A lot has happened in the 50 years since Rogers’s show went national; so much atrocity has poured through the minds of successive generations. What would Rogers, a lifelong Republican who died in 2003, make of today’s experience of childhood, pocked with school shootings, social media, and a bully-like president? I’m not sure if his brand of empathy could survive this climate.
via Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood anniversary: I was Mr. Rogers’s actual neighbor – Vox.
American flags are the ultimate Good Housekeeping seal. And thanking veterans for their service disconnects the public from what has been nearly two decades of war. The ballpark ceremony obscures the realities of war and, by focusing on soldiers, inoculates the government from antiwar criticism.
via Veterans Speak Out Against The Militarization Of Sports | Only A Game.
“And, I mean, if you look at kind of the tone of what Memorial Day has become about, it’s pretty gross,” Nick says. “Even on the teams’ official Twitter accounts — a flame emoji for, like, ‘Look how hot these camo hats are.’ And it’s, like, ‘Really, guys? That’s the plan?’ I mean, you can imagine how some of these Gold Star families reacted to that. They were not remotely amused.
But instead, since Jan. 20, 2017, Trump has sent unequivocal signals to those who rig elections that they will not be punished. In fact, he has openly embraced and spoken highly of authoritarian strongmen across the globe — from China’s Xi Jinping and the Philippines’s Rodrigo Duterte to Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan. While many Western observers were busy condemning sham elections in Turkey and Russia, Trump picked up the phone and congratulated both leaders.
via How to Steal an Election in Broad Daylight – Foreign Policy.
In the 21st century, strongmen have learned that it’s easier to stay in power by rigging elections than by not holding them at all. Right now, those who rig elections are outfoxing not only their own citizens but the international community as well.
