20 minute read
Biden clinging to American exceptionalism
President Biden upholds the idea that the U.S. is superior in his recent speech, which is the root of the problem.
Dylan Moucka Student Writer
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My fellow Americans — the words that have opened President Biden’s most recent speech and many others in American history — carry a sentiment that unifies Americans across the country. It is an apt start to a speech about the periling threats facing our democracy. Former President Trump and his followers seek to divide and destroy the country’s democratic institutions because, as Biden notes, they gauge their success on the failings of others. By highlighting the fragility of democracy, Biden breaks with his predecessors in favor of a more realistic, yet eerily somber, view of the present world. For Biden, unification in the present allows for the hope of a better future. To accomplish this, Biden needs to acknowledge that merely refuting Trump is not enough. In order to truly make a difference, the rhetoric would need to address the underlying problems that gave rise to Trump and have subsequently allowed for Trumpism to be a popular form of discontent for many Americans.
After the First World War, Stefan Zweig noted that The Age of Security in which he grew up had ended. He did not live to see the world after the Second World War, but security ultimately returned in the West, only to be destroyed again by the beginning of the next century. This time, though, it was not a result of war, but a mixture of negligent practices and a willingness to accept myths as reality. Oftentimes, these two went hand in hand. The idea that liberal democracy is the best of all political systems and has no viable alternatives was made popular after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Western leaders and thinkers propagated this idea, especially to developing countries. The former communist countries of Eastern Europe, many emerging nations in the Middle East and elsewhere have adopted democratic systems in the last thirty years. Notably, though, many of these democracies have collapsed into authoritarianism or at least are much less democratic than they used to be. This is the context in which Biden is referring when he says, “For a long time we have told ourselves American democracy is guaranteed, but it is not. We have to defend it, protect it, stand up for it, each and every one of us.”
President Biden is correct to acknowledge that democracy has to be supported in order to survive. This rhetoric is welcome, but unfortunately it falls short of addressing the cause of the problem by merely critiquing its outcome. Trump is not just an anomaly; he is not even unique. Him, his ideas and their popularity are products of the blindness caused by American exceptionalism, though as Ivan Krastev notes, Trump rejects the idea of America being exceptional in favor of a view of America as the victim of today’s world. For Trump, America is not better than any other country through its democracy, freedom, opportunities or any of its other values. Quite the opposite: America is better than other nations when it quells competition in order to project American superiority. The irony of Biden finally acknowledging the failings of liberal democracy is that Trump has been speaking of it for years, except Trump speaks about it as the one who has actively weakened democratic institutions.
The prosperity of the 20th century led many Americans to embrace the idea that their nation is greater than other nations. The 20th century, however, was not as kind to other parts of the world. As a result of the death and destruction brought by the two world wars, many European countries viewed nationalism as the scourge that brought ruin to their societies. It was ubiquitously viewed as a dangerous ideology and had actively been avoided by the very same countries who supported its beliefs in the pre-war years. In the United States, though, the Second World War solidified American ideas of their own supremacy. By helping to rebuild Europe after both world wars, the United States emerged as a phoenix out of the ashes of total war.
Biden upholds this idea of American exceptionalism. He espouses that the world needs America as a place to look to for inspiration. This is another myth and it is equally ridiculous. It implies that America is the best country in the world, not based on the merits of its own society, but on the idea that every other society is inferior to America. To be the best, by definition, means that others have to be worse, but this misses the more significant point that one can always be better. Biden has been careful not to deliver this message so obviously. Instead of speaking about the glory of American exceptionalism, he speaks of the soul of the nation. These are not two separate ideas: they are one idea that is being called two different things. Through a strong liberal democracy, according to Biden, America’s soul acts as a unifier of all peoples. This is not a new idea, nor is it unique to America. In other countries where nationalism is prevalent, such as Russia, the idea of a national soul imagines that one people possess traits that make them superior to other peoples. It is important to realize that exceptionalism of any kind is part of the problem. It is not possible to be a solution. Americans are not inherently better than any other people in the world and the situation in America is not going to improve by simply including more people into the myth of a great nation.
courtesy wikipedia President Biden gave his “Battle for the Soul of the Nation” speech on Sept. 1 outside Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
Trump’s Mar-a-Lago scandal uncovers potential treason
Over 100 classified documents were found at Donald Trump’s country club. Some documents could implicate him in treason.
