I know that I will be sitting with this book for a long time. Pondering. Thinking. Sorting out my feelings. Here are a few things that jumped out at me…
A perfect storm. A car wreck you can’t look away from.
”…when people stop demanding leaders of integrity, they start worshiping leaders of spectacle.” ( p 47)
”In a democracy, accountability depends on courage - the willingness to speak truth to power, even when the truth is unwelcome. Under Trump, courage became career suicide.” ( p 52)
”…the death of accountability wasn’t just Trump’s doing. It was collective. America stared into the mirror and chose entertainment over ethics, volume over virtue.” ( p 53)
”…[Trump’s] Ukraine missteps revealed the core flaw of his presidency: he didn’t see the world as a map of nations, but as a stage of characters, some to flatter, some to insult, none to truly understand. And when admiration for a tyrant replaces allegiance to a principle, the cost isn’t just diplomatic confusion. It’s human lives.” ( p 71)
”The lines between journalism, entertainment, and propaganda have blurred beyond recognition. Politicians now campaign not for votes, but for viral clips.” ( p 101)
”…accountability isn’t vengeance; its preservation. It’s the system reminding itself that democracy without consequences is just aristocracy with better marketing. Trump’s America tested the immune system of democracy. The cure, as always, lies in vigilance.” ( p 105)
Resilience. Hope.
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