Leadership

The culture wars that continue to shape many of our political conflicts are really just very old battles over an imagined past versus an imagined future. Or at least some people’s idealized versions of a past, i.e., the suburban 1950s, over other’s idealized visions of a future, i.e., 1960s Woodstock.

But of course the roots of the conflict are much older and deeper than that.

Every parent of a young child knows that for some reason, human babies fight over resources, seemingly out of instinct. Fighting between siblings, for example, seems to be natural and much of the socializing process involves teaching toddlers concepts like sharing and fairness.

Or if you prefer one word, it would be empathy. But it’s not entirely clear that empathy can be taught; some people naturally have it, others perhaps less so. Some, most unfortunately, not at all.

In any event, the underlying urge for each individual to take care of him or herself remains throughout life, balanced against the instinct to care for others. But sadly, we now once again find ourselves inside a culture seemingly interminably at war with itself over personal matters, like gender identity, sexual orientation and behavior, resource allocation, discrimination in its many forms, religious beliefs, the list is endless.

Actually, the list covers just about everything.

Regrettably, certain politicians seem to build almost their entire political identity by staking out one extreme slice of the culture war pie.

The problem with those on either extreme is they need to demonize the other side in order to prove their own worth. And in the process, they just make everything worse.

We don’t need extremists for leaders. We need people who bring us together. The past was never as good as those who idealize it would have us believe, and the future will never be either.

Like toddlers, we need to learn how to play and share together and to resolve our inevitable conflicts peacefully and with mutual respect. We don’t need to make each other into false enemies. We live neither in the past nor in the future. And we need leaders who recognize that.

Tonight is the annual State of the Union address. You be the judge.

HEADLINES:

• Trump threatens countries to abide by tariff deals despite Supreme Court decision (AP)

• John Roberts just gave Trump an off ramp on tariffs. He’s not taking it (CNN)

• In bid to win majority, House Democrats target districts Trump easily won (WP)

• Who was El Mencho, the former police officer who co-founded an ultraviolent cartel in Mexico? (Guardian)

• Mexican cartel violence has tourists sheltering in place (Reuters)

• ‘Near impossible’ travel conditions in New York as 32 inches of snow falls on US east coast (BBC)

• Dow tumbles 800 points on growing fears about AI disruption, tariff drag (CNBC)

• U.K. Police Arrest Ex-Ambassador to U.S. Amid Epstein Accusations (NYT)

• As Andrew fell, Queen Elizabeth II held out hope, and Charles and William fumed (AP)

• Activists protest against river dredging in the Amazon outside the Sao Paulo headquarters of US agribusiness giant Cargill (Mercury)

• Fears of polio resurgence as US vaccine adviser questions need for childhood shots (Guardian)

• Nick Reiner Pleads Not Guilty in the Killing of His Parents (NYT)

• Whites-Only Arkansas Compound Hosts Online Meeting Aimed at Uniting White Supremacists Worldwide (Daily Kos)

• Call Them What They Are (Atlantic)

• The Supreme Court will decide if marijuana users may be barred from owning guns (Vox)

• Oil prices fell over 1% as the US and Iran prepared for a third round of nuclear talks, easing fears of an escalating conflict, while Trump’s fresh tariff hikes created uncertainty for global growth and fuel demand. (Reuters)

• Binance Employees Find $1.7 Billion in Crypto Was Sent to Iranian Entities (NYT)

• Say Goodbye to the Undersea Cable That Made the Global Internet Possible (Wired)

• Anthropic Accuses Chinese Companies of Siphoning Data From Claude (WSJ)