On the sunny Sunday morning of December 7, 1941, Messman Doris Miller had served breakfast aboard the U.S.S. West Virginia, stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and was collecting laundry when the first of nine Japanese torpedoes hit the ship. In the deadly confusion, Miller reported to an officer, who told him to help move the ship’s mortally wounded captain off the bridge. Unable to move him far, Miller sheltered the captain behind the ship’s conning tower. Then another officer ordered Miller to pass ammunition to him as he started up one of the two abandoned anti-aircraft guns in front of the conning tower. Miller had not been trained to use the guns because, as a Black man in the U.S. Navy, he was assigned to serve the white officers. But while the officer was distracted, Miller began to fire one of the guns. He fired it until he ran out of ammunition. Then he helped to move injured sailors to safety before he and the other survivors abandoned the West Virginia, which sank to the bottom of Pearl Harbor.
Oh, your very last line: "Even better, it makes us people like Doris Miller." Brilliant!
That's the human being I aspire to be -- even in my old age! I will demonstrate, shout out, and stand up to any totalitarian wannabe until my last breath! I did not immigrate to these United States to be engulfed by the fangs of power-hungry, right-wing authoritarians who worship at the altar of trumpism and its evil bigotry.
My thanks to you, dear Heather, for each letter, every sleepless night, and your passion for the Truth.
We can see how Heather toils for our enlightenment, since she posted this after 3:00 a.m. Like you, Rowshan, we must give this fight every ounce of energy in order to deprive TFG and his cohorts (and handlers) what they aggressively demand. This country hit the jackpot when you, and others like you, decided to call it home. Thank you for your forceful call to action.
The dumbest thing Hitler ever did was to keep his word for the one and only time he ever did, and declare war on the United States. Had he kept his mouth shut, FDR could never have gotten a mostly-isolationist Congress to unilaterally declare war on Germany. We'd have fought in the Pacific and send Lend-Lease to the USSR and British, and sometime in 1947-48, after the Soviets crushed the Nazis (let's remember that 80% of the deaths in World War II happened on the Eastern Front), the "iron curtain" would have been drawn along the shore of the North Sea, the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay. And if the Japanese had been smart, they would never have attacked Pearl Harbor and the Philippines, but should have invaded Malaya/Burma and the Dutch East Indies, because that isolationist Congress would never have gone to war to defend the British and Dutch imperialists.
If World War II had to be fought, we're lucky we fought it against right wing morons like the Japanese, the Germans and the Italians.
And Doris Miller was killed almost two years to the day after Pearl Harbor, when the escort carrier USS Liscombe Bay he was then serving on, was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine during the Gilberts campaign. escort carriers were designated CVE (carrier, aircraft, escort), but the crews said it meant "Combustible, Vulnerable and Expendable." They were made by Henry Kaiser from very cheap high-sulfur steel, which caught fire when hit. The ship sank in less than 5 minutes, taking down 70% of the crew with her because they couldn't get out of the below-decks. Ever after, CVE crewmen slept on the hangar deck, or the weather decks of their ship.
The next big nuclear-powered Navy aircraft carrier in the Ford class will be the USS Doris Miller (CVN-81) scheduled to be laid down in 2026, launched in October 2029 and commissioned in 2032. She'll be built at the Newport News Shipbuilding Company in Norfolk VA. The first cut of steel was this past August 25, with six members of his family present. The carrier will be the second ship named for Miller, who won the Navy Cross for his actions at Pearl Harbor; the first USS Miller was a destroyer escort
Wow, a history lesson badly needed by all. I have always thought that the Pearl Harbor hit was the only thing that could have United a splintered country. Hate to think what it will take now. Go, all the Doris Millers out there, and we are legion.
Among the Pearl Harbor docs played yesterday I watched one which showed that many of the American war ships damaged on Dec 7 were salvaged and repaired and then used to fight and defeat the Japanese. And it is clear to me now that we also need to salvage and repair what is left of American democracy in order to fight the evil of today, at home and abroad.
I pray that the spirit of men like Miller is still with us and that his strength and sacrifice will inspire our generation and those now among us to fight the forces of authoritarianism while we still have a chance. It currently seems like a race to the bottom for democracy as we struggle even amongst ourselves to forge a coherent front against the oligarchs, kleptocrats and sociopaths. I will shamelessly allude to our cherished hiostorian and mentor and say 'hang together in trust or alone if we must.'
Daria - If you happen to see this, would you please contact me at David@StClairLLC.com? It's about my sister who live is Merida, and who also loves HCR's Letters... Thanks!
TC very cooool and let's have faith that both war histories can make Americans realize how close the earth came to being taken over by Germany Adolf Hitler, and Italy's Benito Musalinii and Japan's Hideki Tojo. This could be a hopeful step forward that the United States was so loved after world War two and now China And Russia who Americans helped are now wondering what we need to do to make earth safer for all humanity, we are all earthlings except HCR who came from another galaxy to encourage us from Maine?
Who knows where Maine is located? MY GOOD PAL Callihan was from Maine and super smart must be the DNA mixed with Canadians.. THANK A VETERAN TODAY FOR ALL THE TRUAMA AND PAIN ENDURED FREEDOM IS not free
Thanks for the history, TC. I have a friend (a Black sailor) who introduced me to Dorris Miller back in college. Always an inspiration, but even so, this is more detailed information than I ever got from my PO2 friend.
Thanks for the additional footnotes to history TC. Another question I have is just how integrated is the Navy right now? What is the percentage of POC and women and of other minorities in the upper ranks of the navy or commanding battleships?
Thanks TC…could this be an interesting storyline for a movie? The world should know about the bravery of Doris Miller. Thanks to you and HCR for sharing.
Thank you again, HCR, for weaving a tiny historical footnote into a grand lesson putting current events into historical context.
Yes, western liberal democracy, hypocrisies and all, is still better than 1930's Axis fascism. And we need to keep in mind that the decidedly un-democratic Soviet Union had as much to do in defeating Germany as the Allied democracies. Maybe more. Had Hitler not invaded the USSR and instead focused his resources on occupying Great Britain, WW II would have taken a different course. But, instead, Hitler demonstrated that it is the arrogance of fascism that is the usual cause of its inevitable downfall.
I'm always impressed, and not a little ashamed as a white person, by the selfless heroism of African Americans and other minorities. In war, and in the daily peacetime battle just to live. Had Doris Miller survived the war, what would he have come home to in 1945, even with his medals and citations? Jim Crow in the South and the same, but more subtle James Effington Crow Esq, up north? What would his bravery, initiative, and intelligence, (on his own he figured out how to operate and anti-aircraft gun unit under less than ideal conditions,) have gotten him back home?
We've come a ways since 1945, but often it's two steps forward, one step back. The one-step-back crowd is in ascension again, and again, it will be their arrogance, and millions of Doris Millers, of all colors, that will be their downfall.
Nothing to do with politics, but a memory came up on my FB page yesterday. On 7 Dec 2016, I had the honor of meeting and speaking with a very special member of the Greatest Generation. They are somewhat revered in our military community, and this Devil Dog was no different. This Marine’s name was Edgar Harrell. He was one of the last remaining survivors of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis at that time. I was in awe. These men, these survivors, went through a hell that most of us cannot begin to imagine while in the water for 4 days waiting for rescue. Mr. Harrell was a quiet man, very unassuming, very polite. Everything that embodies all of the WWII veterans, both men and women, that I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting and talking to. But this was a man that survived one of the most extraordinary events of the war. After delivering the atomic bomb to Tinian, on their way home, they were struck by a torpedo, sinking the Indianapolis, killing thousands, and then were forced to survive dehydration, starvation, sharks, and their own injuries while tied together in the ocean.
Anyway, I got way off my topic. I apologize. The reason this memory is so special this year is that Mr. Harrell passed away several months ago. At his passing he was the last survivor of the Indianapolis. Now, they are gone, their voices are silent. We must carry those voices on, so that they never truly die. Veterans like myself, and in my community, pass these stories on, and keep telling them. It’s our way of letting them live on through us. There’s a saying. “A hero never dies until their name is spoken for the last time.” Edgar Harrell’s name will be spoken by me to keep his memory and experiences alive time and again. Til Valhalla Marine.
I lost a friend this year as well; he was a clarinet player in several of the bands that I played in. The marching band; depicted in my photo here, had as its signature tune "Loony Tunes"; Mike would always end it with a very high descending chromatic scale, which sounded like someone laughing. When he had to stop playing, I began doing the same thing, only in the lowest register that I could play, ending on a pedal BBb which would be on the 7th ledger line below the bottom of the bass clef staff. Mike was about 5'6" and was a platoon leader in one of the airborne divisions that jumped onto the beaches at Normandy. He held the Silver Star (V) and the Croix de Guerre for earlier service. No services have yet been held. He buried his wife and 2 of his sons prior to his death.
It’s very sad to witness the loss of this generation of Americans. They are quite irreplaceable and we could learn so much from their sacrifices during that time. I’m so sorry for your loss.
I wonder if he and my dad knew each other. Dad was jump master on one of those planes and was dropped onto Normandy (off course) in the early hours of D-Day. He was head of communications and reported directly to Colonel Sink. I'm sorry about Mike. Dad passed away in 2012. He had a Purple Heart, the Bronze Star and the French Foreign Legion Award.
Ally, I tried to copy and paste but the memoir is locked up in a PDF and I can't. So, I am writing here what I tried to paste, in case you recognize the name of either of the platoon leaders mentioned. This is the memoir of Delmar Harmon. He and dad were in the 506 Regiment, 101st Airborne.
Here you go: "That evening while it was still daylight we went to the airfield. We had an overstrength platoon of 64 while the normal strength was 54. Since a C-47 held 18 to 24 men (depending on distance they had to fly and amount of supplies to be dropped), our platoon took most of three planes. Lt. Reader had one plane load, Lt. Mellon a second and Master Sgt. "Bobby" Plants the third." (My dad was "Bobby" Plants. This was the night of June 5, 1944.)
I doubt it, then. I knew of the two platoon leaders only through that memoir. I have all my dad's WWII stuff and that includes handwritten lists of the men involved in the jump with details of all the equipment assigned to each one, etc. Mike would probably have similar information for those he led but the two would probably never have had any actual info on each other and would have been working, at best, in tandem. Thanks for responding back!
Mr Harrell wrote one called “Out Of The Depths” on his experiences. It’s available on Amazon and is a great read. Some parts are difficult to read because of what happened, but worth every word. I was lucky enough to purchase it and have him autograph it the day I met him.
On December 7, 1941, we had invited, for Sunday lunch, Nancy Alvord, whose husband was a pilot on an aircraft carrier stationed in Pearl Harbor.She was devastated by news of the Japanese attack. She did not know that aircraft carriers were out of Pearl re-enforcing American islands. Six months later, her husband, and all but one pilot in Torpedo Squadron 8, were lost at Midway.
Before December 7th there was a strong isolationist movement, America First, headlined by Charles Lindbergh. It promptly dissolved and later Lindbergh, the Spirit of St. Louis pilot, served his country in the Pacific. America joined together to fight a war for democracy.
In sharp contrast, today we are nearly two years into our pandemic war in which we have already suffered far more than twice the deaths from WW II. At the outset, Trump not only failed to mobilize America for this war, he also deliberately deceived Americans about the nature of this war. He spearheaded a campaign both to minimize this war and to mock one of our citizens’ first lines of defense—wearing masks.
Even now Trump’s sycophants are saboteurs in this pandemic war. The anti-vaxers and anti-maskers are headed by some Republican governors and politicians. Federal efforts to enforce vaccination are blocked in court by Republican politicos. The stalwart efforts by the Biden administration to turn the tide in this deadly pandemic war are being stymied and virus infections and deaths are on an upward trend.
I experienced WW II where a united America won a war against tyranny. Why can’t we unite and win the fight of a pandemic war that is already far more costly to our citizens?
