‘Are we just going to stand in passive witness to the degradation of our democracy?’

‘America needs a mass movement — now’

David Brooks at The Atlantic

“For the United States, the question of the decade is: Why hasn’t a resistance movement materialized here?” says David Brooks. “Left unopposed, global populism of the sort Trumpism represents could dominate for a generation.” But for the “most part, a miasma of passivity seems to have swept over the anti-Trump ranks. Institution after institution cuts deals” with the administration and only “in private” will business leaders “complain about the damage Trump is doing.” In time, “submission becomes a habit too.”

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‘The Gaza ceasefire won’t win back young Americans for Israel’

Andreas Kluth at Bloomberg

Trump has brokered a “ceasefire that could, possibly, mark the beginnings of peace between Israelis and Palestinians,” says Andreas Kluth. But “something has shifted in the U.S. too, as recent polls show.” Half of Americans “think that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza” and 59% have an “unfavorable opinion of the Israeli government.” The “most salient split is no longer between Democrats and Republicans” but rather “between the young and old.” The young are “angry at Israel.”

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‘Are we about to enter an age of leisure? Don’t bet on it.’

Sarah O'Connor at Financial Times

“Some investors are betting” that AI will “reduce the length of the work week and give people more free time,” says Sarah O’Connor. But it is “highly uncertain” that AI will “deliver a substantial boost to economic productivity,” or that “economic gains will be widely distributed.” Workers may not “‘cash in’ those proceeds in the form of extra leisure” anyway, as U.S. workers “seem to have abandoned the pursuit of shorter working hours since the 1970s.”

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‘The psychology of fear, and why some people love being scared on Halloween’

Jennifer Borresen and Karina Zaiets at USA Today

“When we get scared, along with a rush of adrenaline we also get a release of endorphins and dopamine,” say Jennifer Borresen and Karina Zaiets. This “can result in a pleasure-filled sense of euphoria.” Of course, to “enjoy a scary situation, we have to know we’re in a safe environment.” Fear also “creates distraction, allowing us to relax from things that usually preoccupy our minds.” Haunted houses “first emerged during the Great Depression as parents made up ways to distract youngsters.”

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