Professor Reich, thank you for weaving these verses into our moment. Yeats reminds us how fragile the center can be when fear fuels the worst among us, and Auden warns that even in quieter times, safety is never guaranteed…we must leap. Reading them today feels less like history and more like a mirror held to our present. It makes me wonder if, in trying to make America “great” again, we are only lashing at the shadows of history past. For anyone looking to keep connecting dots between past and present, I try to do the same at www.xplisset.com.
I have to admit, Xplisset, the first poem gave me goosebumps! When Yeats talks about innocence being drowned and anarchy being loosed upon the world, I felt a chill because that is what is trying to happen today. I know many call the orange man a fool, myself included, and that he is merely a puppet. Even so, there is evil in his puppet masters and it is hungry for lawlessness, disorder and chaos. That evil wants to take over and consume not just America, but the world. Right now, there are more dictatorships than there are democracies in our world and that is a terrifying truth! Dictators are evil and determined to take everything they can. It is imperative that we fight hard to keep our country a Democratic Republic and a beacon of hope to those around the world who have looked to America in their dreams of freedom. I don't want to make America the kind of "great" that the orange man and his cult want. I want to make America a country that actually works for all of the citizens in it! Thank you for your resource and I will be using it.
Yes, these are powerful poems. Sometimes when I read them over again, I get different meanings, depending on where I am in my life. But these poems also tell me that we are living in times not so very different from other points in world history. The cycle just keeps going around, and coming back again at another time.
Humanity survived in the past, and we will survive again. But I often wonder what will be the price we have to pay to reach equilibrium once more? And even THAT will be brief, as we continue to play our history on "repeat."
I feel too moved by the poems, the reality, the on target reactions, and the wisdom of shared comments so far to even find words of my own regarding the poems I so appreciate. I am thankful that through them, I am in touch with people from our past times experienced by people I love, who are gone now.. Tears come instead of words for the release or recognition or shared realizations, and the shared knowing, as we have had all along, of the long road that would follow if the outcome of last November took this path. Disbelief continues as I fail to understand how people I know could not have realized what they were choosing and how they could wish this turmoil on anyone. There is nothing great in the sense of goodness about their choice.
I thank you, Robert Reich, for the fitting poems expressing other devastations and turmoil, and I thank you, wonderful and caring contributors for being here, for sharing, and for being able to express yourselves so well today, this time when I feel unable to even voice a reflection to myself, of the dispicable situation nobody anywhere should ever cause, and nobody anywhere should have happen, ever. Tears replace words this morning. Prayers remain, sincere though silent or whispered, the usual singing even is silent, and the total lack of understanding of how some known, usually caring people could still lack recognition of this reality their choices have brought. Thank you everyone for caring and carrying on today.
Thank you for your beautiful, caring, sensitive post today JP4M. Yes, this reality is truly heartbreaking. I think often of my late husband, mother and my best friend of 55 years from college who have all died and are equally heartbroken and angry wherever they are that Trump was elected the 2nd time! In our current reality, I reflect on how grateful I am to have known incredible love in this lifetime with all 3 of these unique, special souls. I pray we can save our country and world from this evil. I'm glad you are here JP4M with your beautiful sensitivity.
Lilla Russell, thank you for this especially kind message. I am extremely grateful that we each have loved ones in our lives, whether still on Earth or having moved on to the next realm, or mostly in the next realm. Yes, they each would care and have definite thoughts. Without a doubt they cheer each of us who works in whatever ways we can to help right the situation for the good of the people, here and elsewhere, and for the good of the Earth. “Peace on Earth and Goodwill toward men” comes to mind, meaning humankind, of course. I am glad you are here, too! I am thankful for everyone here who is working to save what we all value and need. We will keep at it and smile knowing we are not alone.
Thank you and all the other commentators for the openness of your comments. Here in the Uk it is good to hear American voices which might otherwise not get through to us. A reminder that we must avoid the othering of millions of Americans.
We are here, Judy, and we are coming together. Labor Day there were protests in all 50 states and in D.C. The more we come together, the louder our voices get! Thank all of you in the UK encouraging us through your comments. You are so appreciated!
Thank you, Peggy, and I am thinking of you and of all the good people in their sincere endeavors to bring about good! Together we can make a difference!
Donna, you’re right that the cycles keep coming back around, and that survival often carries a price. What gives me hope is remembering that we aren’t just passive in the cycle. We also have the chance to shape how it turns. Even if equilibrium is brief, what we plant in those moments of balance can ripple forward in ways history doesn’t always repeat.
Yes, Christy. After the First World War people found jobs other tha being servants I rich houses, the Second World War gave gains to the middle class. But the price was high!
We have to stop thinking in terms only of the United States. We are only a small part of the world. I think we make a mistake when we view world events that affect only us.
Exactly, Donna. I have been reading about world history, from ancient ancient times (what has been discovered so far which continues to change what we - thought - we knew about human history) to the present all my life and will continue to read about many cultures and their histories. We humans (Homo sapiens- allegedly sapient), ALL of us are interconnected in so many ways world wide and ebb and flow with those connections. As RR has said, history seldom repeats, but frequently rhymes, one era to another
Donna, the USA is not a small part of the world. She has had enormous cultural, political, and economic influence not only on our so called Western world but on Asia and Russia. If it were not so, Trumps tariffs and unreliable decisions would not be so disruptive. But u are right that you all have to look beyond but then back in to understand the dimension of the disaster that is unfolding.
Agree! I don’t click on them in my emails, and I don’t click on them in comments. Most, especially when there was no name attached to the person making a post.
W.H. My favorite 20th century poet. He always gets to the core. Thank you Prof Reich.
Donna - the enormous difference this time is that project 2025 and 47’s environmental policies cannot be reversed fast enough to save the planet. Very few, if any, will survive. And earth - what’s left - will be a very different place. This is not doomsday. It is real science - facts. For starters read Jeff Goodell “The Heat Will Kill You First”. Putting 47 in office has sealed the planets fate. It will now take change beyond radical to even slow this down. Homo sapiens are the only animals ignorant enough to destroy their own home. And very sadly, powerful enough to take down almost every other living thing with them.
Have we ever been in equilibrium? perhaps from the perspective of a privileged white man such as myself, enjoying relative abundance and peace, while much of the world has been in turmoil my whole life? capitalism has never been about equilibrium
Xplisset, Donna, Peggy, I'm a European spectator and horrified abou the developments. The poems of Reich are logical and inspiring. I'm reading again in Eichmann in Jerusalem from Hannah Arendt and "de zaak 40/61" fo Harry Mulisch (dutch writer) about the Eichmann process.
The latter sees and warns against the trends in direction of nuclear war (it was written around the Cuba crisis) and dictatorship.
But the essence should remain practical. As Xplisset writes elsewhere, the US is in control of money and thinking and writing happening controlled by money. Maybe Robert Reich and Heather Cox Richardson are still independent sources to trust. Or Paul Krugman.
Central problem: independent voices that can be trusted: how to organise them? Only a few, above all doubt, would help.
We.so appreciate you. WWII, the US had the "luxury," of denial, of sleep, while Europe was being torn apart, destroyed. At least she did until, ultimately, she did not.
Today, you watch as the US is being destroyed from within. Thank you for being a citizen of the world!
It is my own destiny that worries most. But the regime makes a mess, victims insiders and outside the US. So I hope to spread the sound of peace and reason…
Yeats poem starts with anarchy is unleashed upon the world.
It is not anarchy that is being unleashed, it is totalitarianism of the 1984 variety that is being impressed, no unleashed, upon the world.
Fasicism is not anarchy it is the opposite, and fascism is on the rise everywhere and has taken hold in America, Russia, Hungary, Turkey, China, the Mideast, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia
Paul… The world has been in turmoil many times before. Whenever I travel to other countries and visit their historic or archaeological sites, I come away with the impression that humans have advanced in only one respect. That is, we have created more efficient ways of killing each other.
Various cultures have seen dictators and they have seen good government. Various cultures have advanced and retreated. There have been world disasters that have come and gone. Even if we manage to destroy a good portion of our planet, there always will be those who adapt and continue on.
Even in nature, the Earth has seen at least six times when humanity was nearly destroyed, but a few of our precursors managed to escape and continue on. This may be the direction we are headed in this time. We may be facing another near extinction. But again, enough humans will survive to carry on in whatever form they must.
I know. It’s a depressing thought. But the cycle has been ever thus.
Do take into consideration that there was no atomic or hydrogen bomb in the past when those lines were written. A bit of a game changer when it comes to any sort of optimism regarding "Humanity survived in the past, and we will survive again".
I'm sorry to say this Donna, but as long as America continues to quash the hard fought decisions of other world leaders at the UN, which if you look behind the stated reasons, is about keeping the avalanche of funding that keeps the political system on track, the world will continue to play our history on repeat. And with the most evil man America has ever produced, in charge, this will lead to a grave outcome. 1945 was the beginning of hope for our small globe. Hope that Reich's two poems did not contain. The power that money ensures, has been permitted to drown that hope, repeatedly, for the 80 years since.
