Opinion: Taylor Swift's Got It

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According to philosopher William James, in a letter to his wife shortly after their marriage in 1878, he described feeling "most deeply and intensely active and alive" as a moment when a voice inside speaks and declares, "This is the real me!"

James sought to understand the concept of "authenticity" long before Merriam-Webster named it the 2023 word of the year. The dictionary publisher hailed it as the word that people were thinking, writing, aspiring, and judging more than ever. This year, interest in the term skyrocketed as celebrities like Taylor Swift and Elon Musk embraced it, driven by discussions about AI, celebrity culture, identity, and social media.

Regardless of whether one tunes into their inner voice, the pursuit of authenticity is a meaningful goal. Taylor Swift's remarkable success is attributed in part to her dedication to authenticity, despite the "constant reinvention" demanded by "pop iconhood," as highlighted by Jeff Yang.

Swift's unique ability to seamlessly transition from one era to another sets her apart from her peers. Her transformations are subtle yet eyebrow-raising, always managing to stay relatable and down-to-earth. Her upcoming "Eras" tour is predicted to surpass all previous records, with an estimated $5.7 billion boost to the US economy. It's expected to make Swift herself billions more, not even factoring in her concert film's box office success and upcoming home release. It's no surprise that "Swiftie" has made it to the shortlist for the Oxford Word of the Year.

The concept of "authenticity" is difficult to define, prompting Holly Thomas to question its selection by Merriam-Webster. Are the carefully curated images of the Kardashians inauthentic, or are they simply a representation of their Botoxed appearance in real life? Likewise, are filtered selfies lacking in authenticity, or do they actually capture a more genuine portrayal than staged "woke up like this" photos? Was YouTuber Emma Chamberlain being as genuine while hosting the Met Gala as she is in her videos where she openly discusses her personal struggles?

"Do we truly know our authentic traits and effectively communicate them to the world? Is it even wise to do so? What we share online may not align with what we say in person, and we have no control over how it will be received.

What's your word of the year? CNN Opinion is gathering the standout choices for the term that best encapsulates 2023."

Exit George Santos

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SE Cupp: Trump didn't pave the way for George Santos. Another president did

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The saga of George Santos and his fabricated biography came to an end as he was stripped of his House seat in a rare expulsion vote on Friday due to alleged ethics violations. This news was particularly jarring as Americans bid farewell to Rosalynn Carter, Henry Kissinger, and Sandra Day O'Connor.

SE Cupp argued that in a more logical world, Santos would have resigned from Congress a long time ago. The same goes for New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, who, as Cupp pointed out, was accused of using his power and influence to benefit the Egyptian government in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes, including cash, gold, and a Mercedes. Both deny any wrongdoing. Despite the scandals and negative headlines, Santos and Menendez remain defiant and unashamed. This strategy was not invented by either of them; former President Donald Trump perfected it, although it is worth noting that he did not invent it either.

Clay Jones

Liz Cheneys warning

Former Rep. Liz Cheney delivered a passionate message in her new book, calling on people from all political backgrounds to unite against Donald Trump's potential return to the White House, CNN reported. Historian Julian Zelizer commented that Cheney's book doesn't spare anyone, even exposing former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for his sudden change in stance following the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack. Just weeks after McCarthy urged Trump to take responsibility for the attack, he was pictured at Mar-a-Lago posing with the former president.

Should Trump become the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, Democrats are poised to take advantage of his involvement in the overturning of Roe v. Wade. To add to their ammunition, Trump has suggested that he would once again attempt to dismantle the widely supported Obamacare program.

The GOP's health care plan lost trust and revealed a lack of preparation. After the late Sen. John McCain's final thumbs-down in the summer of 2017, the party largely avoided the topic. However, this doesn't mean the GOP should disregard health care as an issue.

If Republicans revert to messaging about repealing Obamacare, they will suffer politically. More importantly, health care will remain a burden if they fail to offer solutions that make finding and paying for health care easier for individuals and families.

Nick Anderson/Tribune Content Agency

Nikki Haleys opportunity

Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley is gaining support a month before the presidential primary voting begins, with the Koch network announcing last week that it would back her. Geoff Duncan, the Republican former lieutenant governor of Georgia, praised Haley for her debate performances and her largely "error-free" campaign.

Haley's potential rise in popularity may be due to Trump's weaknesses, as suggested by Duncan. Although the public has consistently expressed concerns about President Joe Biden's age, recent slip-ups from the 77-year-old Trump have also raised some eyebrows. Trump's confusion between Biden and former President Barack Obama, as well as his dubious claim about Biden potentially starting World War II, have not gone unnoticed. Meanwhile, Haley has intensified her criticisms of Trump, claiming that chaos follows him and accusing him of being incredibly reckless with our national security.

For more:

Nicole Hemmer: Nikki Haley embodies the test America cant afford to fail again

Bill Carter: What Hannity was up to in that weird DeSantis-Newsom debate

Henry Kissingers legacy

Fareed Zakaria, who had known Henry "Kissinger for three decades, described everything he did as being surrounded by controversy. Kissinger, who passed away last week at the age of 100, was a complex individual warm, witty, proud, thin-skinned, sometimes paranoid but always deeply curious and intellectually serious about the world. Zakaria recalled that Kissinger was the only celebrity he had ever encountered who, when the lights dimmed, would retreat to his library to read the latest biography of Stalin or reread Spinoza.

