The 'Great Regression' Is Bringing Me Down

I wrote a thing for HuffPost about what I’m calling “The Great Regression,” this horrid rollback of rights, laws, norms, and protections under the guise that you can “make America great again” by making it demonstrably worse for everyone.

Also, did you notice? My chosen profession is en fuego in the absolute worst way. Newsrooms are shuttering. Newsrooms are doing layoffs. Newsrooms are struggling. This industry has been on precarious footing since the day I joined it back in 1999, but this time feels different. Because I was so late to the “magazines dripping in millions of revenue while your local paper had a staff of 100+ people” party, all I got in school was how this field would eat me alive because it was about to be dead soon, thanks to the Internet.

But it’s been a slow decline. Kind of like the metaphor of the frog in a gradually heating pot of water that will eventually start to boil and make frog stew.

I think it’s stew time, folks!

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But I don’t think journalism is ending. I just think it’s changing. Now what the hell it’s changing into, damned if I know. I’m no Nostradamus. (Shit, even Nostradamus wasn’t Nostradamus!) We can all survive this if … I dunno … private equity and greedy individuals stop treating news like a bustdown. Journalism is a public good, not a cash cow. If you become a billionaire off the news you’re probably doing the news wrong.

I digress though … this story is actually about me … so smart and self-assured me … realizing I’d been duped into believing there’s a hand at the wheel of our society. Jesus take the wheel, please, because nobody’s driving this car and we’re heading off an anti-Democracy cliff.

I wrote:

The help is not coming part is both terrifying and a rallying cry. As in — it’s time to go to work, folks! It truly is on all of us to pull together and tackle this head-on like this is “Avengers: Endgame” and everyone has to come back and kick ass to save the day. You, me, your grandma, your homeboys, that kid who gave you a purple nurple in the fifth grade, John Wick, Chris Evans (suit up, bro!), the other Chris Evans, anyone named Chris. Everybody, anybody, do something! Anything! This is not a drill.

It’s for real this time.

So, I’m going to do my part to save the world while stress-watching “Vanderpump Rules” (it’s so bad this season!) Please ignore how I start rocking back and forth, and look like I might pass out. I’m fine. I promise you. I’m down to fight. Let’s goooooo!

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