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The Guardian
3 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Parks, libraries, museums: here's why Trump is attacking America's best-loved institutions
The author and environmentalist Wallace Stegner called our national parks 'America's best idea'. Certainly, these jewels – 85m acres of parkland throughout all the 50 states – are beloved by the public. So are America's public libraries, arts organizations and museums. But that hasn't stopped the Trump administration from threatening or harming them. These institutions are under siege. They are hurt by deep funding cuts, the loss or bullying of public employees and, in some cases, by threats of extinction. Why would any politician – especially one as hungry for adulation as Donald Trump – go after such cherished parts of America? It seems counterintuitive, but this is all a part of a broad plan that the great 20th century political thinker Hannah Arendt would have understood all too well. Take away natural beauty, free access to books and support for the arts, and you end up with a less enlightened, more ignorant and less engaged public. That's a public much more easily manipulated. 'A people that can no longer believe in anything cannot make up its mind,' said Arendt, a student of authoritarianism, in 1973. Eventually, such a public 'is deprived … of its ability to think and judge', and with people like that, 'you can then do what you please'. That's what Trump and company are counting on. It's also part of the effort to divide Americans into two tribes – the elites and the regular folks, the blue and the red, the drivers of dorky hybrid sedans and the drivers of oversized pick-up trucks. The arts and nature, by contrast, serve to unite us. When you're admiring a redwood or gazing at the Grand Canyon, you're neither Republican nor Democrat. The same goes for listening to a beautiful piece of new music or choosing library books to read with your children. But division and grievance serve Trump better. And so, we have the attacks on marginalized people, on university research, and the performing arts, often in the guise of eliminating waste or discriminatory hiring practices. 'The Trump administration has launched a comprehensive attack on knowledge itself, a war against culture, history and science,' Adam Serwer wrote in the Atlantic recently in a much-discussed piece describing 'the attack on knowledge', putting in broad context Trump's defunding of universities and attempts to discourage international scholarship. What's really going on is a longterm power grab. In crippling learning, beauty and culture Trump and his helpers 'seek to make the country more amenable to their political domination'. When it comes to the parks, as the Guardian's Annette McGivney reported recently, the harm is well under way. Thousands of staffing cuts mean that many parks lack adequate supervision, that campgrounds are closed and that the care of precious natural resources is neglected. Again, it's by design, as the former national parks director Jonathan Jarvis told McGivney. 'There are ideologues who want to dismantle the federal government,' Jarvis said. 'And the last thing they need is a highly popular federal agency that undermines their argument about how the government is dysfunctional.' Mark Nebel, a longtime manager of a program at the Grand Canyon, and a true believer in the value of national parks, spoke about the personal toll. 'The Trump administration says this is all about efficiency, but it is nothing of the sort,' said Nebel, who became demoralized at the harm being done and abruptly resigned. Reducing government waste may sound good but it looks more like willful destruction. Among the many agencies that are under attack are the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. These organizations provide crucial support for public libraries and museums, grants to artists and writers, and much more. They make us better as a people. They uplift us. Like the parks, they can bring beauty into our lives. And as the poet John Keats wrote, beauty and truth are inseparable. But truth is only trouble for the would-be autocrat. And truth itself is under attack, as Trump – a prolific liar – tries to control the message to the public by controlling the reality-based press. That's how successful propaganda works. Toward that end, his administration is trying to defund public media, including NPR and PBS, and – partly through lawsuits against media organizations including CBS News and ABC News – to intimidate journalists and their corporate bosses. A more ignorant, less enlightened, more divided electorate is far easier to manipulate. And the power grab, after all, is the larger aim. Once that power is fully secured, there is no one left to challenge the endless grift and self-dealing that is a hallmark of this administration – the sale of meme coins, the pay-to-play pardons of criminals and the cultivation of rich guys and their fat wallets. The diminishment of truth and beauty is part of a long game, but one that doesn't have to prevail. Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture
Boston Globe
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Former ICA director: What is driving Trump's venom against the arts?