The two year time frame prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor is of interest where understanding where we are now is relevant.
During that time, as Hitler openly rounded up Jews and as France happily participated in routing Jews out of their apartments and homes In Paris and first put them in the Velodrome and then put them on trains to Germany, the American government, with full support of the American people, refused to provide refugee entry to any number of ships carrying Jewish people.
So, HCR writes a beautiful essay today on how we all, ostensibly, were brought together in battle to protect Democracy. Yes, but, those soldiers were brought together by a forced draft.
100% of army units were segregated. 100% of the Navy was segregated. Even air force pilots as they thinned out at the end of the war in Europe, were segregated.
That America, the one where EVERYONE supported segregation, and EVERYONE supported blocking hose Jewish refugees, both North and South, is not gone. It has not vanished.
And it will not vanish soon. Donald Trump resurrected those many Americans whose voice in that matter were sort of muted by the Civil Rights movement.
However, as HCR does poignantly point out today, those who are pushed aside in segregation still have a modicum of a chance, if luck and hard work are applied.
For that reason, America is still worth supporting.
I agree with her, with some caveats I will keep to myself in light of her letter today.
Those interested in more information about the French response to Hitler's clarion call might be interested to watch
"Sarah's Key", (it used to be on Netflix and may still be there).
a movie capturing what the French response to Hitler's call for Jewish elimination and who fully supported Hitler's cleansing early on, did during WW II to the Jews in Paris.
The film is based on the book "Sarah's Key" by Tatiana de Rosnay. It's a wrenching story which I highly recommend reading. Who knows how well the film hewed to the original book. When checking to verify the author, I saw that "Sarah's Key" is also available as an audiobook.
Another heartbreaking book is an unfinished novel written by author Irene Nemirovsky, Suite Francaise. She was rounded up and sent to Auschwitz where she died. Her husband was also rounded up and murdered. His afterword details their outreaches for help, with rejection after rejection. Their daughters were hidden, survived, and published her book. It, too, was made into a movie.
My go-to for books is Barnes & Noble - I very rarely order anything through Amazon. When possible, I order a book directly from the publisher as I did for the award-winning book "Becoming American" written by a friend of mine who was born in Austria, to Holocaust survivors, shortly after the end of WW II. Please consider ordering from his publisher and reading it. https://carylowewriter.com/
I remembered the epilogue better. It was letters that Irene and then her husband wrote to her publisher, friends, and authorities begging for help. Her husband gave their young daughter a suitcase that contained the manuscript, which the daughter had published 60 years later.
Mike, not everyone supported segregation or anti-Semitism, but way too many quietly accepted it as a societal norm, and refused to speak out against it. I think Dr. Richardson made that point yesterday in her "Politics Chat" when she said the time has come to call out those who are trying to cripple democracy, and to vocalize what America stands for.
To witness in the USA how readily the hate simmering always on the surface or near to it can possibly predominate; to witness how a mass of human beings can be propagandized and proselytized by deeply disturbed malefactors -- of this, too, we bare witness. How the ground was laid and how the 'leaders' who seeded and grew it -- this, too, is part of America's story. What of the lies and mythology constituting America's greatness, wealth and might sowed this evil as well? We are players in the story of good and evil.
We cannot successfully fight the pandemic as long as the anti-vax campaign is the political weapon employed by the Republicans to overthrow democracy.
We cannot defeat the pandemic as long as many millions of Americans believe Trump's Big Lie.
We cannot recover as long a significant number of Americans see their identities tied to Trump. He and the Republicans, the vast majority of them, have put the American people on a death march. It is the civil war of their making.
Who can survive it? We need a way to reach more Americans. This is already tragic beyond measure.
'United States leads the world in the daily average number of new infections reported, accounting for one in every 5 infections reported worldwide each day.'
'United States is reporting 120,653 new infections on average each day,...'
'There have been 49,460,930 infections and 794,067 coronavirus-related deaths.' (Reuters)
We live in a home built in 1922. Franco confiscated it in 1936. Down the street is a school that was a women's college. Franco turned it into a women's prison. In one of our parks there is a memorial to Anne Frank and a tall metal piece of iron work with the years that Franco was in power. Here in Spain, the older remember. Spain is a young democracy with 5 main political parties. Spain is watching the U.S.. Vox - an extreme far right party - is now the third largest party. What happens in the U.S. will have a global effect. Why are so many American's silent? Why are there seemingly so few calling out the lies? The deceit? The corruption? Why are so few writing to papers to demand they actually print ¨all the news that's fit to print¨?
We’ve been trained to ignore lies by the Advertising & Marketing industry.
Many of us think the synthetic chemicals in our perfumes, colognes, hair/skin/body care and laundry/cleaning/air deodorizing products smell like the ad says or at least that they smell good instead of the big, fat, toxic, highly profitable joke that they are.
We often buy these and other products to help us cope with the frustrations of life because the ads say so. We’re tired that our efforts seem to get us nowhere and just tired in general. It’s no secret that a large number of the middle class have been reduced to low income due to stagnant wages / salaries adding to the collective stress.
TV shows, movies, & ads add to our stress & dissatisfaction by making us think that we need so much stuff to make us happy. So we buy more. Landfills everywhere are loaded with the remains of our attempts.
Now our air has become polluted with consumer products such as fragrance and plastic/petroleum product chemicals containing hormone disruptors & neurotoxins, the quality of our food has taken a nosedive, as it too is polluted.
Our produce is coated with herbicide & pesticides, our grains are tainted with pesticides, our meat & poultry are tainted by antibiotics and added hormones, our seafood contains micro plastics and heavy metals, and the majority of grocery stores contain man-made products labeled as food.
Our water quality varies across the country in part due to quality of pipes that carry it as some are made with lead, a substance known to cause brain damage, and some water comes from wells and reservoirs which have become tainted by toxic man made industrial chemicals and micro plastics.
Rates of cancer have increased as have all kinds of autoimmune diseases/disorders and mental health issues.
Our healthcare professionals have been trained to see people as a collection of parts and focus on treating disease for profit and not helping people maintain health, because healthy people aren’t profitable.
TV, internet, & cell phones have replaced face to face human connection which is dangerous because it diminishes our ability to empathize and respect others. They also allow us to filter out what we don’t want to see our know except the ads & marketing that is designed to reach us.
And despite being a very diverse nation with a lot of women in positions of power and authority, much of our world is White and male-centric and biased against non-Whites and women.
It is no wonder so many of us are filled with doom and gloom and blind to what’s happening around us.
The search for truth is consistent throughout. As we navigate a pandemic I think about the efforts to expose the tobacco industry’s lies and where progress has been accomplished, albeit at a snail’s pace (or maybe two steps backward for every three forward). Technology certainly has complicated undue influence. The cherry picking of facts to build a false thesis certainly has taken on an art form.
Exactly. Ad & Mkt industry has studied and learned well. They made it an art form which bad actors in politics, government, etc have learned and used against the masses.
So true, I use Roku a lot to avoid advertising. I remember when it was 15 seconds for 15 minutes, a minute for an hour. I’m really old. I cannot tolerate the constant infomercials, much less the constant blather that people like Andy Cohen have brought to tv. I even remember when A and E didn’t show the worst of us. I remember when PBS was a true public station. Republicans couldn’t stand it, so crap rules way too much. When it became obvious that FB and Twit tolerated treasonous trash, had to go back to reading.
I also use Roku, never watch "live" tv - record the shows I want to see & fast forward thru commercials etc. I've never been on FB or Twit or any of the other "social" media stuff. The so-called "reality" shows? How can anyone with most of a brain stand them? Reality? Really?
Sorry - this is more of a rant than an actual comment. ALWAYS read HRC letters & a lot of the comments - not all anymore - too many! I do feel right at home here.
Oh & still making my way (slow) thru Blowout. Of course I've read several novels in between. But the information in Rachel's book is downright depressing - the unlimited corruption that was and IS in our government - corporate lobbyists etc etc etc. It makes me more pessimistic than ever thinking about any change.
I enjoyed Twitter but hated the hypocrisy of their “community standards” which chump and plenty of republicans laughed at for most of his term. I saw a joke about how Twitter followers like the people they don’t know better than the people they do know on FB. Something to that. As for reality shows, they exacerbated the dumbing down of the whole tv scene. Survivor started it and all went straight to the bottom. Same with game shows in my book, but boy do they have a following.
not blind means wadding in information that is a serious mental challenge. You pretty much laid it all out. Been treading water for 40 years. I used to think only Bill Moyers noticed.
... speaking of blindness, let's look at the destruction of fertile soils needed to grow healthy food - and, in the context of conflict with Mother Russia, who in this world is working to regenerate the soil, engendering food independence which is key to human/planetary health, economic integrity and global governance:
The lies have a bull horn going 24/7. Rupert Murdoch - and his international reach is hard to calculate. ATT even funded a Fox clone. The democrats are screaming in a vacuum, and MSM is playing both sides, knowing full well what both sides are. “Global effect” - beyond calculation; my reps are evil, but there is a tinge of purple. So many will go about their day, pretending all is well, until it isn’t.
Well, that answer is fairly straightforward (from my perspective).
Roughly half of America agrees with the Franco's, the Hitler's and the Mussolini's of the world, i.e., Donald Trump.
After 40 years of lies and propaganda, started by Ronald Reagan's "welfare queen" anecdote around welfare, and 25 years of Fox News lies and propaganda painting "Dems" as communists,
plus America's own long standing, bipartisan, north and south, racism and segregation supported by (all white people in north and south).....
Now?
White people have been made afraid that everyone not like them are communists trying to steal their money, which, they all imagine came from their own highly talented efforts and hard work (which is a lie to themselves).
So, if one adds up all the lies of the last forty years white folks have been inundated with or told themselves?
Thank you for mentioning Reagan as being the “welfare queen”. Every time someone has mentioned that he was the greatest orator of our time, I want to scream and puke! He really is the one who began our democracy demise.
I voted for Reagan at age 20. I was from a farm and I bought into all those lies, from Reagan, about "fiscal responsibility". Reagan had painted Jimmy Carter as fiscally not responsible. Carter, who ran more than a balanced budget, he paid down WWII debt.
I think/ hope that your statements are hyperbole. I don’t think half of Americans agree with the fascists..nor that all whites are sold out to them…too many are, but it is not yet unrecoverable. I also know several who were trump supporters who have been positively influenced by Heather’s letters. I repost them everyday on LinkedIn, because it has become a right wing cesspool of authoritarian Q thinking- have to take the shots we are given!
"Trump won 74,222,958 votes, or 46.8 percent of the votes cast. That’s more votes than any other presidential candidate has ever won, with the exception of Biden."
Tim is asking to us to see light where there is light and to work toward creating more -- not in the least to lose the reasons we have to fight the far-right, the white supremacists and all who would strip us of our right to govern.
Good morning, Mike. I am trying to understand your response to me. First of all, I read Tim's response to you in a positive light. He thought you were writing off all the people who voted for Trump in 2020 and that were at least X% Americans acting like fascists. He gave an example of a few people he thinks were turned around my HCR's LFAA's letters. I agree that's a pittance. The example he gave didn't imply that the Letters could influence a large number, only that he thought the numbers in each camp are not as fixed as you presented them to be. Reports are that a large number of Trump's followers may be more hardened now than they were 6 months ago. It's no secret, that our division is deep and dangerous. From Tim's point of view that is not a reason to give up trying to reduce their numbers or to give up on finding strategies to connect. For instance, why aren't more Democratic Party operatives in the lands of the MAGA? With safety in mind, can Biden spend more time in rural America, too? Does the party and the administration have people who just work on strategies and actions to be better known in MAGA land - live there and listen to the people? Does the party and administration have a sense of how much time needs to allocated for this - maybe not much - maybe more effectively? Do they know how to improve their messaging? Do they have the right talent to do that? Messaging needs to be improved all around.. What about the Independents? They comprise the largest voting block...and so on. I hope that I got the meaning of your message.
