Grid is a monthly magazine, so we are not equipped to report news. Sure, we occasionally cover some stories as they happen, but mostly we stay away from breaking stories — especially national news. However, the dramatic changes at the federal level deserve at least some commentary.
I think just about every Trump-related story can fall into one of three buckets.
First is the consolidation of power. President Trump has systematically removed, or attempted to remove, every mechanism our government has to prevent autocratic rule. If he has his way, which is a very distinct possibility, his power will be unchecked and without balance. The Great Experiment of a government based on democratic principles is on the ropes.
Trump has scared corporations into “anticipatory obedience,” following laws that don’t yet exist but are known to be the person in power’s preference. It’s a term I first heard in a New York Times opinion piece by M. Gessen, who, as a trans person from Russia who saw Putin rise to power, provides indispensable insight. Gessen writes that Trump has successfully scared the majority (but not all) corporate, nonprofit and political leaders into silence, hoping that if they don’t voice disapproval they will be rewarded, or at least spared.
Gessen notes that those who silently acquiesced to Putin were forced from the homeland anyway. Gessen believes that if an entity is already in Trump’s sights, such as PBS, they will not be spared regardless of what they do.
Second, Trump has been able to make this power grab, to usurp congressional power, by striking a nerve with straight, white America by targeting — and vilifying — DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) efforts.
The most frequently used argument against DEI is that we should live in a meritocracy, that when hiring it shouldn’t matter the color of one’s skin or their orientation or their physical capabilities, that the most qualified person should always get the job. That sounds logical enough until you look at history and the world around us.
The reason these measures were implemented in the first place is to address the deep-seated biases we have in our culture. Prior to affirmative action (which was struck down for college admissions by the Supreme Court in 2023), prior to DEI, the outcomes in hiring were not the results of a meritocracy. They were the results of a white patriarchy.
If there are no rules in place to try to counter our prejudices, then we will return to the monochromatic, male-dominated workforce exemplified by the TV show “Mad Men.” People who have physical disabilities will be bypassed because it’s less convenient for an employer. Women will continue to struggle to land leadership positions. Sexual minorities will be vulnerable, and trans people will not feel welcome anywhere.
(It was a small relief for me to write about the Philly Bike Expo’s diversity and inclusion scholarship. It started in 2019 and continues to empower people who are trying to carve out a niche and feel at home in the biking community.)
The third bucket is what Trump will do with this power, and you can place Gabriel Donahue’s reporting about EV infrastructure, the Philly Tree Plan and the Schuylkill River Trail, among other programs, in that category. It is devastating to see modest efforts at addressing critical issues stifled or eliminated.
There isn’t just a retreat from addressing social justice and climate change, the two most important issues of our time; there is an outright attack on them. Now we need to save our democracy, too. It’s time for all of us, and for those in power who represent us, to raise our voices.
