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Monday, December 25, 2017

December 25, 2017: Reviewing Resistance: Empathy



[Whether we like it or not—and it likely goes without saying that I don’t—2017 has been defined by Donald Trump. So for this year in review series, I wanted to AmericanStudy five forms of resistance to all things Trump. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the year, Trumptastic or otherwise, in comments!]
I wanted to start the week’s series by highlighting one of the first public scholarly pieces I wrote after Trump’s inauguration, “Empathy as Resistance in Trump’s America.” As the year has unfolded, I would argue that it’s precisely a lack of empathy that has driven virtually all of the administration’s policies, including some of the most recent here in late 2017: odious immigration proposals such as the opposition to chain migration or plan to separate undocumented children from their parents; the extreme tax bill with its destruction of numerous social programs in order to transfer more money to the wealthy and big corporations; legal arguments that businesses can post “No service for gay customers” signs; and many more. I don’t anticipate Trump or his cohort suddenly developing a capacity for empathy, which makes it that much more important that the rest of his find and strengthen that capacity to continue resisting these policies and actions.
Next review tomorrow,
Ben
PS. What do you think? Other 2017 stories you’d highlight?

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