74 million voted for the White Racist, 81 million for Biden. Extrapolated to the general population, that’s 48% of the voting public went for the criminal, should-be registered sex offender, racist, sexist, homophobe. it’s easy to say “they just ignore the parts they didn’t like.“ But it’s probably more factual to say they voted for that because they approve of it. If you want to be conservative, maybe 40% of America is in the wrong camp and on the wrong side of history. That is our country, racist and sexist to the core.
We do have a responsibility to democracy here as well as abroad. Anne Applebaum has continued to bang the drum about world democracies needing American support. Jennifer Rubin bangs the drum for democracy at home.
@Gailee Walker Wells, Thank you for saying this. Where is the best place for an ordinary American who may not be s great writer to communicate that yes these sre Lies! so the rest of the world might hear us?
Thank you for your input from Spain. From over here we saw the news that the Vox leader was at the meeting in Warsaw recently along with Orban and LaPenne. It was the first time that I had ever heard of the Spanish leader. It seemed to me that Orban looked tired and nervous and that the European press was making fun of of them all. Here in the US the political “show” is insane but the feeling on the streets is very serious. Four years of Trump and two years of pandemic have worn people out but I get the sense that many Americans are more aware of what is going on now than before. So yes maybe Americans seem quiet right now but I think that many average people are watching things very closely and with serious concern.
Thank you, HCR. Sadly, a real danger is apathy. The majority of Italians and Germans were not Fascists or Nazis, just ordinary people who thought "This will pass". Suddenly, those ordinary people wake up to find out it's too late. We need to raise awareness wherever we can, encourage people to vote, use the system against those so determined to break it..Before it's too late
It's not just apathy, I think it's the way people look at people with power and money
Before my two friends put a moratorium on talking politics, I had a conversation with one of them about the lawsuits that the former guy was bringing and she said she saw no reason why he shouldn't be able to do that because he has money.
I asked why should someone with money be able to bring lawsuits that are bogus and costs the taxpayers money to fight them and her response was that people with money always get special treatment and that's just the way it is.
And I think a lot of people think the same.
I'm done trying to talk to my older group of friends, they are from the past time when who you voted for was pretty much a personal thing and you really didnt talk about politics at least not with casual friends.
Hell, I can talk to them about growing and using pot more than politics. Weird.
So I'm using my energy to talk to the younger people. They are the future. They are the people who will be in power when my grandson gets to be their age.
Also, it's sad, the young people (mostly male) who wanted Bernie back in 2016 are still holding a grudge about that. Two of them refused to vote in 2020 because according to them, the system is rigged.
On top of the big lie, we have the little lie still hanging around.
Here in NV, we are still under a mask mandate so it's hard to get people to go out into the streets and make good trouble.
I want to make good trouble while I can, but that time is slowly coming to an end as my husband's disease progresses.
So I'm going to spend a lot of time writing letters to the editors of my local papers and to help my local Indivisible group anyway I can, except for being on the phone. Worked too many call centers and I avoid the phone like the plague.
Beth, so sorry to hear about your husband. :-( As if things are are not stressful enough for people who are aware. Good luck to both of you and, like geese in flight, many of us take turns at the front. You deserve to conserve your energy, slip back a little in our formation to glide in the wind reduction we will create for you.
Beth, you're fighting on bravely while facing one of the hardest trials that life can bring. You're an example to us all, old and young -- and here Penelope Simpson Adams speaks for me and, I am sure, for everu one of us.
You tell us that "the young people (mostly male) who wanted Bernie back in 2016 are still holding a grudge about that. Two of them refused to vote in 2020 because according to them, the system is rigged".
When we're young, inexperienced and self-centered, when we haven't yet been put to the test like Doris Miller, we can easily be tempted to take wrong-headed, irresponsible decisions. Now, the struggle hasn't come to an end, it is only hotting up, and you aren't shirking your duty, you are holding the line.
Maybe older people need to tell youngsters who are giving up on their civic duty that they're too much like young soldiers who have seen defeat, caused in part by army bureaucracy and failures of leadership, and now intend to desert. This is OUR moment. This is the moment when old and young must unite as firm allies, disregarding cowards, defeatists and couch potatoes.
I've already told in these columns how, when I asked my father, who'd served as a British naval officer whether he had contemplated yielding to superior material force and suing for peace after the Dunkirk debacle. His reply:
"We knew we were up against a terrible enemy, we knew that the fight would be very hard and we would often face setbacks; but never for one moment throughout the whole war did I or my comrades doubt that we would overcome."
That spirit.
(Later, he was to serve on warships escorting supply convoys around North Cape to the Soviet ports of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk. Discouragements there too when, for instance, after braving Arctic ice and constant German bombardment to deliver a squadron of fighter aircraft requested by Stalin, they were told to take the planes back, they were "no longer needed...)
"Also, it's sad, the young people (mostly male) who wanted Bernie back in 2016 are still holding a grudge about that. Two of them refused to vote in 2020 because according to them, the system is rigged."
The Democratic primary in 2016 WAS rigged. Hillary was assigned all of the "super delegates" at the outset basically blocking Bernie from winning the nomination, which, had those superdelegates not been pre-assigned by the DNC, he WOULD have won.
He was fantastically popular on college campuses and with young adults and he had REAL, HONEST passion and was not saddled with a history of hiring law firms to destroy women his husband had abused or sexually assaulted.
I voted for Bernie in the primary and I used to be a Republican. Bernie was talking about free education and I personally think that is a path to huge economic success, LIKE IN GERMANY where college education is FREE. And like in Texas, where college education used to be nearly free.
Bernie would have beat Donald Trump in a landslide too. He knew how to fight Donald Trump.
The tragedy of 2016 is the the DNC ordained someone, Hillary Clinton, who was so widely despised on the right and the left that a clumsy, erratic, unintelligent Donald Trump beat her.
As my (voted for Trump) brother-in-law once told me: "Had the Democrats run any dogcatcher from any town in America against Trump, the dogcatcher would have won."
But, the DNC ran the one person who could lose. Hillary Clinton.
Mike, I'm from Bernie's state and I appreciate him very much. However, I have a slightly different take than yours inasmuch as Bernie was one of the candidates that Russia backed against Clinton, knowing full well Sanders would be an outlier. It is very unlikely that a Democratic Socialist would have gained the primary. Most voters don't even know the term but chill at the word socialist. I agree that Bill Clinton's shady past overshadowed Hillary. But she has been a tough politician and so condemning of Putin that he hated her and pulled out all the stops to foil her election. There is an issue we need to gather around. Russia did manipulate Trump's victory. It appears very much like Trump and other Republican leaders are in league with the evil oligarch. Despite the DoJ's manipulation of the Mueller report (under Barr), Putin is much more of a danger than Hillary ever was.
I think enthusiasm for Bernie is greatly underestimated. I attended a local rally for Bernie and the line went for 1.5 miles to get into the arena where he spoke. All young people except for my old self and another old friend.
Bernie would have, of course, been flayed by Fox News which is also supported by Russia.
Bernie would have been flayed by even the mainstream media.
However, Bernie had a true message that resonated with people, like me, who know that education is the most probable way poverty stricken people can rise. He KNEW this and communicated it.
He would have won. Many, many people would have heard his call over the noise of Fox and the Russians.
Hillary is actually the candidate that never had a chance. Even I despised her husband and her.
Nobody gets away with what she did forever. She destroyed the lives of many women with her attack dog NY Law firm she always hired to dump dirt all over the women who came forward to accurately and honestly accuse her husband of ether rape, abuse of power or harassment.
I wish I could agree with you that he would have won, but that "S" word has been burned into the consciousness of too many Americans, and it would have been played to death.
I had/have no problems with Bernie, but I did and do with the "Berners." I've been around that type of lefty before and I would never do anything that would let any of those people within shouting distance of anything meaningful. They're "Left Trumpers."
It only took me two meetings out here, where the Berners took over, to say to myself "I've seen this movie before, and I walked out of it then."
I hope I've already replied to what you're saying.
I repeat:
Maybe older people need to tell youngsters who are giving up on their civic duty that they're too much like young soldiers who have seen defeat, caused in part by army bureaucracy and failures of leadership, and now intend to desert. This is OUR moment. This is the moment when old and young must unite as firm allies, disregarding cowards, defeatists and couch potatoes.
Bureaucracy and failures of leadership.
And don't get me wrong, I'd have voted for Bernie, regardless of "the wisdom of the wise". After all, he represented the alliance I'd been longing for between age and experience and youth, energy and enthusiasm.
But the struggle is for survival and we don't have the time or energy to waste indulging the luxury of bemoaning past defeats. Only to learn from them and move forward.
That's a good point, about exhaustion. The barrage of hate Loser 45 spewed out while in office was a good reason to be put off "politics" - Let them get on with it, I want none of it, and so forth. You are right about the young, but they may well be hamstrung and made impotent by today's machinations. Don't give up on your peers, especially the Republicans (I am imagining the ones you speak to are moderate)
I don't have the excuse of working in a call center to hate using the phone. I never have cared for it, and find the prospect of making "cold calls" horrendous. Thanks for this post; we're still under a mask mandate as well, and I am itching to make good trouble.
For all my married life, I had to take the 24/7 hour emergency calls - both for my own work and also that of my husband. The phone was located on MY nightstand, and when it rang in the middle of the night, as it did often, it was always bad news. Always. So, I too hate phones. I put aside my antipathy a few years ago and ran a phone bank out of my house when Wendy Davis was running for governor and I vowed never to do that again. Even now, I prefer text to talk. When I do actually CALL someone (usually to check on them to see if they are OK) and my call is ignored or just goes to voice mail, that adds yet another reason not to use the thing.
Beth, good to hear your voice and wisdom again. It seems that getting powerful words like yours into local papers is very much good trouble. Thank you! ❤️🙏
Your spirit elevates mine. We learn by persisting in our support of the rights and needs of all. We are not alone as we work for justice. As a caregiver for my husband for a long time my commitment was strengthened when I could look beyond my circumstances. Cheers to you Beth and to your husband.
I have found people want to be left alone and not think about politics. The Pandemic, constant barrage of negative media and the hate rhetoric of some politicians has people worn down and apathetic towards politics and the threat facing this Democracy.
The Republicans game of creating chaos and confusion is working. People are checked out. I admire your enthusiasm but do not know how to break through apathy.
Everything you say is true. People are exhausted, battered by false rhetoric A Bannon tactic. I was reading an interview with him in which he revealed that his private opinions are far removed from the face he presents in public. The problem is, it is working. If moderate people don't wake up to the very real dangers we are facing....
It is working on some, but not all . The “breathing space “ President Biden talks about is starting to show , a little. Remember , ships of state move slowly.
The midterms are 11 months away and counting. The Ship of State is headed for the rocks.
People have turned away because:
They are sick and tired of the pandemic being used as a political football.
States are establishing draconian voter suppression laws. Garland is seen as weak and ineffective.
Republican Congress members are willfully destroying decorum and impeding progress with impunity. Former Administration Officials are thumbing their nose at the January 6 Committee with impunity.
Roe v Wade is in peril.
Florida and Texas are their own mini-fascist States.
Personally I adore President Biden. He needs better messaging and needs to pick up his own political rhetoric game. The media machine in running all over him and his accomplishments. This is so hard to witness.
We are in a weakened state of duress. This is why Russia is saber rattling.
That 18 states have passed 33 laws that restrict voting for poor districts and communities of color, and give elected officials the power to certify votes- or decertify results that disadvantage the GOP- is absolutely cause for alarm.
On the other hand, these actions should inspire hope because they reveal that the GOP is deeply afraid of losing power and relevance in a country whose culture, values, and demographics are changing in ways they cannot stop.
