I spent much of today thinking about the Republican Party. Its roots lie in the immediate aftermath of the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in spring 1854, when it became clear that elite southern slaveholders had taken control of the federal government and were using their power to spread their system of human enslavement across the continent.
To add to the enduring accomplishments of the CCC you cited in your letter, the program left future generations beautiful infrastructure elements in state and national parks, such as pavilions, bridges, and lodges.
These buildings and other structures including such as lookouts along the Blue Ridge Parkway were built from local stone and timber and designed to invite Americans to experience the relaxation and exhilaration of spending time outdoors. They still do, quite powerfully.
Thank you for reminding me of the program and its contribution to my quality of life.
My husband and I drove the Skyline Drive yesterday and will travel the Blue Ridge Parkway today. In 105 miles, we saw only a handful of other cars, which allowed us to focus on the views and the beautifully constructed—and enduring—lookouts. We talked about the CCC and WPA, and about Pres. Biden’s plans for infrastructure and how they will strengthen our nation in so many ways. It’s good to be feeling hopeful again, and looking forward to better times—for all of us this time!
I have vivid memories of taking that drive over 20 years ago. Not just the gorgeous views, but admiration for the enduring stacked stone work at the pullouts, especially when compared to more recent stone work additions that were thrown together with lots of concrete filler holding it together.
My maternal grandfather was employed by the CCC in California and did some of the work in the parks in and around Yosemite and the John Muir area on the coast. The place where we would picnic when I was growing up in Southern Oregon had a park that was created by the CCC, and had amazing stone fireplaces for cooking. My Mom was proud of the work her Dad had done.
During the Depression, my grandfather, who was disabled due to a club foot, worked in the shipyards along the Delaware River. Because of his kindness, fairness, genuine humility and respect for each person he met, he was a white man who managed the segregated African American part of the shipyard. I guess due to segregation, a black manager wasn't allowed and no
other white man was willing to work there. I still have a hardhat from his work that has the word 'Captain' scratched in by hand by his crew. He respected the hard work his crews did and they respected him in turn. He never had any problems working in that capacity. He was able to provide for his family. Before that government job, they were hungry much of the time. Turnips and fried bologna were a staple. He was, of course, a wonderful grandfather. One rarely meets a human being who respects and validates people for who they are, ...nothing else is required.
BR, it'd be great to have met your granddad. He sounds like our Grinny (grandmother who smiled a lot!). She marched on Washington with Rev Dr King, and always said that she shared his dream. Still, we got her to stop driving in the nick of time.
TPJ...What an inspiration! An activist 'Grinny'! Truly wonderful to have a person like that in your life. Wish I had known her. She must have been fascinating to talk with.
Grinny was committed but genteel. Her daughter & my mom? Now there was a FEROCIOUS liberal Democrat!
Living in 1930s-40s NYC, Grinny attended numerous parties with scruffy, impassioned leftist fellow-travelers. She wasn't interested in ideology, and speculated that they came partly for free food & drinks. A bit of a snob, she also thought that they should bathe more often.
Dave, I too have enjoyed these structures immensely. I had not given much thought to them, often driving by blithely. But they have indeed give my soul much respite when I have allowed myself the luxury to enjoy 😉 them. Thank you for your sharing.
As I recall from my uncles who participated in this work, it provided workers meaningful and important work at a desperate time. I don't know if there's any historical perspective available on the mental health issues of that time. My uncles were able to maintain a sense of pride in their work ethic and to have hope. That too was a legacy for my own family.
The FDR admin's use of psychology was rather amateurish, but New Deal planners gave serious thought to how the CCC and other programs would boost self-respect among its workers. It was successful in that regard, though they tended to use "morality" and "mentality" interchangeably.
Thank you. Your reply made me think of the countless times Biden tells the story of his father's loss of a job and how important it was for him to find work. I had not made that connection to the CCC before now.
Thank you too, Ellen. The refs above mostly address policy, rather than the effects on individuals' mental health. Much of psychology is a major gap in my knowledge.
Another excellent history lesson for an A&S grad who rarely made it to his 9am classes. Today I’m up early reading and appreciating your letter to us all. It’s so important for us to understand how we got to where we are now in the story of America. Like a good and interesting trail guide your letters not only help us along the way but explain more about what we are seeing. Thanks so much, Dr. Richardson! During the pandemic I’ve been doing a great deal of reading...history, literature, current events. Lincoln who struggled hard to understand our founding principles, I believe... despite the crushing anxieties and endless frustrations he suffered and endured throughout the course of the Civil War, was increasingly nurtured by the founders ideas and his love and empathy for all Americans. Every time I get down about what people like McConnell are trying to do, I ask myself...how would Lincoln try to deal with him and his fellow party members? With humor? Kindness? Empathy? Yes, I think so...and then he’d do what President Biden and his party are now so steadily striving to accomplish—-because their initiatives are well aligned with our founding ideas and our best accomplishments. I’m glad I’ve had the opportunity to live a pretty long life...every day is an opportunity to learn more about things that are important to us all. Thanks again for the excellent work you are doing.
But Lincoln would wait for the appropriate time and take out his opponents without making it look as if it was partisan......frequently he organized things so that they took themselves out.
Turns out in Floriduh, we now want alot of those proposed federal funds to clean up the corporate cesspool (literally) at piney point. The corporations rape and pillage and get tax breaks, then we taxpayers clean up their mess!
You’re exactly right Lynn. Taxpayers provide the infrastructure and fund the cleanup while corporations take the profits.
Progressive economists and environmentalists have long lobbied for corporations to build the cost (tax) of recycling and cleanup into the product price. The theory being that if consumers had to pay the real cost of using and disposing of a product they might make different, more sustainable choices.
Mosaic spends enormous amounts for advertising that green-washes their company image with stories of reclamation. Piney Point is the reality they want to hide. The evacuation zone involved included more that 300 homes. Most homeowners had no idea they were at risk before the breach.
Most floridians have no idea of the strip mining and ecosystem rape and destruction by these phosphate mines going on in this state. Not too long ago, charlotte county commissioners got wrist slapped for merely taking a helicopter ride over a mine. The corporations even have air space restricted! Something very rotten if our elected officials cannot even witness the hell is going on behind those mammoth 500' mounds.
I listened to the Lincoln Product podcast and Rick Wilson, who lives in Florida, had Peter Schorsch (publisher of FloridaPolitics.com) as his guest. Between the two of them they have all kinds of inside information about Florida politics. They described how utterly corrupt the officials in Florida are.
The corruption is breathtaking here. Now Vern Buchanan (R) wants to inject the toxic sludge into deep wells (out of sight, out of mind) INTO OUR FRAGILE AQUIFER! The sheer idiocy astounds.
Diane, am I exaggerating the charm of your home town, St Pete, from my wondrous one, single day at the museums of Dali and Chihuli? The area around there reminded me of the energy - the vibrancy - of New England towns Portland, Woodstock VT, Burlington, Portsmouth. Or perhaps, I did not stray far enough to loose my enthusiasm? I’ve spoken with my family about St Pete as a possible one month, winter stay for our snow bird life.
As long as they can act with impunity, this will be so. Their leaders and board members are sheltered from both financial and criminal penalties when the corporations are found to have acted illegally, so where is their incentive to act responsibly? (See the Sackler family, for instance).
Why not call it a revenue reduction? Or an income reduction. It decreased tax revenue at the Fed level and your tax rate went up which is also a (income) revenue decrease for you.
Between losing my deductions that were work-related to my public employment and the reduction in witholdings, compounded by the increase in taxes, I got hit hard this year.
The old Republican Party has been usurped by the old Southern Democrats who fled the Democratic Party when Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act. There are no Lincoln Republicans. The real problem is 17% of GDP and 20% of the population now control nearly 50% of the Senate. It's legislation without representation of the majority.
It's the only Upper House in any democratic country that requires a super-majority to do anything....and hence the minority can mostly stop it doing anything.
AND the majority of Senators don't even come close to representing the majority of the people. I saw an analysis the other day that the combination of the filibuster and the fact that Senators from low population states tend to be conservative means that, in some scenarios, Senators representing as little as 11% of the populace could block legislation in the Senate.
THIS should be a much bigger topic of discussion. The Republican Party does NOT consist of politicians who USED to be Republicans. It has been co-opted by others. I suspect this is common: a party that gains power attracts those who want power rather than / in addition to those who share its values. My question is whether Republican _voters_ are unaware of this change, or if they are essentially the victims of a bait and switch. If your identity is tied up with the values of the party you think you belong to, the cognitive dissonance is probably significant when things change. Trump's insistence on not having a Republican platform is absolute genius, when you think about it. So many of his supporters talked about taking him seriously and not literally. What did that mean? It meant you replace what he said with whatever you actually think. Which avoided having to say he was in favor of things other people opposed. The chameleon of the political world! Until/unless Republican politicians actually take a stand, other than owning the libs, I see no likelihood of them caring whether the party is consistent with historic Republican values. HCR's history lessons are certainly interesting and illuminating, but I think what matters is how to care for desirable values. How could moral Republicans reclaim and defend their values from invaders? When and how was the Republican party invaded, who was it invaded by? I believe the Republican party of old had incredible value and importance, and is worth restoring... but not if the current imposters continue to hold any power.
I enjoyed yesterday's "chat" and suspected that today's column would dive back into the historical comparisons with where we are today and where we were during 1850-1870. Two things that jumped out at me were the thoughts that government had a role to play in " leveling the playing field" and that McConnell wanted corporations "out of politics" and is immediately walking that back a bit, I watched TRMS last night and watched McConnell deliver a "warning" to corporations, and had to laugh at that fellow who brought forth McConnell v. FEC where he sued against campaign reforms https://www.oyez.org/cases/2003/02-1674 as being amazingly hypocritical.
A friend forwarded me this article on the motives of the 6 January Capitol insurrectionists which I think fits right in to today's letter and how it looks like the more time passes, the more it repeats itself. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/06/us/politics/capitol-riot-study.html
As a retired police use of force instructor, I have to say I was happy at the prosecution's witnesses yesterday in the George Floyd murder trial. (I call it the Floyd murder trial because he is who needs to be remembered, not the murderer.) I had a friend text me and say "they are all saying what you said last summer about use of force; I even heard 'when the threat stops resisting, force application needs to stop' just like you did that day." Intentional murder is hard to prove. Deliberate indifference to the value of human life (part of the statutory definition of how Oregon addresses manslaughter and I am ignorant of Minnesota's specific language) is on full display for 9 plus minutes. I hope it is an easy call for the jury.
As a recent history graduate, I am quite disappointed in Professor Richardson's post today. Surely she is aware that the Homestead Act of 1862 along with the Morrill Act (which created the land grant universities) entailed illegally transferring large tracts of Indigenous lands to white settlers. The Pacific Railroad Act in particular provided companies with nearly 2 hundred million acres of Indigenous land. In order to transfer such massive amounts of land, the U.S. government broke multiple treaties with Indigenous nations. Indigenous people spent decades fighting this illegal transfer of their land, to no avail. Under the Homestead Act alone, three hundred million acres were taken from the Indigenous collective estates and privatized for the market. Many historians today view the whole move as a convenient "escape valve" to lessen class conflict in the industrial cities as cheap immigrant labor was brought in by companies looking to spend less and make more. Poor whites were told they could "move west" for opportunity, though it must be noted that this was more marketing than reality as very little of the land appropriated under these acts went to single-family homesteaders - speculators got the lion's share, which many surmise was another incentive behind the move (incidentally, many of our presidents - and the founders themselves - have been/were land speculators).
I appreciate the service that Professor Richardson is doing, and I also appreciate the fact that many Americans are upset about what has become of our country and want to know how we got here. But I don't think it helps to whitewash reality. What Professor Richardson calls "development" and expansion" was in fact, colonialism - you need simply talk to a Native American (or a Mexican) for verification of this. Only white people could call our violent trek across the continent and the consequent appropriation of other people's land "expansion".
If Americans want to know how we got here, I would suggest that we take our blinders off and get honest about our past. I realize Americans' identities are wrapped up in American Exceptionalism, but it's important to come to terms with the fact that much of what has been sold to Americans as history is at best myth, and at worst, hagiography. There are very few heroes to be found here, and those that did exist are not likely to show up in our history books because they were usually the ones fighting the very policies that we like to uphold as proof of our "goodness".
It's quite easy to rant against the present Republican Party day after day (there is no doubt that they have moved off the rails). But it is much harder to step back from partisan bickering and look at the country as a whole. There is a reason the country looks the way it does today, and certainly history helps to explain how we got here. But if we really want to break the cycle we have to admit many uncomfortable truths about who we have been all along. I am heartened that many young historians of color seem to get this and are looking at history in a more complete way - one that doesn't simply glorify one party as "saints" and important (white) men as "complicated geniuses", but looks at the fact that the system created by those in power have always favored the rich at the expense of everyone else. This is not an accident. This was not a case of people in the past being less enlightened. This desire to keep the public far from power (and money) is baked into our foundations. We have never been a democracy (we are a republic), and many men on both sides of the aisle have worked hard to make sure that this remains the case.
Finally, I urge people to take the time to read more historians of color, as well as historians from outside the U.S., as they have often been freer to study our history without all of the emotional trappings that are still (sadly) standard in many academic history departments in the U.S., particularly if your focus area is early American.
My information about the Homestead and Morrill Acts was taken from Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz's fine book "An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States," Beacon Press, chapter 8.
I appreciate your perspective and totally agree about the shameful appropriation of lands in the West. HOWEVER, what you have raised is, to my mind, a separate issue. Dr. Richardson is looking at things with a very broad eye with a mind to show the roots and creation of the Republican party, which she has written a book about. That was what she was trying to illustrate. She has also written a book, "West From Appomattox", about the very things you brought up. If she tried to mention every single thread and issue regarding the post-Civil War West, her Letter would be another book. In this particular letter, her point, if I may be so bold, is to show the divergence of the current incarnation of the Republican party from what it was in its infancy in the 1850s. To show the broad arc of the direction of the party over the past 160-70 years was her point here, not to take on all the issues of US expansion into the West. She has written in great detail on this already. The current "Party of Lincoln" doesn't remotely resemble what its legacy is. That is tragic. Again, thank you for your posting, and I do hope to hear more from you.
Dr. Richardson's letter was specifically about a historical perspective on infrastructure. If any historian has worked to reveal the devastation and destruction of Native Americans and enslaved Africans by the government's failures and committed horrors, it is Dr. Richardson. I applaud the urging to read the history as written by black and brown people, as well as foreign historians perspectives on American history. Still, to claim Dr. Richardson has not revealed horrendous injustices perpetrated upon minorities is like claiming water in not wet.
I agree with over 90% of what Dr Richardson writes, but this is a valid critique of today's letter. In bolstering support for Biden's infrastructure plans, she rightly promotes positive impacts of economic development from the mid-19C. As a Lincolnian, she also accords credit to our 16th president. But there should be some mention of negative impacts.
In particular, the paean to federal dam-building is problematic at the least. I spent a decade studying dams and river-basin development in southern Africa. Like the US West, it is not a uniformly proud history: impelled and/or coerced dispossession; loss of land and livelihoods; trauma of relocation; no input into decisionmaking; inadequate or no compensation. This is why the US Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation are routinely loathed and resented, not just by spoiled, criminal ranchers like the Bundy clan, but by poor, powerless communities, often POC (see photo below).
Even in MA, the 1930s Windsor Dam, which created Quabbin Reservoir, was imposed on several rural towns without proper informed consent. It's harder to do that now to white communities, but still easier to dispossess POC. Globally, decisions about large dams (50+ ft high) are never made by people who must live with the consequences.
Simply put, this LFAA overlooks essential aspects of a complex history. It's fine to admire LFAA and its author, but not uncritically, please, when something deserves further attention. And we shouldn't have to rummage through her corpus of letters, books and articles for the full range of her thinking. Two more sentences today would suffice.
The Johnny Cash bit made me chuckle. I did computer training at Pueblo Isleta many years ago. One of the Elders made the comment that there are soooo many who claim to be part Cherokee! He shared stories about his upbringing & life, as did many of the others. I am thankful for that trip.
I had the honor of working with our local Chippewa/Odawa tribe's wise Cultural Traditionalist, giving talks to early childhood workers from all over Northern Michigan. In my hometown he was accosted by one women who said since he wasn't Christian they didn't have to follow his recommendations. I also worked with native child care workers and families at the tribal center, encouraging their cooperation with the state's "Child Find" efforts to get those that needed it into special education programs early on. I was completely blown away when the staff and mothers said to me (and I have since seen this in other Native cultures): "Why must the first thing my child learns in school is that he is different and less than. Here we teach him he is unique and loved." WE learned so much.
It sounds like it was a wonderful opportunity to learn first hand from those who have lived and know the truth of their history. As a collector of native american indian artifacts, mostly baskets and bead work, I find each piece has it's own story. It is a fascinating area of study.
I would be thankful as well to be able to have that kind of interaction...one most of us will probably never have. So much unknown history!
The dams are particularly troubling. With the demolition of the two Elwha dams (Washington State, Olympic Peninsula) and the subsequent revitalization (in process) of the waters and forest and salmon runs, healing is made manifest. The tribal reclamation of this magnificent ecosystem is pretty stupendous. There are more dams the need to be demolished just to save the salmon who will save the whales, who will save us (perhaps). The dams, the pipelines, the depredations innumerable upon our lands and waters are haunting and stand now as monuments to the hubris of colonizing peoples.
Thank you too, Fern, but it's Beatrice who got the ball rolling. It's not just provocative, it's thought-provoking in the best sense. I am now positively provoked. Beatrice, please keep the comments coming.
I am eager to hear more from Beatrice, too. I would be happy for a response from you concerning my comment regarding Heather's Letter. In it, I addressed an aspect of the White Nationalist Movement here through Chicago University's, Chicago Project on Security and Threats: Research American Political Violence.
This topic is so important in light of the Biden infrastructure plan proposals to address the communities of color that were eviscerated by "urban renewal" in decades past.
Dr Richardson is very much aware and has written and spoken to the point on many occasions. She has limited number of words for her nighty letter, and her focus was on history of Infrastructure today.
I appreciate the important perspective you add to today's letter. This country's so-called "greatness" is indeed built upon a foundation of racism, genocide, abduction and enslavement. It is difficult to acknowledge, especially for those of us who take pride in America. Despite our country's many flaws, it set an unprecedented standard for personal liberty and rights of (white) men. But perfect? No. It's a work in progress, up to each successive generation to improve.
I give the good professor benefit of the doubt. I feel she strives to maintain a concise focus in these letters, which I admire. Myself, as someone from a less "woke" generation than today, I am going to admit to some impatience with a seeming requirement of late to always note the bad with the good, and to celebrate every individual's personal peculiarities. I say this with some hesitation, and am braced for reprisal. But what the hell, damn the torpedoes! I understand the need for rebalancing of power and perspective in public discourse. But it does get wearisome. I'm just wondering where the equilibrium lies.
Syd, In very brief reprisal, 'each successive generation to improve' has not worked out for Black people, Native Americans and, no doubt others. Acceptance that you have expressed hasn't worked out so well for many Americans. You are weary, but the rest of us cannot avail ourselves of that luxury.
Understood. I'm going to keep inching out on this limb though, and say that as a nation we are generally improving. We now have a Native American as Secretary of the Interior, and Black Lives Matter and MeToo are potent civil movements that have changed, and continue to change, the national conversation on rights and responsibilities. As a middle aged white guy with what I like to think are firm progressive values, I'm glad to see these incredibly positive advances in our society, but worry about the baby in that bathwater. It's tricky because it's easy to point at me and ask, what do I know? I've been an unwitting recipient of social advantages my entire life, no argument there. My question on equilibrium comes from wondering at what point does the strenuous assertion of injustice become self-defeating? Not to be callous, but after a while it makes people roll their eyes and say it's a cold world, figure it out.
