revenge is just his amuse bouche. his main course is power; power to indulge in a bottomless grift, power to exercise his sadistic appetite to instill fear and to insult and to intimidate and to mock what others value; along with his infantile need to sit at the ” big boys table” with Vlad and Xi and Kim.
Mweiner, then, there are a few other factors, like his toddlerism and tantrum-throwing if he doesn't get what he wants. He clearly didn't get past age 3 emotionally. He also has dementia and his handlers know it and just keep feeding him information and names so he can put them together in his warped fashion to malign them through lies, insults, and innuendos. Anyone else would have been jail for stealing secret documents and lying about having them or for breaking the gag order, but alas, Baby Donnie has some kind of mythical status that he certainly does not deserve unless it is that he is one of the most appalling human beings ever to be president or even run for office. Until Trump became president, I would get books about the presidents for my students. Afterward, I gave the pre-Trump books away as including the "real" presidents. I wouldn't give anyone such a book that has Trump in it. I was upset about W. Bush, but at least he was close to humane and it was the Supreme Court that gave him the election and he didn't lie about it.
Laurie, you are so right that Bush, both Bushes sucked, so saying they could still be included sort of, but Trump can't is saying a lot about who and what Trump is. He's a disgrace walking around+.
Ruth: yes, he is a monster, brought to US by the billionaire elitists!, and their buddies, the Russian leader and oligarchs and fascists of the world, who like dictators.
Why not assess someone else's BS , when it could make you look better? He is of the same cloth as TRUMP. : "W" talked about the "New World Order" that was coming! He is part of the plot!
Yes: Toxic, like a Criminoble, or , better yet : CriminoI-Ignoble! Worse than a "Human" Chernobil! Criminobobble is good : It will not take long for him to manufacture such cute things to market himself some more! Spreading radioactivity!
WE Bush was also the first US president in recent history to receive a "blank check" from Congress (to combat terrorism). Every congress person, with the sole exception of Barbara Lee, deserved impeachment.
Tricky Dick - haha- haven’t heard that for ages! One time he gave a speech of some sort that was televised. The next day at work a co-worker asked me if I had seen something on TV. I said no because my husband made me watch Tricky Dick. She said, “What?!?!?” I said. “Nixon!” 🙄🤪😁
We have to get the word out as much to keep ourselves conscious, as to alert others. the brainwashing of voters and media consumers has been going on for a long time!
steve reed : was it the fake WMD? 😳 and the war that will not end? To say nothing of the hundreds of thousands of innocents killed. Also our own kids and leaders in uniform. To own the oil resource under Iraq, And enhance all 'profits' therefrom. While the planet warms
You could have left it at"...he is one of the most appalling human beings ever...." As in to have ever existed, period. Trump is lower than the whale manure at the bottom of the Marianas Trench.
My stepfather, who was a DI at Parris Island, wouldn't have said "manure", either. I learned an extensive Marine vocabulary from a young age, but I try to use it sparsely and privately....besides, many social media admin bots ban naughty words (when they recognize them-- disguised vulgarities will usually squeak through)
I think the days of $hit & profanity filter bots is over and Saint Carlin can be heard again uncensored. Hanging in my bathroom is a collaborative poem I wrote:
What's In A Name - by Will & Rob
What's in a name
That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet,
And that which we call Feces,
B.M. or Excrement,
Still looks and smells like Shit
Copyright 1594 William Shakespeare - 1994 Robert Boyte
Substacks are the only place I can let loose; if you like uncensored language, I highly recommend TC in LA's Substack, "A Fine Mess". George Carlin fans can revel in unfettered linguistic glory. I do, myself.
Gloria, I call Trump, "Toddler-man" because that is just how he acts, understands things incompletely, whines, throws tantrums, and the rest. That is what one expects of a 3-year-old, but not a man in his 70s. I am guessing Trump never had to grow up. He learned how to manipulate people, as some toddlers do, and lived off that skill, fooling so many people, enough to make him president. Disgusting!
What a tell it is, when Donnie QuackQuack speaks in toddlerese. That cutsie way 3 year olds do, about themselves as if they were another person. He’s reverted back to age 3. It’s truly amazing actually, how often he projects, if not reverting to his age 3 self, he’s off into other’s minds, as he imagines them. Then spouting off what He thinks and actually wants to say, or make happen. Usually what comes out of his mouth is the opposite of the person he says he’s quoting, of course. Again, like little kids often do. A form of magical thinking. So charming in a little tyke. Disgusting in a tyrant, who wants to control you, and the country.
Let’s get real, all this is farce in a comedy movie. In real life, it IS Dangerous. A complete and total disqualification for any position of responsibility, let alone the Presidency. Any sane individual knows this is so, of this there is No doubts or question. The Only questions are: 1. will the party participating in perpetuating the
candidacy of this obviously dangerously incompetent person continue in the charade of corruption, pretending this obviously mentally incompetent person be supported, propped up and aided and abetted as if normal. 2. If this continues, and enough people are fooled by the nationwide charade, and under false pretenses elect this person, who then goes on to commit heinous crimes he already hints at planning. Will the Party that perpetuated the Cover-up be held responsible, charged with Criminal Contempt, Punishable by a Court?
Yes, yes, yes, Ruth, all the way to what you say about Bush, tho, who I think was a figure-head in the Cheney administration, which was monstrous. The entire asleep-at-the-wheel summer before 9-11, when they sidelined Richard Clarke who told them Al Qaeda was our main foreign threat — and then they started a war with Iraq and destabilized an entire region, instituted “approved” torture … and said Bin Laden wan’t an important person to capture … all that, Egad. The Republican Party has been sick for a long time, and it started before Trump, for sure.
YES, Bush himself is much more of a human being, but I think he was a pawn, and sadly, easily manipulated.
But, all you said about Donnie — o.m.g, The Infantile Whiner … The Paramount Narcissist … The Most Powerful Constant Victim in the History of the World! Egad!! You’ve got HIS number.
Pat, thanks for seeing what I see in Trump. Also, your observation of W. is spot on. How he got to run for anything is beyond comprehension, but Republicans do pick the least of the competent for many of our critical positions. I guess they think they can better control the ones they choose to run. What we have to address is the guys and it is guys behind the candidates. These are not good people and are working hard to wreck our democracy, for their own personal gain, of course.
I have said — and I worry about this — that were Trump not to run, we would still be in serious danger of fascism if ANY Republican were to be elected in November 2024.
The Republican supported Project 2025 no laughing matter. They said at CPAC that they will bring down democracy, and they meant it.
Pat, one of the things I don't get about Republicans, what is their rush to fascism about? Do they think the German people did well under Hitler? Their soldiers died in the millions, their people starved, they watched their neighbors humiliated and murdered even though they pretended they didn't know what was going on. Do Republicans think they will survive the chaos that will follow such a fascist takeover of this country? Do they think they won't be forced onto the farms or into the factories at slave wages to produce the food and products for the rich white guys who orchestrated this farse? What is going on in the minds of the Trumpers and Trumpettes that they think a toddler-men has anything real or positive to offer them. Have they looked at people like Steve Bannon, Steve Miller, Federalist Society Leo to see what kind of hateful asses they are? The Trump balloon will burst for them, then what! They won't be able to admit their participation in the disaster because they see themselves as pure as the driven snow (and just as white) and as it is, accept no responsibility for anything they do to their families, neighbors, fellow citizens who work every day to provide services for them and others. They truly are toddler-adults just like their infantile cult leader and will never stop to examine that until they have their right to examine it taken away.
