conservatives make a fuss about “Cancel culture” The idea that liberals trample on free speech by accusing people of political injustice.
That's partially true. Some liberal fashions are ridiculous. Like all fads, they fade over time. however, US News & World Report Contributor As was recently pointed out, liberals cannot support the cancellation currently occurring on the far right.
of republican platform Last year, he advocated ending federal funding for schools that teach “critical race theory” or “inappropriate” sex education. Contributors report that 23 states Rolling back DEI initiativesTwenty-six states have banned transgender youth from certain types of care, 153 school districts in 33 states have banned books, and 36 states have suspended education on racism, prejudice, and related topics.
In Florida and Texas, Republican governors Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott, so-called ESG A policy that emphasizes corporate responsibility for the environment, society, and good governance. This fight against “woke” policies leaves traces of the fossil fuel and gun industries, which some investors and investment advisors are trying to avoid.
Cancel culture is old news. A new political phenomenon has emerged. Call this a “surrender culture.” It's a parade of once-principled corporations, investors, billionaires, and politicians who are now bending over to kiss the next president's ring.
One example is Jeff Bezos, owner of the Washington Post. The editorial departments of many newspapers are independent from reporting operations and support political candidates. The Washington Post was one of them. But Bezos withdrew the Post's editorial support for Vice President Kamala Harris before the November election. Over 300,000 readers I canceled my subscription accordingly.
Amazon owned by Bezos after Donald Trump's victory pledged to donate $1 million To celebrate his inauguration. Observers speculated that Bezos' other company, Blue Origin, was trying to curry favor with President Trump. multi-billion dollar contract Together with NASA.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, which owns four popular social media platforms including Instagram and Facebook, said: He also promised a million dollars.. Zuckerberg is banned president trump From Facebook after the January 6th Capitol riot. Trump had claimed Zuckerberg allegedly interfered with the election and threatened to send him to prison.
But since the election, Zuckerberg has I had dinner with the next president. Announced at Mar a Largo. Facebook will stop fact-checking User Submissions. Instead, users will be able to add their own responses to suspicious posts.
Zuckerberg also reported that Called President Trump a “bad guy” It's a tribute in the world of hypermasculinity to the former president's violent reaction to being shot on the campaign trail. and, The Wall Street Journal reported “Zuckerberg stood with his hands on his chest while the[Mar-a-Largo]club played the national anthem performed by Defendants on January 6,” it said in November.
In mid-December, Time magazine named Trump its Person of the Year for the second time. But Time Inc. admitted that Fact-checked interview with Trump — something that has never happened to any other recipient in the long history of this honor. Fifteen of President Trump's statements were found to be problematic. Nevertheless, the magazine's owner, Marc Benioff, posted on social media that Trump's election “marks a moment of great promise for our country.”
Since the election, Bank of America, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, and Goldman Sachs have Withdrawing from the Net Zero Banking Alliancea financial coalition whose members work to align lending and investment with global decarbonization efforts. ESG news called Their departure is the result of “increasing tensions between climate goals and political pressure” from the Republican Party. playing cards Calling climate change a “hoax” and he says he will withdraw America again From the Paris Climate Agreement.
In civil society, public opinion polls just before elections Found 82% of white evangelical Protestants, 61% of white Catholics, and 58% of white non-evangelical Protestants planned to vote for Trump. They capitulated to Trump even though many of his actions contrary to Christian teachings.
Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times, December reported Apple's CEO, Google's co-founder and other technology leaders also reportedly visited Trump. “In my first term, everyone was fighting me,” Trump said. “Everyone wants to be my friend this season.”
With Republicans in control of both chambers, we can expect a culture of capitulation to dominate Congress. The same thing happened last session, and it will be even worse under the Republican trifecta.
In typical style, Trump now said this is what he would do. consider the use of military force He also talks about annexing Greenland and the Panama Canal to the United States. Canada becomes a US state We wouldn't be surprised if he decided that there were too many American continents in the world, so he planned to unite the North, Central, and South into one.
This is a trick meant to distract the audience from what the magician is actually doing. He is preparing to fund unfunded campaign promises. Take money from clean energy and social programsimplement other elements project 2025and Replacement of veteran civil servant With servants, sycophants, amateurs. Republicans will claim their incompetence is proof of President Ronald Reagan. proverb That government is the problem, not the solution.
After reflecting on the culture of surrender, Goldberg concludes, “Everyone has different reasons for lining up. Some simply don't have the will to fight, or feel it's not unreasonable but futile. Our technology overlords, no matter how liberal they may have seemed in the past, seem to be welcoming the new order…with an easy pivot from their platitudes about racial equality. , some CEOs have gotten to where they are now. “Red MAGA hat.''
“But with the elites' decision to capitulate to Trump, it feels like the air is draining from the old liberal order,” she wrote. “In its place, there will be something more ruthless and Nietzschean.”
It has been amazing to watch Trump rise to power over the past decade. Every time you bend your knees, your body feels higher, stronger, and less constrained. This would not be so alarming if Mr. Trump were a principled man, but he is not. It seemed impossible that such a great country could fall so low.
Now, capitulation not only threatens our constitutional order, it threatens something deeper: a social compact where facts, truth, accountability, and fairness matter. Surrendering is cowardly. We need a backbone to save the soul of our republic.
William S. BeckerCo-editor and contributor of Democracy Unchained: How to Rebuild Government for the People and contributor of Democracy in a Hotter Time, named one of the five best science books of 2023 by Nature magazine There is also. He previously served as a senior official in the Wisconsin Department of Justice. He currently serves as executive director of the President's Climate Action Project.
