Certain Things Are Set In Stone
Who we are, what we’ll do and what we won’t
Today is Memorial Day. However we spend it, each year the day offers a moment for reflection and gratitude, and a chance to consider what kind of world we are building to honor the legacy of those who sacrificed to create it for us?
Here in Europe, we recently marked the 80th anniversary of VE Day, the end of hostilities on a continent that is again in flux, with Russia’s war against Ukraine intensifying in recent days amid the heaviest drone and missile attack on Kyiv since the conflict began. Regardless of how “crazy” President Trump now thinks Vladimir Putin might be, the prospects for peace still seem distant.
It’s almost as if the Russian leader doesn’t care what anyone thinks. Imagine that.
President Trump himself, meanwhile, gave a predictably unpredictable address to the graduating class at West Point at the weekend. Earlier, he had invited donors to enjoy a “dedicated VIP experience” at the military parade celebrating 250 years of the US armed forces; putting tanks on the streets of the nation’s capital on June 14 – totally coincidentally also his very own birthday.
Trump’s beleagured Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, unmentioned in his boss’s West Point speech, this week hosted what he says will be a monthly Christian prayer service at the Pentagon. The recent ‘purges’ at DOD have led to accusations that the administration has been politicizing the military.
As well as the Cadets at West Point, this is a graduation weekend for many other students and families across the country; the coming of age of a generation that has not known a political landscape without the 45th and 47th President. And of course it would be wrong to assume anymore that young people are naturally opposed to the new administration’s policies.
The electoral problems ahead for Democrats were emphasised by new research by the New York Times showing counties that have moved solidly red against those moving solidly blue in the past three elections.
The Times’ Shane Goldmacher unpacks the headline numbers here, but it’s definitely worth reading the full article.
Jim Acosta, however, explored how Americans in their mid-20’s [are] forming their thoughts on the presidency through the distorted prism of Trumpism.
“Think of the damage done to America’s standing in the world, in the minds of young people across the globe. They see a president who is often out of touch with the real world, thoroughly corrupt and vengeful, beginning his second term launching a crypto scheme and turning government against vulnerable migrants as well as his enemies, both real and imagined.
“Consider his Memorial Day message which rails against “the scum that spent the last four years trying to destroy our country” and “USA hating judges who suffer from an ideology that is sick.” Yes, of course, this post neatly demonstrates there are millions of Americans who are far more mature than the president of the United States. But too many young minds are being shaped, and sadly warped, by these pathologically mean-spirited lines of attack.”
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The President, meanwhile, stepped up his offensive against celebrities – reserving special disdain for Bruce Springsteen, whose sold-out tour continues across Europe, with the singer expressing his vocal opposition to the “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous” administration.
Amid a glaring contrast between the two men, Eric Alterman – author of the excellent ‘Ain’t No Sin To Be Glad You’re Alive’ – writes at the New York Times that Springsteen will “never surrender.”
“Perhaps Mr. Trump worried that a simple, uncompromised patriotic message on offer from a man who is arguably the nation’s most beloved male rock star would break through to his fans. The appeal of both men is clear. Mr. Trump and Mr. Springsteen were born three years apart and felt, in their way, like they were outsiders. Both are now very wealthy while credibly professing to speak to and for the denizens of America’s working class who live paycheck to paycheck.
“They reach people who could never in a lifetime earn enough to purchase a membership to Mar-a-Lago (much less buy enough $TRUMP memecoins to have dinner with the president) and may not have been able to see “Springsteen on Broadway” or in concert (where Ticketmaster’s “dynamic pricing” process sent some of the best tickets of a recent tour into the mid-four-figure range) and still pay that month’s rent. Most important, however, each man embodies a competing vision of the much-maligned American dream.”
Matt Bai, meanwhile, wrote at The Washington Post that the deliberately chosen songs forming the centrepiece of Springsteen’s concert protest (full video below) are “a fitting Memorial Day plea” and that his lyrics “echo a nation’s slow descent from hope to distrust.”
"When Springsteen wrote and recorded these songs, they sounded like melancholy reflections on a country that was trying to right itself after a series of profound blows. It was a time when those of us who were having children and raising them could — and did — still imagine that they would inherit a country more or less like the one we had known.
"Listening now, those songs, taken together, sound like something different: an agonized plea for courage and forbearance, a desperate hope that Americans might yet retain enough trust in their laws and institutions to turn away from an authoritarian solution. No longer is Springsteen lamenting that long walk home to the America we used to know. Now, he’s begging us to turn around and take it."
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Apologies for a truncated post this weekend. I had an unscheduled hospital trip with my Dad today after he had a fall at his nursing home. Here are a few of the other topics I’d planned to cover, with a link to one or two related pieces I hope you might find time to read…
The GOP’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” at the expense of Medicaid.
Jonathan Chait at The Atlantic on The largest upward transfer of wealth in Amercan history.
“Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, warned that the bill’s passage, by a 215–214 margin, would mark the moment the Republicans ensured the loss of their majority in the midterm elections. That may be so. But the Republicans have not pursued this bill for political reasons. They are employing a majority that they suspect is temporary to enact deep changes to the social compact.”
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Tariff threats to the EU and Apple (oh, and Samsung)
Trump seems to see economic policy as a “negotiation” to get something out of whoever happens to be on the other side of the table, meanwhile his self-enrichment continues. And yes, he took the plane.
For Trump, le grift, c’est moi – David Corn, Mother Jones
The Trump Family’s Money-Making Machine – Bloomberg
see also Tribute – This isn’t America First. This is Trump First.
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Harvard and immigration
A tumultuous spring semester finally comes to a close – Jelani Cobb, The New Yorker
The biggest mistake that some universities have made is to presume that the White House is operating in good faith. It is not.
An unprecedented assault on American greatness – Bill Kristol, The Bulwark
America’s coming brain drain – L Rafael Reif, Foreign Affairs: Trump’s War on Universities Could Kill U.S. Innovation.
Who knows, maybe the next step in the process actually is to have immigrants fighting on TV for citizenship.
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George Floyd, Five years on
How did the murder change policing and criminal justice? – NPR
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As always, thanks for reading. You might also enjoy – if that’s the right word these days – these other recent columns:
Talking Heads – May 11 – Dealing with Life During Wartime - this ain’t no fooling around.
Constitution? What Constitution – May 5 – Trump’s answer is called ‘as un-American as it gets’.
The ‘Sound Exercise Of Lawful Authority’ – April 28 – Due process, or no process at all?
If you’re new to the project, I’m glad you’re here. You might want to start here to get an idea of why I’m doing this. Please reach out through the comments and let me know what you like and what you don’t?
I also write a baseball-related post in the middle of each week – here are some recent ones
Memories and Memorials – May 8 – How VE Day was a turning point in European history and for young American visitors to Ireland.
Wings, Clipped – May 22 – What happened to the Baltimore Orioles?
Hustle – May 15 – What are the odds Pete Rose finally makes it into the Hall?
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