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| I ran into protesters at the No Kings rallies who turned a line from my column into a sign. |
Old man 2025 goes out one door, with his long white beard, scythe and hourglass. A brand new baby in a diaper, with a sash proclaiming "2026," is supposed to come toddling in another.
Doesn't feel that way, does it? Whatever your expectations of 2026, "shiny and happy and new" doesn't describe them.
Old Joe Biden goes out one door. Donald Trump comes toddling in another. Well, a baby of a sort ...
But not what tradition led us to expect. That was 2025. The solid foundation of America felt like the floor of a bouncy castle.
That's 2025. Very wrong and grim, interrupted with flashes of hope and joy. The return to the White House of a man who, in my view, ought to be in prison. Then the country pushes back, with Chicago and Illinois at the forefront. Two No Kings protests. A new pope, from Chicago, trying to put the kindness back into Christianity.
Donald Trump's war on immigrants was the biggest story of the year. Soldiers patrolling Downtown. Masked government thugs seizing people off the street based on the color of their skin. Routinized self-dealing. The Swiss handed the president a gold bar. Caring about stuff like that felt as dated as Jimmy Carter's cardigan. The normalization of an administration of infamy that we should never feel comfortable with, not until it is gone and history. Not even then.
What was Harriet Beecher Stowe's line? "This horror, this nightmare abomination! Can it be in my country! It lies like lead on my heart, it shadows my life with sorrow."
Otherwise, I saw my job as to not dwell in one place too long — I had 141 bylines in the paper in 2025 — offering a variety of snapshots of the roller coaster that was 2025.
Entering my 39th year on staff, I tried to shake it up a bit. In August, architecture critic Lee Bey and I hosted an architectural boat tour on the Chicago River that was so popular — tickets sold out in a couple of hours — that we held a second one, raising thousands of dollars for Chicago Public Media, meeting supporters and readers. That was fun.
To continue reading, click here.
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| The boat cruise was a lot of fun (Tyler LaRiviere for the Sun-Times) |
Well put, Mr. S. Happy New Year and may the baby thrive.
ReplyDeleteWell said , thank you for the reminder of what is important. Kind of get lost in the madness and cruelty . Happy New Year and blessings to all.
ReplyDeleteExcellent wrap-up, Neil. On the dark side, I would include the heartbreaking manifestations of Jew hatred. (Hate Israel? Slaughter 15 people in Australia.) Like you, my optimism for the coming year is personal. Nothing like a grandchild, but a new book ten years in the making. Have a grand 2026.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to turning the page, if you're not done then neither am I.
ReplyDeleteI am a faithful reader and appreciate your hard work and effort to highlight both the good and the bad in our city the country and the world.
ReplyDeleteThough I don't always agree with you and about 2025 in particular I see it through a different lens.
For years we had tens of thousands of Americans engaged in wars on the other side of the world fighting and dying for what seemed like no good reason. Spilling blood and treasure like it was spit and trash.
An opioid epidemic raged unchecked through our country.
Millions of people poured in through our border unvetted
Gun violence raged in our cities.
There are many serious problems in our country right now.
2025 was not a watershed year that will be looked back on with fondness.
It's hard to be hopeful for 2026 but maybe just maybe the citizens who have the power over our Representatives will demonstrate that we can change things and we will gain one or both of the houses of Congress. Maybe we can demonstrate that the people have the power and that it's not in the hands of one man .
If we can accomplish this maybe the third time's the charm and they could impeach and convict the con man and remove him from office.
I can dream can't I?
(An opioid epidemic raged unchecked through our country.) - And continues to in large part because of GOP obsession with reducing government regulation on their patron's businesses.
Delete(Millions of people poured in through our border unvetted) Trump's performative theatrics notwithstanding, a review of actual data shows that the Democrat administrations sent almost as many illegal immigrants packing as Trump, though without the cruelty and preening theatrics.
(Gun violence raged in our cities) - violent crime is on a downward spiral under all recent administrations, but mass killings continue, because of "conservatives" 2nd amendment Onanism allows a proliferation of battlefield weapons in the hands of the 25% of humanity suffering from mental illness, as well as ideologues and zealots in the only country in the western world that doesn't restrict and regulate those weapons - thanks to the GOP
The problems you quote aren't getting better in 2025 because of Trump, but rather in spite of his self enriching cult of personality and authoritarianism.
I read yesterday, on some comment board in the dark depths of the internet, of someone who's family are "red hats" and how frustrating it is to even have conversations with them. This poster talked about how none of his relatives have any idea about all of the terrible things going on in the country simply because they get all of their news from fox news.
ReplyDeleteCombining that post (which has stuck with me) and today's piece, I cannot truly express how grateful I am to have stumbled upon your blog. While I agree with a vast majority of what you write, you do have opinions and takes that I don't agree with. Some manage to change my mind, others help to solidify my opinion and status as a super grump. But they all help me keep abreast of more than just my own opinion and views. Which in this day and age is very important.
I hope 2026 treats you and your family well. I hope your bylines continue to grow (or not which ever helps you most) and that you continue to spread the word as we all await that terrifying last train out.
And thank you to everyone who comments here, even the anonymous ones. It's nice to feel like you're not completely crazy, and after reading many of the comments (following Neil's piece) I am reminded that i might not be that crazy after all.
Here's to 2026!
The new year will only be worse than this one. As the demented, deranged, sociopathic, moronic, child raping, fascist traitor's dementia & hate get worse, he will unleash even more insanity on this country & the entire world.
ReplyDeleteHe demands the Nobel Peace Prize & then is starting a ridiculous war with Venezuela over oil, but lying that it's about drugs.
