Sorry, David, "governing will soon return", is fantasy since we haven't seen it for a generation. We have seen gridlock, corruption, and a value system based on money. Maybe a more appropriate phrase would be governing may evolve to an effective reality where compromise for the common good can exist.
4
The epidemic of worry is nothing new; it's been building for decades. The current election is merely the latest manifestation of our lust for conflict. You can see it everywhere, but most vividly in our entertainment. Watching the first few seasons of "Survivor," for instance, I was appalled that conflict seemed to be the basis for the show, that it was built into the narrative and was almost completely contrived. The show continues, incredibly, and is now in its 16th season. To me, that was the beginning of a long line of conflict-infused shows, exemplified by "American Chopper," a 2003 show ostensibly about building beautifully unique motorcycles by a team of professionals. But I guess that premise was deemed too dull by the producers so they built in the conflicts of a dysfunctional family and soon that was what viewers tuned in to watch. In this century, the number of "reality" shows based on conflict has skyrocketed. Think about it--how many shows like that are currently on offer? (Thank goodness "This Old House" is still peaceful.) But it's not just "reality" TV; fictional shows have also become increasingly dark and angry. Shows like "The Sopranos," which normalize evil, have proliferated and moved to premium channels where such extremes can be viewed uncensored. I could go on with many more examples, but my word count is up. Suffice to say that we have only ourselves to blame for the dark reality show that is our election. It is, after all, what we were asking for.
6
This deep fear, now so rife among so many, would shock our courageous, pioneering forefathers.
2
"If the next president starts enacting a slew of actual policies... ." Remember the movie stars who were so worried that they pledged to leave the US if Bush were re-elected? They didn't. If that next President is Trump, we're putting our passports in order and moving assets out if the country before it's too late, and that isn't spoiled posturing. if Brooks is smart, he will too. The intelligentsia will be the first to go, or doesn't Brooks remember history?
There is a book on my shelf by Sinclair Lewis , It Can Happen Here. I'm worried. Sarah Palin made Trump possible. Who is Trump making possible? I'm worried, and that's a concrete focus, not generalized anxiety that spoils the sunrise.
There is a book on my shelf by Sinclair Lewis , It Can Happen Here. I'm worried. Sarah Palin made Trump possible. Who is Trump making possible? I'm worried, and that's a concrete focus, not generalized anxiety that spoils the sunrise.
1
On a date that a better conservative than you Mr. Brooks, Colin Powell, chose to declare he is voting for Hillary you chose to write:
"two candidates who arouse gargantuan anxieties, fear and hatred in their opponents."
The two candidates are NOT equal in arousing gargantuan anxieties, fear and hatred in their opponents. Your statement is nauseating false equivalency par excellance. You are a fifth-columnist pseudo-anti-Trumpist. You are a fellow traveler to the sordid Republican march that Trump is the purest, most distilled version, that in the past half century latched onto racism, anti-abortionism, homophobia, xenophobia, misogyny, and anti-science as instruments of power.
Trump is a degenerate, a perv (to use Trump's words). Clinton is an accomplished, and brilliant woman that you may disagree on specifics (I do), but commands respect here and abroad.
Trump evokes the gargantuan anxieties both among his followers and the majority that rejects him. He demonizes his opponent that he cannot defeat with legitimate means and stocks hatred. He causes fear among his detractors with his willingness to betray American values. The fear of Trump supporters is that they will lose their guns, homosexuals will marry, and women will choose whether to have an abortion or not based on her own faith. These fears are NOT equivalent.
Mr. Brooks you failed this historic moment and blinked blinded by deep ingrained fanatical partisanship masquerading as pseudo-thoughtfulness.
"two candidates who arouse gargantuan anxieties, fear and hatred in their opponents."
The two candidates are NOT equal in arousing gargantuan anxieties, fear and hatred in their opponents. Your statement is nauseating false equivalency par excellance. You are a fifth-columnist pseudo-anti-Trumpist. You are a fellow traveler to the sordid Republican march that Trump is the purest, most distilled version, that in the past half century latched onto racism, anti-abortionism, homophobia, xenophobia, misogyny, and anti-science as instruments of power.
Trump is a degenerate, a perv (to use Trump's words). Clinton is an accomplished, and brilliant woman that you may disagree on specifics (I do), but commands respect here and abroad.
Trump evokes the gargantuan anxieties both among his followers and the majority that rejects him. He demonizes his opponent that he cannot defeat with legitimate means and stocks hatred. He causes fear among his detractors with his willingness to betray American values. The fear of Trump supporters is that they will lose their guns, homosexuals will marry, and women will choose whether to have an abortion or not based on her own faith. These fears are NOT equivalent.
Mr. Brooks you failed this historic moment and blinked blinded by deep ingrained fanatical partisanship masquerading as pseudo-thoughtfulness.
10
"America may be not quite the country we thought it was."
This is an amusing notion. First David, what do you mean by we?
Ask any African-American outside of your Republican bubble and they'll tell you about their perspective on America. When you can be killed for complying with law enforcement or impacted by a biased judicial system or given upside down mortgages or different education outcomes, America is what you think it is. When the majority of people reading this newspaper can't tell you about the contributions made by African-Americans to this country, America is what you think it is. When the statement "white on white crime" confounds you, America is what you think it is. When you have a presidential candidate who maligns an entire group of people by stating, "what do you have to lose", then America is what you think it is.
And by the way. The photo exemplifies the "America" that you see David. America is what you think it is.
This is an amusing notion. First David, what do you mean by we?
Ask any African-American outside of your Republican bubble and they'll tell you about their perspective on America. When you can be killed for complying with law enforcement or impacted by a biased judicial system or given upside down mortgages or different education outcomes, America is what you think it is. When the majority of people reading this newspaper can't tell you about the contributions made by African-Americans to this country, America is what you think it is. When the statement "white on white crime" confounds you, America is what you think it is. When you have a presidential candidate who maligns an entire group of people by stating, "what do you have to lose", then America is what you think it is.
And by the way. The photo exemplifies the "America" that you see David. America is what you think it is.
11
I was born into a world of aniety and fear: From duck and cover, to civil rights, to Vietnam and onward. Nothing changes but the means to perpetuate it. The fear-mongering, is amplified through media and devices until there is no reason left. Commentators, seeking a profitable niche, spew right-wing trash upon the people. Whether for power, money, or egomania, the mentally deranged class stirs up the mob. Lies and denials unending fill the news cycle like rolling waves attacking the beach. An erosion of common sense and common good leaves us with a battered landscape in a crippled, paranoid country. How can we rise above this?
2
"Hakuna matata" is a Swahili phrase; roughly translated, it means "no worries". It is formed by the words hakuna (there is not here) and matata (plural form of problem).
Wikipedia
A song in the Lion King.
Wikipedia
A song in the Lion King.
GOP is a hatefulness enterprise designed to cause fear, uncertainty and doubt. Watching Fox News is like a distopic machine in fake eyelashes and red lipstick. How else does anyone believe anything from the center and Alt Right. Poor Speaker Ryan getting machined gunned from the truly, spooked and crazy Alt Right is enough to send him packing looking for a new office with less hate.
1
Donald Trump is a demagogue and a political sociopath which is redundant. He has no sympathy for his victims. That alone should have separated him from being a plausible GOP candidate for President. But the GOP did not. It was helpless because it already had in place all of the sound bites, dog whistles, and receptive tuning forks that energized enough primary voters to place him in the lead.
Donald Trump and all demagogues prey on human nature.
That is why so much of America is in a funk.
Knowledgeable people are hoping that FOX News will crash and that Sean Hannity retires because he is a principal demagogue. Let's hope the young Murdoch brothers clean house and reform FOX News since it does such harm to our secret sauce.
Donald Trump and all demagogues prey on human nature.
That is why so much of America is in a funk.
Knowledgeable people are hoping that FOX News will crash and that Sean Hannity retires because he is a principal demagogue. Let's hope the young Murdoch brothers clean house and reform FOX News since it does such harm to our secret sauce.
2
Ever since we migrated out of Africa, human race and our societies are constantly changing. These changes always generate fear and anxiety. Sometimes these disruptive energies are directed for progress and advancement. Sometimes these disruptive energies are directed toward senseless destruction. The phenomena of Trump and nativism is not new and probably have replayed over history millions of times on scales large and small. The difference today lies in technology. In the past, when these disruptive energies were channeled by demagogues for destruction, a small group of human suffered. Today, human race all over the world can be in peril because our masterly over vastly more destructive nuclear, chemical and biological powers. Do we have enough mastery over our baser destructive instincts? The rise of Trump does not bode well.
It's not enough to just "do something" (direct action). One has to "do the right thing." And how can one do "the right thing" if not guided by God? Is either candidate close enough to the Lord to perceive the promptings of the Holy Spirit? I sort of doubt it. So we the voters must pray for the country, vote, and ask God to change the heart of whomever is chosen so that our new President acts with wisdom, virtue, honesty, and with the firm purpose to improve the lives of all of our citizens.
2
"Worry does not solve tomorrow's problems, it takes away today's peace". If people only focused on what is truly important in life....family, friends, supporting worthy charitable causes....the narcissistic worry of the affluent and self-induced rage of the less affluent would disappear. And our country would be a much, much better place.
I obviously like the final phrase of the piece "Hakuna Matata." But I disagree that governing will return. The only issues on which governing (however ill-conceived) will return are those for which both parties share the same friends/funders/lobbyists. And one of those will be trade deals and Wall Street Deregulation.
Way to miss the point entirely. Anyone who remembers vividly what it felt like being dragged in 2003 into a senseless war about non-existent WMDs by an administration and a president who refused to listen to the very loud voices of skepticism and protest from both the public and the press and some political outliers will not be reassured by the notion "that governing will soon return." Don't you get it? Elections ARE when voters get to act. Being governed is when it feels we don't act but are, at the worst [as in 03], simply being hijacked as a country without any say-so on our parts. You present as the solution to our anxiety its actual source and cause. The fact that even during our one great chance to act we already feel helpless and hijacked is simply a sign of how bad this election cycle is, which has dragged us through horrifying spectacles such as the debates which we should never have been subjected to and which make us feel the democratic, dignified, tolerant, enlightened country we love is already slipping out of our hands, perhaps forever. WAKE UP, DAVID! You can't slap your bandaid of disparaging platitudes [Narcissism, for goodness sake!] on what ails us.
3
If you’re worrying, you’re spiraling into your own narcissistic pool. But concrete plans and actions thrust us into the daily fact of other people’s lives.
I think this is an excellent prescription, for those who can follow it. Thank you!
I think this is an excellent prescription, for those who can follow it. Thank you!
Yikes! This column draws exactly the wrong conclusion about what is to be done. Activity? Passing legislation? You mean like Obama bullying through, with packs of lies, his horrible Obamacare system, which has now failed completely, and set our healthcare back at least a generation?
Thanks, but no thanks. The best antidote to the current problems w/society are to drastically reduce the size of government, and failing that, to keep government as paralyzed as possible so that Hillary doesn't impose as much oppression on us as Obama did.
Thanks, but no thanks. The best antidote to the current problems w/society are to drastically reduce the size of government, and failing that, to keep government as paralyzed as possible so that Hillary doesn't impose as much oppression on us as Obama did.
When a political candidate plays upon the fears and worries of a segment of the population in order to generate support, the achievement of stoking those fears is the culmination of a successful strategy.
As much as those of us who consider Donald Trump an unethical politician deplore his hate-mongering campaign – and as much as we criticize the under-educated core group of his base – it is a stretch to say that the fears and worries of Trump supporters constitute mental illness caused by the campaign.
The sincere Trump supporters are gullible. That is a flaw, but not a psychological defect.
Many of the true believers following Trump are also racial and religious bigots. Bigotry probably is a type of mental illness, but it also can be an acquired flaw, passed down from parent to child. The Trump campaign has manipulated the bigotry, but it did not create it.
What about the rest of the public – those who do not buy into Trump’s message, but still are worried about the campaign?
The stress, anxiety and depression of the public in the midst of a rancorous, ugly presidential election campaign is normal. It will pass.
Most importantly, suggesting that citizens worried about the election are behaving abnormally is a way of excusing the man who intentionally produced those worries. It lets Donald Trump off the hook.
As much as those of us who consider Donald Trump an unethical politician deplore his hate-mongering campaign – and as much as we criticize the under-educated core group of his base – it is a stretch to say that the fears and worries of Trump supporters constitute mental illness caused by the campaign.
The sincere Trump supporters are gullible. That is a flaw, but not a psychological defect.
Many of the true believers following Trump are also racial and religious bigots. Bigotry probably is a type of mental illness, but it also can be an acquired flaw, passed down from parent to child. The Trump campaign has manipulated the bigotry, but it did not create it.
What about the rest of the public – those who do not buy into Trump’s message, but still are worried about the campaign?
The stress, anxiety and depression of the public in the midst of a rancorous, ugly presidential election campaign is normal. It will pass.
Most importantly, suggesting that citizens worried about the election are behaving abnormally is a way of excusing the man who intentionally produced those worries. It lets Donald Trump off the hook.
Let us start with acknowledging that many people who have become marginal in the changing global economy, losing their employment and security to technologic advances, such as many farm workers or coal workers, or to lowet cost competitors, such as textile workers or electronics assemblers. These many displaced people have reason for anxiety, maybe even fear for their future survival.
The problem is that many leaders encourage them to engage in projection of their legitimate anxiety into blaming others, such as immigrants, and displacement of their legitimate anxiety into anger at those they falsely perceive as the cause of their existential pain.
And when someone inadvertantly utters a truth, like the coal industry will not miraculously recover and alternative efforts are needed to reinvigorate areas that have declined, then denial and angry projection fill the space that needs more thoughtful planning for economic development.
Acceptance of a difficult situation that may not be of one's own making is always difficult. Far easier to convert anxiety to blame and anger.
The problem is that many leaders encourage them to engage in projection of their legitimate anxiety into blaming others, such as immigrants, and displacement of their legitimate anxiety into anger at those they falsely perceive as the cause of their existential pain.
And when someone inadvertantly utters a truth, like the coal industry will not miraculously recover and alternative efforts are needed to reinvigorate areas that have declined, then denial and angry projection fill the space that needs more thoughtful planning for economic development.
Acceptance of a difficult situation that may not be of one's own making is always difficult. Far easier to convert anxiety to blame and anger.
1
Gargantuan anxieties? Is the election driving Mr. Brooks into a funk? I think he needs a vacation and some time away from writing about politics. May I suggest a trip to a warm climate where you turn off your phone, nap a lot, and read a good novel. When you return after November 8th, well rested and sporting a bit of a tan, you will feel much better.
1
I believe Brooks's comment is not true: We’ve seen a level of thuggery this election cycle that is without precedent in recent American history. Some of the anti-Trump demonstrators seem more interested in violence than politics. Some of the Trumpians are savage.
I have carefully followed the election and am not aware of an instance where anti-Trump demonstrators seem more interested in violence than politics. I wonder whether Brooks is referring to the spray painting of the new Trump hotel; this is not at all equivalent to the beating of protesters at Trump rallies.
I have carefully followed the election and am not aware of an instance where anti-Trump demonstrators seem more interested in violence than politics. I wonder whether Brooks is referring to the spray painting of the new Trump hotel; this is not at all equivalent to the beating of protesters at Trump rallies.
1
This column suggests that serious conservative pundits have nothing good to say about conservatives who are currently in politics. So, rather than say bad things, this one engages in psycho-babble.
David, we have an election in three or four weeks for the president of the United States. You should be talking about that, rather than this kind of stuff. Your last several columns (including this one) have been virtually irrelevant. Talk about the election.
David, we have an election in three or four weeks for the president of the United States. You should be talking about that, rather than this kind of stuff. Your last several columns (including this one) have been virtually irrelevant. Talk about the election.
1
Perhaps our anxiety is actually quite rational. Perhaps it is because we recognize the importance of what S.I. Hayakawa said decades ago, "if the majority of our fellow-citizens are more susceptible to the slogans of fear and race hatred than to those of peaceful accommodation and mutual respect among human beings, our political liberties remain at the mercy of any eloquent and unscrupulous demagogue."
A significant number of the people who are going to vote for Hillary will do so out of the fear of an unqualified, incompetent in the White House. Better her than him. Many, perhaps most, Trump supporters are fearful of the shift the country has taken and the American Dream has become exclusive, rather than inclusive. Trump they feel will reverse that trend. Ironically, their candidate has made his wealth developing exclusive products and properties intended only for people of means.
This may be the first election where the majority of voters in both camps aren't gung-ho for either candidate but are just fear the alternative.
This may be the first election where the majority of voters in both camps aren't gung-ho for either candidate but are just fear the alternative.
2
This effort by David Brooks is, as Winston Churchill once put it, "a pudding without a theme".
"This campaign will soon be over, and governing, thank God, will soon return".
I suspect that in 6 months or so, David Brooks will remind us again how ungovernable this country in fact is.
I suspect that in 6 months or so, David Brooks will remind us again how ungovernable this country in fact is.
All this anxiety and worry has been eagerly fueled by many politicians. Among Republicans, their whistle-words are all triggers for worry and anxiety in the base, the speeches full of code words to the core constituency. "Law and order" - translate it as 'watch out for those others' with 'you can tell them easily by their skin color' left unsaid, but well understood. "Radical Islamic terrorism" - heard clearly as 'watch out for those other religions, those non-Christians who "don't share our values" - "Christians" reinforcing an agenda of hatred and exclusion that Jesus would never have embraced. "Illegal immigrants" - translates into 'sure my grandparents came from somewhere else, but I've got mine now, don't let anyone else in to take it'. Trump is only the latest in a parade of Republicans (and too many Democrats) using ginned-up fear to try to capture votes, enhance their appeal, and erode civility and social trust for their own political and personal aggrandizement. When history studies how American liberty was lost, it will find that it was because fear and anxiety, and hollow promises to "keep the homeland safe" and "keep the American people safe" were used as tools to dismantle the Bill of Rights and Constitution. The perpetrators will be our elected officials, doing it for ostensibly the best of intentions. Trump is a symptom, a figurehead, but there is a lot of company for him in government at all levels... merchandising fear to take control.
1
"If the next president starts enacting a slew of actual policies, then at least we can argue about concrete plans, rather than vague apocalyptic moods."
So Mr. Brooks, does that mean you would strongly advocate that your Republican party cease its strategy of unrelenting obstruction of any policy that the Democratic President advocates?
Such a stance would be a refreshing change. I won't hold my breath waiting.
So Mr. Brooks, does that mean you would strongly advocate that your Republican party cease its strategy of unrelenting obstruction of any policy that the Democratic President advocates?
Such a stance would be a refreshing change. I won't hold my breath waiting.
In Europe, during 'La Belle Epoque' rose this pervasive and general feeling of melancholy and angst. The world with too many changes and too much going on had also planted the seeds of a general deep sense of injustice and "unwerklichkeit". Many just got lost in an uncertain and world that was changing too fast.
That brew of uncertainty in a splitting society was the onset of what later would become unstoppable nationalistic movements that, in the end, would establish the NSDAP, and push forward the perfect man to bring back the old world of order and purify a polluted society.
When I watch and listen to Trump supporters, I cannot ignore those who rallied around Nazisme and its adored Fuhrer. Less educated, depressed and yearning for a strong man, they lost their last bits of reality and could do nothing but to cling on to a man who, much like Trump, had in fact not too much brains nor too much to say, and was not much more than a clown with great talent for entertainment, supported and pushed to the front by ultra right movement ideologists, akin to the nowadays Breitbart people.
That brew of uncertainty in a splitting society was the onset of what later would become unstoppable nationalistic movements that, in the end, would establish the NSDAP, and push forward the perfect man to bring back the old world of order and purify a polluted society.
When I watch and listen to Trump supporters, I cannot ignore those who rallied around Nazisme and its adored Fuhrer. Less educated, depressed and yearning for a strong man, they lost their last bits of reality and could do nothing but to cling on to a man who, much like Trump, had in fact not too much brains nor too much to say, and was not much more than a clown with great talent for entertainment, supported and pushed to the front by ultra right movement ideologists, akin to the nowadays Breitbart people.
Republicans, especially those who have been in denial for so many years, like David Brooks, should be anxious and ill at ease because their demonic chickens are coming home to roost at last. Meanwhile, those who have supported progressive politics are starting to feel giddy with excitement, thrilled that the dreary destroyers of democracy, like the grim Brooks, will soon be routed. Hallelujah!
1
Hillary has been trashed for many years by Republicans. It is the Republican narrative but it is not based in fact. As far as I can see she is eminently qualified for the job. She is far from perfect but who is perfect anyway - except some dictator who controls the press? The world outside of the U.S. seems more complicated than ever and we need someone with Hillary's skill and experience to address the many issues that confront us. We will be very lucky to have a President like her. Hopefully the Republicans will try to work with her and not stonewall on everything as they have been doing with Democrats for the past 20 or 30 years. If they work with her, it will reduce my worrying.
2
Excellent column and, as far as I can tell, absolutely right. I've been struggling against anxiety, about the election and very little else, all year. Often I've lost but it feels like I'm getting the upper hand, and in 15 days the worrying will be more or less over.
Naturally, still worried that Trump could win, I'm trying to defuse that by planning out how to become a successful expatriate, and if he does, instead of worrying about what he'll do I'm going to be proactive and get going on the quest for second citizenship.
What worries me right now is that after genially disagreeing with Mr. David Brooks for years, this election has got me mostly applauding him. But I'm trying not to worry about it.
Naturally, still worried that Trump could win, I'm trying to defuse that by planning out how to become a successful expatriate, and if he does, instead of worrying about what he'll do I'm going to be proactive and get going on the quest for second citizenship.
What worries me right now is that after genially disagreeing with Mr. David Brooks for years, this election has got me mostly applauding him. But I'm trying not to worry about it.
Sigh. Another false equivalency opinion piece.
As a 60-year-old I can clearly state that NO Democrat I can think of who has run for the presidency has played the anxiety/fear card with the sole exceptions of LBJ against Goldwater (a reasonable position given the 'extremism in the name of liberty is no vice' nonsense) and the current truly horrible possibility that a sociopathic narcissist could have his finger on the nuclear button.
This being the case, shouldn't this column really be about the purposeful mendacity of one Donald J. Trump?
As a 60-year-old I can clearly state that NO Democrat I can think of who has run for the presidency has played the anxiety/fear card with the sole exceptions of LBJ against Goldwater (a reasonable position given the 'extremism in the name of liberty is no vice' nonsense) and the current truly horrible possibility that a sociopathic narcissist could have his finger on the nuclear button.
This being the case, shouldn't this column really be about the purposeful mendacity of one Donald J. Trump?
2
Having done much participatory research on engaging the "Other" on social media, I’m surprised at earnestness of Mr. Brooks' comment regarding David French's "shocking essay (...and) the appalling online abuse he suffered."
Worrisome as it is, I'm not at all shocked. My experience is that it's the norm—the expected response to even benign challenges to Trump, his followers, the alt-right, and the Tea Party that I sense many evolved from.
For defending non-violent efforts for racial justice as the organizer of Me to Racial Healing and Race Reparations Team, I’ve been pilloried by hundreds of similar reactions. As have been others who identified being involved with the initiative and/or I.
I documented the responses. At least ten (10) Facebook pages and one website were created to intimidate people involved with us and defame me. Names of my extended family, their and my personal and business addresses were posted. Our websites were targeted. An uncle’s business was breached and hacked with graphic porn. Treats about breaking into my home and sexually brutalize me were numerous. Photos of it with Google directions were published and distributed. And, more.
I'm glad Messrs. French and Brooks are reporting on this disquieting brutality. Though it’s nothing new, I hope they can draw more attention to this ugly reality. We spoke to police nationwide and at least once, the FBI. None could or would help. Perhaps this and more coverage can lead to more effective solutions.
Worrisome as it is, I'm not at all shocked. My experience is that it's the norm—the expected response to even benign challenges to Trump, his followers, the alt-right, and the Tea Party that I sense many evolved from.
For defending non-violent efforts for racial justice as the organizer of Me to Racial Healing and Race Reparations Team, I’ve been pilloried by hundreds of similar reactions. As have been others who identified being involved with the initiative and/or I.
I documented the responses. At least ten (10) Facebook pages and one website were created to intimidate people involved with us and defame me. Names of my extended family, their and my personal and business addresses were posted. Our websites were targeted. An uncle’s business was breached and hacked with graphic porn. Treats about breaking into my home and sexually brutalize me were numerous. Photos of it with Google directions were published and distributed. And, more.
I'm glad Messrs. French and Brooks are reporting on this disquieting brutality. Though it’s nothing new, I hope they can draw more attention to this ugly reality. We spoke to police nationwide and at least once, the FBI. None could or would help. Perhaps this and more coverage can lead to more effective solutions.
3
Mr. Brooks suggests that the practical answer to the broadly shared anxiety is concrete political action.
Mr. Brooks should know that very little, or next to no action by our Congress is possible, because of the obstructionist posture of the Republican House.
Mr. Brooks should realize that the paralysis of our Federal government is a significant factor in the growing sense that our country is out of control.
Mr. Brooks should know that very little, or next to no action by our Congress is possible, because of the obstructionist posture of the Republican House.
Mr. Brooks should realize that the paralysis of our Federal government is a significant factor in the growing sense that our country is out of control.
1
The Trumpsters will probably not go quietly into the night. Instead, the Republicans and Trump TV will amp it up to consolidate their mailing lists. Then they'll crank up the Clinton hate to bring the house down.
It's what they do.
Clinton can avert this Civil War by co-opting the Trumpsters to drain their rants. She can enact Bernie's many proposals that are common to the Trumpster demands.
Specifically, jail the banksters, break up the banks, dose Wall Street with regulation, somehow get money out of politics, fix Obamacare by breaking Big Pharma's stranglehold on our health, tax the rich to an inch of their assets, invest in jobs and infrastructure, dump the TPP, make our allies pay their fair share, and keep us out of war.
These are all initiatives that would reverse income inequality, prove that government is on the side of the people rather than the corporations, and bring the country together - what she wants.
The Trumpsters will eventually applaud, in time for her reelection. If she cannot make progress on these integrated issues, both progressives and Trumpsters will vote her out without a second thought.
We're sitting on a bomb and Clinton must devise policy to reverse the non-imaginary problems listed above. Action and progress will relieve everyone's anxiety and prove that democracy can work for everyone - as it must - and will also reform the Republican party.
It's what they do.
Clinton can avert this Civil War by co-opting the Trumpsters to drain their rants. She can enact Bernie's many proposals that are common to the Trumpster demands.
Specifically, jail the banksters, break up the banks, dose Wall Street with regulation, somehow get money out of politics, fix Obamacare by breaking Big Pharma's stranglehold on our health, tax the rich to an inch of their assets, invest in jobs and infrastructure, dump the TPP, make our allies pay their fair share, and keep us out of war.
These are all initiatives that would reverse income inequality, prove that government is on the side of the people rather than the corporations, and bring the country together - what she wants.
The Trumpsters will eventually applaud, in time for her reelection. If she cannot make progress on these integrated issues, both progressives and Trumpsters will vote her out without a second thought.
We're sitting on a bomb and Clinton must devise policy to reverse the non-imaginary problems listed above. Action and progress will relieve everyone's anxiety and prove that democracy can work for everyone - as it must - and will also reform the Republican party.
Reading how bad it is to worry has made me depressed. Otherwise great column!
"But concrete plans and actions thrust us into the daily fact of other people’s lives. This campaign will soon be over, and governing, thank God, will soon return."
So David, what do we do when one of our two major parties controls the House and makes inaction their goal because they lost the popular presidential vote for the 6th time since 1992? I guess it'll be four more years of escalating anxiety, which I think is exactly what your fellow Republicans have in mind to fuel their bid for 2020.
So David, what do we do when one of our two major parties controls the House and makes inaction their goal because they lost the popular presidential vote for the 6th time since 1992? I guess it'll be four more years of escalating anxiety, which I think is exactly what your fellow Republicans have in mind to fuel their bid for 2020.
2
"...and governing, thank God, will soon return." Not likely, since it was barely here to begin with, ephemeral at best. And worry began for me in '08 and for
what followed - or didn't and should have, after the election of Obama. Just pass the Lotus David, it will all be over soon. Happy days are ... and so on.
what followed - or didn't and should have, after the election of Obama. Just pass the Lotus David, it will all be over soon. Happy days are ... and so on.
1
"Among the less educated anxiety flows from . . . (a feeling that) everything is rigged; the rulers are malevolent and corrupt." So according to Brooks, Bernie Sanders' degree from University of Chicago qualifies him as "less educated." I guess only Ivy Leaguers who believe the 1% is on their side can sleep well at night. At least he acknowledges "Some of the anti-Trump demonstrators seem more interested in violence than politics." He should have said most Clinton supporters are wannabe elitist, self-righteous bullies.
1
Here is David Brooks trying to evade the real phenomenon this essay is about:
"Anxiety changes people. We’ve seen a level of thuggery this election cycle that is without precedent in recent American history. Some of the anti-Trump demonstrators seem more interested in violence than politics. Some of the Trumpians are savage."
On the own hand, on the other hand.
No, David.
This is so unfair as to be almost comical. And you already used the O'Keefe tape to try to equate the campaigns in another column, and that is shaky grounds to build that argument on.
The most "savage" and "thuggish" Trumpian, is Trump himself.
And Clinton certainly can't be equated with him.
Clinton has managed, as Ezra Klein pointed out, to leave his campaign in "smoking ruins", because she stayed true to herself, didn't sink to his level, and most importantly, managed to bait him into defeating himself.
The GOP, as you well know, has been fed with poisonous bits of anti-Clinton red meat for years, and that is the source of their "anxiety."
Unlike my candidate, however, no such disinformation campaign is needed. He earns my anxiety every day (along with just about everyone I know). If Clinton is doing that to them, it must be illusory, because she's not out there, saying anxiety producing things every day.
"Anxiety changes people. We’ve seen a level of thuggery this election cycle that is without precedent in recent American history. Some of the anti-Trump demonstrators seem more interested in violence than politics. Some of the Trumpians are savage."
On the own hand, on the other hand.
No, David.
This is so unfair as to be almost comical. And you already used the O'Keefe tape to try to equate the campaigns in another column, and that is shaky grounds to build that argument on.
The most "savage" and "thuggish" Trumpian, is Trump himself.
And Clinton certainly can't be equated with him.
Clinton has managed, as Ezra Klein pointed out, to leave his campaign in "smoking ruins", because she stayed true to herself, didn't sink to his level, and most importantly, managed to bait him into defeating himself.
The GOP, as you well know, has been fed with poisonous bits of anti-Clinton red meat for years, and that is the source of their "anxiety."
Unlike my candidate, however, no such disinformation campaign is needed. He earns my anxiety every day (along with just about everyone I know). If Clinton is doing that to them, it must be illusory, because she's not out there, saying anxiety producing things every day.
1
I worry like crazy about climate change. I worry like crazy about economic collapse brought on by too big to fail multinational corporations. I don't worry that Hillary is going to try to take my guns and I don't worry some black person, Mexican, or Muslim terrorist is going to kill me. I don't travel, I don't eat out at restaurants, I don't worship celebrities or go to their public performances. I worry about fracking; my water tastes like laundry detergent smells. I worry about adulterated food, not GMO food. 25% of the "fish" you buy is not the fish you think you are buying. Who knows what it is? Milk, honey, olive oil, and dozens of other foods are commonly mixed with cheaper and even dangerous materials to increase profit (see too big to fail mulitnational corporations above).
And I'm a strong supporter of the second amendment as an individual right David. I have qualms about abortion as a form of birth control but I'm not going to vote according to those qualms. So as you can see, Mr. Brooks, almost all my worries are caused by the past several decades of your political party's ramming its fairy tale economic scams down our throats, denial of science, opposition to teaching evolution, history, or of course objective economics, and religious fanaticism along with xenophobism stoked by right-wing TV, radio, newspaper, and internet propagandists shoveling fear like the coal man shoveling coal on a steam engine train.
When are you going to recant and repent?
And I'm a strong supporter of the second amendment as an individual right David. I have qualms about abortion as a form of birth control but I'm not going to vote according to those qualms. So as you can see, Mr. Brooks, almost all my worries are caused by the past several decades of your political party's ramming its fairy tale economic scams down our throats, denial of science, opposition to teaching evolution, history, or of course objective economics, and religious fanaticism along with xenophobism stoked by right-wing TV, radio, newspaper, and internet propagandists shoveling fear like the coal man shoveling coal on a steam engine train.
When are you going to recant and repent?
2
Yes, exploiting people's worries and fears is the worst form of political opportunism. I despise Donald Trump and the GOP. But I understand worry and economic insecurity. It's real, profound and painful. Trump followers blame the government. I blame a greedy, out-of-control predatory business culture, facilitated by the GOP, that allows drug companies to jack up prices, lets pay day lenders bleed the poor dry, makes the working class struggle to pay taxes while the rich get a pass, and allows banks to pile so much interest on student loans that graduates are crippled by despair and debt. The heartless Newt Gingrich made it possible to garnish Social Security checks for unpaid student loans. This is an outrage. Elderly Americans are hounded to the grave. Is it any wonder so many are drowning in debt and worried sick? I know I am. And I'm angry and fed up. This is why I supported Bernie Sanders and hope and pray that Hillary Clinton acts on his progressive, justice-driven agenda.
1
We are, I hope, using the Trump Experience to show us what we are not. We are, I hope, looking at it from the outside and deciding that this is all the farther we have to go. We do not have to step through the Looking Glass to experience this first hand. Germany and Japan had to go through the horror in real life before they remembered their true national character. China may be going through something similar now.
To me the question is 'Now What?' How do we learn from this? How do we help the disenfranchised? How do we relearn service, respect & caring for our people? How do we prevent the Trump Experience from ever happening again?
To me the question is 'Now What?' How do we learn from this? How do we help the disenfranchised? How do we relearn service, respect & caring for our people? How do we prevent the Trump Experience from ever happening again?
1
You should remember that liberals fear the crazy things Trump and his supporters are doing, while Trump's supporters fear the things that have been made up about Clinton. There's a world of difference between the two.
The truth at this date ...two weeks before the US Presidential election...
We are all afraid....mostly that Trump could be elected....could ruin this
country.......because Trump is paranoid....and that is intense fear...paranoia..
and...if this mad man continues to flail about emanating fear...and ....doom..
well the fear is honest for all of us that this megalomaniac could have his
crazy moment and start more than mayhem in the present 24/7 news cycle.
If Trump were elected he could actually start WWIII....and that is much worse
than ISIS...isn't it..
So...we do have Trump and his brainwashed followers to be afraid of...
It is time for a declaration by the media that Trump and his Fascist Mindset
backers will start a 3rd Reich in the USA......because this insane candidacy
has not yet been accurately defined...so get real about this Editors...and
let some of the best academics write your Editorials...because YOU are
not cutting it...Please...stop thinking you have the answers...your message
is inane...
We are all afraid....mostly that Trump could be elected....could ruin this
country.......because Trump is paranoid....and that is intense fear...paranoia..
and...if this mad man continues to flail about emanating fear...and ....doom..
well the fear is honest for all of us that this megalomaniac could have his
crazy moment and start more than mayhem in the present 24/7 news cycle.
If Trump were elected he could actually start WWIII....and that is much worse
than ISIS...isn't it..
So...we do have Trump and his brainwashed followers to be afraid of...
It is time for a declaration by the media that Trump and his Fascist Mindset
backers will start a 3rd Reich in the USA......because this insane candidacy
has not yet been accurately defined...so get real about this Editors...and
let some of the best academics write your Editorials...because YOU are
not cutting it...Please...stop thinking you have the answers...your message
is inane...
"Furthermore, action takes us out of ourselves. Worry, like drama, is all about the self."
"Drama", David, comes from the Greek "to do, to act, to take action".
"Drama", David, comes from the Greek "to do, to act, to take action".
1
Ha! I read this without looking at the byline--thinking it might be by someone qualified to talk about how people worry; a shrink perhaps, or a sociologist. Silly me.
1
If you don't understand why people are worried, Mr. Brooks, then you have no idea of the precarious situations in which many people, and their families, now live here. No idea. Why do so many of the chronically worried turn to such as Trump? Because anger feels potent. It makes you big, wild, loud--Trump-like. Even though you may lose your health care, or your job, or have no retirement, or wake in the night fearing that your car will break down and you won't make it to work the next day. But while you scream, while the crowd screams with you, you feel like a part of something mighty, a power that can change everything. We've seen it before, though it's been a very long time here. It's the stuff of fascism, David, and your party, with its funneling of wealth and power up and its lies and false promises down, is its primary donor. You need to wake from your comfy dream and cozy life long enough to see what's happening, and what's coming. Instead of channeling Emerson; he's dead and gone.
1
I dunno. I'm pretty hopeful. I'm healthy, happily married with two great kids who worked hard in high school and got partial scholarships to college. Work is stressful but hey, whose isn't? At least I get to work with a lot of nice people of all sorts of backgrounds and we do good stuff for sick kids. The economy is not growing as fast as we'd like, but it is growing. My retirement savings are growing because Wall Street is doing pretty well. It's nice to see unemployment down; even if the jobs are not perfect, they exist now.
Sure I have worries, and sometimes I let them get the better of me, but dang it, that's no way to live.
I won't share my worries, because I'd rather share my hope. Need some? Have some of mine, it's a renewable resource. On November 8th vote; on November 9th do something nice for a neighbor - it'll give them hope.
Sure I have worries, and sometimes I let them get the better of me, but dang it, that's no way to live.
I won't share my worries, because I'd rather share my hope. Need some? Have some of mine, it's a renewable resource. On November 8th vote; on November 9th do something nice for a neighbor - it'll give them hope.
America may be not quite the country we thought it was.
**********************************************
Excuse me, Mr. Brooks, but America is the country it has always been. It was the last "civilized" country to outlaw slavery and took 100 years to finally achieve a modicum of those promised rights. We accepted immigrants grudgingly - or do we forget the outright hostility towards the Irish and the Chinese for example. We opened concentration camps in WWII to imprison American citizens. We started wars against Viet Nam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Spain, etc; because ( who knows?). The income disparity is at present worse than many in Banana Republics. So yes, from a perusal of America's historical dysfunction, the present seems to be the norm.
**********************************************
Excuse me, Mr. Brooks, but America is the country it has always been. It was the last "civilized" country to outlaw slavery and took 100 years to finally achieve a modicum of those promised rights. We accepted immigrants grudgingly - or do we forget the outright hostility towards the Irish and the Chinese for example. We opened concentration camps in WWII to imprison American citizens. We started wars against Viet Nam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Spain, etc; because ( who knows?). The income disparity is at present worse than many in Banana Republics. So yes, from a perusal of America's historical dysfunction, the present seems to be the norm.
Fear is a great motivator. Politicians often use it to promote themselves as our protectors. If negative campaigning didn't work, I suspect everyone's anxiety would be much lower.
In the case of Trump, fear is the only card he has to play, and he has divided America into those who are (or should be) afraid and those to be feared. No sensible person that could possibly ever fall into the latter category (sooner or later, everyone not named Donald Trump) would want to be on the receiving end of a Trump presidency. Their anxiety is well-founded.
In the case of Trump, fear is the only card he has to play, and he has divided America into those who are (or should be) afraid and those to be feared. No sensible person that could possibly ever fall into the latter category (sooner or later, everyone not named Donald Trump) would want to be on the receiving end of a Trump presidency. Their anxiety is well-founded.
The real worry is the existential threat from status quo corrupt establishment politics. This malevolent entity will do whatever is necessary to avoid losing its grip on power, i.e., the systematic destruction of donald Trump, the movement his is messenger of. At this point, the only realistic option is to quietly opt out, withdraw support from the dystopic system, ala Ayn Rand style. Alas, it has come to this..
1
Once again, David Brooks speaks to a central point in my thinking and world outlook. Namely, I am referencing the importance of establishing "community". As an attorney/healthcare policy wonk, and a person with a disability, I see and experience the type of anxiety described in the column. For people with disabilities that are isolated and marginalized, they travel through life waiting for problems to materialize and do not have significant interactions with anyone other than the medical community.
Growing out of the foregoing observation, a group of friends and I have formed a new organization specifically targeting a subgroup of the disability community whose single-purpose mission is to provide peer support in advance of "community". The group is called NMD United and we are already seeing results.
Growing out of the foregoing observation, a group of friends and I have formed a new organization specifically targeting a subgroup of the disability community whose single-purpose mission is to provide peer support in advance of "community". The group is called NMD United and we are already seeing results.
Yes, I'm worried sick about the future of our country. The GOP is so mired in lies: racist, xenophobic, homophobic, misogynistic, and last but most importantly false economics; that the only result of following the GOP path will be an America that parodies Putin's Russia. If Trump is elected, if the GOP maintains majorities in the House and Senate, ignorance, bigotry, hatred, fear will be triumphant. The oligarchs will be the big winners, most obviously the Koch brothers and their lackeys, & will be dancing with joy, while their supporters, having been strip mined for their votes, will be tossed back into the sea of poverty, ignorance, ill heath and hopelessness to squabble over race, guns and god while everyone suffers.
1
"How could this guy Trump get even 40 percent of the votes? America may be not quite the country we thought it was." Yes, I and people I know have said this aloud. I keep reminding myself that President Obama, a man of grace and dignity, has an approval rating of almost 60 percent. Still...
This calls to mind the movie, "Bridge of Spies." James B. Donovan, (played by Tom Hanks,) is representing an alleged Soviet spy, Rudolph Abel (played by Mark Rylance.) Donovan goes to see Abel in jail and says to him at one point, "you don't seem too worried" about the charges against him.
"Would it help?" Abel replies.
Indeed.
"Would it help?" Abel replies.
Indeed.
Brooks is wrong about governing returning. Campaign 2020 starts 10 minutes after Election 2016 is over.
Your solution to a nation in crisis is for the next president has to enact a slew of actual policies What say you about the Republican leadership who covertly met to thwart any policy that the newly elected Barack Obama advanced? Do you think that Republican senators will treat HRC any better than President Obama? Do you think that a Republican house will support legislation to raise the minimum wage, strengthen social security, tackle climate change, etc. with HRC as president. The likelihood is that the Republicans will scorch the country before they give HRC and the American people any satisfaction.
Anyone who can browbeat middle class people of this country for anxiety has clearly been living in a very different reality from the rest of us these past 15 to 20 years or so. You obviously haven't lived through stagnating wages with soaring cost of living, job loss, income insecurity, while being told that if you can't make it it's your fault, congress dithering over whether to help the innocent victims of Wall Street greed while providing golden parachutes to the perpetrators of fraud on such a grand scale it nearly took down the world economy, further instances of fraud against ordinary people by the likes of Wells Fargo. It should be a no-brainer that customers who were defrauded and whistle-blowing employees harmed for trying to do the right thing would be made whole, but unfortunately I doubt that will happen. These are all writing on the wall for us ordinary citizens. We are expendable. Of course we are a little anxious! Who wouldn't be?
Hmm. A lot of false equivalencies here, starting with the assumption that because people feel that they have been left out and excluded that they have in fact been left out and excluded. Remember German anti-semitism? Was Kristallnacht the fault of German Jews for not being more sensitive about how left out German non-Jews were feeling?
I spend a lot of time wondering where my America went.......When our government was shut down, I saw Senator Cruz, on camera, standing outside the White House fence with a man who was dressed in a Confederate uniform. This man looked straight into the camera and told our President he had 24 hours to leave town and go back to Kenya. Senator Cruz just stood there and said nothing. I started to cry. And as I am typing this, I am crying yet again. We have truly lost our better selves and become our own enemy. All this hate, all this anger is eating us alive. Yep--I do worry. I want the things I used to be proud about to come back. I want US to stand tall, proud and strong again. And I never want to see a member of our government allow anyone to insult our leader again. We should all remember when we vote to never allow anyone WE employ to denigrate this nation again.
One of the reasons the people are worrying so much is that our leaders are not.
From the time of Reagan, we have seen a realism and a desire to face and act on facts leave the realm of politics and many aspects of all decisionmaking in America.
What we have instead is the dominance of wishful thinking and devotion to various unrealistic and unobtainable narratives.
If there is any major political figure who has keep his or her mental equilibrium and independence by rejecting both willful blindness to obvious facts and predictable results that don't support a desired outcome and the conviction by everyone that someday, someday, they will convince the rest of the country that disagrees with them they're 100% right about everything, I don't know who that person might be.
As long as the type of thinking that's typical of outliers and "true believers" dominates, we will continue to see high levels of monumental and avoidable bad mistakes being made, inside and outside of politics.
We need a return to moderation, humility and a true devotion to what's true, probable and doable.
From the time of Reagan, we have seen a realism and a desire to face and act on facts leave the realm of politics and many aspects of all decisionmaking in America.
What we have instead is the dominance of wishful thinking and devotion to various unrealistic and unobtainable narratives.
If there is any major political figure who has keep his or her mental equilibrium and independence by rejecting both willful blindness to obvious facts and predictable results that don't support a desired outcome and the conviction by everyone that someday, someday, they will convince the rest of the country that disagrees with them they're 100% right about everything, I don't know who that person might be.
As long as the type of thinking that's typical of outliers and "true believers" dominates, we will continue to see high levels of monumental and avoidable bad mistakes being made, inside and outside of politics.
We need a return to moderation, humility and a true devotion to what's true, probable and doable.
I am not anxious at all except to see something that a diehard Republican like Brooks does not want to see. Election of a woman and a Democrat to the presidency. Members of his party do not want to see in the White House a progressive like her. It looks like Democrats will also have control of the Senate. So there will be nominations of Supreme Court justices who will vote to overturn Citizens United. Republicans in this election have done what they always do. Conduct a venomous smear campaign on the opposition. Trump is no accident; he is the natural result of what they have been doing for the last 30 years. Brooks should be anxious but I am delighted.