Victoria Grossman Student Writer
You have probably heard about the investigations into former President Donald Trump recently. Hopefully, you’ve heard about the recent FBI raid that uncovered more than 100 classified documents — documents which should be held in secure locations — which Mar-a-Lago has proved time and time again to not be. Taking classified documents is a felony, according to 18 U.S. Code Section 1924, and carries a prison sentence. It doesn’t take a genius to see that crimes were committed at Mar-a-Lago, and cover pages and headings of most of these documents. One document in particular, towards the bottom of the photo, front and center, appears to be a list of spies. How would a list of American spies help a former president, you ask? Well, that list of spies would certainly benefit enemies of the United States, and therefore be a hot commodity among those groups. Read: he was likely selling them. Back in October 2021, the CIA sent a secret message to all of its intelligence outposts warning of a drastic increase in agent deaths, particularly in Russia and the Middle East—areas where Trump made a specific point to ally. Coincidentally, it has since been revealed Russia was sponsoring a bounty on dead American forces. While no one in the intelligence community has officially put forth the theory, it is not unlikely that Trump would remain in contact with leaders of these nations following his presidency, especially since he was so puzzlingly interested in their allyship.
Another interesting layer here is the suspicious investment Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, received from the Saudi government. Following his departure as White House advisor (assuming, of course, he did anything else but draw a paycheck), Kushner formed Affinity Partners, a private equity firm, and was hard up for cash funding. The Saudi crown prince, known far and wide for flagrant human rights violations, wrote Kushner a $2 billion check despite warnings from government aides that this investment
not just that awful choice in carpet. Despite the ever-growing and overwhelming pile of evidence against the former president, no meaningful moves are being made to prosecute him for crimes related to his actions during his presidency. This seems particularly ridiculous in the face of all the, shall we say, funny things that keep happening as a possible result of him stealing said documents.
Following the raid, the Department of Justice published a picture of some of the documents uncovered, of course with the sensitive information obscured. What was available to all eyes, however, were the
courtesy wikimedia commons Taking classified documents is a felony, but Trump has not yet been prosecuted. might be risky given the firm’s lack of experience. This occurred approximately six months after the Trump administration left the White House and a few months before the CIA started warning of high casualties. It seems to me that the Saudi crown prince might have gotten more out of this deal than a possible return on investment.
If, in fact, it turns out the Trump family was selling top secret documents to foreign actors, they are all certainly guilty of treason. Trump and his allies have committed crimes right out in the open, leaving the imagination to wonder what awful sins they took the care to hide. No one should ever complain about Hillary Clinton’s emails again.
“Quiet quitting” is not the cure to your career problems
This new trend in the workplace is allegedly a solution to burnout.
Leslie Graff Student Writer
The wider internet has recently come to the conclusion that “quiet quitting” is a cure-all for workplace stressors. The solution for exhausted and overworked employees is to abandon the concept of doing your best in the workplace, and instead do the bare minimum of what the job requires. This system claims mental health benefits and a revolution for the greater work industry as a whole, but when I first heard the term, I was skeptical. Over the course of my research, I have determined that quiet quitting is not the path to work-life balance. In actuality, quiet quitting can not only deplete your mental health, but will also fail to improve work environments, and can actually damage your career path to a dangerous degree.
Quiet quitting is rarely a wise decision. Its proponents speak to theoretical mental health benefits, however, this only serves as a temporary solution to the stressors that deplete your time and energy. On one hand, it is argued that quiet quitting helps establish boundaries and can improve work-life balance by distancing the employee from their work. On the other hand, the unintended consequences of quiet quitting could become more of an anxiety than the current job someone is unsatisfied with.
First of all, quiet quitting is not ideal for anyone who wants to move up in their place of work. Employers, when looking to promote someone, will not only look for someone who is successfully completing their tasks but also going above and beyond the requirements of their station. This is because if you are promoted, you will have a job that requires more effort from you than your current one does. This means that the employer may want to see if you are capable of working above your station in order to see if you are promotion material. Therefore, individuals who do not go above their hired duties will fail to be promoted and will not receive additional rewards for their work. Not only does quiet quitting impede job advancement, but it can also hinder your ability to keep your job at all.
Take for example marginalized communities of workers who have historically had difficulty getting into their industry. “Unfortunately in corporate America minorities are held to a different standard. We are looked at differently, there is unconscious bias still, and so we have to go above and beyond to be successful.” These are the words of corporate mentorship expert Jha’nee Carter, owner of The HRQueen, whose video on the issue warned minorities about quiet quitting.
