The Generalist

One's identity is far more than one's profession.

Essays

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Worth Your Attention

Here are two links I recommend that you read soon. The first gives an excellent analysis of what drives the MAGA movement. You may even see a path to feeling empathy and compassion for the worldview that fuels the vitriol. But more important, the insights it offers may help you avoid adding fuel to the fire as you defend and assert your own values.

They Warned Us in 1945: Fascism in America Would Look Like Patriotism
How MAGA Became the Psychological Blueprint They Described

The second link is to Timothy Snyder’s free materials. On Tyranny, if you have not read it, is essential for understanding how to meet the threats democracy faces today. The materials offered by Snyder are helpful to both remind us of the basics, and to spread the word.

Resources – Timothy Snyder
Resources from On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder

. . . and something much lighter from Snyder’s brother-in-law:

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No One Rises Alone

At the last minute, I was asked to write a column for the Mother’s Day Sunday edition. Here’s what came of a tight deadline and thinking about how we underappreciate the many people, starting with our mothers, who give us what we need to thrive.

Mothers Day FFP 250510Download

If we want America to thrive, we need to nourish each other, with nobody left out.

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Anti-Trump Protest – Newtown

Over 1,000 Locals Stand for Democracy

All across the nation Americans turned out to show their disapproval of the Trump Administration and those who enable their excesses. Newtown’s crowd was large and in good spirits despite intermittent rain. Police took up positions to monitor and be a visible presence, but people were amiable and orderly and the demonstration remained peaceful. Click the box below to see the full collection of photos and video clips taken by Richmond and Marguerite.

4-5-25 Hands Off Protest
104 new items added to shared album

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Attention Fatigue

The antidote for news fatigue may be simply minding what has your attention. “Flood the zone with sh*t” has been the strategy of the GOP in 2025. It has been practiced for many years, but is at a fever pitch since #47 took office and began implementing Project 2025. Doug Muder explains how he thinks it works and suggests what you can do about it in the talk below. The clip is set to play his advice for coping. You may want to listen to the whole talk if the idea that your attention is being captured and manipulated is foreign to you.

“Whatever has your attention, has you.” ~Willis Elliott

Political strategists have long understood that controlling the media’s news cycle was central to manipulating what citizens see and hear about you and your adversaries. The GOP has been far more effective than the democrats, both in terms of developing Fox News and Sinclair as propaganda organs, and in generating outrage, shock, and fear to rapidly grab attention and rapidly shift it successively from one issue to another. The firehose flow of emotionally wrenching information keeps the public off balance and unable to fully grasp what’s real and what’s hype.

It’s not matter of getting the facts right, or interpreting them with critical thinking. It’s about regaining willful control over what has and holds attention. Can we learn to be mindful in the flooded zone?

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Teddy was Right

“Here are three of [Robert Reich’s] favorite TR quotes, which I find particularly appropriate today. If you are so moved, you might share them. You might include them in a letter to your local paper. If you have the means, you might even place them in an ad in your local paper or perhaps even on a billboard on a highway near you.” –Robert Reich

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“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
― Theodore Roosevelt

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“To educate a person in the mind but not in morals is to educate a menace to society.”
― Theodore Roosevelt

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“Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else.”
― Theodore Roosevelt

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Quakers Protest Current Events

Quakers are inherently grass-roots. It comes from the belief that metaphysical truth is revealed to any and all of us if we but listen. There is that of God in each of us, and, as communities, we are called to speak up when human events conflict with our values. One of the ways we express our collective sensibilities about important matters is to agree on a “minute” recorded at Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business. Here is one such expression of unity and commitment from my Newtown Friends Meeting:

Reaffirming Quaker ValuesDownload

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The Hidden Hand That Makes Billionaires Possible

We are all in this together, even Elon.

There’s a myth we tell ourselves in America—that the wealthiest among us are entirely self-made, that their success comes purely from their own hard work, intelligence, and risk-taking. You hear it all the time, often from the billionaires themselves. They built their companies “from scratch.” They “earned every penny.” And when the subject of taxation comes up, they argue that it’s unfair for the government to “confiscate” the wealth they created and give it to those who haven’t worked as hard.

It’s a compelling story. But it’s also incomplete.