Peggy, I felt the same chill you describe, and your words really landed as well. What I keep turning over in my mind is how often we seem to be fighting shadows of our own history. First it was slavery, then Hitler modeling dictatorship on American segregation, then Vietnam where our fevered anti-communism dragged us into disaster. Again and again, we battle demons of our own making. That’s what makes Yeats and Auden feel so current. It’s not just poetry, it’s a mirror. I may try to write a full post on this soon, inspired by Professor Reich, because I think naming these recurring shadows is part of breaking their hold on us.
Xplisset, I cannot let go of the idea I have that the majority of Americans are actually on the same page with regards to how we want our country to move forward. I believe that Democrats, republicans, Independents and other parties can agree on several points. I believe we agree that we are the UNITED States of America. We may have different viewpoints about some things but we work together, compromise and come up with something that is acceptable to the majority. I believe we agree that all parties must work together for the benefit of the citizens in America. Once again, that theme of working together. I believe that we agree that our government works well when all three branches are working providing checks and balances that prevent any one branch from taking over. I think what has happened here is that the extremes of both parties have drowned out everyone else and are basically leading in this chaotic mess. Americans need to stand up and stand together and stop the extremists before they completely destroy our country. We must break their hold on this moment. The only way I know how is to vote for candidates that will work on that and vote out the extremists. Maybe then, our government will begin to work for all of us instead of just a few.
Peggy, I wish I could share your belief that the bystanders have enough knowledge of the three branch structure of our democracy to stop Trump. The fact that down ballot voting and off year elections have no relevance to them is obvious to me.
The only glimmer of light I am seeing is the turnout for special elections during the past 8 months. I also see more people joining the postcard writing groups. But I also noticed that, similar to our little community commenting on these Substack posts, most of us have more gray hair.
Are the students at "The Last Class" working as hard as we are to encourage the rest of the country to "leap"? Seeing the younger generations at rallies and protests is great, I hope they will work to GOTV and do everything they can to get people to the polls.
The apathy of our younger generations is very frustrating. We should all be part of and supporting David Hogg's Leaders We Deserve. It is a good link to these generations.
Michael have you been to a march or protest recently? Or listened to the One Million Rising info and Q&A sessions of the young leaders of Indivisible on Thursday afternoons? Highly recommended. This is the least apathetic generation I've seen since the 60s!
Yes, Mary. We have to EARN our good life and good governance, every day, together in good will.
Sustaining that is our challenge. And we need to have a way to short-circuit the effects of those among us who would turn our government into a tyranny of greed, lust and cruelty, looting the world nations' resources, deepening the gap between obscene wealth for the very few and desperate poverty for the rest.
The blurred edges of tyranny must be sharpened, and preventative measures worked out, with mechanisms fine tuned, agile, and effective.
It only works if and when we work together, and consistently for the Greater Good.
Our truly dangerous enemies are fear and complacency. The ONLY evidence of our commitment, and our ONLY path out of this horrific cycling, is what we DO TOGETHER, a hundred million of us or more, not what we just think or say.
Yes. And false optimism is another great danger. We are going to need strength and *courage*. You cannot develop those muscles by turning warnings into bromides. Hope is not the belief that everything will be OK in the end. It is the stamina to do what must be done no matter what.
I disagree that the "extremists of both parties" are destroying our country. The so called "liberal extremists" want what every other wealthy country has. It's called extreme because of lack of education and perhaps not seeing those priorities firsthand through travel... I believe it needs to be what replaces whatever this is now. Hopefully, we can rebuild a society that puts people's needs before greedy profit and takes care of our planet before it burns up. Maybe I misunderstood what you were saying?
Which explains, of course, why the president and his entourage want to rewrite the history that the Smithsonian exhibits documenting our mistreatment first of Native Americans, then of enslaved Africans. We had begun to acknowledge these atrocities and even make amends, and they find that unacceptable. To them domination and complicity are paramount.
I share your hope of "breaking their hold on us". I hope that more people will leap. What scares me is that so many people refuse to see any danger in what Trump is doing. What will it take to break the willful ignorance of the bystanders?
Xplisset, your writing that you think “naming these recurring shadows is part of breaking their hold on us.” means so much. Every comment I have read so far is meaningful and appreciated. Your particular wording regarding the recurring shadows and breaking the hold on us especially resonates me. Thank you!
Me too! Jung’s examination of symbols and of the Collective Unconciousness has had a tremendous influence on how I understand history and the human condition. Reading Jung and Yeats together was a rite of passage for me in my 20s. Time to dive in again, some 50 years later.
I have read Yeats' poem several times in my life and its poignency has struck me differently each time. It is quite immediate today. Unfortunately, those who need to read and process its words are those least likely to do so, Our whole society has been pushed off center by forces hellbent on destroying The Republic. All of us need to play Diogenes - using his lamp. and find the center again.
Yes, exactly. Our politicians and establishment journalists have co-opted the metaphor since Clinton days to suggest that the status quo (skyrocketing inequality and the political corruption that has enabled it) is stable. Apparently not.
Stephen, I recently convened a poetry reading event where, we opened up with, ‘The Second Coming’ and ended with Robert Frost’s “Something Like a Star”. As humanity is a run away spices, (There were just 2 billion souls on the earth in 1949 and today a mere 76 years later there are 8 billion and counting rapidly) and as the 8 billion need resources such as food, housing, jobs, education and medical care our enormous numbers puts stresses on the limited ecosystems of the earth which are more and more degraded to the point of initiating the 6th great extinction event and fostering global warming as our addiction to fossil fuels can’t be resolved fast enough now to avoid a deadly climate crisis.
It seems that history repeats itself because as our populations keep exceeding the resources available Homo sapiens battle over the limited supply with deadly aggression.
As a famous psychology experiment in overcrowding with rodents revealed that social interactions degrade quickly as population density increases. For more details on this look up “Behavioral Sink”.
It’s not so much that we need to find the center as it is we need to learn to manage our population to not put stress on the available resources as well as the ecological limits that our environment can sustain such as greenhouse gases and other pollutants.
Unfortunately, history reminds us that our species is prone to wage war to limit overpopulation and acquire resources currently under the control of our neighbors.
It has seemed all along. In the last several years, that the “want to be one” and the existing ones would try to overtake each other for ownership of the world. If they are not careful, there will not be a world.
Maybe dictatorships are the more normal way for humans to control their herds. We're the experiment apparently - my preference for sure. Now, if I were king, it would be much better....... But really, I don't know what trips-their-trigger - I'll go with Greed!
I’m glad to be old too but I do fear for all those who are younger than me. I just pray and hope that “enough” of us wake up and take action to change the current course we’re on and to help bring peace and freedom for all to a New Earth.
I so agree, Lilla. I've lived in Mexico for almost 30 years (from Texas) and I can tell you, the ex-pats here rally and vote!!! Just doing what we can do, though it never seems enough.
We were once the mighty in our democracy. We were the shining light of the world. Now we have the evilest of dictators because he’s following Project 2025.
Well said. I agree. I’m reading WW2 books currently and the similarities of Hitler’s actions are scarily similar to Trumps, just substitute immigrants for the Jews. Our country has always been hope and freedom and right now it is anything but.
Peggy, your words really strike me. I felt that same chill reading Yeats, because it speaks so directly to the danger of our time. I share your concern that chaos and disorder are being used as tools, not accidents, and that the forces behind it hunger for more than just power in one nation. What gives me strength, though, is remembering that we are not powerless. We have a chance to insist on a vision of America that truly works for everyone, where freedom is not a slogan but a lived reality. Thank you for naming the truth so clearly and for reminding us of what is at stake.
Peggy, Your words here were perfectly expressed and so struck me. Yes, dictators are increasing around the world and are pure evil. You are so right that "It is imperative that we fight hard to keep our country a Democratic Republic and a beacon of hope to...." Thank you Peggy for this powerful post and for your caring heart! So glad you're here!
I will always be here, Lilla, and I do care so very much. I appreciate all of you on this substack and the others I visit. We will keep our Democratic Republic, Lilla, I am quite sure of that!
I love your fighting spirit and love for our Democratic Republic Peggy. I’m so very glad you’re here as well as others on Robert’s substack! We need each other to remain strong and resilient, knowing we are not alone but are part of a wonderful band of caring souls committed to keeping our hearts open and to our moral values. I feel much gratitude for all of you as I live in an area surrounded by Trumpsters which is difficult. Thank you Peggy.
I'm right there with you, Lilla! I, too, live in a sea of red! I keep my sanity by talking to everyone on the substacks I subscribe to. You are so right. We do need each other for moral support and to help us know that others want to keep our Democratic Republic, too! Hang in there, Lilla! I feel a change is coming and I feel it will be for the better! Keep fighting! Stay strong and stay safe!
Thank you Peggy! I promise to keep fighting and staying strong and safe! You too!! I also keep my sanity by having this community on substacks! Stay well!