The reactionaries in the GOP want the rest of us to believe their dominance of our politics and ultimately, our government, is inevitable. This is a deliberate strategy to instill two equally corrosive emotions in a democracy, fear and apathy.
Today's GOP is behaving like a rabid animal that has been cornered, fighting for their survival and infected with the virus of hate. Their strategy to take over America from the local level up should be considered dangerous and the authoritarian impulses that currently animate the party must be put down.
The best way to do that is use all the weapons at our disposal-- the ballot, strategic demonstrations, sending money to support candidates like Stacy Abrams to blunt the impact of dark money, and boycott companies who contribute to candidates who support the Big Lie and advance restrictive voting agendas.
Doris Miller's example shows us that we're only doomed if we fail to act. And the time to act is now.
Not sure that the handcuffs matter that much in regards to the immediate saving of democracy.
We know right from wrong, handcuffs or not. Anyone that is arrested will scream that its the destruction of the country and coming of the rule of Satan, and about 40% of the country will believe it.
Getting the right people in handcuffs is absolutely necessary for our long-term stability, but I just don't think the DoJ can swoop in like superheroes and make it all better...the GOP will still be a cult, and still demand that its leaders follow through on plans to overturn the election.
My father used to talk about Mussolini, Stalin, and Hitler. When he came from Poland as a young Jewish refugee in 1937, he wanted to give back to America for granting him freedom. After Pearl Harbor occurred, my dad saw the famous “Uncle Sam Wants You” sign so he enlisted in the Army. His goal was to be sent back to Europe to fight the Nazis but the Army sent him to Papau New Guinea to fight the Japanese. I have a little of his memorabilia but he didn’t keep much. He never spoke about what happened when he served or who he fought with. I wish he had because I always wondered if he was alongside men like Doris Miller. I imagine he did but that generation never really revealed much. They fought and then they came home to a ticker-tape parade because they all saved democracy from fascism. Can we do it again? This time we are trying to save what we have from our own people. The task at hand, is pretty darn scary but I have no intention of backing away or down.
You wrote: "that generation never really revealed much" and it is true. I just read a memoir from one of those patriots in the same unit with my dad that jumped on Normandy on D-Day. Dad was jump master and first out of the plane; this fellow was right behind him and wrote quite a bit about my dad in his memoir. Dad ended up as a POW in a German camp and was liberated by allies at the end of the war; this fellow fought the ENTIRE war in Europe, surviving every major battle, including Bastogne. When he came home, he said no one wanted to talk about their experiences because EVERYONE had a story to tell and no one really wanted to hear anyone else's sad story. So, they all kept quiet. I suspect that most, if not all of them suffered with PTSD their entire lives. My dad had horrible nightmares for years, but would never say a word about the war until "Saving Private Ryan" came out. That opened him up finally. That, and being tracked down by others in his unit who came to visit and thank him. Dad was in charge of teaching the battalion Morse Code and he was considered by them as one who helped save their lives.
That’s an amazing story, Ellen. At least your dad opened up about what he did for the war effort. My sister-in-law’s dad was a Japanese POW and was a part of the Bataan Death March. He never held any animosity towards the Japanese people, just the misguided soldiers. You are right though, every one of them had a story to tell. I am pretty certain both of my parents had PTSD as they were victims of the Holocaust. My husband is a Vietnam Vet so I am very aware of him not wanting to talk about his experiences. He had to write 3 incidences of what he faced for the VA to grant him any type of compensation. We had been together, at that time, for 30 years. It was the first time I was privy to that information. I just sobbed.
And Japanese Americans served too, courageously and valiantly despite our horrific treatment of them during a very stressful time (see Daniel Brown’s “Facing the Mountain”). Thank you for another thoughtful and important message.
Maybe it’s just me, but it seems that Heather has shifted somewhat over the last period of time. She is now consistently widening her viewpoint beyond just our national perspective. Not long ago she crafted a piece that highlights Putin and Russia’s menace. Today the centerpiece is Pearl Harbor, and the similarities between Mussolini’s Italy and NSDAP Germany to Trump + today’s Republican Party.
BRAVO 👏👏👏👏👏👏
I love you Heather. ❤️❤️
Because Heather likes history, even though I am not a historian I will add some substance.
The fasces is a Roman symbol, and perhaps older, of unity and strength. A “fasces” is a bundle of sticks. You can break one stick. Perhaps you can break two sticks together, but it’s harder. If you put enough sticks together and bundle them, they can no longer be broken. In other words, in unity there is strength. (perhaps also E pluribus unum)
So at its core, the essential tenet of “fascism“ could be used as a symbol of democracy. In fact, it has. If you look on the back of any Roosevelt dime, you will see a fasces. In unity there is strength. If we don’t hang together, surely we will hang together (if we don’t act as a team, we will suffer the dire consequences). FDR’s America followed by the Marshall Plan was our commitment to democracy expressed globally in WWII. That legacy ran wide and deep, and the consequences of that commitment will be felt for a long time to come.
Any pure and good concept can be abused. A would-be dictator can convince a people to be unified, for example, behind an unjust cause. Or he can direct that unified national team spirit in nasty directions. Let’s work together, like the fasces. (Mussolini) Let’s join together and find joy in our work. (Arbeit macht frei). Socialism and communism are also in this camp.
The problem is not the pure concept. The problem is letting one person, or an elite (oligarchic) group of people, decide what is best for the rest. It is the hierarchy that is the danger. It is placing a certain class or group of people in a superior position to another group that is the danger. Heather says it several different ways, including:
“Now, once again, democracy is under attack by those who believe some people are better than others.”
So while I understand the demonization of the word “fascism” as a shorthand label for Mussolini’s Italy, I encourage us to look deeper to find the true roots of the problem.
Heather expresses it beautifully in this article, and that’s why I’m stating my love for her.
People joining forces for the common good is the underlying principle of fascism, communism, socialism, et al. The principle is at worst neutral, and at best brilliant. And then, as in all things beautiful, it gets corrupted by greed and self-aggrandizement. Republicans, the extremist wing, obviously know better than we do what’s best for us as a society. Whites first. Males superior. Straights over non-straights. Reactionaries from the past, a past that we know does not work.
Others: Putin’s band of reactionaries wanting to recreate Tsarist Russia. China’s Orwellian society. The USA’s capitalist economic system that puts laborers at the bottom, underpays them, and allows an elite few to exploit their work by becoming billionaires.
"I hear a lot these days about how American democracy is doomed and the reactionaries will win. Maybe. But the beauty of our system is that it gives us people like Doris Miller.
Even better, it makes us people like Doris Miller."
Inspiration is what we need. Thank you Heather. What a gift to us. 🙏❤️ “When the going gets tough, the tough get going”. How many times I heard that as a child. We, all of us together, can do this. Much respect to Doris Miller and John Lewis. I’m in it until the end.
In a country of Ted Cruzes and Josh Hawleys, be a Doris Miller.
Thank you for this powerful letter, written on what for me is always a complicated commemoration. My late father was white, and his father served as a chaplain in Europe during World War II. My mother, who became a naturalized US citizen in 1961 (several years after moving here with my dad), was born in Japan. When the Japanese military attacked Pearl Harbor, both my parents were just 10 years old, but living in vastly different worlds. My dad told me as the war progressed, he used to keep a map and put a thumbtack on places where the good guys scored another victory. My mom, the youngest in a relatively big family, saw her brothers go fight in a war that, I think, permanently scarred my oldest uncle. When he finally came back, he swore he'd never kill another living thing.
I'm also thinking of Edward Snowden and Reality Winner who put their lives on the line to expose government lies. One is exiled and the other is in prison. When we point to Putin's administration as corrupt, we must look in the mirror.
I hear the call to action in this piece and yet I find myself very unclear about what effective action looks like at this time. In a future article, please outline what history tells us effective organizing against the sort of institutional sabotage we are seeing. What are the ways ordinary citizens can resist the moves of State Legislatures to disenfranchise voters? What kinds of protests move the needle on public opinion? Short of civil war, what are the arenas in which conflict can be decisive in favor of democracy?
Check out others' expertise. David Pepper is a lawyer/politician/academician who just wrote a book, Laboratories of Autocracy: A Wake Up Call From Behind the Lines. His book includes 30 steps to save democracy at the federal, state, and individual level. Here's
an interview of David Pepper by Ruth Ben-Ghiat, an expert on autocracy:
The experts' simplest advice for resistance is to register register register more voters. Join organizations such as League of Women Voters (lots of men there, too). David Pepper also reminds us to support local and state candidates, even if they lose, because it's a stepping stone to winning the next race, bigger and better.
There is lots to be done to prevent and mitigate autocracy, including passage of federal voting rights legislation, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
And after those voters are registered then make sure they can get to the polls. Organize shuttle services on election. Help people fill out a ballot.
And I know people don't believe this any more but I do. Write write write or call your State, Local and Federal Representatives. They might not read or hear your message but someone gives them the tallies of feedback. Many times I will get a letter back concerning the issue I wrote about.
"...the proper response to this concerning state of affairs is for Democrats to do everything in their power to place law-abiding Democrats in key election positions and in state legislatures. There are several organizations that focus on state elections and would welcome the opportunity to channel your nervous energy into victories at the state level. Readers of this newsletter are heavily involved in Sister District, which is actively recruiting volunteers to help with all phases of the 2022 election. A reader sent the following note:
'Our flagship electoral program works to get Democrats elected to strategic state legislative seats by supporting campaigns with grassroots action. We “sister” volunteers from deep blue districts with carefully targeted races in swing districts, where flipping control of the state legislature will advance progressive policy. Our volunteers canvass, phonebank, write postcards, text bank, and fundraise for candidates. We welcome volunteers and candidates of all genders!'"
Please, everyone, carefully read Ellie Kona’s response three levels down, about Robert Hubbell’s post today which contains very specific information about Sister District, an organization I had not heard about until this morning when I read his letter for the day. It is time for every single one of us to think, move and respond like Doris Miller…. get to “the gun” and do what you/we can to defend that which is worth defending. And of course I am not referring to a real gun, I’m talking about ALL of us DOING absolutely ALL that we can do now that we are actively under attack. I, for one, am signing up with Sister District today.
As Phil Ochs put it so eloquently in his song "The War is Over", "But just before the end even treason might be worth a try. This country is too young to die.". Those words make me cry. Every time.
Do we depend on the Dems to save us? With the likes of Trojan horses gumming the works? As a lifelong Democrat, I have hope but still see the MSM catering to the evil. If business is with the democrats, maybe. But so far it’s been a crap shoot.
Like most if not all of Heather’s readers, I think our democracy is in jeopardy. As much as I hope she will continue to enlighten us with an aggregation of current news stories and historical perspective on them, I hope we can now move on to finding ways we can mobilize to stem the tide of autocracy. I’ve read some good ideas in these comments. Perhaps we could start a cumulative list and then commit to taking grassroots action, each of us as we are willing and able. Here are some suggestions, some of which have certainly been suggested before: donate to progressive political candidates at every level of government, volunteer for their campaigns, donate to the League of Woman Voters, apply to be an election judge, make sure everyone you know gets to the polls and votes in every election (even elections for dog catcher), call and write your elected representatives, write to your local newspaper, show up at demonstrations against hate and for good causes, attend school board meetings. Please add suggestions and please commit to taking at least one action to support democratic institutions every week or at least every month. We can do this!
I have been exhausted since last year so its been hard to mobilize again although I know we must! One thing I did that does help is set up
automatic monthly donations to various Dem organizations especially When We All Vote and Stacey Abrams org Fair fight, The DCCC and to Democratic Governors even $10/month helps. This way I am still consistently supporting without burning myself out.
