[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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