I do not like David Brooks because he almost always gets it wrong and uses a lot of unnecessary words along the way. I do not think that people feel scared of people in commanding heights (cannot believe you wrote that). People are scared because they lost well-paying jobs or could lose them. The jobs that don't go overseas are easily filled with H1B visas workers. They are scared because the everyday expenditures are going through the roof. They are furious because the politicians, corrupted by money and well-payed jobs on each side of the revolving door, no longer care are the poor and middle class (both parties are guilty of this). They are furious that Wall Street, Big Banks, and corporations break laws with impunity while they continually loot individuals, pension funds, and the city and towns we live in. And a powder keg of resentment is building up over the never ending bailouts of the rich and connected. If you make a choice to rig the game, to impoverish most the citizens in the country, this is the result.
Why does Brooks automatically assume that educated people are rich? Did he miss how many middle-class job venues like colleges and media have contracted to the point that there are more nontenured folks and freelancers than there are full-timers?
Perhaps the worry has something to do with a forever war in a foreign land which will inevitably beget forever terroristic blowback.
But for this war, we can blame red-state america. We can squarely blame the stupidest ideas on the most backward, uneducated among us.
It was the red-staters who were duped by Reagan, Limbaugh, Hannity & Dubbya, & who keep the flames of reactionary, ignorant, anti-intelligent, fundementalist idiocracy at full roar, undermining any possibility of peace, progress or prosperity.
The anxiety in the 'blue' side is in finally realizing that the Red-Statists can never be brought into the fold of intelligence or common sense, and that there is not only a forever foreign war abroad at their ignorant behest, but there is a forever civil war at home.
The red states have been full of irrational hate since the civil war. The worry will never end until 'Redstatistan' is finally cut lose to pursue their brand of gun-addicted fundamentalist intolerance.
The USA can never be at ease until it's divided territoriality into red & blue regions, it can only possibly find some semblance of contentment if it's properly severed into the two completely conflicted states that it is.
But for this war, we can blame red-state america. We can squarely blame the stupidest ideas on the most backward, uneducated among us.
It was the red-staters who were duped by Reagan, Limbaugh, Hannity & Dubbya, & who keep the flames of reactionary, ignorant, anti-intelligent, fundementalist idiocracy at full roar, undermining any possibility of peace, progress or prosperity.
The anxiety in the 'blue' side is in finally realizing that the Red-Statists can never be brought into the fold of intelligence or common sense, and that there is not only a forever foreign war abroad at their ignorant behest, but there is a forever civil war at home.
The red states have been full of irrational hate since the civil war. The worry will never end until 'Redstatistan' is finally cut lose to pursue their brand of gun-addicted fundamentalist intolerance.
The USA can never be at ease until it's divided territoriality into red & blue regions, it can only possibly find some semblance of contentment if it's properly severed into the two completely conflicted states that it is.
1
Brooks' never-ending and annoying tendency to find equivalence between Trump and Hillary is rather pitiable. Decades of republican toxicity that he subscribed to, has fogged up his intellectual capacity. One commonsense observation for you David: Hillary and her supporters 'hate' Trump far less than Trump and his supporters 'hate' Hillary and her supporters; not even close. Yes, I thoroughly disapprove of Trump in every wy, but I don't hate him nor his millions of supporters. Without this false equivalency and flawed thinking on your part, the rest of what you say makes some sense.
1
What has increased my anxiety and sadness about this election cycle is that roughly 40% of our electorate supposedly would vote for the Trump/Pence ticket, despite Mr. Trump's history, campaign strategies, seeming lack of basic knowledge of the responsibilities of the Presidency and his deplorable habits.
Much has been written about voters "hating" Obama and now Clinton. If you are carrying hate in your heart for anyone, it reflects back on you. Hillary Clinton certainly has flaws and we need to remind her after the election of her promises, in hopes of decreasing her kowtowing to the big banks, brokers and Wall Street, among others. However, she is the only candidate fit for the job, in my opinion.
Much has been written about voters "hating" Obama and now Clinton. If you are carrying hate in your heart for anyone, it reflects back on you. Hillary Clinton certainly has flaws and we need to remind her after the election of her promises, in hopes of decreasing her kowtowing to the big banks, brokers and Wall Street, among others. However, she is the only candidate fit for the job, in my opinion.
I believe that many Americans are Christian and Jesus took the time to teach us about worry. Of all the many things a timeless being, one who knew about our society and all past and future, worry was important enough a subject that he taught us.
Do not worry.
How can you be a Christian and ignore what Jesus taught you?
Do not worry.
How can you be a Christian and ignore what Jesus taught you?
Good column, until you got to the part that said "...and governing, thank God, will soon return."
That's when the real shudders, and nightmares, begin.
That's when the real shudders, and nightmares, begin.
1
Last February, as I began to sense the angry tenor of the primary campaigns, I made a decision to take a sabbatical from this year's election cycle. The reason? Because I treasure my spiritual wellness, I knew that if I paid attention to campaign coverage it would become spiritually polluting, promoting angst, disgust and sadness. It was easier to do this during the summer when my wife and I live at cabin in a remote area of northern Minnesota. No TV, absenting myself from radio campagn coverage, zero newspapers, and keeping away from social media. For the most part, its worked. Such a contrast with friends who have been caught up in the campaign and whose consciousness and spirituality has suffered.
Sorry Mr. Brooks, the candidates are not equal. One is experienced, rational, calm and encouraging; the other is enraged, rude, ugly, dangerous and inexperienced. Those of us worried about Trump are rational.
Mr. Brooks, Perhaps you, Trump, Pence, Cruz, Huckabee, Jindal, Kasich, the merciless pretty boy Paul Ryan, McConnell, Scott Walker, and others might benefit from a year of "The Prince & The Pauper" life reversals. Get the NYT board to put you out in the real world for a year, with no assets, a $8.50/hour job, no car, no home... Give it a try...
After 9-11 The agenda of fear and worry have paid dividends specially to the Republicans who are always finding something to worry about. It is a fact that you are more likely to be hit by a lightning than by a terrorist attack still they keep feeding into the public the idea that there is an imminent danger, that's the same people that do not want any type of weapon control, they just want to shoot first and ask questions later.
In that Regards the Gloom and doom scare strategy of Mr Trump fits perfectly the Fear agenda. According to him, blacks, Hispanics and Middle east terrorists are in every corner of the country just waiting to strike,
His lack of faith in the system, authorities, FBI, CIA and all others that have prevented a second 9-11 is not only pathetic but irresponsible.
In that Regards the Gloom and doom scare strategy of Mr Trump fits perfectly the Fear agenda. According to him, blacks, Hispanics and Middle east terrorists are in every corner of the country just waiting to strike,
His lack of faith in the system, authorities, FBI, CIA and all others that have prevented a second 9-11 is not only pathetic but irresponsible.
The US election reveals comparative insanity in one candidate, compulsive or congenital lying in the other.
Our primary system leads to polemics.
The White Trash - see Nancy Isenberg - of our nation are struggling. Lost when they win.
The United States leads the world. Our leaders lead no one. They follow.
Our lawyers in Wall Street make all that possible. Goldman, Sachs rules. It's a sick world. And they know it.
Self understanding no longer motivates self correction, and Corrections makes things worse.
Ethic in medicine is trashed. Our national medical system is the best for some and the worst for most.
Same with schools.
What? Me worry.
Pogo.
Our primary system leads to polemics.
The White Trash - see Nancy Isenberg - of our nation are struggling. Lost when they win.
The United States leads the world. Our leaders lead no one. They follow.
Our lawyers in Wall Street make all that possible. Goldman, Sachs rules. It's a sick world. And they know it.
Self understanding no longer motivates self correction, and Corrections makes things worse.
Ethic in medicine is trashed. Our national medical system is the best for some and the worst for most.
Same with schools.
What? Me worry.
Pogo.
1
Anyone who encourages you to fear is trying to manipulate you. Fear is one of the most powerful of human emotions and, unfortunately, the most easily accessible. Fear defeats rationality. And politicians love to use fear because it allows them to avoid commitment on any issues.
Republicans, at least since the 60's, have made a science of using fear as a political tool. And Democrats, out of a need to govern responsibly, have struggled to reassure a fearful public that most of those fears are overblown: fear of communism, of crime, of the political leanings of your fellow Americans, of racial and sexual minorities--all can be dealt with, and its extremely unlikely that the feared consequence will ever affect your daily life (apart from the security measures we take to avoid them).
Quite artfully, the R's have made us to fear economic policies of D's, even while the R's policies have caused almost all of our recent downturns.
Americans are now the safest, and among the most fearful, people on the planet.
Republicans, at least since the 60's, have made a science of using fear as a political tool. And Democrats, out of a need to govern responsibly, have struggled to reassure a fearful public that most of those fears are overblown: fear of communism, of crime, of the political leanings of your fellow Americans, of racial and sexual minorities--all can be dealt with, and its extremely unlikely that the feared consequence will ever affect your daily life (apart from the security measures we take to avoid them).
Quite artfully, the R's have made us to fear economic policies of D's, even while the R's policies have caused almost all of our recent downturns.
Americans are now the safest, and among the most fearful, people on the planet.
They say that worry is the interest you pay for trouble you haven't even bought yet.
Worry is one thing. Blaming it on anything and anyone else is quite another thing. There are currently lots of serious reasons for all of us to be worried, but it will be those who seek answers and solutions that will save the day.
Follow the doers. They may try and falter along the way, but they get things done.
Follow the doers. They may try and falter along the way, but they get things done.
The last bit about "giving out energy for others" is on point! Defining oneself by who you are not, who you are against, and who you are hell-bent on excluding is of the same spirit as the worrier -- no good will be accomplished, for the worrier or anyone else.
"governing soon will return"? Better ask McCain about that one or Ryan or most GOP congressman and senators who tried to kill off any idea or proposal from Obama and threaten to do the same for HRC. Have they no shame?
1
The presidential election will pass soon but the damage Trump has caused to the collective psyche of ethnic minority groups by engendering fear and hate in their minds, and thereby adding to their suffering is unlikely to be repaired for years.
10
It's not so much anxiety as it is a lack of self knowledge and awareness. Millions of people have great difficulty mentally and emotionally handling any type of change, and with the world changing as rapidly as it is, these people will cling to anything or anyone who tells them that the changes can magically undone, and that they will no longer be afraid of their real or imagined evils. The big problem is, most of these people want to blame someone else for their own neuroses. They can't accept responsibility for their own experience of the world.
Sorry folks: the nature of life *is* change, and if you can't find a way to accept, and even embrace that reality, you are likely to live angry, tortured lives. Please try to recognize this and not blame others.
Sorry folks: the nature of life *is* change, and if you can't find a way to accept, and even embrace that reality, you are likely to live angry, tortured lives. Please try to recognize this and not blame others.
3
Things may get a little better, or perhaps a little worse.
The worriers should have the modesty to accept that nothing they say or do will change the arc of history.
The worriers should have the modesty to accept that nothing they say or do will change the arc of history.
3
And guess what? After Clinton wins in two weeks, your life is not going to change.
But maybe it's right to be worried. Things do seem to be going quite bad. The mass shootings, terrorism, the fact that Trump could get this far. The mass exodus from Syria. The rise of the Islamic State. The state of the seas (overfished and polluted). I'm not so sure global warming is really that big a problem, but many others would say I'm nuts not to see how big a problem it is. And just Facebook, and how it has polluted human relationships and made them false. I don't have kids, and I'm starting to wonder if that's a good thing, because the world is starting to look like a lousy place to bring somebody into. Russian television easily makes things look like they are even worse outside of Russia. It's an easy thing to do, in spite of all the problems inside of Russia.
7
Politicians turn to fear which can lead to anxiety when they do not have the issues on their side. E.g. Trump. Fear is the opposite of faith so when faith in our systems breaks down fear is the result in some people and some politicians exploit it to maintain their power. Others look at the problems as propose solutions. E.g. Hillary.
Fear Also leads to xenophobia, homophobia, racism, sexism and misogyny. And where do we find them? Trump followers. Brooks has a long history of using false equivalencies as he does in this article. Their is only one candidate promoting fear and only one promoting solutions. Enough with the false equvalencies by Republican members of the media, like Brooks, who can't analyse and own up to their flawed thinking.
Fear Also leads to xenophobia, homophobia, racism, sexism and misogyny. And where do we find them? Trump followers. Brooks has a long history of using false equivalencies as he does in this article. Their is only one candidate promoting fear and only one promoting solutions. Enough with the false equvalencies by Republican members of the media, like Brooks, who can't analyse and own up to their flawed thinking.
4
Anxiety is rational. Irrational anxiety is neurotic.
Denial covers anxiety. And many things.
The only optimist is the realist.
The realist is anxious.
I am anxious. I am anxious that our best are in denial.
Denial covers anxiety. And many things.
The only optimist is the realist.
The realist is anxious.
I am anxious. I am anxious that our best are in denial.
7
“He doesn’t give out energy for the benefit of others. He absorbs energy at others’ cost.”
What a mean way to describe a person in emotional pain. America is not only unaware of people suffering with emotional illness, it is offended by their presence. As the haves are so offended by the miserable have-not's.
What a mean way to describe a person in emotional pain. America is not only unaware of people suffering with emotional illness, it is offended by their presence. As the haves are so offended by the miserable have-not's.
This is nice if you are operating in a theoretical world, however we have a modern-day Hitler running for president and half the population thinks that is just fine. We have a problem with right-wing media creating an alternate reality for those who have effectively become brainwashed cult members. I worry about this and you should too.
3
Interesting - was wondering why this election made me so anxious. That would explain a lot.
If it can be fixed, why worry?
It it cannot be fixed, why worry?
Those are the only two questions to answer about worry.
The minorities and the downtrodden majority have been hoodwinked into being anti-Union. The fear of Socialism drilled into American workers was re-directed to a fear of Labor being organized by the business owners and investor class. Now the only power the majority of us has been gutted and yet the workers continue to support "Right-To-Work-For-Less" laws and won't vote Unions into their workplaces.
So why worry? We are getting exactly what we asked for.
It it cannot be fixed, why worry?
Those are the only two questions to answer about worry.
The minorities and the downtrodden majority have been hoodwinked into being anti-Union. The fear of Socialism drilled into American workers was re-directed to a fear of Labor being organized by the business owners and investor class. Now the only power the majority of us has been gutted and yet the workers continue to support "Right-To-Work-For-Less" laws and won't vote Unions into their workplaces.
So why worry? We are getting exactly what we asked for.
1
Thanks again, Mr. Brooks. Another good column that captures the pulse of the country. I do wonder how much worry is truly worry and how much of it is "worry" channeled into the action of politicking for one of the two candidates - in other words, are people participating in the drama of the election and is what we see true worry, or faux worry as a means to propel their candidate to victory. All the world's a stage, in other words, and Trump and Clinton supporters are playing their parts and when the election is over, the "worry" won't be so nearly as acute as it seems in the heat of the campaign.
David, in 1500 characters, I'll not attempt to take you to task for all you write here. My wife thinks you wear great ties (and I agree) in your wholesome appearances on the PBS News Hour, and I must keep this short.
You too readily characterize a typical Trump voter as "undereducated". The picture in the story is surely placed there to convey that impression.
You hang with the Freidmanians, that strange class of Flat Earth Thinkers (and Obama is among them) who see the world from the skewed perspective of Tom Friedman's books, notably "The World Is Flat", and "Hot, Flat, and Crowded." These books are a staple, even a bible, for New York Times readers. Frankly, the ten year intellectual turn towards Flat Earth thinking turns my stomach.
I can assure you I would feel more comfortable at a Trump rally than in the confines of a reunion of a few of my elite prep school classes, which include a previous DNI for President Obama, a CNN host, a famous singer songwriter, a (deceased) Chief Curator at the Museum of Modern Art, and too many others to mention. Many of my classmates have fallen into the same intellectual crevice that defines, among all else, the Flat Screen perspective of Trumps' voters.
Education has nothing whatsoever to do with my support for Donald Trump, and your premise - really, your presumption - that it does so undermines everything else you say, both to me and so many others who have read you for years. What happened to you, David? I'm disappointed in you.
You too readily characterize a typical Trump voter as "undereducated". The picture in the story is surely placed there to convey that impression.
You hang with the Freidmanians, that strange class of Flat Earth Thinkers (and Obama is among them) who see the world from the skewed perspective of Tom Friedman's books, notably "The World Is Flat", and "Hot, Flat, and Crowded." These books are a staple, even a bible, for New York Times readers. Frankly, the ten year intellectual turn towards Flat Earth thinking turns my stomach.
I can assure you I would feel more comfortable at a Trump rally than in the confines of a reunion of a few of my elite prep school classes, which include a previous DNI for President Obama, a CNN host, a famous singer songwriter, a (deceased) Chief Curator at the Museum of Modern Art, and too many others to mention. Many of my classmates have fallen into the same intellectual crevice that defines, among all else, the Flat Screen perspective of Trumps' voters.
Education has nothing whatsoever to do with my support for Donald Trump, and your premise - really, your presumption - that it does so undermines everything else you say, both to me and so many others who have read you for years. What happened to you, David? I'm disappointed in you.
1
Some of us worry, some of us have the physical symptoms of anxiety. Physical anxiety is a dangerous state to be in for long. People having these symptoms need help and possibly medication to get through it. I had it 17 yrs ago and I wouldn't wish that hell on anyone. Rapid eye movement, inability to eat, focus, sweating profusely as if a marathon had just been run. Untreated it just gets worse. I thought of suicide daily. I was "cured" with a low dose of anti-depressants and talk therapy. 3 years ago I was fired unjustly after 26 yrs. The anxiety returned. When it didn't subside after a few weeks I asked for an increased dosage and my anxiety left.
My point is that this election may be exacerbating an undiagnosed depression into a depression with anxiety. Struggling to make ones way after losing financial security can reignight these symptoms. The physical body suffers as well as the mind. Trumpism is not a cure. But to some.....it may be all they can afford.
My point is that this election may be exacerbating an undiagnosed depression into a depression with anxiety. Struggling to make ones way after losing financial security can reignight these symptoms. The physical body suffers as well as the mind. Trumpism is not a cure. But to some.....it may be all they can afford.
1
You miss the point. We are all anxious because our society is undergoing massive changes and change ALWAYS brings on anxiety. My 35 years of work as a psychotherapist demonstrates this fact daily. Changes both small and large can cause extreme and paralyzing worry and fear. No one likes change in spite of what they say. We cling, as human beings, to what is familiar. Unfortunately, the present state of our democracy as evidenced by an election almost devoid of rational dialogue hasn't permitted the kind of discussions needed regarding these changes. Trump supporters wish for a society that makes them feel "great again" but sexist, racist, xenophobic and homophobic America obviously wasn't so great. Those of us open to a new more diverse culture may also feel economically insecure. We worry about who will benefit from an economy that is so slanted towards the very wealthy. Climate change, terrorism and the other ills affecting us; oy vey . Aside from voting for rationality to win out, the better path is not one of action first. We need to open up greater dialogue between us. Perhaps we can come to a place where we empathize with each others real concerns and thus determine the types of actions needed to make our society a better place for all. This is not a vote for paralysis nor do I naively believe that taking action politically can satisfy everyone. It is a vote for what we therapists refer to as "the talking cure", the best method for dealing with our fears.
2
The main fear of Trump-supporters is that the period of straight, white, conservative Christian, male privilege is ending. Thus the extreme reaction to Obama: he had to be a Muslim and foreign-born, anything to express that it was not legitimate for America to be led by a black man. Similarly, the kitchen sink is thrown at Hillary Clinton to de-legitimize her, because America cannot be led by a woman. America must be led by a straight, white, Christian, male as is always used to be, because they are only comfortable being led by a person they see as like themselves. An 'other' in the White House reminds them of the inexorably changing demographics of America, of the increased opportunities in education and jobs for both women and minorities, and of the increased rights of gays and all manner of non-Christians.
Their sons will not be guaranteed by either the rousing post-WW II boom or the long,long period of white, Christian, male preference the first shot at good jobs which their fathers and they had. A return to a normal economy and only a small preference in their favor is viewed as discrimination against them.
The end of in-your-face conservative Christian symbols in the public square, and laws permitting discrimination against blacks, women, gays, and Hispanics is viewed as religious discrimination against them. Government used to discriminate for them. Women whose religion accepted abortion could be denied by a government which enforced their religious belief.
Their sons will not be guaranteed by either the rousing post-WW II boom or the long,long period of white, Christian, male preference the first shot at good jobs which their fathers and they had. A return to a normal economy and only a small preference in their favor is viewed as discrimination against them.
The end of in-your-face conservative Christian symbols in the public square, and laws permitting discrimination against blacks, women, gays, and Hispanics is viewed as religious discrimination against them. Government used to discriminate for them. Women whose religion accepted abortion could be denied by a government which enforced their religious belief.
2
Interesting THEORY. But the facts may be otherwise: "A new study in the journal Emotion of how people manage stress while waiting for high-stakes results is a validation of sorts for those who embrace their anxiety. During the waiting period, researchers found, those who tried coping techniques failed miserably at suppressing distress. And when the news arrived, the worriers were more elated than their relaxed peers, if it was good; if bad, the worriers were better prepared."
11
I've heard that theory about why a genetic predisposition to anxiety/depression, which would seem to be maladaptive, persists so widely in oue gene pool. Those who assume it's going to be a hard winter are more likely to oreoare, and survive.
I pay attention to politics but don't worry or have anxiety over it. Having lived through 65 years of politicians, it rarely turns out as bad as the prognosticators predict. I just do my best to adapt to avoid the most unpleasant aspects of a particular administration and make progress where I can. I have enough to do in my own life to waste time worrying uselessly over things I cannot control. Even at my age, I have plans for what I will or want to do at 70, 75, 80 and beyond and includes plans for 5 years out, 10 years out, etc. Presidents last at most 8 years. As long as they don't wreck the country, we will survive.
12
The mental health therapists that I have spoken with have said that the overwhelming increase in election-related anxiety has to do with women's issues around sexual abuse. This is a true warning sign about what has been going in our culture for way to long without being properly addressed.
24
The likelihood of a woman President who got away with terrorizing Bill's victims for years definitely has the potential of terrorizing other victims all over again.
We are about to install the inventor of The War Against Women in our highest office. For shame.
We are about to install the inventor of The War Against Women in our highest office. For shame.
This is called stirring up the pot. And fear is a tool. The media, including the NYT, do this each and every day. Our 'all day, all of the time' news cycle will wear anyone one thin with anxiety. Today one must learn to tune it out in order to lead a healthy life and not go insane. This explains our collective neurosis. Americans, as my British friend used to say, are always "over the top" about everything. We NEVER go half way about anything. It's usually either all or nothing. Moderation does not exist. So it is BIG fear. Not little.
14
That’s a good case for Trump: if you don’t throw the machine into gear, then you’re just making noise.
2
Not anxious at all. Just depressed that we're in for another 4 years (and potentially 8) of a moribund economy and disengaged small- and mid-sized business community. Eight years of less than 2% growth will NOT be cured by "massive fiscal stimulus" - no matter what the Keynesian geniuses say. Instead, we'll be ever closer to fiscal collapse, as deficits and debt subsume whatever entrepreneurial energy remains in the system. Our economy is on life support, and 4 years of HRC may just pull the plug.
10
Trump's protectionism and trade wars will do far more damage than HRC could do on purpose.
The role of right-wing media in bringing about Trump is consistently downplayed by most, but by no means all, conservative intellectuals. Bringing it to heel is rather important for the GOP, and for America: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/want-to-save-the-republican-part... Actually doing it is another thing.
It's been said that privacy is the first privilege of wealth. There is a certain out-of-touchness that the upper classes, in so far as we have classes here in the U.S.A. (yes, Chomsky, I DID say that), display. They are shielded from not just the goings-on but the entire mental world, stuffed as it is with crazed right-wing nonsense, of the lower orders.
You say, do you, that the LESS educated believe society is structured in such a way that it enables, and even ensures, the exploitation of the poor by the elites? And do you know who else believes this nonsense? That's right, our darling Sanders crowd. This country does not, repeat not, need radical policies to address the anxieties, both economic and social, that are pervasive. What it needs is a kind of centrist experimentation and political permissiveness. Politicians have to have the leeway to cross the aisle and compromise.
What America needs is political reform to make Congress more representative -- perhaps by increasing the number of congresspeople -- and less beholden to special interests.
It's been said that privacy is the first privilege of wealth. There is a certain out-of-touchness that the upper classes, in so far as we have classes here in the U.S.A. (yes, Chomsky, I DID say that), display. They are shielded from not just the goings-on but the entire mental world, stuffed as it is with crazed right-wing nonsense, of the lower orders.
You say, do you, that the LESS educated believe society is structured in such a way that it enables, and even ensures, the exploitation of the poor by the elites? And do you know who else believes this nonsense? That's right, our darling Sanders crowd. This country does not, repeat not, need radical policies to address the anxieties, both economic and social, that are pervasive. What it needs is a kind of centrist experimentation and political permissiveness. Politicians have to have the leeway to cross the aisle and compromise.
What America needs is political reform to make Congress more representative -- perhaps by increasing the number of congresspeople -- and less beholden to special interests.
3
It makes excellent sense to engage, especially with one's adversaries, so long as the engagement can proceed bilaterally on at least a modicum of good faith. Since the return of Vladimir Putin to Russia's presidency following Dmitri Medvedev, Russia has interacted with the world by serial, non-stop mendacity.
Nobody can conduct viable business under such conditions. Under Putin, Russia's lying has become so profound that bad faith pledges are often junked within hours of making them. In the meantime, innocent civilians are being wantonly slaughtered by war criminals. Thugs are incapable of negotiation. They can only bully. We know as much through our own benighted presidential campaign.
Trump is anything but right about Vladimir Putin. This should anything but surprise us.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
Nobody can conduct viable business under such conditions. Under Putin, Russia's lying has become so profound that bad faith pledges are often junked within hours of making them. In the meantime, innocent civilians are being wantonly slaughtered by war criminals. Thugs are incapable of negotiation. They can only bully. We know as much through our own benighted presidential campaign.
Trump is anything but right about Vladimir Putin. This should anything but surprise us.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
6
"If the next president starts enacting a slew of actual policies, then at least we can argue about concrete plans, rather than vague apocalyptic moods."
The next president is likely to be Hillary Clinton, but she won't be able to enact a "slew of actual policies" because the Party of the Apocalypse has based its existence on making people afraid and preventing Democratic governmental action.
Sadly. since change seems impossible for the Republicans, it won't be enough to defeat Trump, we have to replace the GOP with a party that doesn't deny science, believes that government has a positive role to play in people's lives, and eschews racism, xenophobia, sexism, and fear. Unfortunately, the constituency for that party already exists and it is voting for Hillary Clinton. The base of the Republican Party is the antithesis of those things, and so they support Donald Trump.
The next president is likely to be Hillary Clinton, but she won't be able to enact a "slew of actual policies" because the Party of the Apocalypse has based its existence on making people afraid and preventing Democratic governmental action.
Sadly. since change seems impossible for the Republicans, it won't be enough to defeat Trump, we have to replace the GOP with a party that doesn't deny science, believes that government has a positive role to play in people's lives, and eschews racism, xenophobia, sexism, and fear. Unfortunately, the constituency for that party already exists and it is voting for Hillary Clinton. The base of the Republican Party is the antithesis of those things, and so they support Donald Trump.
9
I'm with McCain. If the miserable liar-money grubbing slug in the big ole pantsuit wins, there will not be a confirmed SCOTUS nominee until they haul her out. No more wise Latinas!
The epidemic of worry is a direct result of the false promises of Reagan-era trickle-down policy, GOP war-mongering, the constant threat of GOP-backed gun violence, and the constant GOP attack on various groups it deems unacceptable or over which it wishes to continue to exert power.
The Republican party has managed in a generation to create the largest wealth inequality and income inequality in history...which is certainly enough to cause anxiety for the 99% of us who have not benefited from their policies.
Add to that the constant threat from groups like ISIS who were created out of our own actions across the globe, as well as the continual threat of death by gun provided courtesy of the NRA and their GOP puppets.
Add still more, the GOP-led assault on the LGBT community, on women's rights, on equality of non-whites, and their support of the power of money through advocating for decisions like Citizens United.
Only the insane would be crazy enough not to worry.
The Republican party has managed in a generation to create the largest wealth inequality and income inequality in history...which is certainly enough to cause anxiety for the 99% of us who have not benefited from their policies.
Add to that the constant threat from groups like ISIS who were created out of our own actions across the globe, as well as the continual threat of death by gun provided courtesy of the NRA and their GOP puppets.
Add still more, the GOP-led assault on the LGBT community, on women's rights, on equality of non-whites, and their support of the power of money through advocating for decisions like Citizens United.
Only the insane would be crazy enough not to worry.
14
NA needs to read this aloud to him/herself. You have been trained to hate the one President with the record for peacetime employment.
Do you spend time around children, too?
Do you spend time around children, too?
Again David has put his finger on an issue impacting people in both parties in a clear and connecting way. As a mental health professional I concur with his analysis and applaud the bit of hope he instilled at the end of his article.
3
I used to be anxious so often during college and the job applications took so much joy out of my life that I just decided to quit searching for my dream job and be content with what I have. Another Disney song that made me happy is the Bear Necessities from Jungle Book. Honestly no matter who becomes president, I'm just excited to see what's going to happen next. I'm happily anxious for the future.
4
In case readers are unaware, CVS and Walgreen's have recently brought to market DIY home lobotomy kits, equipped with a small TV monitor and a microscopic tube that is inserted through the tear duct. To prevent infection, users should swab the eye socket with a 50% alcohol solution prior to tube insertion. At the end of the tube resides a nano-fingernail clip that is operated with a hand-held remote control.
You'll find these items just beside the blood pressure monitors in the aisle labeled "Don't worry! Be happy."
Snip! There goes Mr. frontal lobe, along with all your worries! Remember, November 9th is just around the corner.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
You'll find these items just beside the blood pressure monitors in the aisle labeled "Don't worry! Be happy."
Snip! There goes Mr. frontal lobe, along with all your worries! Remember, November 9th is just around the corner.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
6
I learned a long time ago that worry in and of itself doesn't solve anything. It doesn't change anything but it does generate a kind of anxiety and fear in people but yet doesn't change anything. That is a simplistic view of things but helpful when the worries are more mundane.
What we see in the current worry-anxiety specter is that we have a lot of anxiety because we worry about our lives, especially as it concerns this election. I worry about my country. I believe most of us are good and resilient but now I see there are many of us who would do the wrong thing to makes themselves feel better. I understand the anger and anxiety. The GOP has been selling that for years to control its base.
I even understand Trump. For those who are angry and less informed or who live and thrive in the Fox/Limbaugh/Alex Jones bubble he is promising to make things 'great' again, whatever that means and whatever formula he's referencing. What I worry about is that his solution is less color, fewer rights for some and an abuse of power if he were elected. I worry that his idea of punishing those who disagree or offend in some way is attractive to some voters. I worry what that says about us.
I think that economic isolation whether you're wealthy or poor creates an anxiety that a beast like Trump manipulates. It makes people feel better even if its irrational.
Let's return to simple worry after 11/8. It's human behavior.
What we see in the current worry-anxiety specter is that we have a lot of anxiety because we worry about our lives, especially as it concerns this election. I worry about my country. I believe most of us are good and resilient but now I see there are many of us who would do the wrong thing to makes themselves feel better. I understand the anger and anxiety. The GOP has been selling that for years to control its base.
I even understand Trump. For those who are angry and less informed or who live and thrive in the Fox/Limbaugh/Alex Jones bubble he is promising to make things 'great' again, whatever that means and whatever formula he's referencing. What I worry about is that his solution is less color, fewer rights for some and an abuse of power if he were elected. I worry that his idea of punishing those who disagree or offend in some way is attractive to some voters. I worry what that says about us.
I think that economic isolation whether you're wealthy or poor creates an anxiety that a beast like Trump manipulates. It makes people feel better even if its irrational.
Let's return to simple worry after 11/8. It's human behavior.
8
"The Epidemic of Worry"?
Could it have anything to do with flat-lining wages for the non 1%, the right-wing war on Social Security and Medicare, the destruction of pensions and the rest of the social security net, the ongoing rampant criminality from (mostly right-wing) banksters, and the disingenuous failure of "intellectual" conservative columnists to admit any of the above,, Dave?
Could it have anything to do with flat-lining wages for the non 1%, the right-wing war on Social Security and Medicare, the destruction of pensions and the rest of the social security net, the ongoing rampant criminality from (mostly right-wing) banksters, and the disingenuous failure of "intellectual" conservative columnists to admit any of the above,, Dave?
36
NYer:
So True. I'm waiting for Mr. Brooks to cop to his role in peddling Republican talking points and thus contributing to the paralyzing polarization that has led to our present situation. He's probably to smug to see it, but oh, it's there...
So True. I'm waiting for Mr. Brooks to cop to his role in peddling Republican talking points and thus contributing to the paralyzing polarization that has led to our present situation. He's probably to smug to see it, but oh, it's there...
One President has cut Medicare in the entire history of that program. His name is Barack Obama. Only One President.
And you supported him. Apologize to grandparents.
And you supported him. Apologize to grandparents.
There is a reason why the huckster, immoral con man, Donald Trump so easily took over the Republican party, it's a good fit. The Republicans have been conning the American people for over thirty years, and getting away with it. The Republicans use any means: racism, xenophobia, misogyny, etc...nothing negative is off the table, in order to get people to vote against their self interest. The Republicans, then get into political office, and actively wreck the institution of government by the people, for the people. Instead, the government becomes an enriching tool for the top 1%. Of course, an opportunistic charlatan like Donald Trump saw this as a ready made pot of gold. Shame on the Republican party for what they have put our country through, shame.
42
A wise man once told me that worry is interest you pay on a debt you may never owe.
That one belongs one everyone's pillowcase.
That one belongs one everyone's pillowcase.
5
There is another way to look at this election cycle that isn't getting enough attention: it has done a spectacular job of revealing the problems and issues that Americans truly care about. For all the attention to the unseemly politicking and flaws of the two candidates, the American public has done a pretty good job of putting its cards out on the table. Yes, it's very messy and sometimes ugly to look at. But it's all there for everyone to see and is not being swept under the rug of politeness and decorum. An individual suffering from depression or anxiety can not make true progress in therapy until those masking emotions are stripped away and the true sources of the person's conflict and pain are brought out into the open. Only then is it possible for the person to start building a new framework for living that helps them move forward in a way that works better for them. This election has similarly revealed the pain of an electorate that feels ignored, misunderstood, and disrespected by people in a position of power--whether on Wall Street, the executive suite, or Washington D.C. We will continue in this state of upset and fear until that changes.
11
Yes I worry not about Trump's policies but about his bad example for children and young me and his degradation of the American and scientific value system that values fair play and the truth.
What can we say about someone who does not believe in history, science or the truth?
What can we say about someone who does not believe in history, science or the truth?
14
"This campaign will soon be over, and governing, thank God, will soon return." Unlikely, if split government continues in Washington.
2
Worry is just a synonym for fear, the staple of Republican politics for decades. Without fear there would be no Republicans in office. The antidote? A quote from one of the greatest Presidents in history - a Democrat - FDR: "The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself".
You cannot meet the forces of darkness that prey on small minds and their fears by hand-wringing and wishful thinking. America didn't become the greatest country in history by being cautious in the face of uncertainty. But if you need certainty to act, consider that continuing to give into the politics of fear offered by Republicans, we will continue to shrink from the greatness we once held.
You cannot meet the forces of darkness that prey on small minds and their fears by hand-wringing and wishful thinking. America didn't become the greatest country in history by being cautious in the face of uncertainty. But if you need certainty to act, consider that continuing to give into the politics of fear offered by Republicans, we will continue to shrink from the greatness we once held.
7
It is part real, part social media driven and part the seed of the scorch earth alt-right enabled culture
2
Alt-right? Did you think that one up on your own? Sounds like something an unemployed Democratic might say thinking it make him sound smart, or something.
At the end of the summer, due to sleep-related anxiety/grinding, I lost 2 teeth in a short 6-week period. With the first tooth fracture, I immediately identified the loss to Donald Trump. "Don't roll your eyes," I had to explain to friends. Recent articles about campaign-related stress have been informative to those who have had to listen to my "off-the-wall" reasoning. I'm now, religiously, wearing a night guard and awaiting 2 dental implants................at a cost of over $12,000 for the whole Trump ordeal!!!
3
the ability of the next president to take direct action - thereby dispelling national anxiety - will largely be dependent on support from a republican dominated congress. better reup on the prozac boyz.
1
Yes!...worry could be baseless, but I once knew two individuals: one was a guy that worrying a lot in 1934, got tired of warning his friends in Germany of bad things coming and left, the other was one of the survivors. The latter had a number tattooed in his forearm.
6
One can always estimate the wealth, privilege and sense of immunity to the consequences of political reality by the level of soft-shoed, sophist abstraction peddled by those who feel safe.
I give you David Brooks. He's got his, and the sun always shines in Mr. Brooks' best of all possible gated communities.
I give you David Brooks. He's got his, and the sun always shines in Mr. Brooks' best of all possible gated communities.
3
Governing will not return because the Republicans will not allow the government to function. They will not allow Clinton a "victory", they will deny her the Supreme Court picks of her choice and they will de-legitimize her election, as they are allowing to occur right now even before she is elected.
That is why, any hope for action in the next four years will require a vote that adds more Democrats to the federal government. Otherwise, we will see something that will make us nostalgic for the Obama years.
That is why, any hope for action in the next four years will require a vote that adds more Democrats to the federal government. Otherwise, we will see something that will make us nostalgic for the Obama years.
10
Hakuna matata?!?!
David, you are a gifted writer whose columns have challenged my liberal beliefs in a good way. However, I am sorry to say that YOUR anxiety has been seeping out of your columns for the past six months. You have struggled to take "direct action" yourself, but cannot get away from presenting false equivalencies, and spouting pablum that if only everyone had a "core of convicting purpose" it would be dawn in America again. It is clear that your own purpose and action has not saved you from anxiety, so you have written a column to project it upon the rest of us. It is time for YOU to look into that "narcissistic pool" and see yourself full on. Maybe accepting your own anxiety will give you true empathy for the difficulties facing Americans of all races and classes. Only then will you be able to provide thoughtful insights to improve our country.
David, you are a gifted writer whose columns have challenged my liberal beliefs in a good way. However, I am sorry to say that YOUR anxiety has been seeping out of your columns for the past six months. You have struggled to take "direct action" yourself, but cannot get away from presenting false equivalencies, and spouting pablum that if only everyone had a "core of convicting purpose" it would be dawn in America again. It is clear that your own purpose and action has not saved you from anxiety, so you have written a column to project it upon the rest of us. It is time for YOU to look into that "narcissistic pool" and see yourself full on. Maybe accepting your own anxiety will give you true empathy for the difficulties facing Americans of all races and classes. Only then will you be able to provide thoughtful insights to improve our country.
9
Brooks, you get so close...right up next to the thing and then....poof! you're gone.
If you drive through a barrio or any poor neighborhood not plagued with despair what you will see is life. You will see children playing with their friends on the streets and in the alleys. You will see mothers and aunts on the stoops sharing bits of gossip and recipes. You will see fathers and uncles laughing and sharing jokes, and maybe a pull from a shared bottle.
Drive through a gated community of mcMansions and you will see signs that advise you to keep on driving. Signs on the laws saying: keep out, protected by...., you might see a poor man mowing someone's lawn. You will not see life. You will not see happiness. You will not see community.
We will have to surrender the idea that happiness and success are measured only be wealth and possessions if we are to surrender the fear that has under girded our society these last 50 years.
50 years of Nixon's southern strategy which exploited the fear some white people had of all people of color. 50 years of republican stoking of those fears has led to T rump. Let US hope that this National nightmare is almost over.
If you drive through a barrio or any poor neighborhood not plagued with despair what you will see is life. You will see children playing with their friends on the streets and in the alleys. You will see mothers and aunts on the stoops sharing bits of gossip and recipes. You will see fathers and uncles laughing and sharing jokes, and maybe a pull from a shared bottle.
Drive through a gated community of mcMansions and you will see signs that advise you to keep on driving. Signs on the laws saying: keep out, protected by...., you might see a poor man mowing someone's lawn. You will not see life. You will not see happiness. You will not see community.
We will have to surrender the idea that happiness and success are measured only be wealth and possessions if we are to surrender the fear that has under girded our society these last 50 years.
50 years of Nixon's southern strategy which exploited the fear some white people had of all people of color. 50 years of republican stoking of those fears has led to T rump. Let US hope that this National nightmare is almost over.
18
As one who lives in a Gated Community, that's obsessed with security (privacy) you're 100% correct. To make matters worse there is no neighborliness and don't participate in local issues.
Anxiety-generating fear has been the Republican political coin of the realm for decades. They have used a bait-and-switch tactic at election time to drum up votes from a base that the party quietly ignores after the election. This politics of fear has metastasized into the political cancer of Trumpism.
Republicans have made a horrible mess of our political system to the point where it may be on the verge of collapse.
Republicans have made a horrible mess of our political system to the point where it may be on the verge of collapse.
3
Brooks manages to insult both African-Americans and Trump supporters when he says: "Among the less educated, anxiety flows from and inflames a growing sense that the structures of society are built for the exploitation of people like themselves. Everything is rigged; the rulers are malevolent and corrupt...Last weekend’s “Black Jeopardy” skit on “Saturday Night Live” did a beautiful job of showing how this sensation overlaps among both progressive African-Americans and reactionary Trumpians."
I've noticed that many "educated" Bernie voters were also subject to conspiratorial thinking, and I got lots of misinformation and bogus memes sent to me by some friends who supported Mr. Sanders.
I come from a long line of worriers who probably saved me from becoming ash in Hiter's ovens. Worrying comes when you actually feel you may be able to affect your fate. Perhaps that's why poor people in some African countries don't worry. But we're citizens in a so-called democracy and we believe we can have some effect. We worry if we're doing enough or what to do. Mr. Brooks apparently would prefer Mad Magazine's Alfred E. Newman's attitude: "What? Me worry?" Maybe no matter what happens, he will be just fine. Not so much the rest of us.
I've noticed that many "educated" Bernie voters were also subject to conspiratorial thinking, and I got lots of misinformation and bogus memes sent to me by some friends who supported Mr. Sanders.
I come from a long line of worriers who probably saved me from becoming ash in Hiter's ovens. Worrying comes when you actually feel you may be able to affect your fate. Perhaps that's why poor people in some African countries don't worry. But we're citizens in a so-called democracy and we believe we can have some effect. We worry if we're doing enough or what to do. Mr. Brooks apparently would prefer Mad Magazine's Alfred E. Newman's attitude: "What? Me worry?" Maybe no matter what happens, he will be just fine. Not so much the rest of us.
3
Brooks advises:
"If the next president starts enacting a slew of actual policies, then at least we can argue about concrete plans, rather than vague apocalyptic moods."
However, when Obama tried to do that, the GOP systematically obstructed all his proposals. (E.g, judicial confirmations, stimulus packages, banning no flyers from owning guns, and the list goes on and on and on.)
As the GOP descends further to the nihilist right, there is no reason to believe a Senate or House controlled by the will be willing to give any more cooperation to Clinton.
The irony of all this is that the "Party of No" is now campaigning as the "Party of Change." A Democratic landslide keeping the White House and recovering both houses is the ONLY hope for change and relief from all this anxiety. That is not likely while supposedly "moderate" Republicans such as Brooks vote to keep disloyal Republican nihilists in control of Congress..
"If the next president starts enacting a slew of actual policies, then at least we can argue about concrete plans, rather than vague apocalyptic moods."
However, when Obama tried to do that, the GOP systematically obstructed all his proposals. (E.g, judicial confirmations, stimulus packages, banning no flyers from owning guns, and the list goes on and on and on.)
As the GOP descends further to the nihilist right, there is no reason to believe a Senate or House controlled by the will be willing to give any more cooperation to Clinton.
The irony of all this is that the "Party of No" is now campaigning as the "Party of Change." A Democratic landslide keeping the White House and recovering both houses is the ONLY hope for change and relief from all this anxiety. That is not likely while supposedly "moderate" Republicans such as Brooks vote to keep disloyal Republican nihilists in control of Congress..
14
Sometimes it's right to worry. The viewpoint of a sizable minority in our country resulted in a major party nominating an unrepentant fascist for the most powerful position in the world. Isn't that reason to worry? I also couldn't fail to notice the false equivalency jab you made that anti Trump demonstrators are more interested in violence than politics - indulging in a little Trumpian projection there? You do go on to say that some Trumpians are savage but you have to take the false equivalency jab or you'd be forced to admit how despicable the republican party and the majority of its members are.
I'm worried because a bunch of deplorable people have put an awful person an election away from destroying our country and everything we stand for and access to the nuclear codes that could destroy the entire world. Sadly, this is not hyperbole. Mr. Brooks, I'm worried and you should be too. If you had any courage at all you'd repudiate Trump and all he stands for and also acknowledge the role you and your party has played in bringing about the current situation that has an awful lot of us quite worried indeed. I'm not holding my breath on that one though.
I'm worried because a bunch of deplorable people have put an awful person an election away from destroying our country and everything we stand for and access to the nuclear codes that could destroy the entire world. Sadly, this is not hyperbole. Mr. Brooks, I'm worried and you should be too. If you had any courage at all you'd repudiate Trump and all he stands for and also acknowledge the role you and your party has played in bringing about the current situation that has an awful lot of us quite worried indeed. I'm not holding my breath on that one though.
12
David: The Presidential campaign will fortunately be over soon, but governing will not return. Just as the Republicans planned their obstructionism of President Obama the day after he was elected, it will begin anew the day Hillary Clinton is elected. The core of the Republican Party began rotting when Reagan was elected, and the rot has taken over the entire beast now. When will you admit that the problems you discuss in most of your columns originate from your Republican Party?
20
"Of course, there are good and bad forms of anxiety — the kind that warns you about legitimate dangers and the kind that spirals into dark and self-destructive thoughts."
We just found out that some 40 million of our neighbors think a dangerous imbecile would make a great president.
If that's not cause for alarm and a wake up call - Then NOTHING is!