Ah, yes, Ruth, every word so, and also so hard to fathom. I think that, as the world has cast Hitler as the quintessential evil, so, too, is it hard to get people to understand that it’s not unthinkable we could have another like him — or even similar, if not one capable of another true Holocaust {though stop and think what Trump did to innocent children and families at our border, separating babies from mothers and actually LOSING them … How monstrous is a person who could do that, and then dismiss it as though he never did it? When does anyone hold him accountable for THAT, and when does he even bother to mention it …?}
The people who are logged as his supporters among the electorate are duped. They would not like to hear someone like me say it, but too f-ing bad. Trump’s time on TV gave him “legitimacy,” because our country suffers a serious cult of celebrity, and a great many people, like so many moths, gravitate toward the flame of “fame.” They believe what they see on the screen — we see it too often with the election of incompetent celebrities … {Hey, even JD Vance, sent to Washington and now rumored to want to be DJT’s VP …}
The people who flock to DJT aren’t the ones who run the man — the people manipulating him are the Oligarchs who have orchestrated this phenomenon, and they want fascism because, as fascism has done all over the world, it privileges the uber-wealthy….
And, you’re right … once they have the power, the people who flocked to support them will find out too late what the Oligarchs and the Fascists are really all about …
Our hope is two-fold:
1. We manage to get out a vote of proportions sufficient to vote Biden in and not Trump.
2. The Democrats and those of us on the Left manage to prevent the Right from literally invalidating our votes.
If Dems keep being so feckless as they’ve been while the R’s packed our SCOTUS … oy, eeek, I can’t go there.
We need to hold on to democracy and not let them take it…
W Bush mass murdered hundreds of thousands of people including thousands of our own troops so he could be a war president. That was the caliber of his thinking. He also gave a 10 trillion dollar tax cut to the rich and started the destruction of the supreme court.
Questioner, you are right. Somehow, Bush hasn't looked so bad when compared to Trump, but he was awful and a lot of death followed him. He could blame everything on 9/11 even making up a connection between Iraq and 9/11. Bush didn't have the bombast of Trump, but he certainly had the cruelty, ignorance, and inability to do anything to help anyone but those who think the way he does. Trump has all of that but the willingness to destroy our democracy and a whole cadre of guys and a few women who are willing to do it for him while he sits at the top gloating, whining, like a toddler on a potty. WHY???? I don't get the charm of either man. Neither should ever have been in charge of anything ever, but both ended up as president, and Bush actually got elected the second time. Let's hope Trump is not elected the third time.
Susan, Trump may be on the spectrum, but in addition he is dealing with dementia. I have seen people I care for go through it and he has the symptoms but of course, we won't get the official word because all his doctors will say he's a genius who will live to be 200. That's BS of course, but what can one expect. Everyone Trump has close to him has pledged to bow to his every whim, repeating whatever he wants them to say or what they know is what he wants them to say. ?Another reality is that his handlers are directing him to a great extent. He still knows how to rant and to lie with a straight face because he can't tell if something is a lie or not. I keep wondering if he is wearing an ear piece through which his handlers can tell him what to say, maybe not all the time, but often enough to keep him from totally falling apart as he almost does at his rallies. Of course, the media are eating this up as though Trump is mentally healthy; he isn't.
Ruth I detest the man, but as a nurse, I haven’t seen enough evidence to make me think he’s demented, yet. As a senior, I don’t like throwing that term around without a preponderance of evidence, and that includes brain scans and labs. I search for words sometimes, have short term memory loss, but I’m not demented. He’s been lying about his health for years, clearly is using a GLP-1 now, has significant mental health issues…here’s a fun thought- the Americans with Disabilities Act covers Presidents too!
okay i get what you said both are fucked up trump says he hates Mexicans Biden say that "if you have trouble choosing weather to vote for me or trump your not black"
So . . . 130,000% like his a-hero, Adolf Hitler! To be fair: I think Hitler was a TOUCH less evil in that he only wanted to wipe out a SMALL portion of Germany.
Bunkerboy wants to cremate ALL WOMEN and ALL NON-WHITES and whites that DON'T like him . . . or 99.99% of America.
Professor Reich: i completely empathise. i felt something similar after i was unable to find another job after my first (and only) postdoc ended. it took me years to recover from my loss of my work, my access to my former colleagues (who acted as though i had a fatal contagious disease), even accessing scientific papers was impossible so i couldn't keep up on the literature ... and i lost myself, and in many ways, i've never recovered and never will.
First, Girl Scientist, I want to say that I empathize with your loss. I experienced something similar when I organized a horrible nursing home with the Teamsters. It was the happiest moment of my life when two Teamsters went into the administrator's office with me to collect my last paycheck that she had illegally withheld out of spite. I had stood up for the badly treated residents, their families, and the employees after failing to get help from state inspectors, the state representatives, and the newspapers. I became an "untouchable" in my profession when I had recently earned my second graduate degree in nursing. I couldn't continue to expose myself on a daily basis to the suffering of those people without sufficient staff to feed and care for them, and the suffering of mostly single mothers as they tried to support their children and provide humane care in an impossible situation. But I missed the moments in nursing when I could provide care and make a difference. And I missed my colleagues.
The second point I want to make is how stupid it is that scientific research has been capitalized so that it is too expensive to access information that potentially furthers science and can save lives. Everything and everybody, including knowledge, has been commodified in this late stage of capitalism.
And for Professor Reich, I want to say experienced pressure as a school board member of a medium sized school district for two terms with tons of paper to keep up with and the responsibility for the commodified students, employees, and taxpayers. The last thing it was about was education. If you care about the students, employees, and taxpayers, it is a horrendous amount of work to stay on top of things, which you never can. Most members show up and vote "aye, aye, aye" on everything put in front of them as well as looking for opportunities to use taxpayer's money for their own businessess, families and friends. The reason I wanted to be there was because I thought they didn't know they were pushing out 20% of mostly their best and brightest students. They already knew that! Due to reasons having to do with funding and teachers' salaries, when students tested at senior level, they figured they had done their job and forced them out with a bizarre disciplinary points system. They went after me personally which is a long story. I will never participate in such a futile effort again, now that I understand how it works.
Gloria, you are the kind of person people should try to emulate. You made a difference for those residents and you cared. Life is hard but people like you and GrrlScientist show us what it means to persevere even though you lose quite a lot. Stay true to yourselves, eventually good things will happen!
I think this is an all too frequent story in the past decades as highly educated and creative women made their way into the 'power' positions and discovered what was really occurring, sometimes naively thinking, others would want to enable or restore justice. The corruption of the past decades has been precise and exacting. Many of us have paid the price.
A hellish teaching situation caused a colleague to drop on the job, and my health was sliding in the same direction from the workload, abuse, and resulting stress. I spent months eliminating all debt so that when a power play intended to torment me came, I quietly submitted my resignation effective at contract end to HR. I snubbed the mean girls in charge. Word eventually got out, and the mean girls threatened that I'd never work again and I would become homeless. I'd expected that and planned for it. My house sold within days and I moved to one of those cities listed in a "Best Places to Retire" article. Of course it wasn't, but it was quite an adventure and I worked at some interesting temp jobs. It was the perfect setting to reinvent myself before moving back to my roots to properly retire.
