In Shift From 2020, Identity Politics Loses Its Grip on the Country
The New York Times
There are signs that society is moving away from the progressive left’s often strict expectations about how to discuss culture and politics.
The last time Kamala Harris ran for president, during the 2020 primaries, people were losing jobs or friends because something they said or posted online came off as insensitive.
An unfamiliar new language around identity was catching on, with terms like “Latinx” and “BIPOC.” The homeless were now “unhoused” and there were “pregnant people,” not women.
Back then, as the progressive movement tried to establish itself as a bulwark to the Trump White House, considerations of race, gender and sexual orientation became urgent and unavoidable. And some progressives tried to enforce a strict set of cultural and political expectations almost everywhere — inside classrooms and board rooms, movie studios and publishing houses, congressional offices and political campaigns.
Even Oprah came under attack, when angry fans accused her of supporting cultural appropriation when she promoted a white author’s novel about a Mexican family.
If some Americans thought the left’s code of conduct went too far, most were not willing to say so. Polls taken in 2020 showed that large majorities of people — including self-described Democrats and liberals — said that they did not always speak freely about their beliefs for fear of retaliation.
Today, in this presidential election between Vice President Harris and former President Donald J. Trump, politics still burns hot, and voters are just as deeply divided.
Kamala Harris and her allies have concentrated their spending on addressing the economy. For Donald Trump, one theme dominates: fear.
President Biden’s legacy will largely be limited to his success in lowering border crossings. But his approach has drawn criticism, and some of his actions have moved the problem deeper into the country.
Mr. Epstein, a state assemblyman who is running for New York City Council, had no idea he would be the subject of a skit watched by millions.
As Shohei Ohtani played in the World Series, Japanese American ballplayers returned to Manzanar for the first baseball games in the internment camp since World War II.
After a jury found that a former police detective used excessive force in the 2020 raid that killed Ms. Taylor, residents expressed both hope for police reform and reservations about the verdict.
There are signs that society is moving away from the progressive left’s often strict expectations about how to discuss culture and politics.
She is believed to be the last employee who was missing after the plastics plant flooded. Authorities are still investigating the circumstances around the deaths.
The measure, announced by the mayor on Saturday, does not impose restrictions on New Yorkers, but officials are urging residents to use less water.
Faculty members are used to sharing power with presidents and trustees to run universities. But some presidents and lawmakers have made moves to reduce their say.
Democrats still hold supermajorities in both chambers of the State Legislature, but Republicans are hoping to keep the momentum from the 2022 midterms.
Step by step, Donald J. Trump and his allies are following the strategies that caused chaos four years ago. Election officials say they are ready this time.