We just found out that some 40 million of our neighbors think a dangerous imbecile would make a great president.
If that's not cause for alarm and a wake up call - Then NOTHING is!
17
Hakuna matata indeed, David! Now you have added one more worry to all the others that I have about the election- how to interpret 'The Lion King' as a roman a clef for this election. Who is Scar and his band of hyenas? Most NYT readers will have an easy answer for that. Who is the good king Mufasa who is pushed of a cliff? Does he represent our democracy? But my biggest worry is that there is no Simba waiting at the end to bring back peace and happiness. And the spirit of Scar will continue to haunt us.
"It’s worth noting that rich countries are more anxious than poorer one."
Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose.
Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose.
2
Is Mr. Brooks actually implying that huge numbers of racist, misogynist Trumpists are seeing therapists because they are anxious and worried about Hillary's impending victory? Tell us another, Mr. Brooks. Your sense of humor is very much under-appreciated.
2
More faux sociology with a dash of pop psychology. It may be time for Mr. Brooks to give up on commentary and start an advice column.
7
I am a worrier, no doubt about it. Hypervigilant instead of accepting. I know I inherited the worry gene (if there is one, I assume there is somewhere in my body's cellular structure) from my grandmother and I grew up in a chaotic, dysfunctional '50's family so I learned early to worry about survival.
I suggest people try Dialectical Behavioral Therapy techniques to reduce worry. One basic thing I learned is: the mind is not your friend. The mind wants to be your friend and watch out for every negative thing, but it's not about being eaten by lions any more. It might be a slight to one's self-esteem. (Think Donald Trump). The mind overreacts instead of remaining in a calm place (wise mind) where one can rationally think something through. When Trump tweets at 3 AM he is not in wise mind, he's in 'the mind is not your friend' mode. That is unacceptable in a president.
My worry heightened at the Brexit vote. My first nano second thought was, "He can win" and he did indeed spike before the debates which really increased my anxiety. I couldn't even watch the first debate; i had to read it on the Times' blog. Since then I have been comforted and my anxiety has lessened but not gone completely away. That will happen on November 9 when he makes his concession speech.
And then....may he go away forever!
I suggest people try Dialectical Behavioral Therapy techniques to reduce worry. One basic thing I learned is: the mind is not your friend. The mind wants to be your friend and watch out for every negative thing, but it's not about being eaten by lions any more. It might be a slight to one's self-esteem. (Think Donald Trump). The mind overreacts instead of remaining in a calm place (wise mind) where one can rationally think something through. When Trump tweets at 3 AM he is not in wise mind, he's in 'the mind is not your friend' mode. That is unacceptable in a president.
My worry heightened at the Brexit vote. My first nano second thought was, "He can win" and he did indeed spike before the debates which really increased my anxiety. I couldn't even watch the first debate; i had to read it on the Times' blog. Since then I have been comforted and my anxiety has lessened but not gone completely away. That will happen on November 9 when he makes his concession speech.
And then....may he go away forever!
3
Yes to DIRECT ACTION in the face of fear and worry! It really works. I have just experienced first hand both the impact of "election anxiety" (born from the sheer impact of paying too much attention to the election news, listening to too many debates and commentators and reading too many articles about D and H). Ten days ago I began to notice that, despite my best efforts, I could not lift myself out of a "low" feeling. I couldn't feel my open heart. I couldn't generate optimism. I wasn't sleeping as well as usual. This was not a subtle phenomenon; it was pronounced and obvious. Today I am back to my usual self, an uplifted version thereof, feeling happy to get up and start my day. The thoughts and feelings coursing through me are light-filled, optimistic, creative and pleasing. I see a great life ahead for myself. What turned this around? A 3-day immersion with 750+ people in a Dreambuilding course organized by my mentor stopped my own spiraling worry right in its tracks. The ingredients that brought about this transformation? Community. Learning and repeating a highly calibrated practice for focusing on "What I Would Love" rather than on what I'm afraid of. Dancing vigorously several times a day for 5 minutes. Laughing. Sharing my dreams with partners, listening attentively to theirs. Shutting off the TV entirely. Focusing on my future, on what I can attain and what I can give. Thank you David for a particularly astute article on a subject that deserves attention.
Yet another false equivalence column from Brooks. As if fear has suddenly manifested itself in this campaign for no discernable reason, when in fact fear-mongering has been a staple of GOP politics since Reagan. And Trump has now brought it to previously unheard of heights. Yes, a majority of Americans are afraid of Trump, but for good reason. All you have to do is to listen to him spew out bigotry, misogeny, and ignorance, and then try to lie his way out of it. In order to be afraid of Clinton, however, you have to believe a constant stream of right-wing claptrap spanning twenty years, from Whitewater and Vince Foster, to Benghazi and the notorious Clinton Foundation, the latter being engaged in a monstrous international conspiracy to help the world's poorest people.
It's high time for Brooks to put his money where his mouth is, or should be, and endorse Hilary Clinton for president.
It's high time for Brooks to put his money where his mouth is, or should be, and endorse Hilary Clinton for president.
6
What does Doctor Brooks care?
More anxiety, more business, and money, for Doctor Brooks.
Doctor Brooks spent years helping to create and rationalize political anxiety, now he's cashing in on pontification on how to mitigate the symptoms.
Doctor Brooks is perfectly hedged in the anxiety market. Cash either way for Dr. Brooks.
More anxiety, more business, and money, for Doctor Brooks.
Doctor Brooks spent years helping to create and rationalize political anxiety, now he's cashing in on pontification on how to mitigate the symptoms.
Doctor Brooks is perfectly hedged in the anxiety market. Cash either way for Dr. Brooks.
3
Many thanks to David Brooks for the sage and anecdotal advise. The truth is, fear, anxiety, and all other "nervousa" out there are a part of life. At what point it becomes a "disease," and in your words, "become its own destructive character on the national stage" is much harder to delineate. Unlike major depression, which is flat line, a lowered DC base voltage, anxiety is like the alternating current, wishy-washy, and yes, bipolar. A DC voltage cannot travel very far, but the alternating current can go for hundreds of miles carrying also a much higher voltage. Hence, anxiety is much more contagious, infectious, and destructive. Perhaps "Feel the Bern" bumper sticker is an understatement of the modern American political and economic climate.
The truth is most of us are not aware of this, since anxiety is also adaptive for survival. It is a silent disease.
There is a more powerful force that can bring the soul out of this hyper-adrenaline trance, this nearsightedness from a brain bathed in the body's natural MDMA, ecstasy, cocaine, amphetamines, LSD 24-7.
That is love.
The nation went through a period of intense anxiety at the conclusion of the WWII until we found "L-O-V-E" in the 60's. The Russian also went through a similar phase at the collapse of the Soviet Union, fortified by Euro disco in the 70's-80's. It was a part of their healing processes.
Then again, anxiety is also sentimentally inhibitory, and at some point, the a person can no longer love or receive it.
The truth is most of us are not aware of this, since anxiety is also adaptive for survival. It is a silent disease.
There is a more powerful force that can bring the soul out of this hyper-adrenaline trance, this nearsightedness from a brain bathed in the body's natural MDMA, ecstasy, cocaine, amphetamines, LSD 24-7.
That is love.
The nation went through a period of intense anxiety at the conclusion of the WWII until we found "L-O-V-E" in the 60's. The Russian also went through a similar phase at the collapse of the Soviet Union, fortified by Euro disco in the 70's-80's. It was a part of their healing processes.
Then again, anxiety is also sentimentally inhibitory, and at some point, the a person can no longer love or receive it.
David, I agree with much of what you say, but I started to worry a little myself when I reached the end of your column, where you emphasize concrete plans and direct action as solutions. You sound a little like Hamlet in his moment of worry & indecision:
“....the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
and enterprises of great pith and moment
....... lose the name of action...”
But personally I think the greater damage that has been done to our country recently is NOT by careful thought and planning, but rather by reckless, callous impulsiveness that pretends it is admirable decisiveness. It’s this acting on “gut feelings” without sufficient forethought that prompted us to invade Iraq in 2003 & destabilize the Middle East, and engage in other foolhardy acts. (Note GW Bush’s memoirs are titled “Decision Points”). Donald Trump similarly prides himself on going with his “gut instincts” and he’s notorious for making thoughtless remarks. We don’t need leaders like that in a nuclear age.
“....the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
and enterprises of great pith and moment
....... lose the name of action...”
But personally I think the greater damage that has been done to our country recently is NOT by careful thought and planning, but rather by reckless, callous impulsiveness that pretends it is admirable decisiveness. It’s this acting on “gut feelings” without sufficient forethought that prompted us to invade Iraq in 2003 & destabilize the Middle East, and engage in other foolhardy acts. (Note GW Bush’s memoirs are titled “Decision Points”). Donald Trump similarly prides himself on going with his “gut instincts” and he’s notorious for making thoughtless remarks. We don’t need leaders like that in a nuclear age.
5
This is not the same as true anxiety. Anxiety is a vortex that sucks your mind into the fear of much closer aspects to daily life--it feels as if the world is spinning out beneath you and your mind is is swirling with fear of everything. I had a crisis this morning where I felt as if I was going to completely breakdown--that I am horrible person (darker thoughts than that clouded my mind as well), I am incapable of doing any task asked of me, that my life is out of my control because I am unfit deal with all my problems. It feels like you are losing your mind.
The election is scary yes, but it does not elicit that feeling that YOU are the one incapable of dealing with your life or your work or other people. The elections scares me, but that fear is not true anxiety. True anxiety is a whole lot bigger.
The election is scary yes, but it does not elicit that feeling that YOU are the one incapable of dealing with your life or your work or other people. The elections scares me, but that fear is not true anxiety. True anxiety is a whole lot bigger.
4
Lucy - You have written effectively. And, it is personal for me. Many years ago I was in a similar state; only, in my case I avoided seeking mental-health treatment until I had degenerated to a point where I was diagnosed with a psychosis. At that point I entered into treatment. It took considerable time and professional skill - and it wasn't immediately obvious to me that the treatment would be effective at its beginning - but effective, it was. And, I am profoundly grateful for having been treated.
Your clarity of writing makes me hopeful that you would be a good candidate for being helped substantially by skilled mental-health professionals. I hope that you will pursue this course of action and soon.
Your clarity of writing makes me hopeful that you would be a good candidate for being helped substantially by skilled mental-health professionals. I hope that you will pursue this course of action and soon.
The problem, per my perch in Flyover Country, continues to be the hubristic arrogance of the liberals/progressives. In large measure, these fellow citizens are completely clueless about the issues extant outside of their urban enclaves.
Since these people create the perception that they know everything, civil conversation with them is not possible. Stated differently, the US Constitution will only apply to those of us who live outside of the major urban centers only when we agree with the liberal/progressive elite.
The rest of the time, when we are in their presence, they are blind and deaf to our feelings/needs.
Since these people create the perception that they know everything, civil conversation with them is not possible. Stated differently, the US Constitution will only apply to those of us who live outside of the major urban centers only when we agree with the liberal/progressive elite.
The rest of the time, when we are in their presence, they are blind and deaf to our feelings/needs.
4
Worry? If I'm not worried, I worry I might've missed something about which I should be worried!
Anxiety is not the same as worry. One is an emotion. The other is a cognition. A cycle. (David missed that fact.). Anxiety can also be either conscious or unconscious. Conscious anxiety can be dealt with. The second goes underground, so to speak, and results in driven behaviors or defense mechanisms.
Today's lead article in the Times, based on interviews with Donald Trump, gives a perfect example of a man driven by unconscious anxiety, making use of primitive defense mechanisms and rage and narcissism to flee from his empty core.
Patients who are in therapy, and those of us who have realistic anxiety about a deranged demagogue, are in a position to do something to assuage our concerns. Because anxiety is not just harmful. It can result in taking positive action. Whether you decide to knock on doors or take up your "pen" to comment here or whether you decide to meditate or take walks in nature or watch the World Series, your consciousness of anxiety is far better than that of a man so driven by demons that he leaves a wake of destruction wherever he goes.
Due to anxiety most of us who have succeeded in our chosen field got through the hurdles, mastered the subject, prepared for the stresses. Donald didn't do that! Hillary did.
It's not a bad thing that as a country we've agonized over this election. We've stood on the brink of a precipice. Together! Let's not forget that.
Today's lead article in the Times, based on interviews with Donald Trump, gives a perfect example of a man driven by unconscious anxiety, making use of primitive defense mechanisms and rage and narcissism to flee from his empty core.
Patients who are in therapy, and those of us who have realistic anxiety about a deranged demagogue, are in a position to do something to assuage our concerns. Because anxiety is not just harmful. It can result in taking positive action. Whether you decide to knock on doors or take up your "pen" to comment here or whether you decide to meditate or take walks in nature or watch the World Series, your consciousness of anxiety is far better than that of a man so driven by demons that he leaves a wake of destruction wherever he goes.
Due to anxiety most of us who have succeeded in our chosen field got through the hurdles, mastered the subject, prepared for the stresses. Donald didn't do that! Hillary did.
It's not a bad thing that as a country we've agonized over this election. We've stood on the brink of a precipice. Together! Let's not forget that.
104
I understand the "diagnosis" of Donald Trump and agree, at least to the extent that it would never have occurred to me that he was a suitable representative of the GOP, let alone having ever considered voting for the man. But one phrase of yours troubles me. Who, really, does not have an "empty core"? We all are devoid of inherent meaning.
You are so healthy! Congratulations!!
To her credit, Sec. Clinton, in a campaign that goes lower and lower has tried to maintain an optimistic and inclusive tone. Unfortunately, the media in general, makes money on going low and so low is what we get each hour.
5
A friend canned this sentiment about our modern predicament. So many choices, which disorder do I court? I'm just a generalist, but I was worried I was a narsissist since I knew I was so sick of myself. Turns out the cure is to not think so much, or at least think better of the world and it might repay the compliment.
I know one thing Trump followers have no one can discount. They have spunk. Willing to mix it up to get our attention, and by good you have it, West Virginia. Looks like nothings changed since my kin cut out of those woods and moved on. See, this thing called coal was cutting into our wood chopping business. Might as well kick dirt.
I know one thing Trump followers have no one can discount. They have spunk. Willing to mix it up to get our attention, and by good you have it, West Virginia. Looks like nothings changed since my kin cut out of those woods and moved on. See, this thing called coal was cutting into our wood chopping business. Might as well kick dirt.
3
"Some of the anti-Trump demonstrators seem more interested in violence than politics."
Apparently Mr. Brooks has not been following the Wikileaks revelations. Instigating violence is the precise reason the Clinton campaign sent those "demonstrators" to the Trump rallies.
Apparently Mr. Brooks has not been following the Wikileaks revelations. Instigating violence is the precise reason the Clinton campaign sent those "demonstrators" to the Trump rallies.
2
I am among Mr. Brooks' affluent voters. We own our home, have advanced professional degrees, and a retirement fund. We are comfortable, but hardly wealthy. I do not worry about missing out or being numbed by too many choices. I worry that we have not saved enough for retirement. I worry about my grandchildren's future--the environment, cost of education and health care, and so on. And right now, I worry about how our country is going to survive this election. I worry that our mutual regard as fellow citizens has deteriorated, which is a threat to democracy itself.
10
David Brooks: "How could this guy Trump get even 40 percent of the votes? America may be not quite the country we thought it was."
Trump can get 40% of the vote because the Republican Party has shown itself to be exactly the party we thought it was.
Mr Brook's constant efforts to avoid political responsibility for Trump and Trumpism, and instead create false equivalencies have become ethically suspect and morally indefensible.
Trump can get 40% of the vote because the Republican Party has shown itself to be exactly the party we thought it was.
Mr Brook's constant efforts to avoid political responsibility for Trump and Trumpism, and instead create false equivalencies have become ethically suspect and morally indefensible.
19
Part of the reason the privileged/affluent have so much worry is that there is a lot of money to be made by those encouraging the worry and selling a solution. One wrong move and your kid is doomed--here, buy this book so you can learn how to play peek-a-boo with your infant in a developmentally appropriate manner. And so it goes about absolutely everything...
2
No. The worry comes from the tenuous grasp they have on their privilege and affluence. The unrelenting belief that 98% of who we are is based on our level of wealth, affluence, and status.
This article borders on the incoherent confusing worry and anxiety quite a bit before morphing in to a "happy and optimistic ending, when it seems more possible, I think, that what people are anxious about is the very real possibility that governing won't return because it hasn't been here for years. It's kind of like worrying about whether your parent or your child will come home. It's not your fault that they didn't, and there's nothing you can do about it anyway, but it impacts your life, forever. You adjust to a life without life. There is so much that could have been and still needs to be done, but there is no real will to do it. It's not worry or anxiety that immobilizes us as a country, it is the Republican Party.
9
"If the next president starts enacting a slew of actual policies, then at least we can argue about concrete plans, rather than vague apocalyptic moods."
Mr. Brooks, this can only happen if the GOP suddenly decides to govern rather than obstruct, and given Sen. McCain's comments about the fate of a Clinton-SCOTUS nominee and the HFC's machinations to get rid of Paul Ryan as Speaker, this does not seem likely. No, the GOP is thriving on inaction and worry. You and your compatriots have much to atone for.
Mr. Brooks, this can only happen if the GOP suddenly decides to govern rather than obstruct, and given Sen. McCain's comments about the fate of a Clinton-SCOTUS nominee and the HFC's machinations to get rid of Paul Ryan as Speaker, this does not seem likely. No, the GOP is thriving on inaction and worry. You and your compatriots have much to atone for.
8
My husband's best friend has told those close to him that he is voting for Trump. However, he has also said that if asked by people outside of his inner circle, he is saying that he is undecided. My fear, and yes my worry, is that he is not alone.
We are all wondering why there are so many undecided people this go-round. My guess is that there are a lot of closet-Trump voters who do not want to deal with the verbal response to their bigotry or whatever other thing about Trump is making them want him.
You speak of worrying spiraling out of control. Personally, I think the very thought of a Trump Presidency cannot be, should not be something we calmly allow to happen without worry being an extremely important driver to stop the insanity!
We are all wondering why there are so many undecided people this go-round. My guess is that there are a lot of closet-Trump voters who do not want to deal with the verbal response to their bigotry or whatever other thing about Trump is making them want him.
You speak of worrying spiraling out of control. Personally, I think the very thought of a Trump Presidency cannot be, should not be something we calmly allow to happen without worry being an extremely important driver to stop the insanity!
3
I love your columns. But in this piece, there is some confirmation bias, cherry picking, what-you-see-is-what-you-get and media navel gazing. It is a very rare election when there is not a large group of people who are extremely worried about the country/world and their role in it.
Refer to another SNL moment from last Saturday. On Weekend Update, Michael Che said that after 43 consecutive white, male Presidents, now that we've had 1 African-American followed by 1 woman, "now you sense a pattern of unfairness?"
Refer to another SNL moment from last Saturday. On Weekend Update, Michael Che said that after 43 consecutive white, male Presidents, now that we've had 1 African-American followed by 1 woman, "now you sense a pattern of unfairness?"
10
Thanks David, invariably benefit from reading your columns. As a magnet on my fridge claims: Worry is like a rocking chair. It will give you something to do, but it won't get you anywhere.
4
And that's why we have beer
6
.....although liquor is quicker.
No. That's why we NEED beer.
Excuses for being mundane...but...try living, day after day after day, with the knowledge (as the majority of Americans do) that a $1200 car repair bill could be a catastrophic event. Or--even worse--that a serious, or even moderately serious health issue could cause a rapid descent into abject poverty.
However, your advice on not descending into a narcissistic pool are duly noted.
However, your advice on not descending into a narcissistic pool are duly noted.
10
Voting is the only action that eases election worry. Too few of us exercise our right to vote. I voted by alternative ballot on October 14 because I'm very noticeably disabled and I worry that impatient voter(s) might push me, hurt me, yell at me. Mine was an easy choice. I need help to stand when I fall if I can't I crawl to a stable surface where I can push myself upright. I cast my ballot for the stand up candidate. We should all plan to vote on Election Day and lobby to make it a federal holiday .
9
I want every man to ask just one woman how she's doing today, how is she dealing with this election. Every woman I know has had her foundation shook, some more than others but the uncertain anxiety of just how and where we are truely safe, and truely equal has surfaced over the past weeks. Women are being triggered very deeply, all of us, rich and poor. We have all experienced the misogyny this election has brought out, some more brutality than others. We all have either been assualted or know a sister whose life has been forever changed from it and yet the Republican Presidential candidate not only jokes about it, he continues to have the establishment and 40% of the country supporting him. From the grocery clerk ringing me up to my mother we are all feeling this very, very deeply which is why it's important that men realize how our anxiety is more then our fears over money, or foreign policy, we are fearing for our safety in this country.
112
Heather, you are so right. Ever since that tape came out, I've felt so depressed. To imagine that even a small number of men thought those things or said those things about me and my sisters has made me sick with despair. It's as if some festering wound finally broke open, and there's no fix for it. It has made me recall the numerous times i was groped, assaulted, flashed, and raped and never felt strong enough to speak out, because i knew i wasn't worthy of defense. The number of years it has taken me to feel whole and worthy, and now, I feel that the rug has been yanked away. I feel that only my good, good husband looks at me with real love and respect, and not as some old used up piece of meat no longer worthy even of assault. I am sick for this world, and my sisters.
Ill-uneducated people are fearful of what they don't understand. Superstitious, they believe in mythical explanations for natural phenomena that are more comfortable than scientific observation.
Brooks writes, "The affluent often feel besieged by busyness... . At the same time, there is a pervasive cosmic unease, the anxiety that they don’t quite understand the meaning of life..."
Oh, bloody dear. They don't understand the meaning of life? This, in the context of this tawdry election cycle with Brooks' candidate the perfect example of an uneducated psychotic taking out his grievances on the rest of us.
Implied is that Brooks and today's foot-long shelf of writers and opinionators do understand the meaning of life. Tell us, then, what that is and how it in any relates to the worry surrounding the notion that a hateful, vengeful, ugly, psychotic might be elected president.
I worry most about Trump's mob. Bad enough that W was elected more or less twice by a lot of people voting against self interest and against all reason. That there are millions in Trump's mob is worrying. I don't understand them, can't penetrate their belief that, despite all evidence to the contrary, Trump could possibly lead this country.
All that we know about Trump's leadership skills comes out of his own hose-pipe mouth. The fact that his products are a shabby lot of junk doesn't matter to the mob. The fact that Trump is a stunted loony doesn't matter either. I worry about that. A lot.
Brooks writes, "The affluent often feel besieged by busyness... . At the same time, there is a pervasive cosmic unease, the anxiety that they don’t quite understand the meaning of life..."
Oh, bloody dear. They don't understand the meaning of life? This, in the context of this tawdry election cycle with Brooks' candidate the perfect example of an uneducated psychotic taking out his grievances on the rest of us.
Implied is that Brooks and today's foot-long shelf of writers and opinionators do understand the meaning of life. Tell us, then, what that is and how it in any relates to the worry surrounding the notion that a hateful, vengeful, ugly, psychotic might be elected president.
I worry most about Trump's mob. Bad enough that W was elected more or less twice by a lot of people voting against self interest and against all reason. That there are millions in Trump's mob is worrying. I don't understand them, can't penetrate their belief that, despite all evidence to the contrary, Trump could possibly lead this country.
All that we know about Trump's leadership skills comes out of his own hose-pipe mouth. The fact that his products are a shabby lot of junk doesn't matter to the mob. The fact that Trump is a stunted loony doesn't matter either. I worry about that. A lot.
In glorifying the heath and disruption of the frictionless economy, no one thought to set aside monies to mitigate things - such as making sure alternate jobs were available and funds were there to at least tear down the old factories so something new might rise up.
Detroit and its industrial Titans stopped production, retooled and created the airplanes, tanks and Jeeps that won the war in Europe. And yet today, despite 60 years of robust growth, the country cannot even come up with 2 to 3 billion dollars to tear the ruin porn down in the rust belt cities? All the while spending 2 trillion on chasing out Saddam, a low level thug in a God forsaken part of the planet? Can anyone truthfully imagine Tim Cook and Apple doing the same thing? He will not even unlock a phone, lest they not maximize every possible penny of profits. If that is their mandate, what of country and society?
Remember it was arch conservative Margaret Thatcher who said "there is no society" only the individual. Given what our great Industrial leaders did to liberate Thatcher's London from Hitler's villainy, is anyone on the right ready to abandon her mantra, the mantra of the Republican/Conservative right for the last 40 years?
Margaret Thatcher, talking to Women's Own magazine, 10/31/1987 'I'm homeless, the government must house me.' They're casting their problem on society. And, you know, there is no such thing as society."
This is Conservatism.
Detroit and its industrial Titans stopped production, retooled and created the airplanes, tanks and Jeeps that won the war in Europe. And yet today, despite 60 years of robust growth, the country cannot even come up with 2 to 3 billion dollars to tear the ruin porn down in the rust belt cities? All the while spending 2 trillion on chasing out Saddam, a low level thug in a God forsaken part of the planet? Can anyone truthfully imagine Tim Cook and Apple doing the same thing? He will not even unlock a phone, lest they not maximize every possible penny of profits. If that is their mandate, what of country and society?
Remember it was arch conservative Margaret Thatcher who said "there is no society" only the individual. Given what our great Industrial leaders did to liberate Thatcher's London from Hitler's villainy, is anyone on the right ready to abandon her mantra, the mantra of the Republican/Conservative right for the last 40 years?
Margaret Thatcher, talking to Women's Own magazine, 10/31/1987 'I'm homeless, the government must house me.' They're casting their problem on society. And, you know, there is no such thing as society."
This is Conservatism.
First of all, there is little good order in the world. In Africa and the middle east, it is dictators, factions, and terrorists most in the name of religion. Then, in the United States we do have an epidemic of addiction, (alcohol, opioids including heroin) the overdoses and costs that go along with all of this. Then, there is the epidemic of obesity, its costs, and other diseases that often accompany it. Then, there is the issue of added layers of costs and new government bureaucracies in the health care systems and poor outcomes across the board. Then, there is the daily time on the road with those texting, drinking, and running red lights that is killing many thousands each year, Oh, and most everyone has gun violence in the neighborhood or close by if you live in a major metropolitan area. Any thing else to worry about, yes, but each person and family has other issues, need we say more.
1
Another book review from David. I tire of the lectures while Rome is burning, courtesy of the GOP. Trump doesn't tell us how he'll create jobs, but does tell us who he will sue.
Who are you going to vote for, David?
Who are you going to vote for, David?
3
Republicans worry that they cannot compete so they want protection: military, employment and policing/guns. Democrats worry that they will be denied the opportunity to compete so they want a level playing field: education, healthcare and equal rights. The Republicans seem like dinosaurs to me...on the verge of extinction and, unfortunately, trying to take everyone else with them.
2
Sometimes David Brooks' columns are thoughtful commentaries on serious issues. Other times, it seems he doesn't have a clue what to write yet he has to turn in something. So he dreams up superficial stuff to meet a deadline and hope it passes as a constructive statement on the major questions of the day.
Looks like he didn't have any idea what to write for today's column, and decided to work toward a license in psychiatry and psychology.
Please, Mr. Brooks, no more empty babble when we've got real problems in this country.
Looks like he didn't have any idea what to write for today's column, and decided to work toward a license in psychiatry and psychology.
Please, Mr. Brooks, no more empty babble when we've got real problems in this country.
2
One thing about Dave's editorials, he always manages to point to the decline in religion as a reason for the nation's problems. Sorry Mr. Brooks, but the party you so valiantly try to defend and promote has been pushing fear and hyperbole as a staple for more years than I can remember, at least as far back as the Red Scare. The information technology we now have can more efficiently spread and instill the fear and anxiety the right pushes, and the people they deploy (Luntz, Limbaugh, Ailes, et al) are more sophisticated at the illogical and irrational policies they pander. The republican message is ALL negative, there's no hope or light or expectations of a better life for everyone. Please stop acting as if the fear your party instills is something new on the scene, or the fault of an opposition President and party that has performed rather well under the circumstances. As an atheist I can imagine a brighter future with all of the "overabundant of options", thank you. The only thing I'm really worried about is that ridiculous candidate you've foisted on the country.
4
We worry because we all die. When we're not worrying about what might cause it we worry if anything we do here ultimately matters.
2
One concept helps . Its the P and P idea. Yes anything you think is possible but is it probable? Often the possble fades when you analyze its probability.
Brooks's Description of anxiety is accurate. Howvever, it fails to
recognize the real malaise afflicting the American people. The violence and lack of restraint has become endemic to the populace.
recognize the real malaise afflicting the American people. The violence and lack of restraint has become endemic to the populace.
David, do you read any of the comments of your columns? Just read one please it Gemli from Boston. The people you describe as Trump supporters may have a reason to think he could help, but what about all you educated people who will vote for him. Why in God's green earth are you supporting him.
1
Way to flow, David!
I do appreciate the way you tie Positive Psychology into the divide. We have no idea how our anxiety, typically fulled by shame, robs us of our humanity.
The cure for that lonely high-anxiety is empathy. Seriously, you don't even have to work at it. Just listen and witness others' losses without taking control, minimizing their feelings or trying to relate by relating similar events unless to show unity briefly. Maybe a hand to the shoulder or a hug in assurance we are still worthy of the tribe. The shame is banished under the grace of the safe space to be human. It's that freaking easy.
I live with a Trump supporter who I dearly love and respect. She has her reasons for voting and I have mine, and we both live with it. It is not hard at all once you recognize whose feelings belong to whom. I'm not Hillary, and she's not Trump. We are free to be whomever we want to be. And we are surely not those shouters having it out on TV for ratings.
Identity is a strong tug of war in the media buzzness. David's gonna get a Grateful headband if he keeps up with this Court of Love stuff.
I do appreciate the way you tie Positive Psychology into the divide. We have no idea how our anxiety, typically fulled by shame, robs us of our humanity.
The cure for that lonely high-anxiety is empathy. Seriously, you don't even have to work at it. Just listen and witness others' losses without taking control, minimizing their feelings or trying to relate by relating similar events unless to show unity briefly. Maybe a hand to the shoulder or a hug in assurance we are still worthy of the tribe. The shame is banished under the grace of the safe space to be human. It's that freaking easy.
I live with a Trump supporter who I dearly love and respect. She has her reasons for voting and I have mine, and we both live with it. It is not hard at all once you recognize whose feelings belong to whom. I'm not Hillary, and she's not Trump. We are free to be whomever we want to be. And we are surely not those shouters having it out on TV for ratings.
Identity is a strong tug of war in the media buzzness. David's gonna get a Grateful headband if he keeps up with this Court of Love stuff.
David tell us who what network you will fall back on since you live in a walled off reality daily.
So are you conjuring images of the GOP to overcome this beast that they have made. Is this your superstition and conspiracy.
The man who is out amongst the masses charade can stop now.
So are you conjuring images of the GOP to overcome this beast that they have made. Is this your superstition and conspiracy.
The man who is out amongst the masses charade can stop now.
Mr. Brooks
Why don't you just come out and say that our great experiment with Democracy has failed. Why are you hiding in the corner? Probably you don't want to state in print what most of us have realized already. Your party, the republicans are the scoundrels that hide behind the banner of patriotism as they try to drown the government in a bath tub. And you wonder why there is so much anxiety.
Why don't you just come out and say that our great experiment with Democracy has failed. Why are you hiding in the corner? Probably you don't want to state in print what most of us have realized already. Your party, the republicans are the scoundrels that hide behind the banner of patriotism as they try to drown the government in a bath tub. And you wonder why there is so much anxiety.
2
The anxiety may be more persistent than the election. It may be a long-term reaction to the American optimism that lasted for decades. I remember, back in the 60s, the first time I and my high school friends saw pictures of lynchings and Hiroshima. We had no idea! There was a record album then called, "Everything you ever learned was wrong." Today, the smartest folks in the room prove it by bringing up new things to worry about. Back then, they brought up new opportunities. It's a major shift in style that began in the 60s among youth and went mainstream later. The good news is that it may be reaching its historical peak, and we may start going back the other way, or to a new synthesis. The good old dialectic, again.
2
It is not just the less educated who think everything is rigged. We are pounded night and day by commercials for stuff that either does not work as advertised or that we don't actually need. Then the supposed content. Trump had one true insight: TV Network and Cable news are reality shows done for money. So of course they couldn't take their eyes off of him. Wells Fargo, Epi-pen, apparently are only about how many tens of millions we can be cheated out of. No one goes to jail. But shop lift at Walmart and you are led away in handcuffs. Student loans are a rip off. How long did the Scandal at ITT Tech go on? Are there any honest politicians left in NYS? Anywhere? The Nobel Prize winner had it right. "The pump don't work cause the vandals took the handle". Everyone paying attention now knows that the true vandals are the corporations and the very rich.
7
Ugh(ly) chilling profile quotes from Trump by Michael Barbero !!!
2
Dr. Pangloss strikes again.
David, with decreasing wages, job insecurity, rampant gun ownership, and healthcare and educational costs spiraling out of control, a lot of people (maybe not the people you rub elbows with everyday) have a heck of a lot to worry about. And it has nothing to do with FOMO.
I keep waiting for David Brooks to finally get it. He never will.
David, with decreasing wages, job insecurity, rampant gun ownership, and healthcare and educational costs spiraling out of control, a lot of people (maybe not the people you rub elbows with everyday) have a heck of a lot to worry about. And it has nothing to do with FOMO.
I keep waiting for David Brooks to finally get it. He never will.
6
Forget politics, we are all anxious because we are being bombarded by 24/7 news that has but one purpose; create anxiousness tailored to make us fear everything what someone else is doing to us. One day it's be fearful of your cell phone; it might explode. One day is be fearful of the child car seat you buy; your child might be injured. One day is be fearful of the medication you take; it has more negative side effects than the disease you are trying to cure. One day is be fearful of the food you buy; it could be full of pesticides that will kill you. One day it's the list of the ten most dangerous car to buy; the next is a list of the ten most dangerous children toys. One day it's cruises are the best vacation choice; the next is why cruises are so dangerous to your health that they should be avoided. One day is we are running out of oil; the next is we have too much of it and its use is creating global warming. And I could go on and on and on. It's corporate capitalism and false advertising run amok.
Why should it be different in our choices of presidents? One day Trump is a the equivalent of Hitler; the next is Hillary is the anti-Christ hell bent to destroy America as we know it. Everything is exaggerations, claims, counter claims, and mostly lies; all designed to keep us busy looking the other way while in the rarified air of the skyscraper's penthouses and the mansions of the Hamptons, the uber-rich can continue enriching themselves at our expense.
Why should it be different in our choices of presidents? One day Trump is a the equivalent of Hitler; the next is Hillary is the anti-Christ hell bent to destroy America as we know it. Everything is exaggerations, claims, counter claims, and mostly lies; all designed to keep us busy looking the other way while in the rarified air of the skyscraper's penthouses and the mansions of the Hamptons, the uber-rich can continue enriching themselves at our expense.
81
Media is dog-eat-dog competition, they'll do anything to further their business and their careers. Fact it: extreme news is the only thing that grabs our attention.
Once we swallowed the toxic brew of greed and government as the enemy, preached by the GOP and not effectively opposed by the Dems, we were headed down this path for sure. Donald is just the manifestation of that truth. The 2008 Recession almost tipped us back in a better direction, but we still lack the political will. Bernie latched onto the angst, hence his popularity. Unfortunately, I don't see Hillary leading us out of this wasteland. I wish her luck.
Calm may not return if Congress does not allow the Prez to govern. Also, we can talk ourselves out of anxiety. We can tell ourselves that no, the world will not end under a Trump presidency, and that yes we can take concrete actions to pass or boy it. a las we consider good/bad. We do have some control over our lives and that is what we need to focus on, starting with our vote November 8.
1
I am an unaffiliated voter who has been canvassing for the Democrats this year, and David, I think you have missed the fact that Democratic voters are engaged and quite positive about Hilary Clinton. Of course, they view this as a pivotal election and Trump as dangerous, but here in Colorado Democratic voters are well informed and quite upbeat about their slate of candidates.
4
Hilary has said that, if elected, she will fight for Democrats and Republicans alike, no matter if they vote for her or not. She has said she will fight for those without a voice in this country, children and their families.
Donald has said he would not accept the results of the election, and has insinuated that gun owners "could do something" about Hilary.
Gee, I wonder who is more responsible for contributing a sense of worry in today's political climate and society.
Donald has said he would not accept the results of the election, and has insinuated that gun owners "could do something" about Hilary.
Gee, I wonder who is more responsible for contributing a sense of worry in today's political climate and society.
7
Mr. Brooks has now crossed the Rubicon for me. I intend to no longer read or comment on his opinion pieces.
It is incomprehensible to me how someone as erudite and seemingly genteel as Mr. Brooks cannot distinguish between the reprehensible behaviors of the individuals he cites in the Mr. French anecdote and the homicidal/misogynistic rape/snuff imagery (some left over from 2008) directed at Sec. Clinton. It’s incomprehensible to me why Mr. Brooks does not offer the reader a sense of the imagery promoted by the right/hate party towards Sec. Clinton in order to provide balance for his article ostensibly opining the loss of civility exacerbating generalized anxiety, which devolves into a hit piece on progressives as being equally bad or worse than conservatives. It’s incomprehensible to me that Mr. Brooks does not unequivocally state that the Republican Party has openly encouraged this vehement vitriol by cheerleading its constituency with misogynistic and violent rhetoric.
Mr. Brooks reads a lot of books. Me, too. I’ve suggested it before, but I’ll suggest it again directly to Mr. Brooks. Read ‘The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil’ by George Saunders. Attend a Hillary Clinton rally. Here in Philadelphia, at a rally where Pres. Obama spoke, Mr. Trump’s name was hardly spoken.
You should be ashamed of yourself, Mr. Brooks, for continuing to push this urban myth of equally bad behavior. Your guy wrote the book on bad behavior. Now you’re clamoring for a signed first edition.
It is incomprehensible to me how someone as erudite and seemingly genteel as Mr. Brooks cannot distinguish between the reprehensible behaviors of the individuals he cites in the Mr. French anecdote and the homicidal/misogynistic rape/snuff imagery (some left over from 2008) directed at Sec. Clinton. It’s incomprehensible to me why Mr. Brooks does not offer the reader a sense of the imagery promoted by the right/hate party towards Sec. Clinton in order to provide balance for his article ostensibly opining the loss of civility exacerbating generalized anxiety, which devolves into a hit piece on progressives as being equally bad or worse than conservatives. It’s incomprehensible to me that Mr. Brooks does not unequivocally state that the Republican Party has openly encouraged this vehement vitriol by cheerleading its constituency with misogynistic and violent rhetoric.
Mr. Brooks reads a lot of books. Me, too. I’ve suggested it before, but I’ll suggest it again directly to Mr. Brooks. Read ‘The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil’ by George Saunders. Attend a Hillary Clinton rally. Here in Philadelphia, at a rally where Pres. Obama spoke, Mr. Trump’s name was hardly spoken.
You should be ashamed of yourself, Mr. Brooks, for continuing to push this urban myth of equally bad behavior. Your guy wrote the book on bad behavior. Now you’re clamoring for a signed first edition.
6
Bobby McFerrin said: “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”
Judy Garland urged: “Forget your troubles c’mon get happy.
HRC is down with the Turtles: “So Happy Together.”
The rest of us can whistle a happy tune so no one will suspect we’re afraid.
Judy Garland urged: “Forget your troubles c’mon get happy.
HRC is down with the Turtles: “So Happy Together.”
The rest of us can whistle a happy tune so no one will suspect we’re afraid.
1
You're right, David; taking action helps to relieve the emotional stress of this election. We have early voting in Michigan. My wife and I voted with absentee ballots almost two weeks ago and I, at least, felt the burden and anxiety lift away. Early voting, a wonderful tonic in a time of stress.
1
Perhaps HL Mencken said it best
"I believe that all government is evil, and that trying to improve it is largely a waste of time.
It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office.
The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.
Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule - and both commonly succeed, and are right.
It is even harder for the average ape to believe that he has descended from man."
"I believe that all government is evil, and that trying to improve it is largely a waste of time.
It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office.
The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.
Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule - and both commonly succeed, and are right.
It is even harder for the average ape to believe that he has descended from man."
1
Mr. Brooks: I used to read your column for a laugh, to see what ridiculous republican proposal you were supporting or what you were currently blaming on President Obama. No more. This was just lame.
6
How about shorten the election cycle? There's no need to announce a candidacy 18 months in advance. If we had, say, a 3 or 4 month campaign season (as many countries do), we'd have less time to be stuck in limbo of not knowing who is going to be the leader. Uncertainty breeds anxiety. There's no reason to wallow in it for 18 months.
4
"concrete plans"
"concrete plans and actions "
That's the drug that will cure rampant anxiety and frustration? Really? Trump will get 40% or more of the popular vote without presenting any realistic plans. So apparently those voters don't know what would really make them feel better. Or do they? Here's a concrete plan: "Obamacare". Feel better now?
"concrete plans and actions "
That's the drug that will cure rampant anxiety and frustration? Really? Trump will get 40% or more of the popular vote without presenting any realistic plans. So apparently those voters don't know what would really make them feel better. Or do they? Here's a concrete plan: "Obamacare". Feel better now?
David,
There's another side to the danger of worry, and that's not worrying enough. We don't worry about the food we eat and become obese. We don't worry about having enough for retirement, so we continue working into our seventies. We don't worry about our general health, so we don't get shots for flu and shingles nor do we exercise. Moderation, not the absence of worry, is the key.
There's another side to the danger of worry, and that's not worrying enough. We don't worry about the food we eat and become obese. We don't worry about having enough for retirement, so we continue working into our seventies. We don't worry about our general health, so we don't get shots for flu and shingles nor do we exercise. Moderation, not the absence of worry, is the key.
3
The epidemic will continue if Hillary is elected. Obama was enough already!
"This campaign will soon be over, and governing, thank God, will soon return." and do you real think Hillary will be loved, adored or even respected dream on ...
David Brooks answer to overcome worry and fear is right on -- ACTION. So now our leadership class needs to step up and lead with action that addresses the well known causes of worry and fear. Both government and the private sector need change to make this happen. About our National Government in particular, the Congress and President must find common ground on which they can act. For too many years obstruction rather than compromise has failed the American people and especially those that feel left out. There will always be a minority of members of Congress that are ideologically frozen at both ends of the spectrum. That must not freeze the majority into inaction. Republicans and Democrats can work together to bring about positive change to address the imbalances that undermine our sense of fairness. The incoming President cannot do this alone. Leaders, lead! Risk the ire of the frozen and do what will serve those who feel (and are often really) left out.
4
The best action you can take right now is to declare publicly that you are voting for Hillary Clinton. This would take courage. The second action would be to examine honestly how your Republican party brought about the Trump phenomenon. Quit worrying about other people's worries. Take action on what you as a Republican columnist can do.
7
My only question is this, David Brooks: When will you make a "concrete plan" to announce you'll be voting for Hillary? You often write about integrity and moral/ethical actions. It is almost too late to publicize this action. Unless you already wrote about it and I missed it?
Nu?
Nu?
7
Like a majority of Americans, I detest both candidates--for excellent reason. Trump's a sociopath, and the Clintons are the greediest, most shameless grifters ever to parlay their White House influence into hundreds of millions of dollars for influence peddling. It's the greatest political tragedy of my life that Hillary was able to use the black Democratic machine to kill Sanders in the primaries. If he had beaten her, he would have been wildly popular with the American masses as they got to know him without Hillary's filter of lies, he would have defeated Trump by a much larger margin than Hillary will, and he would have entered the White House with the greatest mandate from votes and the goodwill of most Americans of any newly elected president since Eisenhower. Bernie would have beaten Obama's 77%. And he would have started turning the Ship of State in the redistributionist direction it must be turned in, not only given the grotesque growth of inequality under Reagan and the neoliberal Democrats who followed him, but also the wholesale elimination of huge categories of jobs by technology in the decades to come.
"Bernie would have beaten Obama's 77%"???
Only in your dreams. You seem to forget that Bernie didn't have what Obama had.
It's called: the Black vote.
Only in your dreams. You seem to forget that Bernie didn't have what Obama had.
It's called: the Black vote.
2
Dear Mr. F. White:
Oh Fred, you of the big "what if". Yes, it's so easy to see how Senator Sanders would win by, what, 77%? What's that thing they say about hindsight?
That's quite a fantasy you've concocted. However, back in the real world: Hillary is the nominee, and it wasn't close. Hillary was the Democrat in the Democratic primary, Bernie was the Independent. The Clintons influence is enormous. But that is politics in a nutshell. I wash your back, you wash mine. Party loyalty matters. In '12, Jill Stein got 80% of the Green Party vote. Thus she was the front runner this time around. Bernie joined the Dems in '15 to run on the DNC line, just as Trump ran as a Republican. The GOP would do the heavy lifting.
What surprises me, reading yours and others comments in a similar vein, is how shocked you guys are. I don't know your age, but unless you're in your 20's, or this is your first election, for you to be so unfamiliar and ignorant of how our political process works is quite astounding.
My first vote was in '60 for JFK. I have not missed one election. I have supported Hillary since 2000. I am very aware of her pluses and minuses, long before she decided to run in '08. All the noise you are hearing over the past year is the white noise of campaigns. It is filled with inaccuracies. You need to know about these folks before the campaign begins, not after. By then it's already too late. Falling for the canard of October "surprises" are red herrings.
DD
Manhattan
Oh Fred, you of the big "what if". Yes, it's so easy to see how Senator Sanders would win by, what, 77%? What's that thing they say about hindsight?
That's quite a fantasy you've concocted. However, back in the real world: Hillary is the nominee, and it wasn't close. Hillary was the Democrat in the Democratic primary, Bernie was the Independent. The Clintons influence is enormous. But that is politics in a nutshell. I wash your back, you wash mine. Party loyalty matters. In '12, Jill Stein got 80% of the Green Party vote. Thus she was the front runner this time around. Bernie joined the Dems in '15 to run on the DNC line, just as Trump ran as a Republican. The GOP would do the heavy lifting.