Of course you are correct historically, but I wonder if that’s true anymore. Notice how our current president is the former VP under Obama. And every time I think of Kamala Harris now, I wonder if she’s being groomed for president as well. VP is as close to President as you can get, and I’m wondering if now people are beginning to think of it as prime résumé real estate for getting you into the Oval Office. Just thinking out loud 🤔
Agreed. A week or so ago, there was a thread going in here about polling and people talking about how they are never polled, or never answer their phone and wondering where these polls come from. I mentioned that early in my retirement/pandemic, I discovered surveyjunkie.com which pays you to answer polls. (very little money, I might add, but poor eyesight doesn't allow me to read all day long and I'm not a gamer) Most of the surveys are on financial products, cars, and restaurants, although you do get to voice opinions on possible upcoming products. Sometimes, you get linked to a university study. And there are the political polls! (oh how I love to strongly disapprove of tfg!!)
One poll that I participated in was rather long, it was showing videos and arguments for/against 5 possible female VPs to run along with Biden. I don't recall who all of them were, but Abrams was one as was Harris. I went with Abrams for my choice, but as part of the poll inquired at the end, I admitted that I would vote for Biden regardless of who his VP choice would be.
Kamala Harris had previously run a poor Presidential campaign and alienated her entire staff with her personality and her use of her sister as one of the leadership of the campaign.
Brava for you! As has been repeatedly observed, apathy is our greatest danger. You recognized your own exhaustion, in which you are far from alone, and took action anyway!
Oh, your very last line: "Even better, it makes us people like Doris Miller." Brilliant!
That's the human being I aspire to be -- even in my old age! I will demonstrate, shout out, and stand up to any totalitarian wannabe until my last breath! I did not immigrate to these United States to be engulfed by the fangs of power-hungry, right-wing authoritarians who worship at the altar of trumpism and its evil bigotry.
My thanks to you, dear Heather, for each letter, every sleepless night, and your passion for the Truth.
We can see how Heather toils for our enlightenment, since she posted this after 3:00 a.m. Like you, Rowshan, we must give this fight every ounce of energy in order to deprive TFG and his cohorts (and handlers) what they aggressively demand. This country hit the jackpot when you, and others like you, decided to call it home. Thank you for your forceful call to action.
Thank you, Nancy and Fred!
So well said, Rowshan Nemazze.
It's so important to help people get to the polls. Thank you!
The dumbest thing Hitler ever did was to keep his word for the one and only time he ever did, and declare war on the United States. Had he kept his mouth shut, FDR could never have gotten a mostly-isolationist Congress to unilaterally declare war on Germany. We'd have fought in the Pacific and send Lend-Lease to the USSR and British, and sometime in 1947-48, after the Soviets crushed the Nazis (let's remember that 80% of the deaths in World War II happened on the Eastern Front), the "iron curtain" would have been drawn along the shore of the North Sea, the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay. And if the Japanese had been smart, they would never have attacked Pearl Harbor and the Philippines, but should have invaded Malaya/Burma and the Dutch East Indies, because that isolationist Congress would never have gone to war to defend the British and Dutch imperialists.
If World War II had to be fought, we're lucky we fought it against right wing morons like the Japanese, the Germans and the Italians.
And Doris Miller was killed almost two years to the day after Pearl Harbor, when the escort carrier USS Liscombe Bay he was then serving on, was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine during the Gilberts campaign. escort carriers were designated CVE (carrier, aircraft, escort), but the crews said it meant "Combustible, Vulnerable and Expendable." They were made by Henry Kaiser from very cheap high-sulfur steel, which caught fire when hit. The ship sank in less than 5 minutes, taking down 70% of the crew with her because they couldn't get out of the below-decks. Ever after, CVE crewmen slept on the hangar deck, or the weather decks of their ship.
The next big nuclear-powered Navy aircraft carrier in the Ford class will be the USS Doris Miller (CVN-81) scheduled to be laid down in 2026, launched in October 2029 and commissioned in 2032. She'll be built at the Newport News Shipbuilding Company in Norfolk VA. The first cut of steel was this past August 25, with six members of his family present. The carrier will be the second ship named for Miller, who won the Navy Cross for his actions at Pearl Harbor; the first USS Miller was a destroyer escort
Wow, a history lesson badly needed by all. I have always thought that the Pearl Harbor hit was the only thing that could have United a splintered country. Hate to think what it will take now. Go, all the Doris Millers out there, and we are legion.
Thank you for that info about honoring Doris Miller with a ship. A very proud moment.
TC, thanks for the info on the soon to be USS Doris Miller. So glad his family could be present for the first cut.
Among the Pearl Harbor docs played yesterday I watched one which showed that many of the American war ships damaged on Dec 7 were salvaged and repaired and then used to fight and defeat the Japanese. And it is clear to me now that we also need to salvage and repair what is left of American democracy in order to fight the evil of today, at home and abroad.
Amen!
Thank you, TC.
Great addendum to Heather’s letter, TC. Brings tears …
Thanks TC, I pay special attention to your comments because I learn so much from them.
I pray that the spirit of men like Miller is still with us and that his strength and sacrifice will inspire our generation and those now among us to fight the forces of authoritarianism while we still have a chance. It currently seems like a race to the bottom for democracy as we struggle even amongst ourselves to forge a coherent front against the oligarchs, kleptocrats and sociopaths. I will shamelessly allude to our cherished hiostorian and mentor and say 'hang together in trust or alone if we must.'
Thank you, TC.
Daria - If you happen to see this, would you please contact me at David@StClairLLC.com? It's about my sister who live is Merida, and who also loves HCR's Letters... Thanks!
TC very cooool and let's have faith that both war histories can make Americans realize how close the earth came to being taken over by Germany Adolf Hitler, and Italy's Benito Musalinii and Japan's Hideki Tojo. This could be a hopeful step forward that the United States was so loved after world War two and now China And Russia who Americans helped are now wondering what we need to do to make earth safer for all humanity, we are all earthlings except HCR who came from another galaxy to encourage us from Maine?
Who knows where Maine is located? MY GOOD PAL Callihan was from Maine and super smart must be the DNA mixed with Canadians.. THANK A VETERAN TODAY FOR ALL THE TRUAMA AND PAIN ENDURED FREEDOM IS not free
Thanks for the history, TC. I have a friend (a Black sailor) who introduced me to Dorris Miller back in college. Always an inspiration, but even so, this is more detailed information than I ever got from my PO2 friend.
Thanks for the additional footnotes to history TC. Another question I have is just how integrated is the Navy right now? What is the percentage of POC and women and of other minorities in the upper ranks of the navy or commanding battleships?
I don't know those specifics, but it's more than it was in my navy.
Thank you TCinLA for that.
Re the new USS Doris Miller, if we don’t rise to the assault on our nation, this warship will likely have another name and mission.
We cat people can do it!
Thanks TC…could this be an interesting storyline for a movie? The world should know about the bravery of Doris Miller. Thanks to you and HCR for sharing.
Excellent assessment and thanks for the little known facts.
TC, your encyclopedic knowledge instructs all of us. Thank you.
Flattery will get you *everywhere* Nancy! :-)
Thank you again, HCR, for weaving a tiny historical footnote into a grand lesson putting current events into historical context.
Yes, western liberal democracy, hypocrisies and all, is still better than 1930's Axis fascism. And we need to keep in mind that the decidedly un-democratic Soviet Union had as much to do in defeating Germany as the Allied democracies. Maybe more. Had Hitler not invaded the USSR and instead focused his resources on occupying Great Britain, WW II would have taken a different course. But, instead, Hitler demonstrated that it is the arrogance of fascism that is the usual cause of its inevitable downfall.
I'm always impressed, and not a little ashamed as a white person, by the selfless heroism of African Americans and other minorities. In war, and in the daily peacetime battle just to live. Had Doris Miller survived the war, what would he have come home to in 1945, even with his medals and citations? Jim Crow in the South and the same, but more subtle James Effington Crow Esq, up north? What would his bravery, initiative, and intelligence, (on his own he figured out how to operate and anti-aircraft gun unit under less than ideal conditions,) have gotten him back home?
We've come a ways since 1945, but often it's two steps forward, one step back. The one-step-back crowd is in ascension again, and again, it will be their arrogance, and millions of Doris Millers, of all colors, that will be their downfall.
“Thank you again, HCR, for weaving a tiny historical footnote into a grand lesson putting current events into historical context.”— perfectly said🌿
It really does make one wonder how many men who were heroes of that nature came back to the US and were Jim Crowed into subservience again.
We can only hope, pray and act!
Nothing to do with politics, but a memory came up on my FB page yesterday. On 7 Dec 2016, I had the honor of meeting and speaking with a very special member of the Greatest Generation. They are somewhat revered in our military community, and this Devil Dog was no different. This Marine’s name was Edgar Harrell. He was one of the last remaining survivors of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis at that time. I was in awe. These men, these survivors, went through a hell that most of us cannot begin to imagine while in the water for 4 days waiting for rescue. Mr. Harrell was a quiet man, very unassuming, very polite. Everything that embodies all of the WWII veterans, both men and women, that I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting and talking to. But this was a man that survived one of the most extraordinary events of the war. After delivering the atomic bomb to Tinian, on their way home, they were struck by a torpedo, sinking the Indianapolis, killing thousands, and then were forced to survive dehydration, starvation, sharks, and their own injuries while tied together in the ocean.
Anyway, I got way off my topic. I apologize. The reason this memory is so special this year is that Mr. Harrell passed away several months ago. At his passing he was the last survivor of the Indianapolis. Now, they are gone, their voices are silent. We must carry those voices on, so that they never truly die. Veterans like myself, and in my community, pass these stories on, and keep telling them. It’s our way of letting them live on through us. There’s a saying. “A hero never dies until their name is spoken for the last time.” Edgar Harrell’s name will be spoken by me to keep his memory and experiences alive time and again. Til Valhalla Marine.
I lost a friend this year as well; he was a clarinet player in several of the bands that I played in. The marching band; depicted in my photo here, had as its signature tune "Loony Tunes"; Mike would always end it with a very high descending chromatic scale, which sounded like someone laughing. When he had to stop playing, I began doing the same thing, only in the lowest register that I could play, ending on a pedal BBb which would be on the 7th ledger line below the bottom of the bass clef staff. Mike was about 5'6" and was a platoon leader in one of the airborne divisions that jumped onto the beaches at Normandy. He held the Silver Star (V) and the Croix de Guerre for earlier service. No services have yet been held. He buried his wife and 2 of his sons prior to his death.
It’s very sad to witness the loss of this generation of Americans. They are quite irreplaceable and we could learn so much from their sacrifices during that time. I’m so sorry for your loss.
I wonder if he and my dad knew each other. Dad was jump master on one of those planes and was dropped onto Normandy (off course) in the early hours of D-Day. He was head of communications and reported directly to Colonel Sink. I'm sorry about Mike. Dad passed away in 2012. He had a Purple Heart, the Bronze Star and the French Foreign Legion Award.
Comradery and peace.
Ally, I tried to copy and paste but the memoir is locked up in a PDF and I can't. So, I am writing here what I tried to paste, in case you recognize the name of either of the platoon leaders mentioned. This is the memoir of Delmar Harmon. He and dad were in the 506 Regiment, 101st Airborne.
Here you go: "That evening while it was still daylight we went to the airfield. We had an overstrength platoon of 64 while the normal strength was 54. Since a C-47 held 18 to 24 men (depending on distance they had to fly and amount of supplies to be dropped), our platoon took most of three planes. Lt. Reader had one plane load, Lt. Mellon a second and Master Sgt. "Bobby" Plants the third." (My dad was "Bobby" Plants. This was the night of June 5, 1944.)
Hard telling; Mike's last name was Reuter...
I doubt it, then. I knew of the two platoon leaders only through that memoir. I have all my dad's WWII stuff and that includes handwritten lists of the men involved in the jump with details of all the equipment assigned to each one, etc. Mike would probably have similar information for those he led but the two would probably never have had any actual info on each other and would have been working, at best, in tandem. Thanks for responding back!
