Theodore R. Johnson

How Trump uses American civil religion to focus everything on him.

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The Secretary of Defense was lecturing military leaders about the warrior ethos when he should have been ensuring military pay was exempted from the government shutdown.

Opinion | ‘No more beardos’: Appearance trumps performance at Pentagon Hegseth’s meeting with generals and admirals missed the real opportunity in gathering leaders.

Ted Johnson: Hegseth said the military would be color-blind, but also that anyone with chronic razor bumps will be kicked out; coincidentally, two-thirds of the service members who hold such shaving waivers are Black. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Opinion | ‘No more beardos’: Appearance trumps performance at Pentagon Hegseth’s meeting with generals and admirals missed the real opportunity in gathering leaders.

Trump has a long record of prioritizing appearance & complicity over competence. Hegseth is cast in this mold, forgoing explanations of changes to defense strategy & the use of U.S. cities as training grounds for the more pressing issue of obsessing over clean-shaven killers who look good in uniform

Trump managed to stumble into gains with a changing Black electorate
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"While arming the Guard may be a political decision, telling troops whom to shoot — even if they don’t — has ramifications far beyond politics."

Some lessons from history and from my time in the military, on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

Opinion | Trump’s National Guard deployment echoes Hurricane Katrina mistakes When soldiers deploy to U.S. soil, the priority should be on helping, not seeing people as the enemy.

"Politicians often use the Guard as an instrument of executive prerogative. It has long been this way, meaning the mission sometimes changes w/ the wind. ... While arming the Guard is a political decision, telling troops whom to shoot — even if they don’t — has ramifications far beyond politics."

I'll say it a thousand times -- any account of the past that only celebrates the good parts of a nation without reckoning with the bad is not what we call "history"

It is propaganda, pure and simple.

Opinion | Who does America think it is? Next year, we might find out. From our 50th birthday to next year’s 250th, Americans have asked who we are as a nation.

As America approaches its 250th birthday, @drtedj.bsky.social reflects on what our past celebrations say about who we are, and who we still hope to be. Read more from @washingtonpost.com here:

Half the time I post something related to race on this website I get someone in the comments like, “yeah america is a racist country what do you expect.” I’m starting to think folks like this are bots or ops designed to make people feel helpless. Think we should call it “doomsplaining”

Opinion | How HBCUs fight for survival in Trump’s America Despite attacks on DEI and colleges, HBCUs endure through bipartisan support.

Walter Kimbrough @hiphopprez.bsky.social and I chatted about HBCUs and how they’ve managed the Trump White House.

"Real patriots know there is room for both shame and pride; they meet the former with a fighting spirit and the latter with a celebratory one."

Opinion | On losing my mother, and finding her again Something happens when the beliefs and ideas most fundamental to your worldview are challenged or fractured.

A love letter, on the anniversary of my mother’s passing

Reclaiming Patriotism from Trump’s America (with Ted Johnson) As America approaches its 250th anniversary, deep polarization and partisan battles are threatening the very idea of patriotism.

On the latest episode of How To Fix It, columnist @drtedj.bsky.social joins John Avlon to discuss how American pride has been weaponized, why civic education has crumbled, and how citizens can reclaim a more inclusive, aspirational patriotism: www.thebulwark.com/p/reclaiming...

Opinion | Trump’s plan for Black Americans was mostly bait and switch The president prioritized the wrong values.

The Platinum Plan of the first Trump administration would be flagged for violating the anti-DEI policies of the second.
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Opinion | Our military prepares for war. It can handle a library. The Pentagon shows a lack of faith in our military by banning books at the Naval Academy’s library.

Officials at the U.S. Naval Academy confirmed that nearly 1,000 books were flagged for potentially violating Trump’s executive order that requires schools to promote “patriotic education” and avoid those deemed to champion diversity, equity and inclusion.

From Theodore Johnson: wapo.st/4id1eD7

Opinion | Is our health and wellness obsession ... making us unwell? Our columnists debate whether our social media-fueled fitness craze is bad for us.

"Capitalism has gotten a hold of the wellness industry and blown it up," @drtedj.bsky.social said in a conversation with @drewlgoins.bsky.social and @mollyroberts.bsky.social.

"The money is never in fixing what’s broken. It’s in the practice of addressing things that you don’t like about yourself."

Opinion | Rites of passage and modern masculinity Boys growing into men face challenges unique to this moment, but some things never change.

"Our politics will need to grow up quickly if our boys are to become good men," @drtedj.bsky.social writes. wapo.st/3Rt0VZW

They absolutely are. Guessing he's playing semantics, as the texts aren't the full-on operational plan (OPLAN) that are describe the progression of joint operations in a given war.

Young people are not becoming more MAGA/conservative - they either 1) voted against the incumbent party due to the economy or 2) they voted against (or not at all) Harris/Dems agenda that some deemed too left or not left enough for their taste.
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/26/o...

Opinion | Why buyer’s remorse is boiling over in congressional GOP town halls Republican constituents are pushing back on Trump’s policies and their representatives.

“In my corner of America, there’s a common feeling emerging about the viral videos of constituents angrily confronting congressional Republicans:

THAT’S WHAT THEY GET.”
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Today marks the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma.

In commemoration, I wrote the foreword for the voting rights symposium in the latest Harvard Civil Rights Law Review.
journals.law.harvard.edu/crcl/wp-cont...

YouTube video by Amanpour and Company Fmr. Navy Commander on Trump’s Purge of the Pentagon | Amanpour and Company

I discussed Pentagon policy, military service, and the wrecking ball approach to diversity initiatives with @pbsnews.org this week.
youtu.be/KAMfEihDLUY?...

He’s fired two other four-star service chiefs in his first 30 days, both women and historic firsts.

It’s pretty clear what anti-DEI means in the Pentagon.

Trump chuckles it up at The White House for Black History Month one day - and the next fires Chairman CQ Brown without cause and bans Black History Month at the Pentagon.

Opinion | What Hegseth and Trump don’t understand about DEI and the military The Pentagon’s new approach departs from one that for decades buoyed the world’s strongest military.

“The military’s approach to diversity might need refocusing, but the programs have been integral to readiness, innovation and the avoidance of groupthink. They can also help counter biases that service members might carry with them in uniform.” www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Opinion | What Hegseth and Trump don’t understand about DEI and the military The Pentagon’s new approach departs from one that for decades buoyed the world’s strongest military.

My Navy career began as part of an affirmative action recruitment initiative - but now I'd be considered a DEI hire??? Trying to make sense of this in my latest column
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Opinion | To check Trump’s ambitions, others in government must assert their own Where is the separation of powers?

“A swaggering executive with an entourage of yes-men in every corner of government is the exact person the Constitution was designed to keep from the presidency.”
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Trump being inaugurated on MLK Day is a trip
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Opinion | Tiny tots (with their eyes all aglow) turn into teens. A dad reflects. Few things capture the magic of the holiday season like the eyes of a child. And then, they become teenagers.

A Parent’s Christmas