This was a hard read! The critique IS biting and I suppose it's about Trump's psychology, but it's also a commentary on the people who create Trumps. To that end, it seems to skate over (intentionally? carelessly? naively?) the way so much of the country was not mocking him, was never mocking him, is not mocking him now, will likely vote for him again in November. Also--though this we only learned later--how much of the legislative and judiciary branches could/would be bent to his will. (Woof.)
Naomi Klein's book, Doppelgänger, comes to mind as a worthy companion read. In it, Klein explores how Trump and the alt right have grown and maintained their following. The heart of her thesis aligns to Solnit's point that, "[w]hen you don’t hear others, you don’t imagine them, they become unreal, and you are left in the wasteland of a world with only yourself in it[.]" Klein's point is that the left has done this to the right, that we've "ceased to imagine [they] exist in any true deep way," labeling them buffoons and worse. Reading Solnit's essay made me think about how easy it once was to write off Trump and his ilk, how gleefully we did so. And here we are today.
Thanks for posting this, Simone! Obviously gave me a lot to think about (and a place to put those thoughts! Here!). I appreciate your mind and work very much.
Thanks for such a thoughtful comment, Anna! I’ve heard great things about Doppelgänger and think you’re spot on with the comparison. Sometimes when I read pieces like Solnit’s, I’m worried that they just aim to resolve the liberal cognitive dissonance of the fact that Trump is so popular. Regardless of the result of this election, the only way we’re going to become less polarized is to recognize more humanity.
This was a hard read! The critique IS biting and I suppose it's about Trump's psychology, but it's also a commentary on the people who create Trumps. To that end, it seems to skate over (intentionally? carelessly? naively?) the way so much of the country was not mocking him, was never mocking him, is not mocking him now, will likely vote for him again in November. Also--though this we only learned later--how much of the legislative and judiciary branches could/would be bent to his will. (Woof.)
Naomi Klein's book, Doppelgänger, comes to mind as a worthy companion read. In it, Klein explores how Trump and the alt right have grown and maintained their following. The heart of her thesis aligns to Solnit's point that, "[w]hen you don’t hear others, you don’t imagine them, they become unreal, and you are left in the wasteland of a world with only yourself in it[.]" Klein's point is that the left has done this to the right, that we've "ceased to imagine [they] exist in any true deep way," labeling them buffoons and worse. Reading Solnit's essay made me think about how easy it once was to write off Trump and his ilk, how gleefully we did so. And here we are today.
Thanks for posting this, Simone! Obviously gave me a lot to think about (and a place to put those thoughts! Here!). I appreciate your mind and work very much.
Thanks for such a thoughtful comment, Anna! I’ve heard great things about Doppelgänger and think you’re spot on with the comparison. Sometimes when I read pieces like Solnit’s, I’m worried that they just aim to resolve the liberal cognitive dissonance of the fact that Trump is so popular. Regardless of the result of this election, the only way we’re going to become less polarized is to recognize more humanity.
Preach! Couldn't agree more.
Love the playlist
Thank you!