Syd, We are often on the same wavelength, but on this we are not. I could list a number of time, when the country has slid backward, and it is never inconsequential. After the signing of the of the Civil Rights act in 1965 is just one example. The transfer of wealth in the country is another devastating example. Although you started your comment with 'Understood', once done with that, I think you gave every indication that you don't 'Understand'.
Syd, I always look forward to reading your comments. They never fail to impart a thoughtful perspective. We will continue to share experiences and ideas. We have worked through a difference, which I think was very good to do. Thank you.
You have a point, Syd. Our local tribe doesn't make any "strenuous assertions of injustice". Haven't needed to since their casinos bring $millions into their (and our) local economy, and they make annual contributions (2% of profits annually) to our social services and schools for whites and hispanics as well as natives. The tribe's cultural traditionalist told me years ago that it is only right that, as predicted, "The Red Pipe, which had been buried, rose again to guide my people", as he showed me a hallowed ancient red pipe discovered on the reservation. He also explained that gaming has been a fun and important part of their culture for millenia, so gambling is a natural fit. It has been a great thrill to see the changes, for the better, in the past 45 years. My husband, a Chippewa with membership in a Canadian 1st Nation on the border, served as president of the Michigan Indian Confederation in 1976. Back then we visited revered elders who lived in small huts, some with no plumbing. Twenty years later, when I made home visits as a public health nurse, they had good housing, a community center, child care center, clinics, casinos, restaurants, hotels - and political clout.
Beatrice, perhaps I could suggest a book for your consideration. West from Appomattox. After you read this, then feel free to tell us that Dr Richardson is whitewashing history.
Beatrice, I am interested in knowing your opinion of Alexis de Tocqueville's 'Democracy in America'. In his observations of America in 1835, he recognized "the irony of the freedom-loving nation's mistreatment of Native Americans and its embrace of slavery." I know de Tocqueville is from a much earlier time period, but I have always been intrigued by this particular observer from France at a time when the idea of equality were taking hold throughout Europe and America. Best wishes. Be safe. Be well.
Hi br - I have spent quite a bit of time with 'Democracy in America', though I admit it has been many years since I read vol. 1 in its entirety. Tocqueville was certainly a keen observer of the U.S., but I do think his aristocratic roots and tendencies have to be acknowledged. More importantly, while he was critical of the U.S.'s treatment of Native Americans and slaves, he was vehemently in favor of France's colonization of Algeria, so go figure. Having said that, over the years I have had my students read various excerpts from vol. 2 because I feel that many of his observations of the U.S. were particularly prescient and still resonate today, which signals to me that a lot of the problems we struggle with now are not new.
I will leave you with a sample here from Book 1, Chapter 1 and Book 1, Chapter 5, both of which my students consistently single out for discussion (forgive me but I have several translations, so I don't remember which one I pulled these from). Tocqueville's view that we are all equal can certainly be contested (if not tossed out altogether) - again he is coming from an aristocratic mindset. Nevertheless, I think his observations of how many Americans view themselves and authority are worth thinking about. It's quite interesting to pair these up with excerpts from Thoreau's Civil Disobedience, which famously argues that it is our conformity to authority that is the problem and that we as individuals must stand up and disobey that which we believe to be wrong. (Though for the sake of accuracy, Tocqueville seems to contradicts his own view later in ch. 2, where he claims "In the United States the majority undertakes to supply a multitude of ready-made opinions for the use of individuals, who are thus relieved from the necessity of forming options of their own.") No one ever said intellectual history was easy. Or consistent.
Book 1, chapter 1 - The Philosophical Method of the Americans
"As to the influence which the intellect of one man may have upon that of another, it must necessarily be very limited in a country where the citizens, placed on equal footing are all closely seen by one another, and where, as no signs of incontestable greatness or superiority are perceived in any one of them, they are constantly brought back to their own reason as the obvious and proximate source of truth. It is not only confidence in this or that man which is destroyed, but the disposition to trust the authority of any man whatsoever. Everyone shuts himself up tightly within himself and insists upon judging the world from there........Everyone then attempts to be his own sufficient guide and makes it his boast to form his own opinion on all subjects. Men are no longer bound together by ideas, but by interests; and it would seem as if human opinions were reduced to a sort of intellectual dust, scattered on every side, unable to collect, unable to cohere."
Book 1, chapter 5 - How Religion in the U.S. Avails Itself of Democratic Tendencies
"...It must be acknowledged that equality, which brings great benefits into the world, nevertheless suggests to men some very dangerous propensities. It tends to isolate them from one another, to concentrate every man's attention upon himself; and it lays open the soul to an inordinate love of material gratification."
I am so glad you were able to reply so quickly. Thank you for a lot of very interesting information and opinion, from yourself as well as your students. Dr. Richardson's 'Letters From An American' (LFAA) have been a valuable resource to our HCR Community. Facts and well-thought opinion/observations serve us all. This is a 'wicked smart tribe' of academics and professionals from every dicipline, full of wisdom earned from years of study, teaching and life experience. I am the least among them. I would like to read and research an adequate reply to your very clear and concise comments regarding de Tocquvile's viewpoints. You bring up some interesting ideas. I need a few days to respond as I am mired in 3 veterinarian emergencies in a 3 week time span. Just got back from the second one. My third sick (limping) animal, a Landseer ECT, weighs 180 lbs. Since my husband just left on a business trip, I am left wondering how to transport my lovable but hulking beast to the vet's office. My tree cutter has an excellent heavy lift crane....I might need to send him an SOS! Again, thank you for responding with so much good information. Please visit our community and contribute on what resonates with you. Be well and safe br
I love that book. There is also s young adult version of it which I gave to my granddaughter to broaden out what she learned in her tenth grade history class.
Beatrice, YOU ROCK! Gratitude for your clarity and comments--and reference. The naked colonialism upon which this nation has been constructed is reprehensible. We OWE, big time, all the peoples we have subjugated and robbed. Recognition is a major first step toward reparation and repair.
Hi Fern, Thanks for your comments. It's hard for me to give recommendations since I am unsure of which era you are interested in, so I will just pull some names out of my head and hope this helps get you started:
Nick Estes
Tiya Miles
Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers
Kali Nicole Gross
Thavolia Glymph
Gerald Horne (Horne and Glymph are older but not read as much as they should be)
Thanks, Beatrice. I am not familiar with most of the names you provided. I need 5 sets of eyes to get through my reading list before receiving your welcome suggestions.
< The government had a right to “demand” 99% of a man’s property for an urgent need >
Sen McTurtle's. for instance?
PS, gotta love those fierce New England Radical Republicans of the Civil War era. They're like progressive Dems, who are their worthy successors today.
Thanks for another history lesson, tied to current events. Ironic that today's Republicans seem to be polar opposites of what they used to represent and support.
Have a good sleep, 💜 and as always, Dr. Heather, thank you for your Letters.
I've never seen this group of readers get so sidelined by ONE comment (Steven Henry) that had absolutely nothing to do with what Dr. Richardson wrote. She was discussing in great detail the past and present policies and actions of the Republican party. For heaven's sakes, people, can we get back on track. We have just one TROLL - because he got on first and then the rest of you allowed him to highjack a very important topic - the proposed infrastructure bill, America's history in the success of building our infrastructure (far back into Abraham Lincoln's mind before he was elected President). Lincoln saw a disastrous response to aiding infrastructure in his small town in Illinois. He was able to stretch that much farther into the nation.
And now there is a Biden infrastructure bill on hold in Congress because the Republican party has gotten focused on only one tiny part of that - roads and bridges. The whole world saw the absolute disaster in Texas when they had freezing cold, a bad electrical grid that failed because it was not hooked up to the rest of the country, and even their water system throughout state completely fail. On topic, please! I read Dr. Richardson because of what SHE has to say - and for what her readers have to write in comments.
I find the hijacking of threads in Dr. Richardson’s Letters posts most distressing. The consequences are to elevate those discussions in the thread and bury those more worthy of attention making them difficult to find and engage. Please do not allow this to happen. Continued back and forth discussion of unworthy topics is so counterproductive and exactly what trolls initiating those discussions hope for.
Oh, it's happened before, notably with David Carroll as culprit.
Many of us bear some responsibility for hijacked discussions by replying to the digressers (more encompassing than "trolls"). Present company included. Forgive me!
Dana, Bruce, your comments are spot-on, and need to be repeated periodically.
But I'd like to suggest that this is a new community that is still forming, and we are adopting a way of communicating that is thoughtful and grounded and completely beyond the pale of any "social media" conversations that I can recall since (some of) the old BBS networks back in the 1980's, when topics had owners, and owners were fierce about giving "flamers" the boot. Before tl;dr was a "thing."
We are experimenting with a "new courtesy" for this social media site. Some of us are a bit harsh in enforcing it; that's okay for now, but it ultimately needs to be smoothed out, in the interests of making enforcement more effective. Some are willing to go back to the bad habits of responding endlessly to persistent trolls. That's also okay, but it needs to be called out, as you are doing here.
I think the Steven Henry diversion is instructive. I, too, have been seeing a burst of "COVID passport" noise on other social media -- we all have -- and the simple answer is that it's yet another Republican distraction being pumped into the media machine. As soon as it stops trending, the Republicans will pump out a new distraction. It really doesn't mean anything at all.
But we do need to be aware that these Republican distractions are being generated by propagandists who know how to create distractions, and are very, very good at it, addressing a public that has been primed to accept these distractions as the "truth of the day." HCR is getting a lot of visibility through reposts on social media, and the public increasingly comes to see what the fuss is about over here. They're going to come with questions about the "truth of the day." We'll see more of them. They aren't necessarily trolls.
I think we need to find a gentler way to teach them the "new courtesy," which is still in a formative stage....
Joseph, I really appreciate your comment and some advice. I thought about what I wrote and shared it with a good friend who also read HCR regularly - she told me I was engaging in "whataboutism" (and had to have her explain that to me!). But ultimately I disagreed with her - because I thought about this new form of communication growing among mostly like-minded people. You also referred to that same/similar idea - " this is a new community that is still forming, and we are adopting a way of communicating that is thoughtful and grounded and completely beyond the pale of any "social media" conversations that I can recall..."