Henry Kissinger was a European pessimist in a country of optimists. His concerns shifted from nuclear weapons to artificial intelligence over his career. Fleeing Nazi Germany in 1938, his experience shaped his abiding fear that disruptive forces could push the world into chaos.

Historian Jeremi Suri, author of a book on Kissinger, noted that Kissinger portrayed Wilsonian idealistic impulses as naive and perilous, and that hate and violence always lurked behind his views of society. Kissinger aimed to utilize American power as a more favorable option, a lesser evil, to salvage the best of humanity and mitigate the impact of human frailties and imperfections. This led him to make controversial decisions, such as justifying the intense bombing of Vietnam and Cambodia during the Vietnam War. He defended these actions by claiming that they were necessary to prevent the far greater suffering caused by communist tyranny, despite the innocent lives lost.

For more:

Peter Bergen: Christopher Hitchens was right about Henry Kissinger

David Andelman: Joe Biden is not getting the credit he deserves on foreign policy

Phil Hands/Tribune Content Agency

A long route to peace?

The conflict in Gaza reignited after talks to extend the ceasefire collapsed. Frida Ghitis wondered, "Can the bloodshed be halted? Can a resolution to this war be found that leads to enduring peace?"

The answer is yes. A challenging and perhaps impractical solution exists, but it is not unattainable. The resolution to end the war and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not a mystery. Negotiators have nearly reached a resolution to the long-standing conflict in the past.

The ouster of Hamas from Gaza, the initiation of a process to establish a Palestinian state, the replacement of the right-wing Netanyahu government with a more peace-friendly one, the backing of neighboring Arab nations, and reform of the Palestinian authority would be necessary for a solution to the ongoing conflict, according to Ghitis. The difficulty of finding a resolution is evident as "Every step toward a solution comes wrapped in a hundred problems." This has led to world leaders being unsuccessful in addressing the issue for 75 years.

Hani Almadhoun, director of philanthropy at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency USA, revealed that six members of his family were among those killed in Gaza, with only one body recovered so far. Almadhoun's 71-year-old mother mourns amidst the rubble, grieving for her lost loved ones.

Jill Filipovic wrote that Elon Musk's visit to Israel, following the controversy over his antisemitic tweet, was merely a distraction. She argued that the tour of Israel during a time of conflict does not address the real issue of antisemitism, and should not excuse Musk from accountability for his own words and actions.

She also criticized Musk's leadership, citing a rise in prejudice and bigotry on the platform he oversees. This includes the reinstatement of accounts belonging to known neo-Nazis and white supremacists, the return of members of the Islamic State to the platform, and the allowance of some QAnon conspiracy theorists to pay for verification badges on the site.

For more:

Dean Obeidallah: An anti-Muslim tirade inspires a beautiful response

Keith Magee: We must fight hate with empathy

Lisa Benson/GoComics.com

Guns in America

Historian Dominic Erdozain noted that the United States has always had a gun problem, but the current scale of it is unprecedented. Every day, more than 300 people are shot in the US, and over a hundred of them do not survive. Additionally, mass killings involving four or more victims have almost doubled in the span of five years. Moreover, gun deaths among children, which were already high, increased by 41.6% between 2018 and 2021. In contrast, the mid-20th century saw a very different landscape, with nearly 60% of Americans favoring a total ban on handguns in 1959, and only 16% of American households owning such a weapon, with many of them located in the South.

In 1969, the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence suggested drastic measures to decrease the number of handguns in circulation, then estimated at 24 million.

What caused the change? The brief response is President Ronald Reagan, whose decisive, Cold War mentality simplified domestic policy into a series of straightforward decisions. Good and evil. Light and darkness. Arm the righteous, he vowed, and crime will take care of itself. He stated that it was an unpleasant truth, but criminals were not deterred by gun laws. The solution was to make firepower available to the good people: the silent majority who uphold the nation. The good guys, who never miss.

SI meets AI

Walt Handelsman/Tribune Content Agency

Sports Illustrated, a magazine renowned for its exceptional writing, faced the embarrassment of having to remove multiple articles after it was discovered that they had been produced by AI. "The backlash has been immense," wrote Will Leitch, "from a complete staff revolt to a widespread lament about the transformation of the once-respected institution that previously published works by William Faulkner, Robert Frost, and John Steinbeck. How did Sports Illustrated end up in this situation?" The magazine stated that the articles had been generated by a third-party company.

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AND…

Sandra Day OConnor

Supreme Court nominee Sandra Day O'Connor smiles during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, on September 9, 1981.

Ron Edmonds/AP

As a 12-year-old girl in 1981, Traci Lovitt was riveted by the appointment of Sandra Day OConnor as the first woman on the Supreme Court.

It's impossible not to think: If she could make it in the legal field, why can't I? Despite graduating in the top 10% of her class at Stanford Law School, Justice O'Connor didn't receive any offers for a private practice attorney position. However, through hard work, government service, and determination, she became a powerful figure in Arizona and, eventually, the First Woman On The Supreme Court (FWOTSC), in her own words. On that day in 1981, Justice O'Connor showed that women could succeed at the highest levels of the legal profession, giving hope to generations of women. Today, we continue to benefit from the optimism she sparked.

After clerking for O'Connor, Lovitt felt indebted to her mentor for more than just her guidance. O'Connor arranged a kayaking trip down the Potomac River for her clerks and their partners at the end of the term. Since Lovitt didn't have a partner at the time, O'Connor and fellow Justice Antonin Scalia conspired to match Lovitt with Scalia's clerk, who later became Lovitt's husband and kayak buddy.