And as partisanship deepens, partisan subcultures can become increasingly bizarre. They become so convinced of the us-versus-them dynamic that they end up believing virtually any claim made against the other side. The MAGA Taylor Swift conspiracy theory attributes her popularity to some kind of liberalism. psychology, and the election-denial conspiracy also sprang from the same toxic partisan well. If decades of partisanship have led us to believe that our enemies are evil, immoral, and out to destroy our country, why would they hack our voting machines or put pop stars in government positions? Will they not be hired as personnel?
George Orwell famously wrote, “It takes constant effort to see what is right in front of you.” We cannot simply quibble against the pernicious effects of pure partisanship. We have to fight it, including within ourselves. I have a few rules to temper my worst partisan impulses. That includes getting to know the other side's best perspective, including the best essays, podcasts, and books. Also, when you come across a new idea, learn about it from the proponents of the idea before reading what the opponents have to say.
And when you encounter bad news about a cause you care about, whether it's a presidential election, an international conflict, or an allegation against someone you admire, look carefully and carefully at the evidence. Sometimes the other person is right, sometimes the friend is wrong, and emotions often lead us astray.
Other things I did
On Sunday, I wrote a Mother's Day reflection about watching my daughter become a mother in the most difficult of circumstances. It started like this.
“Dad, I don't think I'm old enough to handle something like this.”
The words were difficult to hear. Those were her daughter's words of despair when she received the worst news of her life. The unborn baby had a serious defect. That sweet baby named Lyla was diagnosed with gastroschizophrenia. Gastroschisis is a dangerous condition in which her intestines develop outside her body. She also had only one healthy kidney, and its very small size suggested she may have a fatal genetic abnormality.
My daughter's reaction to the news was brave and beautiful. Please read them all.
On Tuesday, I hosted an online written conversation with former Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Roiphe and former U.S. Attorney Ken White to discuss Trump's Manhattan trial and Michael Cohen's testimony. They had many interesting insights, but this was one of my favorite interactions of his.
French: Stormy Daniels' testimony was much more fascinating and disturbing than I expected. She described sexual encounters that were fundamentally exploitative and even potentially predatory. Trump's lawyers then filed a motion for a mistrial, arguing that details of her testimony could have biased the jury. What did she make of her testimony? Was her prosecutor's mistake in asking her to describe the details of her meeting?
White: This is all Trump's fault. It was he who, for ego reasons, decided to repeatedly insist that there was no sexual contact. He could have made her details irrelevant if he had kept her mouth shut, but he had no choice but to call her a liar. That makes it relevant. Yes, her portrayal made my skin crawl. She wasn't a great witness. She was argumentative and didn't like answering questions directly. But she did everything prosecutors asked her to do.
Roife: Prosecutors were in a difficult position. We needed to establish that this story was disturbing and that President Trump would find it necessary to suppress it. But the judge advised them not to reveal too many details. The media got caught up in the sex scene at the expense of the substance of the testimony, and so might the jury. But I don't think that ultimately hurts the case.
