Coming attractions!

Attractive attractions attracting attractants

Yes, friends, I’m on my way back to a regular writing schedule!

I will revamp “The 21st Century American” and return with something more focused on personal well-being and survival in the age of Trump. It will still be cheeky, present-focused, and curmudgeonly in places, but will be more intimate and less centered on up-to-the-minute current events.

Why

After almost two years of publishing a content-heavy, well-researched long-form newsletter, I fell face down on the rug from exhaustion. My wife Lydia said I could be less rigorous and briefer, but here’s my trouble. I am a scholar at heart. I cannot bear to publish assertions of fact that are not supported by credible citations. Background prep was an onerous task. As time passed and things happened, I came to see that virtually none of my predictions were coming true. I couldn't shake the feeling that I probably didn’t know what I was talking about. I couldn’t go on with that.

Secondly, I’ve not had an easy time with the adult development phase one enters upon reaching retirement age. Anytime you want to yak about existential crisis, I’m your go-to girl. It’s not all the way behind me, but I’m picking up valuable tidbits along the way. They mostly concern how to age with peace and grace while my government is committing suicide, while taxpayers like us are being grifted to near death, and when every day brings a new assault on my sensibilities.

Writing about surviving the trauma of Trump calls for a different voice: less authoritative, more personal, less fact- and knowledge-based. The thing to do is to embrace that other voice and place it in a space designed just for that quieter, more intimate voice. My hope is that my journey will help and comfort you as well.

What

Current events won’t be omitted entirely. It’s like I’m in an escape room in which current events offer clues about next steps. For instance, Lydia and I participate in a weekly protest at the main intersection in our town. From the beginning, I’ve wanted to know why literally all the protests we attend are dominated by people our age and older. At the last No Kings, we saw an old woman in a lawn chair with a sign that said: “I’m 96 years old and can’t believe I have to do this again.”

I don’t just wonder where all the Gen Z’ers are; I wonder what is bringing out all these Boomers, some of whom are pretty frail. I wonder if they (like me) feel personally responsible for this whole catastrophe.

Insider tip: “Responsibility” is not synonymous with “Blame.”

I am anxious to see the baton safely passed. Mine is the last generation to personally know people who survived the Nazi camps. As years go by, the reality of the Holocaust (and Pol Pot and Chairman Mao and…) becomes faded until it is but a mere abstraction. How can America learn from a past it can’t recall? Hence, I feel a responsibility to Americans coming behind me. I want to put a message in a bottle that says, “Dear Everyone, whatever else you do, get rid of trickle-down economics and invest heavily in democracy reform. Trust me.”

Emotionally, I wrestle with the possibility that I may never know how this megillah turns out. If my life is to reach its conclusion in peace and gratitude, I may have to do so in a dangerous world with America off the rails. To pull that off, I have to make peace with the fact that I cannot fix this, that I alone can do nothing about our nation’s crisis. I have to place my trust in our collective voice and in certain other leaders who can engage in more direct intervention (e.g., the 35 former federal judges filing a plea for the court to reopen Trump’s $10B suit against the IRS).

Trust is not exactly my superpower. I’m the most insecure person I know, so my hack for trust is to act “as if.” I do what I’d be doing if I DID have trust. Trust is a verb, not a feeling. Like most of us, I associate trust with a felt sense of safety — but I cannot wait until I feel trust to be part of the solution. Then I have to meet my end with peace and forgiveness in the knowledge that I did my best — and that must be enough. I must begin letting go of my attachment to how the Trump era will conclude.

Believe me when I say this is far from easy for me (because attachment to outcomes IS one of my superpowers.) That means I am confident there will be enough material to support a regular publication.

Next up

You will soon receive a newsletter with a regular publishing schedule and a wealth of observations, feelings, insights, and dilemmas. I invite you to join me!

Song of the Day

“In The Morning” — Fleet Foxes

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