This is SO BRILLIANT. Too bad the people (especially the hacks in the media) won't read it. Or if they do, they won't admit their complicity. THANK YOU.
I cried while reading this. I just left my husband, and your extended metaphor about Cool Dad and Uncool Mom was my actual life before I finally said, "Enough," and stopped playing the peacemaker and left him to the consequences of his actions. You're exactly right that that dynamic is being writ large in American politics, and hopefully in November enough people will say, "Enough," that Uncool Mom gets to take the reins for a little while.
Thanks, Cat. As a child I remember my news junkie parents watching Iran/Contra - and everyone still talking about how Watergate proved our govt. worked and journalists were heroes… I can’t believe we are here and I’ve really I’ve lost heart though I vote and call and try to listen. I wonder if, instead of an abused child, America is the friend who repeatedly enters abusive relationships and calls you to say “but what can I do?” because tyranny is what we grew up with (and what the community and media assured us was strength) while kindness and respect feels like weakness. (I’m not taking these calls anymore for my own sanity)
It's truly astonishing how wholly forgotten Iran Contra has ended up. It's a phrase without meaning to young adults now, and a lot of regular adults. It was fucking evil, and the hearings were broadcast, and Reagan got to say "I don't recall" and get away with all of it, yet no one questioned his mental abilities the way they did at Biden's slightest stutter. It's grotesque.
I was really young and very much not politically aware when Iran contra was happening but I do remember all the scandalous shit with Oliver North and how he did the "I do not recall" like hundreds of times and it was just obvious how guilty they all were
It was forgotten fast because George H.W. Bush was President after Reagan and he was the one traitorously negotiating with Iran, behind the backs of President Carter and the President of Iran, to delay the release of the 40 Hostages. He was a traitor along with Reagan.
note: I should have used patriarchy instead of tyranny as I was referring to cultural norms/social structures not the government. I try to avoid hyperbole along the lines of “it’s just like [fill-in-the-blank-autocracy]”
GodDAMN that was a great read! When most of our fellow citizens have the memory of a goldfish, historical truth is absolutely essential. Keep em coming, and thank you!
Well written and well put. Humanity's perpetual delusion of the omnipotent father, the omniscient parent, the Savior who will make it all better and do it all for Us and We won't have to think and We won't be afraid and We will get more than They do has arisen again, and Conservatism is preying on it.
Everything you’ve written echoes a post of mine from yesterday. I went back to McCarthy because it seems to me the path is the same: ruin lives and gain power. I used fewer words though. I’ve been around for a very long time and lived through much since I was born in 1940. Republicans have always been counter progress because they are only concerned with controlling everyone’s lives, from single cell to coffin.
I thought about going back to FDR but felt I'd already both gone on too long, and probably gone past common knowledge for people younger than me and you by talking about Iran Contra, a phrase that has virtually zero meaning for those under 35, unless they are VERY political and historically-minded. FDR managed to combine both archetypes (mainly due to WWII allowing him to appear tough and in control of a crisis while reshaping the entire domestic apparatus) and conservatives have NEVER forgiven him for it. So much of Project 2025 is just clawing back the last dregs of the New Deal. That's been the overarching goal for almost 90 years. It took that long, but they're on the brink now.
History doesn't start or stop anywhere, strip off the Republican and Democrat labels and just call it conservatives and liberals (or progressives, but that actually has a specific meaning in American politics and it's always bugged me that the taking up of the term has erased that history) and we can keep going back to the dawn of civilization. The fight goes on.
Yikes! Scary view of our recent political history (Iran Contra was just yesterday for an old coot like me). I have always maintained that the extremists on both sides have controlled our political dialogue and your eloquent “rant” may explain why. I hope this election will finally awaken the “silent majority” who will shout from their windows “I’m pissed and I’m not going to take it anymore!” And then they’ll swarm the ballot boxes and throw Trump and his minions on the ash heap of history. Hope!!