I would edit: "...for all the citizens and those who aspire to be citizens in it." That addition would have included all my elders from Lodz and Odessa who arrived in between 1905-08. And I am hardly alone in recognizing that I am here because of the courage and foresight of immigrants.
Perhaps ... a country that actually works for all of the citizens of the world, Peggy. The America of recent decades has a veto that is working against this. Trump is using it to make himself King, not just of America, but of the world.
Peggy, thank you for your uplifting comment. The time is fast approaching when Trump will have to leap--or retreat. We will stand firm, and our courts still honor the law. The recent ruling declaring Trump's tariffs illegal is a tremendous blow to Trump and his Project 2025 supporters. Only Congress has the right to impose taxes and tariffs. It is imperative for Democrats to demand that Congress exercise its responsibility and duty, and if Congress does this the pretext for the unitary presidency will collapse. In case after case Trump would then have to ask for congressional approval, and we would be on our way to the restoration of the Constitution. .
Yes, Thank you, Matthew. These are great lines to remember as we set off to our various protests today (those of us who can, that is). "[We] are many...they are few."
I reposted this poem on Tim Snyder's "Thinking About..." sub with attribution to you. I hope you don't mind. He started his piece today with Shelley's "Ozymandias" and I thought it too perfect. https://snyder.substack.com/p/look-on-my-works-ye-mighty
Matthew Forsta, thank you for sharing that poem. I can visualize it and love it. Let’s all keep shaking those chains off like the morning dew it describes! Peggy, you and others keep outlining the definite steps to shake those constraints and to prevent more from happening. I am feeling refreshed and know that I am working on it. All we can do is our best. Thank you.
I’m not a fan of poetry- I’m a get to the point, just say it kind…but that verse was perfect in this context, thanks. Problem is- ye are many, their numbers almost equal!!
It seems to me more like the 1880’s or ‘90’s. Or Germany in the 1930’s. Or worse. All the worst of fascism and add the deliberate hastening of the end of earth as a place that can support human life. The torturous death of our great-grandchildren or possibly one or two generations beyond that.
It’s time for John Lennon’s Imagine. There can be no borders to save the planet. There can have no religion to stop Israel. We cannot have dictators. Leaders must work together. No petty problems. We will be inconvenienced. Some things more expensive. Corporations must limit their profits. We just don’t want to.
Thank you, Xplisset for this. What you wrote about Yeats and Auden really resonates. Their words carry forward because they speak to the timeless tension between fear and courage, passivity and action. I share your sense that these verses feel less like artifacts and more like living reminders of where we are now. For me, the challenge is not just to see the shadows of history but to recognize our chance to step into something different, to imagine a society where fear does not set the terms and where belonging is not conditional. That leap you mention feels essential, and it is encouraging to know others are making those same connections between past and present.
A 6th grader at my school wrote a poem last spring and I got permission to add it to my spreadsheet (last tab linked below). Mostly because I wanted others to see how aware kids are to what’s happening in the world ❤️🩹
Use/share this spreadsheet (bit.ly/Goodtrouble) as a resource to call/email/write members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Reach out to those in your own state, and those in a committee that fits your topic. Call. Write. Email. Protest. Unrelentingly. We deserve better ❤️🩹🤍💙
INTRIGUE AT THE KING'S COURT... Heather Cox Richardson, in recent videos, advises us not to despair as she believes that "...The Trump dictatorship isn't going very well." Trump is physically ailing. But even worse is his mental state - the King is "mad as a Hatter"! Added to that, his approval rating is plummeting to below sea level. And Epstein files loom above him like the "sword of Damocles", as Congress will return soon and interview the victims.
Behind the scenes, the rats scurry to find and keep the cheese. Head rats, Stephen Miller and Russell Vought, may be in control at the moment, but Heather points to their vulnerability due to their lack of a power base, lack of elected office status, and their dependence on the mad King himself. Meanwhile, J.D.Vance, " sporting" the charisma of a gravel bed, tells Maga minions that he is ready to wear the crown. In the shadows, Elon Musk promises to buy him popularity. Fast forward to the military tending gardens in WASH D.C. -- the biggest crime there is citizens picking flowers for their loved ones. So far, the regular military is not under Trump's thumb.. But that is what he dreams about...
Heather tells us pushback is working, and our voices matter. The Texas state legislators inspired Gavin Newsom to take a stand. Governor Pritzker is inspiring others to speak out against troop deployment. The King's court wants you to wallow in despair - hence, the "flood the zone" and the "smoke and mirrors" tactics. It's time to be strong. Let's get out in the streets tomorrow in large numbers to protest and make our pushback known!
Thank you for this lively description of "status quo", the same thoughts I have here, overseas, in Sweden. The puppet master Steven Miller may whisper anything about immigrants and people of colour, and promptly his puppet jumps to action.
This morning, in the news in our Swedish daily paper, is an article about the hateful behavior, AGAIN, at the wild Bear-Gulch-Fire in Washington.
Miller in English is Müller(Mueller) in German. He is the son of an immigrant, a Jewish family from Germany, but his father seems not happy over his son, born in the USA.
European Media follows all news from your side of the planet!
For example> The Guardian from the European Independant Press
Margareta... Thank you so much for your perspective. Miller makes my skin crawl. Yes, it was unconscionable what happened with the firefighters in Washington. The Guardian is a trusted source as an independent media. Miller's father must be very disappointed... Sometimes, it all seems so surreal. And the cruelty and torture is unfathomable.. We just have to keep fighting... I really appreciate your sharing!!!
Yes! Yes! Yes! Thank you, Michele2! That comment was inspiring and informative! I will be out there today! C'mon, America! Let our voices be so loud the orange man will hear us in Washington!! Keep fighting, keep resisting because it IS WORKING! Stay strong and stay safe!
The greatest predictive factor in someone supporting MAGA is as true today as when Matthew MacWilliams wrote about it in January 2016 -- an "oracle" according to Sam Stein of The Bulwark. That factor is the need for authoritarian leadership, and that "need" is VERY strong in the 18 to 30 year old age group.
That Trump is currently weak more likely means the perceived need for a stronger authoritarian. IMO, nothing will eventually bring on more despair than the promotion of (unrealistic) false hope. We have to be clear-sighted enough about this to discuss it.
I have respect for a lot of HCR's work, but she's not going to do anything that might provoke fear in her audience because like all content creators, she has an algorithm to worry about.
Thomas - I need to give it some thought. There are definite "cracks" in the Maga world right now relating to immigration/deportation and Epstein files... The last two Politics Chats of HCR I thought were astute observations of what is currently going on... Honestly, I think Heather tells it like she sees it - with 3 million subscribers, I don't think she lives and dies by her algorithms. She explained the current situation, which we can see playing out. And I have seen alot more pushback too in these last weeks from many sources... Rachel Maddow can be brutally honest in her analysis - as in last Mon. night explaining the reasons behind the military and national security firings..Anyway, I guess we could agree to disagree. Thanks for sharing...
I like her very much. But she was wrong as she could be in her optimism about the aging, creepy Biden, whose empty egotism let this happen. She is a good historian, but she is not a prophet. Be careful about the damage to your eyesight of clinging to the belief that It Can’t Happen Here: “Laugh if you can, but you will have to leap.”
I have no illusions that it can't happen here or anywhere... But giving up in advance is on every dictator's wish list. I don't consider HCR A prophet, just an excellent historian with astute observations. I also consider Rachel Maddow's observations excellent, and she often goes where no one else has gone. There are things happening...Americans are waking up and there is pushback. And there are definitely "cracks" in the regime. I think the election in Iowa was a sign of how people feel...And there are other signs.. Prices get higher and higher and people notice... And we will have to agree to disagree I guess...
?? I don't disagree at all. But I believe that we should look the truth in the face if we're going to be, or get, strong and brave enough to go through what past resistances have endured--or others right now around the world. The two poets wrote at moments like this. They were not wrong. Their warnings were accurate. And both were brave and active.
I don't know if what you said is true about 18-30 y/o/ but it does align with what Gessen says in her book The Future is History on Russia from WWII to current day. That the devastated middle classes in Russia meant the young people could not rely on their parents to provde support and more readily turned to Putin and the non-existent "Putin Plan".
But truth is, we need to unite against trumpism and put aside our differences which pale in comparison. The failure to unite has in the past paved the way for autocrats, as you know.
The extensive surveys run by Matthew MacWilliams provided results that around only 24% of those aged between 18 and 39 ... thirty-nine .. were favorable towards "democracy." Favorable = "consistently support."
Just past the 12th minute of this terrific interview by Sam Stein. Keep listening; it gets scarier.
Yes, the young need and want leadership, and many of the women among them have been conditioned to follow male authority. Dems must come up with a male leader. He better be white, given the current situation.
Pat - Here is a link to Heather's Aug 28 Politics Chat. She also has shorter videos, live interviews, etc. If you go on YouTube and subscribe to her videos (It is free)- then the next time you just go into you tube, you will see "subscriptions" at bottom of screen. Press that and you will see her face icon and you can see all of her videos..