I agree that others are going to continue to throw distractions into our midst, and that Steven Henry's diversion is instructive. And we will get more of these Republican distractions (since they are so skilled at propaganda). In reality, Hitler was "great" at propaganda and distractions - so it's even more important for us, readers of HCR and other non-MSM writers - to teach these "diverters," in gentler ways (I think I need help!) of teaching them the "new courtesy". I still think Henry was a troll! But I want to turn a tide in better, more productive ways. Bruce Carpenter seems to believe that we can "not allow this to happen." I think it will happen. But I'm going to keep my mind focused on this new community that is still forming. And try to do what I can personally to make it even better.
Like I said in my post yesterday, I read HCR not just for her ideas but also for the comments from the incredible group of people who read her column regularly. Thanks so much, Joseph Nemeth!
We're actually doing the hijacking, not the trolls or the new posters, and it's another reason I think the Steven Henry post is instructive. This one was simple: "COVID passports" are a boogeyman created by propagandists. Abbreviated TINST (There Is No Such Thing). Not much else needs to be said, and it would have eliminated the runaway thread.
It is the same as it was under Obama. If Pres. Biden proposed a holiday to commemorate God, Mother and Apple Pie, the Republicans would unanimously oppose it.
One time, First Lady Michelle Obama publicly recommended that Americans drink more water. My Fox-addicted relative reposted someone discussing what to drink, now that water was ruled out.
Absolutely Steve - and they would spread tales of a communist plot. The Republican leadership dreads any civic action which might divert their rank and file's focus from xenophobia and bitter entitlement.
Cruz is now selling signed copies of a Dr. Seuss book for $60. Biden is inoculating 200,000,000 Americans. Maybe we need a tsunumi of new children's books celebrating community involvement, infrastructure, science and love.
But the Republican leadership's diversions, while patently absurd, are often successful and we need to keep a close watch.
In Heather's video chat today (4/06/2021), she also noted that Biden repeatedly says that he is working for all Americans, Democrats and Republicans, whereas the Republican leadership has become disconnected from the majority of Republican voters who support the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and the pending infrastructure bill.
How do we use this distinction between Republican leadership and Republican voters to make our messaging more effective?
This is something that will (maybe) work with some people on the "right". I am watching two former coworkers who I used to engage with on a regular basis and have some reasonable conversations with (although I did have to introduce them to the concepts of white privilege's and mansplaining, both of which they demonstrate profoundly and deny vociferously) have deteriorated to the place where all they argue are OAN talking points. I don't see any way to get through to them.
It is always easy to identify leaders, they are the ones out front on issues that matter most. Those who are out of synch with the majority of public opinion in order to support the views of a former President who never exceeded 50% approval rating throughout his term should not be identified as or allowed to appropriate the label of leadership.
It is best to speak of policy in terms of it's intended impact and how the policies achieve those ends. When confronted with almost any challenge and considering choices, doing something, often almost anything is better than doing nothing. The best response however, is always to do the right thing, the thing most likely to produce the intended outcome while dealing effectively with whatever the unintended consequences may be.
Medium. Faux news won't carry it. What do our friends who are Republican voters read, listen to, watch? My "former-guy" supporting brothers watch The Voice (which often features an Ubrelvy commercial that my daughter does the voice over for). Once we know the medium (commercial), we can fit content to match. In this case a comercial without the brashness of The Lincoln Project. More an entertaining "Guess What?!". Fern McBride recently talked in these HCR comment pages about the idea of "Truth Spots": "I’m imagining clever, sharp and striking 1 minute pieces for tv, cable and social media - stylish, memorable and to the point. These ‘Nothing but the Truth’ spots need a hook as 60 Minutes has with the stopwatch - maybe a bell ringing..." maybe with actors and musicians those Republican voters admire?
Messaging is speaking and void if not heard. Messaging also implies ‘others’ and seeks to influence. Beware of falling into fruitless positionality where every position calls forth its opposite (the opposition). Perhaps discovering where we are disconnected within our own self-leadership might she'd some light.
I apologize for being unclear. I was responding to Ellie Kona's "How do we use this distinction between Republican leadership and Republican voters to make our messaging more effective? Specifically, to "...make our messaging more effective?" I've condensed a lot into three sentences and apparently crushed any communication out. So as not to get pedantic, is every sentence unclear? Where do I lose you?
I also think the communication gap Ellie points to can be valuable to note and that some self-reflection prior to acting may be beneficial.
I’m so grateful for the quick turn out of vaccines! I’ve had J&J, and my two kids have had one dose so far of the others. I’m excited to plan to see my daughter I haven’t seen since Christmas 2019. But also under pressure from a small group of parents, our school board abruptly announced our students no longer have to wear masks or use desk shields while in a classroom. It was chaos! We spent the day watching every safety precaution we had worked so hard for just erode in front of our eyes! The two school board members that seemed to be holding the restrictions together sent a text to each other about aspects of our inclusion program and it was declared a meeting. Since it wasn’t open to the public, it was declared illegal and they were arrested! Leaving the way for the other members to undo our system if health restrictions. So grateful I’ve had the vaccine!
School board elections are this month. Hope the public turns out in force!
Unbelievable how incredibly arrogant the anti maskers and the anti vaxxers are. Sorry for the losses your community and our communities are faced with.
Our county commission voted to strip decision making authority from the Board of Health Advisory group. In a pandemic. Didn’t like their safety decisions about closing bars.
Oy oy! PostcardsToVoters seems to have nothing happening right now, you might ask them to help with voter turnout. I have plenty of postcards waiting to be used.
Would that we could forward today's history lesson to the inbox of those who get their American history through FoxTV/Hannity et al, whose version of US history starts with, "Once upon a time..."
What part of "...promote the common welfare..." is at all ambiguous? Although the preamble to the US Constitution describes the general spirit and goals of the document, not the specific role of government per se, it seems clear that since the document establishes a government, it is the role of government to live up to the principles described therein.
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America"
That last paragraph pretty much sums up the role of government for me. I especially like the "promote the general Welfare" part. Infrastructure anyone? With a big "I".
Too bad “...the People...” didn’t include the native Americans. I guess the natives didn’t have a State to be United. Maybe we should give them one. It'd be interesting to see if they’d stick around or join Texas in trying to get out of town ;).
It didn't include blacks, women, and a lot of other people as well. Many of us have been trying to correct that for some time now, though lately there's been a lot of resistance from one particular party.
While we're giving out States, how 'bout a Black State and Women's State. Weellllll, once you get started there would have to be an LGBTQ+ State & Local Islamic State, a Marvel State, etc. Keep going and we each end up an island unto ourselves. Guess that puts us all in the same boat ;). Oh, wait! We have FB, Twitter, etc. where everyone can have a piece of the action as long as you can get online.
Good thing we opened up virtual space as 'real' estate (who has estates anymore?) is getting crowded! Hmmm, estate now e-state, ahh, we all can share in virtual e-states just NIMBe-Y ;).
I find the hijacking of threads in Dr. Richardson’s Letters posts most distressing. The consequences are to elevate those discussions in the thread and bury those more worthy of attention making them difficult to find and engage. Please do not allow this to happen. Continued back and forth discussion of unworthy topics is so counterproductive and exactly what trolls initiating those discussions hope for.
Please do not elevate or respond to such posts. You are only aiding the mission of trolls by doing so.
you guys have completely lost me. If you are interpreting my post as trolling HCR's letter that is not my intent. My way of thinking however is not just to comment on what she says but to extend it toward where I see things going or not going. I don't consider this a hijack of topic.
Nope, it's not you, Patrick. Most likely it's the intruding remark on vaccine "passports," though it's hard to tell when comments appear out of sequence. I don't recall anything from you that seems troll-like. But if someone has a Norwegian passport, all bets are off!
To add to the enduring accomplishments of the CCC you cited in your letter, the program left future generations beautiful infrastructure elements in state and national parks, such as pavilions, bridges, and lodges.
These buildings and other structures including such as lookouts along the Blue Ridge Parkway were built from local stone and timber and designed to invite Americans to experience the relaxation and exhilaration of spending time outdoors. They still do, quite powerfully.
Thank you for reminding me of the program and its contribution to my quality of life.
My husband and I drove the Skyline Drive yesterday and will travel the Blue Ridge Parkway today. In 105 miles, we saw only a handful of other cars, which allowed us to focus on the views and the beautifully constructed—and enduring—lookouts. We talked about the CCC and WPA, and about Pres. Biden’s plans for infrastructure and how they will strengthen our nation in so many ways. It’s good to be feeling hopeful again, and looking forward to better times—for all of us this time!
I have vivid memories of taking that drive over 20 years ago. Not just the gorgeous views, but admiration for the enduring stacked stone work at the pullouts, especially when compared to more recent stone work additions that were thrown together with lots of concrete filler holding it together.
My maternal grandfather was employed by the CCC in California and did some of the work in the parks in and around Yosemite and the John Muir area on the coast. The place where we would picnic when I was growing up in Southern Oregon had a park that was created by the CCC, and had amazing stone fireplaces for cooking. My Mom was proud of the work her Dad had done.
During the Depression, my grandfather, who was disabled due to a club foot, worked in the shipyards along the Delaware River. Because of his kindness, fairness, genuine humility and respect for each person he met, he was a white man who managed the segregated African American part of the shipyard. I guess due to segregation, a black manager wasn't allowed and no
other white man was willing to work there. I still have a hardhat from his work that has the word 'Captain' scratched in by hand by his crew. He respected the hard work his crews did and they respected him in turn. He never had any problems working in that capacity. He was able to provide for his family. Before that government job, they were hungry much of the time. Turnips and fried bologna were a staple. He was, of course, a wonderful grandfather. One rarely meets a human being who respects and validates people for who they are, ...nothing else is required.
BR, it'd be great to have met your granddad. He sounds like our Grinny (grandmother who smiled a lot!). She marched on Washington with Rev Dr King, and always said that she shared his dream. Still, we got her to stop driving in the nick of time.
TPJ...What an inspiration! An activist 'Grinny'! Truly wonderful to have a person like that in your life. Wish I had known her. She must have been fascinating to talk with.
