American Diary

There is a relatively obscure book I like to reread at times like these called Berlin Diary by William L. Shirer, who is much better known for The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.

He published Diary in 1941 just as the cataclysm known as World War II was getting under way, and two decades before his other, larger work became a best-seller.

The reason I originally was attracted to earlier book, and still am, is that as an American journalist stationed in Europe, Shirer was able to capture the intrigue of a moment when everyone knew they were on the verge of something immense but none among them could possibly know the scale of what was about to happen, how bad it might get, or how it would all turn out in the end.

It is in these moments that we can hope for the best and prepare for the worst but we can’t know. The relationships with family and friends that we cultivate, solidify or reignite at these times have the potential to help sustain us through the difficult weeks, months and yeas to come.

The movie Casablanca provides those same kinds of insights into the emotional intensity of such moments to the screen, and not surprisingly in retrospect, it was released at roughly the same time as Berlin Diary.

Now it feels as if we may be at another one of those tipping points of history. Hopefully, this one will be less cataclysmic than global war, but the parallels between Trump and Hitler’s rise are too great to ignore. Trump is reshaping our lives and relationships as if we are collectively frozen in time watching a massive train wreck occur in slow motion.

It may prove to be at some future point that we were powerless to prevent it — that like Shirer and Edward R. Murrow we are merely eyewitnesses to the history unfolding before us. Alternatively, it may be that by speaking out, standing up, and reaching out that we can as yet still avert the disaster that would be the collapse of our democracy.

But whatever may be about to happen — or more hopefully, not happen — we’ll still all have each other, and now is a good time to acknowledge that those connections matter.

HEADLINES:

• What the Founders Would Say Now (Atlantic)

• Living Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners are freed as part of Gaza ceasefire (AP)

• U.S. measles cases continue to climb, with outbreaks across the country (NPR)

• China accuses US of ‘double standards’ over tariff threat (BBC)

• Chinese Exports Surge, Giving Xi Stronger Hand in Trade Fight (Bloomberg)

• Media companies thought late night TV was irrelevant. Kimmel proved them wrong (NPR)

• The Indictment of Letitia James and the Collapse of Impartial Justice (New Yorker)

• Trust in the Supreme Court has eroded — its integrity must be restored (The Hill)

• A handful of US Senate Republicans are wrestling with the impending expiration of health insurance subsidies that are the primary sticking point in the government shutdown standoff that entered its 13th day. (Reuters)

• Historic wave of retirements is putting huge strains on the government (WP)

• The planet has entered a ‘new reality’ as it hits its first climate tipping point, landmark report finds (CNN)

• Border Clash Between Afghanistan and Pakistan Threatens a Wider Conflict (NYT)

• A New Algorithm Makes It Faster to Find the Shortest Paths (Wired)

• An AI became a crypto millionaire. Now it’s fighting to become a person (BBC)

• Ghoul Americans Celebrate Demonic Heritage Month (Onion)