I hope this makes sense. You can also subscribe to her free newsletter (Letters from an American) which would come every evening to your email. It is a good synopsis of day's news and she lists all of her sources. She was one of the first to do a substack. I will put the link below to that one video.
WOW! Megan, that poem was an eye-opener! For an eleven/twelve year old to identify the crisis we are facing today in America should be a smack in the face for every single adult in this country! Our kids are not as dumb as we think! They listen, they learn and what they learn is up to us. Thank you for sharing your spreadsheet as always, Megan, but also for sharing that fantastic poem!
Thank you Megan for that inspiring and insightful poem from your 6th grade student! Our children hear, see, and understand more than we realize! They repeat what they are hearing and are the future!
New ideas and changes are needed now in Congress and in our relationship with our fellow citizens-both domestic and global. If a child of 12 can understand what is happening in America, then I’m ashamed of the 11 million who follow the current regime! They are ones who need to read this poem, unfortunately their eyes and ears are closed to anything else but the words of this regime!
Thanks for the spreadsheet also-a lot of time and work went into it, appreciate it!
Your Sixth grader sees clearly exactly what we on this chat see, - cruel selfish incapable people afraid of losing ground and so doing evil things to other people. Beautiful poem. Thank you for sharing it.
When will, if ever, the MAGA loyalists see this?
We need to pull the rug out from under this administration now! Thank you to the many democratic politicians standing up for what is right.
Thank you Megan, for your untiring efforts to help us know who and how to connect to have our voices heard. The 6th grader’s poem as a present-day observation is priceless. What a voice!
Happy Labor Day everyone. It’s a great day to release the kryptonite on the billionaires. Today, by forming unions with your coworkers you can add some leverage so the average working class people can take our country back from these greedy……
Thanks for the poems. Happy Labor Day to all. Many are sure this day has been ignored for decades, and to be honest, it never gained the traction needed to lessen inequality. Certainly, the current administration and its Oligarchy are clueless as to what organized labor even is. Cheers to all this September 1st.
When I was a schoolboy 50 years ago we studied the Yeats poem that you shared, and also a different Auden poem called “Epitaph on a Tyrant”, which also has resonance today and which reads:
“Perfection, of a kind, was what he was after,
And the poetry he invented was easy to understand;
He knew human folly like the back of his hand,
And was greatly interested in armies and fleets;
When he laughed, respectable senators burst with laughter,
And when he cried the little children died in the streets.”
Excuse me, but The Second Coming is NOT a poem created to inspire hope. Quite the opposite.
On the other hand, because it conveys dread, it resonates in our times.
Yeats' reference to Spiritus Mundi, has a tie in to the work of Carl Jung (and others) on the collective unconscious. Many will agree that what we are experiencing today is a type of mass psychosis.
Slouching toward Jerusalem. The gathering storm. These are familiar chimes in the memory of an old liberal arts student. How do they resonate with a 21st century kid? Do they get it? How would they? Show them picture of Trump at the tiny table with the band of Zelensky and the EU and NATO. Now watch the news last night. 22 heads of state in Beijing with Putin and Xi.
Thank you so much, Prof. Reich! Two excellent poems from two excellent poets. Living In the UK these past 24 years has given me a better understanding of those two world wars. When I was studying for my English Lit BA, we discussed attitudes in the early 20th century, and two things come to mind: prior to the First World War, people never imagined anything so devastating could happen, until it did. Villages here lost most or all of their young men. Eventually people had a sense that nothing that horrible could happen again, until it did, and the island endured the Blitz and came close to a total invasion. Since then, 11 November (Armistice Day) has come to remind us of the horrors and the fallen, and to honour all past and present. Also, I know many folk have the ‘it could happen again’ whilst looking to Ukraine and the threats against other former SSRs and beyond. Unfortunately, the Imbecile-in-Chief is not getting the messages. He’s too ensconced in his self-serving fantasy world, and he’d throw all of us under the proverbial bus to keep his own pathetic dreams alive. History matters, and his lack of understanding will be his downfall.
Yes, before Substack I used to read an online publication called History Matters, which was about the teaching of history in American schools, just the kind of thing our regime opposes today.
I shudder at the thought of the Imbecile’s buddy, Nigel Farage, becoming PM over here. He seems to want to mirror everything happening over there. He’s totally focussed on the migrants coming across the channel and has praised DOGE, wanting to do that over here. The only reason he because a Member of the European Parliament was so he could focus on taking us out of the EU. Now he’s the highest earning MP in Westminster and he is rarely in Westminster doing his job! Too busy galavanting about fanning the flames of the far rights agenda (blaming black & brown immigrants for all the crimes and other problems). Let’s hope they and their kind are stopped in their tracks before they do any further damage.
Let's hope that the restraining hand of the judiciary, as well as the fear of retribution from voters in 2026 who see prices rising, will prevent the effective overthrow of the US Constitution by the Trump regime.
Professor Reich, thank you for weaving these verses into our moment. Yeats reminds us how fragile the center can be when fear fuels the worst among us, and Auden warns that even in quieter times, safety is never guaranteed…we must leap. Reading them today feels less like history and more like a mirror held to our present. It makes me wonder if, in trying to make America “great” again, we are only lashing at the shadows of history past. For anyone looking to keep connecting dots between past and present, I try to do the same at www.xplisset.com.
I have to admit, Xplisset, the first poem gave me goosebumps! When Yeats talks about innocence being drowned and anarchy being loosed upon the world, I felt a chill because that is what is trying to happen today. I know many call the orange man a fool, myself included, and that he is merely a puppet. Even so, there is evil in his puppet masters and it is hungry for lawlessness, disorder and chaos. That evil wants to take over and consume not just America, but the world. Right now, there are more dictatorships than there are democracies in our world and that is a terrifying truth! Dictators are evil and determined to take everything they can. It is imperative that we fight hard to keep our country a Democratic Republic and a beacon of hope to those around the world who have looked to America in their dreams of freedom. I don't want to make America the kind of "great" that the orange man and his cult want. I want to make America a country that actually works for all of the citizens in it! Thank you for your resource and I will be using it.
Yes, these are powerful poems. Sometimes when I read them over again, I get different meanings, depending on where I am in my life. But these poems also tell me that we are living in times not so very different from other points in world history. The cycle just keeps going around, and coming back again at another time.
Humanity survived in the past, and we will survive again. But I often wonder what will be the price we have to pay to reach equilibrium once more? And even THAT will be brief, as we continue to play our history on "repeat."
I feel too moved by the poems, the reality, the on target reactions, and the wisdom of shared comments so far to even find words of my own regarding the poems I so appreciate. I am thankful that through them, I am in touch with people from our past times experienced by people I love, who are gone now.. Tears come instead of words for the release or recognition or shared realizations, and the shared knowing, as we have had all along, of the long road that would follow if the outcome of last November took this path. Disbelief continues as I fail to understand how people I know could not have realized what they were choosing and how they could wish this turmoil on anyone. There is nothing great in the sense of goodness about their choice.
I thank you, Robert Reich, for the fitting poems expressing other devastations and turmoil, and I thank you, wonderful and caring contributors for being here, for sharing, and for being able to express yourselves so well today, this time when I feel unable to even voice a reflection to myself, of the dispicable situation nobody anywhere should ever cause, and nobody anywhere should have happen, ever. Tears replace words this morning. Prayers remain, sincere though silent or whispered, the usual singing even is silent, and the total lack of understanding of how some known, usually caring people could still lack recognition of this reality their choices have brought. Thank you everyone for caring and carrying on today.
Thank you for your beautiful, caring, sensitive post today JP4M. Yes, this reality is truly heartbreaking. I think often of my late husband, mother and my best friend of 55 years from college who have all died and are equally heartbroken and angry wherever they are that Trump was elected the 2nd time! In our current reality, I reflect on how grateful I am to have known incredible love in this lifetime with all 3 of these unique, special souls. I pray we can save our country and world from this evil. I'm glad you are here JP4M with your beautiful sensitivity.
Lilla Russell, thank you for this especially kind message. I am extremely grateful that we each have loved ones in our lives, whether still on Earth or having moved on to the next realm, or mostly in the next realm. Yes, they each would care and have definite thoughts. Without a doubt they cheer each of us who works in whatever ways we can to help right the situation for the good of the people, here and elsewhere, and for the good of the Earth. “Peace on Earth and Goodwill toward men” comes to mind, meaning humankind, of course. I am glad you are here, too! I am thankful for everyone here who is working to save what we all value and need. We will keep at it and smile knowing we are not alone.
Yes. We are not alone and will definitely “keep at it” to work to bring “peace on earth and goodwill toward men”. Thank you.
Thank you and all the other commentators for the openness of your comments. Here in the Uk it is good to hear American voices which might otherwise not get through to us. A reminder that we must avoid the othering of millions of Americans.
