Taken together, his bet is a direct challenge to Dewey. When he abets the gutting of institutions such as the Environmental Protection Agency, he tests our reliance on research and facts. When he dismisses the media, he tests our commitment to truth. When he refuses to disclose his taxes, he tests our desire for transparency. Underneath the policies of the Trump administration is a test of the moral culture of Americans-to see what they will stand for. Those who believe that the strength of our institutions will win the day miss the slow but steady effort to undermine the social fabric that makes them possible-by habituating us to cruelty, by treating facts as fiction, and by suspending the idea that we each, regardless of our national affiliation, are worthy of respect. Dewey’s concern is as urgent today as it was in 1939.
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