Yes FDR was called a "Class Traitor" as he was rich, educated and from a Old Family. He saw America descending into Chaos with Republican policies and potentially a Russian Revolution situation. He therefore concentrated on lifting the population out of their misery. The idiot Republicans still don't realize he actually saved Capitalism by regulating it, opening upward mobility and creating a strong middle class along with a safety net. This didn't stop rich people from getting richer. It just made them do it without cheating people and they had to contribute to the National Good with taxes like everyone else. They are still mad about this.
I know that. Never mind that FDR saved the capitalist economy. My parents were lifelong Republicans, so I grew up with that. They both died in the early 1990s so they didn’t live to see DJT. I don’t know how they would have handled him. I like to think they would have listened to Liz Cheney, but I don’t know.
This piece is long but entirely worth it. I'm ready for the book version. With maybe a whole chapter on the pathological lying of Ronald Reagan over eight years.
In my opinion the roots of that poison tree go all the way back to the depression. So many of the “haves” lost everything and then FDR and his new deal, then the war and the “haves” were still struggling to get back to what they considered their “rightful” place. They took advantage of every Republican administration since Eisenhower to start the process of growing the poison tree. I agree that Reagan is the true poison tree with his push to deregulate and give all the worst actors free rein. Yeah, I see Reagan as pretty much the reason why we have Trump. Maybe at some point in the future folks will come to realize how damaging he (and Nancy) were to the country but I doubt it will happen in my lifetime.
Wandered in here from a link to another Substack, but this seems to be open to the public and you're inviting Trump voters to state their case below, so I'll leave this here, though as you will see I am not one. (And I'm *just* old enough to remember the Iran Contra hearings making me angry by preempting Sesame Street--but yes, it was definitely a case of avoiding responsibility.)
I wonder if I'm missing the final bit to become a progressive because I actually liked my dad. No real daddy issues; my dad was more conservative than me, being born 35 years earlier, but was generally on my side and loving. (As was my mom, but I had more in common with my dad.) He definitely wasn't cool, but that's OK, that wasn't his job. I had an Uncool Mom and an Uncool Dad and they are still together, drinking cappuccinos and reading magazines and going to museum lectures and doing nerdy-old-people things together. I don't really want kids--I'm too lazy--but I feel kind of sad about letting them down on the grandkids thing.
Ironically in terms of this I'm voting for Harris because in the terms of your essay I see Trump as a *bad* dad, trying to claim authority in an illegitimate fashion by stealing the election. (Mom's no-good new boyfriend if you want to extend the metaphor.) He's already proved his recklessness and lack of concern for others, so why put him in charge? Also, I hate cool people, so I'm going to go for Uncool over Cool, all other things equal.
While I love my Uncool Mom (still send her out-of-print books about France and art when I see them in the used bookstore), in general the type is one I had to work against throughout my life (after all, if they're not *your* Uncool Mom, they're not on your side). When I wanted to finally start dating, I had to basically relearn all the gender stereotypes I had been taught were outdated in order to be attractive. And I spent my entire working life terrified of looking at a woman the wrong way and ending my career before it started. So I can kind of see why all the young guys are voting for Trump.
But, Harris didn't try to steal the election by launching a coup. Or ignore her scientific advisors during a pandemic. Or try to fire the entire federal government and replace them with her cronies. Or, you know, that coup thing. So I'm voting for her.
(Also, that coup thing. My family's from Latin America. I don't want that here.)
Thee most fabulous fact rant I’ve ever read, and I’m am Old who remembers Iran-Contra. Thank you.
The biggest lie in Iran-contra was that Reagan was out of the loop and unaware of what was happening.
this may just be one of the best damned things I have ever read!
America's problem has always been we hate hippies worse than we hate Nazis.
This is SO BRILLIANT. Too bad the people (especially the hacks in the media) won't read it. Or if they do, they won't admit their complicity. THANK YOU.
