Five Things: Mafia Chat, Political Anxiety, Better Democracy, Europe, Unpleasant Things
It's Sunday, again. Read this now.
Hello and welcome back to Five Things!
What a week. We have all been on groupchats where we didn’t belong or where we didn’t want to be, but this week we learned how Trump’s men talk when no microphones and cameras are around. It’s appaling. Not just because they loathe Europe and call us pathetic, but rather because they really don’t care about what they are doing, the don’t understand the implications of their actions, the only thing they care about is doing what Trump wants and framing it in such a way that it helps him in the polls. It saddens me to see how quickly the American democracy deteriorates in front of our eyes and how the land of the free is turning into an autocracy, where the tech broligarchy is supporting Trump in redefining checks and balances. I am still hopeful that the states and the courts will stop this or at least slow it down until the next elections to keep as much as possible of the democratic structures intact. But it looks scary right now and we can already see a brain drain starting as the hostility towards people with other opinions is growing from day to day and week to week.
I think the Trump years will have a positive impact on Europe, not because of the stupid idea of imposing tariffs, which will make everything more expensive and will harm free trade, but simply because we all finally understand that we cannot rely on our biggest partner anymore. For Germany, this is something unthinkable, and now it happens. It feels like parents kicking out an adult child that refused to leave the house because it was so nice and warm and convenient. We wanted to have the USA and Russia as a reliable partner and now we need to understand that the continent has to grow together much more and build its own economic and military power to be the force of good in the future. Exciting times.
Read on, my dear!
Group Chat War Plans Provide a Window Into Trump’s Mafia State
“In sum, a bleak picture emerges of an administration flying by the seat of its pants, aware of its own policy incoherence but hoping to create a façade of strength through blustery tough-guy talk and the shakedown of allies. Trump is governing a Mafia state, but it is even more belligerently incompetent than the actual Cosa Nostra. The security breach is indeed a major scandal. But the actual contents of the group chat are even worse.”
Your Therapist Can Handle Your Trauma—But What About Your Political Anxiety?
“It’s 2025, and a man is unloading on his therapist. ICE agents are snooping around his office. The Secretary of Health and Human Services is questioning the legitimacy of the antidepressant he takes. Oh, also, his wife is a federal employee who’s worried about losing her job. It feels like everyone in the world is targeting him. He’s used to his shrink telling him to change his outlook and anticipates her response. “Doc, am I just crazy?” he asks, hopefully.
“No,” she replies, to his consternation. “Everyone is out to get you.””
To Build a Better Democracy, Start by Rethinking Your Relationship to the Internet
“It is well established that the mainstream social media technologies that focus on social networking and information sharing employ opaque algorithms to shape what people see and share. Built around an endless feed of information, they reframe humans as “users,” transform relationships into transactions, and privilege the passive consumption of sensational media over interaction and understanding. This architecture rewards and encourages superficial engagement and serves the interests of malign actors who benefit, commercially and politically, from polarized thinking and sensational, inaccurate content.”
Rise Up, Europe!
“Europeans have been lulled into a dream. We’ve been treated like other superpowers’ bitch. We’ve learned to submit like a lapdog. That was acceptable for a few decades, while our master treated us well and nobody else could threaten us. We saw the food on the table, our cozy bed at night, our holidays at the beach, and thought life was great. But the world is a different place now, a more dangerous one. Our nominal master is weaker, older, and more selfish. It’s time for Europe to wake up from this dream, unshackle itself, and claim its place.”
Why We Do Unpleasant Things
“All around us there are people who endure tedium to learn the violin, who repeatedly fall off stair railings learning to skateboard, who go through the arduous mental labor required to solve a scientific problem, who agree to take a job managing other people (which is truly hard) or who start a business (which is insanely hard).”
That’s it. Have a great Sunday! If you missed last Sunday’s edition of Five Things, have a look here:
— Nico