Some approach 2024 with a sense of foreboding. Could this be the year we lose our democracy for good? Will Russia destroy Ukraine while Republicans refuse to lift a hand? What other constitutional rights will the Supreme Court strip away? Let’s remember the opposite outcomes are within our grasp. The 2024 election provides an opportunity to crush the MAGA movement. Congress can get its act together to support Ukraine. And the Supreme Court’s outrages might continue to fuel an anti-Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization surge that blasts Republicans out of office. However, rather than play the prognostication game, let me suggest a few ways to navigate through the new year.
First, limit social media and go do something. Instead of constantly doom-scrolling or obsessing about the horrendous rise in antisemitism, for example, find a charity to support the hostage families in Israel or Jewish students on campus. If the MAGA movement constantly infuriates you, volunteer for a campaign opposing a MAGA candidate or support pro-democracy groups.
The Supreme Court and red-state legislatures’ contempt for women’s autonomy appalls you? Give to one of the abortion funds that helps transport and pay expenses for women who must travel out of state for reproductive health care; help a pro-choice ballot measure qualify for November; or work to elect pro-choice candidates.
Refusing to fall prey to fatalism is critical to the important task of saving democracy, the rule of law and a decent, stable world.
Second, forget about “Why doesn’t the media … ?” Understand that for-profit media outlets are not in the business of making informed citizens. They are in the moneymaking business, which they think entails hyping horse-race politics and stoking fear of bad things (such as the recession that did not happen). You can write letters to the editor and send concise, polite emails to the culprit to call out whataboutism and false balance.
Better yet, look for and help amplify the instances in which print, cable and online media shed their habit of normalizing four-times-indicted former president Donald Trump and level with voters about the authoritarian threat. Also, subscribe to a local newspaper, an essential part of the effort to hold powerful people accountable.
Third, find new allies. Many progressive Jews watched in horror as left-leaning compatriots adopted antisemitic tropes, spread (intentionally or otherwise) misinformation about Israel, defended the indefensible moral cowardice of college presidents or vowed to let Trump win because President Biden has supported Israel. (Were these allies fooling you all along? Were you blind to their hypocrisy? Maybe, to both.)
As distressing as it might be for them to discover so many people are woefully and/or willfully uninformed (or just plain antisemitic), they need not despair. For every ally who seems to have “lost it,” these disoriented progressives can find allies across the political spectrum. Politics necessitates finding intellectual and moral support in unexpected places, even as you maintain serious differences on other issues. One’s political identity can defy easy categorization.
Broaden the pro-democracy coalition. Unless the entire pro-democracy movement cooperates to defeat the MAGA movement and its likely nominee, Trump and his cronies will shred our democracy and change the fabric of American life. They are planning what can only be described as a White Christian dictatorship in which they use the military, Justice Department and executive fiat to punish enemies and ferret out dissent.
Now is no time to be picky about anti-MAGA allies. This person might have once supported the Iraq War; that person’s fantasizing about a magical Democratic nominee might drive you up the wall. None of that matters now. Once our democracy is secured, Americans can return to arguing about issues whose importance fades in the face of a dire threat to American democracy.
During the fight to vanquish the MAGA threat, you’ll have to tolerate differences in tactics and policy with other democracy defenders. Bringing everyone into the big tent for democracy and the rule of law is the singular challenge for 2024.
Distinguished people of the year
Having just finished her memoir, I am more convinced than ever that former Wyoming congresswoman Liz Cheney (R) deserves top billing. Her account of the failed 2021 coup and the work of the Jan. 6 House select committee, and her stirring calls to defend our democratic inheritance should motivate us to protect our democracy from a Republican Party that no longer believes in democracy, truth or the Constitution. Her moral clarity should shame her fellow Republicans, whose spinelessness and lack of patriotism put us, again, one election from disaster.
During my lifetime, no secretary of state has better embodied the qualities we need for international leadership. Antony Blinken’s dedication to the art of diplomacy has returned Americans held wrongfully around the world, staunchly defended American values and set a multifaceted policy for addressing our contentious relationship with China. His temperament — calm, empathetic and determined — should be a model for all public servants.
Goodness knows I complain a lot about a mainstream media that too often favors phony balance over clarity, latches onto the trivial, obsesses over horse-race politics and refuses to confront liars and scoundrels. Two shining exceptions — CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash — showed us how journalism should be practiced. They have tackled antisemitism, focused attention on sexual violence against Israelis, confronted election deniers and adhered to the motto that journalism should be about “not the odds, but the stakes.”
Sadly, it has been a less-than-stellar year for movies, perhaps because the actors’ and writers’ strikes wreaked havoc with the release schedule. Nevertheless, there were some winners:
“Oppenheimer”: Rarely does a three-hour, historical biopic keep you utterly engaged and give you so much to think about after viewing. You could praise the individual elements — cinematography, acting, set design — but that would miss the point. The movie tells a coherent, fascinating story of a period and one man who opened the atomic age, with all its consequences. It is a grown-up, intellectual film for a popular audience. No small feat.
“The Boys in the Boat”: The book is one of my all-time favorites, so my expectations for the movie were low. Nevertheless, George Clooney put together a visually beautiful, uplifting story that champions the everyman and extols hard work. Alexandre Desplat’s score is compelling; the on-the-water cinematography thrilling.
“You Hurt My Feelings”: A comedic gem that beautifully portrays the crosscurrents of a family. It presents unique, flawed and ultimately sympathetic characters in a sort of morality tale: When is it wrong to tell the truth? And Julia Louis-Dreyfus is simply delightful.
“Chevalier”: The story of biracial musician and composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, is not flawless, but it’s a gorgeous period piece. You can luxuriate in a delightful romp through musical history. Still, at bottom, it is a saga about the cruelty of racism, which robs us all of the gifts marginalized people can offer.
“Past Lives”: A “small” film about two Koreans who intersect, part and briefly re-encounter each other, it tells an engrossing tale of the immigrant experience. It is also a poignant story that reminds viewers that happy endings are in the eye of the beholder.
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