I’ve spent most of the year writing movie reviews, because there’s been too many things to talk about and I haven’t had the time to process. A war is being waged on workers, vulnerable people and our collective sanity. New stories come out daily, most of them are nonsense meant to drive communal ire, but enough is there to make you pause and think about what the next decade will look like.
A concentration camp at Guantanamo Bay1. While those words feel charged, it is disconcerting that people aren’t raising more of a ruckus about this. We haven’t see the shifting of political prisoners en masse yet, but we are seeing the groundwork being laid.
The war on the FAA2. Ken Klippenstein also shared this memo:
What happens when we can’t trust air traffic as a way out of the country? That sounds alarmist, but these days are alarming. Right now, air travel is still safe but Boeing’s deregulation coupled with skeleton crewing air traffic control means that safety is waning.
Speaking of deregulation, we’re seeing guardrails being stripped from every private sector3. Right now it doesn’t mean much for day to day life, because the changes are about laying the groundwork. What’s scary to me is that the changes are fast and furious and still slow enough that most people aren’t affected.
Like, Trump is bandying about ignoring the judicial process4, which is troubling considering how much work they’ve put in to make it compliant. This has been a concern raised for decades, about the softening of the Supreme Court and its ramifications, but now we’re facing an administration that is publicly announcing their intent to ignore one of our foundational checks and balances.
Maybe the most horrifying element is that this is the news we’re getting through national services. News services that have been compromised, from the Bezos-owned Washington Post to the New York Times coverage of the last election5, most accessible news outlets have a dubious claim to fair and ethical news coverage right now.
The Associated Press, long one of the most trustworthy news sources in the United States, has been banned from the White House for using the correct name for the Gulf of Mexico6. Trump, an outspoken opponent of free press, has also made moves to eliminate transparency despite their advance compliance. The Pentagon has pulled access to a number of major news outlets and replaced them with other outlets, some of which had not even requested access7.
If this is what we are able to get, what news are we missing out on? There are people doing independent journalism, but their reach is limited and they lack resources. This administration has already shown a flagrant disregard for constitutional protections, what happens when those scattered voices are silenced?
Elon Musk’s manhandling of government agencies has even made conservatives wary. Republican politicians are scared of facing Musk backed challengers8. The voters are displeased with President Musk9, but that has no slowed the wrecking ball. This hasn’t even touched on the war on labor currently underway. I think I’m still a little too raw about that subject to dive in right now.
In times like this, despair and helplessness are tar pits pulling people under. We’ve been encouraged to misanthropy and isolation, two things baked into the American identity. The internet has allowed vocal minorities to flourish, giving a platform to disgruntled people who weaponize their worst traits. Red and black pilled armies, throngs of disaffected white children who feel entitled to a world that caters to them, eat up misinformation that reinforces their world view. Stokes their rage.
Anyone clamoring for good ol’ days, hearkening for days when life wasn’t so hard, is coming from a place of privilege. Trump’s messaging is effective because he gives so many people permission to blame someone else for the life they have, while not forcing them to confront the reality of the world we’re in. That people like Trump are the reason that so many issues in society persist.
People that exploit other people. People that are okay with the exploitation of children. People that dehumanize others with the purpose of control. But we are not powerless. We have strength in community. In compassion. In humanity.
We have our morality tested daily, but rarely on this scale. In this time, we can be the people we see ourselves as. It just requires action. Get involved in your local community, connect with neighbors and broaden your worldview and theirs. Reject misanthropy. Now is not the time to lay the foundation for future regret.
Also, here’s a playlist of stuff I’ve been listening to to kick of 2025: