The tariff war is theatre
I was reading Heather Cox Richardson’s latest piece this morning. Heather is a historian who has documented the events of the last few years with both clarity and thoroughness. (https://open.substack.com/pub/heathercoxrichardson/p/april-11-2025)
Her article today was chilling.
Yesterday I watched Carole Cadwalladr’s TED talk from this week. The woman who exposed the Cambridge Analytic attack nearly 10 years ago, and then had to defend her freedom in court over years, did not hold back. She was clearly terrified while she spoke.
Terrified and resolute.
People who have been through or studied the rise of authoritarianism will recognise the patterns of this late-stage power grab.
All of the pieces are in place: the capture of the military—all of the people in charge are now Trump loyalists—the capture of data—DOGE—and the capture of the judiciary (Supreme Court). People talk about the midterms next year, but that is so far away, and between now and then, complacency is foolish.
There are no checks and balances.
Except a heavily armed population about to wake from a trance.
The tariff war is theatre. It is the removal of people off the streets and flying them to other countries out of US jurisdiction that is terrifying. It is the 100% ability to shut you down from access to life support – money from your bank account – at the whim of whoever.
Last year I forced myself to read the Booker Prize winning novel Prophet Song, by Paul Lynch. https://amzn.asia/d/0MKsll2 Set in Ireland. It could have been set anywhere. It was hard to read because that future has moved from entirely possible to somewhat inevitable.
How things go from power grab to complete disintegration within 12 hours. It will happen that quickly, and many people will be caught in shock.
I am grateful to be on an island in the Southern Hemisphere. Grateful to be an Aussie. My location doesn’t allow me to relax completely, as we left the stage of Nation States when Hiroshima was bombed.
I watched the full moon set this morning, and I hear the sounds of the day getting started around me.
Each day, we can stand for something. Or do nothing.
Pretending it will be OK is to become a supplicant.
Taking action is to be intregrous to self and the future. It may come at a price.
Not acting will likely have a higher price.
So please, write, speak, call, get on the streets, teach. Do something. Today. Repeat tomorrow.
Photo April 13th 2025, Article written April 13th 2025