He wants giant Navy ships named after him, after he renamed the Kennedy Center, a memorial to a murdered president after himself.
He demolished part of the White House to build a throne room for himself after he declares himself king of the USA!
His cabinet has not one sane & competent person in it, all all scum, some like Kegsbreath & Kennedy are batshit crazy! Kegsbreath orders the US Military to murder innocent Venezuelans & Kennedy is causing a resurgence of diseases we thought we had vanquished years ago, due to his obscene anti-vaccine idiocy!
He's selling out Ukraine to Putin, which lead lead to a new war in Europe when Putin invades the Baltic countries, because he wants to reconstitute the Soviet Union, all of which are in NATO, which will trigger Article V of the NATO Treaty, but will the US then come to the aid of the Baltics?
Doubtful, which will destroy NATO!
Will he even allow the elections to be held in November or will he try to put the entire country under martial law, to prevent the Democrats from taking over Congress & putting an end to his depredations?
We are in for an horrendous new year!
Okay Nostradamus.
DeleteI noticed that in today's column you mentioned in your opinion the current occupant belongs in prison.
Usually the in my opinion part doesn't preface your statements about the orange one .
Did one of your editors suggest that.
And as far as Clark st. comment Jesus man take a pill even if this stuff is all true which seems likely you just can't say that
These people will come get you.
Phil:
DeleteNo, but I was trying to forestall them getting involved — perhaps unnecessarily — and was successful. "Take a pill" reads, to me, as "I'm a Trump supporter in disguise and feel uncomfortable at seeing my betrayal of everything America set out in stark terms." Clark St. can say that, and did, and given his near-total anonymity, "getting" him will be a challenge.
Gee Phil, can't you see what he's done to this country?
DeleteThe tariffs are illegal & the deficit is way, way higher, due to his insanity.
He managed to kill unknown thousands of poor people in Africa by illegally destroying USAID!
SCOTUS has been taken over by six outright fascists who want him to become dictator of this country!
And as Neil says, I can say it, because it all is the truth!
Mr Steinberg you see pretty much anything that disagrees with the notion that the current administration are criminals destroying our country as being a supporter of the Trump administration.
DeleteWhich I am not.
I just think that a lot of people have lost their f****** minds because they're unable to see beyond the latest tweet.
Reel it in Jesus f****** Christ.
This chicken little b******* serves no purpose. If you remember this parable he went around screaming the sky is falling for so long that when it actually was nobody paid any attention
Near total anonymity. That's rich the previous administrations in the giant corporations got rid of that a long time ago they know who you are and what you're saying
DeleteMy wish for 2026 is darn simple. I hope all of you continue to work at your jobs for the entire year. One year at a time. I'm being practical here. Wishing folks good health is well an fine. But work is ab essential. Essential to everything we know. Life security flows from the regular paycheck. May you all keep your jobs!!!
ReplyDeleteHear, hear, Neil. I'm glad you have a grandbaby on whom to dote. I'm not sorry to put this year in the rearview mirror, but I continue to tell myself that while all of this is horrible, if this is what it took for Joe Average to wake up and realize that yes, his vote *does count and that we all have a responsibility to participate in this democracy, that's a silver lining. (And yes, I still see us as a democracy. Republicans were trounced in elections this year. I know Republican malfeasance won't abate in 2026, but I predict that that will only steel our resolve.)
ReplyDeleteNew Years isn't my favorite; more of a melancholy time. And this may sound naive, but as horrible as I think this president is, a couple recent tragedies put him in a whole new place for me. First, inserting himself into the Reiner family tragedy, and making statements that are so mind-blowing that sometimes I find myself googling to see if this is "fake news." And yesterday when news broke of the Kennedy daughter's death, I actually sent out a hope that this man would either act, if not presidential, then at least like a man who has children and grandchildren, and could empathize. And barring that, then maybe someone; his wife, daughter, staff, could just implore him not to go there. But no, he did. Although not specifically mentioning this girls death, he picked this time to start sparring with the Kennedys over their differences. I don't like to be dramatic, but to me, this brought home how evil he actually is. And then, of course, there's people commenting as if this is perfectly acceptable. But then there is Grandpa Neil. And just like I mentioned yesterday, if you were writing about her, it would be some of your best. I've actually written down a couple of things you've said; that's how amazing they were: little lozenge of concentrated cuteness. And today; taking a bath in liquid happiness! How did you come up with those? I'm going to save these gems in case I ever get blessed with a grandchild.
ReplyDeleteCarol:
DeleteUmm ... how shall I put this? Do you not think ... at this point ... that hoping for decency on the part of our president is ... a tad naive? I mean, really, what would that hope be based upon? Certainly not continual experience over the past decade. I'm hopeful too. But not for the impossible. As for how I came up with those metaphors, well, conjuring up that stuff — saying something in a new way — that's sort of my job. The "liquid happiness" is based on Facetiming with the baby. It just blasts my concerns away.
Yes, I said I would sound naive. I guess it just struck me as so personal and tragic and transcending politics. Like, if these people were taking their last breath on this earth, is that what they're going to be thinking about? Oh no, what about Trump? I'll never see him again
DeleteThanks for quoting the lines from the Jennifer Michael Hecht poem. I used "google" to find the poem, which is very good. Now I want to read more of her poetry.
ReplyDeleteSix years ago I critiqued that poem, if you want to see it explored further: https://www.everygoddamnday.com/2019/03/everyone-everywhere-gets-up-and-goes.html
DeleteThanks. I'll check it out.
DeleteGreat re cap of the year my friend. Let's keep hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst. Happy New Year. Ephrain
ReplyDelete