The truth is, quiet quitting weakens job security in an already unstable economic era. Many economists already believe we are either going into or are in the midst of another recession. 49 macroeconomists were surveyed by Financial Times in collaboration with the Initiative on Global Markets, and 68% of them were recorded as predicting the next recession happening as early as 2023. This means it may become difficult to find and keep jobs in the near future. Just as the great resignation swept the nation during the prime of the pandemic, the great firing may just as soon be upon the corporate world.
This means quiet quitting could become dangerous for not only younger workers in the industry (as fresh hires are often the first to go when there is cause for layoff), but also for historically marginalized communities in the workforce, such as racially diverse groups, women and members of the LGBTQ+ community. People who have had to work hard to land a job should not give in so easily to the allure of quiet quitting. Carter continues this train of thought saying “If we are not meeting those expectations, we are the first on the chopping block.”
Quiet quitting, as we have already seen, can lead to job loss which can also lead to a decline in mental health as a result. The only thing more stressful than having a taxing job is losing it and having to find a new way to keep a roof over your head. Before deciding quiet quitting is the best course of action, speak with your employer or manager and address your concerns. Working yourself to the bone and not being correctly compensated is never ideal, so bring up concerns and boundaries with your boss. It might help you create a better workplace environment not just for yourself, but for your fellow employees. Ask for that promotion or raise first. You shouldn’t sacrifice your time for unfair pay, but we all must be mindful of what’s going on in America and play the game to an extent. Workers who are burnt out may use quiet quitting to cope with a stressful work environment. Still, they may find that this will eventually lead to quitting their job or worse unless employers better address workplace challenges as well as working conditions for their employees.
Hannah Doom Student Writer
Once again, Taylor Swift is taking the internet by storm with the announcement of her tenth album. At the VMAs on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2022 Taylor (drunkenly, according to fan speculation) announced the release of her new album “Midnights,” which will be released on October 21. The world is buzzing with excitement and preparing itself for whatever Taylor has up her sleeve this time.
On August 28, Taylor posted the announcement on her Instagram page. The album contains thirteen tracks; each track is described as a “sleepless night” in her life. “This is a collection of music written in the middle of the night, a journey through terrors and sweet dreams,” Taylor writes. She states that this album is “for all of us who have tossed and turned and decided to keep the lanterns lit and go searching - hoping that just maybe, when the clock strikes twelve.. we’ll meet ourselves”. The image, already being investigated for easter eggs by myself and other fans, exhibits Swift hunched over in a chair in a softly lit room, with one hand resting on her head and the other loosely holding a telephone.
In only two years, Swift has released a whopping total of four albums. This includes two new albums, “Folklore” and “Evermore,” one of which won a Grammy for “Album of the Year”. The third and fourth albums are reproductions of her earlier albums, “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” and “Red (Taylor’s Version)”. Taylor works hard and consistently dominates the charts.
Social media is already covering all of the conspiracy theories regarding Taylor’s new album. Taylor is well known for her lucky number thirteen, which is coincidentally the same number as the number of tracks on her upcoming album “Midnights”.
However, one of the most important conspiracies regards the dates Taylor is releasing “Midnights.” Concerning the date of the album announcement, let’s travel back to the 2009 VMAs. Thirteen years ago, almost to the day, an infamous VMA scandal occurred. Taylor had just received her award for “Best Video by a Female Artist,” when Kanye West stormed the stage and ruined her speech, claiming Beyonce should have won the award. This pop culture moment will live on forever and was the start of one of the biggest internet scandals of all time. All of this to say, Swift is an expert at comebacks, and the fact that she announced her new album thirteen years after the Kanye incident certainly is no coincidence. In regards to the actual release date for “Midnights,” there is almost too much drama to cover in one article. To put it simply, October 21 is Kim Kardashian’s birthday It also just so happens to be National Reptile Awareness Day. Or for pop culture lovers, National Snake Day.
Taylor’s album announcement has shocked fans all over the world and has everyone counting down the days until midnight on October 21. Anticipation is high, as there is wondering what scandal might occur from Taylor’s new album. “Midnights” is available for preorder on Taylor’s website and can be accessed on all streaming platforms on October 21.
Courtesy @taylorswift13 on Twitter Taylor’s newest album “Midnights” will be released on Oct. 21, 2022 at midnight.
See Me After Class is a weekly column where a different professor reveals their variety favorites.