Thank you for sharing this, Ally! What a gift, this friendship you and Mike shared.
Beth, thank you for sharing the memory. And, thank you for your service.
I have a friend that had a brother that died in the boming of the USS Indianapolis. His last name was Lamb.
There's a great book on the Indianapolis.
Mr Harrell wrote one called “Out Of The Depths” on his experiences. It’s available on Amazon and is a great read. Some parts are difficult to read because of what happened, but worth every word. I was lucky enough to purchase it and have him autograph it the day I met him.
Yesterday, on the 80th anniversary, I watched this 1-hour documentary on the USS Arizona…all new and very touching to me!
https://wwiifoundation.org/lesson/elvis-and-the-uss-arizona-coming-soon/
On December 7, 1941, we had invited, for Sunday lunch, Nancy Alvord, whose husband was a pilot on an aircraft carrier stationed in Pearl Harbor.She was devastated by news of the Japanese attack. She did not know that aircraft carriers were out of Pearl re-enforcing American islands. Six months later, her husband, and all but one pilot in Torpedo Squadron 8, were lost at Midway.
Before December 7th there was a strong isolationist movement, America First, headlined by Charles Lindbergh. It promptly dissolved and later Lindbergh, the Spirit of St. Louis pilot, served his country in the Pacific. America joined together to fight a war for democracy.
In sharp contrast, today we are nearly two years into our pandemic war in which we have already suffered far more than twice the deaths from WW II. At the outset, Trump not only failed to mobilize America for this war, he also deliberately deceived Americans about the nature of this war. He spearheaded a campaign both to minimize this war and to mock one of our citizens’ first lines of defense—wearing masks.
Even now Trump’s sycophants are saboteurs in this pandemic war. The anti-vaxers and anti-maskers are headed by some Republican governors and politicians. Federal efforts to enforce vaccination are blocked in court by Republican politicos. The stalwart efforts by the Biden administration to turn the tide in this deadly pandemic war are being stymied and virus infections and deaths are on an upward trend.
I experienced WW II where a united America won a war against tyranny. Why can’t we unite and win the fight of a pandemic war that is already far more costly to our citizens?
The two year time frame prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor is of interest where understanding where we are now is relevant.
During that time, as Hitler openly rounded up Jews and as France happily participated in routing Jews out of their apartments and homes In Paris and first put them in the Velodrome and then put them on trains to Germany, the American government, with full support of the American people, refused to provide refugee entry to any number of ships carrying Jewish people.
So, HCR writes a beautiful essay today on how we all, ostensibly, were brought together in battle to protect Democracy. Yes, but, those soldiers were brought together by a forced draft.
100% of army units were segregated. 100% of the Navy was segregated. Even air force pilots as they thinned out at the end of the war in Europe, were segregated.
That America, the one where EVERYONE supported segregation, and EVERYONE supported blocking hose Jewish refugees, both North and South, is not gone. It has not vanished.
And it will not vanish soon. Donald Trump resurrected those many Americans whose voice in that matter were sort of muted by the Civil Rights movement.
However, as HCR does poignantly point out today, those who are pushed aside in segregation still have a modicum of a chance, if luck and hard work are applied.
For that reason, America is still worth supporting.
I agree with her, with some caveats I will keep to myself in light of her letter today.
Those interested in more information about the French response to Hitler's clarion call might be interested to watch
"Sarah's Key", (it used to be on Netflix and may still be there).
a movie capturing what the French response to Hitler's call for Jewish elimination and who fully supported Hitler's cleansing early on, did during WW II to the Jews in Paris.
The film is based on the book "Sarah's Key" by Tatiana de Rosnay. It's a wrenching story which I highly recommend reading. Who knows how well the film hewed to the original book. When checking to verify the author, I saw that "Sarah's Key" is also available as an audiobook.
Another heartbreaking book is an unfinished novel written by author Irene Nemirovsky, Suite Francaise. She was rounded up and sent to Auschwitz where she died. Her husband was also rounded up and murdered. His afterword details their outreaches for help, with rejection after rejection. Their daughters were hidden, survived, and published her book. It, too, was made into a movie.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00329UWIG/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
(Link for reference, but please support your local booksellers.)
My go-to for books is Barnes & Noble - I very rarely order anything through Amazon. When possible, I order a book directly from the publisher as I did for the award-winning book "Becoming American" written by a friend of mine who was born in Austria, to Holocaust survivors, shortly after the end of WW II. Please consider ordering from his publisher and reading it. https://carylowewriter.com/
I remembered the epilogue better. It was letters that Irene and then her husband wrote to her publisher, friends, and authorities begging for help. Her husband gave their young daughter a suitcase that contained the manuscript, which the daughter had published 60 years later.
It's on Amazon Prime. Ack! Its full of film advertisements.
Mike, not everyone supported segregation or anti-Semitism, but way too many quietly accepted it as a societal norm, and refused to speak out against it. I think Dr. Richardson made that point yesterday in her "Politics Chat" when she said the time has come to call out those who are trying to cripple democracy, and to vocalize what America stands for.
I’m so sorry that after all you’ve been through and done, you’ve had to see this.
To witness in the USA how readily the hate simmering always on the surface or near to it can possibly predominate; to witness how a mass of human beings can be propagandized and proselytized by deeply disturbed malefactors -- of this, too, we bare witness. How the ground was laid and how the 'leaders' who seeded and grew it -- this, too, is part of America's story. What of the lies and mythology constituting America's greatness, wealth and might sowed this evil as well? We are players in the story of good and evil.
'...bear witness.'
Will history write…what?
It might take another Pearl Harbor, sad to say.
Liked “Even now Trump’s sycophants are saboteurs in this pandemic war.” Well said.
Keith,
We cannot successfully fight the pandemic as long as the anti-vax campaign is the political weapon employed by the Republicans to overthrow democracy.
We cannot defeat the pandemic as long as many millions of Americans believe Trump's Big Lie.
We cannot recover as long a significant number of Americans see their identities tied to Trump. He and the Republicans, the vast majority of them, have put the American people on a death march. It is the civil war of their making.
Who can survive it? We need a way to reach more Americans. This is already tragic beyond measure.
'United States leads the world in the daily average number of new infections reported, accounting for one in every 5 infections reported worldwide each day.'
'United States is reporting 120,653 new infections on average each day,...'
'There have been 49,460,930 infections and 794,067 coronavirus-related deaths.' (Reuters)
https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/countries-and-territories/united-states/
The most insane thing in my long life, and I have seen plenty
Dan Rather wrote a piece about this that is worth reading.
https://steady.substack.com/p/dec-7-1941-and-today
Always liked Walter and Dan. Dan was the first journalist that Rupert Murdoch tried to smear after Walter retired. He was not the last.
We live in a home built in 1922. Franco confiscated it in 1936. Down the street is a school that was a women's college. Franco turned it into a women's prison. In one of our parks there is a memorial to Anne Frank and a tall metal piece of iron work with the years that Franco was in power. Here in Spain, the older remember. Spain is a young democracy with 5 main political parties. Spain is watching the U.S.. Vox - an extreme far right party - is now the third largest party. What happens in the U.S. will have a global effect. Why are so many American's silent? Why are there seemingly so few calling out the lies? The deceit? The corruption? Why are so few writing to papers to demand they actually print ¨all the news that's fit to print¨?
Why aren’t we all calling out the lies?
We don’t all hear them, of course.
We’ve been trained to ignore lies by the Advertising & Marketing industry.
Many of us think the synthetic chemicals in our perfumes, colognes, hair/skin/body care and laundry/cleaning/air deodorizing products smell like the ad says or at least that they smell good instead of the big, fat, toxic, highly profitable joke that they are.
We often buy these and other products to help us cope with the frustrations of life because the ads say so. We’re tired that our efforts seem to get us nowhere and just tired in general. It’s no secret that a large number of the middle class have been reduced to low income due to stagnant wages / salaries adding to the collective stress.
TV shows, movies, & ads add to our stress & dissatisfaction by making us think that we need so much stuff to make us happy. So we buy more. Landfills everywhere are loaded with the remains of our attempts.
Now our air has become polluted with consumer products such as fragrance and plastic/petroleum product chemicals containing hormone disruptors & neurotoxins, the quality of our food has taken a nosedive, as it too is polluted.
Our produce is coated with herbicide & pesticides, our grains are tainted with pesticides, our meat & poultry are tainted by antibiotics and added hormones, our seafood contains micro plastics and heavy metals, and the majority of grocery stores contain man-made products labeled as food.
Our water quality varies across the country in part due to quality of pipes that carry it as some are made with lead, a substance known to cause brain damage, and some water comes from wells and reservoirs which have become tainted by toxic man made industrial chemicals and micro plastics.
Rates of cancer have increased as have all kinds of autoimmune diseases/disorders and mental health issues.
Our healthcare professionals have been trained to see people as a collection of parts and focus on treating disease for profit and not helping people maintain health, because healthy people aren’t profitable.
TV, internet, & cell phones have replaced face to face human connection which is dangerous because it diminishes our ability to empathize and respect others. They also allow us to filter out what we don’t want to see our know except the ads & marketing that is designed to reach us.
And despite being a very diverse nation with a lot of women in positions of power and authority, much of our world is White and male-centric and biased against non-Whites and women.
It is no wonder so many of us are filled with doom and gloom and blind to what’s happening around us.
Not to mention the lies of the fossil fuel-based industries about climate change.
The search for truth is consistent throughout. As we navigate a pandemic I think about the efforts to expose the tobacco industry’s lies and where progress has been accomplished, albeit at a snail’s pace (or maybe two steps backward for every three forward). Technology certainly has complicated undue influence. The cherry picking of facts to build a false thesis certainly has taken on an art form.
Exactly. Ad & Mkt industry has studied and learned well. They made it an art form which bad actors in politics, government, etc have learned and used against the masses.
So true, I use Roku a lot to avoid advertising. I remember when it was 15 seconds for 15 minutes, a minute for an hour. I’m really old. I cannot tolerate the constant infomercials, much less the constant blather that people like Andy Cohen have brought to tv. I even remember when A and E didn’t show the worst of us. I remember when PBS was a true public station. Republicans couldn’t stand it, so crap rules way too much. When it became obvious that FB and Twit tolerated treasonous trash, had to go back to reading.
I also use Roku, never watch "live" tv - record the shows I want to see & fast forward thru commercials etc. I've never been on FB or Twit or any of the other "social" media stuff. The so-called "reality" shows? How can anyone with most of a brain stand them? Reality? Really?
Sorry - this is more of a rant than an actual comment. ALWAYS read HRC letters & a lot of the comments - not all anymore - too many! I do feel right at home here.
Oh & still making my way (slow) thru Blowout. Of course I've read several novels in between. But the information in Rachel's book is downright depressing - the unlimited corruption that was and IS in our government - corporate lobbyists etc etc etc. It makes me more pessimistic than ever thinking about any change.
I enjoyed Twitter but hated the hypocrisy of their “community standards” which chump and plenty of republicans laughed at for most of his term. I saw a joke about how Twitter followers like the people they don’t know better than the people they do know on FB. Something to that. As for reality shows, they exacerbated the dumbing down of the whole tv scene. Survivor started it and all went straight to the bottom. Same with game shows in my book, but boy do they have a following.
not blind means wadding in information that is a serious mental challenge. You pretty much laid it all out. Been treading water for 40 years. I used to think only Bill Moyers noticed.
