Home > Author > Sarah Kendzior
181 " mirrors that of the Trump administration—including that of Christian evangelicals like Mike Pence or Mike Pompeo who align with Israeli extremists in order to fill their own political ambitions "
― Sarah Kendzior , Hiding in Plain Sight: The Invention of Donald Trump and the Erosion of America
182 " It is understandable why some find this cop-out appealing: the overall pattern is ominous. Since the dawn of the twenty-first century, the United States has been gutted in every sense: economically, psychologically, and under Trump, militarily, with even the secretary of defense position remaining unfilled for eight months. Post-9/11 America inaugurated an era of panic over fabricated catastrophes and false reassurances about real ones. The Trump era has only exacerbated those tendencies, leaving everyday Americans struggling to process horrific new revelations about which officials rarely provide clear answers. It can therefore be comforting to dismiss disturbing details rather than focus on the big picture. To reconcile with an attack on America as a continuum—instead of the result of an aberrant atrocity like 9/11—is to contend with the prospect of permanent dysfunction. "
183 " Given that so many people in repressive states are forbidden from such critiques, criticizing the government should be considered both an obligation and a privilege. "
184 " The internet strategy of Trump’s team is reminiscent of “the Big Lie,” a theory of control employed by the Third Reich. Adolf Hitler—whose speeches Trump long kept by his bedside28— "
185 " You can be prepared for something but that does not make the pain of it any less: the pain you feel for others, or the pain you feel inside, the pain you push away daily because if you gave in to it you would never get out. You lie to your children all day because you have to tell the truth in public, and because your heart can’t bear breaking theirs. "
186 " The Iraq war is notable not only for journalistic weakness, but for journalistic futility: the futility of fact itself. Fact could not match the fabrications of power. "
― Sarah Kendzior , The View From Flyover Country: Essays by Sarah Kendzior
187 " People not only fall through the cracks, they live in the cracks as a full-time occupation. The view from the cracks is a lot clearer than the view from above. When you look down on people, they stop being people. But when you watch from below, you see how easy it is to fall. "
188 " Combined with the removal of Mogilevich from the Ten Most Wanted list in 2015 and the FBI’s unexplained reexamination of Clinton’s emails immediately before the election, this evidence calls into question both Sater’s and the FBI’s agendas. "
189 " Corruption breeds loyalty out of fear. The "
190 " The main tactic of the Trump camp and their backers, I would discover over the next few years, was not to directly threaten you with violence, but to smear you to the point that a fanatic might find murdering you an appealing prospect. "
191 " One of the greatest beneficiaries of 9/11 and the “war on terror” that followed was the Russian mafia and its international associates. US and international law enforcement had been cracking down on the Russian mafia as it grew in the 1990s, but in the aftermath of 9/11, those resources were reallocated. "
192 " In December 2016, Barrett, alarmed by Trump’s win, elaborated on Cohn’s influence: “Roy Cohn was the most satanic figure I ever met in my life. He was almost reptilian. I think he’s going to handle the swearing-in at the inauguration. They’re not going to bring a judge, they’re going to have Roy. And then Roy’s going to go back to the White House and fuck a 12-year-old. In the Oval Office.”10 Barrett died the night before Trump’s inauguration. "
193 " There was a popular notion among my generation—a belief shattered with finality under Trump—that no matter how bad the economy got, the US government would always have jobs and seek out people with regional expertise. As it turned out, my expertise on the former Soviet Union would indeed be of interest to the US government, but not in the way I had imagined. "
194 " Mass harassment and threats had exploded online, fueled by misogynist movements like Gamergate and the rise of neo-Nazis—often halting productive discussions and driving participants off social media.14 Despite pleas from the victims, social media companies did almost nothing to stop it.15 "
195 " The systemic racism enabling this willful ignorance put democracy in jeopardy "
196 " But the documentation did not stop the brutality. Instead, clips were used by opponents of the protesters to try to create an impression of constant “riots” that in reality did not occur. The "
197 " Jared’s father, Charles Kushner, donated $2.5 million to Harvard in 1998, the year that Jared applied, to ensure his acceptance. "
198 " And so, the grift continued. Between 2007 and 2018, buyers tied to the former Soviet Union made eighty-six cash purchases at Trump properties. "
199 " In 2004, Charles hired a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law, arranged to record the sexual encounter, and had the resulting tape sent to his own sister to intimidate her and her husband. Instead of being intimidated, they "
200 " There is a fragility to life now that nearly breaks me, one I could handle as a child and as an adult but not as a mother. Children force you to envision the future, and doing that today is an act of mental violence. But children also force you to fight for the future—to insist that there will be one, to bend the arc of the moral universe toward justice through sheer force of will, because it sure as hell doesn’t bend that way on its own. "