The French have a saying for it. “plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose.” "The more things change, the more they remain the same."
And so it is with unscrupulous miscreants here and abroad. The eruption of vicious, old-fashioned, and mindless antisemitism is a sobering example. The virus of antisemitism is, once again, running rampant throughout much of the world, independent of Israel's response to the October 7th Pogrom in which Hamas marauders slaughtered more than 1400 men, women, and children.
Within hours of the gruesome Hamas murders, the first virulent antisemitic outbursts began, even before Israeli defense forces had reacted to the Hamas slaughter. It should surprise no one. Hatred, especially antisemitic hatred, is a fast-moving commodity on social media.
Hatred is as stupefying to those who are attracted or predisposed to its malignant call as fentanyl is lethal to those who flirt with deadly drugs. Today, the strident and ignoble appeals to antisemitism on social media are rampant and make Nazi Julius Streicher's Der Strumer seem tame by comparison. Streicher was properly dispatched to the darkest and deepest dustbin of history at Nuremberg nearly eighty years ago for "crimes against humanity." Today, however, the Julius Streichers of the world enjoy free reign on social media in the name of free-speech absolutism, but they are no less evil and, often, no less deadly.
In a recent book, "Antisemitism on Social Media," scholars show how Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and other similar platforms fuel antisemitism today, citing how, over a few months, the platform logged a 41% increase in antisemitic posts, a 912% increase in antisemitic comments and a 1,375% increase in antisemitic user names. The book cites one example of an antisemitic song about the killing of Jews at Auschwitz being accessed millions of times. And this was before the current outbreak of idiotic antisemitic fervor unleashed by the Hamas pogrom of October 7th.
Antisemitism is, as it has always been, the canary in the coal mine. It is always a symptom of social disorder within a society. Sadly, in many respects, 2023 bears an eerie resemblance to 1933, when so much was going wrong in the world. In much of Europe, especially Germany, people had lost faith in their government and the politicians who administered state affairs. Just as anti-democratic authoritarianism was on the march in the 1930s, so it is today.
Freedom House, a DC-based non-profit founded in 1941, tracks the growth or the decline of democracy worldwide. The organization warns that authoritarian regimes are ascendant today at the expense of democracy, political freedom, and human rights.
The 2023 edition of the organization's Freedom in the World Report highlights 16 consecutive years of decline in global freedom. The organization's review of the state of democracy in the world reveals that 60 countries registered declines in democratic governance in the past year, with only 25 nations showing progress toward democratic government.
Freedom House reports that 38 percent of the world's population lives in countries it rates as "Not Free." That's the highest "Not Free" score in over a quarter century. Today, according to Freedom House, only about 20 percent of the world's people live in countries the organization rates as truly "Free." The rest are struggling somewhere in between.
The world is in a funk.
The world is, indeed, in a funk, and so is much of America. Looking over 60 years of Pew Research data, one finds an almost steady deterioration in America's trust in its government. But for the halcyon years of the Eisenhower and the Kennedy presidencies, America's trust in its government has been primarily on a steady decline, with brief but slight exceptions for the Reagan and Clinton years. For the past 65 years, trust in government in America has been eroding, and today, according to Pew Research, fewer than 20% of Americans trust the government to do what is right.
The people's trust in government began a steep decline during Johnson's Vietnam War presidency, dropping from nearly 80% trust in government when LBJ assumed the presidency following the assassination of John Kennedy to a steep and steady decade-and-a-half decline to 26% trust in government by the end of the Carter Administration. The Reagan years brought a modest improvement in the nation’s trust in its government, as did the Bush (41) years, but only briefly. President George H.W. Bush benefitted mightily from the dissolution of the Soviet Union and his leadership during the Gulf War in 1991. Still, his popularity quickly diminished as taxes went up and defense spending went down.
The Clinton years saw a dramatic improvement in the people's trust in government. Still, that improvement deteriorated dramatically during the Bush 43 years. It continued to slide through the Obama and Trump years to its current nadir of about 15% trust in government for the Biden presidency. The Biden years, of course, have also been hobbled by the most hyper-partisan and dysfunctional Congress in generations. The most recent Gallop poll shows an 82% disapproval rating for Congress, the lowest rating for Congress in a half-century.
To make matters worse, political discourse has deteriorated to a dangerous and unsustainable level. Unserious politicians, especially in my former Republican Party, truly threaten serious consequences for the nation. A Pew Research Center study in 2019 found that many Americans cite distrust as a factor inciting or amplifying other issues they consider crucial. For example, in their open-ended written answers to questions, some Americans say they think there are direct connections between rising distrust and other trends they perceived as major problems, including partisan paralysis in government, the outsize influence of lobbyists and moneyed interests, confusion arising from made-up news and information, declining ethics in government, the intractability of immigration and climate debates, rising health care costs and a widening gap between the rich and the poor.
Just as James Buchanan was the wrong man at the wrong time to assume the Presidency of the United States in 1857, so are Joe Biden and Donald Trump the wrong men to seek the presidency of the United States in 2024.
Without belaboring various reasons why neither Donald Trump nor Joe Biden are the best we can do, let's simply recognize that either of them would begin their presidency in 2025 older than any prior President of the United States was at the end of his presidency. We can and really should do better.
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Please consider our Of Thee I Sing 1776 Premium option. While my weekly column is always free, for just $5/month, you’ll also receive my annual ebook, “Essays For Our Time,” and my new Podcasts.
https://oftheeising1776.substack.com/subscribe.
I follow and support the vast majority of these columns, but this one specifically strikes home. Although I do not totally agree with the comments on our government's administration over the last 50 years, the overall theme is entirely correct. This column ought to be distributed to every US newspaper, such as they are, all college campus administrations, and every school board in the country.
Saying neither candidate is fit when Biden is infinitely more qualified will hand the White House to Trump. A huge mistake.