An Editor’s Note
It’s incredible that no wag by now has given our era a name that sticks, goes viral. The announcements and actions coming out of Washington this year — with no sign of slowing — qualify for uniqueness. We came close in 2017-2021 to a singular name, but no go. Maybe that’s because the first term ended up as more of a trial run.
“Watergate,” the name of the building complex where the June 1972 break-in of Democratic Party offices authorized by the Nixon White House happened, became the accepted name of the scandal only two months later, in August 1972. (While court trials followed and revelations continue almost to the present day, Watergate ended two years after it began, August 1974, when fellow Republicans decided to convince Richard Nixon to resign.)
Let’s call this thang and own it.
“Deconstruction.”
Our era began at 11 a.m. Central time Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. Yes, planning for it was announced rather openly via earlier campaign promises months earlier, with testing of limits starting Jan. 20, 2017. Consider the riot of Jan. 6, 2021, a soft opening.
Two-thirds of the first year of Deconstruction have passed, and news summaries still lead with Trump Did This and Trump Said That, along with Trump Official Said This and Trump Official Did That.
Deconstruction.
Far more than its dictionary definition, Deconstruction can be a reminder of Reconstruction, though any resemblance is ironic.
Reconstruction: “Between 1865 and 1877, formerly enslaved people gained citizenship rights, fought for land ownership and economic independence, ran for elected office, and established many civic, religious, and educational institutions. … With these gains, however, also came fierce backlash.” — “The Reconstruction Era Is Not Taught Well in U.S. Schools” by Catherine Caruso.
The Deconstruction Era initial definition: The current White House does not deny and often boasts of hellbent razing of federal programs and constitutional principals and safeguards, with the support of majorities in both houses of Congress, sufficient judiciary compliance and a strong minority of the populace supporting these moves or not overtly opposing them. The era will last past this first administration because this president has stretched the powers of the office that won’t fully retract no matter the party. Last, a number of state governments including that of Arkansas find advantage in aping Washington’s extra-legal manuevers combined with a “defy us” attitude.
The Deconstruction Era should find favor with MAGA. With the 21st century GOP’s mix of truth and deceit, concealment and transparency, crime and punishment, spirituality and apostasy, I’m sure they’d approve of the coinage of Deconstruction. That one word balances the 900 pages of Project 2025.
Deconstruction can be defeated with a thousand points of resistance. One subtle but strong resister is union membership.
Common acts of resistance these days include contacting one’s elected officials with opinions and participating in protests, rallies or marches. These are subtle, too. Subtle these days means, “At least we’re doing something.”
For me though, union membership and moreover active participation in it can make tangible differences.
History shows that strong unions can stand toe to toe with big business and big government. Individual employees stand below their superiors by definition, but when teaming up fairness is possible.
Union membership — and the big cheeses don’t broadcast this — is legal:
- Amendment 34 to the Arkansas State Constitution: “No person shall be denied employment because of membership in or affiliation with or resignation from a labor union, or because of refusal to join or affiliate with a labor union.”
- The University of Arkansas System allows union membership in Board of Trustees Policy 460.1 (PDF): “The fact that an employee does or does not belong to a union has no effect upon his or her position as a member of the University staff.”
Through membership we have voice. Allies help. Time and again, Local 965’s voice has been heard on campus and our region. Via the Arkansas Education Association our views are echoed statewide. The National Education Association? The country’s largest union. Resist Deconstruction.
©2025 Ben S. Pollock
As Deconstruction has shaken job security, many of us walk on Eggshells calculating when and how to speak, when and how to act.
This column, slightly revised, first was published in the August 2025 newsletter of UA-Fayetteville Education Association / Local 965, of which Ben Pollock is vice president.
