No Country for Old Reds
Jane Fonda and Robert De Niro don’t love it, but won’t leave it.
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Today in Free Expression, columnist John J. Miller travels to the land of ice and finds the scene of a crime novel; Emma Camp surveys pop culture’s obsession with warning women against marriage; and Timothy Nerozzi implores Christians and Latter-Day Saints members to focus on their shared values, not theological differences.
But first, the actors are doing politics again . . .
For the Good of the Collective
—Matthew Hennessey
While crowds on the White House lawn were cheering the Navy Blue Angels and Air Force Thunderbirds Sunday night, actor Robert De Niro was strafing his once-beloved country.
His Committee for the First Amendment staged a resistance concert/rally at a small theater in New York. The anti-Trump Committee calls itself “a large collective of artists, storytellers, and cultural leaders.”
Before going any further I want to register my absolute disgust at the use of the word “collective.” Be a group. Be an organization. Don’t be a collective. It makes you sound like a bunch of communists. I realize some of Mr. De Niro’s friends might not mind leaving that impression. They should.
The Committee is composed primarily of entertainment-industry types. They say they are “standing together to defend free expression against government repression, industry complicity, and intimidation.” That’s a serious mandate. You might even call it self-serious.
Sunday night’s shindig was counterprogramming. The Committee wanted Americans to tune in to their evening extravaganza instead of watching the star-spangled UFC spectacle in Washington. North Vietnamese actress Jane Fonda was the headliner. Julia Roberts led the audience in a breathing exercise: “Just put your hand on your beating heart, and just close your eyes, and just take a really deep breath in, and breathe in all that hope, all that love, and just breathe out all that fear. Just let it all go.”
There was also some Broadway-style singing and rapping. A little girl wore a “Save the Bees” T-shirt. A black lady pastor and an alt lady rabbi clapped along as a social-justice imam declared, “Knicks in five, Alhamdulillah.”
Also present was YouTuber Ms. Rachel, who has “accidentally” liked antisemitic comments on her social-media posts.
Think of it as group therapy for the aging radicals and bourgeois bohemians who desperately want to believe they are living through some sort of McCarthy/Nixon/Hitler mash-up flashback. The kids call it cringe.
The emcee introduced Mr. De Niro as “legendary,” though we have all seen him with our own eyes. He is a real person. The crowd gave him a standing ovation before he even said a word. He claimed he can’t handle the phrase “We all love our country.” He said it sticks in his throat:
Because our country isn’t so lovable right now. I hate to say it, but loving our country is starting to sound like an abused spouse saying they love their abuser. I can’t love a country that starts stupid and inhumane wars, killing thousands of innocents and indirectly causing the deaths and suffering of millions more. I can’t love a country that takes healthcare away from millions of people and uses that money to enrich their pals in the Trump-Epstein class. I can’t love a country that sends out masked militias to shoot citizens in the streets, torture our neighbors, and separate families.
Gee, I guess it does sound bad when you put it that way.
I can’t love a country that’s led by a racist, misogynist, xenophobic tyrant. And let me just say it: I can’t love a country that’s led by Donald Trump and his sycophant Congress. For most of my life of course I did love my country. The United States of America welcomed my immigrant ancestors. It gave me, my family, and my fellow citizens such rich opportunities and extraordinary freedoms. I want to love my country again. I want my country back.
When people talk this way I always wonder which version of their country they consider to be the lovable one. Is it the version in which Mitt Romney was smeared as a tax dodger or the one in which John McCain was cast as a bloodthirsty and mentally unstable monster? Maybe it was the one where George W. Bush was deemed a fascist and Bob Dole was mocked as senile? Is that the lovable country? Is that the one you want back?
Mr. Trump isn’t lovable. I’ll grant that. Somehow I don’t think that’s the Fonda-De Niro Committee’s real problem with America. The next Republican who comes along could be as lovable as a Labrador puppy. They’ll call him every name Ms. Rachel can think of, and a few she probably can’t.
The collective isn’t interested in a lovable country. It’s interested in power.
