Who to hate; how to listen; how autocrats rule: Newsletter 6 November 2024

Newsletter 69.

Some post-election reflections on blame, plus three people to follow and three books to read.

The people we hate

Socialists

Educated people

Bleeding-hearts

Undocumented immigrants

Homeless people

Poor people

People on public assistance

Puerto Ricans

Jews

Muslims

Hindus

Palestinians

Arabs

Blacks

Native Americans

Indians

Asians

Gay people

Trans people

Old people

Young people

Elites

Liberals

Swifties

Women

Biden voters

Harris voters

Trump voters

What happened yesterday is going to embolden a lot of Americans to feel that hate is justified. There will be a lot more hate in the air. And on social media. And in the streets. And in our homes.

It’s never justified. No matter who it’s aimed at. Not even “those” people.

You could, of course, focus on getting what’s yours by making sure those other people don’t get theirs.

But once you’ve done that, what exactly is it that you’re trying to save?

News for writers and other who think

I think we’ve had enough news for the last few days, don’t you?

Three people to follow

Robert Reich former secretary of labor, liberal thinker.

Hollis Heimbouch, SVP and publisher at Harper Business.

Cathy Caplener , social impact entrepreneur, proprietor of “You Are Enough.”

Three books to read

Our Common Ground: Insights from Four Years of Listening to American Voters, by Diane Hessan (RealClear Publishing, 2021). How Americans really think about politics.

The Filter Bubble: How the New Personalized Web Is Changing What We Read and How We Think by Eli Pariser (Penguin, 2012). An older book that explains how we ended up living in separate realities.

The Revenge of Power: How Autocrats Are Reinventing Politics for the 21st Century by Moisés Naím (St. Martin’s, 2022). How disinformation undermines democracy.