What surprises me, reading yours and others comments in a similar vein, is how shocked you guys are. I don't know your age, but unless you're in your 20's, or this is your first election, for you to be so unfamiliar and ignorant of how our political process works is quite astounding.
My first vote was in '60 for JFK. I have not missed one election. I have supported Hillary since 2000. I am very aware of her pluses and minuses, long before she decided to run in '08. All the noise you are hearing over the past year is the white noise of campaigns. It is filled with inaccuracies. You need to know about these folks before the campaign begins, not after. By then it's already too late. Falling for the canard of October "surprises" are red herrings.
DD
Manhattan
Mr. Brooks:
Kumbaya to you! However, your hopes for a post election "governing" still have a major hurdle to overcome: republican obstructionism. Trump has become a major distraction for conservatives, who now want to take no blame, or is it credit?, for the lack of governing.
This mess is all yours, you and your conservative dog whistlers. Your anxious, affluent friends need to get out of the narcissistic jacuzzi and understand that being a neurotic is a luxury, as your statistics point out.
They can always get more meds from their doctors.
Governing seems a quaint notion that greed has no need for.
Kumbaya to you! However, your hopes for a post election "governing" still have a major hurdle to overcome: republican obstructionism. Trump has become a major distraction for conservatives, who now want to take no blame, or is it credit?, for the lack of governing.
This mess is all yours, you and your conservative dog whistlers. Your anxious, affluent friends need to get out of the narcissistic jacuzzi and understand that being a neurotic is a luxury, as your statistics point out.
They can always get more meds from their doctors.
Governing seems a quaint notion that greed has no need for.
1
"90%" of the doomsday scenarios won't come true? I think the remaining 10% could turn out to be a real problem.
BTW to all the people who want to "move to Canada " when things don't go their way : the Canadians expect you to offer something beyond just having the right opinions.
BTW to all the people who want to "move to Canada " when things don't go their way : the Canadians expect you to offer something beyond just having the right opinions.
1
With all due respect, Mr. Brooks -- I am not worried, as much as I am disgusted.
And after months of watching this country descend lower and lower into the pit of insanity and hate following Donald Trump's siren call of insanity and hate, I'm also fed up.
Granted, I was worried for a little while, when it looked like he had one foot inside of the White House. But after continuing to insult and alienate half the American electorate, it looks like most folks are starting to get the message about how devastatingly bad he would be for the country.
So, thanks for the prognosis...but I'm feeling better now.
And after months of watching this country descend lower and lower into the pit of insanity and hate following Donald Trump's siren call of insanity and hate, I'm also fed up.
Granted, I was worried for a little while, when it looked like he had one foot inside of the White House. But after continuing to insult and alienate half the American electorate, it looks like most folks are starting to get the message about how devastatingly bad he would be for the country.
So, thanks for the prognosis...but I'm feeling better now.
1
So will Mr. Brooks end the suspense next Tuesday by finally telling us which candidate he will vote for? That would be one less thing to worry about....
I think you are trying to be too cute here David. Sure, worry is bad, but the possibility of a Donald Trump is frightening to anyone who is knowledgeable about the election. Those who are students of history know that Republics fail because of demagogues like Trump. You need only go back to Cleon (Athens), Sulla (Rome), Caesar, Mussolini, and Hitler to see how seemingly difficult men turned from populists to tyrants.
Should we be worried about a Donald Trump who shows no understanding about how democracy works through legislation by representative government as opposed to caveat? YES.
Should we be worried about a Donald Trump who shows no understanding about how democracy works through legislation by representative government as opposed to caveat? YES.
2
David.... it's YOU !!
I'm stressed because you refused to endorse, rather retreating to your comfort zone of quasi-intellectual, semantic-rich, pseudo analysis....
Elections don't get any clearer than this, and your failure to assert unequivocal leadership should disqualify you as a ruthlessly partisan hack.... party/ideology before country....
Used to love you.... but now I want you to pack up your stuff and move out !!
I'm stressed because you refused to endorse, rather retreating to your comfort zone of quasi-intellectual, semantic-rich, pseudo analysis....
Elections don't get any clearer than this, and your failure to assert unequivocal leadership should disqualify you as a ruthlessly partisan hack.... party/ideology before country....
Used to love you.... but now I want you to pack up your stuff and move out !!
3
We have so many unresolved important matter and issues because Republicans all but refused to govern the day President Obama was elected.
Now Mr. Trump has replaced issues and policies with a daily tirade on fear, hate, division and finger pointing.
Governing our nation is accomplished in spite of Republicans but it's success is hampered.
Now Mr. Trump has replaced issues and policies with a daily tirade on fear, hate, division and finger pointing.
Governing our nation is accomplished in spite of Republicans but it's success is hampered.
1
I confess: I am indeed worried about one thing and one thing only = Trump. It's not just what he might do to this country, but what he could do to the world. This is way beyond the usual worry before a presidential election. If McCain or Romney had won in 2008 or 2012, the prospect of a Republican president was not in the least alarming, given their basic decency and "normal" temperament. Trump is, however, a clear and present danger to us all. That the Republicans, by nominating Trump, have provoked this national and international anxiety attack is unforgivable. And I agree with David, once we hopefully get rid of him two weeks from now, we can breathe a great sigh of relief and get on to seeking action (via compromises would be nice) on the pressing current issues.
2
There is only one party whose entire platform can be summed up as "the world is falling apart, the other party has devious intentions and the independent media tells only lies." I don't know why many people believe it, but they do. The purveyors of this nonsense have clear motivations for doing so, but their callous disregard for the mental anguish that it causes in so many of their fellow citizens makes me sick to my stomach. The Republican civil war can't come fast enough. At least it may allow hope and sanity to return to the center right once the dust settles.
1
"Educated-class anxiety can often be characterized as a feeling overabundant of options without a core of convicting purpose."
Umm. What was that again?
Umm. What was that again?
2
I hope beaker Ryan and President Clinton can understand this-- just a few things done-- infrastructure spending, entitlement reform, fix the tax code and pay for schools and job creation. I am very hopeful that they are both practical people who know that the country needs some wins and some real governing. Even if not perfect, but just some wins.
1
Regarding the "action" that David Brooks believes will be the medicine to cure our anxiety, his party has perfected the art of obstructionism for the sole purpose of delegitimizing the opposition.
As they have for the last eight years republicans will unite in taking their toys and going home.
As they have for the last eight years republicans will unite in taking their toys and going home.
2
The World Series provides a pleasant relief from all this banter and angst. Go Cubs!!!
This column is a bit behind the times. Increasingly it is obvious that Hillary's voters are happy to vote for her. The much smaller group of Trump supports may be worrying about the state of the country. It will never be the country they long for.
4
The hatred and ugliness in our nation inspired or revealed by the campaign of Donald Trump surely justifies anxiety. However of more importance are two profound threats: 15,000 nuclear warheads and climate change. Either could ruin or simply end the lives of our children and grandchildren, the former tomorrow and the latter over a few decades. Both problems demand urgent attention. Unfortunately the policy of the Republican Party is to ignore or simply deny both. A little more anxiety on the part of the rest of us would be appropriate.
1
Amazing there's nothing here about money anxieties. Every person I know, up and down the economic ladder, is worried about winding up poor or even homeless due to falling wages and rising expenses.
4
Much of the anxiety in this election has been spawned by an extremely irresponsible press and media perpetrating the false equivalency between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. There is no comparison between the two and representing them mas equally bad in an injustice. Trump is a terrible candidate and shown himself to be an equally bad person. When you pull Hillary down to his level you create an atmosphere of hopelessness. Hillary has her faults but she is nothing like Trump. When you present them as equally bad the public stares into the abyss and the press is to blame.
3
"This campaign will soon be over, and governing, thank God, will soon return."
Um, no. If HRC is elected, we can expect the House and Senate Republicans to continue their perpetual stonewalling, done, don't you know, to "save" America from itself. Who knows more about what America wants? The Republican leadership (today's oxymoron) or We the People, who keep putting Democrats in the White House?
We should expect a prompt and firm pledge by Stonewall Republicans to make Hillary Clinton a one-term President. We're already halfway there, and the election hasn't even been held yet. The formerly august (and currently unbalanced) Sen. John McCain has let us know that he has no intention of confirming ANY Supreme Court nominee a Clinton Administration might put forward. Attaboy, John; that's exactly the kind of selfless patriotism and rule of law the Founding Fathers were counting on.
Governing? Welcome to the next 4 years of that bottom-feeder, Ted Cruz, shutting down the government as he prepares to run as an authentic theocrat in 2020. "Make America Intolerant Again!" There will be no governing.
And if Trump wins? Then worrying about worrying will seem quaint- we'll have a real, live disaster on our hands.
Um, no. If HRC is elected, we can expect the House and Senate Republicans to continue their perpetual stonewalling, done, don't you know, to "save" America from itself. Who knows more about what America wants? The Republican leadership (today's oxymoron) or We the People, who keep putting Democrats in the White House?
We should expect a prompt and firm pledge by Stonewall Republicans to make Hillary Clinton a one-term President. We're already halfway there, and the election hasn't even been held yet. The formerly august (and currently unbalanced) Sen. John McCain has let us know that he has no intention of confirming ANY Supreme Court nominee a Clinton Administration might put forward. Attaboy, John; that's exactly the kind of selfless patriotism and rule of law the Founding Fathers were counting on.
Governing? Welcome to the next 4 years of that bottom-feeder, Ted Cruz, shutting down the government as he prepares to run as an authentic theocrat in 2020. "Make America Intolerant Again!" There will be no governing.
And if Trump wins? Then worrying about worrying will seem quaint- we'll have a real, live disaster on our hands.
3
David, While your advice that has been showing up in several columns of late is excellent--about getting involved with other people and doing for others, it is not likely to completely solve the problem of worry. It is somewhat built into the way our minds work and the nature of our shared human experience which the Buddha noted included birth, illness, old age and death. Recognizing our shared bonds with others and giving unselfishly is a partial antidote as any wise men and women know, but there is still our impermanence and that may require some additional work to be at peace with it.
I do want to say this new theme of your writing is quite wise and pertinent and I do thank you for it. I say this, in part as a retired clinical psychologist, who spent lots of time with many anxious people and when I look back on my almost fifty years in that role realizes the helping people recognize there importance of giving to others is something I wish I had recognized earlier.
In closing it is good to note that this rather miserable election cycle has its silver lining if it leads people to recognize the importance and value of being with others and offering help.
I do want to say this new theme of your writing is quite wise and pertinent and I do thank you for it. I say this, in part as a retired clinical psychologist, who spent lots of time with many anxious people and when I look back on my almost fifty years in that role realizes the helping people recognize there importance of giving to others is something I wish I had recognized earlier.
In closing it is good to note that this rather miserable election cycle has its silver lining if it leads people to recognize the importance and value of being with others and offering help.
1
Whenever I hear the most worried among us, the Trumpeters, demand "change in Washington," it is worrisome to me that the very people who should be removed from the House and Senate are the very people who have brought Washington to a halt: Republicans.
Right after President Obama's first inauguration, the media turned to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) who promised that the all Republicans in the Congress would pledge to deny the new president any cooperation while the nation struggled with the crippling effects of The Great Recession.
They were not protesting proposals from Obama or other Democrats because of ideological or intellectual disagreements. NOPE! They had to resurrect Nancy Reagan's "Just say no" as a translation of what they planned not to do while in office.
So the Republicans have spent nearly eight years denying their role in the economic meltdown while GOING to work without DOING the work of solving the nation's most important and pressing problems. They refused to allow the federal government to borrow, at near-zero interest rates, the money needed to launch a works program for the infrastructure repairs and improvements to pubic education. American pubic education used to be the gold standard of the word. It now lags deep in the rankings.
The GOP leaders, in their zeal to send their constituents into hysteria about Washington's do-nothingness, spend tens of millions of dollars blaming Obama for their own misdeeds.
Yes, it is a time to worry.
Right after President Obama's first inauguration, the media turned to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) who promised that the all Republicans in the Congress would pledge to deny the new president any cooperation while the nation struggled with the crippling effects of The Great Recession.
They were not protesting proposals from Obama or other Democrats because of ideological or intellectual disagreements. NOPE! They had to resurrect Nancy Reagan's "Just say no" as a translation of what they planned not to do while in office.
So the Republicans have spent nearly eight years denying their role in the economic meltdown while GOING to work without DOING the work of solving the nation's most important and pressing problems. They refused to allow the federal government to borrow, at near-zero interest rates, the money needed to launch a works program for the infrastructure repairs and improvements to pubic education. American pubic education used to be the gold standard of the word. It now lags deep in the rankings.
The GOP leaders, in their zeal to send their constituents into hysteria about Washington's do-nothingness, spend tens of millions of dollars blaming Obama for their own misdeeds.
Yes, it is a time to worry.
2
Governing will not begin after this election because there is an idiot elite (.1%) with too much power that does not want governing - even if the dems sweep Congress.
FDR is famous for inviting and relishing the hatred of economic royalists, but it's forgotten he tried to draw an important distinction between property which can be a private, family, household affair - and corporate (communal) accumulations of wealth - which are legitimate only when they serve broadly beneficial social purposes.
FDR is famous for inviting and relishing the hatred of economic royalists, but it's forgotten he tried to draw an important distinction between property which can be a private, family, household affair - and corporate (communal) accumulations of wealth - which are legitimate only when they serve broadly beneficial social purposes.
1
Worry is one of the few constancies of life and an aspect of the human condition. Often the times when there is naught to worry about we find ourselves worrying that we should be worrying. As Brooks recognizes, there is a heightened level of anxiety found in wealthier and more educated countries. His use of data provides credibility to his ethos in making this claim. As humans we cannot accept any reality in which we are not in control of all the freedoms we deem necessary. Interestingly enough, it is when we receive all of these freedoms that we feel overwhelmed by too many possibilities in which we have the potential for failure.
As French was so brutally attacked for voicing his opinion – the freedom we so ardently seek for ourselves, yet often seek to deny others with whom we disagree – this raises serious questions about anxiety in our society. Are these people afraid that they are loosing the control they cannot live without yet can barely live with when they have it? They feel like puppets, resentful that they are attached to strings yet fearful of a reality without them. It is for this reason that they lash out when tensions are at their highest, as seen during the recent campaign. Brooks characterization of American anxiety as an affliction is apt, but I would say that it is a resistant strain. Only through a medication of palliative measures do we stave off these worries temporarily.
As French was so brutally attacked for voicing his opinion – the freedom we so ardently seek for ourselves, yet often seek to deny others with whom we disagree – this raises serious questions about anxiety in our society. Are these people afraid that they are loosing the control they cannot live without yet can barely live with when they have it? They feel like puppets, resentful that they are attached to strings yet fearful of a reality without them. It is for this reason that they lash out when tensions are at their highest, as seen during the recent campaign. Brooks characterization of American anxiety as an affliction is apt, but I would say that it is a resistant strain. Only through a medication of palliative measures do we stave off these worries temporarily.
This election has been a terribly loooong slog through a swamp. And I was blissfully off line for 2 1/2 months this summer working at a camp in rural Maine. I came back to 'civilization' and it was if I never left. Our presidential elections are ridiculously drawn out and require vast amounts of money that could better be spent elsewhere. No sooner will Hillary be sworn in than the jockeying for who will be the Republican candidate in 2020 and this will be reported on. Good grief. No wonder everybody's anxious. This anxiety just lasts and lasts with no respite. Twitter etc. just make it all worse. David the art of governing will not return; it will be the same obstructionist, do-nothing Republican congress whose only agenda is to defeat a Democratic president's policy proposals.
1
"This campaign will soon be over, and governing, thank God, will soon return". Yes, Washington will go back to business as usual, but governing is not on its radar. With promises by the Republicans to buck anyone Clinton nominates as a Supreme Court Justice, the party of "no" will continue its spirit of non-cooperation. She will be no more welcome than President Obama was. Clinton has wonderful ideas to move the country forward, but unless the Democrats control one House of Congress, these policies will never be enacted and the status quo will be all we can hope for. Cynical view, yes, but realistic given the current toxic political climate that hangs over us like some noxious cloud. It isn't about being worried, it's about facing the reality of the political situation in Washington.
The bright spot is, at least if Trump loses we won't be terrified all the time that he will press the nuclear button just because he feels insulted or rebuffed by some world leader. A Trump victory would be cause for a justified collective worry by everyone in the entire world.
"What?" " Me worry?" to quote from "Mad Magazine". If Trump wins, yes. With good reason, and totally justified. I don't care if it is about self-centered preservation
Hopefully, we can breathe a sigh of relief with the election of Hillary Clinton. Moving forward, we face a lot of challenges if Republicans continue to obstruct, as promised. But not to worry? Right?
The bright spot is, at least if Trump loses we won't be terrified all the time that he will press the nuclear button just because he feels insulted or rebuffed by some world leader. A Trump victory would be cause for a justified collective worry by everyone in the entire world.
"What?" " Me worry?" to quote from "Mad Magazine". If Trump wins, yes. With good reason, and totally justified. I don't care if it is about self-centered preservation
Hopefully, we can breathe a sigh of relief with the election of Hillary Clinton. Moving forward, we face a lot of challenges if Republicans continue to obstruct, as promised. But not to worry? Right?
Our pious old scold David Brooks has discovered that the preferred political choice of pious old (rich and poor) scolds, the Republican Party, was a dangerous beast to mount.
Like David French, whom he cites, he sees that the dark forces that he has been normalizing and excusing for years with his sermons and lectures have now taken the bit in the mouth and started kicking hard.
Too bad Dave. You guys conjured this, and now you need to ride it, hopefully straight off a cliff and into the well deserved oblivion you and your other Republican 'intellectuals' and neocons have unwittingly set up for yourself.
Having been wrong about everything in the last 20 years, we can't expect you to change now.
A good scare however, is what you fully deserve. Trumpism is not going away. As one of its unwitting fathers, though, this monstrous baby belongs to you and your buddy David French.
The rest of us are already enjoying the schadenfreude as we watch you guys squirm.
Like David French, whom he cites, he sees that the dark forces that he has been normalizing and excusing for years with his sermons and lectures have now taken the bit in the mouth and started kicking hard.
Too bad Dave. You guys conjured this, and now you need to ride it, hopefully straight off a cliff and into the well deserved oblivion you and your other Republican 'intellectuals' and neocons have unwittingly set up for yourself.
Having been wrong about everything in the last 20 years, we can't expect you to change now.
A good scare however, is what you fully deserve. Trumpism is not going away. As one of its unwitting fathers, though, this monstrous baby belongs to you and your buddy David French.
The rest of us are already enjoying the schadenfreude as we watch you guys squirm.
2
The "mud on the windshield" in this election cycle is from 2 affluent candidates whose wealth insulates them from those issues less affluent citizens will face head-on.
Unfortunately, many voters believe promises from unethical politicians..,then vote these unethical people into office. The politicians retreat to Chappaqua and Martha's Vineyard---communities not affected by immigrant relocation or inner-city school failure.
Voters....think about these golden tongued politicians. Buyer beware!!!
Unfortunately, many voters believe promises from unethical politicians..,then vote these unethical people into office. The politicians retreat to Chappaqua and Martha's Vineyard---communities not affected by immigrant relocation or inner-city school failure.
Voters....think about these golden tongued politicians. Buyer beware!!!
1
This sad and somewhat vacuous opinion perpetuates the false equivalence nonsense that Clinton and Trump are opposite sides of the political coin, each having their "issues".
The reason for worry and anxiety is that Trump, an ignorant unstable boor with a violent temper, represents one half of our entrenched two party system. That is very scary indeed. Anyone not anxious or worried about it is living in a fantasy world.
The reason for worry and anxiety is that Trump, an ignorant unstable boor with a violent temper, represents one half of our entrenched two party system. That is very scary indeed. Anyone not anxious or worried about it is living in a fantasy world.
1
How can the 20% money wing of the Republican Party hope to regain power but to grovel to the Trumo 40 % of the electorate ? There lies the danger and perhaps our future.
I don't see much changing either way the vote ends up unless we get special interests out of politics. And fat chance that'll happen so I see no point wasting time worrying about who heads up our corrupt oligarchy.
1
Way too many people suffering from the epidemic of worry are drinking Trump's Kool-Aid. This is toxic for the country.
This isn't really different from drug pushers getting the clients hooked on drugs.
David, how about not just coming clean about the echo chamber but undoing it?
This isn't really different from drug pushers getting the clients hooked on drugs.
David, how about not just coming clean about the echo chamber but undoing it?
2
Maybe Trump supporters would quit their worrying and self-tortured path if they'd make a reasonable effort to return to the fact-based world.
Right now, they're freaking out like Dark Ages peasants at the prospect of superstition and myth as aroused by their new hero. Indeed these people need a leader.
The Trump Doctrine: A monster beneath every bed and a heretic at every stake. Yes, that's the solution to all your problems, so much easier than searching for the truth.
... And wonder why their problems continue to mount.
Right now, they're freaking out like Dark Ages peasants at the prospect of superstition and myth as aroused by their new hero. Indeed these people need a leader.
The Trump Doctrine: A monster beneath every bed and a heretic at every stake. Yes, that's the solution to all your problems, so much easier than searching for the truth.
... And wonder why their problems continue to mount.
what I fear is that Donald has normalized hate. by the next election, will support for Trump be seen as supporting the Klan, or will it be seen as only voting for Goldwater? it's not enough to say Donald is imperfect. He is impossible and unamerican, and so are all those who support him.
1
I can't believe what started off as a good article got once again turned into a Hillary propaganda piece, slandering the "less educated" Trump voters with that same elite haughtiness that we now expect from NY times op-ed writers. The continued willful ignorance of how corrupt this woman is frightening in this paper. It should be front and back and maybe, just maybe you could concede to reverse the anxiety climate by acknowledging that if the democrats had put up a decent candidate, we wouldn't be in this position of having to choose between the embarrassment of a Trump and a, I don't really even know what to call her anymore given she defies any and all decency and without doubt will go down in history as the biggest joke the American people ever elected, voluntarily and aided by what once was a supposedly objective newspaper.
1
Thank you. Yours is the most trenchant comment. Anyone not worried about Hillary is in for a shock.
1
"she defies any and all decency ..." Do you really believe this? Think about the full implications of what you said. Is Hillary equal to the evil of Hitler or a serial killer, or a child murderer? Is she the equivalent of Satan? Do you even know her personally to make such a serious and sweeping judgement? What is the source of your fear that you fear Clinton so much?
1
I think there is good reason to worry these days. Trump says he may not accept the election results if he loses. Supposed maverick John McCain says he won't accept Clinton's Supreme Court nominee's should she win.
People who aren't at least a little worried should start paying attention.
People who aren't at least a little worried should start paying attention.
6
I am a registered Democrat. I have never voted for a Republican Candidate for President. I have many friends who are Republicans. Although we have different political perspectives, in the past we have been able to respectfully discuss our viewpoints living and participating in a supportive community. No longer. This election has germinated hatred, disrespect and destructive thinking. People are no longer talking to one another. They fire off Twitter feeds with no awareness or concern for who or whom they are harming. Greed and power is rampant. It disgusts me. Despite the economic challenges many people face, we as Americans, we have been given so many opportunities that other humans inhabiting this planet have not had. The American people allowed TRUMP's Vision to cultivate. We embraced it. The responsibility for the damage it is causing and will continue to cause rests on all our shoulders. Every one needs to unplug their mobile devices and spend time with their neighbors. We need to stop treating people as if there truly is an "US" and "THEM". If we ALL don't change our ways, we will likely destroy ourselves and a large part of the world.
7
As always, Mr. Brooks presents a thoughtful, insightful discussion of an important contemporary issue. I respectfully add one thought: but for the creation of right wing talk radio and TV (courtesy of Ronald Reagan ' s elimination of the Fairness Doctrine) we'd likely not be the victims of the creators of this scourge: Limbaugh, Hannity, Drudge, etc.
6
Limbaugh used to claim, with some merit, "I *am* the equal time."
See the so-called Fairness Doctrine for what it was: a rationing scheme for scarce TV time. And yes, when it was promulgated, TV was a scarce resource: Out here in Taswoth*, it meant 3 channels and maybe a UHF that reran "The Three Stooges" and spaghetti Westerns.
Now that you can get dozens of channels over the air, and dozens more from a pay-TV service, TV signal is no longer scarce. Therefore there is no need to ration it.
If you want a government strong enough to ram fairness down LImbaugh's BY GOD throat, you have a tough sell ahead.
*That Area Somewhere West Of The Hudson. Remember, it's not a real place until a New Yorker coins an acronym for it!
See the so-called Fairness Doctrine for what it was: a rationing scheme for scarce TV time. And yes, when it was promulgated, TV was a scarce resource: Out here in Taswoth*, it meant 3 channels and maybe a UHF that reran "The Three Stooges" and spaghetti Westerns.
Now that you can get dozens of channels over the air, and dozens more from a pay-TV service, TV signal is no longer scarce. Therefore there is no need to ration it.
If you want a government strong enough to ram fairness down LImbaugh's BY GOD throat, you have a tough sell ahead.
*That Area Somewhere West Of The Hudson. Remember, it's not a real place until a New Yorker coins an acronym for it!
"This election has also presented members of the educated class with an awful possibility: that their pleasant social strata may rest on unstable molten layers of anger, bigotry and instability. How could this guy Trump get even 40 percent of the votes? America may be not quite the country we thought it was."
Nonsense. Republicans knew exactly what they were doing when they followed Nixon and Saint Ronny, and the rest of the clown show, down the Southern Strategy rat hole. You all played your part, while sipping cocktails, feigning shock at the latest alt right lies.
Own your creation.
Nonsense. Republicans knew exactly what they were doing when they followed Nixon and Saint Ronny, and the rest of the clown show, down the Southern Strategy rat hole. You all played your part, while sipping cocktails, feigning shock at the latest alt right lies.
Own your creation.
10
"It is a well-established fact that people who experience social exclusion have a tendency to slide toward superstitious and conspiratorial thinking. People who feel exploited by, and invisible, to those at the commanding heights of society are not going to worry if their candidate can’t pass a fact-check test. They just want someone who can share their exclusion and give them a better story."
If alienating the public has not been the intention of elite conservatives to procure voter support, then why has the Republican Party embraced the Southern Strategy, exalted the anti-democracy mantra:"Government is not the solution, government is the problem", fetal personhood, climate change denial, xenophobia, and misogyny?
Lying, Trump calls Clinton a liar. Having supported and defended distrust, alienation and suspicion, having terrified the nation over WMD in Iraq, and now ISIS, along with ebola, and austerity David Brooks and his talking head colleagues have done their very best to promote national anxiety and elevated a person who has no self control to represent them.
"Corporations and the wealthy are not the solution, they are the problem" is the mantra of democracy. Democracy is the cure for alienation and anxiety. Belief in the people has always been distrusted by the elite. Republicans rely on alienation, anxiety and distrust to win. While powerful motivations, Trump has crushed the worry with the certainty that it will never be enough to justify his ascent to power.
If alienating the public has not been the intention of elite conservatives to procure voter support, then why has the Republican Party embraced the Southern Strategy, exalted the anti-democracy mantra:"Government is not the solution, government is the problem", fetal personhood, climate change denial, xenophobia, and misogyny?
Lying, Trump calls Clinton a liar. Having supported and defended distrust, alienation and suspicion, having terrified the nation over WMD in Iraq, and now ISIS, along with ebola, and austerity David Brooks and his talking head colleagues have done their very best to promote national anxiety and elevated a person who has no self control to represent them.
"Corporations and the wealthy are not the solution, they are the problem" is the mantra of democracy. Democracy is the cure for alienation and anxiety. Belief in the people has always been distrusted by the elite. Republicans rely on alienation, anxiety and distrust to win. While powerful motivations, Trump has crushed the worry with the certainty that it will never be enough to justify his ascent to power.
1
I just returned to the United States from living in Sweden for three years. I do a lot of reflecting and have a lot of conversations about the differences in the societies, and mostly everything is a series of trade-offs, and a lot of grey, not black-and-white differences. But the thing that has always stood out most to me is the seeming emotional health of Swedish society vs. that of the United States. It seems to me that the anxiety is so much heavier here in the United States. I don't think this election is causing it, it's triggering something that was already there. The causes of rampant worry in U.S. culture are, I'm sure, myriad. I could name a few but in so doing, I'd probably miss a hundred others. In the end, though, when capitalism and materialism are really the only thing we all have in common as Americans, it's going to naturally lead to widespread anxiousness and lack of fulfilment. There is a wonderful movement around compassion, sustainability, mindfulness, and neuroscience that I hope continues, because I believe it holds the key to future generations having it better than we do, not in terms of GDP growth and national defense, but in terms of real happiness, connection, and emotional well-being.
15
Thank you for your very useful comments. One of the saddest things about American mentality is the stubborn refusal to compare ourselves to others around the world. Great benefit can come from doing so. It is my belief that the greater the level of materialism, the greater the unease of the population....generally speaking.
1
People--me--who are scared witless by the prospect of a Trump presidency aren't thinking solely of ourselves, but of our country's future. What would it be like to have a narcissistic gBully at the head of our government? Someone who wants to silence the media and believes judges write laws? Makes me nostalgic for Richard Nixon.
1
There you go again. Just when we think, David, that your soul has been saved from the dark underworld where right-wing columnists ply their craft, you are drawn again to journalistic sin . Merely few weeks before the election, after displaying remarkable honesty about Donald Trump, you are compelled by some nether force to use the incredibly hackneyed false equivalency argument in an attempt to equate the worries about today's political,candidates.
What could be further from the truth? And what could be a weaker premise upon which to base a column when there is so much at stake in this year's election. If you can no longer call a spade a spade, it's time to move on to topics other than politics.
What could be further from the truth? And what could be a weaker premise upon which to base a column when there is so much at stake in this year's election. If you can no longer call a spade a spade, it's time to move on to topics other than politics.
5
Did I miss something here? David Brooks believes that even if Donald Trump wins the election on November 8th governing will soon return? This is Donald Trump we're talking about here. The man can't identify the truth about anything, even if it is in his own best interest. Perhaps the New York Times should give Mr. Brooks paid vacation until after the election. Meanwhile, make certain that those Americans who have any sense left after this debacle of a campaign, hold their nose if necessary and give Hillary their vote.
2
The second big issue is the Senare and House. How can a qualified President govern with the current naysayers?
1
Worry is a normal, healthy, intellectual trait: paranoia is something else.
3
As Raoul Duke opined, "it ain't paranoia if they're really out to get you." Unfortunately the republicans have been acting as domestic terrorists out to subvert our democracy for 30 plus years. Its just impossible to ignore this year. The worry is compounded by the frightening number of citizens/neighbors embracing the suicide bomber. Absent some TRUTH post election, it is hard to envisage reconciliation.
Trump doesn't seem to worry, but he clearly sucks all the positive energy out of any room he enters.
2
An excellent column! I don't remember who said it, but "action is the antidote to worry" is a powerful truth.
3
I have watched the American election and the picture accompanying today's op-ed is the picture that speaks a thousand words. It is the picture that shows the divides in the country that is the richest that ever was and the poverty of spirit that defines the consumer culture.
I look look to history to define the current moment and I look to historical figures to define our present characters. I don't see a Hitler, Churchill or Stalin all I sere is a Peter The Hermit and Donald Trump is frightening indeed.
I look look to history to define the current moment and I look to historical figures to define our present characters. I don't see a Hitler, Churchill or Stalin all I sere is a Peter The Hermit and Donald Trump is frightening indeed.
2
Who knew Alfred E. Neuman should be our next President? David, your column makes that all too clear.
Actually, no, Mr. Brooks, governing will not return. Republicans will continue to obstruct the process for the foreseeable future. That's something to worry about. What action would Mr. Brooks recommend to solve the problem of a political party with no vision of what government at its best can do, no concern for the average American, no compassion, no interest in moving beyond a righteous selfishness to do the work our society desperately needs,, and no interest in seeing a Democratic president accomplish anything? That's a political party to worry about and there's nothing the average American can do except vote them all out of office. That's not going to happen. The reform that would allow the voice of American voters to reach Congress would mean the dismantling of all the gerrymandered districts of the past 30 years. The best action one can take is to wait patiently and pray the country survives long enough for that to happen. In the catalog of possible actions, that one's not very comforting.
@CLSW Bernie Sanders didn't promise "freebies." He promised decent national healthcare and inexpensive or free college education. These, contrary to the editorial page of the Times, are perfectly sustainable, as much of Western Europe has proven. Those aren't pipe dreams. Those are called civilization.
@CLSW Bernie Sanders didn't promise "freebies." He promised decent national healthcare and inexpensive or free college education. These, contrary to the editorial page of the Times, are perfectly sustainable, as much of Western Europe has proven. Those aren't pipe dreams. Those are called civilization.
30
It wasn't the issues I disagreed with. It was the promise. How McConnell would look out his window and see a million students and cave in because he was afraid for his job. (See Sanders with Chris Matthews and the LA Times) Wave a wand and have a revolution. Easy peasy. And let's demonize Hillary in the process, with insinuations and veiled unfounded charges. Because she was unwilling to make the same unrealistic promises. What percentage of votes did Bernie take away, from kids who would go 180 degrees to Johnson since Hillary has been made so unacceptable.
To worry is fundamental to who we are, biologically speaking. Worry allows us to perceive risk and facilitate planning. Like moving to Canada if Trump wins! Fortunately, this no longer seems a likely outcome. However, many of my friends and acquaintances have described their own personal angst to me over this election. It has had a very appreciable negative impact on us, on both sides of the aisle. America is going to have PTSD after this spectacle! For this anxiety I suggest reading this Peter Hessler article in the New Yorker: http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/making-peace-with-trumps-revolut...
He describes Trump rallies as more catharsis than revolution. He gives Trump supporters a familiar face, an American face that is less frightening.
He describes Trump rallies as more catharsis than revolution. He gives Trump supporters a familiar face, an American face that is less frightening.
"If the next president starts enacting a slew of actual policies, then at least we can argue about concrete plans, rather than vague apocalyptic moods." Well, that's a sentence to get the Democrats worrying and anxiety-ridden on 2 grounds.
1. False equivalence: This is a banner day for Republican spin & false equivalence in the Times. Both Brooks (Arthur, who writes with Gail Collins, and David) send us the same message of false equivalence: BOTH Hillary and Trump are essentially the same in their negativity and "apocalyptic moods."
2. If Hillary wins, don't worry, the Republicans will make sure nothing gets done. Hillary's platform is forward looking and progressive, whereas Trump's idea of change is thoroughly negative--to make the rich like himself richer through tax breaks, rely on failed trickle-down Reaganomics, and to deport all 11 million illegal immigrants immediately.
So when Hillary wins, David's sentence above indicates this will be viewed as "apocalyptic' by the Republicans. So no matter how big her win and mandate to get her platform done, the Republicans will obstruct & block to make sure the Democratic agenda is killed.
No addressing climate change; no reforming the tax structure to reduce inequality; no end to Citizens United and campaign finance reform; no bank and consumer reforms; no background checks to buy guns; no equal pay for equal work for women; no control over drug pricing, mergers and monopolies, etc. Hooray! GOP Mission Accomplished!
1. False equivalence: This is a banner day for Republican spin & false equivalence in the Times. Both Brooks (Arthur, who writes with Gail Collins, and David) send us the same message of false equivalence: BOTH Hillary and Trump are essentially the same in their negativity and "apocalyptic moods."
2. If Hillary wins, don't worry, the Republicans will make sure nothing gets done. Hillary's platform is forward looking and progressive, whereas Trump's idea of change is thoroughly negative--to make the rich like himself richer through tax breaks, rely on failed trickle-down Reaganomics, and to deport all 11 million illegal immigrants immediately.
So when Hillary wins, David's sentence above indicates this will be viewed as "apocalyptic' by the Republicans. So no matter how big her win and mandate to get her platform done, the Republicans will obstruct & block to make sure the Democratic agenda is killed.
No addressing climate change; no reforming the tax structure to reduce inequality; no end to Citizens United and campaign finance reform; no bank and consumer reforms; no background checks to buy guns; no equal pay for equal work for women; no control over drug pricing, mergers and monopolies, etc. Hooray! GOP Mission Accomplished!
1
What a cogent, reflective article. This is the essence of why I read your column, David, although I sometimes feel you've missed the mark.
David writes: "This campaign will soon be over, and governing, thank God, will soon return." Let's hope so. I WORRY Republicans in Congress will take a page from Mitch McConnell's playbook and spend the next four years ensuring inaction--just the opposite of what David rightly says is one antidote to worry.
1
Does Mr. Brooks secretly (or not so secretly) wish he had chosen the career path of a research psychologist? This is not meant as a negative comment - he seems to routinely approach his subject matter from a distinctly psychological perspective. Often admirably accurately so (yes I am a clinical psychologist). Just goes to show self-education is often more fruitful than an expensive Ivy league education.
What Me Worry? Thank you Alfred E. Newman! Now get off your duff, and get productive, especially you obstructing Republicans who have made an Art of whining & complaining and doing NO work for the good of our country. Soon people will realize who the loafers really are, and they will vote you out of office.
1
Worrying is a bad thing?
Oh, honey, tell that to Mister Bush, who wrote it into public policy - creating the Ministry of Fear (a/k/a Department of Homeland Security), which then proceeded to color-code worry and sell it to us like Lifesavers. (Today's fear level is Tangerine. Tomorrow's may be Lemon. Or Cherry.)
No more, please, of this navel gazing. Mr. Brooks. Either come out for Clinton or defend your Trump.
And yes, he is your Trump.
Now there's something to worry about.
Oh, honey, tell that to Mister Bush, who wrote it into public policy - creating the Ministry of Fear (a/k/a Department of Homeland Security), which then proceeded to color-code worry and sell it to us like Lifesavers. (Today's fear level is Tangerine. Tomorrow's may be Lemon. Or Cherry.)
No more, please, of this navel gazing. Mr. Brooks. Either come out for Clinton or defend your Trump.
And yes, he is your Trump.
Now there's something to worry about.
4
We worry because we have something to worry about in this election and because we are beginning to lose our faith in human nature.
When enough people are teetering on the brink of a personal abyss they need the support of others as individuals and as a society to help them regain their footing. Only Democrats hold out that kind hope.
Republicans are hyping fear and loathing and offer nothing but an every man for himself approach to government and the 'Devil take the hindmost.' Donald Trump even holds out the prospect of a very spectacular public revenge on all who have opposed him that should be vicariously satisfying to his ill-informed followers.
I'm still hopeful that most people will recognize the difference.
When enough people are teetering on the brink of a personal abyss they need the support of others as individuals and as a society to help them regain their footing. Only Democrats hold out that kind hope.
Republicans are hyping fear and loathing and offer nothing but an every man for himself approach to government and the 'Devil take the hindmost.' Donald Trump even holds out the prospect of a very spectacular public revenge on all who have opposed him that should be vicariously satisfying to his ill-informed followers.
I'm still hopeful that most people will recognize the difference.
3
David has skillfully uncovered the politics and use of fear as base level weapon of choice. Rather than inform and project new ideas infused with a benevolent and detailed vision, a large and growing Presidential pot hole has been revealed with those working hard below ground to create and enlarge it into a true societal sink hole. It is complete with a gravitational collapse ratio meant to signal greater alarm and thus ensure that it continues to expand and engulf.
Fear is the operative Fascist principle that has proven successful repeatedly and now it has found a home in America, no longer the home of the free or perhaps even the brave. With two deeply flawed candidates, both able to deploy the hammer of fear and doubt, the public runs to the shrink rather than merely shrink the two culprits whom are running. This is an opportunity to vote and select none of the above. This takes a little courage, but will settle the nerves.
Fear is the operative Fascist principle that has proven successful repeatedly and now it has found a home in America, no longer the home of the free or perhaps even the brave. With two deeply flawed candidates, both able to deploy the hammer of fear and doubt, the public runs to the shrink rather than merely shrink the two culprits whom are running. This is an opportunity to vote and select none of the above. This takes a little courage, but will settle the nerves.
1
A few months ago, I thought the only thing that could destroy Trump's base of support were charges of murder, rape or incest. Instead, the sexual predator revelation was enough to catapult his apparent downfall- that and his candid portrayal of himself in the debates. But if I am right, what does this say about the 40% of Americans who supported him- and still largely support him- though cracks are showing and independents are swinging away from him.
Personally, I believe it speaks poorly of a large number of Americans. It is a reminder that that Trump's supporters are a significant force in American politics. That even the most well meaning and talented of politicians- at any level of government- can not turn a blind eye to them and expect to be effective or depending on locality- elected. This should be a cautionary note to the Left- that if there is to be political change- real change- it must be from the ground up.
Accountability is a bad word in American society. I see this painfully at my work and I see it at play in every endeavor. For some, the concept is truly alien. "I was just mistaken- time to move on." But accountability is more. For to be accountable there must be self reproach. Pain should inspire reflection. This is the only way mistakes are not repeated. Sadly- this is not how the world runs and most people function.
Personally, I believe it speaks poorly of a large number of Americans. It is a reminder that that Trump's supporters are a significant force in American politics. That even the most well meaning and talented of politicians- at any level of government- can not turn a blind eye to them and expect to be effective or depending on locality- elected. This should be a cautionary note to the Left- that if there is to be political change- real change- it must be from the ground up.
Accountability is a bad word in American society. I see this painfully at my work and I see it at play in every endeavor. For some, the concept is truly alien. "I was just mistaken- time to move on." But accountability is more. For to be accountable there must be self reproach. Pain should inspire reflection. This is the only way mistakes are not repeated. Sadly- this is not how the world runs and most people function.
2
I appreciate Mr. Brooks point of view, but I fear he is being an optimist. The US hasn't seen any real governing in years. Why should we expect after the election? Instead of "thank God", the expression should be "God willing".
If you were the least bit in touch with the people of this country you would not have to wonder about why they have suffered from long term anxiety.
They have not had a raise in decades and are actually making less in real dollars than they did 20 years ago and they went through the real estate collapse and if they didn't actually lose their homes they feared for years that they might and watched as neighbor after neighbor did and even if they had worked for decades for a company that "made" their town they didn't know if they would be laid off or not or even if any day they would walk into work and the company would announce they were leaving for Mexico and god forbid they or their spouse or kids ever got sick all that time they had no insurance and even now with the big deductibles and please don't let that old car break down or that tooth start to hurt or the daughters pregnancy go anyway but smooth.
Try living like that for YEARS, DECADES and see if you don't develop chronic anxiety.
Money can't buy happiness, but it sure keeps you from having to worry about a whole lot of important things. I'll bet any one of the people in the photo would trade their worries for having to worry about "missing out and the dizziness of freedom" and having so much money they are "plagued by an excess of choices".
Cold David, cold.
They have not had a raise in decades and are actually making less in real dollars than they did 20 years ago and they went through the real estate collapse and if they didn't actually lose their homes they feared for years that they might and watched as neighbor after neighbor did and even if they had worked for decades for a company that "made" their town they didn't know if they would be laid off or not or even if any day they would walk into work and the company would announce they were leaving for Mexico and god forbid they or their spouse or kids ever got sick all that time they had no insurance and even now with the big deductibles and please don't let that old car break down or that tooth start to hurt or the daughters pregnancy go anyway but smooth.
Try living like that for YEARS, DECADES and see if you don't develop chronic anxiety.
Money can't buy happiness, but it sure keeps you from having to worry about a whole lot of important things. I'll bet any one of the people in the photo would trade their worries for having to worry about "missing out and the dizziness of freedom" and having so much money they are "plagued by an excess of choices".
Cold David, cold.
8
This one is really good. I'm surprised there aren't more "recommends."
1
This is a good time to go on a two-week vacation in a remote foreign location, I feel.
1
Paragraph 7 reminds me of these lyrics from John Prine's "Souvenirs:" "Broken hearts and dirty windows / Make life difficult to see / That's why last night and this morning / Always look the same to me."
Why do I note this? Because Johnny Prine deserves every shout-out we have the opportunity to give.
Why do I note this? Because Johnny Prine deserves every shout-out we have the opportunity to give.
1
I could easily adopt a George W. Bush "what me, worry? attitude. My wife and I are long retired, healthy, living a comfortable existence. But that's not us.
We both abhor Trump, we are aware of this guy's decades-long nefarious business practices, let there be no doubt, Trump is one all-around nasty man.
But how would Trump's election hurt us specifically? Other than the possibility, however slim, of starting a thermonuclear war, Trump should have little effect on us, except for deep embarrassment. According to Trump, should he reduce taxes paid by the upper class even more than they are, it could be a godsend to us.
But that is the problem with Trump. People like us do not need more tax cuts. Our lives have been blessed. We love this country, and the rewards it has brought us, but we honestly believe that this country does not need more trickle-down economics. Reagan was wrong, it is Voodoo Economics.
We have been ardent Hillary supporters since 2000. We are more liberal than Hillary, thus we deeply support progressives like Senators Sanders and Warren. We hope they keep Hillary's feet to the fire. What this country needs is not a good 5 cents cigar, it needs the working poor, the middle class, to be able to advance above their station, to make a minimum living wage, to have universal health care, to have affordable if not free education. We are the greatest country in history. How about we start acting that way.
DD
Manhattan
We both abhor Trump, we are aware of this guy's decades-long nefarious business practices, let there be no doubt, Trump is one all-around nasty man.
But how would Trump's election hurt us specifically? Other than the possibility, however slim, of starting a thermonuclear war, Trump should have little effect on us, except for deep embarrassment. According to Trump, should he reduce taxes paid by the upper class even more than they are, it could be a godsend to us.
But that is the problem with Trump. People like us do not need more tax cuts. Our lives have been blessed. We love this country, and the rewards it has brought us, but we honestly believe that this country does not need more trickle-down economics. Reagan was wrong, it is Voodoo Economics.
We have been ardent Hillary supporters since 2000. We are more liberal than Hillary, thus we deeply support progressives like Senators Sanders and Warren. We hope they keep Hillary's feet to the fire. What this country needs is not a good 5 cents cigar, it needs the working poor, the middle class, to be able to advance above their station, to make a minimum living wage, to have universal health care, to have affordable if not free education. We are the greatest country in history. How about we start acting that way.