Grieving over the loss of a career is lot like grieving over the loss of someone you loved. What came through to me from your comment is that the hurt may never go away, even though you may have set a new life-course for yourself. What came through to me in reading Robert Reich’s post is just how a position of significant power affects the person holding it, and then how the loss of power leads to feelings of emptiness and even despair. I believe a similar feeling also affects the writer or artist who finishes a work that has consumed all her creative energy for a long while, or an actor whose play has at long last completed its run. The result is often a feeling of let-down, of loss. It is helpful to realize that we human beings are highly adaptable creatures, and that our occupations need not define who we are as people, just what we do for 8-14 hours a day.
As you state, R, these are two entirely different things. Women who entered the power structures in the past 50 years often experienced both things. A briefer experience of the opportunities and then the crushing. The crushing of a woman's perspective, which is different from a male's, the crushing of other qualities that have needed implementation and would/might have provided some balance to extractive, end stage capitalism. Clearly, from the outcomes for our planet, our society, our communities, the traditional power folks wanted entirely self centered, power centric, materialistic, destructive values.
The problem is that the 8 hr day doesn’t exist anymore. If you are truly focused you will do whatever it takes to be successful in a job. It truly is 24 hrs. You sleep on problems to be solved. Many times I discovered a solution in my sleep! And it felt good. On to the next problem. Mr Reich really nailed the addiction to power. Now I can define what I have been through as well.
that reminds me of a "joke". A guy strives mightily to get to the top of the mountain to ask the guru up there what is the meaning of life. When he finally gets to the top and asks the guru replies that he doesn't have a clue what the answer is.
GrrlScientist, how absolutely awful for you! I enjoy reading when you post on here and I wish for you better days ahead! Your former colleagues sound as though they need a lesson in empathy!
Hopefully you "never recovered" from the bird flu, did you?
I spend over a hundred dollars a month on various types of birdseed I mix to feed (mostly doves) to watch them from my windows. Does that help the birds, or make them too dependent on my feeding them? Or both? Or neither? An expert's advice would be appreciated.
actually ... to answer your question ... like you, i also spend a large sum of money each month on wild bird seeds (but not enough, they'd argue), and have done so for my entire adult life. it is possible that feeding wild birds makes them "dependent", but in my opinion, we took their homes away (building our houses, chopping down their trees, digging up their fields, etc., etc.) so WE OWE THEM the best life we can possibly enable for them. especially seeing as how their numbers are plummeting. the bird life that we see now is a mere shadow of what once was, even 20 years ago.
every death, every species extinction, diminishes us all.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I could talk for hours about birds, but when you said "we took their homes away" you are absolutely correct! And we DO owe them.
Over the decades as my semi-rural home property became more urban with an influx of people, it seems that more and more birds show up for my 3-times-a-day feedings. As their natural habitat shrinks, they seem to rely more on what little I'm able to feed them. That makes me sad for the birds, yet happy I can help.
Providing water for them is another long story in and of itself.
We only feed once a day but plant and encourage growth of a friendly bird and butterfly environment as well. What we add may make them stronger to fend for themselves, as a universal basic income helps humans to succeed after the jobs were outsourced.
At our house, we filled up a hanging bird feeder daily for 10 years. Its customers were mainly squirrels. We enjoyed watching them cavort around the backyard and then climb up the 4x4 post to access the feeder. Then one day, I noticed a rat at the feeder. Then we heard tiny feet scrambling in the attic. Then we paid a pest-control company to remove the rats from our attic and to seal up the exterior surfaces that the rats had chewed through. And so we finally stopped feeding the birds, squirrels, and rats.
Sorry to hear about your rat situation. We have cats, and the mice lose in their "cat and mouse" chases. So you might consider getting a cat. But then cats chase birds, although they rarely ever catch one. Just an idea for you to consider if you haven't already.
I do live in "the south", specifically of Texas. The doves I feed are mourning doves. I find white-tipped feathers on the ground, indicative of mourning doves.
I am acutely aware of "dove season" here in Texas. I hate it. If someone enjoys a dinner from a dove I fed, then at least the bird died on a full stomach rather than hungry.
Pigeons and doves belong to the same family of birds (Columbidae), which consists of more than 300 species of birds. They share similar features like thick and round bodies, short necks and thin peaks, but doves are generally of a smaller stature while pigeons are often larger and stubbier.
Loved that, professor Reich. I've had high pressure jobs, never one as intense as your cabinet position, but can relate. Your account gave me a new appreciation for those in public service who care about their huge responsibility. Thank you.
LeMoine, I understand Trump rarely looked tired while he was president. I don't know personally as I am blind, but I can understand why that could be; Trump never did anything, his "workload" was all a fiction. He made a big deal about signing an executive order that would harm people and when he nominated inappropriate conservatives to the courts including the Supremes, but had other people doing all the work, as usual. I suspect he has not worked a day in his life beyond telling other people what they should do.
Wow, your story sounds so much like my retirement. I knew I had to retire because my program was gradually being phased out and as a blind teacher, there would not be another position that would work well, and, the administration was changing for about the 15th time in the 26 years I had taught. I simply couldn't take one more change because usually the changes were not for the better in our disadvantaged, under-resourced district. I loved my job and my students and colleagues and liked the pressure (I had 5 schools to serve) and all the paperwork for keeping student records. I often worked 60 hour weeks because I had to develop my own curriculum. During COVID lock down, I was mailing the materials and books to my students each month so they could be present with me on zoom. When I retired, the pressure was indeed off, but so was the contact with my colleagues and students. I had nowhere to put my teaching ideas and was no longer developing materials for my students. I found myself imagining what my students would do with something I had found. The two things that saved me were that I am a supply preacher and had quite a lot of work and it took time to develop worship services and sermons. The second was that I started tutoring and worked with 7th and 8th grade students struggling with math. I found that to be the secret; doing work that helps others. I also like keeping up with this substack and a few others. I also write an occasional blog. Anyone planning or nearing retirement must have a plan for how to manage the slow-down or if not slow-down, then the extreme change that will come. The world of retirement is very different from the world of work. I had heard people say that, but didn't understand it or know what to do about it. I didn't even plan to retire that soon, so had put off thinking about it. I wish I had started sooner.
Gloria, alas, I still wear my watch, going on three years later. I like knowing what time it is, although I usually don't do much about it most of the time.
“He had lost himself.” That’s exactly how so many women feel after giving birth. The realization that we are no longer who we were. As time goes by, the sadness of missing who we were & the reality that we will never be that person again. Something changed that won’t be unchanged.
This does not happen to men. I could go on about why this is true but I just wanted to react/respond to what you said & its relation to women as it is a topic rarely if ever discussed and/or understood.
From my personal experience as a man, I found something similar happening to me. I spent some of my career as a project manager. ("We can't find anyone smart enough for the position who is dumb enough to take it.")
I'd be leading a ...say ... 9-month project, putting a team together, planning it out, and then bringing it in. And then, when I could see the end in sight, I'd start to get depressed -- which would last for months afterward, in direct proportion to how successful it was. I took to calling that feeling "post-partum."
Those of us that were fortunate enough to have jobs that we loved, truly understand the feelings you are expressing here! Retirement for me, was not something I was truly looking forward to, I fully retired at the age of 82, and like you I am still suffering the bends as you call them, missing something in my life!
