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A few months before the presidential election, the American cultural scene is opposing President Trump. Writer Paul Auster launched the “Writers Against Trump” initiative.
By Peter Mücke, ARD-Studio New York
Paul Auster was born in 1947. He still remembers the first time he was allowed to elect the president of the United States. That was in 1968; the voting age was still 21 years old. Richard Nixon ran for Republicans and won by a narrow margin against Democratic Party candidate Hubert Humphrey, whom Auster voted for at the time.
Many of his friends were passionate idealists, he says. “They didn’t care about Humphrey. That’s why they didn’t even vote. And I think that’s what made Nixon president in the first place. And that’s the danger again.”
Young people don’t know much about Joe Biden
In fact, many – especially the young – today have little interest in the democratic candidate. Joe Biden is 77 years old, and like Humphrey at the time, as a former vice president of the United States, it’s not exactly a sign of new beginnings and changes. “For me, too, Biden was not the first choice, not even the second. But now I think he may be the best candidate that the Democrats could nominate at this time.”
Biden realized that “we are at a crossroads in history. I think he understood that he had the same burden of responsibility as Roosevelt in 1932-33 when he became president during the Great Depression.”
“Not voting would be a terrible mistake”
A strong historical comparison, with which Auster wants to at least motivate the frustrated young voters who have supported candidates like Bernie Sanders in recent months.
“I know that many of you are great idealists and have tremendous hopes for the future of America, and that you are disappointed in the choice that you have. And that you are not enthusiastic about the Biden / Harris Democratic team, and that you are rather not vote at all. But that would be a terrible mistake! “
To prevent this from happening, Auster and six other American writers launched the “Writers Against Trump” initiative. They argue in virtual meetings on the Internet, there are question and answer sessions, but above all statements like this from the writer Siri Hustvedt, who is married to Auster.
“As writers, we know that words matter because they can change attitudes, make people act. That is why we call on all Americans to exercise their right to speak through the power of choice.”
More than 1,100 authors have joined Auster
More than 1,100 writers, screenwriters, essayists, and composers from across the United States have already joined the initiative.
They no longer have the goal of convincing Trump supporters, says Auster: “I want to target the angry, the disappointed. The ones who are upset and don’t want to vote. I urge you: think again. The Trump reelection and The Republican Party could be the end of democracy in the United States. And the beginning of an authoritarian government in a country where no one will have the opportunity to vote. “
“I know how scam Trump is”
New York actor, filmmaker and screenwriter John Turturro, who starred in the film adaptation of Philip Roth’s “The Plot Against America,” puts it a little less pathetically: “I’ve always heard that this is the most important choice of your life. . Blah “Blah, blah. But this time it’s really true. This is our democracy. So be strong, vote, let’s win this and kick this guy out of the White House. I grew up with him and I know what he’s for. “He’s a cheater.”