DD
Manhattan
434
And what, exactly, is "trickle up" economics? How many poor people do you know who have created even one job? Business, particularly small business, is the engine of innovation and growth in every free economy. We've seen fewer and fewer small businesses created in the U.S. for each of the past 8 years. We will never regain our status as the "greatest country in history" until we remove the tax and regulatory shackles placed on small and mid sized businesses. NONE of the advancements you mention for the middle and working classes can be provided by government, because government doesn't produce anything. They can only be "provided" by government AFTER being produced and paid for by private enterprise. Instead, we continue to borrow $ trillions and fund the debt with printed money. Wake up America, before 8 years of HRC (Obama part deux) puts you in an economic funk from which there will be no recovery.
1
Well written. especially the fourth paragraph. Thank you.
It is past time for us to appreciate what this country has done for us, and to share the blessings.
It is past time for us to appreciate what this country has done for us, and to share the blessings.
2
Colorado has an all paper ballot sent out to registered voters.My husband and I have already voted and dropped the ballots at the courthouse. I was given a sticker that says "I Voted"with a nice US flag.
We are trying not to watch TV..except for PBS and streaming movies from Netflix until Nov.9 when a winner is declared.
If Trump gets elected we are considering Vancouver,Canada.
We are trying not to watch TV..except for PBS and streaming movies from Netflix until Nov.9 when a winner is declared.
If Trump gets elected we are considering Vancouver,Canada.
2
Aside from the contents, this is yet another opinion drawing an equivalence between the two candidates. Is Clinton wrong to point to Trump's utter incompetence, bad character, and insufferable personality?
"America may be not quite the country we thought it was."
Amen.
Amen.
David, the increase in anxiety in the nation is a direct consequence of our becoming a dependent nation.
Many citizens, who were formerly self reliant, now sit around hoping that the government will pay their tuition, increase their food stamp allowance, find them a rent controlled apartment, forgive their taxes, provide them with free transportation, etc.
By not having any hand in procuring those things, but by relying on outside forces they feel powerless and anxious.
Not until we as a nation return to self reliance and hard work will the anxiety level decrease.
The coming election does not bode well for that.
Many citizens, who were formerly self reliant, now sit around hoping that the government will pay their tuition, increase their food stamp allowance, find them a rent controlled apartment, forgive their taxes, provide them with free transportation, etc.
By not having any hand in procuring those things, but by relying on outside forces they feel powerless and anxious.
Not until we as a nation return to self reliance and hard work will the anxiety level decrease.
The coming election does not bode well for that.
2
You could not be more wrong. Please read "The Nordic Theory of Everything".
1
If you have anxiety about having anxiety then, perhaps, this article isn't for you...
2
Now, without hesitation, Black parents can tell their son, he too can be president if he chooses. Soon, white parents can tell their daughters, she too can be president if she chooses. Time will come, not soon, but it will come, when Black women, Hispanic men and women may consider the supreme challenge of placing themselves to the test of running for this nations highest office.
For many this possibility is enough to frighten the be-jesus out of them.
For many this possibility is enough to frighten the be-jesus out of them.
2
Americans have become the most fearful people on the Earth. As a group, we are afraid of our own shadow.
I wonder why it has taken so long to perk up to the national election stage.
It seems that every year I get the weekly email from my local police precinct just before Halloween. Although, it is written by different Police Captains, it always lists a bunch of items to "keep your kids safe on Halloween".
The problem is that the list places the same emphasis on a bunch of supposed risks. My favorite advise is to sort through all the candy before the kids are allowed to eat it.
I spent a lot of time running down the myth, and as far as I have been able to tell it is a myth, that children have been poisoned or hurt by someone giving out bad candy or food on Halloween.
If anyone out there knows of a substantiated case, please tell me!
If Americans can change their behavior on such a simple matter as Halloween over the last 30 years, based on nothing more than Urban Myth, then there is not an Epidemic of Worry. It has become a permanent state of mind.
Your kids are more likely to get hit by lightening that be poisoned by tainted candy or get picked up by a stranger on Halloween cutting down a back alley. The single most important threat to your kids on Halloween is they getting hit by a car crossing the street.
We now are taking that same Halloween fear for our kids to the National Stage. No worries David? Worry is now the constant state of the American mind.
I wonder why it has taken so long to perk up to the national election stage.
It seems that every year I get the weekly email from my local police precinct just before Halloween. Although, it is written by different Police Captains, it always lists a bunch of items to "keep your kids safe on Halloween".
The problem is that the list places the same emphasis on a bunch of supposed risks. My favorite advise is to sort through all the candy before the kids are allowed to eat it.
I spent a lot of time running down the myth, and as far as I have been able to tell it is a myth, that children have been poisoned or hurt by someone giving out bad candy or food on Halloween.
If anyone out there knows of a substantiated case, please tell me!
If Americans can change their behavior on such a simple matter as Halloween over the last 30 years, based on nothing more than Urban Myth, then there is not an Epidemic of Worry. It has become a permanent state of mind.
Your kids are more likely to get hit by lightening that be poisoned by tainted candy or get picked up by a stranger on Halloween cutting down a back alley. The single most important threat to your kids on Halloween is they getting hit by a car crossing the street.
We now are taking that same Halloween fear for our kids to the National Stage. No worries David? Worry is now the constant state of the American mind.
2
As my grandmother used to say: "Worry is like a rocking chair: it gives you something to do, but gets you no place."
3
Trump supporters can blame the "establishment" all they want, and certainly it is sad that jobs disappeared. But really, they have themselves to blame by being duped into voting against their own interests time and time again because they are drawn to the rhetoric of hatred and fear. We know what has motivated them. Guns, racism, hatred of government but loving their Social Security. Ignorance. A warped vision of religion which values the life of a fetus until it is born. Easily accepting blaming other poor, while letting off the hook the people like Trump who have exploited them, taking their labor for their own enrichment.
I watched a percentage of well meaning "Progressives" who never heard the term until a year ago, and with no idea of how the branches of government work, being duped by a demagogue of the left with his slogans and phony promises of freebies, and the right, spouting many of the same populist ideas but with a dark heart. All shallow and unrealistic. A sad comment indeed of my fellow Americans. Definitely time for anxiety.
I watched a percentage of well meaning "Progressives" who never heard the term until a year ago, and with no idea of how the branches of government work, being duped by a demagogue of the left with his slogans and phony promises of freebies, and the right, spouting many of the same populist ideas but with a dark heart. All shallow and unrealistic. A sad comment indeed of my fellow Americans. Definitely time for anxiety.
3
@CLSW Bernie Sanders didn't promise "freebies." He promised decent national healthcare and inexpensive or free college education. These, contrary to your view and contrary to the editorial page of the Times, are perfectly sustainable, as much of Western Europe has proven. Those aren't pipe dreams. Those are called civilization.
What this election has taught me is that my existence here on the urban East Coast is being portrayed in a way that is absolutely and totally false. I don't recognize the country that these republicans are talking about. I know the economy is not the same in other places as it is here, but things are pretty good here. Yet I keep being told how awful it is to live in a city by people who don't know what they are talking about.
2
Hillary Clinton: Bad driver.
Donald Trump: Drunk driver.
That's why people have anxiety.
Donald Trump: Drunk driver.
That's why people have anxiety.
1
I generally like David Brooks' efforts to find some firm moral ground in an anything goes world, and even grasping for a silver lining in our current Trugedy. But anxiety is no excuse for a mob turning on vulnerable people.
On every sinking ship there is someone who stands up and yells "why should the children be saved and not us?" How you respond to that call does matter.
On every sinking ship there is someone who stands up and yells "why should the children be saved and not us?" How you respond to that call does matter.
3
"...governing, thank God, will soon return."
That is precisely what many Americans assumed would occur with the election of Barack Obama in 2008. Instead, what we got was eight years of gridlock and a continuation of the same problems we had endured during the Bush regime with foreign wars and rule by the banks. Thus, Americans have had sixteen years of deeply flawed government marked by constant warfare, the threat of terrorism and an economy that has at best stagnated. The internet and alternative media are overflowing with rumors of war and economic collapse on the horizon. It adds insult to injury to accuse those of us are worried of spiraling into our own narcissistic pools. If I were you, David, I would look more closely at the narcissism surrounding the country club pools of the one percent.
That is precisely what many Americans assumed would occur with the election of Barack Obama in 2008. Instead, what we got was eight years of gridlock and a continuation of the same problems we had endured during the Bush regime with foreign wars and rule by the banks. Thus, Americans have had sixteen years of deeply flawed government marked by constant warfare, the threat of terrorism and an economy that has at best stagnated. The internet and alternative media are overflowing with rumors of war and economic collapse on the horizon. It adds insult to injury to accuse those of us are worried of spiraling into our own narcissistic pools. If I were you, David, I would look more closely at the narcissism surrounding the country club pools of the one percent.
3
The last Republican president with any integrity was Lincoln. The Republican Party is dangerous to the majority of Americans who want a decent standard of living. That has definitely been worrisome. Trumps is worrisome. His supporters are horrifying. But I think most of us are more hopeful than worried and that is a very bad sign for the GOP. Hope is bad for Republicans. The GOP has always always relied on greed, hate and fear. Always. Come on Mr Brooks, you too play the ain't-it-awful, we're so bad, so scared, so WORRIED propaganda. No we aren't. We're not worried. Not any more. We're electing Democrats who represent the best interests of the majority of the people. President Obama's popularity continues to soar for good reason. The only way the GOP can survive now is to restrict voting access. That is pretty sorry and is bound to fail. We're not worried. Nope. You're pop-phycology book reviews are slightly entertaining and mostly irrelevant. Thank God.
2
Lincoln would be mighty amused that his party of progressives would turn to the "Southern Strategy" as a way of dividing and conquering the USA.
"This election has also presented members of the educated class with an awful possibility: that their pleasant social strata may rest on unstable molten layers of anger, bigotry and instability."
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and presume that you witnessed this startling revelation before Trump came along.
You have hit on why the GOP "elites" are so concerned about Trump, however.
Trump is an open channel to that 40%, he has made them feel that for the first time they are real stakeholders in your party, that they "count".
Before Trump crashed your party, you were able to successfully humor them with racial dog whistling and belly rubs, brothers in arms against the scourges of gay marriage and Planned Parenthood funding.
But they finally got wise to your game, and went for the guy with the bullhorn instead of the whistle and half hearted, unfulfilled promises.
In the world before Trump, money could always insulate and keep you safe from those fault lines, those "unstable societal layers". But this guy is different, he can't be controlled and is threatening to bring down the temple on your heads.
That's why you're worried, not out of some altruistic sense of moral outrage, but simply because you know that the 40% that he's now weaponized can't be controlled.
In a completely vain effort to win the election at all costs, he's pushed the GOP self destruct button without permission.
It had to happen some time.
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and presume that you witnessed this startling revelation before Trump came along.
You have hit on why the GOP "elites" are so concerned about Trump, however.
Trump is an open channel to that 40%, he has made them feel that for the first time they are real stakeholders in your party, that they "count".
Before Trump crashed your party, you were able to successfully humor them with racial dog whistling and belly rubs, brothers in arms against the scourges of gay marriage and Planned Parenthood funding.
But they finally got wise to your game, and went for the guy with the bullhorn instead of the whistle and half hearted, unfulfilled promises.
In the world before Trump, money could always insulate and keep you safe from those fault lines, those "unstable societal layers". But this guy is different, he can't be controlled and is threatening to bring down the temple on your heads.
That's why you're worried, not out of some altruistic sense of moral outrage, but simply because you know that the 40% that he's now weaponized can't be controlled.
In a completely vain effort to win the election at all costs, he's pushed the GOP self destruct button without permission.
It had to happen some time.
4
Be careful calling out somebody else's narcissism. Your own is usually very near, hiding where you can't see it.
1
The affluent people of your party that I know aren't anxious because of the "dizziness of freedom". They are anxious because they watch Fox News 24/7 and listen to Rush Limbaugh as they are being ferried from their third home to the country club. For years, Fox and Rush have been brainwashing them to be very, very afraid.
What are they afraid of? That someone might get a dime of their money...that they might have to help pay for the public education of other people's children (theirs went to private schools, of course)...that the guys who work on the roads in front of their estates might get a raise...that they might get stuck with the tab for a free lunch for a kid in Bridgeport or have their tax dollars help a poor woman with breast cancer get expensive treatment.
The anxiety I see is that of a hoarder: that they might have to part with even one of their thousands of stockpiled treasures in the name of the greater good (which Fox has convinced them is the greater bad).
The GOP has been peddling Ayn Randian selfishness for 30 years now, and it has metastasized to the point that white nationalism, bigotry, misogyny, government and media distrust and even anarchy have come to the fore with Donald Trump. The Lee Atwater/Karl Rove/Southern Strategy playbook was always going to end badly. But who could have predicted it would be this bad?
What are they afraid of? That someone might get a dime of their money...that they might have to help pay for the public education of other people's children (theirs went to private schools, of course)...that the guys who work on the roads in front of their estates might get a raise...that they might get stuck with the tab for a free lunch for a kid in Bridgeport or have their tax dollars help a poor woman with breast cancer get expensive treatment.
The anxiety I see is that of a hoarder: that they might have to part with even one of their thousands of stockpiled treasures in the name of the greater good (which Fox has convinced them is the greater bad).
The GOP has been peddling Ayn Randian selfishness for 30 years now, and it has metastasized to the point that white nationalism, bigotry, misogyny, government and media distrust and even anarchy have come to the fore with Donald Trump. The Lee Atwater/Karl Rove/Southern Strategy playbook was always going to end badly. But who could have predicted it would be this bad?
506
Thank you.
Any Randian, yes, but in place of "selfishness" I would put some kind of mental illness. Too want everything for you and yours, at the expense of others and society, is very ill indeed.
Ayn Rand was not a selfish woman and believed in a social welfare system to help the least fortunate.
Modern 'conservatives' have little to nothing to do with Ayn Rand's vision.
Trump would be the arch-villain James Taggart in Atlas Shrugged.
Modern 'conservatives' have little to nothing to do with Ayn Rand's vision.
Trump would be the arch-villain James Taggart in Atlas Shrugged.
Once again Brooks creates false equivalencies between Trump & Clinton, their campaigns, and their ethics. Those white "worried" Trump fans in the picture will find out soon enough the joke's on them. Worried indeed!
2
From my view, the GOP sure look like seditionists.
4
On Fox News today the subject is voter fraud. It was voter fraud yesterday, too, and the day before that. The fact is that voter fraud is almost nonexistent, but you won't learn facts on Fox News. The worries of the Republican electorate -- about voter fraud, Mexican rapists, ISIS terrorists, etc etc -- do not arise naturally, they are the product of Republican party propaganda. Fox News was conceived of by Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch as news for Republicans, and it has delivered in spades. Fox News anchors and guests hammer on falsehoods and worry so relentlessly that its Republican viewers are convinced that unless Hillary Clinton is in jail and Democrats are defeated doomsday will come. No wonder the white death rate is rising; one hour of Fox News and Republican blood pressure is through the roof.
Stop these false assassinations of American character, Mr. Brooks. Shake off your blinders. Turn your attention to the Fox News media machine that produced this worried, angry electorate.
Stop these false assassinations of American character, Mr. Brooks. Shake off your blinders. Turn your attention to the Fox News media machine that produced this worried, angry electorate.
2
I live and work in Vermont, that liberal, left-leaning, hippie-haven, we-tried-to-enact-single-payer-health-care, we-will have-90%-renewable-energy-by-2050 quixotic state in New England that was reliably Republican until the 70s. I drive around Rutland County/Addison County in the Champlain Valley and all I see are Trump Pence yard signs. I have an employee who matches exactly what you write/describe here and he is a sad and very angry person. I can feel it in him anytime we talk. He is voting for Trump.
3
Sure David, a slew of new policy proposals from a new president that nobody likes or trusts ( while Obamacare is melting done ) may be just the tonic we need.
The poisonous propaganda of the seditious Rush Limbaugh and the other fascist radio hosts of America has destroyed the brains and souls of a majority of white men in this country who, unlike their more self-disciplined and diligent forebears, have become too lazy and soft to learn and think on their own.
2
Mr. Brooks, if you want want to relieve anxiety, tell your party to stop using it as a weapon. Get to work on governing.
4
"Of course, there are good and bad forms of anxiety — the kind that warns you about legitimate dangers and the kind that spirals into dark and self-destructive thoughts."
exactly! why doesn't trump get counseling??
exactly! why doesn't trump get counseling??
Q: "How could this guy Trump get even 40 percent of the votes?"
A: I can't believe the question is even asked. It's because of the "worry," as David Brooks characterizes it, that has been poured down America's throat for 8 years not just by conservative talk radio, but -- shockingly -- by the Republican Party's own top brass. Senator Mitch McConnell's signature proclamation -- to make Obama a one-term president -- and his party's coordinated obstructionism of President Obama for 8 years are clearly the sources of Trump's popularity. I resent these continued essays that attempt to co-equalize Republican and Democratic political strategies. "Anxiety is coursing through American society" because Republicans are mainlining it for us.
The Upshot: McConnell gets not just one Obama term but three and maybe four.
The only sliver lining, for Republicans, to the dark cloud of worry and anxiety with which they sought to cover America: their history-making strategic mistakes have been occluded by the big personality of Trump. That's all Trump can do for them now - pull the focus away from their party's wreckage.
A: I can't believe the question is even asked. It's because of the "worry," as David Brooks characterizes it, that has been poured down America's throat for 8 years not just by conservative talk radio, but -- shockingly -- by the Republican Party's own top brass. Senator Mitch McConnell's signature proclamation -- to make Obama a one-term president -- and his party's coordinated obstructionism of President Obama for 8 years are clearly the sources of Trump's popularity. I resent these continued essays that attempt to co-equalize Republican and Democratic political strategies. "Anxiety is coursing through American society" because Republicans are mainlining it for us.
The Upshot: McConnell gets not just one Obama term but three and maybe four.
The only sliver lining, for Republicans, to the dark cloud of worry and anxiety with which they sought to cover America: their history-making strategic mistakes have been occluded by the big personality of Trump. That's all Trump can do for them now - pull the focus away from their party's wreckage.
3
"Among the less educated, anxiety flows from and inflames a growing sense that the structures of society are built for the exploitation of people like themselves. Everything is rigged; the rulers are malevolent and corrupt."
By any measure, I am "educated": I have a Ph.D. from a top university and teach at an Ivy League school. And one thing I've learned is that the structures of society ARE built for the exploitation of people - this doesn't mean that "everything" is rigged, but to not be aware of this is sheer ignorance. You'd have to be part of the group benefiting from the labor of others, I think, and willfully blind, to not realize it. I mean, this country was founded on the stealing of land. We had slavery. The CIA keeps various dictators in power to fulfill our global agenda. We manipulate countries to take their oil. We now have the Dakota pipeline. Wells Fargo abuses its lower wage workers so the higher ups can make huge bonuses. The credit card companies and universities put people in a spiral of debt to reap huge profits. And on and on and on. David Brooks, sir, are you blind? It is education that taught me these things; those who do not realize all this are surely the less educated.
By any measure, I am "educated": I have a Ph.D. from a top university and teach at an Ivy League school. And one thing I've learned is that the structures of society ARE built for the exploitation of people - this doesn't mean that "everything" is rigged, but to not be aware of this is sheer ignorance. You'd have to be part of the group benefiting from the labor of others, I think, and willfully blind, to not realize it. I mean, this country was founded on the stealing of land. We had slavery. The CIA keeps various dictators in power to fulfill our global agenda. We manipulate countries to take their oil. We now have the Dakota pipeline. Wells Fargo abuses its lower wage workers so the higher ups can make huge bonuses. The credit card companies and universities put people in a spiral of debt to reap huge profits. And on and on and on. David Brooks, sir, are you blind? It is education that taught me these things; those who do not realize all this are surely the less educated.
4
And to me, the issues you raise are not partisan. People who do not see this are closing their eyes to a very dangerous time in American history.
I think worrying (i.e. being concerned) over the demise of America as served up by a fact-challenged right-wing media is both wrong and silly. Worrying about those who do so worry is not. Unfortunately, the end of the current political campaign won't remedy the problem (hey, I live in Texas). Worry, worry, worry,....
Another column where Mr. Brooks shows the beauty of what can be done with the English language. It brought to mind this quote from Lord Tennyson that Dale Carnegie liked to cite: "I must lose myself in action, lest I wither in despair."
We have never had the majority of news sources clearly agitating for one party. Throughout American history, we have had a plurality in effect, but once nearly all journalism schools went socialist during the Vietnam era, the media in America seized - intentionally - the power to keep people upset.
Ironically, there is now a solidly viable reason for this wonderful president the media found for us in 2007 to finish out his life in prison. Over half a billion dollars' worth of fines paid by financial institutions have been diverted from the Treasury to political groups aligned with this administration.
With a non-progressive in the White House, a special prosecutor can convene a grand jury and get Barack fitted out for his jumpsuits in weeks.
The chance of Hillary enforcing this law equal the odds that a snowball hurled at the sun would pass through the solar corona intact.
Ironically, there is now a solidly viable reason for this wonderful president the media found for us in 2007 to finish out his life in prison. Over half a billion dollars' worth of fines paid by financial institutions have been diverted from the Treasury to political groups aligned with this administration.
With a non-progressive in the White House, a special prosecutor can convene a grand jury and get Barack fitted out for his jumpsuits in weeks.
The chance of Hillary enforcing this law equal the odds that a snowball hurled at the sun would pass through the solar corona intact.
Please, turn of the TV and radio and wean yourself from the internet. Volunteer, go for a walk, read a book of fiction (not nonsense), plant a tree, collect some shells or autumn leaves or interesting rocks. Do something, anything to get it out of your head that this President (who one might legitimately find fault with as he is after all, just a human being) has done ANYTHING worthy of going to prison.
Fines are supposed to be paid directly into the Treasury. Diverting these amounts to any other purpose is a felony.
Oh, and he'll lose his law license, too.
Oh, and he'll lose his law license, too.
Good news: most headaches are not strokes.
Bad news: If you are worried about the Donald becoming president and at best destroying the economy and destroying the planet and at worst starting a nuclear holocaust, be afraid, be very afraid.
Bad news: If you are worried about the Donald becoming president and at best destroying the economy and destroying the planet and at worst starting a nuclear holocaust, be afraid, be very afraid.
3
Thank you, Mr. Brooks, for a very insightful and necessary column just before this election that has caused so much worry, fear, anxiety, and acid reflux. I will be so happy when November 9 rolls around because then there will be peace in our household which has been split for almost a year-and-a-half between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Come the Wednesday after the election, peace will return to our home and our marriage.
To paraphrase the paranoid, if you're not worrying, perhaps you're not paying attention.
Brooks's remarks regarding worriers is overstated. Worriers have their place in every organization, family or group of friends. They warn the more robust among us to step back and better evaluate risks. They are not self absorbed. Rather, they are concerned more for the community's well being rather than their own comfort.
I thank my mother, a confirmed and wonderful worrier, every day. Mr. Brooks obviously has more issues with his! Why does he need to put worriers down?
Brooks's remarks regarding worriers is overstated. Worriers have their place in every organization, family or group of friends. They warn the more robust among us to step back and better evaluate risks. They are not self absorbed. Rather, they are concerned more for the community's well being rather than their own comfort.
I thank my mother, a confirmed and wonderful worrier, every day. Mr. Brooks obviously has more issues with his! Why does he need to put worriers down?
2
I'm sorry, but I fear you offer false hope Mr. Brooks. You are right, governing is what we need, but I'm afraid the election will not be followed by governing - if actually get something done is what you mean by governing. The party of non-governing will still control the house and they will do their best to ensure nothing gets done. More gridlock is what will follow the election, with a flood of venom and misogyny with the expressed purpose of totally destroying President Clinton's already damaged reputation and any chance of her accomplishing anything.
They say most civil wars end in one of two ways - either one side is defeated and the opposition is vanquished or both sides just become exhausted and quit fighting. Hopefully, it is the latter and not the former. But that means we still have a ways to go.
They say most civil wars end in one of two ways - either one side is defeated and the opposition is vanquished or both sides just become exhausted and quit fighting. Hopefully, it is the latter and not the former. But that means we still have a ways to go.
2
I am far to the left of Brooks, but criticism leveled at him week in and week out seems more like a nervous tick of some commenting here, than any actual engagement. I'm kinda tired of it. Yes, the Republicans are responsible, but yes, the Democrats have done enough footsie-playing with Wall Street to breed cynicism all by themselves.
Compare 2016 to 2008, yes, Obama had detractors at the outset but almost nobody, even his opponents, failed to see some form of triumph in his election. Thousands of hopeful people gathered in Chicago and in other places around the country -- there were no reports of hostile actions that night, were there? So, yes, there is a different sort of despair at loose, and yes, David's right -- Hillary better be ready to pivot and act decisively and clearly on day one. If she's opposed by an intransigent Congress, so be it. She'll have everyone's attention, and the entire world will be watching. She better act fast, and she better act well.
Compare 2016 to 2008, yes, Obama had detractors at the outset but almost nobody, even his opponents, failed to see some form of triumph in his election. Thousands of hopeful people gathered in Chicago and in other places around the country -- there were no reports of hostile actions that night, were there? So, yes, there is a different sort of despair at loose, and yes, David's right -- Hillary better be ready to pivot and act decisively and clearly on day one. If she's opposed by an intransigent Congress, so be it. She'll have everyone's attention, and the entire world will be watching. She better act fast, and she better act well.
3
"Some of the anti-Trump demonstrators seem more interested in violence than politics."
What the?!?
Examples please. Facts please.
Your bi-weekly attempt to equivocate the Democrats with the Republicans is getting absurd.
Mr. Brooks, I worry about you.
What the?!?
Examples please. Facts please.
Your bi-weekly attempt to equivocate the Democrats with the Republicans is getting absurd.
Mr. Brooks, I worry about you.
5
The fish rots from the head. If our leaders traffic in fear-mongering, then what do you expect from those they lead?
63
I'm confused. Our leaders are fish?
50 years ago The Republican Party created the Southern Strategy, the conscious effort to appeal to the segregationist Strom Thurmond and George Wallace Democratic voters.
In the 1980’s the Republican Party gave us the culture wars and Reagan and the dog whistle politics of welfare queens and States Rights and created the Reagan Democrats.
In the 1990’s we got the Newt Gingrich House of Representatives take no prisoners confrontation, the Clinton impeachment, Whitewater, and Vince Foster murder conspiracy.
With Obama, they created the Tea Party and gave us the birthers, death panels, and support of the Confederate flag.
And all these years, the Republican politicians have been using the Reaganomics talking points of small government and tax cuts for the job creators coming from the right-wing think tanks.
For thirty five years, the rising tide of Trickle Down Economics has mostly raised the yachts on Wall St.
And the Republican establishment is sick, just sick I tell you, to think of Trump representing the Republican Party.
They can’t understand how the Republican voters, who have been losing their manufacturing jobs all these years as Mitt Romney and his Wall St. colleagues sent those jobs to China, these same voters who have been listening to talk radio all these years, how they can blindly follow Trump and not listen to reason.
In the 1980’s the Republican Party gave us the culture wars and Reagan and the dog whistle politics of welfare queens and States Rights and created the Reagan Democrats.
In the 1990’s we got the Newt Gingrich House of Representatives take no prisoners confrontation, the Clinton impeachment, Whitewater, and Vince Foster murder conspiracy.
With Obama, they created the Tea Party and gave us the birthers, death panels, and support of the Confederate flag.
And all these years, the Republican politicians have been using the Reaganomics talking points of small government and tax cuts for the job creators coming from the right-wing think tanks.
For thirty five years, the rising tide of Trickle Down Economics has mostly raised the yachts on Wall St.
And the Republican establishment is sick, just sick I tell you, to think of Trump representing the Republican Party.
They can’t understand how the Republican voters, who have been losing their manufacturing jobs all these years as Mitt Romney and his Wall St. colleagues sent those jobs to China, these same voters who have been listening to talk radio all these years, how they can blindly follow Trump and not listen to reason.
2
".....more than half of all Americans are very or somewhat stressed by this race." Not just Americans. Non-citizens that I know also wonder what has happened to America, or what will happen to it?
1
Mr. Brooks, it's either "the epidemic of worry" of the perfect tempest of the eighties vs. the nineties.
I expected a less political marketing article than this one about the last minute change of heart in the electoral booth, since, frankly, the stalking of some partisan political pundit ( i'd like you to list the names of the ones, if any, who offer a fair view of both political sides ) is not a news in any political year, even if the pervasiveness of the social network adds new angles to it.
But i concur in pointing at the lack of any palatable policy by the candidates. Watching the news i cannot avoid to see how the posters are all about the names of the candidates, and the lack of any convincing slogan about the future ( apart the past ones of mr. Sanders ). What is offered is a generic "look the third way" by Johnson, a fill-the-void memory routine "build the...., ...... will pay for it" by mr. Trump, and at her best, the boooring elementary school proportion of " not too this to do that" void promises on any issue ( as if the world was full of extreme cases ) by mrs. Rodham Clinton.
The big news is, i suspect, that this election is more about emotional partecipation or, if i may say, psychological transfert, of the winner part, and the day after the question point is not going to be erased for a quite long time.
I expected a less political marketing article than this one about the last minute change of heart in the electoral booth, since, frankly, the stalking of some partisan political pundit ( i'd like you to list the names of the ones, if any, who offer a fair view of both political sides ) is not a news in any political year, even if the pervasiveness of the social network adds new angles to it.
But i concur in pointing at the lack of any palatable policy by the candidates. Watching the news i cannot avoid to see how the posters are all about the names of the candidates, and the lack of any convincing slogan about the future ( apart the past ones of mr. Sanders ). What is offered is a generic "look the third way" by Johnson, a fill-the-void memory routine "build the...., ...... will pay for it" by mr. Trump, and at her best, the boooring elementary school proportion of " not too this to do that" void promises on any issue ( as if the world was full of extreme cases ) by mrs. Rodham Clinton.
The big news is, i suspect, that this election is more about emotional partecipation or, if i may say, psychological transfert, of the winner part, and the day after the question point is not going to be erased for a quite long time.
1
Governing says Mr. Brooks?
Senator John McCain made a bold and injurious claim: that the GOP “will be united against any Supreme Court nominee that Hillary Clinton, if she were president, would put up.”
Not mere words. Witness Merrick Garland and how the Republican party "governs". Pitiful, just pitiful. Americans deserve better.
Senator John McCain made a bold and injurious claim: that the GOP “will be united against any Supreme Court nominee that Hillary Clinton, if she were president, would put up.”
Not mere words. Witness Merrick Garland and how the Republican party "governs". Pitiful, just pitiful. Americans deserve better.
4
Hillarys lead went from 12 points to 5 in one day and I shouldn't worry? I'm a Muslim after all. And in 2 years the demagogues will be back again!
1
“It’s led by two candidates who arouse gargantuan anxieties, fear and hatred in their opponents.” Can we finally please stop with the false equivalence arguments? Whatever you think about her, Hillary Clinton is a standard issue national politician. She swings from center left to center right on various issues but exists within the standard political galaxy with which we are familiar. By that measure Donald Trump is an alien, a strange visitor from another galaxy whose statements reveal an galactically ignorant, bigoted man almost incapable of telling the truth and almost pathologically obsessed with his own self-gratification. People may not like Clinton but she is unlikely to destroy the federal government along with our economy. Trump, on the other hand, appears anxious to do both.
3
My thoughts exactly. To imply that HRC comes within 100 miles of the Trump Crazy Train is standard issue false equivalence - especially after their behavior at the three debates. HRC was composed and knowledgeable. Trump unprepared, inarticualte and unhinged.
My favorite book title from way back in 1948 says it all for this Digital Dilemma Age: "I Have Abandoned My Search For Truth And Am Looking For A Good Fantasy" by Ashleigh Brilliant. This is mixed with the task of having
a supposed "Leader" who has an easily identified Psychopathic Personality, with a chronic bloviating process of fabrication and lies. Sometime the sanest reaction to an insane situation....is Insanity.
a supposed "Leader" who has an easily identified Psychopathic Personality, with a chronic bloviating process of fabrication and lies. Sometime the sanest reaction to an insane situation....is Insanity.
1
When Hillary is elected, David, why don't you and Douthat & other conservatives call for a national conference on bipartisanship, a summit of American citizens who want to work out common sense solutions to America's problems? I'm sure that if the two dominant political parties could show they are actually working together again voter anxiety & worry would plummet. What causes voters distress is to think we will once again enter another four years of Republican obstructionism, veiled sexism & racism, investigations only meant to smear the other side, where the only workable solution to a problem is to shut the government of the people down. We cannot take another four years of such craziness.
4
"Everything is rigged; the rulers are malevolent and corrupt."
I had no fear that Mr. Brooks could eventually figure this out. The truth holds no educational boundaries and is like realestate, perspective, perspective, perspective.
I had no fear that Mr. Brooks could eventually figure this out. The truth holds no educational boundaries and is like realestate, perspective, perspective, perspective.
one of our daughters was a worrier. when we expressed concern, she replied: "worry solves problems". As an adult she is "Yuge"-ly successful. uses worry well.
1
It would be great indeed if governing would return, but how can it return if it has been, in effect, nonexistent in our recent past? Here again David shows how far we have to go to right the ship, meaning completely debunk the republican heresies. Scare tactics, which is part of the cause of some irrational worrying, have found a home in republican assertions about governments programs, and especially so when focused on Hillary Clinton, for a very long time. What scares republicans about Clinton is not her liberal policies, but how conservative she is; her conservative nature is why, also, the burn boys do not trust her. Conservatives can not have one of their own, Clinton, also saying that government works. This is the heresy that the republicans have promoted, government in itself is the problem, and it is time to focus solely on removing this heresy, in any political calculation or action. Electing Clinton will be a good first step.
1
Unless you are high up in the pecking order it does not matter who is president because they are mostly all crooks. She is a fine example of that !
No need to worry that their leaders are malevolent and corrupt, Nigerians know that they are.
To ground my anxiety. I try to spend time recognizing true suffering and anxiety of persons with no:
Clean water
Access to food
No basic health care
Lack of education
Insecure housing
Rights to worship
Lack of good jobs
No free speech
That's causes my anxiety and worry.
Clean water
Access to food
No basic health care
Lack of education
Insecure housing
Rights to worship
Lack of good jobs
No free speech
That's causes my anxiety and worry.
3
I searched through David's otherwise fine epidemiology and much to my surprise he didn't add Hillary to the list of worries.
Sure, she's a lesser worry than Trump, but in the same way that our planet getting hit by the mars is better than getting hit by Uranus.
Yes, we do have a lot to worry about. And Trump, after Nov 8, won't be one of them. Fasten your seatbelts folks, we're in for a stormy 4 years and we have no one to blame but ourselves.
Sure, she's a lesser worry than Trump, but in the same way that our planet getting hit by the mars is better than getting hit by Uranus.
Yes, we do have a lot to worry about. And Trump, after Nov 8, won't be one of them. Fasten your seatbelts folks, we're in for a stormy 4 years and we have no one to blame but ourselves.
1
Republicans caused the U.S. Financial Collapse (David Stockman said that).
We are in a global recession if not depression. It is a miracle we can make
a living at all. Somehow, it always has been.
We are in a global recession if not depression. It is a miracle we can make
a living at all. Somehow, it always has been.
1
I wonder, what does Trump worry about?
1
Being a loser.
2
Losing.
I am living in what used to live in the best country in the world !
Now Australia is a smaller kind of USA.That is why we are interested in your Election.
Hillary has more experience . And that experience has been one of one nightmare after another. Obama and Hillary do the talk but have let your country worse off than ever!
The ones At the top and the rich and famous want it to stay that way! Because they are safe!( Robert Deniro.)
Now Australia is a smaller kind of USA.That is why we are interested in your Election.
Hillary has more experience . And that experience has been one of one nightmare after another. Obama and Hillary do the talk but have let your country worse off than ever!
The ones At the top and the rich and famous want it to stay that way! Because they are safe!( Robert Deniro.)
2
You seem to have forgotten the uber-feckless Republican Congress.
1
Right with you, Mr. Brooks. Or - perhaps - you're right with us. We'll make a Democrat out of you yet. Here's my Op-Ed on the fear of anxiety problem from back when Republican leaders were getting so scared (or scary) about the Syrian refugee crisis: http://www.pressherald.com/2015/11/27/maine-voices-lets-not-fall-into-a-...
3
"If you’re worrying, you’re spiraling into your own narcissistic pool."
There is nothing at all narcissistic about worrying about the real possibility that my young adult children and communities I cherish will be subjected to and subjugated in a Trumpian world -- one characterized by authoritarianism and the hate, divisiveness, disruption, instability, rampant greed, unjust, open carry and the aggressive policing he espouses and provokes. What David French and his daughter experienced could become the new normal under a Trump regime.
I took those same children some 25 years ago to see the Lion King. The Hakuna matata moment was a joyful one. But play's principal message was about the "circle of life" -- that you should never take more than you give.
Trump and the obstructionist and morally bankrupt Republicans -- who will return to their non-governing ways no matter who wins-- think and act antithetically to morals and virtues embodied in the Lion King.
So let us worry enough now to prevent the Grand Hyena and his band of scavengers from taking over our virtuous jungle.
There is nothing at all narcissistic about worrying about the real possibility that my young adult children and communities I cherish will be subjected to and subjugated in a Trumpian world -- one characterized by authoritarianism and the hate, divisiveness, disruption, instability, rampant greed, unjust, open carry and the aggressive policing he espouses and provokes. What David French and his daughter experienced could become the new normal under a Trump regime.
I took those same children some 25 years ago to see the Lion King. The Hakuna matata moment was a joyful one. But play's principal message was about the "circle of life" -- that you should never take more than you give.
Trump and the obstructionist and morally bankrupt Republicans -- who will return to their non-governing ways no matter who wins-- think and act antithetically to morals and virtues embodied in the Lion King.
So let us worry enough now to prevent the Grand Hyena and his band of scavengers from taking over our virtuous jungle.
205
On November 9, I won't be singing "Hakuna Matata." Instead I will be singing this song, because not only will I have stopped worrying about where this election was heading, I will be overjoyed with the outcome. Go Hillary!
Ooh-ooh-hoo-hoo-ooh hoo-hoo-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Don't worry
Woo-ooh-woo-ooh-woo-ooh-ooh
Be happy
Woo-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Don't worry, be happy
Sing it with me, Mr. Brooks.
Ooh-ooh-hoo-hoo-ooh hoo-hoo-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Don't worry
Woo-ooh-woo-ooh-woo-ooh-ooh
Be happy
Woo-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Don't worry, be happy
Sing it with me, Mr. Brooks.
2
I was incredulous when I reached the end of this piece and read, "This campaign will soon be over, and governing, thank God, will soon return." What?!! That's the problem, there's no governing anymore. Congress refuses to bring issues to the floor, refuses to call votes, refuses to seek compromise legislation. Senators say their goal is to make sure the popularly elected president is there for one term only, that's it. And most head off to make fund-raising calls for the better part of the day.
The President is not a monarch who can magically make things happen on his or her own. I say, if you're not worrying, you haven't been paying attention.
The President is not a monarch who can magically make things happen on his or her own. I say, if you're not worrying, you haven't been paying attention.
4
I agree. It's shocking to any discerning person how blind the democrats have chosen to become themselves.
Thanks for the the lovely piece. One note: I know plenty of educated, affluent Trump supporters here in Texas. I don't get it, but they exist. Which only adds to my anxiety.
2
So why don't you talk to those educated affluent Trump voters and maybe get interested in why and what appeals to them instead of jumping on the mass hysteria train of Trump bad, Hillary good? Because that's what real educated people do, they never close off their minds to the fact they might be missing something and it isn't about just pointing the finger the other way to blame. Because any Hillary voter that is happy about it, is just voting facade as well wouldn't you agree?
All in all, I'd rather live in the U.S. than in Nigeria – with or without the worry.
2
David I wonder how much anxiety has been generated by Preident Obama's policies of divisiveness.
I truly never remember a president who spent so much of his presidency turning people against one another
Whether it was poor against rich, black against white, democrat against republican etc.
He cleverly did this by first making people feel victims, put upon, and isolated from getting ahead.
He turned a country that was self reliant and hard working into a dependent society. And then when dependace did not give people all they wanted, he said they were victims.
The state of anxiety will not lessen until people believe once again that they are responsible for their own destiny.
I truly never remember a president who spent so much of his presidency turning people against one another
Whether it was poor against rich, black against white, democrat against republican etc.
He cleverly did this by first making people feel victims, put upon, and isolated from getting ahead.
He turned a country that was self reliant and hard working into a dependent society. And then when dependace did not give people all they wanted, he said they were victims.
The state of anxiety will not lessen until people believe once again that they are responsible for their own destiny.
1
Ok this comment makes me anxious. What Obama are you talking about? You can't just say things and that makes them true. Unless, of course, you're a Trump Republican. Now I understand. But I'm still anxious.
I have heard this theory before, but I just can't see how it is true. Just how exactly has President Obama promoted policies of divisiveness? Name me some solid facts, not just sweeping generalizations.
Anxieties and hardship may be too much .People may live in terror by deteriorated socioeconomic conditions,changing political systems into wanted and unwanted people.
A loss of trust.
Right these conditions are fruitful acres for political parties/ interests of all kinds of signature.
Left and right are more and more interchangeable.
Words of hate outnumbering decency and respect may in the end dragging people out of their "houses".
Not just history. It happens right now in countries once trusted .
A loss of trust.
Right these conditions are fruitful acres for political parties/ interests of all kinds of signature.
Left and right are more and more interchangeable.
Words of hate outnumbering decency and respect may in the end dragging people out of their "houses".
Not just history. It happens right now in countries once trusted .
Fear is what the Republicans have been feeding their voters for 50 years starting with the Southern Strategy.
And Trump, to quote Obama, didn't build it but he did stick his brand on it and took it to a whole other level.
There is science to show that some people are more reactive to threats and these are the voters Republicans and Trump are getting and it works.
But it is all for personal gain while our children and grandchildren are paying the price.
And Trump, to quote Obama, didn't build it but he did stick his brand on it and took it to a whole other level.
There is science to show that some people are more reactive to threats and these are the voters Republicans and Trump are getting and it works.
But it is all for personal gain while our children and grandchildren are paying the price.
2
David Brooks, you are infuriating. Every column where you touch on the election, it is obvious that you find Donald Trump and many of his followers odious and a danger to our democracy. But like Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell and so many other Republicans, you have yet to demonstrate the courage to denounce him and say flat-out that you cannot and will not vote for him. Such a decision would be enormously influential. If you do, of course, you run the risk of the horrific retribution David French suffered. But these are days when profiles in courage are being written. I don't see you in that collection yet, but there is still time.
5
At long last, Mr. Brooks, what is your point?
3
The obvious solution to election year worries is to take yourself out of it by voting right now, by absentee. I did this yesterday and got the double benefit of 'finishing' my part in the election and reading through the raft of local measures, local races and state-wide propositions--nearly all of which represent democracy at its best--people running for office to make my community better, and ballot measures with community-building at their heart. The local races clearly show that our democracy is as strong as it has ever been. Local candidates are standing up to do their part for our society (Patel for School board!), and there are, indeed, a lot of good ideas out there for building a better tomorrow. So, while I do look forward to having the issue-less, and frankly scary national race over, my local and state wide ballot gives me a good deal of hope for the future.
2
Mr. Brooks seems compelled to view people who disagree with him as living empty lives devoid of meaning and purpose. He apparently cannot imagine that one can be secular, happy, and filled with meaning and purpose, surrounded by a (non-religious) community. Like most "cultural commentators," he starts with his biases and then paints the landscape with them, using a brush so wide that it obscures all else.
2
Kind, they are kind, and showed me a wonderful table in their house for 'Bible-Reading'. They are worried with reason because work is hard to find, the man is a creator of houses that remain unfinished, his bright and attractive spouse in the airline industry looks anxious, her sibling past 60, sits on a wall watching the empty country road, a veteran who returned, he has never been the same.
But warmth emanates from their house and a bowl of garden vegetables on the kitchen counter with squash and autumn blessings hover in the air. They worry about their 'brother' who stands tall in my small driveway, perhaps a bodyguard, looking distantly into the horizon. We could go to the movies, I tell him. Nothing too violent, I add, with a smile and he nods his head.
My eyes veer to the 'Trump' sign on their lawn ambushed with fall leaves, and I wonder if this will be a winter of discontent. This too will pass, I remember, my neighbors and I are getting on and perhaps we can feel and do better in time. Listen carefully for hints because as a newcomer and outsider, you will learn not only about the welfare of your neighbors, but the state of our Country and its future. The answer does not lie with Trump, or even the symbol of the Democratic Nominee that I see at early dawn, a hawk soaring alone in the beautiful sky where only the moon belongs to all of us, and the word Fear plays no part here.
But warmth emanates from their house and a bowl of garden vegetables on the kitchen counter with squash and autumn blessings hover in the air. They worry about their 'brother' who stands tall in my small driveway, perhaps a bodyguard, looking distantly into the horizon. We could go to the movies, I tell him. Nothing too violent, I add, with a smile and he nods his head.
My eyes veer to the 'Trump' sign on their lawn ambushed with fall leaves, and I wonder if this will be a winter of discontent. This too will pass, I remember, my neighbors and I are getting on and perhaps we can feel and do better in time. Listen carefully for hints because as a newcomer and outsider, you will learn not only about the welfare of your neighbors, but the state of our Country and its future. The answer does not lie with Trump, or even the symbol of the Democratic Nominee that I see at early dawn, a hawk soaring alone in the beautiful sky where only the moon belongs to all of us, and the word Fear plays no part here.
Go go capitalism has a way of atomizing community. I was in France in early September. School children went home to eat lunch with their parents, who had also been let go to go home for lunch with the kids. Worry is a lack of perspective that fills the void when you don't have the time and opportunity to be with people.
