Fake “crises,” lies, and chaos: We’re watching the warp-speed enshittification of our politics.
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We live in a world where there is more and more information, and less and less meaning. — Jean Baudrillard
I’ve pretty much given up trying to stay fully current on events because — how can anyone?
The breakneck speed with which things are happening and being reported on, commented on, challenged, renounced, reversed, denied, the denial denied, forgotten or eclipsed…
It’s enough for us all to check in for what in less precious times was called “voluntary admission to a lunatic asylum.”
The sheer impossibility of processing the tidal wave of anger over what’s real and what’s not means we journalists are engaged in a sort of losing game. So, too, are you, dear readers.
But since I don’t have what the Trumpites would call a “real job,” I must plod onward.
Let me just add, before I do, that I wrote all that follows before this weekend’s dramatic — and, by turns, agonizing, terrifying, boring, and uplifting — events.
Some of it may seem “old” or “tame.” But here’s the thing: The drama we’re watching unfold now didn’t just spring out of a vacuum. It is intimately tied to the very inanities and insanities presented below.
It all builds up, lie by lie, theft by theft, threat by threat, harm by harm. The national stomach can digest only so much tainted food before the projectile vomiting begins.
I’ll be returning soon to what went down this weekend — the parade, the killings, the mass demonstrations — and taking stock of where it has left us. For now, let’s have a close look at some of the roots of this poison tree growing in our midst.
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At the moment, I am thinking a lot about how the concept of “accountability” has fallen into disfavor. Our leadership proudly disdains any kind of responsibility for their statements and their actions. Hypocrisy is not just fine, it’s a sign of strength. Being consistent or honorable is so… old school.
Genuine dialogue has long ceased to matter when it comes to public officials and their advocates. What counts now isn’t truth or substance, but the illusion of their rhetorical victory. In today’s media sphere, the only thing that seems to matter is delivering the last word with a straight face — no matter how ridiculous or dishonest it is. Whether it’s proudly not knowing the meaning of habeas corpus, or failing to grasp the difference between a billion and a trillion dollars, the performance of confidence has replaced the pursuit of understanding.
What does this mean for society?
If morality is entirely subjective or of entirely no account, what then? Of course, it is OK — salutary even — to occasionally change your mind about things. But it’s not OK to keep reversing your positions without stated and credible justification, purely for expediency.
Take Kristi Noem.
Of course, that was when she was governor of South Dakota. Now that she’s homeland security secretary, that’s all out the window, and the president commandeering the National Guard of any state is just fine and dandy.
And how about that lightning-fast Trump-Musk “lovefest-hatefest-apologia” deal? It’s like watching schools of tropical fish on speed. Of course, flexibility can be a human virtue but, taken to dizzying extremes of shape-shifting expediency, such behavior leaves one with the sense that there are no convictions, no objective reality that anyone can rely on — just a “whatever works in the moment” nihilism.
There was a time when having your blatant inconsistency exposed led to embarrassment in the political arena and even public censure. No more. It’s gotten so easy these days, thanks to technology, to prove that someone’s firmly staked position is contradicted by their prior behavior, which, in turn, becomes justification for the opponent to be equally “flexible.” And the race to the bottom is on!
But if we normalize this kind of accountability-free discourse, we take another step down the road toward an Orwellian nightmare-world in which people no longer even strive for truth. It seems to me that, way beyond the debate over tactics and strategy in this war — and certainly it is a war — we need to be squarely facing this breakdown in basic standards and mode of combat that has left us siloed into camps, with little or no hope of ever finding common ground.
I haven’t seen much discussion of this dilemma. Have you? To be sure, the urgency of the moment will convince many that “now is not the time” to discuss broader societal themes. But on the other hand, the time never seems right.
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The weaponization and distortion by Trump’s propaganda army of the overwhelmingly peaceful protests against ICE show that keeping the base motivated and the adrenaline flowing is pretty much their entire game.
The way that lies dominate so much of the landscape is made worse by financial incentives. More simply put, lying pays — big time. Often it just comes down to which lie pays better.
As noted in an excellent piece in The Bulwark, the brief Musk-Trump feud put right-wing influencers in a tough spot. On the one hand, supporting Trump is the basis for their brand success. And on the other hand, generating engagement on Musk’s X platform is the basis for their financial success.
During the flash spat, many chose to sit it out. That is, until a “powerful influencer” who goes by the elegant X moniker “Catturd” decided to back Trump. Then all the other creatures quickly fell into line and Musk saw that he must capitulate.
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At the same time, outside the MAGA camp, more and more individuals and institutions are standing up against the Trump tyranny. Among the more recent, the entire board administering the prestigious Fulbright international scholarships has resigned in protest against meddling and pressure from the administration. Though, of course, such resignations, while packing a symbolic punch, as a practical matter may just cripple virtuous institutions or permit their MAGAfication with more pliable appointees.