I cried while reading this. I just left my husband, and your extended metaphor about Cool Dad and Uncool Mom was my actual life before I finally said, "Enough," and stopped playing the peacemaker and left him to the consequences of his actions. You're exactly right that that dynamic is being writ large in American politics, and hopefully in November enough people will say, "Enough," that Uncool Mom gets to take the reins for a little while.
Thanks, Cat. As a child I remember my news junkie parents watching Iran/Contra - and everyone still talking about how Watergate proved our govt. worked and journalists were heroes… I can’t believe we are here and I’ve really I’ve lost heart though I vote and call and try to listen. I wonder if, instead of an abused child, America is the friend who repeatedly enters abusive relationships and calls you to say “but what can I do?” because tyranny is what we grew up with (and what the community and media assured us was strength) while kindness and respect feels like weakness. (I’m not taking these calls anymore for my own sanity)
It's truly astonishing how wholly forgotten Iran Contra has ended up. It's a phrase without meaning to young adults now, and a lot of regular adults. It was fucking evil, and the hearings were broadcast, and Reagan got to say "I don't recall" and get away with all of it, yet no one questioned his mental abilities the way they did at Biden's slightest stutter. It's grotesque.
I was really young and very much not politically aware when Iran contra was happening but I do remember all the scandalous shit with Oliver North and how he did the "I do not recall" like hundreds of times and it was just obvious how guilty they all were
It was forgotten fast because George H.W. Bush was President after Reagan and he was the one traitorously negotiating with Iran, behind the backs of President Carter and the President of Iran, to delay the release of the 40 Hostages. He was a traitor along with Reagan.
And Oliver North got his own show not long after!
note: I should have used patriarchy instead of tyranny as I was referring to cultural norms/social structures not the government. I try to avoid hyperbole along the lines of “it’s just like [fill-in-the-blank-autocracy]”
It's amazing to me how much people have forgotten Iran-Contra. Thank you for mentioning it!
GodDAMN that was a great read! When most of our fellow citizens have the memory of a goldfish, historical truth is absolutely essential. Keep em coming, and thank you!
Oh yeah, the George Conway bit was super enlightening. It’s also why I don’t trust these Lincoln Project phoney’s any farther than I can throw them.
The trumpgop does check each box on the abuser profile.
Gaslight✅
Isolate (you and me against the world)✅
Belittle✅
Threaten✅
Take away freedom✅
Physical violence✅
Well written and well put. Humanity's perpetual delusion of the omnipotent father, the omniscient parent, the Savior who will make it all better and do it all for Us and We won't have to think and We won't be afraid and We will get more than They do has arisen again, and Conservatism is preying on it.
Everything you’ve written echoes a post of mine from yesterday. I went back to McCarthy because it seems to me the path is the same: ruin lives and gain power. I used fewer words though. I’ve been around for a very long time and lived through much since I was born in 1940. Republicans have always been counter progress because they are only concerned with controlling everyone’s lives, from single cell to coffin.
I love your art, btw.
I thought about going back to FDR but felt I'd already both gone on too long, and probably gone past common knowledge for people younger than me and you by talking about Iran Contra, a phrase that has virtually zero meaning for those under 35, unless they are VERY political and historically-minded. FDR managed to combine both archetypes (mainly due to WWII allowing him to appear tough and in control of a crisis while reshaping the entire domestic apparatus) and conservatives have NEVER forgiven him for it. So much of Project 2025 is just clawing back the last dregs of the New Deal. That's been the overarching goal for almost 90 years. It took that long, but they're on the brink now.
History doesn't start or stop anywhere, strip off the Republican and Democrat labels and just call it conservatives and liberals (or progressives, but that actually has a specific meaning in American politics and it's always bugged me that the taking up of the term has erased that history) and we can keep going back to the dawn of civilization. The fight goes on.
Yikes! Scary view of our recent political history (Iran Contra was just yesterday for an old coot like me). I have always maintained that the extremists on both sides have controlled our political dialogue and your eloquent “rant” may explain why. I hope this election will finally awaken the “silent majority” who will shout from their windows “I’m pissed and I’m not going to take it anymore!” And then they’ll swarm the ballot boxes and throw Trump and his minions on the ash heap of history. Hope!!