3
I teach in an urban high school. Our school has a high poverty rate. My students face challenges i have never had to deal with. Though never affluent, my dad's autoworker job of nearly 50 years fed and sheltered six kids and we had medical insurance to boot. My worries are very specific: How to help the kids in front of me every day and how to be a better parent and husband when I go home at the end of my teaching day. I voted the first hour of early elections in Ohio. I needed to be done with it, to press the buttons and be done with it. It's out of my hands and all I can do is what I have attempted to do for 30 years: be present, be patient, and try to be kind. What else is there?
337
This is an excellent, thoughtful letter. If there are more Americans like you, then the future will be bright as it certainly will for your family and students.
3
thank you for doing exactly what our nation needs:. educating the next generation of voters. thank you.
1
If you are a teacher, parent, and husband who practices presence, patience, and kindness, then you are a super hero. You have my deepest respect and gratitude. What you are doing matters.
1
I like your philosophical wanderings- but I have my own biases. The anxiety, you say, is "led by two candidates who arouse gargantuan anxieties, fear and hatred in their opponents." True, but one candidate's actions and words clearly incite fear and hatred; the other is a not untypical politician, whose main faults emanate from having become totally mainstream.
As an educated, not affluent person, I get the economic reasons for anxiety that motivate Trump and Bernie supporters. Who is elected this year will have an effect on our national policies for the rest of my life- for younger relatives beyond that.
Our Congress and Senate ARE influenced unduly by outside interests. Legal conflicts of interest are glossed over as political figures and their hirees segue back and forth between public and private sector. They most all profit from their lawmaking appointments. Simple one-off gifts like free lunches or drug samples given to doctors have been shown t increase their tendency to do what drug manufacturers want. Doesn't the link between public office and apparent lifetime sinecures weigh more heavily on lawmakers?
Further, we have evidence that shows the ability for a young person to move from a lower to higher socio-economic class is lower in the US than in Western Europe? That, essentially, them that have still get? So yes, the system looks rigged. Not the way DJT means it, and not anything he would be inclined to change. Reform would ease my political anxiety!
As an educated, not affluent person, I get the economic reasons for anxiety that motivate Trump and Bernie supporters. Who is elected this year will have an effect on our national policies for the rest of my life- for younger relatives beyond that.
Our Congress and Senate ARE influenced unduly by outside interests. Legal conflicts of interest are glossed over as political figures and their hirees segue back and forth between public and private sector. They most all profit from their lawmaking appointments. Simple one-off gifts like free lunches or drug samples given to doctors have been shown t increase their tendency to do what drug manufacturers want. Doesn't the link between public office and apparent lifetime sinecures weigh more heavily on lawmakers?
Further, we have evidence that shows the ability for a young person to move from a lower to higher socio-economic class is lower in the US than in Western Europe? That, essentially, them that have still get? So yes, the system looks rigged. Not the way DJT means it, and not anything he would be inclined to change. Reform would ease my political anxiety!
2
I recently read that 40% of American families couldn't get their hands on $1,000 for an emergency, even if they had a month to obtain it. Many Americans have good reason to worry.
Ivory tower economists praise our "free trade" policies without ever leaving their affluent communities to witness the devastation to working class neighborhoods. Meanwhile, the post industrial information/retail economy slowly grinds to a halt because many Americans can no longer afford to continue the retail buying spree,
Then an affluent conservative columnist writes about needless worry.
Ivory tower economists praise our "free trade" policies without ever leaving their affluent communities to witness the devastation to working class neighborhoods. Meanwhile, the post industrial information/retail economy slowly grinds to a halt because many Americans can no longer afford to continue the retail buying spree,
Then an affluent conservative columnist writes about needless worry.
4
Worriers are spiraling into pools of narcissism? Ha! More likely they're just waking up to the fact that nobody is driving this bus. Hard to believe the just waking up part or that even David isn't worried about our increasing inability to work together to solve problems or even agree on what the problems are.
1
Mixing fear with politics is not unique to this election. Stoking voters' fears of crime and terrorism, for instance, helps Republicans push a gun-friendly, militaristic agenda. Trump is the manipulation of fear on steroids. With no qualifications, Trump cynically tells people of a dark system working against them which, for unspecified reasons, only he can turn around.
And there to guide us towards facts and logic is President Obama. The man who gets mocked by the GOP as professorial for using reason over panic. President Obama is the true leader for asking us to look our fears in the eye and think beyond them, rather than give in to irrationality.
And there to guide us towards facts and logic is President Obama. The man who gets mocked by the GOP as professorial for using reason over panic. President Obama is the true leader for asking us to look our fears in the eye and think beyond them, rather than give in to irrationality.
4
You were referring to me, weren't you? Ugh....sounds like what a worrying, reactionary narcissist would say, right? But you were describing me. And, at the risk of suggesting that it's all about "misery loves company," it's still anxiety-relieving to know I'm not alone with this malady. Thanks.
1
No piece the history of anxiety should omit reference to existentialism, which to the point identifies freedom and choice as both our source of anxiety and fulfillment. As our options increase so does anxiety, so this is not a new era, this is just the way it is. How we progress as a society will be determined partially by how we educate people to responsibly make choices and live with them.
1
On Sunday, my husband and I drove up to New Brunswick, Canada for the day. Just two hours from our house. Chilly, very windy day of hiking in a beautiful, lonely place. What I did not anticipate about this trip is the sense of relief of escaping to another country this election season. Crossing the border, I was suddenly not focused on how many signs I was seeing for each candidate, because, after seeing a glut of Trump signs in poverty stricken Washington County, there *were* no signs. Nor did I look at strangers, narrowing my eyes, and wonder if they were Trump supporters. We listened to the CBC, Canada's public station, on the radio, and there were no stories about the Presidential campaign. It was so relaxing.
7
Most of the rich and educated don't really give a hoot about the poor and working-poor except in the abstract which allows them to reconcile the miles-wide divide between them. The answers to America's problems point out, not back towards one's self. If you would like to do something worthwhile, become familiar in a ghetto. You won't get killed. Meet the people who live in poverty and struggle on a daily basis. Figure out if there is a cause worth supporting with money, or better yet, give of your time and talent. If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. The chasm between the elect and the poor is getting wider. Government can't solve the problem, it requires individual and community involvement. I'm not hopeful.
2
I don't know if people are worried as much as they are frustrated that this entire election process has taken so long, and is so mindlessly dull. For months the media has treated the election as if it was a college basketball tournament. A plethora of Republican candidates were slowly reduced to one incompetent candidate, and on the Democrat side two rivals slogged out a race to a foregone conclusion. It goes on and on and on and on and we still have to wait two more weeks for election day. For my part I voted by mail last week and now I consider the whole enterprise as something beyond my hands and control. In casting my vote I feel a sense of release. What will happen will happen. Now, however, I wonder when the media will finally stop glorifying Trumps crude slapstick and Clintons premature victory laps. When will the media focus on why global warming has been ignored by the candidates? When will the fighting in Iraq get top priority and coverage? When will the North Dakota pipeline crisis become a vital story? And what about those hundreds of other political stories that have been invisible in relation to this singular race?
9
Wow. I feel like I'm missing out on this national angst, because I don't share it at all. I am neither sinking nor spiraling. I am not affluent, I am educated, and I am not a worrier. I've found this election to be absurd, but I certainly don't feel anxiety over it. Maybe because I have no TV and I don't participate in social media, so I'm not constantly bombarded by election coverage. I made up my mind very early on to support Clinton and I still do. Trump's been a national joke for decades now, so I haven't paid a lot of attention to him. Anyway, maybe if everyone is so anxious about the election they should stop obsessing over it, and get on with their lives. I'm 64, and frankly my day-to-day life has never been changed because of who's been president. I expect it will be the same this year.
6
Bravo to you. It's that kind of thinking that worries me. Don't change your mind when the facts change and just worry about your own backyard. Good advice.
1
"If the next president starts enacting a slew of actual policies . . . " the chances of Trump doing that range between zero and a negative number.
1
David's piece today was just more of the same Brooks smoke and mirrors. But the photo of the Trump folks was eloquent without perhaps intending to be. The woman in front looks as bewildered as someone in a Dorthea Lange photo from the depression era. These people need a decent voice speaking for them. The Democrats better find that person.
6
More NYT FAIR and balanced reporting (not) How about Hillary Clinton reporting in from a soup kitchen..similar photo op as commentor points out an attending and Hapless looking Real American group. Likely late one evening...guess the democratic exuberance carries the other attendees through happier lands ...NYT chose this photo purposely to accompany the Vibes telegraphed by the David Brooks Op anxiety piece.
"It’s worth noting that rich countries are more anxious than poorer ones."
Poor countries live in the here and now so their real live experience is poverty, poor health, corruption. Rich countries just worry about these things later on in life. Take your pick.
Poor countries live in the here and now so their real live experience is poverty, poor health, corruption. Rich countries just worry about these things later on in life. Take your pick.
5
I wasn't worried until I read this piece.
2
This column is a Poster Boy for anxiety and other mental dysfunctions: fears and anxieties are characterized as something that perhaps a nice walk around the block might shake off. This is why mental issues have such a stigma--such issues are seen as flaws in character, not a very painful affliction. No one WANTS to be anxious--it is a combination of circumstance and genetic vulnerability. Fears and anxiety are not easily shaken off. More empathy, less judgment, please.
7
At the same time, I think we Americans will miss the Presidential election when it is over. Having these larger than life figures act out a drama on this public stage gives us sides to worry about and root for. Consider Mr. Trump, a classical tragic hero: a member of the elite class, elevated to great heights, with a tragic flaw (narcissistic adolescent behavior, callow political ineptitude), whose hubris keeps him from listening to his handlers or anyone (and keeps him up at night tweeting), and who will soon experience, in all likelihood, a tragic fall. And here we are watching with rapt attention, in suspense, waiting for the outcome (and worrying). When the denouement plays out, there could be catharsis for all of us, having identified with a character and invested our emotion, and even participated in the drama as a chorus, with you Mr. Brooks as one of the choral members with a speaking part, and the resolution could very well purge us of our anxieties...for a while. Yes, we'll miss it, as we might miss a terrific television series when it concludes. There's a reason two-thirds of the Opinion Page is about the election, and it's all anyone can talk about. It's dramatic, and we love it. And it could be a cure for anxiety.
3
But then the media will - presumably - have to go back to reporting actual events. Will the Times even retain the skills required after a year of psychological programming straight out of Animal Farm or A Brave New World?
Trump is no tragic hero--an otherwise noble character except for his tragic flaw. There is not a shred of nobility in this character. Financial power is not nobility.
"This campaign will soon be over, and governing, thank God, will soon return."
One can hope. We haven't had "governing" for some time and there are already rumblings that no Clinton SCOTUS nominee will ever be confirmed. With the Hastert Rule in effect, the House is ungovernable. I expect, not just worry, that the end of this election will mean 1) a flurry of lawsuits by Mr. Trump as he attempts to stay in the limelight and rescue his ego; and 2) the beginning of the 2020 campaign. Should Secretary Clinton win, I imagine I'll soon start receiving emails soliciting money for future campaigns that have to be won and we'll hear talk of a main "legislative" goal of making Clinton II a one term President.
Yes, Mr. Trump has sparked acute worries about our political culture...but I at least have more chronic worries about our institutions and the ability of the political class to function and actually engage in a minimum of government. The best chance of "governance" strikes me as continued growth of executive power to "get things done" outside of the institutional framework. That, in and of itself, is worrying.
One can hope. We haven't had "governing" for some time and there are already rumblings that no Clinton SCOTUS nominee will ever be confirmed. With the Hastert Rule in effect, the House is ungovernable. I expect, not just worry, that the end of this election will mean 1) a flurry of lawsuits by Mr. Trump as he attempts to stay in the limelight and rescue his ego; and 2) the beginning of the 2020 campaign. Should Secretary Clinton win, I imagine I'll soon start receiving emails soliciting money for future campaigns that have to be won and we'll hear talk of a main "legislative" goal of making Clinton II a one term President.
Yes, Mr. Trump has sparked acute worries about our political culture...but I at least have more chronic worries about our institutions and the ability of the political class to function and actually engage in a minimum of government. The best chance of "governance" strikes me as continued growth of executive power to "get things done" outside of the institutional framework. That, in and of itself, is worrying.
18
Your close friend Harry Reid created the ''Reid rule'' that no SCOTUS nominee from an opposition President could be considered even a year and a half before the next election. You should contact him about that.
All American President have faced opposition in Congress, but apparently the Left is so pessimistic about Barack Obama having the energy & skills to bargain with opposition that their master George Soros trains them to simply demand the opposition quit standing up for the voters in this case.
All American President have faced opposition in Congress, but apparently the Left is so pessimistic about Barack Obama having the energy & skills to bargain with opposition that their master George Soros trains them to simply demand the opposition quit standing up for the voters in this case.
Of course, all the Trump supporters who lost their manufacturing jobs could follow the Republican principle of responsibility and go to school and get a computer science degree.
I am in high-tech and we keep bringing in kids from China and India on H-1B visas while we have people who can't find work.
In the words of a Republican, "stop your whining and pull yourself up by your bootstraps."
Or they can wait for Trump to bring back the jobs from China which I believe are paying on the order of US$6 to US$10 a day in China. What is the chance of that happening?
I am in high-tech and we keep bringing in kids from China and India on H-1B visas while we have people who can't find work.
In the words of a Republican, "stop your whining and pull yourself up by your bootstraps."
Or they can wait for Trump to bring back the jobs from China which I believe are paying on the order of US$6 to US$10 a day in China. What is the chance of that happening?
46
Independent--Hear! Hear! But ALSO, you tech companies should be taking civic responsibility and offering training programs for AMERICANS. Can't cost more than importing foreigners. That knife cuts 2 ways.
1
Honestly? People who have been in manufacturing their whole lives should just go to school and get a computer degree? I consider myself pretty bright, but I certainly couldn't do that. This is not to say that many people in manufacturing may have the ability to transfer to high tech. But this as a solution? A better solution may be to transfer their talents to rebuilding the infrastructure. I go into Brooklyn often to visit my daughter, and I'm afraid to go over some of the elevated highways. But Republicans keep blocking bills to rebuild the infrastructure, or keep adding unacceptable amendments. Obstruct, obstruct. They have theirs. I am sure there are other ways to help these individuals. But it takes a government who cares. And the Republicans do not.
@ChesBay
I agree completely.
On the other hand, you don't see these problems in Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, etc. who have faced the same globalization.
Their governments offers training.
As a business, I am in business to develop, produce, sell my product, etc.
This is the role government and I am happy to pay more taxes to support that.
But the Republicans would seem to prefer to pay for prison than pay for preschool or trade school.
I agree completely.
On the other hand, you don't see these problems in Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, etc. who have faced the same globalization.
Their governments offers training.
As a business, I am in business to develop, produce, sell my product, etc.
This is the role government and I am happy to pay more taxes to support that.
But the Republicans would seem to prefer to pay for prison than pay for preschool or trade school.
1
"If you're worrying, you're spiraling into you own narcissistic pool." Seriously. Empire is raising my health insurance premium from $437 to 512 a month, coupled with a $6k deductible so that I can't even afford to get sick. I am a freelancer with a family and I cannot save a dime while paying ACA, which is necessary in my field for dry spells when work is low. So my anxiety revolves around being able to pay bills, staying healthy so I can work to pay bills and contribute to the financial and emotional support of my family, which includes money I give to my elderly grandmother to help her out, raising my daughter and preparing her for the future, and helping friends and family alike.
Thanks Mr. Brooks for informing me that all my worries are just because I am vain and selfish. I feel so much better. Don't even know what I was worried about. According to you there is only a 10 percent chance that I will succumb to some "dreadful future scenario." I'm going to sleep like a baby tonight.
Thanks Mr. Brooks for informing me that all my worries are just because I am vain and selfish. I feel so much better. Don't even know what I was worried about. According to you there is only a 10 percent chance that I will succumb to some "dreadful future scenario." I'm going to sleep like a baby tonight.
15
Stir that "it's all equally bad pot!"! A recent 'pol' said: that's all self styled conservative columnists have left to go on about.
How far you must cast your net to catch both candidates in your
broad generalizations and interpretations, Mr. Brooks. It must be exhausting!
broad generalizations and interpretations, Mr. Brooks. It must be exhausting!
3
Goya: "the sleep of reason produces monsters".
2
Mr. Brooks says people are feeling excluded, exploited and invisible to those at the commanding heights of society. Perhaps it's because for a long time THEY HAVE BEEN excluded, exploited and invisible to those at the commanding heights of society — including journalism.
3
Projected course of worry and anxiety in American life?
How can anyone rationally conclude anything other than that such will increase? We have increasing population coupled with always increasing techniques to scrutinize and control a population whether these techniques mean law enforcement or corporate and governmental spying or testing in education or workplace interview which means we can expect an environment of increasing criticism directed at self and others.
There seems little rational direction in this environment of worry, anxiety and criticism. People are quite petty, tearing each other down. An environment of contempt. Each person is attempting to be seen as good enough to get the degree or job or partner or whatever in an overpopulated, intensely critical environment. It just seems one constant humiliation and battle after another.
Obviously it would be absurd to say the human race should go backward and become less critical--erase all the acuity by which we are summing up and placing people in this or that category, job, etc.--so the solution should be reduced population so we can relax a cold criticism by knowing in such a case people can rather safely go their own way or find more easily a position in which to realize ability...
A human environment which is overpopulation coupled with increased technique of scrutinizing people is one of intense selection pressure. Hard to be rational in such an environment. I am grateful for any accurate thought I have...
How can anyone rationally conclude anything other than that such will increase? We have increasing population coupled with always increasing techniques to scrutinize and control a population whether these techniques mean law enforcement or corporate and governmental spying or testing in education or workplace interview which means we can expect an environment of increasing criticism directed at self and others.
There seems little rational direction in this environment of worry, anxiety and criticism. People are quite petty, tearing each other down. An environment of contempt. Each person is attempting to be seen as good enough to get the degree or job or partner or whatever in an overpopulated, intensely critical environment. It just seems one constant humiliation and battle after another.
Obviously it would be absurd to say the human race should go backward and become less critical--erase all the acuity by which we are summing up and placing people in this or that category, job, etc.--so the solution should be reduced population so we can relax a cold criticism by knowing in such a case people can rather safely go their own way or find more easily a position in which to realize ability...
A human environment which is overpopulation coupled with increased technique of scrutinizing people is one of intense selection pressure. Hard to be rational in such an environment. I am grateful for any accurate thought I have...
1
There are three people inside each of us as I've written in one of my books. This column writes about the Victim and the Survivor. Trump's supporters, perceiving themselves to be powerless, are acting out the inner Victim. And our inner Victim also wants a savior.
The affluent class acts out the Survivor, the part of the self that uses education and will power to prevail. What we need to do is come to live more as Navigators, accessing and acting out of our higher self, the mindful, self-calming aspect of the self. This is what David is encouraging.
The affluent class acts out the Survivor, the part of the self that uses education and will power to prevail. What we need to do is come to live more as Navigators, accessing and acting out of our higher self, the mindful, self-calming aspect of the self. This is what David is encouraging.
I didn't see anyone worrying when they nominated in both parties the candidates with the highest negatives. Now it's a bit too late for that.
And if you think that governing will start soon David then I am worried about you.
And if you think that governing will start soon David then I am worried about you.
2
Governing will soon return to normal? Somehow I don't think so. This election has permanently changed "us". It will take at least decade to help us heal from these divisions and I don't think our party system will ever look the same again.
6
You have been propagating the differences between the haves and the have nots and you have the temerity to attempt to be a neutral observer. What flummery. What puerile twaddle. You are bereft of decency.
3
Mr. Brooks. Sure I worry. You should too.
He tried and tried, but as much as he tried he was not able to get the anchor to hold. So the boat continues to drift at the mercy of the wind. And if the Republican opposition in the next Congress – if they can maintain their majority continues to stone wall each and every initiative of the next President presumably to be Hillary Clinton, the question for America then will be: When will the boat hit the rocks?
www.InquiryAbraham.com
He tried and tried, but as much as he tried he was not able to get the anchor to hold. So the boat continues to drift at the mercy of the wind. And if the Republican opposition in the next Congress – if they can maintain their majority continues to stone wall each and every initiative of the next President presumably to be Hillary Clinton, the question for America then will be: When will the boat hit the rocks?
www.InquiryAbraham.com
2
As soon as he tries to create an equivalency: "some anti-Trump demonstrators seem more interested in violence...Some of the Trumpians are savage.", Brooks shows his falseness. The tone is is preachy, as usual. Another useless column.
7
It would appear that David has now entered his existentialist phase. Here is Sartre at the War's end in "The Atlantic:" "Never were we freer than under the German occupation. We had lost all our rights, and first of all our right to speak. They insulted us to our faces. ... They deported us en masse. ... And because of all this we were free." My guess is that it is only exhilarating for those who survive to write about it in the pages of major periodicals.
3
Here's a favorite of mine often attributed to Twain or Churchill: "I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened."
4
Governing will return? Does Mr. Brooks really believe the campaign is to blame and has been unaware of the disastrous duration of its absolute absence in Congress?
14
Mr Brooks, it would be good to not use "rulers" in discussing our political structure. Your articles are exercises in framing the issues, and you should at least be able to edit out very dangerous framing! Unless it was deliberate?
Cagey1
Cagey1
Perhaps our ancestors have wisdom for our worried minds:
• "Rabbit, if you ain't scared, you ain't right." — Old blues/folk song.
• What, me worry? — Alfred E. Newman, Mad Magazine, 1950s
• "Rabbit, if you ain't scared, you ain't right." — Old blues/folk song.
• What, me worry? — Alfred E. Newman, Mad Magazine, 1950s
WHERE THERE'S A THREAT OF RESUMPTION OF THE USE OF GAS CHAMBER'S There's real danger. Never Again! If those who use the images are associated with one candidate and not the other, you know irrefutably which one is the more dangerous. Trump, in fact, characterized his supporters at a rally as patriotic Americans who are expressing their love for the country. That was no dog whistle, it was the roar of the lion. When Trump says that he wants his supporters to go watch polling places to make sure there are no problems (the prime among which would his losing the precinct), you can bet that he intended to give instructions for them to bring arms and to intimidate voters who oppose Trump. I'm just using his distorted thinking and applying logic. He says that beating up protestors is patriotic, then terrorizing voters is also Trump's brand of patriotism and love of the nation. Of course that's a good way to love it to death. There are functional fears that protect us against actual threats and dysfunctional fears that distort nonthreatening situations into threatening ones. Dysfunctional fears do not protect us from ourselves or from others. They make us behave like the human equivalent of a dog chasing its tail. In my opinion, Trump's thinly disguised threats of violence constitute terroristic threats. In open carry states I'm afraid that there will be groups of highly armed thugs standing near polling places in minority areas scaring voters away with no police there.
6
Ah, yes, we shouldn't be worried, no matter who gets elected or what happens. It doesn't matter. In a way Mr. Brooks is right. It doesn't matter because if Trump wins we'll be the laughingstock of the world. If Clinton wins but faces a Republican majority in Congress nothing will be done. McCain has vowed to obstruct any attempt by Clinton to appoint Supreme Court Justices. McConnell and the rest of the Clown Party will further their opposition because Clinton is a woman and that's worse than being African American.
Our worries are grounded in reality whether Mr. Brooks thinks so or not. I haven't seen any evidence that he's had to worry about paying for medical insurance, a deductible, co-pays, out of network costs, etc. He's living high on the hog by endorsing the GOP, having a job with the NY Times, as a commentator for the debates where he focuses on nitpicking rather than the big picture. Mr. Brooks, you are out of touch with what the average American is living through: constant fear of losing a job and not finding another one that pays enough, the realization that it's impossible to save for one emergency let alone 3 or 4, knowing that we are sliding down the economic scale while our parents did much better with less, and watching our politicians do nothing but release hot air in lieu of working together for us.
Elections are supposed to be about how to serve the people, not the moneyed aristocracy. This election cycle has been a nightmare.
Our worries are grounded in reality whether Mr. Brooks thinks so or not. I haven't seen any evidence that he's had to worry about paying for medical insurance, a deductible, co-pays, out of network costs, etc. He's living high on the hog by endorsing the GOP, having a job with the NY Times, as a commentator for the debates where he focuses on nitpicking rather than the big picture. Mr. Brooks, you are out of touch with what the average American is living through: constant fear of losing a job and not finding another one that pays enough, the realization that it's impossible to save for one emergency let alone 3 or 4, knowing that we are sliding down the economic scale while our parents did much better with less, and watching our politicians do nothing but release hot air in lieu of working together for us.
Elections are supposed to be about how to serve the people, not the moneyed aristocracy. This election cycle has been a nightmare.
45
Yes, David Brooks, we are living through an epidemic of worry and fear and anxiety. Dragooned by the dreadful social media cyberwidgets we pray to several times daily to "communicate" with "friends"...Orwell speak - "communication" = lack of communication, and "friends"= people we do not know or care about who fling themselves by their thumbs and facebook into our lives. Unplugging would go a long way toward clearing up the epidemic of worry. We have been grossly besieged by this never-ending from here to eternity Presidential Election campaigns of both parties. Their candidates no longer interest us, they've blatted their ethos at us for 19 months and we the people are sick of it all. We vote absentee, as this is one election we want to end quickly as possible. We the people are all suffering from political campaign fatigue which has caused us all to worry and fear the future instead of embracing it with optimism and light heartedly. America, the world, is caught in the "Big League" - not "bigly" - unfathomable spin of global warming and climate change (see the magnificent article on Chinese migrants in the NYTimes today - talk about life spinning us into hopelessness, worry and exhaustion). Am still not of your suasion, David, but am sure you will come up with the comfort words to soothe our savage breasts after your candidate wins or loses. We are at home on this Earth, no matter where we live until we shuffle off to Buffalo and turn our toes up and buy the farm.
12
David, you are talking about worry belatedly. Back in 2003, my then 81 year old father nearly collapsed with "worry and sadness" over the invasion of Iraq. A scientist by profession he was also a pacifist, raised in Gandhian non violence. He was so disturbed by the Iraq war he predicted it will have untold misery on humanity. He never recovered from it, passed away 7 years later.
I have a sweet neighbor who "vents" to me daily her anxieties about "what if Trump", she shares her 'you know he said that', 'you know he did that' and surfs the web reading up on all the "evil acts" of Trump. I let her vent, its the least I can do, just give her that space. Not being in love with Hillary has advantages in that we can become good listeners for her supporters. Not liking Trump at all, we always knew he was in it for silliness, he might portray himself as a serious candidate but as his son tells us, becoming President would be a step down for his dad, you know a meagre salary of $400,000, how on earth could he get by with so little.
I have a sweet neighbor who "vents" to me daily her anxieties about "what if Trump", she shares her 'you know he said that', 'you know he did that' and surfs the web reading up on all the "evil acts" of Trump. I let her vent, its the least I can do, just give her that space. Not being in love with Hillary has advantages in that we can become good listeners for her supporters. Not liking Trump at all, we always knew he was in it for silliness, he might portray himself as a serious candidate but as his son tells us, becoming President would be a step down for his dad, you know a meagre salary of $400,000, how on earth could he get by with so little.
8
Donald in the White House is plainly scary. Forget anxiety.
Mazal Tov.
Mazal Tov.
11
David, What makes you not mention Mitch McConnell's pledge at the beginning of Obama's eight year presidency that the Republican's will block Obama's efforts to get things done? You talk about "action" but the Republican's have made it policy to starve the government and then say it is ineffective, to block attempts to repair our infrastructure, to not allow an up/down vote on a Supreme Court judge, to keep poor people from voting,etc. The Republicans are brilliant at exploiting the very people they want to disenfranchise and then getting these people to vote for them.
193
"David, What makes you not mention Mitch McConnell's pledge at the beginning of Obama's eight year presidency that the Republican's will block Obama's efforts to get things done?"
Don't forget John McCain's proclamation from last week.
Don't forget John McCain's proclamation from last week.
1
If they didn't have the signs, I would have guessed that those people were lined up waiting for a food bank to open. First time I've felt any real pity for people who are turning to Trump to make their lives better. All he wants to do is pick the last crumbs out of their pockets.
41
The "last crumbs" are all these people have left after Obama/Clinton skimmed off the top to distribute to their pockets first and then to illegals. If they love socialism so much they should go serve in Venezuela or at least tour Lenin's tomb.
Eh... we humans have always loved our drama, our stories, our mythos-- and now our industrial infotainment. The 24/7/365 news cycle and internet have dropped a bomb on our humanity, ironically and tragically bringing us together while ripping us apart at the same time. What's next? Life finding its way is fascinating to behold...
3
Your choice for president this year was Marco Rubio. It worries me, David, how you arrived at that conclusion but beyond that, given what we know about Donald Trump, why you aren't giving a full endorsement of Hillary Clinton.
71
JT Florida: Thanks for that tidbit. Brooks for Rubio? That doesn'T say much for his powers of political analysis. Moreover, I seem to remember that Brooks promoted the invasion of Iraq. Maybe his affluent position in society colors his thinking.
David Brook's reflective and spiritual writing always gives me pause and provides some ray of hope for the future. I appreciate that Brooks writes so well about what truly matters.
10
Worrying is a future based and useless emotion - we "worry" about something that hasn't happened yet.
3
Governing will not begin after this election. The era of the Hatfields and McCoys will continue. The biggest fight will be within the so-called Republican Party.
16
Perhaps we shall live to see another American orator, like Ingersoll, known as The Great Agnostic, reiterating that God should be left out of our politics
Two weeks to go and David Brooks has neither endorsed Hillary Clinton nor atoned (the word is very carefully chosen) for years of supporting the very things that led to Trump.
Shameful.
Shameful.
248
And Mr. Brooks has no intention of atoning. He doesn't care that the very party he's supported for so many years has contributed to this epidemic of worry. In fact I doubt that Mr. Brooks comprehends the effects this has had on the average American's health, ability to plan for the future, empathy for others, etc. It's quite hard to feel secure when one lives through multiple bouts of long term unemployment, sees one's colleagues, family and friends go through the same, has to go through a confusing maze to get any health care, watches the cost of housing, education, etc., outstrip the size of one's salary and raises for years, and is told by out of touch politicians of the Republican stripe, that one is lazy, a mooch, and should not receive any government assistance. All of this is told to us while the likes of the Koch Brothers, the financial industry, big pharma, and others receive government handouts. We can drop dead of hunger, freeze to death for lack of shelter, die for lack of affordable medical care and still be told we're losers or that there isn't money to spend on us while our corporatocracy plans more ways to get more money while paying less in taxes. And David Brooks will support this as he lectures us about how to live without worry.
5
How can I plan my 401k based retirement, when I don't know how long I will live ?
My dad has a defined benefit plan; it doesn't matter if he lives to 75 or 105; he will be ok (except for high inflation)
But me ? I have a fixed pot of money; it can run out; I call planning for an unknowable future a pretty legitimate thing to worry about.
Thank god I also have Soc Security, which doesn't care about how long I live - even if I live to 105, I won't run out of money
But you, David Brooks, have allowed your fellow republicans to wage a war of falsehoods about the stability of the Soc Security system, the only plan available to most people where you don't have to worry about how long you live
so i would say you, personally, are responsible for my worry.
sorry bout that
My dad has a defined benefit plan; it doesn't matter if he lives to 75 or 105; he will be ok (except for high inflation)
But me ? I have a fixed pot of money; it can run out; I call planning for an unknowable future a pretty legitimate thing to worry about.
Thank god I also have Soc Security, which doesn't care about how long I live - even if I live to 105, I won't run out of money
But you, David Brooks, have allowed your fellow republicans to wage a war of falsehoods about the stability of the Soc Security system, the only plan available to most people where you don't have to worry about how long you live
so i would say you, personally, are responsible for my worry.
sorry bout that
136
How long will I have to wait before governing returns? I don't have much time.
34
David, anger and anxiety are often intertwined. This election has stoked both, particularly in Trump's camp. In fact, I think Trump is an emotional arsonist, who really has no plan to put out the flames. And, soon, you say we will return to governing. You must be kidding.
37
Adolescent "all is pessimissm" nonsense seems to be what's left for "compassionate" conservatives who facillitated gridlock and set up folks like Cruz, Palin and Trump in the first place.
39
I don't have anxiety. Just resignation. I've slogged through six decades. I've learned that no matter who wins, one way or the other, I'll lose. The only question is, will it be a setback or a full-blown catastrophe?
I support Clinton because under her things will undoubtedly get worse for me, but under Trump things will become intolerable. As for Jill Stein and Gary Johnson, although either one has as much chance of being elected as I do of being declared Empress of All the Klingons, I can support neither: not Stein because even if she had Congress behind her she'd have no hope of getting anything on her fairy-tale wish list; Johnson even less so, because if he were to win, he might actually have Congress behind him, and get some of his Ayn-Rand-on-steroids agenda passed. Of the four, Clinton is the only one who lives in the real world.
I support Clinton because under her things will undoubtedly get worse for me, but under Trump things will become intolerable. As for Jill Stein and Gary Johnson, although either one has as much chance of being elected as I do of being declared Empress of All the Klingons, I can support neither: not Stein because even if she had Congress behind her she'd have no hope of getting anything on her fairy-tale wish list; Johnson even less so, because if he were to win, he might actually have Congress behind him, and get some of his Ayn-Rand-on-steroids agenda passed. Of the four, Clinton is the only one who lives in the real world.
354
ACW, I hear you. Even though I've always found another job this last bout with unemployment has left its mark. I am resigned to being homeless once I'm forced to retire, to being hungry all the time once I retire or sooner, to being unable to afford the health care I'll need, and to the fact that the American Dream, even a pared down version of it, is not going to occur. We did our part. We kept our end of the deal. We don't need lectures from our politicians or political shills like Mr. Brooks. We need elected officials who will work for us, we the people, not the corporatocracy.
3
I hear you and only disagree with the losing part.
We the people don't HAVE to lose. Hillary Clinton can be held accountable (Trump cares only for himself) but she can be steered as she has been by Sanders and Warren.
No Utopian am I, but progress can be made
We the people don't HAVE to lose. Hillary Clinton can be held accountable (Trump cares only for himself) but she can be steered as she has been by Sanders and Warren.
No Utopian am I, but progress can be made
2
You're so sure things are so bad? And will remain so, if not get worse? Isn't your thinking the classic definition of negative thinking? You need to interact with positive people like the younger generations who can be idealistic. You need to be around people who don't consider any unexpected result as proof that life is all wrong. Things happen to all of us but to label them as wrong or right is up to each of us individuals.
The "pleasant social strata" of the rich does not rest on the unstable minds and feverish hearts of Trump supporters. On the contrary. Trump's base is not only deplorable, but dispensable. They are unneeded and every new "value creation" idea that comes down the pike only makes their powerless superfluity even more obvious. That's why they are angry. The White Anxious Class is not losing out to immigrants. It has lost out (given up, in fact, without ever taking the field) to the Global Ruling (largely White) Class.
Seems millions have concluded they have two choices. Hold your Nose and Vote, or simply don't bother. Seems so odd, the likes of Trump, and Sanders before him, garnered so many primary votes. That to me indicates millions have deep fears of the Clinton partnership forthcoming. Both Trump deplorable's, and Bernie's left wingers, fear they are on their own, to make there own way.
1
Oh sweet Jesus! Really? Anxiety is a bi-partisan issue? False equivalence on steroids, Mr. Brooks.
As a progressive I'm worried about climate change making the world uninhabitable for my grandchildren. I'm worried about the possibility of nuclear winter. I'm worried about black boys being shot in the streets. I'm worried about my friends and relatives dying because we continue to resist a rational, just, health care system. I'm worried about the privatization of American education. I'm worried about the proliferation of guns in our country. I'm worried about the influence of money in our elections and governance.
Trump and supporters are worried about problems that don't exist: Rampant voter fraud (there is virtually none); Illegal immigrants killing our neighbors (immigrants commit fewer crimes than Trump does); Black neighborhoods that are "hell" (Trump Towers is hell to me); Rigged elections (huh?); Confiscation of guns (I've never heard such a proposal, although it's a dandy idea).
We're not all swimming in the same "narcissistic pool," Mr. Brooks. Trump's doesn't hold water.
As a progressive I'm worried about climate change making the world uninhabitable for my grandchildren. I'm worried about the possibility of nuclear winter. I'm worried about black boys being shot in the streets. I'm worried about my friends and relatives dying because we continue to resist a rational, just, health care system. I'm worried about the privatization of American education. I'm worried about the proliferation of guns in our country. I'm worried about the influence of money in our elections and governance.
Trump and supporters are worried about problems that don't exist: Rampant voter fraud (there is virtually none); Illegal immigrants killing our neighbors (immigrants commit fewer crimes than Trump does); Black neighborhoods that are "hell" (Trump Towers is hell to me); Rigged elections (huh?); Confiscation of guns (I've never heard such a proposal, although it's a dandy idea).
We're not all swimming in the same "narcissistic pool," Mr. Brooks. Trump's doesn't hold water.
6
Currently only one party even attempts to govern (guess which one). The other party is not going to go away or change until forced to by the electorate. Either way, trump will be trump, and continue to find the sucker that is born every minute.
I would fit in nicely with the accompanying photo - white, old, etc.
The main difference between me and the those in the photo is that I can easily imagine everyone in the photo spend thousands of dollars to get a degree from trump university. I would argue that supporting trump is metaphorically the same as being duped by the university.
I would fit in nicely with the accompanying photo - white, old, etc.
The main difference between me and the those in the photo is that I can easily imagine everyone in the photo spend thousands of dollars to get a degree from trump university. I would argue that supporting trump is metaphorically the same as being duped by the university.
1
Brooks: Wrong on one thing. "And governing, thank God, will soon return." I cannot remember the last time this government actually did anything close to "governing". Have you not seen the obstructionism of the Republican party? They will not even consider Obama's supreme court nominee. This is governing?
One other thought. Action as a cure for anxiety. Action? How does one act to get the government to run? How does one act to unite this country? Many of us acted in the primaries by voting for someone other than the two clowns that are running today. Many of us write to our senators and congress people. Many of us will vote, but most of us don't believe it will change anything. Many of us hope the country will some how become united. We can hope action (or whatever) will change things, but that has not been the reality.
One of the best cures for anxiety is to realize what one can change and what one cannot change and to accept that reality.
One other thought. Action as a cure for anxiety. Action? How does one act to get the government to run? How does one act to unite this country? Many of us acted in the primaries by voting for someone other than the two clowns that are running today. Many of us write to our senators and congress people. Many of us will vote, but most of us don't believe it will change anything. Many of us hope the country will some how become united. We can hope action (or whatever) will change things, but that has not been the reality.
One of the best cures for anxiety is to realize what one can change and what one cannot change and to accept that reality.
Its time talking head like Mr. Brooks stop drawing moral equivalencies and conflating Hillary and the Democrats with Trump and the Republicans together. Lets be very clear, notwithstanding all the wrapping themselves in the flag of phony patriotism, the rightwing has spent the last few decades doing its best to tear the nation apart with hate, hypocrisy, lies and ignorance. Trump is not an outlier of the rightwing but the personification of everything the rightwing has stood for over these past decades.
4
One should try hard to clarify what they actually worry about. To worry about having a demagogue in the White House is a legitimate worry. Now, IMO, that is a legitimate worry that keeps intelligent people awake at 3am in the morning.
We have seen 12 years of congressional gridlock that has been deliberate, destructive, and demeaning in every sense of what democracy is supposed to be about.
Now that is something to worry about if it continues.
We have seen 12 years of congressional gridlock that has been deliberate, destructive, and demeaning in every sense of what democracy is supposed to be about.
Now that is something to worry about if it continues.
2
The only thing that truly worries me today is the crazy right wing and the fact that a major political party has incorporated their insanity into its DNA. And what's worse is that this distraction makes it much more difficult for us to effectively deal with the many real challenges we face such as energy policy, climate change, terrorism, etc. These issues require attention, for sure, but there is no need to be off the charts worried or scared, as the far right would have you believe.
3
"This campaign will soon be over, and governing, thank God, will soon return."
This is the problem, the republicans say that government is the problem and not the solution. Then the republican make this a self fulfillment prophecy by not governing.
So the only answer is to vote the republicans out of office. And not to let that con man Mr. Trump anywhere near the white house.
This is the problem, the republicans say that government is the problem and not the solution. Then the republican make this a self fulfillment prophecy by not governing.
So the only answer is to vote the republicans out of office. And not to let that con man Mr. Trump anywhere near the white house.
9
Then there's this: cynicism has created worry, worry has created cynicism. The cynicism of pundits, politicians and corporate pillagers has created worry in the manipulated populace. But it's also created an understandable cynicism, which, of course, creates a growing mistrust of our institutions and leaders. That's what worries me.
3
"This campaign will soon be over, and governing, thank God, will soon return."
It looks like Mr. Brooks thinks the Democrats will win the presidency, and reclaim majorities in both the House and the Senate! Because I both "worry" and "fear" that a Republican majority in either chamber of Congress means a continuation of much of the obstinacy and obstructionism we've seen against President Obama -- only this time, instead of being driven by racial animus, it'll be a sexist attempt to de-legitimize the election of a woman to the Oval Office. Trump's endless prattle about the "rigged" election (as if anything has even been rigged against him in his whole life) represents the sowing of exactly those seeds.
It looks like Mr. Brooks thinks the Democrats will win the presidency, and reclaim majorities in both the House and the Senate! Because I both "worry" and "fear" that a Republican majority in either chamber of Congress means a continuation of much of the obstinacy and obstructionism we've seen against President Obama -- only this time, instead of being driven by racial animus, it'll be a sexist attempt to de-legitimize the election of a woman to the Oval Office. Trump's endless prattle about the "rigged" election (as if anything has even been rigged against him in his whole life) represents the sowing of exactly those seeds.
4
This campaign began nearly 1.5 years ago and we have had to endure endless media coverage of a crass reality show for most of this year. That, as well as being told repeatedly by media outlets that these were the two most loathed candidates in American history yet here they were, they're yours to choose, have at it. Then the 24/7 poll horse race, breathless reporters making stuff up on the fly, Wikileaks, Russia, Americans hating other Americans based on their choice of candidate. The way we elect a President is shameful and we are the laughingstock of the enlightened world. Yup. We are anxious.
4
"If you’re worrying, you’re spiraling into your own narcissistic pool."
There is nothing at all narcissistic about worrying about the real possibility that my young adult children and the communities I cherish will be subjected to and subjugated in a Trumpian world -- one characterized by authoritarianism and the hate, divisiveness, disruption, instability, rampant greed, unjust, open carry and the aggressive policing he espouses and provokes. What David French and his daughter experienced could become the new normal under a Trump regime.
My wife and I took those same children some 25 years ago to see the Lion King. The Hakuna matata moment was a joyful one. But the play's principal message was about the "circle of life" -- that you should never take more than you give.
Trump and the obstructionist and morally bankrupt Republicans -- who will return to their non-governing ways no matter who wins-- think and act antithetically to morals and virtues embodied in the Lion King.
So let us worry enough now to prevent the Grand Hyena and his band of scavengers from taking over and ruining our virtuous jungle.
There is nothing at all narcissistic about worrying about the real possibility that my young adult children and the communities I cherish will be subjected to and subjugated in a Trumpian world -- one characterized by authoritarianism and the hate, divisiveness, disruption, instability, rampant greed, unjust, open carry and the aggressive policing he espouses and provokes. What David French and his daughter experienced could become the new normal under a Trump regime.
My wife and I took those same children some 25 years ago to see the Lion King. The Hakuna matata moment was a joyful one. But the play's principal message was about the "circle of life" -- that you should never take more than you give.
Trump and the obstructionist and morally bankrupt Republicans -- who will return to their non-governing ways no matter who wins-- think and act antithetically to morals and virtues embodied in the Lion King.
So let us worry enough now to prevent the Grand Hyena and his band of scavengers from taking over and ruining our virtuous jungle.
11
Another article without actually mentioning income inequality. It isn't worry that is fueling the distrust and fearful choices in America, it is, well, actual rational fear and loathing.
You try living on a small SS check, or finding a way to get your way through life when all the housing is five times more than you can afford, when you simply don't have the education to get a decent job and the education itself is handed out by ridiculously expensive educational factories.
Hugh Massengill, Eugene
You try living on a small SS check, or finding a way to get your way through life when all the housing is five times more than you can afford, when you simply don't have the education to get a decent job and the education itself is handed out by ridiculously expensive educational factories.
Hugh Massengill, Eugene
11
We're worried that Trump may not be an aberration like some disease that can be cured by a new miracle drug. We're worried that Republicans never seem to learn from their mistakes or from history. When their policies on economics or foreign affairs or anything go wrong it's always someone else's fault.
The more they're proved wrong the worse they get. When Trump fails it's likely they'll find someone worse-if that's possible.
The more they're proved wrong the worse they get. When Trump fails it's likely they'll find someone worse-if that's possible.
6
It's pretty simple: the corporate reaction-ism that began in the 70s coupled with the rise of the information economy has done away with industrial jobs. We're in the last wave of this process and the working class who were left behind are feeling the pain. Hillary will continue the neo-liberal agenda; she's the candidate of that class. Trump is a blowhard who's taking advantage of peoples' fears, but he's being used as a foil for Clinton's (i.e. the corporate) power grab.
There's no returning to our industrial past, at least not one with the high wages that caused the corporate reaction in the first place. The unanswered (largely unaddressed in this campaign) question is whether the information economy will be able to provide enough good jobs. (So far the reviews are "mixed".) Government spending on infrastructure, though a good idea, will only take us so far. The ultimate solution will have to come from private initiatives of some sort.
There's no returning to our industrial past, at least not one with the high wages that caused the corporate reaction in the first place. The unanswered (largely unaddressed in this campaign) question is whether the information economy will be able to provide enough good jobs. (So far the reviews are "mixed".) Government spending on infrastructure, though a good idea, will only take us so far. The ultimate solution will have to come from private initiatives of some sort.