Retirement is vastly overrated, considering the human need for meaningful work. I wish I had taken more seriously my own (modest) enjoyment of participating in the workforce before sliding entirely out of it. Now inertia has me.
All the amazing contributions including the sacrifices you have made are apparent your teachings. Thank you Professor Reich for sharing your unique insights and hard earned knowledge.
I felt like that after finishing veterinary school. I, too, didn't know what to do with myself without that intense pressure and schedule. It took me a year to be able to relax and to feel rested. Then, I took a job in veterinary emergency medicine.
I don't think I'd ever considered the connection before. Thank you for your insight.
In my first year in dental school one of my buddies messed up a tooth carving. A professor, holding his tooth carving high up in the air, told the entire class that he should "drop out and go to veterinary school".
That "burned a hole in my memory" so much that 50 years later I haven't forgotten it.
I have appreciated veterinarians more than ever since then. Especially being an animal lover.
I did not know there are veterinary dentists. That is fascinating. Thank you so much for telling me that. I've been out of the loop for a long time.
While in the Air Force I was called in to help a veterinarian pull a research baboon's canine teeth. Oh, my, god, what a story that turned out to be. My right arm was sore for a week from pulling those two massive canines.
It’s sad that so many millions of people are going to vote for this malignant and very dangerous person. It’s so clear to us. They don’t see it. If he wins, it will be the worst for this country. I wish there was a way to make these people understand.
Some , at least the women and their family members who love them, are seeing some of the downsides of supporting tfg. Roe applies to all women, no matter their political affiliation, and all doctors, nurses and others affected by the draconian legislation foisted on a hapless public. and that is just the beginning ; He does not care about the environment, worker's rights, safety on all levels, or even law and order, at least, fairness of any kind.
Jack, if anyone ever hits on a formula to help people understand how very dangerous the orange stain is for Democracy, they could bottle it, patent it, and make a fortune!!
Also, another glimpse into your fascinating life as well as another example of your lifelong commitment to staying the course, to fighting the good fight, trying to improve the American experience. I hold you in the utmost respect. Again, Many Thanks!
Repeatedly, commenters on political issues make statements on the order of "Well, just fix it!", demonstrating that they have little to no appreciation of the incredible complexity of competing demands that are part and parcel of high level jobs. That's particularly true of high level govt jobs that are played out in the public eye, where every Monday Morning QB has the benefit of hindsight as they conclude they could have done it better.
In high stakes politics, it's understandable to a degree that opposition pols, who clearly understand the complexity, (unfortunately) play the "Gotcha'" game in order to manipulate the opinions of our ill-informed public to the benefit of "their side". The fact that the profit-driven, clickbait media play the same "Gotcha'" game is damaging to our country.
Sad!
"To the intelligent man or woman, life appears infinitely (complex). But the stupid have an answer for every question." - Ed Abbey (slightly paraphrased)
PTSD is in the cells of the brain and body as well. There may even be sound tracks of the trauma, imprinted into the solar plexus, that occur at the time of trauma. These sounds imprinted at time of trauma, may release. At some later time, when it is safe, and memories are being processed with the help of a a therapist. The sound track may be clear and loud enough for both the individual and therapist to hear as it releases from the body.
An excellent source for information is The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel Van der Kolk, MD, PHD
Your news letters are very interesting and informative. I highly respected you for your honesty, dignity, integrity and your service to the country and the people. Respectfully,
Thanks for putting it so succinctly, that Trump is in the running because he is driven as you say by his "pathological narcissism." I shudder when I ponder history's tyrants going back centuries. They too, who were responsible for the death of millions, were "pathological narcissists." After finally getting around to reading Tolstoy's "War and Peace" several years ago, I came to understand how war can be pursued by just one man, in this instance Napoleon, who is driven by sheer narcissism. I quote Tolstoy:
"Clearly it was Napoleon's long-standing conviction that the possibility of mistakes did not exist for him, and to his mind everything he did was good, not because it agreed with any notion of what was good or bad, but because HE did it." (See Volume Three, Part One, Section VII.)
and the tragedy is that millions admired him and many still do. By identifying with the narcissist they themselves felt/feel aggrandized and empowered. We live in the age of the anti-Christ, Nietzsche argued, because that is our true nature. Trump is Nietzsche's superman (as was Napoleon then).
revenge is just his amuse bouche. his main course is power; power to indulge in a bottomless grift, power to exercise his sadistic appetite to instill fear and to insult and to intimidate and to mock what others value; along with his infantile need to sit at the ” big boys table” with Vlad and Xi and Kim.
Mweiner, then, there are a few other factors, like his toddlerism and tantrum-throwing if he doesn't get what he wants. He clearly didn't get past age 3 emotionally. He also has dementia and his handlers know it and just keep feeding him information and names so he can put them together in his warped fashion to malign them through lies, insults, and innuendos. Anyone else would have been jail for stealing secret documents and lying about having them or for breaking the gag order, but alas, Baby Donnie has some kind of mythical status that he certainly does not deserve unless it is that he is one of the most appalling human beings ever to be president or even run for office. Until Trump became president, I would get books about the presidents for my students. Afterward, I gave the pre-Trump books away as including the "real" presidents. I wouldn't give anyone such a book that has Trump in it. I was upset about W. Bush, but at least he was close to humane and it was the Supreme Court that gave him the election and he didn't lie about it.
Bush still sucked!
Laurie, you are so right that Bush, both Bushes sucked, so saying they could still be included sort of, but Trump can't is saying a lot about who and what Trump is. He's a disgrace walking around+.
Ruth: yes, he is a monster, brought to US by the billionaire elitists!, and their buddies, the Russian leader and oligarchs and fascists of the world, who like dictators.
Yes. Puts into a sad perspective the WORST … Trump!!
Both bushes are at least human tRump is not.
And arguably, Dick Cheney was the 'defacto' President while Bush bided his time.
Bush was a dolt. I hold Cheney more responsible because he had the brains to know better.
But even Bush, after DJT’s inauguration blather, had the smarts to assess it as BS
Why not assess someone else's BS , when it could make you look better? He is of the same cloth as TRUMP. : "W" talked about the "New World Order" that was coming! He is part of the plot!
steve : He also had an oil 'services' company: Halliburton, to Feed and nurture!
GW Bush was the first US president to undermine American science by denying climate change and forbidding even its mention in government documents.
Steve—except we had known Cheney from before. Brains maybe. A moral compass, never.
The Shrub killed a lot of people.
As many as tRump?
TOTALLY what I always call The Cheney Administration.
Karl Rove was part of that "administration" too : just not 'officially' !
"W" WAS "protecting US from "evildoers" with "Nucular" weapons of mass deception!
Oy, vey, my brother and I considered him “criminobobble.”
Yes: Toxic, like a Criminoble, or , better yet : CriminoI-Ignoble! Worse than a "Human" Chernobil! Criminobobble is good : It will not take long for him to manufacture such cute things to market himself some more! Spreading radioactivity!
WE Bush was also the first US president in recent history to receive a "blank check" from Congress (to combat terrorism). Every congress person, with the sole exception of Barbara Lee, deserved impeachment.
Yes, he appointed Samuel Alito, a Leonard Leo choice, to the Supreme Court.
The Republican establishment has clearly been “sick” for a long time.
Pat—since Tricky Dick, made twice as bad by Reagan.
Absolutely, though people think it’s a recent phenomenon. Think about it — since FDR and The New Deal, they have been railing against “socialism” —
We put up with McCarthy.
