Federal law prohibits the depiction of living presidents on US currency. Thursday's coin, however, may sidestep the rule, as it is intended as a commemorative item, not for circulation as currency. Still, the Trump administration has advanced other plans to put the president's face on a $1 coin, in addition to the commemorative gold coin.
In The Mattering Instinct: How Our Deepest Longing Drives Us and Divides Us, Harvard philosopher Rebecca Newberger Goldstein argues that human flourishing rests on two distinct 'cornerstones of our humanness': connectedness and the longing to matter. Connectedness—what we often call belonging—is 'the feeling that there are particular others who are prepared to pay us special attention, whether we deserve it or not.' It is unconditional, relational, and necessary. But it is not sufficient.
And it certainly would not be just 15 places if he were to do this. Now, while the federal government is allowed to make general laws about voting, the Constitution specifically gives the states control over elections. So having the federal government and I would note the Trump-controlled federal government take control of elections would be a wild, anti-democratic power grab.
The year we are leaving behind has been plagued from the start by a series of social, economic, environmental, technological and institutional challenges, all happening with such speed and intensity that we are yet to fully comprehend their impact on our lives, let alone on future generations. As the overwhelming strain of domestic and geopolitical changes continues to build up, I cannot help but remember the man's words. Too much pressure. Unstable, uncertain and replete with deep inequalities.
They rallied with signs like "Nothing is more patriotic than protesting" or "Resist Fascism," and in many places it looked more like a street party. There were marching bands, a huge banner with the U.S. Constitution's "We The People," preamble that people could sign, and protesters in frog costumes, which have emerged as a sign of resistance in Portland, Oregon.
Mr Trump does not seek to criminalise hate speech so much as to criminalise speech he hates. The US is being dragged into a state of emergency. Speech is framed as terrorism. Satire is rebranded as enemy propaganda. Employers punish workers for personal posts. The predictable result is a chilling climate of surveillance and reprisal, in which citizens learn to keep quiet.
The murder of Minnesota Democratic state lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in June. An arson fire at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's house in April. The shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a New York sidewalk in December. Before that, the hammer attack that nearly killed Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul, at their San Francisco home, and two attempted assassinations of President Trump. The events have shaken people on the left and the right.