1
As FDR famously said, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." Yet, in today's election, we have everything and almost everybody to fear - international trade, Iran, Latinos, African Americans, Women, Gays, etc.. I so miss Obama's messages of Hope and Change. The election of 2008 seems rather quaint by comparison. I put much of the blame on network "news" who decided that Trump was the best thing for ratings and profits. The head of CNN, Jeff Zucker, admitted as much just recently. It's really shameful that every tweet and rant from Donald Trump was considered newsworthy, and news commentators were dispatched to analyze them in a total circus environment. We are destroying democracy one tweet at a time.
17
"We’ve seen a level of thuggery this election cycle that is without precedent in recent American history. Some of the anti-Trump demonstrators seem more interested in violence than politics. Some of the Trumpians are savage."
What?
Remember the nerdy guy who awkwardly joined our conversation in high school and no matter what the topic was, he'd bring it around to whatever HE wanted to discuss, whether that was bus or train timetables, zip codes, table tennis, or traffic lights?
Yeah, no matter what the issue, David Brooks always finds false equivalences and lets the rest of us know just how smart he is by the books he has read.
What?
Remember the nerdy guy who awkwardly joined our conversation in high school and no matter what the topic was, he'd bring it around to whatever HE wanted to discuss, whether that was bus or train timetables, zip codes, table tennis, or traffic lights?
Yeah, no matter what the issue, David Brooks always finds false equivalences and lets the rest of us know just how smart he is by the books he has read.
8
Leslie,
Every time David is just about to make a good point, he falls on false equivalency.
Violent anti Trumpers? Right.
How many of them do you see walking around with guns? How many democrats or liberals walk around carrying GUNS?
No, one side is decidedly more violent and scary.
Every time David is just about to make a good point, he falls on false equivalency.
Violent anti Trumpers? Right.
How many of them do you see walking around with guns? How many democrats or liberals walk around carrying GUNS?
No, one side is decidedly more violent and scary.
There is an old concept outlined among other places in the the Bible:
You reap what you sow, you reap later than you sow and you reap greater than you sow.
Thanks to Conservative Republicans and Corporate Democrats our schools are debased, our media is concentrated in few hands- mostly corporate conservative- and marketing trumps journalism. Meanwhile the safety net has been hacked to death, a secure old age has been turned into our winter of discontent, employment into the gig economy, secure pensions turned to 401k/403b plans subject to Wall Street chicanery and healthcare into the leading cause of bankruptcy in America.
Most of the groundwork for all that happened from the late 1970's onward and accelerated under Reagan and went on steroids under Clinton and his buddy in deregulation Newt Gingrich. It has had a long time to fester and metastasize with the result being a significant portion of our population misinformed, untrusting and very uneasy about their future. We didn't get the Kinder, Gentler Nation George HW Bush spoke of- we got Economic Darwinism, Rush Limbaugh and Fox News.
Like a nice German Shepherd puppy left chained up, underfed and abused, it has grown up to be a big angry dog you would be right to fear. Usurious Banking, the National Security State, the Military Industrial Complex and the for Profit Prison Business are the growth industries in our country. What did you expect?
You reap what you sow, you reap later than you sow and you reap greater than you sow.
Thanks to Conservative Republicans and Corporate Democrats our schools are debased, our media is concentrated in few hands- mostly corporate conservative- and marketing trumps journalism. Meanwhile the safety net has been hacked to death, a secure old age has been turned into our winter of discontent, employment into the gig economy, secure pensions turned to 401k/403b plans subject to Wall Street chicanery and healthcare into the leading cause of bankruptcy in America.
Most of the groundwork for all that happened from the late 1970's onward and accelerated under Reagan and went on steroids under Clinton and his buddy in deregulation Newt Gingrich. It has had a long time to fester and metastasize with the result being a significant portion of our population misinformed, untrusting and very uneasy about their future. We didn't get the Kinder, Gentler Nation George HW Bush spoke of- we got Economic Darwinism, Rush Limbaugh and Fox News.
Like a nice German Shepherd puppy left chained up, underfed and abused, it has grown up to be a big angry dog you would be right to fear. Usurious Banking, the National Security State, the Military Industrial Complex and the for Profit Prison Business are the growth industries in our country. What did you expect?
24
NB: Ever the racist, Brooks manages to be sure to mention belief in superstition and conspiracy immediately after naming African Americans. Accidental? Incidental? Not when it is a regular feature. But then I'm black. So I must be suffering from superstition and conspiracy thinking
10
It must get tiring seeing a racist behind every tree.
The eternal problem of generalizing from a tiny number of events. There have been only two or three anti-Trump protests with clashes that I am aware of and from those, Mr. Brooks creates a situation of unchecked violence. We must recognize that all over the world, and the US is included, there is an irreducible number of people given to deplorable behavior,r and they are members of all factions and all parties. We are coming out of a period of great economic instability and it is to be expected that those who are most affected feel anxiety. The issue and the danger is that people like Trump are magnifying it for political purpose. Actually, in the case of Trump there is no purpose, just a pursuit to the edge of a senselessness.
Whether these conditions continue will depend in large part on what the members of Congress do following the election. If they continue to exacerbate matters through petty and fruitless investigations and refuse to agree on even the basic measures that keep the government functioning, they will bring about disorder and recriminations. Ryan and McConnell have a chance to "save" the country from the worst possible outcome, but I have little trust in Ryan and no hope at all for the feckless McConnell.
Whether these conditions continue will depend in large part on what the members of Congress do following the election. If they continue to exacerbate matters through petty and fruitless investigations and refuse to agree on even the basic measures that keep the government functioning, they will bring about disorder and recriminations. Ryan and McConnell have a chance to "save" the country from the worst possible outcome, but I have little trust in Ryan and no hope at all for the feckless McConnell.
2
Agreed, worry is bad for you. Both sides in this election are motivated by extreme worry, some or even much of it justified. Personally, I'm seeing ugly parallels to Germany in the 1930's when I look at Trump's campaign and that has me horrified. Even though I believe HRC will win, I'm still left with the thought that things will NOT return to normal on Nov. 9. The 40% of American voters who support Trump will still be here. They'll be angry and perhaps will take him at his word and act out. This country has seen a gaping wound opened up and what was unacceptable political speech and action has now become the norm. We have been debased by Trump and there is no quick fix.
283
" Personally, I'm seeing ugly parallels to Germany in the 1930's"
and here it goes again, Godwin's law.
But, also, what exactly are these parallels, it seems nobody knows, except for lamenting about the mood of angry people, as if nobody can be angry occasionally and for motivated reasons, or it's a social stigma, or worse it's depicted as anthropological "frenziness" ( see as the Berlusconi's voters were treated by the media of the time ). It's curious, though, that this moral opposition has the effect of inducing more people to avoid to speak openly about their political preferences, to the effect of even derailing the joyful electoral machine of mrs. Rodham Clinton into thinking they really have a hedge on the election, and this could not be the case, not by that big margin, anyway.
Still, as far as i know about Germany in the thirties of the previous century, there is a big wall between now and then, and the fact that mr. Kristof's recent article equiparing syrian refugees to holocaust victims prompted a clear and neat response by a rabbi stating there's no comparision to seek, is reassuring that history speaks loudly in any year, and more loudly in any electoral one.
and here it goes again, Godwin's law.
But, also, what exactly are these parallels, it seems nobody knows, except for lamenting about the mood of angry people, as if nobody can be angry occasionally and for motivated reasons, or it's a social stigma, or worse it's depicted as anthropological "frenziness" ( see as the Berlusconi's voters were treated by the media of the time ). It's curious, though, that this moral opposition has the effect of inducing more people to avoid to speak openly about their political preferences, to the effect of even derailing the joyful electoral machine of mrs. Rodham Clinton into thinking they really have a hedge on the election, and this could not be the case, not by that big margin, anyway.
Still, as far as i know about Germany in the thirties of the previous century, there is a big wall between now and then, and the fact that mr. Kristof's recent article equiparing syrian refugees to holocaust victims prompted a clear and neat response by a rabbi stating there's no comparision to seek, is reassuring that history speaks loudly in any year, and more loudly in any electoral one.
2
What mystifies me, as shown in the image accompanying this piece, is the very folk who have most to lose by a Trump victory are his most ardent supporters. But as I see daily in my work with many of these people, the results of generational poverty, addiction, spousal abuse, poor education, etc. all lead to an inability to have critical thinking ability.
For the rest of us over-educated NYT readers, perhaps it is good to remember how we believed every word that came out of the mouth of that grade school teacher, without corroborating evidence. That is where many of these people are at and where the Trump campaign has masterfully played to them. However, it has revealed a huge divide in this country that must be attended to.
Perhaps we can reflect upon the words of Robert Graves in his historical novel about 1st century Rome, I Claudius,
“Let all the poison that lurks in the mud, hatch out.”
For the rest of us over-educated NYT readers, perhaps it is good to remember how we believed every word that came out of the mouth of that grade school teacher, without corroborating evidence. That is where many of these people are at and where the Trump campaign has masterfully played to them. However, it has revealed a huge divide in this country that must be attended to.
Perhaps we can reflect upon the words of Robert Graves in his historical novel about 1st century Rome, I Claudius,
“Let all the poison that lurks in the mud, hatch out.”
1
Let's not forget his invitation to "2nd amendment people" to shoot her for daring to make supreme court nominations if elected. I am not worried, I am afraid, which is quite different. This country in the hands of the GoP majority has become un-governalbe. His supporters are well armed and very angry. Their anger is fed every single day by this sociopath and his party supporters (all of them including Ryan and McConnel and the Legitimate Rape Club) ...was it not McCain who said that the GOP majority in congress would not entertain any of her nominations? What is this but refusing the outcome of an election? And the GoP is so upset by him? They are the exactly the same.
The one prescriptive David offers in this piece to inveigle us to focus on the positive is that the next president pass “a slew of actual policies”; that there be positive action forward. Yet it’s precisely the inability of Sec. Clinton to do that that has so many so concerned. Much of the worry is supported by six of the past eight years of political paralysis and the prospect that under Hillary we will simply see four more. Her increasingly collectivist “solutions” are offered increasingly confidently, because she figures she can get away with them and still be elected because of the Neanderthal nature of Trump’s persona. Yet if she IS elected, those proffered policies will arrive in Congress already DOA – with nothing behind them as options.
Far be it from me to agree as a matter of course with Alan Blinder (Princetonian economist, former Fed big-wig) on just about anything, but he has an op-ed today in the WSJ in which even he proclaims that people are fed up with a federal government that simply no longer works; and he proclaims this manifestly evident truth as if he’s just discovered fire. Of COURSE Americans are fed up with dysfunctional governance: we’ve been watching it for years and we are not amused!
Trump’s persona masks an ideology with elements of both conservatism and liberalism, which makes him FAR more likely to cobble together congressional coalitions that could take us forward again. Sec. Clinton cannot.
Hakuna matata? Giveth me a break.
Far be it from me to agree as a matter of course with Alan Blinder (Princetonian economist, former Fed big-wig) on just about anything, but he has an op-ed today in the WSJ in which even he proclaims that people are fed up with a federal government that simply no longer works; and he proclaims this manifestly evident truth as if he’s just discovered fire. Of COURSE Americans are fed up with dysfunctional governance: we’ve been watching it for years and we are not amused!
Trump’s persona masks an ideology with elements of both conservatism and liberalism, which makes him FAR more likely to cobble together congressional coalitions that could take us forward again. Sec. Clinton cannot.
Hakuna matata? Giveth me a break.
2
So, the solution to the dysfunctional government is to give in to the party which has made it dysfunctional (i.e., elect Trump), so that they can do what they want.
6
Fair observation, but:
1. Dysfunction in Washington is a result of luddite Tea Party Republicans pursuing anarchy over governance.
2. Better to keep our soul with 4 years of an ineffective Clinton than losing it with an American Caligula.
1. Dysfunction in Washington is a result of luddite Tea Party Republicans pursuing anarchy over governance.
2. Better to keep our soul with 4 years of an ineffective Clinton than losing it with an American Caligula.
9
So you are identifying gridlock as a major issue in this election. You then proceed to blame democrats for the gridlock even after republicans who control congress have said they won't pass any legislation posed by democrats. You're kidding, right?
4
Oh dear! As his candidate spirals down the drain, Mr Brooks spirals into pop psychology! If I wanted this kind of information I'd go to back copies of the Readers' Digest. This is pretty lame!
28
Who is Brooks' candidate? He has never supported DJT. Not pop psychology, astute observation of the underlying anxiety people across the spectrum are feeling. Which is not easily going away after the election.
Trump was never David Brook's candidate.
1
Is it worry or fatigue? I think its both. This election cycles gone on too long. Its like an advertisement that won't end. I worry we've flipped the shark this election cycle.
3
Like Douthat, Brooks has suddenly regressed this week back to portraying Trump as kind of a regular candidate - instead of as a democracy-denying, morally and fiscally bankrupt, misogynistic, violence-baiting ignoramus.
Did The Times send them both columnists their "conservative" job descriptions as a reminder? This is like Groundhog Day.
Did The Times send them both columnists their "conservative" job descriptions as a reminder? This is like Groundhog Day.
38
"This campaign will soon be over, and governing, thank God, will soon return." Democrat governing? Hope not. Much prefer gridlock over the kind of legislating which brought the nation Obamacare. Yea for gridlock.
2
Okay, let's get rid of Obamacare. So what do you have in mind to replace it that will be cheaper and cover the same number of Americans that are now covered?
We are waiting for answers.
We are waiting for answers.
4
"This campaign will soon be over, and governing, thank God, will soon return."
That's my biggest anxiety, that Republican obstructionists will just string us along without any functioning government in 4-year chunks until they either get their way or are completely voted out of office.
And each year just keeps setting new warmest-year records with no action being taken.
That's my biggest anxiety, that Republican obstructionists will just string us along without any functioning government in 4-year chunks until they either get their way or are completely voted out of office.
And each year just keeps setting new warmest-year records with no action being taken.
43
David's recent columns suggest that we Americans, after lazily indulging the last eight years of intramural warfare, which culminated in the Republican-led Senate refusing to even consider the President's Supreme Court nominee, need a twice-weekly stint on his psychiatric couch.
In another column today, "Your Facts or Mine," we learn that for many Americans reality is what they deem it to be, and even when that "reality" is debunked they still cling to it. It seems to me that a great way to exacerbate anxiety is to tire oneself out maintaining fiction.
So, David, after years promoting the agenda of the party that has revealed itself in this year's Presidential nominee, you have taken refuge in the soft psychology of low expectations. I would have expected better.
In another column today, "Your Facts or Mine," we learn that for many Americans reality is what they deem it to be, and even when that "reality" is debunked they still cling to it. It seems to me that a great way to exacerbate anxiety is to tire oneself out maintaining fiction.
So, David, after years promoting the agenda of the party that has revealed itself in this year's Presidential nominee, you have taken refuge in the soft psychology of low expectations. I would have expected better.
30
Anxiety is addictive - because rationalizations to support anxiety can't be effectively disproven (proving a negative is, shall we say, difficult). It requires habitual cognitive discipline to identify when anxiety is ruddering one's perspective, and to decide to give it less weight.
2
Trump, the "Alt-Right", the "Tea Partiers", etc., are remarkably abused (in their mind) and offended & want to "get even, or get-ahead".
More like the "Lord of the Flies" society is what I'm seeing.
Your ilk have not helped matters by pursuing the dollar at the expense of other, less fortunate humans & citizens.
I can't buy a congressman--I'm just a retired firefighter, hoping my pension doesn't get cut yet-again, or underfunded yet-again. Consequently I can't buy legislation to protect my industry, exclude my business from paying taxes, etc. The "Leona Helmsley" syndrome writ large.
Yes, I know you don't read your comments, David---but at least the Times lets me vent about how you've contributed to this mess, regardless of your breathless protestations.
More like the "Lord of the Flies" society is what I'm seeing.
Your ilk have not helped matters by pursuing the dollar at the expense of other, less fortunate humans & citizens.
I can't buy a congressman--I'm just a retired firefighter, hoping my pension doesn't get cut yet-again, or underfunded yet-again. Consequently I can't buy legislation to protect my industry, exclude my business from paying taxes, etc. The "Leona Helmsley" syndrome writ large.
Yes, I know you don't read your comments, David---but at least the Times lets me vent about how you've contributed to this mess, regardless of your breathless protestations.
42
The thing that surprises me is how as you age your worry and anxiety increase. Today I worry about everything in my life, whereas when I was in my 20's or 30's I knew no fear. Why do the young engage in risky sports and sex and eat unhealthful foods, whereas us seniors (who have little to lose) hide under our beds?
I can't understand it.
I can't understand it.
4
If kids learn to meditate at an early age, they are equipped with handling anxieties and challenges without falling apart. It's like mental flossing. Fortunately learning to meditate does not have an expiry date, one can start anytime of day, age, irrespective of where and when.
1
Actually not Steve, but Bonnie, and I'm agreeing with dEs JoHnson here, worrying that I might read another column like this (from anyone!). Brooksie's completely lost the plot! He's wandering in worryland, altering the atmosphere of his own mind, shrinking his awareness of the present and what is around him right now! Quick, somebody! He speaks in sentences, at least. He may be worth saving. Time will tell but I'm so worried about the future that, oh heck, what was I talking about?
2
Good article. Meditation also works to relieve anxiety. Out of meditation comes the acceptance that can help guide the best choice of action, which can otherwise be elusive due to the excess of emotion when something is upsetting.
1
As the poet said, Worry is the thing with phlegm and pus.
1
There is an epidemic of worry. Some 40% of voters are set to vote for Donald Trump and far too many others will be voting for Hillary while pinching their nose because Trump is just unelectable, unfit.
At this point, it doesn't matter who's on the good or bad form of anxiety. What matters is the massive number of people who feel left out, who feel their concerns aren't being addressed by either Party. And in American politics, Third Parties are just not an option.
Readers of of the NYTimes don't need a lesson on the GOP's and Donald's personal faults.The Dems are going to win but they have a lot of soul searching to do after the election. And a good place to start would be to try to understand how an unknown (18 months ago) 74 years old grumpy Independent could give Hillary such a run for the nomination.
On both sides, there's a lot of work to do to regain the ordinary people's trust and part of that will require getting big money out of Politics and start pandering to the people's needs, not the .1%'s wishes.
At this point, it doesn't matter who's on the good or bad form of anxiety. What matters is the massive number of people who feel left out, who feel their concerns aren't being addressed by either Party. And in American politics, Third Parties are just not an option.
Readers of of the NYTimes don't need a lesson on the GOP's and Donald's personal faults.The Dems are going to win but they have a lot of soul searching to do after the election. And a good place to start would be to try to understand how an unknown (18 months ago) 74 years old grumpy Independent could give Hillary such a run for the nomination.
On both sides, there's a lot of work to do to regain the ordinary people's trust and part of that will require getting big money out of Politics and start pandering to the people's needs, not the .1%'s wishes.
180
43% of the vote really wasn’t that much of a run for Bernie. And it’s not much of a mystery that many young, first-time voters were drawn to Bernie’s calls for revolution, free college, and cheap education loans. Surveys of this group showed that they didn’t have a clue what Bernie's other policy positions were, and that their actual political preferences lined up better with Hillary’s.
3
To Cadbury,
Actually, 43% of the votes is a big deal and remember that Bernie was a self-styled Socialist Independent. I don't think these young educated first time voters should be dismissed as naive because free College and low cost education and the rest of Bernie's positions are pretty much a way of life in the rest of the modern world. And they know it.
Actually, 43% of the votes is a big deal and remember that Bernie was a self-styled Socialist Independent. I don't think these young educated first time voters should be dismissed as naive because free College and low cost education and the rest of Bernie's positions are pretty much a way of life in the rest of the modern world. And they know it.
2
Can a man with 40% of the vote technically be considered unelectable?
Ya well, I'm really tired of being tapped physically to support these modern day centaurs breaking imaginary glass ceilings. Hakuna Matata to you, too!
I think the media with their obsessive, daily, word by word biased coverage can take the coverage for anyone who is so anxiety ridden with the upcoming election. And the affluent people I know are quite involved, busy, philanthropic and happy with their lives which are very "nice."
David why are you so afraid of a Donald Trump Presidency?
Why am I afraid of this winters weather ? Raising our oil prices?
Why is Hillary going to get us in another war where we do not belong?
IF the sea rises 10 ft in the year 2100, will my great grand children have a house on the ocean still?Or will they need flood insurance?
These and other wonderful "fears and worries" are instilled in us every day.Everyday!If when maybe perhaps would should can pretty soon ect..
Nobody want to take the responsibility of cleaning the wind shield, for as the Nobel winner states the answer is Blowing in the Wind.
Why am I afraid of this winters weather ? Raising our oil prices?
Why is Hillary going to get us in another war where we do not belong?
IF the sea rises 10 ft in the year 2100, will my great grand children have a house on the ocean still?Or will they need flood insurance?
These and other wonderful "fears and worries" are instilled in us every day.Everyday!If when maybe perhaps would should can pretty soon ect..
Nobody want to take the responsibility of cleaning the wind shield, for as the Nobel winner states the answer is Blowing in the Wind.
27
Deflation was not mentioned.
N. Korea, nuclear, ignored.
Martin Jack Blaser's Missing Microbes passed over.
Parenteral is ignored. Oral will kill us, obesity is an epidemic. Tetracycline is killing us. Grain for uptake.
Addicted politicos were ignored.
Addiction ignored.
Societal paranoia about the terrorist was not mentioned.
Soaring costs in the government health care disaster is thought normal in a market rigged to assure one
Anxiety is coldly rational. The only optimist is the realist.
And no one knows this better that the people that wish to forget it.
David Simpson gets it.
Anxiety. Logic. Tetracycline bathed livestock bloating the belly and the microbiology field is in hiding?
Anxiety? I am as logical as it gets, engaged daily in the battle to turn this world.
The co chair of Counsel on Foreign Relations came for dinner at The Links to celebrate the 95th of a good man from Manila. Last night. She had never heard of Nadia Murad.
The Yazidis can teach us about ourselves.
Nadia feels a constructive anxiety.
She is 23 and she can smile. Six brothers and her mother were killed. She was raped. Kidnapped.
Escaped. Is hunted. As are thousands.
Anxiety, David?
It's logical.
N. Korea, nuclear, ignored.
Martin Jack Blaser's Missing Microbes passed over.
Parenteral is ignored. Oral will kill us, obesity is an epidemic. Tetracycline is killing us. Grain for uptake.
Addicted politicos were ignored.
Addiction ignored.
Societal paranoia about the terrorist was not mentioned.
Soaring costs in the government health care disaster is thought normal in a market rigged to assure one
Anxiety is coldly rational. The only optimist is the realist.
And no one knows this better that the people that wish to forget it.
David Simpson gets it.
Anxiety. Logic. Tetracycline bathed livestock bloating the belly and the microbiology field is in hiding?
Anxiety? I am as logical as it gets, engaged daily in the battle to turn this world.
The co chair of Counsel on Foreign Relations came for dinner at The Links to celebrate the 95th of a good man from Manila. Last night. She had never heard of Nadia Murad.
The Yazidis can teach us about ourselves.
Nadia feels a constructive anxiety.
She is 23 and she can smile. Six brothers and her mother were killed. She was raped. Kidnapped.
Escaped. Is hunted. As are thousands.
Anxiety, David?
It's logical.
Worry? What we SHOULD be concerned about is the epidemic of lies perpetrated by 40 years of Rethuglican policies and obstructions and foisted upon the American people by the rise of corporate media.
The lies continue and multiply; Trump and his surrogates get away with it because the media has abdicated its proper function in a democracy. Can you imagine Walter Cronkite sitting still for Donald Trump or his ilk?
No, we are in an alternate universe with little hope of escape. We lament The millions of Americans who are in a difficult financial condition due to no fault of their own. Their anger is directed at "the system" when in actuality it needs to be directed at obstructionists in Congress and greedy, miserable CEO's. Their lies have made the bed and we're sleeping in it.
The lies continue and multiply; Trump and his surrogates get away with it because the media has abdicated its proper function in a democracy. Can you imagine Walter Cronkite sitting still for Donald Trump or his ilk?
No, we are in an alternate universe with little hope of escape. We lament The millions of Americans who are in a difficult financial condition due to no fault of their own. Their anger is directed at "the system" when in actuality it needs to be directed at obstructionists in Congress and greedy, miserable CEO's. Their lies have made the bed and we're sleeping in it.
10
This was a great column. How could anyone argue that we don't worry enough? I am not being snarky, I really liked this column. But there is a "but": there are sound and rational reasons for us to be worried, and none more pressing than Vladimir Putin. His personality includes the worst of human nature, and that nature cannot be fixed (barring far-fetched advances in genetic engineering).
Putin has several personality disorders, and one he shares with mass murderers is the desire for fame at all costs. He seems determined to start a nuclear war with us.
We may be able to avoid all-out war with Russia, but that would require our surrender or Putin to be overthrown or die of natural causes soon.
What most of us understand, even if only subconsciously, is that you only need one deranged leader to start a war. The best allied leaders could not prevent war with Hitler's Germany. Likewise, a nuclear holocaust may be entirely up to Putin. Knowing this, anxiety is a natural response.
Putin has several personality disorders, and one he shares with mass murderers is the desire for fame at all costs. He seems determined to start a nuclear war with us.
We may be able to avoid all-out war with Russia, but that would require our surrender or Putin to be overthrown or die of natural causes soon.
What most of us understand, even if only subconsciously, is that you only need one deranged leader to start a war. The best allied leaders could not prevent war with Hitler's Germany. Likewise, a nuclear holocaust may be entirely up to Putin. Knowing this, anxiety is a natural response.
1
At least David is right about one thing: the election will be over in 2 weeks.
As for whether there will be any "governing", I suggest the columnist ask some of his fellow Republicans if they will accept the results of the election if the polls are accurate.
Will the GOP actually attempt to work with the new president, or will the willful obstruction continue?
As for whether there will be any "governing", I suggest the columnist ask some of his fellow Republicans if they will accept the results of the election if the polls are accurate.
Will the GOP actually attempt to work with the new president, or will the willful obstruction continue?
128
The obstruction will continue....that's why we need to see the Republican party go down with the Donald.
2
McCain has already state he won't support a single SCOTUS nominee. That answers your question. The GOP unwillingness to do the hard work of governing would have been a more meaningful topic for David to introduce today. How on earth can David expect HRC to "enact a slew of actual policies," when the GOP will not do more than show up?
1
“Worrying is like paying a debt you don't owe.”
― Mark Twain
For eight years, America's racist, Republican and Trump Trash underbelly worried that the color of our thoughtful President's skin was sinking our nation into the abyss, but on further analysis, it was their 'worry' - carefully cultured, propagandized and spoon-fed to the hypnotized masses on on 'conservative' TV and right-wing hate radio - an alt-right strychnine soup of Birtherism, health care spite, Gun Derangement Syndrome, Benghazi Derangement Syndrome, Hillary Salem Witch Trials, fictionalized abortion clinic videos, No-New-Tax-Nincompoopery and homophobia hysteria - that shut down most of the neurotransmitters in Republistan and mutated those brains in a dark quivering mass of mad elephant disease that collapsed half of America's brains into a Republican bathtub of hateful anxiety...reality be damned to eternal alt-right hell.
You don't solve problems by preaching Up Is Down and Down Is Up end times.
You tackle problems with reality, cause and effect analysis, sober scientific observation and by working together.
You don't solve problems by starting political bonfires filled with spite, racism, ill will, misanthropy and preaching the Confederate glory of White Wonder Bread - which is what Republicans have done - that's how you start a Civil War, actually.
For eight years, Republicans have worried that the President is not white.
Stop paying interest on non-existent loans, Republican seditionists.
― Mark Twain
For eight years, America's racist, Republican and Trump Trash underbelly worried that the color of our thoughtful President's skin was sinking our nation into the abyss, but on further analysis, it was their 'worry' - carefully cultured, propagandized and spoon-fed to the hypnotized masses on on 'conservative' TV and right-wing hate radio - an alt-right strychnine soup of Birtherism, health care spite, Gun Derangement Syndrome, Benghazi Derangement Syndrome, Hillary Salem Witch Trials, fictionalized abortion clinic videos, No-New-Tax-Nincompoopery and homophobia hysteria - that shut down most of the neurotransmitters in Republistan and mutated those brains in a dark quivering mass of mad elephant disease that collapsed half of America's brains into a Republican bathtub of hateful anxiety...reality be damned to eternal alt-right hell.
You don't solve problems by preaching Up Is Down and Down Is Up end times.
You tackle problems with reality, cause and effect analysis, sober scientific observation and by working together.
You don't solve problems by starting political bonfires filled with spite, racism, ill will, misanthropy and preaching the Confederate glory of White Wonder Bread - which is what Republicans have done - that's how you start a Civil War, actually.
For eight years, Republicans have worried that the President is not white.
Stop paying interest on non-existent loans, Republican seditionists.
464
You don't solve problems by constantly blaming one side for our nation's problems, whether real or perceived. You don't solve problems with a constant barrage of hyperbole aimed at more division than honest, thoughtful discussion. You don't solve problems by constantly creating monsters out of your neighbors and fellow citizens.
"You tackle problems with reality, cause and effect analysis, sober scientific observation and by working together."
Based on the bulk of your commentary, I find it difficult to believe you actually mean any of that.
"You tackle problems with reality, cause and effect analysis, sober scientific observation and by working together."
Based on the bulk of your commentary, I find it difficult to believe you actually mean any of that.
2
you got it all wrong, but people like you make me want to vote for Trump. you are as bigoted as anyone. you are cold and dismissive of fly over state folks. i would say "shame on you," but I don't know if you are in touch with that emotion..! Get well soon.
1
This may be too off-topic to get approval but I just have to say that no one, and I mean no one, can coin a phrase like you do. Not possessing your talent, I can't convey how much I enjoy reading your comments. They are like finding bits of treasure and I look forward to the search every day.
I have a medical background and I suspect that you might have one too. Anyway, my favorite is "Pachyderm Spongiform Encephalopathy, a terrible neurologic disorder." Hysterical, brilliant, just too funny. Thank you, Socrates.
I have a medical background and I suspect that you might have one too. Anyway, my favorite is "Pachyderm Spongiform Encephalopathy, a terrible neurologic disorder." Hysterical, brilliant, just too funny. Thank you, Socrates.
1
I'm worried that I'll forget this article and read the next by Brooks. Time ill spent.
37
Mr Brooks, the reason more people vote in presidential elections is, they feel the importance of the moment in history. I love my country and the history that brought it to this point. We the people, grow with human understanding with each passing generation. I don't think the worries of the people are completely narcissistic. I think we share a great history and feel like voting is a way of being counted in, as a direct part of that history.
7
It seems like a majority of Americans don't want politicians, even decent lay people, to govern. How sad in a democracy!
11
Many say that to have faith in God is foolish, that it is all a myth. However, in my life I have found that having the knowledge that God is there and is ready to help when difficult times come has freed me of my anxieties. Jesus tells us in ( Luke 12:22) " " Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear." He goes on to say in (verse 25) " And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?"In ( Matthew 11:28) Jesus us tells us " Come to me , all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."So true.
3
Thanks for the bible study lesson. All I needed to get through the day.
2
... "Trust in the Lord, but fasten your seat belt."
2
I'm casting a protest vote for Hillary. I tire of right wing commentators dancing around the travesty of Trump. Do they think we are fools?
52
Yes. They're banking on the fact that quite a few Americans are, in fact, fools.
In the last decades our government dragged us into the wrong war (Iraq) for the wrong reason so that George Bush could be reelected as a "war" president. It passed a watered down healthcare reform law that is unsustainable, and unhelpful for most of us, and declared a major victory. It muddled up public education. It has allowed bankers to make a college education unaffordable for the average income student. At this point our Senate can't even put a moderate judge onto the Supreme Court through its Constitutional processes. It allowed Wall Street firms to collapse our economy through a massive pyramid scheme, and then spent the citizens money to bail the bankers out and allow the little people to languish. At this point, our government is allowing the same processes to happen again in our financial "market."
I don't really worry about any of this much. I'll worry when the guns come out, or the police are parading around in their weaponized Humvee's on my street. But I think that inertia is a bad thing for our country, and that unless our political leaders get their moral/ethical standards in order and get something done, this supposed democracy will not last another generation.
I don't really worry about any of this much. I'll worry when the guns come out, or the police are parading around in their weaponized Humvee's on my street. But I think that inertia is a bad thing for our country, and that unless our political leaders get their moral/ethical standards in order and get something done, this supposed democracy will not last another generation.
21
Worry is hardly something to worry about…that is until it crosses the line and becomes fear. Fear can save lives, but most often it is a form of irrational worry that causes an irrational reaction. It takes normal worrying and turns it into something that is too uncomfortable and threatening to live with it. Fear makes people willing to give up their freedoms and liberty for the sake of promised relief. Fear is what dictators rely on to justify their ruthless actions against scapegoats and those perceived to be threats. Fear doesn’t interfere with thinking, it fundamentally changes it into a thoughtless, often violent, instinct for survival. This election isn’t about worrying. It’s about fear, and Trump has perfected the art of fearmongering. Let’s hope those of us that are worried about the election win out over those that are fearful of the election.
208
His latest new ghost written book: The Art of the Fear.
1
Outstanding book...it helped me easing into being an artist
What about the bromide "people are motivated by fear and greed."
It seems the only thing that moves me to action is either fear or anger.
Otherwise I just enjoy the day as it comes.
It seems the only thing that moves me to action is either fear or anger.
Otherwise I just enjoy the day as it comes.
"This campaign will soon be over, and governing, thank God, will soon return."
Only if the winning candidate's party also wins both houses of Congress - for the better (if there is a God) or the worse.
If not, the gridlock continues and the worst is yet to come. And America sails on, rudderless. Sometimes, God appears only when things are really.really.really bad.
Only if the winning candidate's party also wins both houses of Congress - for the better (if there is a God) or the worse.
If not, the gridlock continues and the worst is yet to come. And America sails on, rudderless. Sometimes, God appears only when things are really.really.really bad.
6
It's amazing the people who actually support Trump don't worry about him. Just the opposite. That makes the rest of us very anxious, not just about Trump, but about our neighbors who we always thought we knew. We've come to find out they like a guy like Donald Trump?
No wonder people are seeking therapist's advice.
No wonder people are seeking therapist's advice.
27
"This election will soon be over and governing, thank God, will soon return."
Will it? Will it really?
I'll concede that governing has been going on at state and local levels although - some useful, some ridiculous. But nationally, i'd argue, there has been a dearth of governance. We've been living with the GOP selling a vision of calamity for so long, that they have elected people who fear that compromise will not only unseat them, but destroy they way they live.
Anxiety is normal, especially less than a decade after the powers that be cratered the economy globally.
But the apocalyptic visions - they'll take your guns, overrun the country with foreigners, who will take your jobs, then they'll make your church marry gays, all while taxing you to death, all while giving someone else healthcare, and giving minorities a leg up while they shove you down - sorry, those visions are not new to this election. They are the framework of used to build the party base. They are the main contributor to anxiety and main inhibitor to governance.
There is no equivalence between parties on governance or fear-mongering.
"They'll take away abortion and healthcare" are actual GOP planks.
Fear sells, and Trump has shown the GOP what selling fear buys. It won't go away because the parties are addicted to it - they cannot figure how to win an election without fear, anxiety and loathing.
Will it? Will it really?
I'll concede that governing has been going on at state and local levels although - some useful, some ridiculous. But nationally, i'd argue, there has been a dearth of governance. We've been living with the GOP selling a vision of calamity for so long, that they have elected people who fear that compromise will not only unseat them, but destroy they way they live.
Anxiety is normal, especially less than a decade after the powers that be cratered the economy globally.
But the apocalyptic visions - they'll take your guns, overrun the country with foreigners, who will take your jobs, then they'll make your church marry gays, all while taxing you to death, all while giving someone else healthcare, and giving minorities a leg up while they shove you down - sorry, those visions are not new to this election. They are the framework of used to build the party base. They are the main contributor to anxiety and main inhibitor to governance.
There is no equivalence between parties on governance or fear-mongering.
"They'll take away abortion and healthcare" are actual GOP planks.
Fear sells, and Trump has shown the GOP what selling fear buys. It won't go away because the parties are addicted to it - they cannot figure how to win an election without fear, anxiety and loathing.
18
Why is it that every time I read a David Brooks article, I hear a sad little violin playing in the background, mourning Dem Good Old Days, when women baked more pies, men drove off to work, and little girls wore white gloves to church?
The United States has never been a gentle country. Let's recall slavery (anxiety producing?), the Civil War (hey, great Gettysburg speech by Trump!), Pullman Riots and Bloody Harlan County (the struggle for unions), the Great Depression. And take them seriously.
My own family history proves that Americans have lived through hard times. My great-grandmother died of an illegal septic abortion (approved by her husband) in 1903. One of my great-grandfathers, an unemployed carpenter, committed suicide during the Great Depression. My grandfather was lobotomized in 1950.
Hmm. Why is it I sense past anxiety ... some Bad Ole Days?
Yes, the David French article in the National Review is terrifying, but let's remember that Mr. French and his family were attacked online and threatened by the alt-right crowd that has been electrified by Donald Trump. They were not threatened by Democrats.
I am scared by this bizarre and awful election, but it's your party, Mr. Brooks, that scares me. You have shown your teeth. And it's not just Trump who's dangerous. It's also Pence, Cruz, Huckabee, Jindal, Kasich, the merciless pretty boy Paul Ryan, McConnell, Scott Walker, and others.
Your guys.
The United States has never been a gentle country. Let's recall slavery (anxiety producing?), the Civil War (hey, great Gettysburg speech by Trump!), Pullman Riots and Bloody Harlan County (the struggle for unions), the Great Depression. And take them seriously.
My own family history proves that Americans have lived through hard times. My great-grandmother died of an illegal septic abortion (approved by her husband) in 1903. One of my great-grandfathers, an unemployed carpenter, committed suicide during the Great Depression. My grandfather was lobotomized in 1950.
Hmm. Why is it I sense past anxiety ... some Bad Ole Days?
Yes, the David French article in the National Review is terrifying, but let's remember that Mr. French and his family were attacked online and threatened by the alt-right crowd that has been electrified by Donald Trump. They were not threatened by Democrats.
I am scared by this bizarre and awful election, but it's your party, Mr. Brooks, that scares me. You have shown your teeth. And it's not just Trump who's dangerous. It's also Pence, Cruz, Huckabee, Jindal, Kasich, the merciless pretty boy Paul Ryan, McConnell, Scott Walker, and others.
Your guys.
406
You have an interesting past. I can't even begin to top that one.
2
Hello Paul, yes it's a weird family history, but I never knew about it growing up. Have only unearthed these stories recently. My mother visited her (sometimes dangerous) father in two different Missouri asylums through many years without telling us. We were coddled and protected and blanketed by parents (both Republicans) who sought and succeeded in establishing a middle-class family. Go figure.
And it was women who held the family together during hard times. And I expect it will be women who save us from Donald Trump.
And it was women who held the family together during hard times. And I expect it will be women who save us from Donald Trump.
3
You might as well include David Brooks in your last paragraph as he has not only stood by while the others listed have done their "work" but, by not calling them out, has enabled them.
David Brooks just cannot bring himself to admit it. Perhaps he needs some kind of "Twelve Step" program to regain his soul.
David Brooks just cannot bring himself to admit it. Perhaps he needs some kind of "Twelve Step" program to regain his soul.
1
The Republicans have been fighting an insurgency-type guerilla battle within the Capitol for eight years now. They have effectively shut down the U.S. government, and did so actually twice. We can even fill a Supreme Court vacancy, and now McCain has threatened to block ANY of Clinton's nominations should she win the election. The Republicans have held a gun to the head of the Americans by threatening to default on our debt. Could you image? Who would want to see their 401k vaporized overnight?
22
"The election campaign isn’t really about policy proposals, issue solutions or even hope. It’s led by two candidates who arouse gargantuan anxieties, fear and hatred in their opponents."
The is completely untrue and it is more Brooks propaganda.
The worries he says Hillary arouses are worries that have been fomented not aroused.
Ben Gazi 24/7 , emails 24/7 that's what has generated these "worries". The House leaders created these worries by harping and hyping these issues constantly. Nothing more or less than that.
The country needs to understand that the Republican leadership from birtherism to the Tea Party are lying scoundrels and the House leadership is exactly the same.
The is completely untrue and it is more Brooks propaganda.
The worries he says Hillary arouses are worries that have been fomented not aroused.
Ben Gazi 24/7 , emails 24/7 that's what has generated these "worries". The House leaders created these worries by harping and hyping these issues constantly. Nothing more or less than that.
The country needs to understand that the Republican leadership from birtherism to the Tea Party are lying scoundrels and the House leadership is exactly the same.
115
A headache can be a stroke? Oh my God, I never thought of that!!
7
lol
2
If you're worrying yourself sick this election season, there can be only one reason for it: Donald Trump.
If one is a Democrat, the worry is based on the fascist rhetoric and appalling lack of the most basic understanding of the foundation on which this country was built.
If one is Republican, the worry is based on the fact that now the whole country--and the world, for that matter--knows that Mr Trump is who you really are.
If one is a Democrat, the worry is based on the fascist rhetoric and appalling lack of the most basic understanding of the foundation on which this country was built.
If one is Republican, the worry is based on the fact that now the whole country--and the world, for that matter--knows that Mr Trump is who you really are.
28
WRONG! An incomplete sentence here: “If the next president starts enacting a slew of actual policies, then at least we can argue about concrete plans, rather than vague apocalyptic moods." It should read, "If the next president AND AN IMPROVED CONGRESS starts creating . . ."
"Hakuna matata" indeed. Do you mean "Hyena infada?" Are you speaking about Trump?
"Hakuna matata" indeed. Do you mean "Hyena infada?" Are you speaking about Trump?
5
"If the next president starts enacting a slew of actual policies," she will be as despised by conservatives as Obama (for doing just that). But I'm not going to worry about it. Rather, I will continue to subscribe to the philosophy of George H.W. Bush: "don't worry, be happy."
3
"If you're worrying, you spiral into your own narcissistic pool." That's harsh on both, and based on an oversimplification of both. Good for a tweet, maybe, but this arrow falls flat on the ground as soon as it leaves the bow.
2
Sometimes I think David hits it on the head. Then I read something like this and think that it is a mishmash of cliches hanging on a weak hook.
7
You seem to understand the educated classes concerns but have little feel for Hillary's dubbed "deplorables". Exploitation of the "less educated" as you call them is alive and real: CEO's earning 300x the average worker's wage - completely and utterly unjustified and a sad case of the hen watching the henhouse. The carried interest loophole - an immoral and outrageous scam designed by the wealthy for the wealthy. Policemen (now called "law enforcement officers") who are more geared to oppressing people in their own communities than being local, friendly beat cops I knew when I was a kid (even in Los Angeles where I grew up).
Trying to compare the wealthy's fears of "missing out" or "the dizziness of freedom" with the multitude who even have a hard time paying for health care or even the rent is absurd.
Mr. Brooks: try getting a bill in the mail from the electric company and then see that your bank account has a zero balance. That's anxiety. The resulting anger comes from seeing others in power sapping and manipulating the system to gain wealth rather than building a better mousetrap.
A loss of hope or a loss of viable real options is far worse than having "a daily excess of choices". Putting these on the same level indicates that you aren't really in a position to properly evaluate the situation.
Trying to compare the wealthy's fears of "missing out" or "the dizziness of freedom" with the multitude who even have a hard time paying for health care or even the rent is absurd.
Mr. Brooks: try getting a bill in the mail from the electric company and then see that your bank account has a zero balance. That's anxiety. The resulting anger comes from seeing others in power sapping and manipulating the system to gain wealth rather than building a better mousetrap.
A loss of hope or a loss of viable real options is far worse than having "a daily excess of choices". Putting these on the same level indicates that you aren't really in a position to properly evaluate the situation.
19
David Brooks = the Eternal Child. Every column, he cites a new book or study, a new proposed touchstone, a new faith by which we are urged to organize our souls. All that went before is touchingly wiped away, as this too will be wiped away when his next column appears. No Sixties seeker every ping-ponged from belief system to belief system with the guileless enthusiasm of Mr. Brooks, and yet week after week, I click and read. I'm not sure why. Maybe because his writing for all its silliness feints just enough in the direction of humanity and spiritual substance to make it seem nourishing, at least in the context of a daily paper and the weekly grind. . . .
7
My brother was born without an esophagus in 1964. During the first half of my childhood I absorbed my parents' constant worry that they could not pay for the care necessary to keep him alive. Now as an adult, I worry about people not having affordable health care.
Most of us have worries like this, rooted in our very real struggles. What concerns me about Trump is his penchant for cobusting sensible worry into senseless rage. What concerns me about you is that you have a national voice and you seem unable to internalize the very real material concerns of the 90 percent. Honestly, why have you wasted column space discussing the vague anxieties of the wealthy? Why do you serve up platitudes about community support when our problems are intractably institutional and global?
Give away your money. Get a typical job. Live like an average American trying to support his family in a first-world nation. Then come back to us and tell us what you think needs to be done to fix the country.
Most of us have worries like this, rooted in our very real struggles. What concerns me about Trump is his penchant for cobusting sensible worry into senseless rage. What concerns me about you is that you have a national voice and you seem unable to internalize the very real material concerns of the 90 percent. Honestly, why have you wasted column space discussing the vague anxieties of the wealthy? Why do you serve up platitudes about community support when our problems are intractably institutional and global?
Give away your money. Get a typical job. Live like an average American trying to support his family in a first-world nation. Then come back to us and tell us what you think needs to be done to fix the country.
26
@gemli
The Progressives have waged an all-out war on anything not nailed down, and the LGBTQQ agenda for total surrender is its Exhibit A. In horrified reaction, the Right has placed both feet on the brake and is prepared to push the pedal through the floor if necessary. I hope they continue if this is the best that Democrats can produce.