My parents belonged to a group called Republicans and Independents for Johnson [my parents were Independent} to oppose Goldwater!
Then Tricky Dick.
Reagan.
Bill Barr manipulating G. H. W. Bush.
Cheney running G. W. Bush.
Then Trump.
Yes. For sure — SICK for a very long time …. And bent on undoing both FDR’s New Deal and Teddy’s repudiation of monopolies …
Egad. See the pattern, see the history … !
Tricky Dick - haha- haven’t heard that for ages! One time he gave a speech of some sort that was televised. The next day at work a co-worker asked me if I had seen something on TV. I said no because my husband made me watch Tricky Dick. She said, “What?!?!?” I said. “Nixon!” 🙄🤪😁
Carolyn : Yes, a Federalist Society groomed "judge".
If that isn't "elitist" I don't know what is. Also, pathetic regarding the instigators and enablers.
We have to get the word out as much to keep ourselves conscious, as to alert others. the brainwashing of voters and media consumers has been going on for a long time!
BUSH 2 appointed Alito
Before Bush I had a close friend who believed Presidents made no difference and he did not vote. After Bush he became a voter.
And I hope votes Blue. They ain’t perfect, but they don’t hold a candle in R’s in the “horrible” department.
of course he does. Friends don't let friends vote red.You know that.
Yessss
steve reed: I wonder what Woke him? "Heckuva job, Brownie!" Or "Mission accomplished" !?
Laurie—the “Mission Accomplished” and landing on the carrier as though he had flown the fighter in brought on an acute attack of “fardo”.
Definition: being embarrassed for someone too stupid to be embarrassed for him/herself.
Our current secretary of defense states that the mission "goes on." Expect more American cemeteries on faraway lands.
Good! I hope it's blue 🗳 votes!
steve reed : was it the fake WMD? 😳 and the war that will not end? To say nothing of the hundreds of thousands of innocents killed. Also our own kids and leaders in uniform. To own the oil resource under Iraq, And enhance all 'profits' therefrom. While the planet warms
It was all the above. And his lying sec of state Rice.
and Powell, who, unlike Rice, admitted it.
And even a co-opted Colin Powell.
😢
Don't forget it was Rumsfeld and his guard pushing for Iraq 2 as revenge for Iraq 1.
How could anyone forget 'Rummy'? They were all birds of a feather, not unlike the present cult!
I agree but dislike that modifier.
Penny K ; Unsure of what you mean here. what modifier? just curious.
okay im a republican and i can agree with that
You could have left it at"...he is one of the most appalling human beings ever...." As in to have ever existed, period. Trump is lower than the whale manure at the bottom of the Marianas Trench.
A USMC metaphor? (but my DI didn't say "manure.")
My stepfather, who was a DI at Parris Island, wouldn't have said "manure", either. I learned an extensive Marine vocabulary from a young age, but I try to use it sparsely and privately....besides, many social media admin bots ban naughty words (when they recognize them-- disguised vulgarities will usually squeak through)
I think the days of $hit & profanity filter bots is over and Saint Carlin can be heard again uncensored. Hanging in my bathroom is a collaborative poem I wrote:
What's In A Name - by Will & Rob
What's in a name
That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet,
And that which we call Feces,
B.M. or Excrement,
Still looks and smells like Shit
Copyright 1594 William Shakespeare - 1994 Robert Boyte
Substacks are the only place I can let loose; if you like uncensored language, I highly recommend TC in LA's Substack, "A Fine Mess". George Carlin fans can revel in unfettered linguistic glory. I do, myself.
And Trump speaks about himself in the third person as my three year old grandson who dances better than Trump.
Gloria, I call Trump, "Toddler-man" because that is just how he acts, understands things incompletely, whines, throws tantrums, and the rest. That is what one expects of a 3-year-old, but not a man in his 70s. I am guessing Trump never had to grow up. He learned how to manipulate people, as some toddlers do, and lived off that skill, fooling so many people, enough to make him president. Disgusting!
Trump is a very malicious toddler.
What a tell it is, when Donnie QuackQuack speaks in toddlerese. That cutsie way 3 year olds do, about themselves as if they were another person. He’s reverted back to age 3. It’s truly amazing actually, how often he projects, if not reverting to his age 3 self, he’s off into other’s minds, as he imagines them. Then spouting off what He thinks and actually wants to say, or make happen. Usually what comes out of his mouth is the opposite of the person he says he’s quoting, of course. Again, like little kids often do. A form of magical thinking. So charming in a little tyke. Disgusting in a tyrant, who wants to control you, and the country.
Let’s get real, all this is farce in a comedy movie. In real life, it IS Dangerous. A complete and total disqualification for any position of responsibility, let alone the Presidency. Any sane individual knows this is so, of this there is No doubts or question. The Only questions are: 1. will the party participating in perpetuating the
candidacy of this obviously dangerously incompetent person continue in the charade of corruption, pretending this obviously mentally incompetent person be supported, propped up and aided and abetted as if normal. 2. If this continues, and enough people are fooled by the nationwide charade, and under false pretenses elect this person, who then goes on to commit heinous crimes he already hints at planning. Will the Party that perpetuated the Cover-up be held responsible, charged with Criminal Contempt, Punishable by a Court?
Good question.
Yes, yes, yes, Ruth, all the way to what you say about Bush, tho, who I think was a figure-head in the Cheney administration, which was monstrous. The entire asleep-at-the-wheel summer before 9-11, when they sidelined Richard Clarke who told them Al Qaeda was our main foreign threat — and then they started a war with Iraq and destabilized an entire region, instituted “approved” torture … and said Bin Laden wan’t an important person to capture … all that, Egad. The Republican Party has been sick for a long time, and it started before Trump, for sure.
YES, Bush himself is much more of a human being, but I think he was a pawn, and sadly, easily manipulated.
But, all you said about Donnie — o.m.g, The Infantile Whiner … The Paramount Narcissist … The Most Powerful Constant Victim in the History of the World! Egad!! You’ve got HIS number.
Pat, thanks for seeing what I see in Trump. Also, your observation of W. is spot on. How he got to run for anything is beyond comprehension, but Republicans do pick the least of the competent for many of our critical positions. I guess they think they can better control the ones they choose to run. What we have to address is the guys and it is guys behind the candidates. These are not good people and are working hard to wreck our democracy, for their own personal gain, of course.
For sure, again, Ruth. Spot on.
I have said — and I worry about this — that were Trump not to run, we would still be in serious danger of fascism if ANY Republican were to be elected in November 2024.
The Republican supported Project 2025 no laughing matter. They said at CPAC that they will bring down democracy, and they meant it.
Pat, one of the things I don't get about Republicans, what is their rush to fascism about? Do they think the German people did well under Hitler? Their soldiers died in the millions, their people starved, they watched their neighbors humiliated and murdered even though they pretended they didn't know what was going on. Do Republicans think they will survive the chaos that will follow such a fascist takeover of this country? Do they think they won't be forced onto the farms or into the factories at slave wages to produce the food and products for the rich white guys who orchestrated this farse? What is going on in the minds of the Trumpers and Trumpettes that they think a toddler-men has anything real or positive to offer them. Have they looked at people like Steve Bannon, Steve Miller, Federalist Society Leo to see what kind of hateful asses they are? The Trump balloon will burst for them, then what! They won't be able to admit their participation in the disaster because they see themselves as pure as the driven snow (and just as white) and as it is, accept no responsibility for anything they do to their families, neighbors, fellow citizens who work every day to provide services for them and others. They truly are toddler-adults just like their infantile cult leader and will never stop to examine that until they have their right to examine it taken away.
