In this election, in case you haven't heard, our federal government has been rebranded "the deep state," with Donald Trump vowing that "either the deep state destroys America or we destroy the deep state." Who is he talking about? We needed answers. So we got on the road to meet civil servants across America — what do these nefarious characters actually do every day? Are they locked up in some dark bunker somewhere, conspiring against the rest of us for absolute power? Or are they kicked back, signing off early while our tax dollars fund their cushy salaries? As you'll see in this video, what we found was much more surprising (it involves skull crushers, dancing the bachata, and real-life Armageddon). The main thing we found? The Americans that get casually branded the "deep state" are everyday superheroes, quietly doing great things. They may not do it for praise, but we should still celebrate them — especially at a time when their contributions aren't always well understood. If he's re-elected, Trump has said he'll resurrect an executive order from his first term called Schedule F. That would give him the power to rout the so-called deep state and replace our public servants with people who work for him, not us. That would be bad news for us all. And in this context of increased hostility toward civil servants, we think it's more important than ever to remind Americans of what the federal government actually achieves. In this short video, we aim to counter the idea that government workers are wasting our tax dollars, and to show that they are ordinary Americans just like the rest of us, doing extraordinary, essential things for this country. That doesn't mean there isn't wasteful spending or government overreach out there — but denouncements of public servants are damaging public faith in the institutions that keep us safe. They teach us to expect the worst from people in government, when the truth is that our public servants are some of America's best.
Here's what we're focusing on today:
We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. Games Here are today's Mini Crossword, Wordle and Spelling Bee. If you're in the mood to play more, find all our games here. Forward this newsletter to friends to share ideas and perspectives that will help inform their lives. They can sign up here. Do you have feedback? Email us at opiniontoday@nytimes.com.
If you have questions about your Times account, delivery problems or other issues, visit our Help Page or contact The Times.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
Opinion Today: How the deep state works for you
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment