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Nostalgia is a Weapon that Belongs to the Opposition

MAGA craves a make-believe past, but the truth is nostalgia is pro-democracy.

Jennifer Carole
6 min readDec 10, 2024

There must be an upside to aging. Right? As I recover from the election, I realize we have some tools they don’t have.

Photo of an at bat but superimposed on the side is my kid and her uncle both have a very good time in 2003.
Katie and her uncle at a San Jose Giants minors game in 2003. Nostalgia? Hell yes.

Marc Elias has asked that we refer to ourselves as The Opposition. So I am. We are. I understand his point that resisting is mushy. To oppose is clear. It’s saying no. It is not negotiable. It’s our line in the sand.

Donald Trump wants you to believe that he is all-powerful and that if you fight back, you will lose. He wants you to think that if you fight back, you face danger. Well, I’m here to disabuse him of that notion.

With that in mind, I’m doing my best on my podcast to identify tools we can use to influence and things we can do to support democracy.

A simple Thanksgiving post reminded me that nostalgia is a powerful, visceral, authentic way to connect with other humans.

I posted about slides.

The old kind — with a photo slapped between two pieces of cardboard and projected onto a screen (if you were fancy) or wall. Sharing (showing) slides shifted a typically individual approach to memories and turned them into broadcasts. And families…

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Jennifer Carole
Jennifer Carole

Written by Jennifer Carole

Retired marketing strategist. I have the most insane past, but I'm an eternal optimist, and I'm ready to share what I've learned. Im on Bluesky (@jencarole).

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