I, a socially conservative Catholic blue collar machinist living with my wife and six children in Milwaukee, WI, greatly appreciate your writing Mr. Ganz. And my adult children do as well.
We learned much from your writing about Rene Girard and Peter Thiel.
Yes, I agree that it’s hard not to fall into just commenting on the news or raging about it. I wholly support you taking the time to think and bring fresh perspective and ideas forward as you are able (I’ve been trying to do the same thing)!
Since the advent of Trumpian times, I have been astonished by several phenomena--perhaps due to my own unrealized naïveté : the unexpected (by me) grey areas in the Constitution exploitable by an unscrupulous president, the utter fall of Congress, the larger-than-expected number of hard-core Trump followers who seem to have no knowledge or care of the trappings and requirements of civics or a liberal democratic order--and among whom are thugs who attack workers of those trappings, a lack of shame, and disagreements not merely of this or that policy but on the very essence or reality itself. I am now old (a baby boomer) and lived through many conflicts and uproars in this country but I never considered or expected having to fight over what is real.
As an anthropologist, I have some ideas of how to comprehend all of this--but both the deeply informed more philosophical-type writings on this site (from which I have learned much), along with the immediate news assessments (which pull clarity out of the morass), have been greatly helpful to me in this endeavor of comprehending and coping with the present circumstances. I consider this site to be one of the best venues for making sense of things--and I want to thank John for both types of writing, and I continue to welcome either of them, as they will come along.
Hi John, I found your work from reading the twitter feed of Jamelle Bouie (who I also love reading), back when you could read people's twitter feeds w/o an account. I also listened to your podcast, which I really enjoyed, because I adore cheesy 90's movies (I'm old enough to have adored them the first time around too!). January 6 was horrifying, but when the Senate backed off prosecuting Trump, I felt that something had truly broken. Congress was unable to protect itself from a person and his movement that had actually threatened the lives of its members. People who had run for their lives refused to hold the people they were running from accountable, even though they had the power to do so. Astonishing! My brain felt like it was breaking and most commentary seemed incapable of grappling with those facts. However, your work has been so clear-eyed about these crazy times, so willing to write about what you're seeing without making it fit some kind of polite narrative (or drowning in both-sides-ism) that it has truly felt like a refuge and support to be reading here. Thank you for all the great work and I look forward to seeing what comes next.
Congratulations on five years! I came to your work through Damon Linkler, for which I owe him a debt of gratitude. I'd initially believed January 6th would be a turning point but the rapidity with which the GOP returned to trumpism and began their effort to rewrite history, to tell us that what we (and they) witnessed with our own eyes wasn't true, quickly put that belief to rest. It seems like Democrats are only now beginning to realize the fascist reality of today's GOP.
Looking forward to reading longer, more deep-dive essays here.
I want to emphasize your observation about the rapidity of nearly 100 percent of Republicans returning to support Trump in just a short time after Trump’s plot to stay in office and his orchestration of the attack on the Capital as part of that plot. Until Republicans repudiate the attack on the Capital and repudiate Trump, I can never trust the Republican Party’s elected representatives, nor ordinary educated Republicans who have the intelligence to know better. I find this state of affairs and my lack of faith and distrust of a large number of Americans very disturbing.
Thanks for your honesty and tremendous writing- and thanks for keeping the price affordable for improv teacher/artist types who consider this a luxury.
Congrats, John! You’re one of the best doing it. Maybe, if I may be so bold, you can do some pieces on Russia from 1860 to 1920- some fascinating cultural currents for you to dig into there, and I would love to read your analysis.
Appreciate everything you do. And fully endorse the better-fewer-but-better approach for 2026.
Your clear-sightedness has been a light in dark times. Thank you, John
I, a socially conservative Catholic blue collar machinist living with my wife and six children in Milwaukee, WI, greatly appreciate your writing Mr. Ganz. And my adult children do as well.