We are here, Judy, and we are coming together. Labor Day there were protests in all 50 states and in D.C. The more we come together, the louder our voices get! Thank all of you in the UK encouraging us through your comments. You are so appreciated!
So beautifully said, JP4M! I will be thinking of you today.
Thank you, Peggy, and I am thinking of you and of all the good people in their sincere endeavors to bring about good! Together we can make a difference!
Donna, you’re right that the cycles keep coming back around, and that survival often carries a price. What gives me hope is remembering that we aren’t just passive in the cycle. We also have the chance to shape how it turns. Even if equilibrium is brief, what we plant in those moments of balance can ripple forward in ways history doesn’t always repeat.
Yes, Christy. After the First World War people found jobs other tha being servants I rich houses, the Second World War gave gains to the middle class. But the price was high!
We have to stop thinking in terms only of the United States. We are only a small part of the world. I think we make a mistake when we view world events that affect only us.
Exactly, Donna. I have been reading about world history, from ancient ancient times (what has been discovered so far which continues to change what we - thought - we knew about human history) to the present all my life and will continue to read about many cultures and their histories. We humans (Homo sapiens- allegedly sapient), ALL of us are interconnected in so many ways world wide and ebb and flow with those connections. As RR has said, history seldom repeats, but frequently rhymes, one era to another
Donna, the USA is not a small part of the world. She has had enormous cultural, political, and economic influence not only on our so called Western world but on Asia and Russia. If it were not so, Trumps tariffs and unreliable decisions would not be so disruptive. But u are right that you all have to look beyond but then back in to understand the dimension of the disaster that is unfolding.
Njh, I am sure that I am not alone in never clicking on a link that is posted without any explanation of what is being linked.
Agree! I don’t click on them in my emails, and I don’t click on them in comments. Most, especially when there was no name attached to the person making a post.
W.H. My favorite 20th century poet. He always gets to the core. Thank you Prof Reich.
Donna - the enormous difference this time is that project 2025 and 47’s environmental policies cannot be reversed fast enough to save the planet. Very few, if any, will survive. And earth - what’s left - will be a very different place. This is not doomsday. It is real science - facts. For starters read Jeff Goodell “The Heat Will Kill You First”. Putting 47 in office has sealed the planets fate. It will now take change beyond radical to even slow this down. Homo sapiens are the only animals ignorant enough to destroy their own home. And very sadly, powerful enough to take down almost every other living thing with them.
Maybe that's why RFK Jr and his backers want us dead.
Have we ever been in equilibrium? perhaps from the perspective of a privileged white man such as myself, enjoying relative abundance and peace, while much of the world has been in turmoil my whole life? capitalism has never been about equilibrium
Yes, Donna!
Xplisset, Donna, Peggy, I'm a European spectator and horrified abou the developments. The poems of Reich are logical and inspiring. I'm reading again in Eichmann in Jerusalem from Hannah Arendt and "de zaak 40/61" fo Harry Mulisch (dutch writer) about the Eichmann process.
The latter sees and warns against the trends in direction of nuclear war (it was written around the Cuba crisis) and dictatorship.
But the essence should remain practical. As Xplisset writes elsewhere, the US is in control of money and thinking and writing happening controlled by money. Maybe Robert Reich and Heather Cox Richardson are still independent sources to trust. Or Paul Krugman.
Central problem: independent voices that can be trusted: how to organise them? Only a few, above all doubt, would help.
We.so appreciate you. WWII, the US had the "luxury," of denial, of sleep, while Europe was being torn apart, destroyed. At least she did until, ultimately, she did not.
Today, you watch as the US is being destroyed from within. Thank you for being a citizen of the world!
It is my own destiny that worries most. But the regime makes a mess, victims insiders and outside the US. So I hope to spread the sound of peace and reason…
Yeats poem starts with anarchy is unleashed upon the world.
It is not anarchy that is being unleashed, it is totalitarianism of the 1984 variety that is being impressed, no unleashed, upon the world.
Fasicism is not anarchy it is the opposite, and fascism is on the rise everywhere and has taken hold in America, Russia, Hungary, Turkey, China, the Mideast, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia
Fascists promote and exploit xenophobia so that they can gain power and control of limited resources.
Well said.
Paul… The world has been in turmoil many times before. Whenever I travel to other countries and visit their historic or archaeological sites, I come away with the impression that humans have advanced in only one respect. That is, we have created more efficient ways of killing each other.
Various cultures have seen dictators and they have seen good government. Various cultures have advanced and retreated. There have been world disasters that have come and gone. Even if we manage to destroy a good portion of our planet, there always will be those who adapt and continue on.
Even in nature, the Earth has seen at least six times when humanity was nearly destroyed, but a few of our precursors managed to escape and continue on. This may be the direction we are headed in this time. We may be facing another near extinction. But again, enough humans will survive to carry on in whatever form they must.
I know. It’s a depressing thought. But the cycle has been ever thus.
If there was a “care” button, I would have clicked on it. 🤔
as warned by Forbidden Planet, one of the best sciction films ever.
Do take into consideration that there was no atomic or hydrogen bomb in the past when those lines were written. A bit of a game changer when it comes to any sort of optimism regarding "Humanity survived in the past, and we will survive again".
I'm sorry to say this Donna, but as long as America continues to quash the hard fought decisions of other world leaders at the UN, which if you look behind the stated reasons, is about keeping the avalanche of funding that keeps the political system on track, the world will continue to play our history on repeat. And with the most evil man America has ever produced, in charge, this will lead to a grave outcome. 1945 was the beginning of hope for our small globe. Hope that Reich's two poems did not contain. The power that money ensures, has been permitted to drown that hope, repeatedly, for the 80 years since.
Peggy, I felt the same chill you describe, and your words really landed as well. What I keep turning over in my mind is how often we seem to be fighting shadows of our own history. First it was slavery, then Hitler modeling dictatorship on American segregation, then Vietnam where our fevered anti-communism dragged us into disaster. Again and again, we battle demons of our own making. That’s what makes Yeats and Auden feel so current. It’s not just poetry, it’s a mirror. I may try to write a full post on this soon, inspired by Professor Reich, because I think naming these recurring shadows is part of breaking their hold on us.
We need to finally evolve from these shadows or there will be no repeat.
Xplisset, I cannot let go of the idea I have that the majority of Americans are actually on the same page with regards to how we want our country to move forward. I believe that Democrats, republicans, Independents and other parties can agree on several points. I believe we agree that we are the UNITED States of America. We may have different viewpoints about some things but we work together, compromise and come up with something that is acceptable to the majority. I believe we agree that all parties must work together for the benefit of the citizens in America. Once again, that theme of working together. I believe that we agree that our government works well when all three branches are working providing checks and balances that prevent any one branch from taking over. I think what has happened here is that the extremes of both parties have drowned out everyone else and are basically leading in this chaotic mess. Americans need to stand up and stand together and stop the extremists before they completely destroy our country. We must break their hold on this moment. The only way I know how is to vote for candidates that will work on that and vote out the extremists. Maybe then, our government will begin to work for all of us instead of just a few.
Peggy, I wish I could share your belief that the bystanders have enough knowledge of the three branch structure of our democracy to stop Trump. The fact that down ballot voting and off year elections have no relevance to them is obvious to me.
The only glimmer of light I am seeing is the turnout for special elections during the past 8 months. I also see more people joining the postcard writing groups. But I also noticed that, similar to our little community commenting on these Substack posts, most of us have more gray hair.
Are the students at "The Last Class" working as hard as we are to encourage the rest of the country to "leap"? Seeing the younger generations at rallies and protests is great, I hope they will work to GOTV and do everything they can to get people to the polls.
Reminds me of my first daily involvement in a political campaign some 20 years ago. "What's this Go, tv" about, I asked.
😆 had a license plate that read "GOT VOTE" because GOTV was already taken.
Get Out The Vote!
The apathy of our younger generations is very frustrating. We should all be part of and supporting David Hogg's Leaders We Deserve. It is a good link to these generations.
Michael have you been to a march or protest recently? Or listened to the One Million Rising info and Q&A sessions of the young leaders of Indivisible on Thursday afternoons? Highly recommended. This is the least apathetic generation I've seen since the 60s!
I hope they will, too, Catherine!
So you do not agree with these poets. Who try to warn us. “The center cannot hold.” “The dream of safety has to disappear.”
Yes, Mary. We have to EARN our good life and good governance, every day, together in good will.
Sustaining that is our challenge. And we need to have a way to short-circuit the effects of those among us who would turn our government into a tyranny of greed, lust and cruelty, looting the world nations' resources, deepening the gap between obscene wealth for the very few and desperate poverty for the rest.
The blurred edges of tyranny must be sharpened, and preventative measures worked out, with mechanisms fine tuned, agile, and effective.
It only works if and when we work together, and consistently for the Greater Good.
Our truly dangerous enemies are fear and complacency. The ONLY evidence of our commitment, and our ONLY path out of this horrific cycling, is what we DO TOGETHER, a hundred million of us or more, not what we just think or say.
