theatlantic:

Robinson Meyer offers a new way of understanding Trump in his essay Donald Trump Is the First Demagogue of the Anthropocene:

He not only represents a white racial backlash, and he has not only opened the way for an American extension of the European far right. Insofar as his supporters are drawn to him by a sense of global calamity, and insofar as his rhetoric singles out the refugee as yet another black and brown intruder trying to violate the nation’s cherished borders, Trump is the first demagogue of the Anthropocene.

(illustration: Scott Olson / Getty / Iakov Filimonov / Mavrick / Shutterstock / Katie Martin / The Atlantic)

“Trump is showing us how ill-prepared the United States is for post-climate demagoguery, and he gives us an opportunity to improve our societal immune response.”

This is important.

“Climate mitigation is a worthy goal in itself. It is all the more important when understood as one more type of long-term anti-fascism.”

“Here are some places to start (besides voting for pro-science candidates – in every election). Volunteer. Run for local or state office. Give to charity (whether due to religion or effective altruism). Organize at work. Join a church or a community choir or the local library staff. Make your hometown a better place for refugees to settle. Raise a child well.”