H₂007: China’s shorelines are teeming with “spy turtles” and “spy fish,” according to Beijing’s Ministry of State Security. The country reports that certain unspecified foreign governments are equipping these aquatic creatures with sensors to collect sensitive data about Chinese naval defenses from underwater. That might sound as fictional as past allegations that Israel used dolphins, vultures and sharks to spy on and attack its Middle Eastern neighbors, claims that Israel has dismissed as war propaganda. Defensive uses of marine animals, however, are well-documented. Russia deployed “spy dolphins” to detect Ukrainian divers in the Black Sea. The U.S. Navy trains dolphins and sea lions to detect underwater mines, a capability that today could help reopen the mine-strewn Strait of Hormuz. Dr. Evil was onto something with his dream of sharks decked out with laser beams. — Mary Julia Koch
Shh!: Fewer than 1 in 5 New York City public schools employ full-time librarians, though state regulations require all public middle and high schools to have one. While Gotham spends more than $40,000 per pupil, jurisdictions with much lower education budgets manage to provide their students with librarians. Alabama and Kentucky both spend less than half that much, but they manage to employ librarians in most of their schools. It seems the Big Apple doesn’t care whether kids become bookworms. — Emma Camp
Nuclear Fissure: Nuclear power is the cleanest and most powerful energy source, but people get hung up on a tricky problem: What to do with the waste? A €1 billion dig on the Finnish island of Olkiluoto has constructed a cavern 1,400 feet below the surface. The bedrock there has seen little activity in the past billion years, and is unlikely to experience much in the future. The Finnish government will soon decide whether to start moving radioactive waste there, insulating it using a combination of copper and special clay, and ultimately sealing it with concrete. The radioactivity would eventually return to a safe level. It’ll only take about 100,000 years. — Jack Butler
The Land of Ice, Snow—and Murders
John J. Miller
On my travels, I often visit the places that serve as settings for the murder-mystery stories that I love to read.
During a recent trip to Iceland, I explored the site of a body dumping in “The Shadow District,” a 2013 novel by Arnaldur Indridason.
Read John’s Column ⧁
‘West End Girl’ Was Always a Fairy Tale
Emma Camp
Lily Allen’s latest album is a simple story about the hidden risks of marriage and the emotional toll of divorce. This kind of tale has proven popular in pop culture over the past few months, indicating a cultural anxiety about heterosexual marriage.
Read Emma’s Article ⧁
Latter-Day Saints, Modern-Day Allies
Timothy Nerozzi
The Pentagon stopped categorizing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints as “Christian.” Utah senators objected. The debacle revived a centuries-old debate over whether the idiosyncratic beliefs of the Latter-Day Saints can be reconciled with what is generally understood as Christianity.
Read Timothy’s Article ⧁
Narcissism and Childlessness
Today’s young adults don’t want to have kids because they prefer to be their own kids.
By Kyle Smith
Welcome to the World Cup of U.S. Hospitality
Soccer fans from around the world are discovering the land of abundance, culture and kindness.
By Jack Butler
Free Ex Q&A: Éric Zemmour
‘Every civilization that was beaten and dominated by the West is looking to take revenge.’
By Tunku Varadarajan
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Nothing gets you closer or faster to civil war than people who think democracy is their political program. Democracy is a process; love the process and you'll love the country.
The nature of your question leaves me to believe you don't understand what I was criticizing about the column. But here you go...
If you have rights, then use them. If you wholly disagree with the actions of your government and feel they do not represent the values of the people then you should exercise your right to (peacefully) protest and seek change. Was that not the crux of the events preceding the revolution - a series of protests demanding rights and representation against a government with greater interested in extraction than fair representation.
I think Jane Fonda's trip to Hanoi was ill advised and not constructive, but she was expressing her right to speech and protest and the belief that the actions of the US Government in that conflict were not in line with the values of the American People. It's akin to the notion that if you disagree with a representative body (school board, community sports league, HOA) then you obviously must hate that body and all that it represents (even your own interests), vs seeing your actions as an expression of devotion and representative participation.
So, you love our country and our representative system of government? Great! Pay your taxes, participate on a jury of your peers, fight for fair and equal access to the franchise (e.g. see earlier comment regarding formation of the union), condemn those who seek to undermine access to the franchise and democratic process (e.g. anti-democractic holdovers introduce to appease the southern colonies), and stand up for the rights of those who you do not care for or even find repugnant - Like Hanoi Jane, or in my case Liz Cheney and Mitt Romney.