... speaking of blindness, let's look at the destruction of fertile soils needed to grow healthy food - and, in the context of conflict with Mother Russia, who in this world is working to regenerate the soil, engendering food independence which is key to human/planetary health, economic integrity and global governance:
Food Independence & Planetary Evolution: Zach Bush, MD | Rich Roll Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3aOQ0N74PI
((1:29:50; 1:30:23 - 1:33:00; 11:43:10 - 1:52:30))
_____
... and, in response to doom and gloom, answers to apathy:
FARMER'S FOOTPRINT - A PATHWAY TO HUMAN HEALTH AND F.O.O.D. I.N.D.E.P.E.N.D.E.N.C.E.
https://farmersfootprint.us
https://community.farmersfootprint.us/
https://community.farmersfootprint.us/feed
https://business.facebook.com/farmersfootprint/?business_id=76&fref=mentions
https://www.youtube.com/farmersfootprint
_______
A Kinder Way to Farm: Farmer’s Footprint + Regenerative Agriculture
https://kindhumans.com/kindhumans-blog/a-kinder-way-to-farm-farmers-footprint-regenerative-agriculture/
Yes, exactly. We are what we eat - toxic.
The lies have a bull horn going 24/7. Rupert Murdoch - and his international reach is hard to calculate. ATT even funded a Fox clone. The democrats are screaming in a vacuum, and MSM is playing both sides, knowing full well what both sides are. “Global effect” - beyond calculation; my reps are evil, but there is a tinge of purple. So many will go about their day, pretending all is well, until it isn’t.
It seems more that the Dems are whispering while the others are screaming.
EXACTLY
" Why are so many American's silent?"
Well, that answer is fairly straightforward (from my perspective).
Roughly half of America agrees with the Franco's, the Hitler's and the Mussolini's of the world, i.e., Donald Trump.
After 40 years of lies and propaganda, started by Ronald Reagan's "welfare queen" anecdote around welfare, and 25 years of Fox News lies and propaganda painting "Dems" as communists,
plus America's own long standing, bipartisan, north and south, racism and segregation supported by (all white people in north and south).....
Now?
White people have been made afraid that everyone not like them are communists trying to steal their money, which, they all imagine came from their own highly talented efforts and hard work (which is a lie to themselves).
So, if one adds up all the lies of the last forty years white folks have been inundated with or told themselves?
The sum of that addition is hate.
Thank you for mentioning Reagan as being the “welfare queen”. Every time someone has mentioned that he was the greatest orator of our time, I want to scream and puke! He really is the one who began our democracy demise.
No, Reagan did not begin our decline.
We did it to ourselves.
I voted for Reagan at age 20. I was from a farm and I bought into all those lies, from Reagan, about "fiscal responsibility". Reagan had painted Jimmy Carter as fiscally not responsible. Carter, who ran more than a balanced budget, he paid down WWII debt.
WE, including ME, did it to ourselves.
I think/ hope that your statements are hyperbole. I don’t think half of Americans agree with the fascists..nor that all whites are sold out to them…too many are, but it is not yet unrecoverable. I also know several who were trump supporters who have been positively influenced by Heather’s letters. I repost them everyday on LinkedIn, because it has become a right wing cesspool of authoritarian Q thinking- have to take the shots we are given!
"Trump won 74,222,958 votes, or 46.8 percent of the votes cast. That’s more votes than any other presidential candidate has ever won, with the exception of Biden."
https://www.cfr.org/blog/2020-election-numbers
Those people, who voted for Trump do not think of themselves as fascists. That does not mean they are not fascists.
68% of Republicans believe Trump won. Believing a lie is a fascist trait.
So, we are talking about 0.68 * 74 million = 50 million Americans who are behaving as if they are fascist.
So, you are write, it is not "half of America". That was not statistically valid.
50 million Americans are behaving as fascists behave.
Tim is asking to us to see light where there is light and to work toward creating more -- not in the least to lose the reasons we have to fight the far-right, the white supremacists and all who would strip us of our right to govern.
I'll join in to do what I can to help stop fascism from overrunning America Fern. Definitely.
However, with Fox News working for Putin now, with full time fascist propaganda demonizing Democracy and those that support it?
And with white folks feeling good about finally not having to hire black folks or Mexicans when they don't want to again?
And with the ongoing segregation that is built into America?
It is hard to see how the few thousand folks reading Dr. Richardson's column overcome the current trend.
But, I am working on it.
Good morning, Mike. I am trying to understand your response to me. First of all, I read Tim's response to you in a positive light. He thought you were writing off all the people who voted for Trump in 2020 and that were at least X% Americans acting like fascists. He gave an example of a few people he thinks were turned around my HCR's LFAA's letters. I agree that's a pittance. The example he gave didn't imply that the Letters could influence a large number, only that he thought the numbers in each camp are not as fixed as you presented them to be. Reports are that a large number of Trump's followers may be more hardened now than they were 6 months ago. It's no secret, that our division is deep and dangerous. From Tim's point of view that is not a reason to give up trying to reduce their numbers or to give up on finding strategies to connect. For instance, why aren't more Democratic Party operatives in the lands of the MAGA? With safety in mind, can Biden spend more time in rural America, too? Does the party and the administration have people who just work on strategies and actions to be better known in MAGA land - live there and listen to the people? Does the party and administration have a sense of how much time needs to allocated for this - maybe not much - maybe more effectively? Do they know how to improve their messaging? Do they have the right talent to do that? Messaging needs to be improved all around.. What about the Independents? They comprise the largest voting block...and so on. I hope that I got the meaning of your message.
Thank you Mike 🙏
Totally agree Tim.
Maybe not half of Americans, but certainly close to half of white people for sure.
I would say close to half of America. Very very close.
74 million voted for the White Racist, 81 million for Biden. Extrapolated to the general population, that’s 48% of the voting public went for the criminal, should-be registered sex offender, racist, sexist, homophobe. it’s easy to say “they just ignore the parts they didn’t like.“ But it’s probably more factual to say they voted for that because they approve of it. If you want to be conservative, maybe 40% of America is in the wrong camp and on the wrong side of history. That is our country, racist and sexist to the core.
Yes, but, more folks are sort of starting to see history and the reality of what we created here and how much damage it has wrought.
However, way more folks are still in the "oh no, a black person just moved into my all white neighborhood, yikes!"
btw: I find that this type of reaction is MORE likely up here in Rochester, NY than down south in Texas.
... hate, rooted in blind ignorance and fear - here in the "land of the free, home of the brave" ...
We do have a responsibility to democracy here as well as abroad. Anne Applebaum has continued to bang the drum about world democracies needing American support. Jennifer Rubin bangs the drum for democracy at home.
@Gailee Walker Wells, Thank you for saying this. Where is the best place for an ordinary American who may not be s great writer to communicate that yes these sre Lies! so the rest of the world might hear us?
Thank you for your input from Spain. From over here we saw the news that the Vox leader was at the meeting in Warsaw recently along with Orban and LaPenne. It was the first time that I had ever heard of the Spanish leader. It seemed to me that Orban looked tired and nervous and that the European press was making fun of of them all. Here in the US the political “show” is insane but the feeling on the streets is very serious. Four years of Trump and two years of pandemic have worn people out but I get the sense that many Americans are more aware of what is going on now than before. So yes maybe Americans seem quiet right now but I think that many average people are watching things very closely and with serious concern.
Thank you, HCR. Sadly, a real danger is apathy. The majority of Italians and Germans were not Fascists or Nazis, just ordinary people who thought "This will pass". Suddenly, those ordinary people wake up to find out it's too late. We need to raise awareness wherever we can, encourage people to vote, use the system against those so determined to break it..Before it's too late
It's not just apathy, I think it's the way people look at people with power and money
Before my two friends put a moratorium on talking politics, I had a conversation with one of them about the lawsuits that the former guy was bringing and she said she saw no reason why he shouldn't be able to do that because he has money.
I asked why should someone with money be able to bring lawsuits that are bogus and costs the taxpayers money to fight them and her response was that people with money always get special treatment and that's just the way it is.
And I think a lot of people think the same.
I'm done trying to talk to my older group of friends, they are from the past time when who you voted for was pretty much a personal thing and you really didnt talk about politics at least not with casual friends.
Hell, I can talk to them about growing and using pot more than politics. Weird.
So I'm using my energy to talk to the younger people. They are the future. They are the people who will be in power when my grandson gets to be their age.
Also, it's sad, the young people (mostly male) who wanted Bernie back in 2016 are still holding a grudge about that. Two of them refused to vote in 2020 because according to them, the system is rigged.
On top of the big lie, we have the little lie still hanging around.
Here in NV, we are still under a mask mandate so it's hard to get people to go out into the streets and make good trouble.
I want to make good trouble while I can, but that time is slowly coming to an end as my husband's disease progresses.
So I'm going to spend a lot of time writing letters to the editors of my local papers and to help my local Indivisible group anyway I can, except for being on the phone. Worked too many call centers and I avoid the phone like the plague.
Beth, so sorry to hear about your husband. :-( As if things are are not stressful enough for people who are aware. Good luck to both of you and, like geese in flight, many of us take turns at the front. You deserve to conserve your energy, slip back a little in our formation to glide in the wind reduction we will create for you.
Well said.
Very well said.
Beth, you're fighting on bravely while facing one of the hardest trials that life can bring. You're an example to us all, old and young -- and here Penelope Simpson Adams speaks for me and, I am sure, for everu one of us.
You tell us that "the young people (mostly male) who wanted Bernie back in 2016 are still holding a grudge about that. Two of them refused to vote in 2020 because according to them, the system is rigged".
When we're young, inexperienced and self-centered, when we haven't yet been put to the test like Doris Miller, we can easily be tempted to take wrong-headed, irresponsible decisions. Now, the struggle hasn't come to an end, it is only hotting up, and you aren't shirking your duty, you are holding the line.
Maybe older people need to tell youngsters who are giving up on their civic duty that they're too much like young soldiers who have seen defeat, caused in part by army bureaucracy and failures of leadership, and now intend to desert. This is OUR moment. This is the moment when old and young must unite as firm allies, disregarding cowards, defeatists and couch potatoes.
I've already told in these columns how, when I asked my father, who'd served as a British naval officer whether he had contemplated yielding to superior material force and suing for peace after the Dunkirk debacle. His reply:
"We knew we were up against a terrible enemy, we knew that the fight would be very hard and we would often face setbacks; but never for one moment throughout the whole war did I or my comrades doubt that we would overcome."
That spirit.
(Later, he was to serve on warships escorting supply convoys around North Cape to the Soviet ports of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk. Discouragements there too when, for instance, after braving Arctic ice and constant German bombardment to deliver a squadron of fighter aircraft requested by Stalin, they were told to take the planes back, they were "no longer needed...)
"Also, it's sad, the young people (mostly male) who wanted Bernie back in 2016 are still holding a grudge about that. Two of them refused to vote in 2020 because according to them, the system is rigged."
The Democratic primary in 2016 WAS rigged. Hillary was assigned all of the "super delegates" at the outset basically blocking Bernie from winning the nomination, which, had those superdelegates not been pre-assigned by the DNC, he WOULD have won.
He was fantastically popular on college campuses and with young adults and he had REAL, HONEST passion and was not saddled with a history of hiring law firms to destroy women his husband had abused or sexually assaulted.
I voted for Bernie in the primary and I used to be a Republican. Bernie was talking about free education and I personally think that is a path to huge economic success, LIKE IN GERMANY where college education is FREE. And like in Texas, where college education used to be nearly free.
Bernie would have beat Donald Trump in a landslide too. He knew how to fight Donald Trump.
The tragedy of 2016 is the the DNC ordained someone, Hillary Clinton, who was so widely despised on the right and the left that a clumsy, erratic, unintelligent Donald Trump beat her.
As my (voted for Trump) brother-in-law once told me: "Had the Democrats run any dogcatcher from any town in America against Trump, the dogcatcher would have won."
But, the DNC ran the one person who could lose. Hillary Clinton.