Ah, yes, Ruth, every word so, and also so hard to fathom. I think that, as the world has cast Hitler as the quintessential evil, so, too, is it hard to get people to understand that it’s not unthinkable we could have another like him — or even similar, if not one capable of another true Holocaust {though stop and think what Trump did to innocent children and families at our border, separating babies from mothers and actually LOSING them … How monstrous is a person who could do that, and then dismiss it as though he never did it? When does anyone hold him accountable for THAT, and when does he even bother to mention it …?}
The people who are logged as his supporters among the electorate are duped. They would not like to hear someone like me say it, but too f-ing bad. Trump’s time on TV gave him “legitimacy,” because our country suffers a serious cult of celebrity, and a great many people, like so many moths, gravitate toward the flame of “fame.” They believe what they see on the screen — we see it too often with the election of incompetent celebrities … {Hey, even JD Vance, sent to Washington and now rumored to want to be DJT’s VP …}
The people who flock to DJT aren’t the ones who run the man — the people manipulating him are the Oligarchs who have orchestrated this phenomenon, and they want fascism because, as fascism has done all over the world, it privileges the uber-wealthy….
And, you’re right … once they have the power, the people who flocked to support them will find out too late what the Oligarchs and the Fascists are really all about …
Our hope is two-fold:
1. We manage to get out a vote of proportions sufficient to vote Biden in and not Trump.
2. The Democrats and those of us on the Left manage to prevent the Right from literally invalidating our votes.
If Dems keep being so feckless as they’ve been while the R’s packed our SCOTUS … oy, eeek, I can’t go there.
We need to hold on to democracy and not let them take it…
Some of them think that the US backed the wrong side in WW II.
Bush2 was yet another rich kid who expected a leisurely presidency while letting a maniac like Cheney take hold of the reins of the executive branch.
GW Bush had no problem with lying and killing.
Ugh, but yes
W Bush mass murdered hundreds of thousands of people including thousands of our own troops so he could be a war president. That was the caliber of his thinking. He also gave a 10 trillion dollar tax cut to the rich and started the destruction of the supreme court.
Questioner, you are right. Somehow, Bush hasn't looked so bad when compared to Trump, but he was awful and a lot of death followed him. He could blame everything on 9/11 even making up a connection between Iraq and 9/11. Bush didn't have the bombast of Trump, but he certainly had the cruelty, ignorance, and inability to do anything to help anyone but those who think the way he does. Trump has all of that but the willingness to destroy our democracy and a whole cadre of guys and a few women who are willing to do it for him while he sits at the top gloating, whining, like a toddler on a potty. WHY???? I don't get the charm of either man. Neither should ever have been in charge of anything ever, but both ended up as president, and Bush actually got elected the second time. Let's hope Trump is not elected the third time.
Third time?
That was when the Supreme Court became openly and unashamedly partisan. Look at it now.
He simply wants to pardon his crimes!
Excellent
He doesn’t have dementia- he’s autistic. Trump is on the spectrum.
Susan, Trump may be on the spectrum, but in addition he is dealing with dementia. I have seen people I care for go through it and he has the symptoms but of course, we won't get the official word because all his doctors will say he's a genius who will live to be 200. That's BS of course, but what can one expect. Everyone Trump has close to him has pledged to bow to his every whim, repeating whatever he wants them to say or what they know is what he wants them to say. ?Another reality is that his handlers are directing him to a great extent. He still knows how to rant and to lie with a straight face because he can't tell if something is a lie or not. I keep wondering if he is wearing an ear piece through which his handlers can tell him what to say, maybe not all the time, but often enough to keep him from totally falling apart as he almost does at his rallies. Of course, the media are eating this up as though Trump is mentally healthy; he isn't.
Ruth I detest the man, but as a nurse, I haven’t seen enough evidence to make me think he’s demented, yet. As a senior, I don’t like throwing that term around without a preponderance of evidence, and that includes brain scans and labs. I search for words sometimes, have short term memory loss, but I’m not demented. He’s been lying about his health for years, clearly is using a GLP-1 now, has significant mental health issues…here’s a fun thought- the Americans with Disabilities Act covers Presidents too!
Still hoping he chokes on a Big Mac.
Totally worth less piece of trash.
okay i get what you said both are fucked up trump says he hates Mexicans Biden say that "if you have trouble choosing weather to vote for me or trump your not black"
Biden is a good and decent man.
Trump is white trash and a dangerous sociopath. Never say they are both anything in the same sentence. They are not!
so that's not racist just because it came out of Biden's mouth?
If you don’t understand Biden’s comment you don’t know much about him and you are not very smart. Go back and read or watch the entire interview.
what did Biden spacifically mean by your not black if vote for trump
Spot on!!
So . . . 130,000% like his a-hero, Adolf Hitler! To be fair: I think Hitler was a TOUCH less evil in that he only wanted to wipe out a SMALL portion of Germany.
Bunkerboy wants to cremate ALL WOMEN and ALL NON-WHITES and whites that DON'T like him . . . or 99.99% of America.
So well written. So right.
Today’s smile and small laugh. Thank you.
Professor Reich: i completely empathise. i felt something similar after i was unable to find another job after my first (and only) postdoc ended. it took me years to recover from my loss of my work, my access to my former colleagues (who acted as though i had a fatal contagious disease), even accessing scientific papers was impossible so i couldn't keep up on the literature ... and i lost myself, and in many ways, i've never recovered and never will.
First, Girl Scientist, I want to say that I empathize with your loss. I experienced something similar when I organized a horrible nursing home with the Teamsters. It was the happiest moment of my life when two Teamsters went into the administrator's office with me to collect my last paycheck that she had illegally withheld out of spite. I had stood up for the badly treated residents, their families, and the employees after failing to get help from state inspectors, the state representatives, and the newspapers. I became an "untouchable" in my profession when I had recently earned my second graduate degree in nursing. I couldn't continue to expose myself on a daily basis to the suffering of those people without sufficient staff to feed and care for them, and the suffering of mostly single mothers as they tried to support their children and provide humane care in an impossible situation. But I missed the moments in nursing when I could provide care and make a difference. And I missed my colleagues.
The second point I want to make is how stupid it is that scientific research has been capitalized so that it is too expensive to access information that potentially furthers science and can save lives. Everything and everybody, including knowledge, has been commodified in this late stage of capitalism.
And for Professor Reich, I want to say experienced pressure as a school board member of a medium sized school district for two terms with tons of paper to keep up with and the responsibility for the commodified students, employees, and taxpayers. The last thing it was about was education. If you care about the students, employees, and taxpayers, it is a horrendous amount of work to stay on top of things, which you never can. Most members show up and vote "aye, aye, aye" on everything put in front of them as well as looking for opportunities to use taxpayer's money for their own businessess, families and friends. The reason I wanted to be there was because I thought they didn't know they were pushing out 20% of mostly their best and brightest students. They already knew that! Due to reasons having to do with funding and teachers' salaries, when students tested at senior level, they figured they had done their job and forced them out with a bizarre disciplinary points system. They went after me personally which is a long story. I will never participate in such a futile effort again, now that I understand how it works.