Museums, theaters, orchestras, and dance companies employ hundreds of thousands of people and serve communities across the country through inspiration, education, training, and convening. At the same time, artists individually are among the lowest-earning sectors of the economy — and In the federal budget, arts funding makes up an infinitesimal fraction of spending. The NEA's Advertisement Rather, the ineffable power of the sector lies in art itself, in the creative energy it represents and releases, and in the role it has played — over and over — in amplifying issues and movements that are part and parcel of resistance and hope. Advertisement Hannah Arendt, in her 1951 book 'The Origins of Totalitarianism,' examined Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia in a way that feels all too relevant today. We learn that authoritarianism flourishes on loneliness, it offers a simplified world view divided into 'us' and 'them,' and it uses control of history and the arts as strategies to reinforce and inculcate a message of fear and obedience. Contemporary art of all kinds, on the contrary, possesses a truth-telling power to shape and narrate our shared history — a power to change whose stories are told, and by whom. The arts can speak to audiences long excluded from our walls and stages. And they are particularly important for America's young people. Today across America, cultural organizations are tackling loneliness, pervasive since the COVID-19 pandemic. Museums, concert halls, and theaters offer space for collective learning and gathering. They present programs for young people and elders that foster social interaction and creativity. And they support artists as they make and share their work with others. I recently stepped down after 27 years leading the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. In my experiences at the ICA and with other arts organizations, I have long seen one key form of recognition of the power of arts: the recognition that almost everyone shares when they see their child, niece, or neighbor playing in the third-grade recorder concert, bringing home a drawing for the refrigerator door, or reciting a poem at school. It is the recognition of creativity at work. It is witnessing the joy of self expression. And it is the relief of knowing our children have the inner resources needed to cope with the complexity of their futures. Advertisement I trace my own career as a museum director to early exposure to the arts: first in after-school painting lessons, and later in visits to the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, my hometown — where my world exploded as I encountered painting and sculpture from around the world and across time. These were truly aha moments that have lasted a lifetime. That is one reason why programs for young people have been central to my work. The ICA launched its Many arts and museum education programs in the United States have long been supported by federal grants, now being dismantled by the Trump administration. Support for the arts is an investment in our nation's long-term creativity. It is vital for the immediate survival for many arts organizations and individuals and for the recognition that the arts sustain us all. Equally important, though, freedom of expression is a tested antidote to a single authoritarian voice, determined to isolate and divide us. That is why the arts, in all their glorious forms, are both so feared and so necessary.
Epoch Times
23-05-2025
- General
- Epoch Times
Have We Reached ‘Peak Anxiety'?
Commentary Has Western society—perhaps societies in almost all countries—reached the point where the indefinable, pervasive sense of anxiety has reached its limit? Are we ready to burst? Or are we ready to calm down? It is inevitable that when the intense, feverish, unabated clangor of the street sirens and debate chambers invades the brains of individuals, affording them no respite, they will seek relief from the stress—the insanity—of such a 'war zone.' They will seek relief or release; relief as tensions calm, or release as when a crowd or mass movement erupts in its final explosion of energy. We see, in the fevered society, burnout at an individual level; but it also exists at a mass level, especially as the waves of mass psychosis play out on the streets and cities, inciting social divisions of great magnitude with irrational fear of neighbors and even greater fear of distant populations. Sometimes, we see a reverse of this: when local stagnation or fears irrationally illuminate foreign 'havens' as a 'flight to safety.' To a great extent, we are in a world of pain, much of it exacerbated by the pervasive flow of sentiments—not necessarily news or contextually-balanced facts—that wash over entire communities that have no means of 'shutting off the noise.' Couple that with the fact that societies—mostly urban societies—have been universally and gradually robbed of the space and opportunity for reflection, education through individual experience, and deeper access to a wide range of human-evolved reasoning, and we see the inevitable path to unrest and social collapse. Related Stories 5/22/2025 5/22/2025 None of this is a surprise. Indeed, if we reflect on the fact that we moved from an intensely dangerous Cold War (1945–1990) to a more pervasive form of 'total war,' entering every phase of human life from, say, 1990 until today, we have to view the global society as one that has endured an escalating and inescapable growth of psychological pressures. This is a strategic factor. It creates societies in search of release, and that release can be equally as irrational as much of the build-up of fears and the decline of options of individuals. But it is a strategic factor that is largely outside the normal skill sets of military or civilian leaders, either to comprehend or address. The fear of uncontrolled mass actions—either at elections or on the streets—causes politicians to attempt tactical responses and Band-Aid solutions, often taking actions abroad to signal strength to populations at home. The results are inevitably counterproductive in the longer term, even when they quell mob pressure in the short term. What analysts of the level of Hannah Arendt or Stefan Possony understood was that when mass movements are unresolved, or are addressed only by partial and temporary measures, they will continue until they dissipate through 'release': the explosion of violence by which they achieve either victory or the sudden dissipation of their energy. Everywhere, we see the signs of these impending 'releases,' even as the U.S. installation of President Donald Trump in January 2025 indicated a massive 'controlled release' of energy with ramifications for the entire world. It represented a decisive turning point in the internal war in the United States between what have been labeled—perhaps not with sufficient clarity—as nationalist and globalist mass movements. Trump's victory launched a nationalist agenda by the United States into the global community, with initial forays into the foreign arena. Such a release signifies either a dissipation of the energy of a movement, or a victory that then gathers a fresh momentum. The U.S. 