If this is the continued agenda of the Left, pass legislation without opposition votes, game the SCOTUS to engineer those situations that are not supported legislatively, and use Executive Order when all else fails; then I say "keep your feet planted squarely on the brake" and take to the streets, if needed.
Donald Trump is the wrong messenger for the opposition agenda, but I hope that Americans will return us to a tenor of modesty and moderation before the Progressives do any more lab experiments on our great nation.
Most Americans believe that science and the soul can cohabit, even though your supporters believe otherwise and have the screaming voices to prove it. Many of the social justice reforms that are now considered the exclusive province of the Left would flower absent their nutty gender and sexual orientation obsession. And many of the heartless and commercial impulses of the Right would build converts (even climate supporters), unshackled from the most strident faithful who are as fearful, apparently, as the gender dysphoric.
The Progressives have waged an all-out war on anything not nailed down, and the LGBTQQ agenda for total surrender is its Exhibit A. In horrified reaction, the Right has placed both feet on the brake and is prepared to push the pedal through the floor if necessary. I hope they continue if this is the best that Democrats can produce.
If this is the continued agenda of the Left, pass legislation without opposition votes, game the SCOTUS to engineer those situations that are not supported legislatively, and use Executive Order when all else fails; then I say "keep your feet planted squarely on the brake" and take to the streets, if needed.
Donald Trump is the wrong messenger for the opposition agenda, but I hope that Americans will return us to a tenor of modesty and moderation before the Progressives do any more lab experiments on our great nation.
Most Americans believe that science and the soul can cohabit, even though your supporters believe otherwise and have the screaming voices to prove it. Many of the social justice reforms that are now considered the exclusive province of the Left would flower absent their nutty gender and sexual orientation obsession. And many of the heartless and commercial impulses of the Right would build converts (even climate supporters), unshackled from the most strident faithful who are as fearful, apparently, as the gender dysphoric.
2
And yet, all evidence is to the contrary of these assertions. Only the left has a social welfare agenda, only the left has endorsed and supported women's equality, only the left believes that science is better than voodoo, only the left looks at a clown like Trump and sees the true absurdity of such a candidate, of such a person. Only the left keeps this country from spiraling dangerously into a fascist hellscape. The right? Praise Jesus and blast the heretics. Is this assessment too strident? Is Donald the right's standard bearer?
19
@Jude Ryan,
Thanks for this response. I couldn't have said it any better.
Thanks for this response. I couldn't have said it any better.
5
@Stuart, you do realize that social conservatives fought the abolition of slavery. They fought the women's vote. They fought child labor laws. They fought social security and Medicare. They fought civil rights legislation. Now, they are fighting LGBTQ rights.
Have you ever stopped to think that "screaming" Progressives are needed to force foot-braking Conservatives forward in the universal quest for a more just and humane society?
Have you ever stopped to think that "screaming" Progressives are needed to force foot-braking Conservatives forward in the universal quest for a more just and humane society?
11
Brooks needs to hit the books and analyze why and how the once Grand Old Party of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Dwight Eisenhower has morphed into the Tea Party Church of Sarah Palin, Ted Cruz, and Donald Trump.
Hilary Clinton has a depth of education, experience in advocating for women, children, and families, expanding health insurance for all, a policy record from the US Senate and the US State Dept.
Today Republican leaders with angst and fear and hatred of our first black president concentrate on birther issues and frustrating his signature Affordable Health Care Act. They have NO alternative, just want to spout slogans.
Hilary Clinton has a depth of education, experience in advocating for women, children, and families, expanding health insurance for all, a policy record from the US Senate and the US State Dept.
Today Republican leaders with angst and fear and hatred of our first black president concentrate on birther issues and frustrating his signature Affordable Health Care Act. They have NO alternative, just want to spout slogans.
24
At the end of this often insightful column, Mr. Brooks assures us that action cures anxiety. If the next president persuades congress to enact laws, "then at least we can argue about concrete plans, rather than vague apocalyptic moods."
Gee, I feel better already. President Trump gets congress to ban Muslim immigrants, leave NATO, give the rich a huge tax cut, and mobilize the resources to expel 11 million undocumented aliens. I experience deep outrage, but at least my anxiety has disappeared.
Brooks adopts a pseudo-clinical approach which portrays anxiety as a free-floating condition, unconnected to real events or threats (except at the beginning of his column). Concern over Trump's election, however, stems from the all too realistic fear that his administration would threaten democratic values and adopt policies which would damage our society and economy.
Only Clinton's election, coupled with the enactment of humane policies that would tackle some of our most serious challenges, could alleviate the anxiety associated with Trump's efforts to win the White House.
Dr. Brooks, we don't need a diagnosis of our state of mind. We need an electoral solution to the genuine threat posed by Trump and everything he stands for.
Gee, I feel better already. President Trump gets congress to ban Muslim immigrants, leave NATO, give the rich a huge tax cut, and mobilize the resources to expel 11 million undocumented aliens. I experience deep outrage, but at least my anxiety has disappeared.
Brooks adopts a pseudo-clinical approach which portrays anxiety as a free-floating condition, unconnected to real events or threats (except at the beginning of his column). Concern over Trump's election, however, stems from the all too realistic fear that his administration would threaten democratic values and adopt policies which would damage our society and economy.
Only Clinton's election, coupled with the enactment of humane policies that would tackle some of our most serious challenges, could alleviate the anxiety associated with Trump's efforts to win the White House.
Dr. Brooks, we don't need a diagnosis of our state of mind. We need an electoral solution to the genuine threat posed by Trump and everything he stands for.
18
Governing will soon return? Isn't it pretty to think so. McCain has already stated that his Reepub paranoids will vigorously fight ANY Clinton Supreme Court nominee. Now there's compromise and open-minded good will for you! Nothing like it on the Democrat side. No, Mr. Brooks--obstructionist non-governing will continue, and the history books will have no trouble identifying where the blame goes. It's sad to realize that McConnell, Ryan, McCain with his Palin, Issa, Gowdy, Walker, Christie, Giuliani and the rest of the bigots will be viewed by history the way Confederate generals are viewed today--as traitors.
18
I am worried and I don't feel like I'm "spiraling into [my] own narcissistic pool. I don't see why I should be confident that once the campaign is over, things will be back to normal. And I don't see why I should be uplifted by returning to what has been called "governing" for the last eight years.
When this election is over, no matter what the outcome, I believe that this nation will remain divided, that the hate that's been unleashed will remain in the air, poisoning our discourse.
The media has sold the trope of two "flawed" candidates, creating a false equivalency that has led many people to believe that there are two equally valid choices, two equally qualified candidates.
I don't know if it's wallowing in narcissism to doubt that it is not particularly desirable to get back to business as usual. Business as usual has given us two candidates who became, somehow, the only reasonable choices for their parties. Trump is the logical product of a party that has, for many years, quietly espoused and promoted the environment that is giving him air. Hillary Clinton is the product of a party that has had no really new ideas or vision for an equally long time, such that we have nominated the spouse of a former president.
The nation has become a whirlpool of simple notions and willful ignorance where there seems to be little concern that we are all in it together. it's going to take something new and decent to pull us out of it. And I don't see that happening any time soon.
When this election is over, no matter what the outcome, I believe that this nation will remain divided, that the hate that's been unleashed will remain in the air, poisoning our discourse.
The media has sold the trope of two "flawed" candidates, creating a false equivalency that has led many people to believe that there are two equally valid choices, two equally qualified candidates.
I don't know if it's wallowing in narcissism to doubt that it is not particularly desirable to get back to business as usual. Business as usual has given us two candidates who became, somehow, the only reasonable choices for their parties. Trump is the logical product of a party that has, for many years, quietly espoused and promoted the environment that is giving him air. Hillary Clinton is the product of a party that has had no really new ideas or vision for an equally long time, such that we have nominated the spouse of a former president.
The nation has become a whirlpool of simple notions and willful ignorance where there seems to be little concern that we are all in it together. it's going to take something new and decent to pull us out of it. And I don't see that happening any time soon.
9
Mr. Brooks, the anxiety of less educated people may be related to the fact that they struggle to pay bills each paycheck and have no money left over to save. They are passed over for jobs. They do not have an abundance of options. They may be victims of prejudice. This all pre-dates this election. You are just noticing? Why? Because suddenly your affluent friends are anxious too?
39
"This campaign will soon be over, and governing, thank God, will soon return."
I guess that depends on whether Republican leadership states that "The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Clinton to be a one-term president." One would hope that, looking at their approval numbers, the Republican leadership in Congress would realize that the McConnell obstructionist strategy hasn't worked, and that to some degree, it contributed to the stain on American history known as Trumpism.
I guess that depends on whether Republican leadership states that "The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Clinton to be a one-term president." One would hope that, looking at their approval numbers, the Republican leadership in Congress would realize that the McConnell obstructionist strategy hasn't worked, and that to some degree, it contributed to the stain on American history known as Trumpism.
26
There are three ingredients leading to a generation, and perhaps transformation, of worry.
FIrst, we are building a society on the material, eschewing the spiritual. That means that "here and now" is what we live for in the default case when you strip away terms like "science denier" and "fairy tale gods" and other dismissive terms that bring us to the lens that we are wages and commercial output with little else by which to measure our humanity.
Second, those children who are the emerging leaders of the nation are, in the words of C.S. Lewis, little "men without chests". Risk-taking, and the character that is its residue, is frowned upon; and a 10 year old growing up in suburban middle America is more likely to see the world from the back seat of a car or the console of a Playstation.
Third, we sold the fiction (again, premised on my first point) that your life was measured in its economic progress. Parents toiled, children surpassed in both leisure and net income, and grandchildren (presumably) became Lord Fauntleroys and lived a life of the mind. It was never possible, unless of course America sucked the marrow from the Earth; but it was a conceit promoted by Left and Right leaning politicians.
We have leaned our ladder against the wrong wall. It prizes individualism, discredits the transcendent, and judges nothing as right or wrong...good or noble.
In this fungible world, anxiety creeps in and takes hold when you have no shared core around which to adhere.
FIrst, we are building a society on the material, eschewing the spiritual. That means that "here and now" is what we live for in the default case when you strip away terms like "science denier" and "fairy tale gods" and other dismissive terms that bring us to the lens that we are wages and commercial output with little else by which to measure our humanity.
Second, those children who are the emerging leaders of the nation are, in the words of C.S. Lewis, little "men without chests". Risk-taking, and the character that is its residue, is frowned upon; and a 10 year old growing up in suburban middle America is more likely to see the world from the back seat of a car or the console of a Playstation.
Third, we sold the fiction (again, premised on my first point) that your life was measured in its economic progress. Parents toiled, children surpassed in both leisure and net income, and grandchildren (presumably) became Lord Fauntleroys and lived a life of the mind. It was never possible, unless of course America sucked the marrow from the Earth; but it was a conceit promoted by Left and Right leaning politicians.
We have leaned our ladder against the wrong wall. It prizes individualism, discredits the transcendent, and judges nothing as right or wrong...good or noble.
In this fungible world, anxiety creeps in and takes hold when you have no shared core around which to adhere.
7
Lies not fear comfort America's rebellion against its own denials. That comfort makes circumstances worse--and inert. Loyalty is to the wrong things.
Begin with jobs: jobs will not "return." New jobs must be born! Yet rust belt workers demand an economy that walks back in time. Their comfort in the past blocks progress: they refuse to think or organize in future terms. So, as Microsoft promises $4 billion in cloud growth by 2018, the demand for data center equipment (chips of all types/cables/cooling elements/switches/monitors/filters/industrial machines/software to power hundreds of thousands of servers!) is outsourced because American workers and communities will not grab the future!
Competition in the new economy requires change! It requires central organizing and planning; no country can punish its way to prosperity!
Medical devices, the internet of things (Shark Tank!) offers hundreds of new opportunities, yet heads are buried in the sand and workers are left behind. Retail is being reorganized, leisure is changing--imagination is required!
Those driving to rallies in new trucks, wearing newly printed t-shirts, waving newly printed signs in comfortable venues telling America a "rebellion" is coming because they are tired of their obvious abundance seek to punish the poor and forsake self help to demand sympathy for their tight grip on a dead history.
Their threats inspire no inspiration. They miss the point: Revolutions are always about the future, never the past.
Begin with jobs: jobs will not "return." New jobs must be born! Yet rust belt workers demand an economy that walks back in time. Their comfort in the past blocks progress: they refuse to think or organize in future terms. So, as Microsoft promises $4 billion in cloud growth by 2018, the demand for data center equipment (chips of all types/cables/cooling elements/switches/monitors/filters/industrial machines/software to power hundreds of thousands of servers!) is outsourced because American workers and communities will not grab the future!
Competition in the new economy requires change! It requires central organizing and planning; no country can punish its way to prosperity!
Medical devices, the internet of things (Shark Tank!) offers hundreds of new opportunities, yet heads are buried in the sand and workers are left behind. Retail is being reorganized, leisure is changing--imagination is required!
Those driving to rallies in new trucks, wearing newly printed t-shirts, waving newly printed signs in comfortable venues telling America a "rebellion" is coming because they are tired of their obvious abundance seek to punish the poor and forsake self help to demand sympathy for their tight grip on a dead history.
Their threats inspire no inspiration. They miss the point: Revolutions are always about the future, never the past.
16
If Hillary wins, we are liable to have gridlock or attempted gridlock rather than governing. And this will be due to the Republicans, who have lost the ability to govern anywhere, including among themselves. That is why their nominee is Trump.
The only way the next president will enact a slew of actual proposals is if Democrats get a supermajority. Under Trump things will not sail through congress smoothly, or at all, no matter who is in control. The Donald lacks an understanding of the Constitution and how hard it makes running the country like a business.
Neither party is likely to do much for white men who have not finished college. Democrats would like to try some social engineering schemes to help rust belt areas, but Republicans will fight for small government and hate social engineering except for low taxes, which moves money to the very affluent. Republicans think the market is the answer, but rust belt areas are having trouble competing and therefore actually deserve their current fate.
Affluent people worry about global warming, terrorism, economic and financial downturns, and the fact that they share the country with people who are not rational or in contact with reality. They also worry that the existence of winners and losers is making the country come apart at the seams. Many of them know that the system is rigged against the losers but do not know what to do about it, given that Republicans block both discussion and action about the rigging.
The only way the next president will enact a slew of actual proposals is if Democrats get a supermajority. Under Trump things will not sail through congress smoothly, or at all, no matter who is in control. The Donald lacks an understanding of the Constitution and how hard it makes running the country like a business.
Neither party is likely to do much for white men who have not finished college. Democrats would like to try some social engineering schemes to help rust belt areas, but Republicans will fight for small government and hate social engineering except for low taxes, which moves money to the very affluent. Republicans think the market is the answer, but rust belt areas are having trouble competing and therefore actually deserve their current fate.
Affluent people worry about global warming, terrorism, economic and financial downturns, and the fact that they share the country with people who are not rational or in contact with reality. They also worry that the existence of winners and losers is making the country come apart at the seams. Many of them know that the system is rigged against the losers but do not know what to do about it, given that Republicans block both discussion and action about the rigging.
32
You nailed it.
If Brooks thinks affluent people worry only about themselves, maybe he should try hanging out with affluent Democrats. Affluent Republicans think "governing" means pursuing tax cuts and economic policies that serve their selfish interests. Nothing else matters, or causes them any anxiety. Nothing.
If Brooks thinks affluent people worry only about themselves, maybe he should try hanging out with affluent Democrats. Affluent Republicans think "governing" means pursuing tax cuts and economic policies that serve their selfish interests. Nothing else matters, or causes them any anxiety. Nothing.
3
Brooks, the kind that water flows in, are charming when they babble. The others, much less so.
29
Mr. Brooks is "shocked, shocked" by the behavior of both Trump and Clinton supporters, it's a false equivalency. This very paper ran a video showing Trump supporters spewing obscenities and physically attacking Clinton supporters. Trump himself has urged violence from the podium. And let's be sure to ignore the fantastically sexist t-shirts Trump's people are willing to wear.
But Brooks is not concerned. People of his class (affluent) are only concerned about too many choices and the "dizzyness of freedom."
But Brooks is not concerned. People of his class (affluent) are only concerned about too many choices and the "dizzyness of freedom."
70
Actually, the Democrats, or those opposed to Trump have been responsible for violence, or violent rhetoric also. A Trump election HQ was fire-bombed in Chapel Hill, NC. VP Biden threaten to take Trump "behind the gym". Both of these behaviors are disgraceful.
And yes, so is Mr Trumps rhetoric.
And yes, so is Mr Trumps rhetoric.
1
"Worry, like drama, is all about the self". Oh, really? How very Republican of you!
What about those of us who worry about the impact of climate change on future generations? What about those of us who worry about millennials, who face a declining standard of living, even if educated? What about those of us who worry about the decline of unions and rising income inequality even though we're retired and no longer in the workforce? What about those of us who care deeply and, yes, worry about, all of our fellow humans, regardless of whether they are the same class, race, or sex as us? What about us, Mr. Brooks?
What about those of us who worry about the impact of climate change on future generations? What about those of us who worry about millennials, who face a declining standard of living, even if educated? What about those of us who worry about the decline of unions and rising income inequality even though we're retired and no longer in the workforce? What about those of us who care deeply and, yes, worry about, all of our fellow humans, regardless of whether they are the same class, race, or sex as us? What about us, Mr. Brooks?
274
Condemn the AltRight (i.e. White Supremacists) for the majority of decent Americans anxiety….and their "fearless leader" Trump.
Time for all decent Americans to of all political stripe to Vote No to the hate of Donald J. Trump and his White Nationalists who he has willingly unleashed.
Time for all decent Americans to of all political stripe to Vote No to the hate of Donald J. Trump and his White Nationalists who he has willingly unleashed.
43
There is an old saying, "Just because you are paranoid, doesn't mean they are not out to get you."!
9
There is little hope that governing will return soon, regardless of who wins the election. House Republicans put a virtual end to governing years ago.
If we really want a government that does anything, Democrats need to retake both the Senate and the House now. They also need to get rid of all the supermajority rules that allow a minority to block legislation.
Let's return to having the political party in power be able to effect its program. If voters don't like it, they can get rid of that party in the succeeding election. Voters would begin to understand what they are actually voting for. Of course, one side might not like the current program, but at least we would have a functioning government, and anxiety would likely go down.
If we really want a government that does anything, Democrats need to retake both the Senate and the House now. They also need to get rid of all the supermajority rules that allow a minority to block legislation.
Let's return to having the political party in power be able to effect its program. If voters don't like it, they can get rid of that party in the succeeding election. Voters would begin to understand what they are actually voting for. Of course, one side might not like the current program, but at least we would have a functioning government, and anxiety would likely go down.
108
Yes....there is a legitimate reason to worry....that is beyond this horrendous
Presidential campaign...which the duopoly of just two political party dominance
of the campaign.
Hillary...represents sanity....and actually is a Democrat
but
Trump ..represents insanity ...and actually is NOT a Republican
and
The other actual Republicans...who are forced to call themselves Republican
Libertarians...and are NEVER covered by the NYTimes...well they will have
to help to re shape what actually had been The Republican Party before the
insanity of ...Ronald Reagan ..and the crazy spending of "Trickle Down
Economics"...so...
There is only one SANE candidate covered by the News Media...and at least
we will have to endure ....more spending...and the DEM bureaucrats and waste....but there will be sanity.
So...we must vote for a sane candidate....and hope that there will again be
some who will re shape the GOP...so that we will be able to reduce our
national debt...and balance our national budget...Sanity wins..!!!
Presidential campaign...which the duopoly of just two political party dominance
of the campaign.
Hillary...represents sanity....and actually is a Democrat
but
Trump ..represents insanity ...and actually is NOT a Republican
and
The other actual Republicans...who are forced to call themselves Republican
Libertarians...and are NEVER covered by the NYTimes...well they will have
to help to re shape what actually had been The Republican Party before the
insanity of ...Ronald Reagan ..and the crazy spending of "Trickle Down
Economics"...so...
There is only one SANE candidate covered by the News Media...and at least
we will have to endure ....more spending...and the DEM bureaucrats and waste....but there will be sanity.
So...we must vote for a sane candidate....and hope that there will again be
some who will re shape the GOP...so that we will be able to reduce our
national debt...and balance our national budget...Sanity wins..!!!
8
There is utter insanity in allowing ourselves to be ruled by an economy that no longer serves human needs. The economy was supposed to serve us.
The economy was supposed to create some balance between supply and demand. It was supposed to be about human needs not marketing which is about creating needs where none really exists. Donald Trump is proof that we have an economy that makes us insane and that is the responsibility of both political parties.
We are the richest people that have ever been and we are angry and afraid and instead of enjoying each other we have allowed the salesmen of hate and division to make us very miserable indeed.
It is the economy stupid it is making us totally insane.
Donald Trump is our Peter the Hermit. And 2016 is our Crusade against the infidels.
The economy was supposed to create some balance between supply and demand. It was supposed to be about human needs not marketing which is about creating needs where none really exists. Donald Trump is proof that we have an economy that makes us insane and that is the responsibility of both political parties.
We are the richest people that have ever been and we are angry and afraid and instead of enjoying each other we have allowed the salesmen of hate and division to make us very miserable indeed.
It is the economy stupid it is making us totally insane.
Donald Trump is our Peter the Hermit. And 2016 is our Crusade against the infidels.
3
Many rightful-thinking individuals have suffered anxiety and worries at the prospect of a woman-grabber becoming the president.
In retrospect, those worries may have been misplaced because I have faith that the American people will do the right thing on November 8 and reject that misanthrope.
In retrospect, those worries may have been misplaced because I have faith that the American people will do the right thing on November 8 and reject that misanthrope.
31
David,
I could care less who wins this election, and, feel no worry about it.
Democracy was meant to be "by the people, for the people". Why worry about it now?
Why get all worked up because "by the people" can include a loser like Trump?
Just normal election in a democracy where the majority spend evenings watching "Survivor".
I could care less who wins this election, and, feel no worry about it.
Democracy was meant to be "by the people, for the people". Why worry about it now?
Why get all worked up because "by the people" can include a loser like Trump?
Just normal election in a democracy where the majority spend evenings watching "Survivor".
4
Funny how people reveal so much about themselves from a picture of trump supporters. It might be late and old people get tired is all.
3
Governing will soon return? Really? The reason that we’re facing a threat from Donald Trump today is because Republicans disabled the government the day Obama was elected. The rise of the Tea Party, the birther movement and the Sarah Palin asteroid that nearly struck the earth were indications that the wheels were coming off our democracy. Just when we couldn’t imagine it getting any worse, Donald Trump demonstrated that we simply lacked imagination.
Trump is the result of years of dysfunction that resulted from Republicans refusing to show up for work. They governed by fear, fundamentalism and filibuster rather than good-faith efforts to work with the president. Low-information voters were fed on a diet of conspiracy theories, science denial and resentment. Now we’re reaping the crop of deplorables that Republicans sowed.
Trump will almost certainly lose, but Clinton has been so demonized during this campaign that half of American thinks that this indefatigable, wonkish and politically experienced woman is the antichrist. The prophecy that another Democrat will be a disaster will be fulfilled by those who have something to gain from continued chaos.
Donald Trump is the symptom, not the problem. He’s the rash that our sick political system has broken out in. If we’re waiting for Washington to fix itself, we’ve got a long wait. It’s a democracy, stupid. We are the ones who make it work, and we’re also to blame when it fails.
Trump is the result of years of dysfunction that resulted from Republicans refusing to show up for work. They governed by fear, fundamentalism and filibuster rather than good-faith efforts to work with the president. Low-information voters were fed on a diet of conspiracy theories, science denial and resentment. Now we’re reaping the crop of deplorables that Republicans sowed.
Trump will almost certainly lose, but Clinton has been so demonized during this campaign that half of American thinks that this indefatigable, wonkish and politically experienced woman is the antichrist. The prophecy that another Democrat will be a disaster will be fulfilled by those who have something to gain from continued chaos.
Donald Trump is the symptom, not the problem. He’s the rash that our sick political system has broken out in. If we’re waiting for Washington to fix itself, we’ve got a long wait. It’s a democracy, stupid. We are the ones who make it work, and we’re also to blame when it fails.
1089
" Just when we couldn’t imagine it getting any worse, Donald Trump demonstrated that we simply lacked imagination."
Best line this season. This year. Maybe ever.
Best line this season. This year. Maybe ever.
29
Criticizing the GOP is as easy as shooting fish in a barrel. The harder thing is to hold Democrats accountable for their contribution to this mess. Voters who have a decent life -- fair pay, healthcare, money to send kids to college, an annual vacation, and savings for retirement -- are very unlikely ever to vote for a Donald Trump. They certainly would have fewer grounds for worry. The Democratic party dropped the ball -- being the party that dedicated itself to working Americans' interests -- decades ago. They only "discovered" income inequality after the Occupy movement introduced it to their lexicon a few short years ago. Globalization and its effects were never a secret. Falling real wages were never a secret. The Democrats have been missing in action too. That's their contribution to the Trump story.
6
"Just when we couldn’t imagine it getting any worse, Donald Trump demonstrated that we simply lacked imagination."
This is the funniest, not funny sentence I've read in a while...spot on!
This is the funniest, not funny sentence I've read in a while...spot on!
5
"The election campaign isn’t really about policy proposals, issue solutions or even hope"
Really? If you say so. Why not equate Hillary with Satan while you're at it?
The coming landslide will negate your propaganda. Hillary, like any potential leader, might have some flaws, but Trump is King Midas in reverse: everything he touches turns to ashes.
Really? If you say so. Why not equate Hillary with Satan while you're at it?
The coming landslide will negate your propaganda. Hillary, like any potential leader, might have some flaws, but Trump is King Midas in reverse: everything he touches turns to ashes.
164
To look at this particular election campaign season and engage in the false equivalency-peddling that David Brooks does here is not just sad and familiar, it's actually dangerous.
Pundits, journalists, and politicians saying "Both sides do it, both sides are the same" is not just a passive sin, it's actually how we got to the point of having someone like Trump as the Republican nominee.
For years we warned that the Republican party's modus operandi of stirring up racial and cultural resentment was a Frankenstein's monster that had gotten out of the workshop. Brooks and the others responded "Oh both sides do it, the Democratic Party has also become awash in extremists". This was clearly false, but more to the point, it excused and ignored what was happening to the Republican Party,
Sarah Palin came and went, eight years ago by the way, which is quite a while now. Nothing to see here, pundits like Brooks intoned, the fact that a Donald Trump-like figure, babbling inane extreme right-wing talking points had actually been made the official GOP nominee for second place in the White House was downplayed, papered over.
Now, it's gone so far that even Brooks can't ignore it, but he pretends that it just happened this year, ignoring the decades of his enabling the slide to the extreme right, to extreme bigotry. Every time he and others wrote "Both sides do it" they helped create it. David Brooks can evade responsibility like Trump, but Trump is his creation as much as anything.
Pundits, journalists, and politicians saying "Both sides do it, both sides are the same" is not just a passive sin, it's actually how we got to the point of having someone like Trump as the Republican nominee.
For years we warned that the Republican party's modus operandi of stirring up racial and cultural resentment was a Frankenstein's monster that had gotten out of the workshop. Brooks and the others responded "Oh both sides do it, the Democratic Party has also become awash in extremists". This was clearly false, but more to the point, it excused and ignored what was happening to the Republican Party,
Sarah Palin came and went, eight years ago by the way, which is quite a while now. Nothing to see here, pundits like Brooks intoned, the fact that a Donald Trump-like figure, babbling inane extreme right-wing talking points had actually been made the official GOP nominee for second place in the White House was downplayed, papered over.
Now, it's gone so far that even Brooks can't ignore it, but he pretends that it just happened this year, ignoring the decades of his enabling the slide to the extreme right, to extreme bigotry. Every time he and others wrote "Both sides do it" they helped create it. David Brooks can evade responsibility like Trump, but Trump is his creation as much as anything.
739
Jeo,
I would like to think Mr. Brooks is reading your comment and learning from it, but I'm not really holding my breath.
I would like to think Mr. Brooks is reading your comment and learning from it, but I'm not really holding my breath.
45
Seriously? False equivalency? So if Mr. Brooks doesn't put in flashing lights that trump and those who support him are disgusting people with no reddening quantities, then he is engaged in false equivalency?
Do you know the emotion that leads to atrocities? It isn't hate or anger. It is disgust and contempt. I suggest you engage in some soul searching and decide whether you want to be someone who is salvageable or a cesspit of anger and contemptuous mockery who contributes nothing to any debate
Do you know the emotion that leads to atrocities? It isn't hate or anger. It is disgust and contempt. I suggest you engage in some soul searching and decide whether you want to be someone who is salvageable or a cesspit of anger and contemptuous mockery who contributes nothing to any debate
1
Very interesting comments, Geo. I can't help noticing, and being annoyed, that every time David Brooks writes a column with one criticism of Trump, he evidently feels he must throw in some negative remark about Hillary Clinton. I am so sick of hearing, mainly from Republicans, how untrustworthy or unlikeable Mrs. Clinton is. This stuff is so trite and overdone.
All of this has been years in the making, and frankly Mr. Brooks, I'm not sure why you are still defending the disaster the Republican Party has become.
All of this has been years in the making, and frankly Mr. Brooks, I'm not sure why you are still defending the disaster the Republican Party has become.
4
Mr.Brook's "Epidemic of Worry" might be better labeled "The Epidemic of Fear,"and it is being promoted 24/7 by Donald Trump, Fox News, and the GOP alt right to grab and stay in power. Judging from the large number of Trump supporters we've seen this election season this ploy seems to be working wonderfully well.
That Trump's voters think they have more to worry about/fear from religious persecution, sensible gun control, the LGBTQ community, a woman's right to choose, immigrant hordes, and a black or woman President, rather than access to affordable healthcare, a living wage, rising income equality, crumbling infrastructure, global warming, or the fact that an ignorant, misogynist, bigoted pathological bully might get control of the nuclear codes doesn't make me worry, it makes me terrified.
That Trump's voters think they have more to worry about/fear from religious persecution, sensible gun control, the LGBTQ community, a woman's right to choose, immigrant hordes, and a black or woman President, rather than access to affordable healthcare, a living wage, rising income equality, crumbling infrastructure, global warming, or the fact that an ignorant, misogynist, bigoted pathological bully might get control of the nuclear codes doesn't make me worry, it makes me terrified.
187
Susan, how I wish there was a mechanism for personal messaging between NYT commenters. We are both Americans in Paris. (I chose this particular time for my sejour here to specifically escape from the ugliness and....worry!...of the current election season.) Note that there is "La Nuit Americaine" at Carreau du Temple on November 8 running thru to the morning of the 9th. I'm too old and crotchety to stay up all night but am considering rising in the wee hours and walking the few blocks from my flat to the event. I applaud your comment. Every word. He is an ignorant, misogynist, bigoted pathological bully, and yet David Brooks is playing his typical "Oh I'm so reasonable" word games. I found Brooks entirely tedious some time ago.
11
Rebecca,
It won't be just hundreds of American expats and visitors on the streets of Paris on election night, but from all I've heard plenty of concerned French and other European citizens as well. In the same way there was joy in many communities all over Paris (and France) in 2008, when we proudly elected Barack Obama, we'll be celebrating the defeat of an odious demagogue and the long overdue election of a woman-the eminently qualified Hilary Clinton. I can't wait to lift my glass of champagne to her and our still "great" country!
It won't be just hundreds of American expats and visitors on the streets of Paris on election night, but from all I've heard plenty of concerned French and other European citizens as well. In the same way there was joy in many communities all over Paris (and France) in 2008, when we proudly elected Barack Obama, we'll be celebrating the defeat of an odious demagogue and the long overdue election of a woman-the eminently qualified Hilary Clinton. I can't wait to lift my glass of champagne to her and our still "great" country!
3
Gosh, I feel so much better now, with Dr. Brooks having psychoanalyzed an entire nation and pronouncing a prognosis culminating in "hakuna matata".
To paraphrase Mary McCarthy, every word Brooks writes is specious, including "and" and "the".
The campaign may soon be over, but our worries, Dr. Brooks, will not.
I worry that as long a Trump has a Twitter account, he will continue to poison news cycles. (See the NYTimes' excellent compendium of the stunning breadth and foulness of Trump's endless Twitter tirades.)
I worry that Republicans will do everything in their power to hamstring President Clinton, and will continue to enable their psychotic man-child nominee in delegitimizing her while tut-tutting but not denouncing his destructive presence.
I worry that TrumpTV will end up making Fox News seem more like the Grey Lady.
I worry that if even the American Bar Association is too afraid of being sued by Trump, who will ever shut him up?
I worry that a stunningly ignorant demagogue has encouraged a huge swath of the population to never question their own ignorance.
And I worry that pundits like Brooks, who've never liked Trump but lacked the courage to support Clinton, will attempt to glibly sweep away the horror of the past 18 months with a "hakuna matata".
Am I "spiraling into [my] own narcissistic pool"? No. I'm facing up to reality. Perhaps you could give that a whirl, Dr. B.
To paraphrase Mary McCarthy, every word Brooks writes is specious, including "and" and "the".
The campaign may soon be over, but our worries, Dr. Brooks, will not.
I worry that as long a Trump has a Twitter account, he will continue to poison news cycles. (See the NYTimes' excellent compendium of the stunning breadth and foulness of Trump's endless Twitter tirades.)
I worry that Republicans will do everything in their power to hamstring President Clinton, and will continue to enable their psychotic man-child nominee in delegitimizing her while tut-tutting but not denouncing his destructive presence.
I worry that TrumpTV will end up making Fox News seem more like the Grey Lady.
I worry that if even the American Bar Association is too afraid of being sued by Trump, who will ever shut him up?
I worry that a stunningly ignorant demagogue has encouraged a huge swath of the population to never question their own ignorance.
And I worry that pundits like Brooks, who've never liked Trump but lacked the courage to support Clinton, will attempt to glibly sweep away the horror of the past 18 months with a "hakuna matata".
Am I "spiraling into [my] own narcissistic pool"? No. I'm facing up to reality. Perhaps you could give that a whirl, Dr. B.
532
Good comment but I'm not sure where you got the erroneous idea that David Brooks was a "doctor" of anything. He's a right-wing pundit who writes opinion pieces for the New York Times and does not hold a doctorate in anything. Paul Krugman, on the other hand, does.
"This campaign will soon be over, and governing, thank God, will soon return."
Good idea to end this article with a little tension relieving joke, Mr Brooks. Governing is not coming back any time soon if Mitch McConnell has anything to say about it. If the Senate remains in GOP hands, he will hastily convene a meeting with GOP House leaders on Nov 10 to declare their #1 priority is to obstruct "that woman" in the White House.
But I digress. A typical local news show today will feature a whole bunch of random bad stuff, shootings, crashes, fires, explosions, collapses, floods, storms and the latest horrendous tropical disease interspersed with helpful warnings about how to avoid the latest lurking predators and the internet devices in your house that are being manipulated by cybercriminals.
But like the ending of this article, there is always a little good news story at the end about firemen rescuing a kitten from a tree, just before the pizza ad. Aaaah.
But it isn't the internet connected toaster you should be worried about, it is the intentional state of anxiety that our pervasive media creates in order to attract eyeballs to ads, mostly for stuff that is much worse for you than the stuff in the news.
Good idea to end this article with a little tension relieving joke, Mr Brooks. Governing is not coming back any time soon if Mitch McConnell has anything to say about it. If the Senate remains in GOP hands, he will hastily convene a meeting with GOP House leaders on Nov 10 to declare their #1 priority is to obstruct "that woman" in the White House.
But I digress. A typical local news show today will feature a whole bunch of random bad stuff, shootings, crashes, fires, explosions, collapses, floods, storms and the latest horrendous tropical disease interspersed with helpful warnings about how to avoid the latest lurking predators and the internet devices in your house that are being manipulated by cybercriminals.
But like the ending of this article, there is always a little good news story at the end about firemen rescuing a kitten from a tree, just before the pizza ad. Aaaah.
But it isn't the internet connected toaster you should be worried about, it is the intentional state of anxiety that our pervasive media creates in order to attract eyeballs to ads, mostly for stuff that is much worse for you than the stuff in the news.
75
As repulsive as Trump is in nearly every corner of his life, there is one corner that stands out as truly demonic- his lust for instilling fear in the populus. This is really what his campaign (which really started years ago) is all about. Yes, the racist, homophobic sexist things he mouths on the dais are very certainly hateful, but his motivation for this vitriol is far more sinister. He is exploiting the tiny nucleus of fear and anxiety that is in all of us, exponentiating to entirely new levels, focusing all the while on those who are most vulnerable... such as the people in that photo. For this, Donald J. Trump has proven himself to be a psychopath, certainly, but he has also proven to be about as un-American as any candidate who has run for the presidency in modern times.
To the people in the photo, and the millions who have bought into Trump's Politics of Fear, I truly hope there will be some recovery for you- indeed for all Americans- from the evil this man has done. But *my* fear is this- the detritus of the Trump "campaign" will be felt for years to come, and it will take very hard work indeed to restore even a sense of common decency and yes, patriotism.
To the people in the photo, and the millions who have bought into Trump's Politics of Fear, I truly hope there will be some recovery for you- indeed for all Americans- from the evil this man has done. But *my* fear is this- the detritus of the Trump "campaign" will be felt for years to come, and it will take very hard work indeed to restore even a sense of common decency and yes, patriotism.
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Anxiety-generating fear has been the Republican political coin of the realm for decades. They have used a bait-and-switch tactic at election time to drum up votes from a base that the party quietly ignores after the election. This politics of fear has metastasized into the political cancer of Trumpism.
Republicans have made a horrible mess of our political system to the point where it may be on the verge of collapse.
And David Brooks writes heartfelt essays on anxiety as if it just popped up out of nowhere.
Republicans have made a horrible mess of our political system to the point where it may be on the verge of collapse.
And David Brooks writes heartfelt essays on anxiety as if it just popped up out of nowhere.
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"And David Brooks writes heartfelt essays on anxiety as if it just popped up out of nowhere."
David has been "wearing" his social psychology hat while writing his columns lately. His way of avoiding the real issues?
David has been "wearing" his social psychology hat while writing his columns lately. His way of avoiding the real issues?
5
"David has been "wearing" his social psychology hat while writing his columns lately. His way of avoiding the real issues?"
Yup. He seems so lonely as a Republican.
Yup. He seems so lonely as a Republican.
And as if he had no role as an enabler.
Growing up in the forties and fifties, I don’t recall having many serious or lengthy discussions with anybody about anything, except occasionally in school.
I'd see a little item in the Times, no bigger than an inch, just below a big lingerie ad from Bonwit Teller, datelined Peking with no byline, and it would say “Flood on the Yangtze River, 5000 feared dead.” And then maybe a few words about some flooded villages.
And then it went away. There were no follow-up stories, no pictures, no videos, no reader comments, no Red Cross drives to aid the victims, no expressions of sympathy by Chinese officials, no offers of help from the President of the United States.
It was better in some ways in those days.
We are currently in the grip of a nonstop 24/7 media frenzy devoted solely to bringing us the news of the awful comings and goings of Mr. Trump.
When and where it will stop nobody knows. He and our devices are doing us in. We are being overwhelmed and made nervous and worried by information, much of it bogus.
I'd see a little item in the Times, no bigger than an inch, just below a big lingerie ad from Bonwit Teller, datelined Peking with no byline, and it would say “Flood on the Yangtze River, 5000 feared dead.” And then maybe a few words about some flooded villages.
And then it went away. There were no follow-up stories, no pictures, no videos, no reader comments, no Red Cross drives to aid the victims, no expressions of sympathy by Chinese officials, no offers of help from the President of the United States.
It was better in some ways in those days.
We are currently in the grip of a nonstop 24/7 media frenzy devoted solely to bringing us the news of the awful comings and goings of Mr. Trump.
When and where it will stop nobody knows. He and our devices are doing us in. We are being overwhelmed and made nervous and worried by information, much of it bogus.
19
My impression of the change too. But don’t forget, we got Sen McCarthy and the whole Red-scare hysteria in those days.
4
Here's a problem that no one has addressed yet--apathy. Most Americans are suffering from election year burnout and it comes to a point where we just wish it was November 9th already. I'm tired of the Times Trump Derangement Syndrome--it's become all Trump all the time at the Paper of Record. The mainstream media has totally run amok with its Trump obsession. However there is one thing that bothers me--why does the Times persist in running photos of angry and anxious looking older white adults on the wrong side of 50 to ram home the point that this has been the most nerve wracking election in modern times. Are these people in the "basket of deplorables" that the elitists immediately dismiss as somehow unworthy of citizenship? It's also unfair to stereotype a certain segment of the population as too old to get it. Oh we get it alright. We don't count. Is that what the media is telling us?
2
That’s what’s happening this year. Anxiety is coursing through American society. It has become its own destructive character on the national stage."
Mr. Brooks--- what "is coursing through American society" is far and away a fearsome, corporeal, and socially infecting corpuscular that is very real and threatening and far more dangerous and toxic than the minor effects he is having on our mental and emotional health as he daily courses through the body politic. Your riff on on "national anxiety" stands in stark contrast to the real and lasting damage he has already accomplished by dint of his surlfurous and incendiary mix of his politics and personality .
Mr. Brooks--- what "is coursing through American society" is far and away a fearsome, corporeal, and socially infecting corpuscular that is very real and threatening and far more dangerous and toxic than the minor effects he is having on our mental and emotional health as he daily courses through the body politic. Your riff on on "national anxiety" stands in stark contrast to the real and lasting damage he has already accomplished by dint of his surlfurous and incendiary mix of his politics and personality .
28
Mr Brooks - your false equivalencies are making me anxious. One candidate - Donald Trump - is a race baiting, fear mongering, hate spewing quack. His rallies are incredibly alarming. He has weaponized and fear of the "other" among all too willing whites. Meanwhile, Ms Clinton is a totally normal candidate who at times is forced to defend herself from the crazy attacks - usually with quotes from Trump himself. The threats, particularly the anti-Semitic and racist ones - against journalists by Trump supporters in recent months should alarm any decent person. Decent people anxious about their retirement don't behave this way. But hateful bigots do.
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And about Trump's media conspiracy theory blame game, good press coverage does invaluable whistle blowing, educating, shining a light on the problems but also finding where solutions are being born. Just have to mention its really outrageous that a failing campaign would blame media coverage. International journalists, investigative reporters, interviewers... shine an even brighter spotlight on the White House. If a candidate blames domestic media for a failed campaign, will he then blame the world media for a failed presidency? Definitely. While fear based advertising is common, there's a lot of fair journalism to focus on. The nauseatingly ignorant panel discussions I switch off. That helps untie some of the knots in my stomach.
5
Mr. Brooks, illustrative of the state of the anxiety that defines and describes not only American politics but also American society--life in general for most people--is the photo that runs with your essay. It isn't that every face is white, or aging. As a non-white person, I distinctly feel pity for the people in this photograph; they are the faces void of hope, full of despair. Their body language is a shrug, a "so what" about the state of their lives. They have to be in their fifties, at least; some look to be pushing 70 or 80. That's a long time to live without a lot to look forward to. One might ask why they gravitate to a person like Donald Trump? The answer is not that he taps into their feelings; the answer is that he is afraid, and they share his fear.
Midway through your essay I was struck by "affluent people express worry related to the fear of missing out...the dizziness of freedom." Looking at the grim picture of this microcosm of Trump Nation, I don't see a whole lot of "the dizziness of freedom." If you're saying that wealthy, affluent folks (like yourself) are embarrassed by the abundance of riches that shine upon your lives, you're oblivious to the pain of others who don't quite mirror your careless, joyful experience.
I look at these faces--it doesn't matter to me that they're white--and I see a nation left behind *by* the rich. Who speaks for them? Your GOP-heavy do-nothing Congress?
Look again at the woman in front. "Dizzy with freedom," is she?
Midway through your essay I was struck by "affluent people express worry related to the fear of missing out...the dizziness of freedom." Looking at the grim picture of this microcosm of Trump Nation, I don't see a whole lot of "the dizziness of freedom." If you're saying that wealthy, affluent folks (like yourself) are embarrassed by the abundance of riches that shine upon your lives, you're oblivious to the pain of others who don't quite mirror your careless, joyful experience.
I look at these faces--it doesn't matter to me that they're white--and I see a nation left behind *by* the rich. Who speaks for them? Your GOP-heavy do-nothing Congress?
Look again at the woman in front. "Dizzy with freedom," is she?
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No--the woman in the front is not "dizzy with freedom" . She represents an aging population who are terrified that time is running out for them. All of these older people in the photo are angry with good reason--they've experienced numerous presidential elections where candidates make all sorts of grandiose promises in exchange for votes. Then the minute the new president is sworn in these people wind up being forgotten about until the next presidential election cycle. Is it any wonder that these Trump supporters are scared and anxious. Most of them may not live to see the presidential election of 2020
5
Trump has gone all in on those "so what" voters, offering them "what have you got to lose?". It's telling that there are so many who've been left behind, but Brooks is more concerned about the dissonance in folks like himself, who (poor dears) struggle to resolve the conflict between their existential anxiety and their ontological guilt. Which Bentley shall I drive to the shrink's office today?
He touches briefly on the molten foundation of the more pleasant social strata and the growing awareness of those in the fire of how it was built and who built it. Then, once again, he veers off into lala land. If you're worried whether to pay the rent or buy food you're a narcissist? Get over yourself, Brooks, there's a whole lot of folks who don't have the choices you do.
He touches briefly on the molten foundation of the more pleasant social strata and the growing awareness of those in the fire of how it was built and who built it. Then, once again, he veers off into lala land. If you're worried whether to pay the rent or buy food you're a narcissist? Get over yourself, Brooks, there's a whole lot of folks who don't have the choices you do.
7
Great points. Although I can imagine a photo taken within 20 minutes of this one of these same folks that would not engender a lot of empathy for them. Turning on minorities is a wonderful elixir for anxiety.
6
The rank idiocy of spending lavishly to develop man killing robots, while impoverishing everybody who isn't in on the project, only makes another global orgy of mass suicide inevitable.