What Did We Talk About? By Linda Stowe
What did we talk about before Donald Trump? There must have been something—the Kardashians, maybe? For years now, our daily habit has been to wake up and read the latest outrageous Trump bleat, as podcaster and former Republican operative Tim Miller memorably calls Trump’s social media posts.
There is little doubt that Trump has capitalized on this relentless attention, whether positive or negative. But when you think about it, the entity that has benefited most from our collective obsession is the media itself. New outlets such as The Bulwark and Crooked Media were created and flourished because of Donald Trump. Meanwhile, struggling or fading institutions like The Daily Beast and The Atlantic have been given new life, feeding—and being fed by—the same political beast.
So what will we be talking about in five years? And just as important, who will be doing the talking then?
Wordle guess words: about, habit, beast, bleat
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Polly here.
I want to remind everyone, first, that we write these thoughts each day from our Wordle word guesses. If there is one I want to use, I ask Linda (or myself), and I put them in a little vault on my computer until I want to pull them out and use them. I’m not sure how long ago they were written. Just a reminder.
And now, back to Linda’s piece on Trump, the news cycle, and what we focus on.
It is true. The news feeds were far less stressful a couple of years ago. But even then, Trump was in the wings, looming. Now, as Linda mentioned, the cycle is relentless. Every day, there is another “Trumpet” sounding loudly, blaring and shrill, making us all cover our ears and hoping the noise will go away.
Yet. I fear he is not going away. I’m afraid he has taken over the United States. He has ruined our relationships with our allies all the world around. He has destroyed many of our freedoms. He has disrupted our democracy and destroyed our constitution.
In five years? What will we be talking about? We’ll be saying things like, “I remember when we were allowed to vote freely in the United States. Or. I remember when eggs were just $2.50 a dozen. Now they are $12 a dozen.” We’ll be longing for the good old days, but they will have been squelched by Trump. We’ve lost our country.
