January 22, 2025

After escaping into Conan Doyle in the waning days of the Biden administration, I've turned to the brutal clarity of James Baldwin's essays for the commencement of the Trump regime. A brief passage from "Take Me to the Water" is resonating with particular force right now:

If the Christians do not believe in their Saviour (who has certainly, furthermore, failed to save them) why, then, wonder the unredeemed, should I abandon my gods for yours? For I know my gods a real: they have enabled me to withstand you.