Well said, Kathleen! When we coordinate our actions we gain power and meaning. By staying connected and active we overcome fear and hopelessness..
Yes. And false optimism is another great danger. We are going to need strength and *courage*. You cannot develop those muscles by turning warnings into bromides. Hope is not the belief that everything will be OK in the end. It is the stamina to do what must be done no matter what.
I disagree that the "extremists of both parties" are destroying our country. The so called "liberal extremists" want what every other wealthy country has. It's called extreme because of lack of education and perhaps not seeing those priorities firsthand through travel... I believe it needs to be what replaces whatever this is now. Hopefully, we can rebuild a society that puts people's needs before greedy profit and takes care of our planet before it burns up. Maybe I misunderstood what you were saying?
Which explains, of course, why the president and his entourage want to rewrite the history that the Smithsonian exhibits documenting our mistreatment first of Native Americans, then of enslaved Africans. We had begun to acknowledge these atrocities and even make amends, and they find that unacceptable. To them domination and complicity are paramount.
The desire to dominate betrays fear and anxiety. We must confront the fear mongers and question their assumptions and beliefs.
I share your hope of "breaking their hold on us". I hope that more people will leap. What scares me is that so many people refuse to see any danger in what Trump is doing. What will it take to break the willful ignorance of the bystanders?
Xplisset, your writing that you think “naming these recurring shadows is part of breaking their hold on us.” means so much. Every comment I have read so far is meaningful and appreciated. Your particular wording regarding the recurring shadows and breaking the hold on us especially resonates me. Thank you!
Thanks. Carl Jung nerd right here so just the word shadows resonate in my imagination.
Me too! Jung’s examination of symbols and of the Collective Unconciousness has had a tremendous influence on how I understand history and the human condition. Reading Jung and Yeats together was a rite of passage for me in my 20s. Time to dive in again, some 50 years later.
Man and here I thought I was the only Jung nerd in the house! Thanks for this.
And every time the cost in lives is greater as the population grows.
Alas, wishful thinking always prevails, because we are self-centered masters at self-delusion.
I have read Yeats' poem several times in my life and its poignency has struck me differently each time. It is quite immediate today. Unfortunately, those who need to read and process its words are those least likely to do so, Our whole society has been pushed off center by forces hellbent on destroying The Republic. All of us need to play Diogenes - using his lamp. and find the center again.
Stephen, amen!
He does not mean that mirage the newspapers call “the center” in US politics. At all.
I take "the center" to mean a point of stability."
Yes, exactly. Our politicians and establishment journalists have co-opted the metaphor since Clinton days to suggest that the status quo (skyrocketing inequality and the political corruption that has enabled it) is stable. Apparently not.
That is all too true - but, going down the tRumpian path leads to chaos. We need to reset society with new and fairer parameters.
Stephen, I recently convened a poetry reading event where, we opened up with, ‘The Second Coming’ and ended with Robert Frost’s “Something Like a Star”. As humanity is a run away spices, (There were just 2 billion souls on the earth in 1949 and today a mere 76 years later there are 8 billion and counting rapidly) and as the 8 billion need resources such as food, housing, jobs, education and medical care our enormous numbers puts stresses on the limited ecosystems of the earth which are more and more degraded to the point of initiating the 6th great extinction event and fostering global warming as our addiction to fossil fuels can’t be resolved fast enough now to avoid a deadly climate crisis.
It seems that history repeats itself because as our populations keep exceeding the resources available Homo sapiens battle over the limited supply with deadly aggression.
As a famous psychology experiment in overcrowding with rodents revealed that social interactions degrade quickly as population density increases. For more details on this look up “Behavioral Sink”.
It’s not so much that we need to find the center as it is we need to learn to manage our population to not put stress on the available resources as well as the ecological limits that our environment can sustain such as greenhouse gases and other pollutants.
Unfortunately, history reminds us that our species is prone to wage war to limit overpopulation and acquire resources currently under the control of our neighbors.
75% of all countries are under dictatorship ! Horrifying.
You're right, Marianne, it is horrifying and terrifying! I shudder to think what our world would be like if the other 25% succumbed to a dictator!
Will that be the point where they have to concur the other dictators? A horrifying competition with nuclear weapons so available.
It has seemed all along. In the last several years, that the “want to be one” and the existing ones would try to overtake each other for ownership of the world. If they are not careful, there will not be a world.
Maybe dictatorships are the more normal way for humans to control their herds. We're the experiment apparently - my preference for sure. Now, if I were king, it would be much better....... But really, I don't know what trips-their-trigger - I'll go with Greed!
Which countries make up the 48 that you say are not dictatorships?
That 75% is truly horrifying Marianne!
I'm glad to be the age I am---old!
But, dang, I fear for my loved ones.
I’m glad to be old too but I do fear for all those who are younger than me. I just pray and hope that “enough” of us wake up and take action to change the current course we’re on and to help bring peace and freedom for all to a New Earth.
I so agree, Lilla. I've lived in Mexico for almost 30 years (from Texas) and I can tell you, the ex-pats here rally and vote!!! Just doing what we can do, though it never seems enough.
Led by the US...
We were once the mighty in our democracy. We were the shining light of the world. Now we have the evilest of dictators because he’s following Project 2025.
Well said. I agree. I’m reading WW2 books currently and the similarities of Hitler’s actions are scarily similar to Trumps, just substitute immigrants for the Jews. Our country has always been hope and freedom and right now it is anything but.
Peggy, your words really strike me. I felt that same chill reading Yeats, because it speaks so directly to the danger of our time. I share your concern that chaos and disorder are being used as tools, not accidents, and that the forces behind it hunger for more than just power in one nation. What gives me strength, though, is remembering that we are not powerless. We have a chance to insist on a vision of America that truly works for everyone, where freedom is not a slogan but a lived reality. Thank you for naming the truth so clearly and for reminding us of what is at stake.
Always, Christy!
Peggy, Your words here were perfectly expressed and so struck me. Yes, dictators are increasing around the world and are pure evil. You are so right that "It is imperative that we fight hard to keep our country a Democratic Republic and a beacon of hope to...." Thank you Peggy for this powerful post and for your caring heart! So glad you're here!
I will always be here, Lilla, and I do care so very much. I appreciate all of you on this substack and the others I visit. We will keep our Democratic Republic, Lilla, I am quite sure of that!
I love your fighting spirit and love for our Democratic Republic Peggy. I’m so very glad you’re here as well as others on Robert’s substack! We need each other to remain strong and resilient, knowing we are not alone but are part of a wonderful band of caring souls committed to keeping our hearts open and to our moral values. I feel much gratitude for all of you as I live in an area surrounded by Trumpsters which is difficult. Thank you Peggy.
I'm right there with you, Lilla! I, too, live in a sea of red! I keep my sanity by talking to everyone on the substacks I subscribe to. You are so right. We do need each other for moral support and to help us know that others want to keep our Democratic Republic, too! Hang in there, Lilla! I feel a change is coming and I feel it will be for the better! Keep fighting! Stay strong and stay safe!
Thank you Peggy! I promise to keep fighting and staying strong and safe! You too!! I also keep my sanity by having this community on substacks! Stay well!
I would edit: "...for all the citizens and those who aspire to be citizens in it." That addition would have included all my elders from Lodz and Odessa who arrived in between 1905-08. And I am hardly alone in recognizing that I am here because of the courage and foresight of immigrants.
Perhaps ... a country that actually works for all of the citizens of the world, Peggy. The America of recent decades has a veto that is working against this. Trump is using it to make himself King, not just of America, but of the world.
Peggy, thank you for your uplifting comment. The time is fast approaching when Trump will have to leap--or retreat. We will stand firm, and our courts still honor the law. The recent ruling declaring Trump's tariffs illegal is a tremendous blow to Trump and his Project 2025 supporters. Only Congress has the right to impose taxes and tariffs. It is imperative for Democrats to demand that Congress exercise its responsibility and duty, and if Congress does this the pretext for the unitary presidency will collapse. In case after case Trump would then have to ask for congressional approval, and we would be on our way to the restoration of the Constitution. .
Exactly, Victor! What a glorious day that will be when it all collapses and we can restore our Constitution!
Professor Reich posted some good ones. Let me drop this line from The Masque of Anarchy by Percy Bysshe Shelley. I think it's relevant.
"Rise like Lions after slumber
In unvanquishable number,
Shake your chains to earth like dew
Which in sleep had fallen on you --
Ye are many -- they are few."
-Mathew
https://bettergracesandliberations.substack.com/
Yes, Thank you, Matthew. These are great lines to remember as we set off to our various protests today (those of us who can, that is). "[We] are many...they are few."
Needed that. Thank you, Mathew Foresta.
I reposted this poem on Tim Snyder's "Thinking About..." sub with attribution to you. I hope you don't mind. He started his piece today with Shelley's "Ozymandias" and I thought it too perfect. https://snyder.substack.com/p/look-on-my-works-ye-mighty
I love this! It's so concise and clear, telling us we are strong enough if we GET together, and STAY together, and WORK together, with PURPOSE.