Grinny was committed but genteel. Her daughter & my mom? Now there was a FEROCIOUS liberal Democrat!
Living in 1930s-40s NYC, Grinny attended numerous parties with scruffy, impassioned leftist fellow-travelers. She wasn't interested in ideology, and speculated that they came partly for free food & drinks. A bit of a snob, she also thought that they should bathe more often.
A moving tribute to your grandfather and vivid description of the circumstances. Thank you.
Dave, I too have enjoyed these structures immensely. I had not given much thought to them, often driving by blithely. But they have indeed give my soul much respite when I have allowed myself the luxury to enjoy 😉 them. Thank you for your sharing.
As I recall from my uncles who participated in this work, it provided workers meaningful and important work at a desperate time. I don't know if there's any historical perspective available on the mental health issues of that time. My uncles were able to maintain a sense of pride in their work ethic and to have hope. That too was a legacy for my own family.
The FDR admin's use of psychology was rather amateurish, but New Deal planners gave serious thought to how the CCC and other programs would boost self-respect among its workers. It was successful in that regard, though they tended to use "morality" and "mentality" interchangeably.
I Bernstein, A Caring Society
J Hirsch, Portrait of America
J Mangione, The Dream and the Deal
N Taylor, America-Made
Thank you. Your reply made me think of the countless times Biden tells the story of his father's loss of a job and how important it was for him to find work. I had not made that connection to the CCC before now.
Thank you too, Ellen. The refs above mostly address policy, rather than the effects on individuals' mental health. Much of psychology is a major gap in my knowledge.
Another excellent history lesson for an A&S grad who rarely made it to his 9am classes. Today I’m up early reading and appreciating your letter to us all. It’s so important for us to understand how we got to where we are now in the story of America. Like a good and interesting trail guide your letters not only help us along the way but explain more about what we are seeing. Thanks so much, Dr. Richardson! During the pandemic I’ve been doing a great deal of reading...history, literature, current events. Lincoln who struggled hard to understand our founding principles, I believe... despite the crushing anxieties and endless frustrations he suffered and endured throughout the course of the Civil War, was increasingly nurtured by the founders ideas and his love and empathy for all Americans. Every time I get down about what people like McConnell are trying to do, I ask myself...how would Lincoln try to deal with him and his fellow party members? With humor? Kindness? Empathy? Yes, I think so...and then he’d do what President Biden and his party are now so steadily striving to accomplish—-because their initiatives are well aligned with our founding ideas and our best accomplishments. I’m glad I’ve had the opportunity to live a pretty long life...every day is an opportunity to learn more about things that are important to us all. Thanks again for the excellent work you are doing.
Keith, for this A&S major, it was the 7 a.m. class which didn’t work. Tried it once and the dropped the class. Greek drama at that hour. No way.
Keith and Marcy, you are still commendably early risers. I struggle to do anything before the crack of noon.
But Lincoln would wait for the appropriate time and take out his opponents without making it look as if it was partisan......frequently he organized things so that they took themselves out.
OH!
Turns out in Floriduh, we now want alot of those proposed federal funds to clean up the corporate cesspool (literally) at piney point. The corporations rape and pillage and get tax breaks, then we taxpayers clean up their mess!
Crazy making.
You’re exactly right Lynn. Taxpayers provide the infrastructure and fund the cleanup while corporations take the profits.
Progressive economists and environmentalists have long lobbied for corporations to build the cost (tax) of recycling and cleanup into the product price. The theory being that if consumers had to pay the real cost of using and disposing of a product they might make different, more sustainable choices.
Mosaic spends enormous amounts for advertising that green-washes their company image with stories of reclamation. Piney Point is the reality they want to hide. The evacuation zone involved included more that 300 homes. Most homeowners had no idea they were at risk before the breach.
Most floridians have no idea of the strip mining and ecosystem rape and destruction by these phosphate mines going on in this state. Not too long ago, charlotte county commissioners got wrist slapped for merely taking a helicopter ride over a mine. The corporations even have air space restricted! Something very rotten if our elected officials cannot even witness the hell is going on behind those mammoth 500' mounds.
I listened to the Lincoln Product podcast and Rick Wilson, who lives in Florida, had Peter Schorsch (publisher of FloridaPolitics.com) as his guest. Between the two of them they have all kinds of inside information about Florida politics. They described how utterly corrupt the officials in Florida are.
The corruption is breathtaking here. Now Vern Buchanan (R) wants to inject the toxic sludge into deep wells (out of sight, out of mind) INTO OUR FRAGILE AQUIFER! The sheer idiocy astounds.
The fool would be injecting poison directly into the water table! Of course, being a Republican, he might not understand that.
Oh, and when Erin brokovich visits your area, you might be in trouble. DUH.
Diane, you speak to the frame, “privatize the profits and socialize the costs"
Yes, exactly.
Diane, am I exaggerating the charm of your home town, St Pete, from my wondrous one, single day at the museums of Dali and Chihuli? The area around there reminded me of the energy - the vibrancy - of New England towns Portland, Woodstock VT, Burlington, Portsmouth. Or perhaps, I did not stray far enough to loose my enthusiasm? I’ve spoken with my family about St Pete as a possible one month, winter stay for our snow bird life.
There is much to love about our little city on the bay. I’d be happy to make recommendations. Let me know when you plan to be here and we can talk.
Chihuli and St. Pete? Deal me in!
Not only the Chihuli museum and St Pete, but also North America’s largest collection of Salvador the Dali
Oh. I like this phrase!
Oh please use it!
Precisely!
Yup! The corporations are crazy 😜 like a fox!
As long as they can act with impunity, this will be so. Their leaders and board members are sheltered from both financial and criminal penalties when the corporations are found to have acted illegally, so where is their incentive to act responsibly? (See the Sackler family, for instance).
Thanks for the history lesson.
Please stop calling Trumps tax changes a "tax cut". For me and many other middle income Americans, our effective tax rate increased.
Why not call it a revenue reduction? Or an income reduction. It decreased tax revenue at the Fed level and your tax rate went up which is also a (income) revenue decrease for you.
We really should always refer to it as the "Trump Tax Increase", because that is actually what happened to everyone but the wealthy.
Mine sure did: by about 20%
Between losing my deductions that were work-related to my public employment and the reduction in witholdings, compounded by the increase in taxes, I got hit hard this year.
Excellent point Rebecca!
The old Republican Party has been usurped by the old Southern Democrats who fled the Democratic Party when Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act. There are no Lincoln Republicans. The real problem is 17% of GDP and 20% of the population now control nearly 50% of the Senate. It's legislation without representation of the majority.
More precisely, it’s minority power blocking legislation that the clear majority wants.
It's the only Upper House in any democratic country that requires a super-majority to do anything....and hence the minority can mostly stop it doing anything.
AND the majority of Senators don't even come close to representing the majority of the people. I saw an analysis the other day that the combination of the filibuster and the fact that Senators from low population states tend to be conservative means that, in some scenarios, Senators representing as little as 11% of the populace could block legislation in the Senate.
Welcome to the US version of apartheid.
And it was ALWAYS designed to be precisely this.
James, truly another excellent point, concisely laid out.
THIS should be a much bigger topic of discussion. The Republican Party does NOT consist of politicians who USED to be Republicans. It has been co-opted by others. I suspect this is common: a party that gains power attracts those who want power rather than / in addition to those who share its values. My question is whether Republican _voters_ are unaware of this change, or if they are essentially the victims of a bait and switch. If your identity is tied up with the values of the party you think you belong to, the cognitive dissonance is probably significant when things change. Trump's insistence on not having a Republican platform is absolute genius, when you think about it. So many of his supporters talked about taking him seriously and not literally. What did that mean? It meant you replace what he said with whatever you actually think. Which avoided having to say he was in favor of things other people opposed. The chameleon of the political world! Until/unless Republican politicians actually take a stand, other than owning the libs, I see no likelihood of them caring whether the party is consistent with historic Republican values. HCR's history lessons are certainly interesting and illuminating, but I think what matters is how to care for desirable values. How could moral Republicans reclaim and defend their values from invaders? When and how was the Republican party invaded, who was it invaded by? I believe the Republican party of old had incredible value and importance, and is worth restoring... but not if the current imposters continue to hold any power.
I enjoyed yesterday's "chat" and suspected that today's column would dive back into the historical comparisons with where we are today and where we were during 1850-1870. Two things that jumped out at me were the thoughts that government had a role to play in " leveling the playing field" and that McConnell wanted corporations "out of politics" and is immediately walking that back a bit, I watched TRMS last night and watched McConnell deliver a "warning" to corporations, and had to laugh at that fellow who brought forth McConnell v. FEC where he sued against campaign reforms https://www.oyez.org/cases/2003/02-1674 as being amazingly hypocritical.
A friend forwarded me this article on the motives of the 6 January Capitol insurrectionists which I think fits right in to today's letter and how it looks like the more time passes, the more it repeats itself. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/06/us/politics/capitol-riot-study.html
As a retired police use of force instructor, I have to say I was happy at the prosecution's witnesses yesterday in the George Floyd murder trial. (I call it the Floyd murder trial because he is who needs to be remembered, not the murderer.) I had a friend text me and say "they are all saying what you said last summer about use of force; I even heard 'when the threat stops resisting, force application needs to stop' just like you did that day." Intentional murder is hard to prove. Deliberate indifference to the value of human life (part of the statutory definition of how Oregon addresses manslaughter and I am ignorant of Minnesota's specific language) is on full display for 9 plus minutes. I hope it is an easy call for the jury.
Me, too. Grateful for your professional viewpoint. ❤️🤍💙
If it's not an easy call for the jury, then our worst fears have been validated.
Absolutely.
