So, Is the Sky Falling on Us from under the Trump Administration?

Henny Penny (aka Chicken Little) announced in stunned amazement and fear that “The sky is falling! A piece of it fell on my head.”

“No,” informed her friends, “The sky is not falling. An acorn fell on your head,” as one of them plucked it from her head. And so, Turkey Lurkey, Goosey Loosey, Gander Lander, Ducky Daddles, Cocky Locky, Drakey Lakey, and Henny Penny went back home.

Eventually, though, the hungry and cunning beast, Foxy Loxy, manipulated the farm animal friends and gulped down a hearty meal of them all.

From this children’s bedtime story, we get the phrase “The sky is falling!” representing a mistaken belief or feeling that a certain disaster is imminent. People accuse others of being a “Chicken Little” when they are believed to be inciting an unreasonable fear (fearmongering) in those around them.

This story arose recently in a bimonthly Zoom chat. I have been facilitating these chats with my family since the pandemic to check in and connect over long distances. During my check in, I talked about my fears regarding the direction our country has taken since the second inauguration of Donald Trump, and whether our constitutional guardrails would hold under the fire hose of assaults and attacks.

As a scholar of the rise of authoritarianism and specifically, of the German Holocaust, I know the warning signs of democracies in decline. I know how history echoes if it does not precisely repeat itself. I also know that we are long since past the point at which making the links between Europe in the late 1920s through the 1930s and the United States and parts of Europe today would not be appropriate.

My wise and brilliant cousin-in-law, a professor of political science and co-host of an amazing political podcast from multiple perspectives, assured me that “the sky is not falling.” He went on to list the numerous ways that our political institutions are holding: the several legal challenges that have reversed many of the Trump administration’s draconian and, in some cases, unconstitutional executive orders and social policies.

He talked about the massive and widespread public street demonstrations and town hall gatherings that are holding state and federal representatives accountable. And though the Democratic party has lost control of the executive and legislative branches as well as the majority in the Supreme Court, our country does not parallel Germany in the last century.

By the conclusion of our Zoom call, I had conceded that “well, maybe only part of the sky is falling.”

A couple of days later, after some reflection I wrote him an email message, which I share here:

* * * * *

I hope you are doing well. You gave me a lot to think about since we spoke on Saturday. I wanted to give you my take under “the sky.”

So, this is how I answer the question: Is the sky falling under the Trump administration’s policies?

Since the sky is very wide and broad, it depends on where one is standing. This is very crucial.

The sky might very well not be falling if one is a member of many dominant social identity groups, for example, white, Christian, heterosexual, cisgender, middle- and upper-class, able bodied, born or naturalized citizens of the United States, adult middle years, college educated, and so forth.

The sky might indeed be falling, however, if one is a member of some subordinated social identity groups, for example, transgender, undocumented non-citizens, some communities of color, and others.

As a middle-class person with a paid-off mortgage, a doctorate degree, relatively able bodied, enough savings and social security and equity in my home, if I couldn’t work today, I probably could live for another, say, 8 or 9 years as long as I continue to have health insurance. Also, I am not involved in a same-sex marriage, and I work for a university where I have protections for being queer and Jewish.

I have acquired certain social privileges based on my education and choice of profession. Though since they have been given to me, they can be taken away, as the Trump administration has been attempting to do in its attacks and reversals of civil and human rights protections. But, for the present, I’m in relatively good shape during this Trumpian age.

I would argue, however, THAT THE SKY IS FALLING ON TRANSGENDER PEOPLE AND UNDOCUMENTED NON-CITIZENS under the Trump administration’s policies.

I could go into “the weeds” as you talk about on your EXCELLENT podcasts, which I have been thoroughly enjoying and will continue watching. I will, though, save the weeds for later.

But, I just wanted to write to suggest that we not consider this as a mere binary of “Yes the Sky Is Falling” on one pole and “No the Sky is Not Falling” on the other. My argument is that it depends under which part of the sky one is standing.

That’s it for now.

I’m SO glad you are a part of the family.

Your Cousin-in-Law, Warren