders. It communicates this sense that he is acting on their behalf, in service to their futures. "America's daughters," indeed. (I think the use of Elon Musk's son functions as a young white cis male corollary to this; in terms of when and where he is made so highly visible, and why.)
You are absolutely right. That image was most apparent on the day Trump signed the executive order against transgender girls' participation in girls' and women's sports. But I agree that Musk's son also figures as a prop. And this is happening over and over again.
To be honest I am waiting to find out at work that I’m not allowed to have bank accounts anymore a la Handmaids Tale. I wish I could say I was surprised by any of this but my shock button is broken. I think it broke when 47 invited all of Bill Clinton’s mistresses to the debate with Hillary Clinton. That’s not to say I’m numb. I’m just no longer shocked or surprised. I’m tired of the throwing up of the hands and running around like chickens with avian flu. What are we going to do about it?
I hear you. This is all happening on so many different levels; I’m trying to understand how it’s happening on the level of language (hence this essay). But you’re right: this proclamation was both sickening and entirely unshocking (and also rather unoriginal). I was disturbed to see, however, that women’s history dropped out of the proclamations much longer ago than I would have thought. As for what we’re going to do about it — I’m seeing it in two ways. We have to stop whatever we’re in now, and talking about what’s going on is part of stopping it, since it seems there are too many people who still insist that somehow this is normal. But second, and this seems even harder, we have to get at, and heal, whatever got us to this place. Hang in there, friend.
No worries at all. I hear you and feel the same way. Writing about it actually makes me feel more centered and active about it. I’m also meeting with neighborhood groups to talk about what we can do. Do you have a group of friends and neighbors you can organize with? I think people are really wanting this and it definitely helps a bit on the calming front. Plus, socializing - always a good thing.
And one more thing - do you follow Anand Giridharad’s publication, The Ink, here on Substack? Great interviews, great ideas about what people are doing - and why we should be hopeful!
I am a person with dwarfism and since that lovely speech I’ve been more hesitant than usual to get myself to interact with people who don’t know me. I do want to work on that though! On the other hand if you write another book I just couldn’t possibly :)
I am writing another book! But that will take time. In the meantime, I’m doing what I can for our democracy. I’m so inspired by people who are doing what they can, however small or big. As for your hesitation — I get it. But I’d say that if one tiny, tiny silver lining of this crazy, orange regime is that people are getting way clearer on what is right and what is wrong. We are all human beings, right? And so don’t we all deserve respect as such? It is such a simple principle.
Thank you for the history and analysis. Years ago I read some background on Trump. I discovered that he owned a modeling agency. Many of the models were under 18. That's what the photograph brought to mind.
I am pessimistic about the future of this country, its citizens and the world. My pessimism stems from my understanding of the extreme damage to life sustaining ecosystems that has occurred and continues.
IMO we are facing totalitarianism because corporations are running out of oil, and other needed resources. Within the next 15 years we will probably face major food shortages. They want to normalize extreme control over society in preparation.
This administration, and many in the Republican party, have no limits. Adherence to law, tradition, and principles of democracy are used, when possible, to gain and maintain power. This government will not allow principles or law to interfere with the agenda for power and control.
I also think tech corporations are fueling the competition for the resources needed to win in the battle for AI dominance. It’s an interesting idea that this somehow about controlling resources that are disappearing (although these people choose not to believe in climate change and environmental impacts, although that might simply be a political position). Additionally, it’s about controlling resources that are going to be crucial as global energy transitions. And Greenland, for instance, is also about minerals that are key for hardware and other aspects of AI. We are very much in yet another age of imperialism.
Wow, thank you so much for this close reading. Your attention to the shifting from history to dictation of the future is so important.
The amount of times he utilizes his own person, either with I/his name is so telling to his view of inherent domination—he named himself without naming a single woman in a proclamation on historical women. Just wild. Thank you for the labor this surely took, I’m grateful for it!
Yes, the only person that "counts" is him, surrounded by nameless "daughters." I am still struggling to understand why so many women have fallen for this and support it. And thank you for reading such a long post!
Thinking of daughters and the invocation of the “fatherland,” I could not help but hear the song from Cabaret, “Tomorrow Belongs To Me.” The eradication of the past and the infantilizing of people to children of a fabricated quasi-religious father are very scary.
You are so right. I actually have been listening to several songs from Cabaret a fair bit, lately, but I hadn’t listened to that song closely enough. But now I can’t help but reflect on those lyrics. What you are suggesting makes the proclamation even more ominous.
