14 Comments

Thank you. I am sad that I mostly agree with this wonderful article. I think that the foundations are shaky. While I think Trump is likely to enact policies that I think will cause harm, what I find really unbearable is not that he was elected, but that he could be elected. Mainly because this demonstrate that the system has failed to convince most people that it is worth keeping.

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there have also been concerted, well-funded attempts to sway people into believing it should all be burnt down. in some aspects there is truth; some of these organizations have lost their way. but the overarching ethos of interplanetary cooperation for the purpose of peace cannot be abandoned.

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Hi Jason,

Thanks for the reply. I do not think we should burn it down, I think, many people do. Clearly mistakes have been made but as you point out there is a lot worth saving. Largely I still think the ideals of the enlightenment, the ideals of the EU are good ideals. But there is an every important need to convince others to cherish them. I fear this may no longer be possible.

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Nov 11Liked by Jason Steinhauer

Wow. Visionary.

I think “self-centered” is key to understanding the electorate and people in general.

Couldn’t it be argued that people just have different ideas of who the “experts”are?

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Nov 13·edited Nov 13Author

perhaps. but we must be sure not to confuse ideologues and charlatans with those who've acquired hard-earned expertise. on social media and in today's press, the former regularly pose as the latter.

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Nov 13Liked by Jason Steinhauer

Agreed. We know they’re not experts, but the average person doesn’t, unfortunately. I guess that’s where your plea for better internet literacy is so important.

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Nov 10Liked by Jason Steinhauer

Thank you for your article Jason. There are many of us in the history space who are reflecting on all that has happened and what is about to happen. In the calm before the storm we need to connect with as many likeminded history thinking people. Not just academics but in the teaching profession to all those in classrooms trying to make sense of what is happening to our world.

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agreed, thank you Daryl. I need to be better about being part of that connective tissue, so we can all learn from each other. I will be better moving forward.

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Hi Jason, there are so many historians who have been doing such a great job since 2017, I think you mention a few in your book. And they are fired up in Trump's first administration - Timothy Snyder, Ruth Be Ghiatt, Jason Stanley, Heather Cox Richardson, and many more. But also indispensable are the historians, theologians, pastors, and other writers from the Christian Left (for want of the better word) who are critiquing Christian nationalism and are pushing back. They do us a service by explaining the origins, development and impact of Christian nationalism. eg Jim Wallis, Kristin du May etc. I'm reading 'The Power Worshippers' by Katherine Stewart and she has another book coming out soon. The more that all of these experts in different fields compare notes and connect with each other the moire effective will be the resistance to Trumpism that will rear its ugly head in the field of history and education. I'm an Australian and my son and his family live in Connecticut. I'm going to Boston the week after next to visit him and also to take part in the NCSS conference in Boston where a number of high profile historians will be speaking, including Heather Cox Richardson and Ken Burns. Also, I want to mix with fellow teaching colleagues to get a sense of how teachers and educationalist in the US see things. I will be interested in anything that you initiate through this network. All the best.

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4 hrs agoLiked by Jason Steinhauer

Wow, this helped me understand our current situation so much... which is both good and bad.

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Nov 10Liked by Jason Steinhauer

Really appreciate this article/ thank you

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Nov 10Liked by Jason Steinhauer

Thank you for taking time and thought to reflect on our current political "situation" and add context. These ideas have been running through my brain, and your considered essay helps consolidate them into an ordered pattern. My husband and I have mused.... without the US military Draft obligation, and potentially less Civics or US Government classes in High School have the current generations of young men (and women) lost any loyalty to the concepts of US solidarity, or support for all fellow men? We are both aging products of the 60's and 70's and mourn the unity and dedication to ALL people having equal rights and opportunity. Old age is frustrating when the ideals of our youth appear to have been squandered by succeeding generations.

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Nov 10Liked by Jason Steinhauer

The different era started September 11, 2001

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certainly that's an argument that has some validity.

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