As a recent history graduate, I am quite disappointed in Professor Richardson's post today. Surely she is aware that the Homestead Act of 1862 along with the Morrill Act (which created the land grant universities) entailed illegally transferring large tracts of Indigenous lands to white settlers. The Pacific Railroad Act in particular provided companies with nearly 2 hundred million acres of Indigenous land. In order to transfer such massive amounts of land, the U.S. government broke multiple treaties with Indigenous nations. Indigenous people spent decades fighting this illegal transfer of their land, to no avail. Under the Homestead Act alone, three hundred million acres were taken from the Indigenous collective estates and privatized for the market. Many historians today view the whole move as a convenient "escape valve" to lessen class conflict in the industrial cities as cheap immigrant labor was brought in by companies looking to spend less and make more. Poor whites were told they could "move west" for opportunity, though it must be noted that this was more marketing than reality as very little of the land appropriated under these acts went to single-family homesteaders - speculators got the lion's share, which many surmise was another incentive behind the move (incidentally, many of our presidents - and the founders themselves - have been/were land speculators).
I appreciate the service that Professor Richardson is doing, and I also appreciate the fact that many Americans are upset about what has become of our country and want to know how we got here. But I don't think it helps to whitewash reality. What Professor Richardson calls "development" and expansion" was in fact, colonialism - you need simply talk to a Native American (or a Mexican) for verification of this. Only white people could call our violent trek across the continent and the consequent appropriation of other people's land "expansion".
If Americans want to know how we got here, I would suggest that we take our blinders off and get honest about our past. I realize Americans' identities are wrapped up in American Exceptionalism, but it's important to come to terms with the fact that much of what has been sold to Americans as history is at best myth, and at worst, hagiography. There are very few heroes to be found here, and those that did exist are not likely to show up in our history books because they were usually the ones fighting the very policies that we like to uphold as proof of our "goodness".
It's quite easy to rant against the present Republican Party day after day (there is no doubt that they have moved off the rails). But it is much harder to step back from partisan bickering and look at the country as a whole. There is a reason the country looks the way it does today, and certainly history helps to explain how we got here. But if we really want to break the cycle we have to admit many uncomfortable truths about who we have been all along. I am heartened that many young historians of color seem to get this and are looking at history in a more complete way - one that doesn't simply glorify one party as "saints" and important (white) men as "complicated geniuses", but looks at the fact that the system created by those in power have always favored the rich at the expense of everyone else. This is not an accident. This was not a case of people in the past being less enlightened. This desire to keep the public far from power (and money) is baked into our foundations. We have never been a democracy (we are a republic), and many men on both sides of the aisle have worked hard to make sure that this remains the case.
Finally, I urge people to take the time to read more historians of color, as well as historians from outside the U.S., as they have often been freer to study our history without all of the emotional trappings that are still (sadly) standard in many academic history departments in the U.S., particularly if your focus area is early American.
My information about the Homestead and Morrill Acts was taken from Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz's fine book "An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States," Beacon Press, chapter 8.
Peace.
I appreciate your perspective and totally agree about the shameful appropriation of lands in the West. HOWEVER, what you have raised is, to my mind, a separate issue. Dr. Richardson is looking at things with a very broad eye with a mind to show the roots and creation of the Republican party, which she has written a book about. That was what she was trying to illustrate. She has also written a book, "West From Appomattox", about the very things you brought up. If she tried to mention every single thread and issue regarding the post-Civil War West, her Letter would be another book. In this particular letter, her point, if I may be so bold, is to show the divergence of the current incarnation of the Republican party from what it was in its infancy in the 1850s. To show the broad arc of the direction of the party over the past 160-70 years was her point here, not to take on all the issues of US expansion into the West. She has written in great detail on this already. The current "Party of Lincoln" doesn't remotely resemble what its legacy is. That is tragic. Again, thank you for your posting, and I do hope to hear more from you.
I just posted my own reply and see we started with almost the same line. I'll go with great minds think alike...
Well said Bruce. We LFAA -ers are a diverse community. Ideas welcome! I think you were spot on with your comment.
Dr. Richardson's letter was specifically about a historical perspective on infrastructure. If any historian has worked to reveal the devastation and destruction of Native Americans and enslaved Africans by the government's failures and committed horrors, it is Dr. Richardson. I applaud the urging to read the history as written by black and brown people, as well as foreign historians perspectives on American history. Still, to claim Dr. Richardson has not revealed horrendous injustices perpetrated upon minorities is like claiming water in not wet.
Thank you, Beatrice, and welcome to LFAA.
I agree with over 90% of what Dr Richardson writes, but this is a valid critique of today's letter. In bolstering support for Biden's infrastructure plans, she rightly promotes positive impacts of economic development from the mid-19C. As a Lincolnian, she also accords credit to our 16th president. But there should be some mention of negative impacts.
In particular, the paean to federal dam-building is problematic at the least. I spent a decade studying dams and river-basin development in southern Africa. Like the US West, it is not a uniformly proud history: impelled and/or coerced dispossession; loss of land and livelihoods; trauma of relocation; no input into decisionmaking; inadequate or no compensation. This is why the US Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation are routinely loathed and resented, not just by spoiled, criminal ranchers like the Bundy clan, but by poor, powerless communities, often POC (see photo below).
Even in MA, the 1930s Windsor Dam, which created Quabbin Reservoir, was imposed on several rural towns without proper informed consent. It's harder to do that now to white communities, but still easier to dispossess POC. Globally, decisions about large dams (50+ ft high) are never made by people who must live with the consequences.
Simply put, this LFAA overlooks essential aspects of a complex history. It's fine to admire LFAA and its author, but not uncritically, please, when something deserves further attention. And we shouldn't have to rummage through her corpus of letters, books and articles for the full range of her thinking. Two more sentences today would suffice.
http://rameychannell.blogspot.com/2009/10/1948-signing-of-garrison-dam-agreement.html
G Grandin, The End of the Myth
P Limerick, The Legacy of Conquest
M Reisner, Cadillac Desert
T Scudder, The Future of Large Dams
R White, It's your Misfortune and None of my Own
This great song by Johnny Cash, 1/4 Cherokee himself, expresses the injustice beautifully.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ni_EdsL-avU
[This message was sent from stolen land]
The Johnny Cash bit made me chuckle. I did computer training at Pueblo Isleta many years ago. One of the Elders made the comment that there are soooo many who claim to be part Cherokee! He shared stories about his upbringing & life, as did many of the others. I am thankful for that trip.
I had the honor of working with our local Chippewa/Odawa tribe's wise Cultural Traditionalist, giving talks to early childhood workers from all over Northern Michigan. In my hometown he was accosted by one women who said since he wasn't Christian they didn't have to follow his recommendations. I also worked with native child care workers and families at the tribal center, encouraging their cooperation with the state's "Child Find" efforts to get those that needed it into special education programs early on. I was completely blown away when the staff and mothers said to me (and I have since seen this in other Native cultures): "Why must the first thing my child learns in school is that he is different and less than. Here we teach him he is unique and loved." WE learned so much.
Such wise words. And now you are sharing what you learned with us and we are all the better for it. Much appreciated.
It sounds like it was a wonderful opportunity to learn first hand from those who have lived and know the truth of their history. As a collector of native american indian artifacts, mostly baskets and bead work, I find each piece has it's own story. It is a fascinating area of study.
I would be thankful as well to be able to have that kind of interaction...one most of us will probably never have. So much unknown history!
The dams are particularly troubling. With the demolition of the two Elwha dams (Washington State, Olympic Peninsula) and the subsequent revitalization (in process) of the waters and forest and salmon runs, healing is made manifest. The tribal reclamation of this magnificent ecosystem is pretty stupendous. There are more dams the need to be demolished just to save the salmon who will save the whales, who will save us (perhaps). The dams, the pipelines, the depredations innumerable upon our lands and waters are haunting and stand now as monuments to the hubris of colonizing peoples.
Johnny Cash makes it real. Sad.
"Johnny Cash is an oak tree in a garden full of weeds."
-- Bono
Now that is an AWESOMELY great quote! I loved that so many young artists were drawn to Cash, like Jack White.
Thank you, TPJ, for beginning a dialogue on the subject.
Thank you too, Fern, but it's Beatrice who got the ball rolling. It's not just provocative, it's thought-provoking in the best sense. I am now positively provoked. Beatrice, please keep the comments coming.
I am eager to hear more from Beatrice, too. I would be happy for a response from you concerning my comment regarding Heather's Letter. In it, I addressed an aspect of the White Nationalist Movement here through Chicago University's, Chicago Project on Security and Threats: Research American Political Violence.
I appreciated that comment, Fern, and look forward to checking out what you provided.
This topic is so important in light of the Biden infrastructure plan proposals to address the communities of color that were eviscerated by "urban renewal" in decades past.
What a great last line.
Dr Richardson is very much aware and has written and spoken to the point on many occasions. She has limited number of words for her nighty letter, and her focus was on history of Infrastructure today.
I appreciate the important perspective you add to today's letter. This country's so-called "greatness" is indeed built upon a foundation of racism, genocide, abduction and enslavement. It is difficult to acknowledge, especially for those of us who take pride in America. Despite our country's many flaws, it set an unprecedented standard for personal liberty and rights of (white) men. But perfect? No. It's a work in progress, up to each successive generation to improve.
I give the good professor benefit of the doubt. I feel she strives to maintain a concise focus in these letters, which I admire. Myself, as someone from a less "woke" generation than today, I am going to admit to some impatience with a seeming requirement of late to always note the bad with the good, and to celebrate every individual's personal peculiarities. I say this with some hesitation, and am braced for reprisal. But what the hell, damn the torpedoes! I understand the need for rebalancing of power and perspective in public discourse. But it does get wearisome. I'm just wondering where the equilibrium lies.
Syd, In very brief reprisal, 'each successive generation to improve' has not worked out for Black people, Native Americans and, no doubt others. Acceptance that you have expressed hasn't worked out so well for many Americans. You are weary, but the rest of us cannot avail ourselves of that luxury.
Understood. I'm going to keep inching out on this limb though, and say that as a nation we are generally improving. We now have a Native American as Secretary of the Interior, and Black Lives Matter and MeToo are potent civil movements that have changed, and continue to change, the national conversation on rights and responsibilities. As a middle aged white guy with what I like to think are firm progressive values, I'm glad to see these incredibly positive advances in our society, but worry about the baby in that bathwater. It's tricky because it's easy to point at me and ask, what do I know? I've been an unwitting recipient of social advantages my entire life, no argument there. My question on equilibrium comes from wondering at what point does the strenuous assertion of injustice become self-defeating? Not to be callous, but after a while it makes people roll their eyes and say it's a cold world, figure it out.