Matthew Forsta, thank you for sharing that poem. I can visualize it and love it. Let’s all keep shaking those chains off like the morning dew it describes! Peggy, you and others keep outlining the definite steps to shake those constraints and to prevent more from happening. I am feeling refreshed and know that I am working on it. All we can do is our best. Thank you.
Thank you Matthew!!
I’m not a fan of poetry- I’m a get to the point, just say it kind…but that verse was perfect in this context, thanks. Problem is- ye are many, their numbers almost equal!!
Donald Trump is stuck in the 1950s. Ho-hum, what a despicable, pathetic bore!!!
It seems to me more like the 1880’s or ‘90’s. Or Germany in the 1930’s. Or worse. All the worst of fascism and add the deliberate hastening of the end of earth as a place that can support human life. The torturous death of our great-grandchildren or possibly one or two generations beyond that.
Today is actually the anniversary of Germany's invasion of Poland.
Exactly!
It’s time for John Lennon’s Imagine. There can be no borders to save the planet. There can have no religion to stop Israel. We cannot have dictators. Leaders must work together. No petty problems. We will be inconvenienced. Some things more expensive. Corporations must limit their profits. We just don’t want to.
Thank you, Xplisset for this. What you wrote about Yeats and Auden really resonates. Their words carry forward because they speak to the timeless tension between fear and courage, passivity and action. I share your sense that these verses feel less like artifacts and more like living reminders of where we are now. For me, the challenge is not just to see the shadows of history but to recognize our chance to step into something different, to imagine a society where fear does not set the terms and where belonging is not conditional. That leap you mention feels essential, and it is encouraging to know others are making those same connections between past and present.
What he said!
Xplisset well said. Again.
I like that poem. Thank you.
Mr. Xplisset, I like your insights and poetic expression. Thank you for sharing your gift with us.!
Mr. Xpliest, thank you for sharing your thoughtful insights! I like your work, including today's comments.
MAGA means everything and nothing. That is its draw.
A 6th grader at my school wrote a poem last spring and I got permission to add it to my spreadsheet (last tab linked below). Mostly because I wanted others to see how aware kids are to what’s happening in the world ❤️🩹
Use/share this spreadsheet (bit.ly/Goodtrouble) as a resource to call/email/write members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Reach out to those in your own state, and those in a committee that fits your topic. Call. Write. Email. Protest. Unrelentingly. We deserve better ❤️🩹🤍💙
INTRIGUE AT THE KING'S COURT... Heather Cox Richardson, in recent videos, advises us not to despair as she believes that "...The Trump dictatorship isn't going very well." Trump is physically ailing. But even worse is his mental state - the King is "mad as a Hatter"! Added to that, his approval rating is plummeting to below sea level. And Epstein files loom above him like the "sword of Damocles", as Congress will return soon and interview the victims.
Behind the scenes, the rats scurry to find and keep the cheese. Head rats, Stephen Miller and Russell Vought, may be in control at the moment, but Heather points to their vulnerability due to their lack of a power base, lack of elected office status, and their dependence on the mad King himself. Meanwhile, J.D.Vance, " sporting" the charisma of a gravel bed, tells Maga minions that he is ready to wear the crown. In the shadows, Elon Musk promises to buy him popularity. Fast forward to the military tending gardens in WASH D.C. -- the biggest crime there is citizens picking flowers for their loved ones. So far, the regular military is not under Trump's thumb.. But that is what he dreams about...
Heather tells us pushback is working, and our voices matter. The Texas state legislators inspired Gavin Newsom to take a stand. Governor Pritzker is inspiring others to speak out against troop deployment. The King's court wants you to wallow in despair - hence, the "flood the zone" and the "smoke and mirrors" tactics. It's time to be strong. Let's get out in the streets tomorrow in large numbers to protest and make our pushback known!
Yes, as I remember she said the current situation in the White House is very “brittle” , so when it breaks I hope I’m around to see it.
Me, too! What a celebration that would be!
Me three, and let it be!
Thank you for this lively description of "status quo", the same thoughts I have here, overseas, in Sweden. The puppet master Steven Miller may whisper anything about immigrants and people of colour, and promptly his puppet jumps to action.
This morning, in the news in our Swedish daily paper, is an article about the hateful behavior, AGAIN, at the wild Bear-Gulch-Fire in Washington.
Wikipedia >https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_Gulch_Fire
Steven Miller is imitating Himmler in WWII.
Miller in English is Müller(Mueller) in German. He is the son of an immigrant, a Jewish family from Germany, but his father seems not happy over his son, born in the USA.
European Media follows all news from your side of the planet!
For example> The Guardian from the European Independant Press
> see its webpage >
> https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/sep/01/trump-dictator-authoritarianism-politics
Margareta... Thank you so much for your perspective. Miller makes my skin crawl. Yes, it was unconscionable what happened with the firefighters in Washington. The Guardian is a trusted source as an independent media. Miller's father must be very disappointed... Sometimes, it all seems so surreal. And the cruelty and torture is unfathomable.. We just have to keep fighting... I really appreciate your sharing!!!
Margaret, how I appreciate your message! I’ve sent it to myself to save the sites you included.
Yes! Yes! Yes! Thank you, Michele2! That comment was inspiring and informative! I will be out there today! C'mon, America! Let our voices be so loud the orange man will hear us in Washington!! Keep fighting, keep resisting because it IS WORKING! Stay strong and stay safe!
Michele2, thank you for this!!! It offers some real hope!!!
"The charisma of a gravel bed!"
There were so many possibilities...
The greatest predictive factor in someone supporting MAGA is as true today as when Matthew MacWilliams wrote about it in January 2016 -- an "oracle" according to Sam Stein of The Bulwark. That factor is the need for authoritarian leadership, and that "need" is VERY strong in the 18 to 30 year old age group.
That Trump is currently weak more likely means the perceived need for a stronger authoritarian. IMO, nothing will eventually bring on more despair than the promotion of (unrealistic) false hope. We have to be clear-sighted enough about this to discuss it.
I have respect for a lot of HCR's work, but she's not going to do anything that might provoke fear in her audience because like all content creators, she has an algorithm to worry about.
Thomas - I need to give it some thought. There are definite "cracks" in the Maga world right now relating to immigration/deportation and Epstein files... The last two Politics Chats of HCR I thought were astute observations of what is currently going on... Honestly, I think Heather tells it like she sees it - with 3 million subscribers, I don't think she lives and dies by her algorithms. She explained the current situation, which we can see playing out. And I have seen alot more pushback too in these last weeks from many sources... Rachel Maddow can be brutally honest in her analysis - as in last Mon. night explaining the reasons behind the military and national security firings..Anyway, I guess we could agree to disagree. Thanks for sharing...
I like her very much. But she was wrong as she could be in her optimism about the aging, creepy Biden, whose empty egotism let this happen. She is a good historian, but she is not a prophet. Be careful about the damage to your eyesight of clinging to the belief that It Can’t Happen Here: “Laugh if you can, but you will have to leap.”
I have no illusions that it can't happen here or anywhere... But giving up in advance is on every dictator's wish list. I don't consider HCR A prophet, just an excellent historian with astute observations. I also consider Rachel Maddow's observations excellent, and she often goes where no one else has gone. There are things happening...Americans are waking up and there is pushback. And there are definitely "cracks" in the regime. I think the election in Iowa was a sign of how people feel...And there are other signs.. Prices get higher and higher and people notice... And we will have to agree to disagree I guess...
And if Iowa Senator Joni Ernst decided not to run for re-election, it's a hopeful sign as well.
?? I don't disagree at all. But I believe that we should look the truth in the face if we're going to be, or get, strong and brave enough to go through what past resistances have endured--or others right now around the world. The two poets wrote at moments like this. They were not wrong. Their warnings were accurate. And both were brave and active.
I don't know if what you said is true about 18-30 y/o/ but it does align with what Gessen says in her book The Future is History on Russia from WWII to current day. That the devastated middle classes in Russia meant the young people could not rely on their parents to provde support and more readily turned to Putin and the non-existent "Putin Plan".
But truth is, we need to unite against trumpism and put aside our differences which pale in comparison. The failure to unite has in the past paved the way for autocrats, as you know.
The extensive surveys run by Matthew MacWilliams provided results that around only 24% of those aged between 18 and 39 ... thirty-nine .. were favorable towards "democracy." Favorable = "consistently support."
Just past the 12th minute of this terrific interview by Sam Stein. Keep listening; it gets scarier.
https://youtu.be/dp19ZKI2m2w?si=6gsWEzZbI6Cn6vUj
Thanks Thomas. Turns out I had watched only the first 9 min yesterday.
PS. Simon R can be quite dismissive so.....but he brings alot of value.
The Authoritarian Personality one of the formative books for me--
a relative "surplus" of young people, especially males, is a recipe for violence and chaos.
Yes, the young need and want leadership, and many of the women among them have been conditioned to follow male authority. Dems must come up with a male leader. He better be white, given the current situation.