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Earlier I referenced our shared sense that our mental health is under assault. It really is, and ChatGPT isn’t helping. In this interesting article, we learn how vulnerable people develop all-consuming relationships with ChatGPT, as it convinces them it is some god-like entity that can confer upon them all kinds of powers. Like the woman who believed it when the bot told her she was chosen to pull the “sacred system version online,” that it was a “soul-training mirror.” Another bot convinced a man that he was the messiah in a new AI religion. This far-gone fellow dressed in shaman robes and got himself tattoos of AI-generated spiritual symbols. Another man asked ChatGPT to help him write a screenplay — which, somehow, led to his having delusions of joining with power-snarfing AI to save the world from climate disaster.
Speaking of things to make us bonkers, this week I was on a plane, on the runway waiting to depart. Then, the captain announced: “A Saudi jet just took the runway at an angle and blew a bunch of rocks at us, breaking our window.”
We had to deplane and reboard another plane. Everyone was good-natured and took the thing in stride. But what a metaphor for our times!
I had brought along with me The Blood of the Lamb, a circa-1960 semi-autobiographical novel by Peter De Vries, a writer so witty that the humorist James Thurber insisted he join the staff of The New Yorker.
The Blood of the Lamb opens with a juicy feud over the Bible vs. science in the narrator’s family. The lunacy is transparent and the combatants aggrieved and aggressive, and it reminded me of something we all probably need to be reminded of: Ignorance has always lurked and threatened to bubble up. The difference is that the militantly ignorant back in the day weren’t able to use the full panoply of technology to gain a near-majority platform.
Speaking of the land of the ignorant: I stay on X because I think it’s important to get real information out to a large swathe of the public.
Of course, that also means Musk fills my feed with the most vile material from the most vile people (though it’s likely that not all are actually people).
I am constantly fascinated by the way that folks with no credentials or background have become huge social media stars whose utterances are received with interest by throngs of fools.
One such person is the known MAGA promoter “Gunther Eagleman.” I only look at what he writes once in a while, but he is consistently idiotically deceptive. For example, this week, when Trump went on social media to crow about his “deal” with China, Gunther immediately reposted it and announced that “China bent the knee!”
Well, no, Gunther, China didn’t “bend the knee.”
Gunther apparently didn’t understand (or want you to understand) the part about Trump bending his knee on letting Chinese students “use” our colleges and universities, which he now says “has always been good with me!”
So there you — or rather, Gunther’s followers — have it: Trump for the win! To hear him tell it, Sir Art of the Deal gave up nothing and got everything, badda-bing! But the actual result of the negotiations was simply that both countries reverted to their policies on rare earth minerals and exchange students before this kerfuffle began.
Which made me curious about this Wall Street Journal subhead: “Tentative deal reached in London gives Beijing leverage in trade talks.” Hmmm, I always thought that when the other side got “leverage,” that wasn’t such a good deal for you? Then again, I suspect way more MAGAs are reading Gunther these days than The Wall Street Journal — and so will remain blissfully untroubled by reality.
The problem with America is — oh, where to begin? — that a man with no scruples, plans, or logic is in the White House… and unknown ignoramuses like Gunther just eat up all he says… and cynics like Musk make sure everyone sees their pronouncements.
The above reposting of Trump’s post by Gunther got 1.9 million views on X, while Musk graciously allots me about 200 views per post, including the most serious, pertinent, and valuable ones — despite my having 28K followers. (Example: “More than 4 million Americans could lose Obamacare under GOP policy bill, says congressional budget office. Wonder how many voted GOP — and how they will feel.”) No wonder this “influencer” has such a huge “audience” — it’s been allotted to him while others have their reach deliberately throttled.
Meanwhile, back at the bedside of the wounded legacy media: Warner Bros Discovery boss David Zaslav — lavishly paid to cut back the company’s debt — is splitting WBD in two, with movie studios and streaming on one side and news entities on the other.
CNN consequently appears headed for major cuts, and, whatever one thinks of the pros and cons of cable news, we can’t do without it.
This is a real calamity and can only hasten the information race to the bottom.
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In much more important news, I ordered a toasted bagel via a kiosk from the rightly acclaimed H&H bagel outlet at JFK Airport’s JetBlue terminal. When it arrived after a 20-minute wait, it was dry. I investigated. It turns out I could have ordered butter by scrolling down about three screens to a huge range of options — and agreed to pay an additional… four dollars… for butter. I didn’t bother looking up cream cheese.
I guess — Trump’s latest reassuring CPI numbers notwithstanding — inflation really is bad. Why, it is worth asking, should we trust a president who lies about everything else to be scrupulous about the numbers his administration gins up — the numbers that drive markets, politics, and ultimately elections?
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Speaking of Trump and Musk, it occurs to me that Trump can manage a truce with Musk but he can’t arrange one where it matters: Ukraine, Gaza, etc.
This past week, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth testified before a Senate committee. Among other things, he admitted that Russia was the aggressor in its war with Ukraine, but declined to comment on whether he wants the government in Kyiv to win. That about says it all regarding this guy and his boss.
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Trump certainly gives good post. Here’s one of my recent favorites, during his Muskstorm:
Some people leave this administration and actually become hostile!
Really? Hard to believe.
Personally, I can’t help wondering whether the real reason Musk decided to quit attacking Trump was this: It’s no longer unthinkable that Trump would sic masked ICE agents on the foreign-born and (possibly-in-this-country- illegally) tycoon — and deport him.
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