Emergency Powers

Pop culture is full of stories about people in crisis exhibiting “superhuman” strength. The body’s fight-or-flight response kicks in; they choose to fight. Adrenaline rushes, muscles oxidize, cortisol and pain-suppressing endorphins flow. Their Emergency Powers are engaged, and limitations are exceeded. In such moments, people lift cars and heavy machinery. They walk with broken limbs. They help others through circumstances they never imagined they could. It’s not all physical. Possessing the power to face unpleasant facts, as George Orwell writes in “Why I Write,” is the initial step in overcoming emergencies.

In politics, Emergency Powers are the means by which leaders exert their authority to bypass legislative oversight and suspend constitutional rights. This allows them to silence opposition under the guise of national security and dismantle democratic norms. That’s the car we need to lift.

Politics and Culture

In 2013, with degrees in global politics and philosophy, I set out on what would become an over-decade-long project to educate students and advocates on Middle Eastern autocracy through the lens of the Syrian war. I’ve been a guest speaker and lecturer at universities throughout Southern California and taught classes on Middle Eastern politics and global conflict at CSULB. I’ve been invited to speak at events hosted by US Syrian opposition groups advocating for a democratic Syria, and even set out to make a documentary on Syrian Americans and refugees called Watani Ana. As I did, I ended my long-running publication, Bold Type. I wasn’t sure if I was cutting through the online noise or adding to it. Attacks from Russian bots, death threats, and mistakenly reading the comments deterred me. But a lot has changed in my life and the world since then.

While I aspired to build a career in investigative, on-the-ground journalism, it’s not an easy field to break into if you come from humble beginnings. To support myself, I took jobs as a photographer and content creator, which I still do to this day. I’m a nerd who loves to write. I don’t hold a PhD. I won’t claim to be an expert, but I will source my work.

I don’t know where Emergency Powers will take me or if it will sustain. But I will meet your enthusiasm with my own. I hope at least one person finds something meaningful in my grit and wonk.

Thanks for reading!

• Deric Mendes

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