Gloria, you are the kind of person people should try to emulate. You made a difference for those residents and you cared. Life is hard but people like you and GrrlScientist show us what it means to persevere even though you lose quite a lot. Stay true to yourselves, eventually good things will happen!
I think this is an all too frequent story in the past decades as highly educated and creative women made their way into the 'power' positions and discovered what was really occurring, sometimes naively thinking, others would want to enable or restore justice. The corruption of the past decades has been precise and exacting. Many of us have paid the price.
A hellish teaching situation caused a colleague to drop on the job, and my health was sliding in the same direction from the workload, abuse, and resulting stress. I spent months eliminating all debt so that when a power play intended to torment me came, I quietly submitted my resignation effective at contract end to HR. I snubbed the mean girls in charge. Word eventually got out, and the mean girls threatened that I'd never work again and I would become homeless. I'd expected that and planned for it. My house sold within days and I moved to one of those cities listed in a "Best Places to Retire" article. Of course it wasn't, but it was quite an adventure and I worked at some interesting temp jobs. It was the perfect setting to reinvent myself before moving back to my roots to properly retire.
Gloria,
If you can, watch “PBS docu. “A Brief History of the Future”! So positive…. much needed.
Thanks. I will find that.
Grieving over the loss of a career is lot like grieving over the loss of someone you loved. What came through to me from your comment is that the hurt may never go away, even though you may have set a new life-course for yourself. What came through to me in reading Robert Reich’s post is just how a position of significant power affects the person holding it, and then how the loss of power leads to feelings of emptiness and even despair. I believe a similar feeling also affects the writer or artist who finishes a work that has consumed all her creative energy for a long while, or an actor whose play has at long last completed its run. The result is often a feeling of let-down, of loss. It is helpful to realize that we human beings are highly adaptable creatures, and that our occupations need not define who we are as people, just what we do for 8-14 hours a day.
As you state, R, these are two entirely different things. Women who entered the power structures in the past 50 years often experienced both things. A briefer experience of the opportunities and then the crushing. The crushing of a woman's perspective, which is different from a male's, the crushing of other qualities that have needed implementation and would/might have provided some balance to extractive, end stage capitalism. Clearly, from the outcomes for our planet, our society, our communities, the traditional power folks wanted entirely self centered, power centric, materialistic, destructive values.
The problem is that the 8 hr day doesn’t exist anymore. If you are truly focused you will do whatever it takes to be successful in a job. It truly is 24 hrs. You sleep on problems to be solved. Many times I discovered a solution in my sleep! And it felt good. On to the next problem. Mr Reich really nailed the addiction to power. Now I can define what I have been through as well.
"Grieving over the loss of a career is lot like grieving over the loss of someone you loved."
Absolutely true.
that reminds me of a "joke". A guy strives mightily to get to the top of the mountain to ask the guru up there what is the meaning of life. When he finally gets to the top and asks the guru replies that he doesn't have a clue what the answer is.
GrrlScientist, how absolutely awful for you! I enjoy reading when you post on here and I wish for you better days ahead! Your former colleagues sound as though they need a lesson in empathy!
Hopefully you "never recovered" from the bird flu, did you?
I spend over a hundred dollars a month on various types of birdseed I mix to feed (mostly doves) to watch them from my windows. Does that help the birds, or make them too dependent on my feeding them? Or both? Or neither? An expert's advice would be appreciated.
actually ... to answer your question ... like you, i also spend a large sum of money each month on wild bird seeds (but not enough, they'd argue), and have done so for my entire adult life. it is possible that feeding wild birds makes them "dependent", but in my opinion, we took their homes away (building our houses, chopping down their trees, digging up their fields, etc., etc.) so WE OWE THEM the best life we can possibly enable for them. especially seeing as how their numbers are plummeting. the bird life that we see now is a mere shadow of what once was, even 20 years ago.
every death, every species extinction, diminishes us all.
shifting baselines and all that.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I could talk for hours about birds, but when you said "we took their homes away" you are absolutely correct! And we DO owe them.
Over the decades as my semi-rural home property became more urban with an influx of people, it seems that more and more birds show up for my 3-times-a-day feedings. As their natural habitat shrinks, they seem to rely more on what little I'm able to feed them. That makes me sad for the birds, yet happy I can help.
Providing water for them is another long story in and of itself.
We only feed once a day but plant and encourage growth of a friendly bird and butterfly environment as well. What we add may make them stronger to fend for themselves, as a universal basic income helps humans to succeed after the jobs were outsourced.
Excellent idea that feeding birds makes them stronger to fend for themselves. I hadn't thought of that, but it's true. Thanks.
At our house, we filled up a hanging bird feeder daily for 10 years. Its customers were mainly squirrels. We enjoyed watching them cavort around the backyard and then climb up the 4x4 post to access the feeder. Then one day, I noticed a rat at the feeder. Then we heard tiny feet scrambling in the attic. Then we paid a pest-control company to remove the rats from our attic and to seal up the exterior surfaces that the rats had chewed through. And so we finally stopped feeding the birds, squirrels, and rats.
Sorry to hear about your rat situation. We have cats, and the mice lose in their "cat and mouse" chases. So you might consider getting a cat. But then cats chase birds, although they rarely ever catch one. Just an idea for you to consider if you haven't already.
Yes, I have a lazy, well-fed cat who’s not interested in hunting.
Doves are pigeons. If you live in the south you are feeding somebody's dinner.
William,
Doves and pigeons are different.
I do live in "the south", specifically of Texas. The doves I feed are mourning doves. I find white-tipped feathers on the ground, indicative of mourning doves.
I am acutely aware of "dove season" here in Texas. I hate it. If someone enjoys a dinner from a dove I fed, then at least the bird died on a full stomach rather than hungry.
A dove nest on a window sill is a delightful sight.
Google sez:
Pigeons and doves belong to the same family of birds (Columbidae), which consists of more than 300 species of birds. They share similar features like thick and round bodies, short necks and thin peaks, but doves are generally of a smaller stature while pigeons are often larger and stubbier.
😢
Loved that, professor Reich. I've had high pressure jobs, never one as intense as your cabinet position, but can relate. Your account gave me a new appreciation for those in public service who care about their huge responsibility. Thank you.
LeMoine, I understand Trump rarely looked tired while he was president. I don't know personally as I am blind, but I can understand why that could be; Trump never did anything, his "workload" was all a fiction. He made a big deal about signing an executive order that would harm people and when he nominated inappropriate conservatives to the courts including the Supremes, but had other people doing all the work, as usual. I suspect he has not worked a day in his life beyond telling other people what they should do.
Wow, your story sounds so much like my retirement. I knew I had to retire because my program was gradually being phased out and as a blind teacher, there would not be another position that would work well, and, the administration was changing for about the 15th time in the 26 years I had taught. I simply couldn't take one more change because usually the changes were not for the better in our disadvantaged, under-resourced district. I loved my job and my students and colleagues and liked the pressure (I had 5 schools to serve) and all the paperwork for keeping student records. I often worked 60 hour weeks because I had to develop my own curriculum. During COVID lock down, I was mailing the materials and books to my students each month so they could be present with me on zoom. When I retired, the pressure was indeed off, but so was the contact with my colleagues and students. I had nowhere to put my teaching ideas and was no longer developing materials for my students. I found myself imagining what my students would do with something I had found. The two things that saved me were that I am a supply preacher and had quite a lot of work and it took time to develop worship services and sermons. The second was that I started tutoring and worked with 7th and 8th grade students struggling with math. I found that to be the secret; doing work that helps others. I also like keeping up with this substack and a few others. I also write an occasional blog. Anyone planning or nearing retirement must have a plan for how to manage the slow-down or if not slow-down, then the extreme change that will come. The world of retirement is very different from the world of work. I had heard people say that, but didn't understand it or know what to do about it. I didn't even plan to retire that soon, so had put off thinking about it. I wish I had started sooner.