Shelby Hiens
Commentary Editor
Dr. Kate Williams is an adjunct professor of composition who received her B.A. from Oakland University, M.D. from Eastern Michigan University and Ph.D from TU. She worked her way from freelancer to business owner, founding her very own company People First Content in 2018. Williams is passionate about content creation and strategy for small businesses. Before she was creating companies, Williams cofounded her high school’s first women’s water polo team.
What was the last book/movie/show that you actually found funny?
I tend to gravitate toward more dark topics in books and movies, like true crime. My favorite laugh-out-loud TV shows are The IT Crowd and Schitt’s Creek.
What’s your favorite Tulsa restaurant? Do you have any food/restaurant routines?
A few months ago, I would have said Laffa, but they closed down! I live in Broken Arrow, so we frequent Dos Bandidos in the Rose District. It’s my family’s go-to for good tacos and Mexican fries.
Is there a media/pop culture/entertainment/music side to you that students wouldn’t expect?
I played the viola through high school and was in the pit orchestra for Grease [sic] at my high school. I’m relearning it after 20 years now that my kids are both in orchestra. Also, Elton John is my all-time favorite musician. I have seen him in concert twice; once with Billy Joel in Detroit and then in
What’s your favorite book? What book would you say all undergrads need to read before they graduate?
My favorite book is Paradise by Toni Morrison. It’s a bit heavy and dark, so I recommend it if you have the time to really let it sit with you when you’re done.
I think all undergrads should take the time to read something they like to remind themselves that reading can be fun. For example, the first thing I read after finishing my Ph.D. was The Hunger Games trilogy. Sometimes you just have to ignore the canon.
What’s reading like for you? Is there a specific setting, mood, drink set-up?
There’s nothing better than sitting down with a huge cup of tea and a book! These days, though, I usually only have time to read before bed, in which case it’s just me with a reading light trying to get in as much as I can before I fall asleep (I usually only make it a chapter or two).
Is there a movie/show that you always return to?
Schitt’s Creek, The IT Crowd, and The Office are my go-tos after a long day. Tulsa a few years ago for his Goodbye Yellow Brick Road tour.
What was it like to make the leap from freelancer to business owner?
Initially, it wasn’t too bad. I was making a profit and already had systems in place to get clients. However, things changed once I started adding employees. It can be way more stressful to own a business than work as a solo freelancer since others rely on you so much for their livelihood. But when you get a big team win, it’s also way more fun and rewarding!
A Review of Nope (2022)
How one film became one of the hottest summer releases
Guy Broom
Student Writer
Have you ever been to a rural area such as a farmland or ranch and gotten the feeling of something not seeming right, something that could be related to extraterrestrial beings? If you have, you should check out this 2022 horror film written and directed by Jordan Peele. Even if you have not had that feeling before, I highly suggest checking out this Film. “Nope” stars Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer as siblings who experience paranormal activities relating to their family’s ranch.
Jordan Peele does a brilliant job of driving a plot with aspects of upholding a legacy, family and persistence using horror, action and even some comedy. The film has a unique presentation as it uses chapter titles to divide its story in several parts,which seemed to have a different vibe for each chapter. The casting of this film is also well done. Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer have good chemistry which show the viewers the sibling bond these two characters share. Other notable performances include Steven Yeun, Brandon Perea and even a guest appearance from Keith David. Another impressive area of this film was the implementation of visual effects as they were used a perfect amount to show key areas of it and did not seem to be forced at any time. Overall, these things make this a good film that I highly suggest that you go out and see.
One thing, however, that did not seem right with this film was how it cut to various times so effortlessly. How one moment you would be watching a UFO go by, and the next you would be seeing a sit-com birthday gone horribly wrong, and it never really takes time to address this and forces the viewers to do a little work by linking up these plot details, which may seem like a good or bad thing depending on what you want to expect from a movie. Another flaw is that the ending just seems random as it felt like the film should have ended at some point before and it felt like it was dragging it on for extra time.
But if you see this as a flaw, do not let it prevent you from seeing this film. I guarantee you will find it to be as good as I say. Yeah, the random cuts can be a little annoying as at first they seem to not make sense to the overall plot, or the ending came out of heavy left field. But I still enjoyed my time watching it from start to finish.
Overall, “Nope” is the best film I have seen this year so far. Its story was a little confusing at the beginning, but by the end of the film, and with a little thinking, it became cohesive, enjoyable and made complete sense. Again, I highly suggest that you go out and see this film, because you will not regret it if you do.