We learned much from your writing about Rene Girard and Peter Thiel.
You can count on my continued support.
Thank you.
I’m often impressed by your ability to be so consistent without becoming boring—not that the latter would be such a sin, compared to the alternative.
Thank you for all you do John.
Yes, I agree that it’s hard not to fall into just commenting on the news or raging about it. I wholly support you taking the time to think and bring fresh perspective and ideas forward as you are able (I’ve been trying to do the same thing)!
Since the advent of Trumpian times, I have been astonished by several phenomena--perhaps due to my own unrealized naïveté : the unexpected (by me) grey areas in the Constitution exploitable by an unscrupulous president, the utter fall of Congress, the larger-than-expected number of hard-core Trump followers who seem to have no knowledge or care of the trappings and requirements of civics or a liberal democratic order--and among whom are thugs who attack workers of those trappings, a lack of shame, and disagreements not merely of this or that policy but on the very essence or reality itself. I am now old (a baby boomer) and lived through many conflicts and uproars in this country but I never considered or expected having to fight over what is real.
As an anthropologist, I have some ideas of how to comprehend all of this--but both the deeply informed more philosophical-type writings on this site (from which I have learned much), along with the immediate news assessments (which pull clarity out of the morass), have been greatly helpful to me in this endeavor of comprehending and coping with the present circumstances. I consider this site to be one of the best venues for making sense of things--and I want to thank John for both types of writing, and I continue to welcome either of them, as they will come along.
You’ve certainty influenced my thinking. Looking forward to reading in 2026.
Hi John, I found your work from reading the twitter feed of Jamelle Bouie (who I also love reading), back when you could read people's twitter feeds w/o an account. I also listened to your podcast, which I really enjoyed, because I adore cheesy 90's movies (I'm old enough to have adored them the first time around too!). January 6 was horrifying, but when the Senate backed off prosecuting Trump, I felt that something had truly broken. Congress was unable to protect itself from a person and his movement that had actually threatened the lives of its members. People who had run for their lives refused to hold the people they were running from accountable, even though they had the power to do so. Astonishing! My brain felt like it was breaking and most commentary seemed incapable of grappling with those facts. However, your work has been so clear-eyed about these crazy times, so willing to write about what you're seeing without making it fit some kind of polite narrative (or drowning in both-sides-ism) that it has truly felt like a refuge and support to be reading here. Thank you for all the great work and I look forward to seeing what comes next.
Congratulations on five years! I came to your work through Damon Linkler, for which I owe him a debt of gratitude. I'd initially believed January 6th would be a turning point but the rapidity with which the GOP returned to trumpism and began their effort to rewrite history, to tell us that what we (and they) witnessed with our own eyes wasn't true, quickly put that belief to rest. It seems like Democrats are only now beginning to realize the fascist reality of today's GOP.
Looking forward to reading longer, more deep-dive essays here.
I want to emphasize your observation about the rapidity of nearly 100 percent of Republicans returning to support Trump in just a short time after Trump’s plot to stay in office and his orchestration of the attack on the Capital as part of that plot. Until Republicans repudiate the attack on the Capital and repudiate Trump, I can never trust the Republican Party’s elected representatives, nor ordinary educated Republicans who have the intelligence to know better. I find this state of affairs and my lack of faith and distrust of a large number of Americans very disturbing.
Thanks for your honesty and tremendous writing- and thanks for keeping the price affordable for improv teacher/artist types who consider this a luxury.
Just want to say thanks. Keep it up in whatever form.
Thanks so much John. I really liked this essay. Very reflective and honest.
Congrats, John! You’re one of the best doing it. Maybe, if I may be so bold, you can do some pieces on Russia from 1860 to 1920- some fascinating cultural currents for you to dig into there, and I would love to read your analysis.
Observing your professional success and the evolution of your thinking has been very gratifying.
Thanks again for all the work that you do John, it is much appreciated and I always enjoy your unique perspective.