Wow. You really made the transition from a focus on history to one on policy so stunningly clear. There is also a strong visual element to this as well, given the use of young white cis girls as background props for his executive orders. It communicates this sense that he is acting on their behalf, in service to their futures. "America's daughters," indeed. (I think the use of Elon Musk's son functions as a young white cis male corollary to this; in terms of when and where he is made so highly visible, and why.)
You are absolutely right. That image was most apparent on the day Trump signed the executive order against transgender girls' participation in girls' and women's sports. But I agree that Musk's son also figures as a prop. And this is happening over and over again.
To be honest I am waiting to find out at work that I’m not allowed to have bank accounts anymore a la Handmaids Tale. I wish I could say I was surprised by any of this but my shock button is broken. I think it broke when 47 invited all of Bill Clinton’s mistresses to the debate with Hillary Clinton. That’s not to say I’m numb. I’m just no longer shocked or surprised. I’m tired of the throwing up of the hands and running around like chickens with avian flu. What are we going to do about it?
I hear you. This is all happening on so many different levels; I’m trying to understand how it’s happening on the level of language (hence this essay). But you’re right: this proclamation was both sickening and entirely unshocking (and also rather unoriginal). I was disturbed to see, however, that women’s history dropped out of the proclamations much longer ago than I would have thought. As for what we’re going to do about it — I’m seeing it in two ways. We have to stop whatever we’re in now, and talking about what’s going on is part of stopping it, since it seems there are too many people who still insist that somehow this is normal. But second, and this seems even harder, we have to get at, and heal, whatever got us to this place. Hang in there, friend.
Indeed. Apologize for the venom in my response - I can’t talk about this stuff with calm and measure it seems :)
No worries at all. I hear you and feel the same way. Writing about it actually makes me feel more centered and active about it. I’m also meeting with neighborhood groups to talk about what we can do. Do you have a group of friends and neighbors you can organize with? I think people are really wanting this and it definitely helps a bit on the calming front. Plus, socializing - always a good thing.
And one more thing - do you follow Anand Giridharad’s publication, The Ink, here on Substack? Great interviews, great ideas about what people are doing - and why we should be hopeful!
I will check her out!
I am a person with dwarfism and since that lovely speech I’ve been more hesitant than usual to get myself to interact with people who don’t know me. I do want to work on that though! On the other hand if you write another book I just couldn’t possibly :)
I am writing another book! But that will take time. In the meantime, I’m doing what I can for our democracy. I’m so inspired by people who are doing what they can, however small or big. As for your hesitation — I get it. But I’d say that if one tiny, tiny silver lining of this crazy, orange regime is that people are getting way clearer on what is right and what is wrong. We are all human beings, right? And so don’t we all deserve respect as such? It is such a simple principle.
Thank you for the history and analysis. Years ago I read some background on Trump. I discovered that he owned a modeling agency. Many of the models were under 18. That's what the photograph brought to mind.
I am pessimistic about the future of this country, its citizens and the world. My pessimism stems from my understanding of the extreme damage to life sustaining ecosystems that has occurred and continues.
IMO we are facing totalitarianism because corporations are running out of oil, and other needed resources. Within the next 15 years we will probably face major food shortages. They want to normalize extreme control over society in preparation.
This administration, and many in the Republican party, have no limits. Adherence to law, tradition, and principles of democracy are used, when possible, to gain and maintain power. This government will not allow principles or law to interfere with the agenda for power and control.
We need to expect the worst and prepare for it.
I also think tech corporations are fueling the competition for the resources needed to win in the battle for AI dominance. It’s an interesting idea that this somehow about controlling resources that are disappearing (although these people choose not to believe in climate change and environmental impacts, although that might simply be a political position). Additionally, it’s about controlling resources that are going to be crucial as global energy transitions. And Greenland, for instance, is also about minerals that are key for hardware and other aspects of AI. We are very much in yet another age of imperialism.
Wow, thank you so much for this close reading. Your attention to the shifting from history to dictation of the future is so important.
The amount of times he utilizes his own person, either with I/his name is so telling to his view of inherent domination—he named himself without naming a single woman in a proclamation on historical women. Just wild. Thank you for the labor this surely took, I’m grateful for it!
Yes, the only person that "counts" is him, surrounded by nameless "daughters." I am still struggling to understand why so many women have fallen for this and support it. And thank you for reading such a long post!