Nicholas Kristof: We have to break our addiction to Trump

More than just Stormy Daniels View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Sunday, May 6, 2018 [NYTimes.com/Kristof »]( [Breaking the Addiction to Trump]( [Trump has taken over our minds.]( Trump has taken over our minds. Let’s face it: We’re all [addicted to Trump](. At home or at work, on television or in the newspaper, even in pillow talk, Trump insinuates himself into conversations, and I fear that we in the news media aggravate the problem — because his name delivers audiences, much the way a car crash turns heads. [My column]( argues that the Trump Obsession is understandable, but it also sucks all the oxygen away from other important issues, from opioids to genocide. So I argue that we need to conceive of this as a multi-front war, standing up to Trump without neglecting so many other important issues that need to be addressed. [Please read!]( A few months ago, I wrote a little guide for New York Times subscribers: “How To Make the World a Better Place.” It’s now outside the paywall, so anybody can read it. [Check it out!]( Researchers have long known that crime runs in families, with 5 percent of Americans accounting for about half of crime. Fox Butterfield, a veteran writer about crime and society, has written a new book about a dysfunctional white family in Oregon, the Bogles, that embodies this problem. The children are raised with expectations that they will be criminals, and they live up to this expectation. I read an advance copy (it will come out in October), and I recommend it as both fascinating and rather depressing. It underscored my strong belief that if we want to help at-risk kids, we have to start very young. Fox’s book is called “[In My Father’s House: A New View of How Crime Runs in the Family]( In the catastrophe of Syria, there has been one group of heroes: the “[White Helmets]( volunteers who rush toward bombings to try to rescue victims of whatever faith or ethnicity. And now the U.S. reportedly has cut off funds to the White Helmets; I hope the decision is reversed, for they represent humanity at its best. The Washington Post has been [keeping track of President Trump’s false and misleading statements]( and he has just exceeded 3,000. Indeed, his rate of mendacity is increasing: He began his presidency with 4.9 a day, and is now up to 9. You see, I couldn’t even write a single newsletter without an item about Trump. I evaded the Scylla of Stormy Daniels and the Charybdis of Rudy Giuliani, and then his false statements sucked me in. But that’s fine. We do need to pay attention to Trump — but we can’t become addicted and let him take over our heads so that we ignore [other issues like these](. ADVERTISEMENT I welcome suggestions for what to include in this newsletter. You can connect with me on [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Google]( [Instagram]( and [Pinterest](. If you have friends who might enjoy this newsletter, forward this email; they can [sign up here](. Send feedback or tech questions to newsletters@nytimes.com. Recent Columns Op-Ed Columnist [#MeToo Goes Global]( By NICHOLAS KRISTOF A brutal crime in India highlights a worldwide problem. Op-Ed Columnist [How to Understand What’s Happening in North Korea]( By NICHOLAS KRISTOF As with a circus performance, it’s amazing to behold but not quite as billed. ADVERTISEMENT FOLLOW NICHOLAS KRISTOF [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nickkristof]( [Instagram] [nickkristof]( Get more [NYTimes.com newsletters »]( | Get unlimited access to NYTimes.com and our NYTimes apps. [Subscribe »]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Nicholas Kristof newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Change Your Email]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2018 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018