Bits and Bobs
A few items plus a request for feedback
1/ It’s always a good time for Dr. Seuss.
Recent events in the world have me in a Dr. Seuss mood. Specifically, a Dr. Seuss-circa-1941 mood.
Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Geisel, started publishing children’s books in the 1930s, but as the world plunged back into the hell of world war — that’s what happens when you don’t have an international order to criminalize and punish aggressive war — Geisel put his talents to use against the Axis. And against isolationism, Charles Lindbergh, Father Charles Coughlin, and the America First Committee. (I still can’t get over the fact that Trump dusted off “America First” despite this shameful history. And Americans shrugged.)
Seuss despised the American Firsters and the rest but there is a constant tension in how he responded to them, a tension borne of the ambiguities of their position. Are they fools blind to the dangers of appeasement and isolation? Or are they sympathetic to, or even actively conniving with, the Axis?
Wisely, Seuss hit America First from both directions — as the movement contained both elements.
What got me thinking about this was, of course, the shameful Oval Office attack on Volodymyr Zelensky by the Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, who are, to the eternal shame of the United States, President and Vice-President. I would suggest they are figures in the mould of Charles Lindbergh, but Lindbergh, unlike Trump and Vance, accomplished something extraordinary before involving himself in politics and staining his reputation forever. That said, I must concede that Trump and Vance are, so far, doing a far better job than Lindbergh of supporting dictators.
By the way, do you know what J.D. Vance said in an interview shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, while Russian bombs were destroying schools, hospitals, and apartment buildings, and those within? Vance as a candidate for the US Senate at the time. And he said this: "I gotta be honest with you, I don't really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another."
This is the man who berated the hero of Kyiv this week.
Dr. Seuss knew his type.
2/ “Why don’t you wear a suit?”
That’s the asinine question asked by Brian Glenn, a “journalist” in the Oval Office when Trump and Vance ambushed Zelensky and disgraced the United States.
“You’re at the highest level in this country’s office, and you refuse to wear a suit,” Glenn went on. “Just want to see if — do you own a suit? A lot of Americans have problems with you disrespecting the office.”
As many have noted, this is the same White House that recently held a Cabinet meeting dominated by Elon Musk, who dressed like he was on his way to a rave and he had a pocketful of party drugs. Needless to say, no Trumpian tut-tutted the co-president, much less embarrassed him with a high-profile question about his attire. But hypocrisy is the least-troubling aspect of this farrago.
At the start of the war, in solidarity with Ukraine’s soldiers, Zelensky swore to not wear a suit again until the war was over. This was reported hundreds of times in the first months of the war. Anyone who has watched the evening news at any time in the past three years knows this. But this “journalist” didn’t? Well, of course he did. And his “question” wasn’t a question at all. Because this “journalist” isn’t a journalist. He’s a mouthpiece for “Real America News,” one of the growing number of naked propaganda outfits that ape journalism to provide cover and delude the credulous. Glenn was there at the invitation of the White House and he did the White House’s bidding. If you watch the video of this miserable moment Marco Rubio looks like he wants to crawl into a corner and die but J.D. Vance, seated next to him, smirks like the sidekick of the class bully when the gang starts tormenting the designated victim.
That’s a straw in the wind. If there’s a third Trump administration, that’s what “news” will look like.
History made the moment all the more shameful.
During the Second World War, Winston Churchill had a set of overalls he called his “siren suit” because it was suitable for the office and the bunker. Churchill occasionally wore it in 10 Downing, the British equivalent of the White House.
Speaking of which, guess where else Churchill wore his siren suit in 1942? That’s right. The White House.
Zelensky deserves a medal for not shoving Brian Glenn’s tie down his throat.
3/ Me, talking
This blog is my hobby. My day job is writing books and speaking, mostly about those books.
I was in Norway recently to give a very short talk at an event with fantastic productions values, so I’ve got good video I thought I’d share.
A footnote: I’ve lectured at every imaginable length and style and I find this sort of TED-length talk by far the hardest. This one is 14 minutes. No time for asides or ruminations. Or jokes. Every word counts. Every word has to be exactly right. An hour and a half in front of a blackboard is a stroll in the park by comparison.
You know the old Mark Twain joke, “if I had more time I would have written a shorter letter”? It’s so true. (Not the source, though. Apparently, Twain never wrote that. But lots of others did.)
4/ What’s next?
I’m coming to the finish of my next book, so I have to figure out what’s next. Which is difficult because I have a number of balls in the air.
May I ask a favour? I’d love to get some feedback from you about PastPresentFuture and what I might do with it in future.
Some thoughts:
a) I won’t turn this into Resistance HQ. Nothing is more tedious than endlessly repeated anger and defiance. Even when it’s entirely warranted. Can you imagine doing that through the five years of the Second World War? For the reader, tedious. For the writer, a threat to mental health. So while I’m going to continue following and writing about what is increasingly shaping up to be the biggest geopolitical earthquake since 1945, I won’t let it dominate. That’s my promise to you. And me. Mostly me.
b) I want to do much more straight history. Personally, when I read this sort of story written by others, it’s the history used as illustration, not the contemporary analysis, which I usually find most interesting. I may even occasionally venture into history that has no conceivable relevance to the present but is, in my estimation, interesting for whatever reason. Thumbs up or down?
c) I’ve been studying the social history of technology for years now but almost never written about it. I may turn it into a regular theme. With or without direct ties to the present, I think you’ll see how the history of technology is remarkably enlightening when it comes to grappling with technology today. (I’m thinking of a series called “tech bubbles of the past.” It would be a long series.)
d) I also want to do a whole lot more on communication and persuasion. How do civil, productive conversations happen? How are minds changed? How do we get the most from a diversity of views without conversations turning into the bitter swamps of social media? There’s a thousand questions I want to explore there. (Many are connected to the aforementioned almost-completed book. It will be published in October, by the way.)
d) I did my first Substack live video chat with Justin Ling recently. It was fun. I really enjoy conversations like this. But the world is drowning in video and podcasts. Does anyone want to hear from me in this format? And if I were to do this, what subjects? With whom should I speak? You tell me.
f) Are there other things I could be doing that you would value? AMAs? Group Zoom calls?
g) More generally, what do you like here? What would you prefer to see less of? Any comments or suggestions welcome.
h) And the final question, the big one: I’m thinking about turning this newsletter, which has never been more than a hobby, into a full-time (or nearly so) job. That would be a huge step for me. Everything I used to put into my books would go here. In fact, I’m toying with the idea of, in effect, researching, writing, and publishing books as serials right here. (I know, very 19th century. That’s the kind of cutting-edge guy I am.)
But for this to work, I would need to greatly increase my free subscriber base — which I’m confident I can do with better and more regular content — but also my paid subscriber base. I’ve got bills. And a wife who’s good with numbers. A guy’s gotta earn, as they say on The Sopranos.
What do you think? Feasible?
Just a comment: I prefer the written word. No podcasts, videos, zoom calls for me. Write it down, either in a book or online. If it's video or similar, please be sure that it is transcribed for folks like me, preferably by an actual human. Botscribing can be incomprehensible. As for content, I will read on any topic if the writing is competent, which your writing most assuredly is. Almost any topic, I should say.
I enjoy your writings. I recognize that this is a minority opinion, but I think you would be a terrific podcaster. I like the Canadian perspective you bring to your newsletters and I can imagine you engaging in insightful conversations with a range of guests, mainly Canadian.