Tag Archives: Trumpism

Poetry an Ally in Times Like These

By Robin Bates | Published: April 2, 2025

Rich’s “At Times Like These” anticipates the disappearances we are witnessing and suggest that poetry can function as a political ally.

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Berry and Milton on Love and Hate

By Robin Bates | Published: March 20, 2025

Wendell Berry’s insight into the nature of hate recalls Satan’s soliloquy in “Paradise Lost.” It also helps explain Trumpist resentment.

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What Makes a Nation Strong? Not Fascism

By Robin Bates | Published: March 12, 2025

Emerson’s “A Nation’s Strength” is must reading in this time of trial.

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Percy Shelley’s Cry for Freedom

By Robin Bates | Published: March 9, 2025

“England in 1819,” written to protest George III and the Peterloo Massacre, sounds all too relevant today.

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Beowulf’s Advice for Battling Depression

By Robin Bates | Published: March 5, 2025

Beowulf’s advice for battling dragon depression: don’t go it alone, which itself is a dragon trait.

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Böll on Desperately Clinging to the Past

By Robin Bates | Published: March 5, 2025

Heinrich Böll’s “Christmas Not Just Once a Year” captures the yearning to return to the past that animates many Trump supporters.

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Pickwickian Anger at Dems’ Surrender

By Robin Bates | Published: December 15, 2024

As I watch Democrats surrendering to Trump in advance, I am as appalled as Mr. Pickwick is when he watches his lawyer praise opposing counsel.

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Trumpism and Penelope’s Suitors

By Robin Bates | Published: December 12, 2024

Penelope’s suitors are like Trump and his supporters, looting the household and then calling other people lazy grifters asking for handouts.

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Trump, His Billionaires, and Ayn Rand

By Robin Bates | Published: October 24, 2024

Ayn Rand’s novels help explain why certain billionaires are gravitating to Donald Trump. Trump’s own enthusiasm about “The Fountainhead” is also revealing.

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