Take a quiz and find out

I enjoy thumbing through old books in thrift stores. In a recent outing I ran across some cover notes in a tattered paperback that summarized the Renaissance as follows: “The period was characterized by the establishment of the scientific method, the rise of free inquiry, the growth of commerce…In the arts and literature, Greek antiquity was rediscovered and was reflected in the drama by the reassertion of the dignity and value of human life, the beauty of nature, and the joy of living.”

In the first 100 days of Trump’s second presidency, the cultural legacies of the Renaissance are nowhere to be found. Indeed, guided by the authors of Project 2025, the far right has begun dismantling the Renaissance-inspired infrastructure of modern American life, from science and law to education and commerce.

The consequences have a medieval vibe that seems more in keeping with 1025 than 2025. With that in mind, I’ve listed below 10 characteristics of the Medieval world (in italics) with a similar number of factual statements about current events.

See if you can pair the list of entries and come to your own conclusion about our future as citizens of a democracy or as subjects and serfs.