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Computer Generated Transcript of Comey's video message (Video 5:24 in duration).
Hey everybody, welcome back to my
Substack.
Last week's cold turns out to have been
COVID. Quite a flashback. And Donald
Trump is still president and still
humiliating America on a national stage
standing next to Vladimir Putin. It's
like a dream, a bad dream you can't wake
up from. But I don't want to talk about
that bad dream this week. I want to talk
about a truly inspirational public
figure named Taylor Swift. Of course, I
watched her podcast interview with the
Kelsey brothers. Of course, I watched
the whole thing. Although on YouTube,
Patrice and I got kicked off for the
last 15 minutes and finished it on her
phone, but I watched it. You see, Taylor
Swift and I go way back. I went to my
first concert of hers 15 years ago. I've
been to a second and I have helped
financially support the attendance of a
lot of family members at Others. I'm in
a family's Swifty group chat. I know all
her music and I listen to it in my
headphones when I cut the grass. So,
yes, I have a favorite of hers.
Although, honestly, for me, it's a tie
between All Too Well, 10-minute version
and Exile featuring Bony Ver.
Taylor Swift has grown up with my family
and provided us a soundtrack really as
we've grown ourselves and learned and
adapted and dealt with adversity and
celebration. She had songs for all of
it. I suspect that's something that
millions of Americans have also
experienced in their families. I think
that's because Taylor Swift produces
great art, but also because she models
something. At every stage of her career,
she's shown a certain way of being that
resonated with my kids and also felt
right to me as a parent. And she's still
doing that as a grown-up.
Like a lot of you, I struggle with how
to stand up to bullies without letting
their meanness infect me and change me.
You may have seen that the governor of
California has been generating a lot of
attention lately by posting on social
media in a satirical way where he mocks
Donald Trump and his all caps
megleammania and his absurdity. And I
find it very funny, hilarious even
sometimes. But I got to be honest, it
also leaves me with a strange feeling at
times because I don't want us to become
like Trump and his followers.
There are far more decent, honest, kind
people in America than there are mean
jerks. Now, don't get me wrong, we have
our jerks, millions of them. You may
have noticed in particular, there's a
stunning coarseness and ugliness in the
Republican party today. It's upsetting,
but it's also a minority of America.
On the whole, we aren't like that and we
don't like that. I think that's a big
part of the reason so few Americans
support Donald Trump when they have to
see him and that up close and why
Republicans are so worried about what's
coming for them next year.
And to be clear, I am not an advocate
for weakness. Of course, we need to
stand up to jerks and defend what
matters. But I think we have to try to
do that without becoming like them,
which is what makes me think about
Taylor Swift.
She's made clear that she sees Donald
Trump for what he is. And last year, she
urged Americans not to make the serious
mistake of electing him. Of course,
we're now living with the consequences
of that mistake. But while our elderly
makeup covered president is posting
about whether Taylor Swift is still hot
and declaring that he can't stand her,
what's she doing? Living her best life,
producing great music, and as she urged
all of us to do during the podcast, not
giving the jerks power over her mind.
She said something about dealing with
internet trolls that stuck with me.
Think of your energy as if it's
expensive, she said, as if it's like a
luxury item. Not everyone can afford it.
I really enjoy reading Arthur Brooks,
who writes columns about happiness in
the Atlantic. I don't know if he's a
Swifty, but last week he wrote about
research on the way that being rude or
snarky actually hurts the rude person.
as he wrote, "When you become less
polite, the alteration in your conduct
can make you less happy, more depressed,
and angrier about life."
I know you get that even without the
research. Just watch Fox News or hang
around X and you'll see what he means.
We can't stop people from being jerks.
What we can do is stop it from hurting
us, from changing us.
At my second Taylor Swift concert in
Hartford, Connecticut 14 years ago this
summer, she sang a song about this
topic, asking why you got to be so mean.
And she spoke directly to the nasty
people.
I bet you got pushed around. Somebody
made you cold. But the cycle ends right
now because you can't lead me down that
road. You'll be glad I didn't sing that.
That's right. Because down that road is
unhappiness.
Nobody should have that power over us.
Thank you, Taylor Swift. Keep the faith.