Yes FDR was called a "Class Traitor" as he was rich, educated and from a Old Family. He saw America descending into Chaos with Republican policies and potentially a Russian Revolution situation. He therefore concentrated on lifting the population out of their misery. The idiot Republicans still don't realize he actually saved Capitalism by regulating it, opening upward mobility and creating a strong middle class along with a safety net. This didn't stop rich people from getting richer. It just made them do it without cheating people and they had to contribute to the National Good with taxes like everyone else. They are still mad about this.
I know that. Never mind that FDR saved the capitalist economy. My parents were lifelong Republicans, so I grew up with that. They both died in the early 1990s so they didn’t live to see DJT. I don’t know how they would have handled him. I like to think they would have listened to Liz Cheney, but I don’t know.
Outstanding. More of this and less of everything else. Thank you
This piece is long but entirely worth it. I'm ready for the book version. With maybe a whole chapter on the pathological lying of Ronald Reagan over eight years.
In my opinion the roots of that poison tree go all the way back to the depression. So many of the “haves” lost everything and then FDR and his new deal, then the war and the “haves” were still struggling to get back to what they considered their “rightful” place. They took advantage of every Republican administration since Eisenhower to start the process of growing the poison tree. I agree that Reagan is the true poison tree with his push to deregulate and give all the worst actors free rein. Yeah, I see Reagan as pretty much the reason why we have Trump. Maybe at some point in the future folks will come to realize how damaging he (and Nancy) were to the country but I doubt it will happen in my lifetime.
Lina Kahn is the first person to address Reagan’s dismissal of our antitrust laws, I fervently hope Harris doesn’t dismiss her when she wins.🫰🏼🫰🏼
Now THAT’s what I call a hellrant! You are absolutely right, this dark longing for authority goes back to the fucking cradle. Well done!
Wandered in here from a link to another Substack, but this seems to be open to the public and you're inviting Trump voters to state their case below, so I'll leave this here, though as you will see I am not one. (And I'm *just* old enough to remember the Iran Contra hearings making me angry by preempting Sesame Street--but yes, it was definitely a case of avoiding responsibility.)
I wonder if I'm missing the final bit to become a progressive because I actually liked my dad. No real daddy issues; my dad was more conservative than me, being born 35 years earlier, but was generally on my side and loving. (As was my mom, but I had more in common with my dad.) He definitely wasn't cool, but that's OK, that wasn't his job. I had an Uncool Mom and an Uncool Dad and they are still together, drinking cappuccinos and reading magazines and going to museum lectures and doing nerdy-old-people things together. I don't really want kids--I'm too lazy--but I feel kind of sad about letting them down on the grandkids thing.
Ironically in terms of this I'm voting for Harris because in the terms of your essay I see Trump as a *bad* dad, trying to claim authority in an illegitimate fashion by stealing the election. (Mom's no-good new boyfriend if you want to extend the metaphor.) He's already proved his recklessness and lack of concern for others, so why put him in charge? Also, I hate cool people, so I'm going to go for Uncool over Cool, all other things equal.
While I love my Uncool Mom (still send her out-of-print books about France and art when I see them in the used bookstore), in general the type is one I had to work against throughout my life (after all, if they're not *your* Uncool Mom, they're not on your side). When I wanted to finally start dating, I had to basically relearn all the gender stereotypes I had been taught were outdated in order to be attractive. And I spent my entire working life terrified of looking at a woman the wrong way and ending my career before it started. So I can kind of see why all the young guys are voting for Trump.
But, Harris didn't try to steal the election by launching a coup. Or ignore her scientific advisors during a pandemic. Or try to fire the entire federal government and replace them with her cronies. Or, you know, that coup thing. So I'm voting for her.
(Also, that coup thing. My family's from Latin America. I don't want that here.)