'release' seems to be gaining momentum. This new U.S. momentum has begun to transform the domestic and international perception of the United States. With Trump's first international set of state visits abroad—in May 2025 to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates—he 'recaptured' the Middle East under the U.S. umbrella. For the United States, this transformed a situation of regional decline in influence that had been underway since the end of the presidency of Richard Nixon (1969–1974) and was accelerated by the collapse of U.S. support for the Shah of Iran in 1978 (when Jimmy Carter was U.S. president). How far will the new U.S. dominance go in the Middle East? At first glance, with Trump's visit this month, it seems to have firmly displaced China, Russia, and even Turkey in their attempts to gain or regain influence in the region. The regional uncertainties as to the reliability and future strength of the United States were allayed by the naked display of willpower by the incoming Trump administration. The locals felt that they no longer needed to 'hedge their bets' by allying with China or Russia, not that the Middle Eastern states will turn away from Beijing or Moscow. Rather, they will follow strength. What follows will be the resurgence of U.S. trade and investment with the region, and in addition, the Abraham Accords will revive and build a network interrelated with the United States and with Washington's movement of its strategic presence further to the East of NATO Europe. Whether Europe can become part of this momentum remains moot. Trump has walked away from outdated mechanisms such as NATO, the United Nations, and other obsolete modalities. Thus some clarity is beginning to emerge of the shape of the Trump and post-Trump global strategic architecture. Nothing signaled the eclipse of China, for example, more than the Trump Middle East visit, which resulted in massive new economic benefits for the United States as well as the promise of revived U.S. economic relationships with the regional states. At the same time, the great frenzy of the globalism/nationalism confrontation, while resolving rapidly in favor of nationalist forms of governance, will work itself out with considerable anger and violence over the coming year or two. How will Europe fracture and rebuild? How will Russia re-emerge on the global stage? At what point, and with either a whimper or a bang, will the Chinese regime dash itself on the shores of fate, and who will suffer in the process? When will we see, if ever, the frenzy and anxiety subside into calm? Indeed, has there ever been calm, except in our memories? Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
The Age
22-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
Forget WFH, the future of work has a more pressing issue
The death knell many are sounding for remote work is premature. While high-profile return-to-office mandates continue to grab headlines, the reality is more measured. Recent data shows over a third of Australians continue to regularly work from home and suggests the push to get everyone back in the office is softening. The physical office is no longer the only workplace but a constellation of digital spaces, devices and cloud-based platforms. However, beneath the persistent question of where we will work, a deeper one is emerging: what's the personal meaning of work in a world increasingly shaped by AI? For most, work is a means to an end – paying the rent, putting food on the table, caring for our families. Yet research shows that the majority of us want more from work than just a transactional exchange. We want work to be an end as well as a means. Meaningful work helps us turn our values into real-world impact for ourselves and others. When are the times you've felt happiest at work? I'll bet it's when you've felt connected – to a cause, your colleagues or your own growth. At its best, work provides us with a shared sense of purpose, identity and community. Into a decade that's already reshaped how we work, AI has arrived. In its second half, we need to think hard – not just about where we wish to work, but what work means to us. In an age where workplace loneliness is on the rise and correlated with a lack of engagement, what must we safeguard to support our wider flourishing as human beings? If we want our work to mean something, we'll need to consciously make space for connection and the messy, generative parts of being human. In considering how AI could change our work, we can look to political philosopher Hannah Arendt who considered activity as a fundamental condition of being human. She divided activity into three domains: labour, the repetitive tasks that meet our basic needs; work, which creates more lasting artefacts; and action, the space of human interaction where meaning is made through speech, story and shared decisions.
Sydney Morning Herald
22-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Forget WFH, the future of work has a more pressing issue
The death knell many are sounding for remote work is premature. While high-profile return-to-office mandates continue to grab headlines, the reality is more measured. Recent data shows over a third of Australians continue to regularly work from home and suggests the push to get everyone back in the office is softening. The physical office is no longer the only workplace but a constellation of digital spaces, devices and cloud-based platforms. However, beneath the persistent question of where we will work, a deeper one is emerging: what's the personal meaning of work in a world increasingly shaped by AI? For most, work is a means to an end – paying the rent, putting food on the table, caring for our families. Yet research shows that the majority of us want more from work than just a transactional exchange. We want work to be an end as well as a means. Meaningful work helps us turn our values into real-world impact for ourselves and others. When are the times you've felt happiest at work? I'll bet it's when you've felt connected – to a cause, your colleagues or your own growth. At its best, work provides us with a shared sense of purpose, identity and community. Into a decade that's already reshaped how we work, AI has arrived. In its second half, we need to think hard – not just about where we wish to work, but what work means to us. In an age where workplace loneliness is on the rise and correlated with a lack of engagement, what must we safeguard to support our wider flourishing as human beings? If we want our work to mean something, we'll need to consciously make space for connection and the messy, generative parts of being human. In considering how AI could change our work, we can look to political philosopher Hannah Arendt who considered activity as a fundamental condition of being human. She divided activity into three domains: labour, the repetitive tasks that meet our basic needs; work, which creates more lasting artefacts; and action, the space of human interaction where meaning is made through speech, story and shared decisions.