I became retired the day I forgot to put on my watch. It takes a while.
Gloria, alas, I still wear my watch, going on three years later. I like knowing what time it is, although I usually don't do much about it most of the time.
“He had lost himself.” That’s exactly how so many women feel after giving birth. The realization that we are no longer who we were. As time goes by, the sadness of missing who we were & the reality that we will never be that person again. Something changed that won’t be unchanged.
This does not happen to men. I could go on about why this is true but I just wanted to react/respond to what you said & its relation to women as it is a topic rarely if ever discussed and/or understood.
Thanks for your continued writings.
From my personal experience as a man, I found something similar happening to me. I spent some of my career as a project manager. ("We can't find anyone smart enough for the position who is dumb enough to take it.")
I'd be leading a ...say ... 9-month project, putting a team together, planning it out, and then bringing it in. And then, when I could see the end in sight, I'd start to get depressed -- which would last for months afterward, in direct proportion to how successful it was. I took to calling that feeling "post-partum."
Yes ; post partum depression is a real thing.
Those of us that were fortunate enough to have jobs that we loved, truly understand the feelings you are expressing here! Retirement for me, was not something I was truly looking forward to, I fully retired at the age of 82, and like you I am still suffering the bends as you call them, missing something in my life!
Retirement is vastly overrated, considering the human need for meaningful work. I wish I had taken more seriously my own (modest) enjoyment of participating in the workforce before sliding entirely out of it. Now inertia has me.
Have you ever considered meaningful loafing, such smelling the flowers, feeding the birds, volunteering somewhere?
Go out, feed the birds, smell the flowers, volunteer, and you will have a new, exciting life.
All the amazing contributions including the sacrifices you have made are apparent your teachings. Thank you Professor Reich for sharing your unique insights and hard earned knowledge.
Thank you for sharing the anecdotes of your life, they are both informative and entertaining.
I felt like that after finishing veterinary school. I, too, didn't know what to do with myself without that intense pressure and schedule. It took me a year to be able to relax and to feel rested. Then, I took a job in veterinary emergency medicine.
I don't think I'd ever considered the connection before. Thank you for your insight.
Thank you for your veterinary service!
In my first year in dental school one of my buddies messed up a tooth carving. A professor, holding his tooth carving high up in the air, told the entire class that he should "drop out and go to veterinary school".
That "burned a hole in my memory" so much that 50 years later I haven't forgotten it.
I have appreciated veterinarians more than ever since then. Especially being an animal lover.
Why thank you! I loved my profession, though it ultimately proved pretty tough on my heart, literally and figuratively, especially the emergency work.
There are veterinary dentists, now, too! 😉
I did not know there are veterinary dentists. That is fascinating. Thank you so much for telling me that. I've been out of the loop for a long time.
While in the Air Force I was called in to help a veterinarian pull a research baboon's canine teeth. Oh, my, god, what a story that turned out to be. My right arm was sore for a week from pulling those two massive canines.
It’s sad that so many millions of people are going to vote for this malignant and very dangerous person. It’s so clear to us. They don’t see it. If he wins, it will be the worst for this country. I wish there was a way to make these people understand.
Some , at least the women and their family members who love them, are seeing some of the downsides of supporting tfg. Roe applies to all women, no matter their political affiliation, and all doctors, nurses and others affected by the draconian legislation foisted on a hapless public. and that is just the beginning ; He does not care about the environment, worker's rights, safety on all levels, or even law and order, at least, fairness of any kind.
Jack, if anyone ever hits on a formula to help people understand how very dangerous the orange stain is for Democracy, they could bottle it, patent it, and make a fortune!!
Valuable commentary, Doc. Thanks.
Also, another glimpse into your fascinating life as well as another example of your lifelong commitment to staying the course, to fighting the good fight, trying to improve the American experience. I hold you in the utmost respect. Again, Many Thanks!
Repeatedly, commenters on political issues make statements on the order of "Well, just fix it!", demonstrating that they have little to no appreciation of the incredible complexity of competing demands that are part and parcel of high level jobs. That's particularly true of high level govt jobs that are played out in the public eye, where every Monday Morning QB has the benefit of hindsight as they conclude they could have done it better.
In high stakes politics, it's understandable to a degree that opposition pols, who clearly understand the complexity, (unfortunately) play the "Gotcha'" game in order to manipulate the opinions of our ill-informed public to the benefit of "their side". The fact that the profit-driven, clickbait media play the same "Gotcha'" game is damaging to our country.
Sad!
"To the intelligent man or woman, life appears infinitely (complex). But the stupid have an answer for every question." - Ed Abbey (slightly paraphrased)
Sounds almost like how some soldiers feel after returning from war. You're glad that you're home, but you also kind of miss the stress.
As a former US Marine, I know what you mean.
Thank you for your service.
Thus PTSD.
The way I understand it, PTSD comes from your brain entering combat mode, but not exiting it when you exit the danger zone. Is that right?
Good description
A good film about it: A Private War, with Rosamunde Pike in the leading role.
PTSD is in the cells of the brain and body as well. There may even be sound tracks of the trauma, imprinted into the solar plexus, that occur at the time of trauma. These sounds imprinted at time of trauma, may release. At some later time, when it is safe, and memories are being processed with the help of a a therapist. The sound track may be clear and loud enough for both the individual and therapist to hear as it releases from the body.
An excellent source for information is The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel Van der Kolk, MD, PHD
Sounds like unscientific esotherics.
Undoubtedly one of the reason for their high suicide rates.
Superman had his Fortress of Solitude.
Good morning Mr. Robert Reich,
Your news letters are very interesting and informative. I highly respected you for your honesty, dignity, integrity and your service to the country and the people. Respectfully,
Thanks for putting it so succinctly, that Trump is in the running because he is driven as you say by his "pathological narcissism." I shudder when I ponder history's tyrants going back centuries. They too, who were responsible for the death of millions, were "pathological narcissists." After finally getting around to reading Tolstoy's "War and Peace" several years ago, I came to understand how war can be pursued by just one man, in this instance Napoleon, who is driven by sheer narcissism. I quote Tolstoy:
"Clearly it was Napoleon's long-standing conviction that the possibility of mistakes did not exist for him, and to his mind everything he did was good, not because it agreed with any notion of what was good or bad, but because HE did it." (See Volume Three, Part One, Section VII.)
and and and... Putin is restoring Russia to its former glory. What illusions people chase.
“Attachment is the great fabricator of illusions; reality can be obtained only by someone who is detached. ”
― Simone Weil
PS This does not imply that all those who are detached are therefore without illusion.
I like this as much as her saying that 85% of life is illusion.
and the tragedy is that millions admired him and many still do. By identifying with the narcissist they themselves felt/feel aggrandized and empowered. We live in the age of the anti-Christ, Nietzsche argued, because that is our true nature. Trump is Nietzsche's superman (as was Napoleon then).