Culture Today - 3 Sep 2025

Two stories in the US stand out (I did not watch the BBC Today - although I can reasonably assume we need to pray for Gaza (and its oppressors), Sudan and Afghanistan): Trump calling the Epstein story a hoax - and having it twisted onto his victims AND the Florida Surgeon General on ending vaccine mandates.

Trump likely meant to say that the continuing saga has gone on too long and that some are prolonging it because it makes him look bad. No empathy at all for the victims. He has no one with the emotional maturity mixed with communication skill to pull this off - or to coach him before he makes a mess of things. In a world of emotional and familial normality, he would not have screwed over his niece and her brother and not been creepy - and indeed would have sought her out for coaching rather than having Mary make a name for herself by explaining his emotional dysfunction. It is on Donald to repair the rift. If they were in family space, I suspect that she could say that he does feel for their situation, promises to help them find catharsis but hopes that in doing so, they do not relive their trauma. Trump's feelings are about his attitudes rather than reading the room (introverted feeling as part of authenticity) with understanding the reasons as a worthwhile activity and an obligation rather than a shortcoming he must protect guide his decision making. That particular mix of cognitive functions is not uncommon - about one in eight live in that space - although not all of them are assholes.

Dr. Ladapo's actions today came entirely from values rather than reason or science. They come from an egalitarian/sectarian space with individualistic overtones. In the old left, we call that crypto-fascism . My colleagues in cultural theory have a point that right-wing egalitarianism and left-wing egalitarianism are not the same - although they often function in the same way. Together, they make up about a quarter of people - with hierarchy-professionalism making up another quarter or a full third (depending on how you classify people who think but who are not wed to group intuitive conformity). Hopefully, less radical heads will keep his values from killing children and their families. He lives in the same social space as Trump, although he may conforming to his politics more than exercising moral leadership if he is going along with his political tribe. Because Florida.