Can you tell me where to view Prof. Cox-Richardson’s videos please? Thanks!
She has her own Substack and regularly posts audios and videos both with and through others such as Acosta.
Pat - Here is a link to Heather's Aug 28 Politics Chat. She also has shorter videos, live interviews, etc. If you go on YouTube and subscribe to her videos (It is free)- then the next time you just go into you tube, you will see "subscriptions" at bottom of screen. Press that and you will see her face icon and you can see all of her videos..
I hope this makes sense. You can also subscribe to her free newsletter (Letters from an American) which would come every evening to your email. It is a good synopsis of day's news and she lists all of her sources. She was one of the first to do a substack. I will put the link below to that one video.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=V8deJsBwwCM&pp=0gcJCbIJAYcqIYzv
“Letters from an American” is the name of her newsletter. Her printed one is followed by a recorded reading the following day of her daily emails.
https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson
You know, I hadn't clicked through to your spreadsheet before. Thank you for this work: it's incredibly helpful.
I just hope it’s helped empower people to use their voices and make lots of extra noise! 🤞
WOW! Megan, that poem was an eye-opener! For an eleven/twelve year old to identify the crisis we are facing today in America should be a smack in the face for every single adult in this country! Our kids are not as dumb as we think! They listen, they learn and what they learn is up to us. Thank you for sharing your spreadsheet as always, Megan, but also for sharing that fantastic poem!
You are doing a great job modeling constructive action for your child. Their awareness is a result of your teaching and parenting. Thank you!
Thank you Megan for that inspiring and insightful poem from your 6th grade student! Our children hear, see, and understand more than we realize! They repeat what they are hearing and are the future!
New ideas and changes are needed now in Congress and in our relationship with our fellow citizens-both domestic and global. If a child of 12 can understand what is happening in America, then I’m ashamed of the 11 million who follow the current regime! They are ones who need to read this poem, unfortunately their eyes and ears are closed to anything else but the words of this regime!
Thanks for the spreadsheet also-a lot of time and work went into it, appreciate it!
Your Sixth grader sees clearly exactly what we on this chat see, - cruel selfish incapable people afraid of losing ground and so doing evil things to other people. Beautiful poem. Thank you for sharing it.
When will, if ever, the MAGA loyalists see this?
We need to pull the rug out from under this administration now! Thank you to the many democratic politicians standing up for what is right.
Amazing spreadsheet MR.
Thank you! 💙
I like that poem, thank you
I love that poem!
Megan: always appreciate your comments & research. (Where is the link to the child's poem?) I'd love to read it - i'm a teacher. .
Jon
It’s on the spreadsheet, last tab on the bottom 💜
Link again just incase - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13lYafj0P-6owAJcH-5_xcpcRvMUZI7rkBPW-Ma9e7hw/edit?usp=drivesdk
Thank you Megan, for your untiring efforts to help us know who and how to connect to have our voices heard. The 6th grader’s poem as a present-day observation is priceless. What a voice!
Last tab … Wyoming? I don’t see a poem
Very bottom of the overall spreadsheet are tabs labeled Senate, House Reps, Cabinet…last of the 6 says Poem by a 6th Grader
Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo.
Shovel them under and let me work—
I am the grass; I cover all.
And pile them high at Gettysburg
And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.
Shovel them under and let me work.
Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor:
What place is this? Where are we now?
I am the grass. Let me work.
"Grass" by Carl Sandburg
Well said! There is always life after death, but those who keep the grim reaper busy should be ashamed of themselves. Alas, we admire them.
Amazing!
Happy Labor Day everyone. It’s a great day to release the kryptonite on the billionaires. Today, by forming unions with your coworkers you can add some leverage so the average working class people can take our country back from these greedy……
Thanks. Poetry is vitamins for discernment.
I love this description! So true!
Thanks for the poems. Happy Labor Day to all. Many are sure this day has been ignored for decades, and to be honest, it never gained the traction needed to lessen inequality. Certainly, the current administration and its Oligarchy are clueless as to what organized labor even is. Cheers to all this September 1st.
Professor Reich: thank you for sharing those poems. the first one you cited, by Yeats, especially speaks to me in these frightening times.
When I was a schoolboy 50 years ago we studied the Yeats poem that you shared, and also a different Auden poem called “Epitaph on a Tyrant”, which also has resonance today and which reads:
“Perfection, of a kind, was what he was after,
And the poetry he invented was easy to understand;
He knew human folly like the back of his hand,
And was greatly interested in armies and fleets;
When he laughed, respectable senators burst with laughter,
And when he cried the little children died in the streets.”
That Moment Is Upon Us
By Michael Tyler, EJS Poet-in-Residence
First, we must face the moment with a resolve that has been sobered,
By the harrowing confirmation about the paternity of our pride;
When the undisputed truth of our iniquitous ill-conception
Reveals the base and foul collusions who are the parents of our shame.
Then, we must take ourselves to task, with probing dedication,
To ask the painful questions that swab the surface of our past,
So we can culture facts and fiction to code the helix of our traits,
And finally alter the mutations that cause the evils that we spawn.
Because the hour of the outbreak of the plague for every virtue,
Whose conscience stealing virus kills the feeling in our hearts,
And replicates with fury to imperil and impair
Every moral inclination for what is human and humane —
That moment is upon us and the countdown has begun,
For the prowess of every science to pledge allegiance and proceed,
To find what’s rooted deep within us from our origins and beyond
That has evolved to enable our existence to this day.
For what is most innate and inherent within our most essential selves,
The nascent strand of intuition inside every gene of truth and faith,
Lies the cure for the corruption that defies our protests and our prayers,
That can inoculate our hope and save the dying soul of the nation.
I feel this poem is speaking to all of us imploring us to do what we need to do before it is too late. Thank you for sharing, Michael.
Thank you for your acknowledgment. I definitely wrote it with the intent you identified.
Could you please identify EJS.
Equal Justice Society. Thanks for inquiring. Sorry that I neglected to clarify, in my previous post.
Thanks. The poem's a keeper.
Excuse me, but The Second Coming is NOT a poem created to inspire hope. Quite the opposite.
On the other hand, because it conveys dread, it resonates in our times.
Yeats' reference to Spiritus Mundi, has a tie in to the work of Carl Jung (and others) on the collective unconscious. Many will agree that what we are experiencing today is a type of mass psychosis.
Ogden Nash reminds us to keep on the lookout:
As you go along life’s pathway,
No matter what your goal,
Keep you eye upon the donut,
And not upon the hole.
Slouching toward Jerusalem. The gathering storm. These are familiar chimes in the memory of an old liberal arts student. How do they resonate with a 21st century kid? Do they get it? How would they? Show them picture of Trump at the tiny table with the band of Zelensky and the EU and NATO. Now watch the news last night. 22 heads of state in Beijing with Putin and Xi.
A band of hobbits facing off against the Orcs.
But it is no fantasy.
Whoever possesses Palantir will control and rule over the Orcs and the rest of us.
Thank you so much, Prof. Reich! Two excellent poems from two excellent poets. Living In the UK these past 24 years has given me a better understanding of those two world wars. When I was studying for my English Lit BA, we discussed attitudes in the early 20th century, and two things come to mind: prior to the First World War, people never imagined anything so devastating could happen, until it did. Villages here lost most or all of their young men. Eventually people had a sense that nothing that horrible could happen again, until it did, and the island endured the Blitz and came close to a total invasion. Since then, 11 November (Armistice Day) has come to remind us of the horrors and the fallen, and to honour all past and present. Also, I know many folk have the ‘it could happen again’ whilst looking to Ukraine and the threats against other former SSRs and beyond. Unfortunately, the Imbecile-in-Chief is not getting the messages. He’s too ensconced in his self-serving fantasy world, and he’d throw all of us under the proverbial bus to keep his own pathetic dreams alive. History matters, and his lack of understanding will be his downfall.
Yes, before Substack I used to read an online publication called History Matters, which was about the teaching of history in American schools, just the kind of thing our regime opposes today.
I shudder at the thought of the Imbecile’s buddy, Nigel Farage, becoming PM over here. He seems to want to mirror everything happening over there. He’s totally focussed on the migrants coming across the channel and has praised DOGE, wanting to do that over here. The only reason he because a Member of the European Parliament was so he could focus on taking us out of the EU. Now he’s the highest earning MP in Westminster and he is rarely in Westminster doing his job! Too busy galavanting about fanning the flames of the far rights agenda (blaming black & brown immigrants for all the crimes and other problems). Let’s hope they and their kind are stopped in their tracks before they do any further damage.
Splendid use of the poetic turn. It cleaves to a mighty inner need, to wrest this moment now upon us from the darkness that here surrounds us!
Another relevant poem.Sounds of Silence by Paul Simon,
Let's hope that the restraining hand of the judiciary, as well as the fear of retribution from voters in 2026 who see prices rising, will prevent the effective overthrow of the US Constitution by the Trump regime.