Syd, We are often on the same wavelength, but on this we are not. I could list a number of time, when the country has slid backward, and it is never inconsequential. After the signing of the of the Civil Rights act in 1965 is just one example. The transfer of wealth in the country is another devastating example. Although you started your comment with 'Understood', once done with that, I think you gave every indication that you don't 'Understand'.
Fair enough, I'll take my lumps.
Syd, I always look forward to reading your comments. They never fail to impart a thoughtful perspective. We will continue to share experiences and ideas. We have worked through a difference, which I think was very good to do. Thank you.
You have a point, Syd. Our local tribe doesn't make any "strenuous assertions of injustice". Haven't needed to since their casinos bring $millions into their (and our) local economy, and they make annual contributions (2% of profits annually) to our social services and schools for whites and hispanics as well as natives. The tribe's cultural traditionalist told me years ago that it is only right that, as predicted, "The Red Pipe, which had been buried, rose again to guide my people", as he showed me a hallowed ancient red pipe discovered on the reservation. He also explained that gaming has been a fun and important part of their culture for millenia, so gambling is a natural fit. It has been a great thrill to see the changes, for the better, in the past 45 years. My husband, a Chippewa with membership in a Canadian 1st Nation on the border, served as president of the Michigan Indian Confederation in 1976. Back then we visited revered elders who lived in small huts, some with no plumbing. Twenty years later, when I made home visits as a public health nurse, they had good housing, a community center, child care center, clinics, casinos, restaurants, hotels - and political clout.
P.S. They all are getting their COVID vaccines because their elder told them they have to.
Beatrice, perhaps I could suggest a book for your consideration. West from Appomattox. After you read this, then feel free to tell us that Dr Richardson is whitewashing history.
Welcome Beatrice
And thank you for bringing a new informed voice to the conversation.
Beatrice, I am interested in knowing your opinion of Alexis de Tocqueville's 'Democracy in America'. In his observations of America in 1835, he recognized "the irony of the freedom-loving nation's mistreatment of Native Americans and its embrace of slavery." I know de Tocqueville is from a much earlier time period, but I have always been intrigued by this particular observer from France at a time when the idea of equality were taking hold throughout Europe and America. Best wishes. Be safe. Be well.
https://www.history.com/topics/france/alexis-de-tocqueville
Hi br - I have spent quite a bit of time with 'Democracy in America', though I admit it has been many years since I read vol. 1 in its entirety. Tocqueville was certainly a keen observer of the U.S., but I do think his aristocratic roots and tendencies have to be acknowledged. More importantly, while he was critical of the U.S.'s treatment of Native Americans and slaves, he was vehemently in favor of France's colonization of Algeria, so go figure. Having said that, over the years I have had my students read various excerpts from vol. 2 because I feel that many of his observations of the U.S. were particularly prescient and still resonate today, which signals to me that a lot of the problems we struggle with now are not new.
I will leave you with a sample here from Book 1, Chapter 1 and Book 1, Chapter 5, both of which my students consistently single out for discussion (forgive me but I have several translations, so I don't remember which one I pulled these from). Tocqueville's view that we are all equal can certainly be contested (if not tossed out altogether) - again he is coming from an aristocratic mindset. Nevertheless, I think his observations of how many Americans view themselves and authority are worth thinking about. It's quite interesting to pair these up with excerpts from Thoreau's Civil Disobedience, which famously argues that it is our conformity to authority that is the problem and that we as individuals must stand up and disobey that which we believe to be wrong. (Though for the sake of accuracy, Tocqueville seems to contradicts his own view later in ch. 2, where he claims "In the United States the majority undertakes to supply a multitude of ready-made opinions for the use of individuals, who are thus relieved from the necessity of forming options of their own.") No one ever said intellectual history was easy. Or consistent.
Book 1, chapter 1 - The Philosophical Method of the Americans
"As to the influence which the intellect of one man may have upon that of another, it must necessarily be very limited in a country where the citizens, placed on equal footing are all closely seen by one another, and where, as no signs of incontestable greatness or superiority are perceived in any one of them, they are constantly brought back to their own reason as the obvious and proximate source of truth. It is not only confidence in this or that man which is destroyed, but the disposition to trust the authority of any man whatsoever. Everyone shuts himself up tightly within himself and insists upon judging the world from there........Everyone then attempts to be his own sufficient guide and makes it his boast to form his own opinion on all subjects. Men are no longer bound together by ideas, but by interests; and it would seem as if human opinions were reduced to a sort of intellectual dust, scattered on every side, unable to collect, unable to cohere."
Book 1, chapter 5 - How Religion in the U.S. Avails Itself of Democratic Tendencies
"...It must be acknowledged that equality, which brings great benefits into the world, nevertheless suggests to men some very dangerous propensities. It tends to isolate them from one another, to concentrate every man's attention upon himself; and it lays open the soul to an inordinate love of material gratification."
Take care
I am so glad you were able to reply so quickly. Thank you for a lot of very interesting information and opinion, from yourself as well as your students. Dr. Richardson's 'Letters From An American' (LFAA) have been a valuable resource to our HCR Community. Facts and well-thought opinion/observations serve us all. This is a 'wicked smart tribe' of academics and professionals from every dicipline, full of wisdom earned from years of study, teaching and life experience. I am the least among them. I would like to read and research an adequate reply to your very clear and concise comments regarding de Tocquvile's viewpoints. You bring up some interesting ideas. I need a few days to respond as I am mired in 3 veterinarian emergencies in a 3 week time span. Just got back from the second one. My third sick (limping) animal, a Landseer ECT, weighs 180 lbs. Since my husband just left on a business trip, I am left wondering how to transport my lovable but hulking beast to the vet's office. My tree cutter has an excellent heavy lift crane....I might need to send him an SOS! Again, thank you for responding with so much good information. Please visit our community and contribute on what resonates with you. Be well and safe br
Bestrice - read Dr. Richardson's book "https://www.amazon.com/Wounded-Knee-Politics-American-Massacre/dp/0465025110
I love that book. There is also s young adult version of it which I gave to my granddaughter to broaden out what she learned in her tenth grade history class.
Beatrice, YOU ROCK! Gratitude for your clarity and comments--and reference. The naked colonialism upon which this nation has been constructed is reprehensible. We OWE, big time, all the peoples we have subjugated and robbed. Recognition is a major first step toward reparation and repair.
More reading suggestions would be welcome. Thank you for your comment.
Hi Fern, Thanks for your comments. It's hard for me to give recommendations since I am unsure of which era you are interested in, so I will just pull some names out of my head and hope this helps get you started:
Nick Estes
Tiya Miles
Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers
Kali Nicole Gross
Thavolia Glymph
Gerald Horne (Horne and Glymph are older but not read as much as they should be)
Hope that helps. Take care
Thanks, Beatrice. I am not familiar with most of the names you provided. I need 5 sets of eyes to get through my reading list before receiving your welcome suggestions.
< The government had a right to “demand” 99% of a man’s property for an urgent need >
Sen McTurtle's. for instance?
PS, gotta love those fierce New England Radical Republicans of the Civil War era. They're like progressive Dems, who are their worthy successors today.
Thanks for another history lesson, tied to current events. Ironic that today's Republicans seem to be polar opposites of what they used to represent and support.
Have a good sleep, 💜 and as always, Dr. Heather, thank you for your Letters.
I've never seen this group of readers get so sidelined by ONE comment (Steven Henry) that had absolutely nothing to do with what Dr. Richardson wrote. She was discussing in great detail the past and present policies and actions of the Republican party. For heaven's sakes, people, can we get back on track. We have just one TROLL - because he got on first and then the rest of you allowed him to highjack a very important topic - the proposed infrastructure bill, America's history in the success of building our infrastructure (far back into Abraham Lincoln's mind before he was elected President). Lincoln saw a disastrous response to aiding infrastructure in his small town in Illinois. He was able to stretch that much farther into the nation.
And now there is a Biden infrastructure bill on hold in Congress because the Republican party has gotten focused on only one tiny part of that - roads and bridges. The whole world saw the absolute disaster in Texas when they had freezing cold, a bad electrical grid that failed because it was not hooked up to the rest of the country, and even their water system throughout state completely fail. On topic, please! I read Dr. Richardson because of what SHE has to say - and for what her readers have to write in comments.
I find the hijacking of threads in Dr. Richardson’s Letters posts most distressing. The consequences are to elevate those discussions in the thread and bury those more worthy of attention making them difficult to find and engage. Please do not allow this to happen. Continued back and forth discussion of unworthy topics is so counterproductive and exactly what trolls initiating those discussions hope for.
Oh, it's happened before, notably with David Carroll as culprit.
Many of us bear some responsibility for hijacked discussions by replying to the digressers (more encompassing than "trolls"). Present company included. Forgive me!
Dana, Bruce, your comments are spot-on, and need to be repeated periodically.
But I'd like to suggest that this is a new community that is still forming, and we are adopting a way of communicating that is thoughtful and grounded and completely beyond the pale of any "social media" conversations that I can recall since (some of) the old BBS networks back in the 1980's, when topics had owners, and owners were fierce about giving "flamers" the boot. Before tl;dr was a "thing."
We are experimenting with a "new courtesy" for this social media site. Some of us are a bit harsh in enforcing it; that's okay for now, but it ultimately needs to be smoothed out, in the interests of making enforcement more effective. Some are willing to go back to the bad habits of responding endlessly to persistent trolls. That's also okay, but it needs to be called out, as you are doing here.
I think the Steven Henry diversion is instructive. I, too, have been seeing a burst of "COVID passport" noise on other social media -- we all have -- and the simple answer is that it's yet another Republican distraction being pumped into the media machine. As soon as it stops trending, the Republicans will pump out a new distraction. It really doesn't mean anything at all.
But we do need to be aware that these Republican distractions are being generated by propagandists who know how to create distractions, and are very, very good at it, addressing a public that has been primed to accept these distractions as the "truth of the day." HCR is getting a lot of visibility through reposts on social media, and the public increasingly comes to see what the fuss is about over here. They're going to come with questions about the "truth of the day." We'll see more of them. They aren't necessarily trolls.