Elon Musk didn’t build Tesla and SpaceX in a vacuum. Jeff Bezos didn’t create Amazon out of thin air. Even the late Steve Jobs, the genius behind Apple, didn’t succeed in isolation. Every billionaire, every entrepreneur, every corporate empire stands on a foundation of public investments, social systems, and infrastructure that made their success possible.

The Roads, Wires, and Networks They Didn’t Build

Start with the basics. Without roads, bridges, airports, and railways, businesses couldn’t transport goods. Without an educated workforce, companies couldn’t hire skilled employees. Without a functioning legal system to enforce contracts and protect intellectual property, innovation would be too risky.

But let’s go even deeper.

The internet—without which companies like PayPal, Amazon, and Google wouldn’t even exist—was created with government funding. It started as ARPANET, a project of the U.S. Department of Defense. The same goes for GPS, touchscreen technology, and countless other breakthroughs that companies later turned into billion-dollar industries.

Elon Musk, now the world’s richest man, got his start with PayPal, an online payment platform that was only possible because of the internet and a stable financial system backed by government regulations and consumer protections. His later ventures, Tesla and SpaceX, have received billions in government subsidies, research grants, and contracts. And yet, he rails against the very taxes that support the system that made his success possible.

The Myth of the Self-Made Man

The idea that billionaires “did it all themselves” ignores the millions of people whose labor keeps their companies running and the social programs that keep their customers able to buy products. Amazon’s entire business model depends on reliable roads, an educated workforce, and customers with disposable income. Walmart thrives in towns with a strong middle class. Tesla cars aren’t selling in countries with extreme poverty.

If the economy collapses, so does their wealth. That’s why government stimulus programs—so often criticized as “handouts” for regular people—are quietly welcomed by big business when things go south. During the 2008 financial crisis, banks got massive bailouts to keep them afloat. During the COVID-19 pandemic, government relief checks kept people spending, which in turn kept businesses from sinking.

The True Purpose of Taxes

When billionaires and corporations push for tax cuts, they frame it as a moral issue. They argue that it’s unfair to take what they’ve “earned” and give it to the undeserving. But taxation isn’t about punishing success—it’s about maintaining the system that allows success to happen in the first place.

Progressive taxation funds the infrastructure, education, healthcare, and social stability that create the conditions for prosperity. When done right, it prevents economic stagnation, reduces poverty, and ensures that opportunity is available to more than just the lucky few.

If taxes were really the enemy of success, why do countries with strong public investments—like Denmark, Sweden, and Germany—continue to rank among the world’s most competitive economies? Why do billionaires still flourish in places with high taxes and strong safety nets?

Investing in the Future

No one is saying billionaires shouldn’t be rewarded for their vision, leadership, or innovation. But let’s stop pretending that they did it alone. They benefited from the roads they didn’t pave, the schools they didn’t fund, and the technology they didn’t invent. They thrived in an economy kept stable by government protections and social investments.

And when they argue that taxes are unfair, maybe we should ask: unfair to whom?

A society that supports its people—through education, infrastructure, healthcare, and fair wages—is not just good for the poor. It’s good for the wealthy, too. Because without it, there would be no wealth to accumulate.

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Keeping Track

The very unpopular and much lied about Project 2025 is notching off its “accomplishments” one-by-one as congress allows the executive branch unfettered sway even when the actions are lawless overreach. Here is a website that’s keeping score and citing the sources.

PROJECT 2025 TRACKER

This does not, of course, track items on the more hidden agenda of intended covert consequences that is disabling and eliminating the means to hold anyone accountable. Much of the factual reporting and more candid analysis is showing up in independent media like Substack.

The NY Times has a series titled “The Opinions” and if you are trying to understand the lack of GOP and mainstream media opposition to all of this evil, I recommend you listen to “There’s a reason even smart people surrender to Trump” (below).

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There’s a reason …

This thirty-minute interview explores how we are being manipulated into anticipatory compliance contrary to our deeply held values. The GOP fell into line first, and now they are coming for the rest of us.

Opinion | There’s a Reason Even ‘Smart’ People Surrender to Trump
M. Gessen and Patrick Healy try to reckon with the president’s whiplash authoritarianism.