I think we need to find a gentler way to teach them the "new courtesy," which is still in a formative stage....
Joseph, I really appreciate your comment and some advice. I thought about what I wrote and shared it with a good friend who also read HCR regularly - she told me I was engaging in "whataboutism" (and had to have her explain that to me!). But ultimately I disagreed with her - because I thought about this new form of communication growing among mostly like-minded people. You also referred to that same/similar idea - " this is a new community that is still forming, and we are adopting a way of communicating that is thoughtful and grounded and completely beyond the pale of any "social media" conversations that I can recall..."
I agree that others are going to continue to throw distractions into our midst, and that Steven Henry's diversion is instructive. And we will get more of these Republican distractions (since they are so skilled at propaganda). In reality, Hitler was "great" at propaganda and distractions - so it's even more important for us, readers of HCR and other non-MSM writers - to teach these "diverters," in gentler ways (I think I need help!) of teaching them the "new courtesy". I still think Henry was a troll! But I want to turn a tide in better, more productive ways. Bruce Carpenter seems to believe that we can "not allow this to happen." I think it will happen. But I'm going to keep my mind focused on this new community that is still forming. And try to do what I can personally to make it even better.
Like I said in my post yesterday, I read HCR not just for her ideas but also for the comments from the incredible group of people who read her column regularly. Thanks so much, Joseph Nemeth!
Thank you for the kind words!
We're actually doing the hijacking, not the trolls or the new posters, and it's another reason I think the Steven Henry post is instructive. This one was simple: "COVID passports" are a boogeyman created by propagandists. Abbreviated TINST (There Is No Such Thing). Not much else needs to be said, and it would have eliminated the runaway thread.
It is the same as it was under Obama. If Pres. Biden proposed a holiday to commemorate God, Mother and Apple Pie, the Republicans would unanimously oppose it.
Apparently not the same God, they've already betrayed their mother and polluted the orchard!
As always, a superb response.
One time, First Lady Michelle Obama publicly recommended that Americans drink more water. My Fox-addicted relative reposted someone discussing what to drink, now that water was ruled out.
Oh water is the best of drinks
That man to man may bring.
But who am I that I should have
The best of anything?
Absolutely Steve - and they would spread tales of a communist plot. The Republican leadership dreads any civic action which might divert their rank and file's focus from xenophobia and bitter entitlement.
Cruz is now selling signed copies of a Dr. Seuss book for $60. Biden is inoculating 200,000,000 Americans. Maybe we need a tsunumi of new children's books celebrating community involvement, infrastructure, science and love.
But the Republican leadership's diversions, while patently absurd, are often successful and we need to keep a close watch.
As they fly to Moscow on that holiday to pay their respects to a foreign leader.
In Heather's video chat today (4/06/2021), she also noted that Biden repeatedly says that he is working for all Americans, Democrats and Republicans, whereas the Republican leadership has become disconnected from the majority of Republican voters who support the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and the pending infrastructure bill.
How do we use this distinction between Republican leadership and Republican voters to make our messaging more effective?
The current Republican Party should just rename themselves LECH - the Party of Losers, Enemies, Creeps, & Haters.
This is something that will (maybe) work with some people on the "right". I am watching two former coworkers who I used to engage with on a regular basis and have some reasonable conversations with (although I did have to introduce them to the concepts of white privilege's and mansplaining, both of which they demonstrate profoundly and deny vociferously) have deteriorated to the place where all they argue are OAN talking points. I don't see any way to get through to them.
You won't get through to them. Step away and give yourself a break.
They are a lost cause, perhaps even believers in The Lost Cause. The best thing may simply be to neutralize their negative impacts.
It is always easy to identify leaders, they are the ones out front on issues that matter most. Those who are out of synch with the majority of public opinion in order to support the views of a former President who never exceeded 50% approval rating throughout his term should not be identified as or allowed to appropriate the label of leadership.
It is best to speak of policy in terms of it's intended impact and how the policies achieve those ends. When confronted with almost any challenge and considering choices, doing something, often almost anything is better than doing nothing. The best response however, is always to do the right thing, the thing most likely to produce the intended outcome while dealing effectively with whatever the unintended consequences may be.
Thank you, Ellie Kona for the Q. Biden may have provided one segment of the message: “All Americans”. Jump off from there. ❤️🤍💙
Superb Question Ellie! Answer may not be so much in the messaging as the
Medium. Faux news won't carry it. What do our friends who are Republican voters read, listen to, watch? My "former-guy" supporting brothers watch The Voice (which often features an Ubrelvy commercial that my daughter does the voice over for). Once we know the medium (commercial), we can fit content to match. In this case a comercial without the brashness of The Lincoln Project. More an entertaining "Guess What?!". Fern McBride recently talked in these HCR comment pages about the idea of "Truth Spots": "I’m imagining clever, sharp and striking 1 minute pieces for tv, cable and social media - stylish, memorable and to the point. These ‘Nothing but the Truth’ spots need a hook as 60 Minutes has with the stopwatch - maybe a bell ringing..." maybe with actors and musicians those Republican voters admire?
'Truth Spots' repeated over and over and over and over...(just like FG's lies were repeated over and over).
Yes!
Who are we?
"Who are we? "
Readers of LFAA, voters, taxpayers, and all Americans of good will.
Thank you for clarifying. I am happy to be part of such a group. I thought for a moment I had stumbled into a Democratic National Committee forum.
Still a possibility. After all, it's the big-tent party.
I wrote "we" to engage our participation in effective messaging, instead of pontificating as to what "they" the Democrats should do.
Messaging is speaking and void if not heard. Messaging also implies ‘others’ and seeks to influence. Beware of falling into fruitless positionality where every position calls forth its opposite (the opposition). Perhaps discovering where we are disconnected within our own self-leadership might she'd some light.
Huh?
I apologize for being unclear. I was responding to Ellie Kona's "How do we use this distinction between Republican leadership and Republican voters to make our messaging more effective? Specifically, to "...make our messaging more effective?" I've condensed a lot into three sentences and apparently crushed any communication out. So as not to get pedantic, is every sentence unclear? Where do I lose you?
I also think the communication gap Ellie points to can be valuable to note and that some self-reflection prior to acting may be beneficial.
😄
Love this digest of history with its application to what we see today! Thank you, Heather. This is essential reading.
I’m so grateful for the quick turn out of vaccines! I’ve had J&J, and my two kids have had one dose so far of the others. I’m excited to plan to see my daughter I haven’t seen since Christmas 2019. But also under pressure from a small group of parents, our school board abruptly announced our students no longer have to wear masks or use desk shields while in a classroom. It was chaos! We spent the day watching every safety precaution we had worked so hard for just erode in front of our eyes! The two school board members that seemed to be holding the restrictions together sent a text to each other about aspects of our inclusion program and it was declared a meeting. Since it wasn’t open to the public, it was declared illegal and they were arrested! Leaving the way for the other members to undo our system if health restrictions. So grateful I’ve had the vaccine!
School board elections are this month. Hope the public turns out in force!
Unbelievable how incredibly arrogant the anti maskers and the anti vaxxers are. Sorry for the losses your community and our communities are faced with.
Our county commission voted to strip decision making authority from the Board of Health Advisory group. In a pandemic. Didn’t like their safety decisions about closing bars.
Oh. My. God.
Oy oy! PostcardsToVoters seems to have nothing happening right now, you might ask them to help with voter turnout. I have plenty of postcards waiting to be used.
A good reminder of why all elections matter.
Horrors. Hope all is well and sane soon.
Would that we could forward today's history lesson to the inbox of those who get their American history through FoxTV/Hannity et al, whose version of US history starts with, "Once upon a time..."
What part of "...promote the common welfare..." is at all ambiguous? Although the preamble to the US Constitution describes the general spirit and goals of the document, not the specific role of government per se, it seems clear that since the document establishes a government, it is the role of government to live up to the principles described therein.
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America"
That last paragraph pretty much sums up the role of government for me. I especially like the "promote the general Welfare" part. Infrastructure anyone? With a big "I".
Too bad “...the People...” didn’t include the native Americans. I guess the natives didn’t have a State to be United. Maybe we should give them one. It'd be interesting to see if they’d stick around or join Texas in trying to get out of town ;).
It didn't include blacks, women, and a lot of other people as well. Many of us have been trying to correct that for some time now, though lately there's been a lot of resistance from one particular party.
Thank you for commenting on my post.
While we're giving out States, how 'bout a Black State and Women's State. Weellllll, once you get started there would have to be an LGBTQ+ State & Local Islamic State, a Marvel State, etc. Keep going and we each end up an island unto ourselves. Guess that puts us all in the same boat ;). Oh, wait! We have FB, Twitter, etc. where everyone can have a piece of the action as long as you can get online.
Good thing we opened up virtual space as 'real' estate (who has estates anymore?) is getting crowded! Hmmm, estate now e-state, ahh, we all can share in virtual e-states just NIMBe-Y ;).
Thanks for the interesting suggestions, Bern. If you please, let's go with well-integrated states with liberty and justice for all.
It would please me greatly 🥰
Of course, the idea of being in a position to give back what we imagine we took away is the height of arrogance.
Just another resource to be exploited. White man's burden and all...
I find the hijacking of threads in Dr. Richardson’s Letters posts most distressing. The consequences are to elevate those discussions in the thread and bury those more worthy of attention making them difficult to find and engage. Please do not allow this to happen. Continued back and forth discussion of unworthy topics is so counterproductive and exactly what trolls initiating those discussions hope for.
Please do not elevate or respond to such posts. You are only aiding the mission of trolls by doing so.
you guys have completely lost me. If you are interpreting my post as trolling HCR's letter that is not my intent. My way of thinking however is not just to comment on what she says but to extend it toward where I see things going or not going. I don't consider this a hijack of topic.
Nope, it's not you, Patrick. Most likely it's the intruding remark on vaccine "passports," though it's hard to tell when comments appear out of sequence. I don't recall anything from you that seems troll-like. But if someone has a Norwegian passport, all bets are off!