Mike, I'm from Bernie's state and I appreciate him very much. However, I have a slightly different take than yours inasmuch as Bernie was one of the candidates that Russia backed against Clinton, knowing full well Sanders would be an outlier. It is very unlikely that a Democratic Socialist would have gained the primary. Most voters don't even know the term but chill at the word socialist. I agree that Bill Clinton's shady past overshadowed Hillary. But she has been a tough politician and so condemning of Putin that he hated her and pulled out all the stops to foil her election. There is an issue we need to gather around. Russia did manipulate Trump's victory. It appears very much like Trump and other Republican leaders are in league with the evil oligarch. Despite the DoJ's manipulation of the Mueller report (under Barr), Putin is much more of a danger than Hillary ever was.
I think enthusiasm for Bernie is greatly underestimated. I attended a local rally for Bernie and the line went for 1.5 miles to get into the arena where he spoke. All young people except for my old self and another old friend.
Bernie would have, of course, been flayed by Fox News which is also supported by Russia.
Bernie would have been flayed by even the mainstream media.
However, Bernie had a true message that resonated with people, like me, who know that education is the most probable way poverty stricken people can rise. He KNEW this and communicated it.
He would have won. Many, many people would have heard his call over the noise of Fox and the Russians.
Hillary is actually the candidate that never had a chance. Even I despised her husband and her.
Nobody gets away with what she did forever. She destroyed the lives of many women with her attack dog NY Law firm she always hired to dump dirt all over the women who came forward to accurately and honestly accuse her husband of ether rape, abuse of power or harassment.
She never had a chance.
Bernie did.
I wish I could agree with you that he would have won, but that "S" word has been burned into the consciousness of too many Americans, and it would have been played to death.
I had/have no problems with Bernie, but I did and do with the "Berners." I've been around that type of lefty before and I would never do anything that would let any of those people within shouting distance of anything meaningful. They're "Left Trumpers."
It only took me two meetings out here, where the Berners took over, to say to myself "I've seen this movie before, and I walked out of it then."
Understood.
I heard only one thing Bernie was saying, which, honestly, is something that could remake the United States.
Free College Education.
Basically, the only reason I could go to college in Texas in 1978 was because tuition was $128 per semester.
Without that low cost bar I would NEVER have been able to work enough to pay for college.
Germany has it right. Education is free all the way through college.
This is why Germany will always remain an economic powerhouse.
Bernie Sanders can lead. Biden and Hillary Clinton, not as much.
Completely agree Bernie can lead although I think Biden is leading reasonably well.
I hope I've already replied to what you're saying.
I repeat:
Maybe older people need to tell youngsters who are giving up on their civic duty that they're too much like young soldiers who have seen defeat, caused in part by army bureaucracy and failures of leadership, and now intend to desert. This is OUR moment. This is the moment when old and young must unite as firm allies, disregarding cowards, defeatists and couch potatoes.
Bureaucracy and failures of leadership.
And don't get me wrong, I'd have voted for Bernie, regardless of "the wisdom of the wise". After all, he represented the alliance I'd been longing for between age and experience and youth, energy and enthusiasm.
But the struggle is for survival and we don't have the time or energy to waste indulging the luxury of bemoaning past defeats. Only to learn from them and move forward.
Understood. I completely agree.
That's a good point, about exhaustion. The barrage of hate Loser 45 spewed out while in office was a good reason to be put off "politics" - Let them get on with it, I want none of it, and so forth. You are right about the young, but they may well be hamstrung and made impotent by today's machinations. Don't give up on your peers, especially the Republicans (I am imagining the ones you speak to are moderate)
I don't have the excuse of working in a call center to hate using the phone. I never have cared for it, and find the prospect of making "cold calls" horrendous. Thanks for this post; we're still under a mask mandate as well, and I am itching to make good trouble.
For all my married life, I had to take the 24/7 hour emergency calls - both for my own work and also that of my husband. The phone was located on MY nightstand, and when it rang in the middle of the night, as it did often, it was always bad news. Always. So, I too hate phones. I put aside my antipathy a few years ago and ran a phone bank out of my house when Wendy Davis was running for governor and I vowed never to do that again. Even now, I prefer text to talk. When I do actually CALL someone (usually to check on them to see if they are OK) and my call is ignored or just goes to voice mail, that adds yet another reason not to use the thing.
Beth, good to hear your voice and wisdom again. It seems that getting powerful words like yours into local papers is very much good trouble. Thank you! ❤️🙏
Your spirit elevates mine. We learn by persisting in our support of the rights and needs of all. We are not alone as we work for justice. As a caregiver for my husband for a long time my commitment was strengthened when I could look beyond my circumstances. Cheers to you Beth and to your husband.
You speak wisely , Beth.
I have found people want to be left alone and not think about politics. The Pandemic, constant barrage of negative media and the hate rhetoric of some politicians has people worn down and apathetic towards politics and the threat facing this Democracy.
The Republicans game of creating chaos and confusion is working. People are checked out. I admire your enthusiasm but do not know how to break through apathy.
Everything you say is true. People are exhausted, battered by false rhetoric A Bannon tactic. I was reading an interview with him in which he revealed that his private opinions are far removed from the face he presents in public. The problem is, it is working. If moderate people don't wake up to the very real dangers we are facing....
The evil we see is the evil he is
He believes in what he is saying. I don't believe him for 1 minute. Do you?
Meaning … what? Are his private opinions that democracy is great and should be preserved?
My experience as well. Apathy is expensive
"APATHY IS EXPENSIVE"
Perfectly expressed.
Thanks for the brilliant slogan, Jeri. Let's make sure it is used!
Even the world-weary care about the bottom line...
It is working on some, but not all . The “breathing space “ President Biden talks about is starting to show , a little. Remember , ships of state move slowly.
The midterms are 11 months away and counting. The Ship of State is headed for the rocks.
People have turned away because:
They are sick and tired of the pandemic being used as a political football.
States are establishing draconian voter suppression laws. Garland is seen as weak and ineffective.
Republican Congress members are willfully destroying decorum and impeding progress with impunity. Former Administration Officials are thumbing their nose at the January 6 Committee with impunity.
Roe v Wade is in peril.
Florida and Texas are their own mini-fascist States.
Personally I adore President Biden. He needs better messaging and needs to pick up his own political rhetoric game. The media machine in running all over him and his accomplishments. This is so hard to witness.
We are in a weakened state of duress. This is why Russia is saber rattling.
That 18 states have passed 33 laws that restrict voting for poor districts and communities of color, and give elected officials the power to certify votes- or decertify results that disadvantage the GOP- is absolutely cause for alarm.
On the other hand, these actions should inspire hope because they reveal that the GOP is deeply afraid of losing power and relevance in a country whose culture, values, and demographics are changing in ways they cannot stop.
The reactionaries in the GOP want the rest of us to believe their dominance of our politics and ultimately, our government, is inevitable. This is a deliberate strategy to instill two equally corrosive emotions in a democracy, fear and apathy.
Today's GOP is behaving like a rabid animal that has been cornered, fighting for their survival and infected with the virus of hate. Their strategy to take over America from the local level up should be considered dangerous and the authoritarian impulses that currently animate the party must be put down.
The best way to do that is use all the weapons at our disposal-- the ballot, strategic demonstrations, sending money to support candidates like Stacy Abrams to blunt the impact of dark money, and boycott companies who contribute to candidates who support the Big Lie and advance restrictive voting agendas.
Doris Miller's example shows us that we're only doomed if we fail to act. And the time to act is now.
I agree, Dave. But until those responsible for Jan. 6 are in handcuffs it will be business as usual.
I absolutely need to see this to convince myself that we are, still, a country with laws and citizens, rather than kings and tyrants.
Or, Kings and peasants
Not sure that the handcuffs matter that much in regards to the immediate saving of democracy.
We know right from wrong, handcuffs or not. Anyone that is arrested will scream that its the destruction of the country and coming of the rule of Satan, and about 40% of the country will believe it.
Getting the right people in handcuffs is absolutely necessary for our long-term stability, but I just don't think the DoJ can swoop in like superheroes and make it all better...the GOP will still be a cult, and still demand that its leaders follow through on plans to overturn the election.
The Senate MUST pass the Voting Rights Act. If it means suspending the filibuster, so be it!
And Biden said he is in favor of changing it or more.
Hey, Dave Reyburn, are you interested in running for Senate?
Ha! My pockets aren't deep enough for that path. But thanks for asking!
My father used to talk about Mussolini, Stalin, and Hitler. When he came from Poland as a young Jewish refugee in 1937, he wanted to give back to America for granting him freedom. After Pearl Harbor occurred, my dad saw the famous “Uncle Sam Wants You” sign so he enlisted in the Army. His goal was to be sent back to Europe to fight the Nazis but the Army sent him to Papau New Guinea to fight the Japanese. I have a little of his memorabilia but he didn’t keep much. He never spoke about what happened when he served or who he fought with. I wish he had because I always wondered if he was alongside men like Doris Miller. I imagine he did but that generation never really revealed much. They fought and then they came home to a ticker-tape parade because they all saved democracy from fascism. Can we do it again? This time we are trying to save what we have from our own people. The task at hand, is pretty darn scary but I have no intention of backing away or down.
You wrote: "that generation never really revealed much" and it is true. I just read a memoir from one of those patriots in the same unit with my dad that jumped on Normandy on D-Day. Dad was jump master and first out of the plane; this fellow was right behind him and wrote quite a bit about my dad in his memoir. Dad ended up as a POW in a German camp and was liberated by allies at the end of the war; this fellow fought the ENTIRE war in Europe, surviving every major battle, including Bastogne. When he came home, he said no one wanted to talk about their experiences because EVERYONE had a story to tell and no one really wanted to hear anyone else's sad story. So, they all kept quiet. I suspect that most, if not all of them suffered with PTSD their entire lives. My dad had horrible nightmares for years, but would never say a word about the war until "Saving Private Ryan" came out. That opened him up finally. That, and being tracked down by others in his unit who came to visit and thank him. Dad was in charge of teaching the battalion Morse Code and he was considered by them as one who helped save their lives.
That’s an amazing story, Ellen. At least your dad opened up about what he did for the war effort. My sister-in-law’s dad was a Japanese POW and was a part of the Bataan Death March. He never held any animosity towards the Japanese people, just the misguided soldiers. You are right though, every one of them had a story to tell. I am pretty certain both of my parents had PTSD as they were victims of the Holocaust. My husband is a Vietnam Vet so I am very aware of him not wanting to talk about his experiences. He had to write 3 incidences of what he faced for the VA to grant him any type of compensation. We had been together, at that time, for 30 years. It was the first time I was privy to that information. I just sobbed.
And Japanese Americans served too, courageously and valiantly despite our horrific treatment of them during a very stressful time (see Daniel Brown’s “Facing the Mountain”). Thank you for another thoughtful and important message.
Maybe it’s just me, but it seems that Heather has shifted somewhat over the last period of time. She is now consistently widening her viewpoint beyond just our national perspective. Not long ago she crafted a piece that highlights Putin and Russia’s menace. Today the centerpiece is Pearl Harbor, and the similarities between Mussolini’s Italy and NSDAP Germany to Trump + today’s Republican Party.
BRAVO 👏👏👏👏👏👏
I love you Heather. ❤️❤️
Because Heather likes history, even though I am not a historian I will add some substance.
The fasces is a Roman symbol, and perhaps older, of unity and strength. A “fasces” is a bundle of sticks. You can break one stick. Perhaps you can break two sticks together, but it’s harder. If you put enough sticks together and bundle them, they can no longer be broken. In other words, in unity there is strength. (perhaps also E pluribus unum)
So at its core, the essential tenet of “fascism“ could be used as a symbol of democracy. In fact, it has. If you look on the back of any Roosevelt dime, you will see a fasces. In unity there is strength. If we don’t hang together, surely we will hang together (if we don’t act as a team, we will suffer the dire consequences). FDR’s America followed by the Marshall Plan was our commitment to democracy expressed globally in WWII. That legacy ran wide and deep, and the consequences of that commitment will be felt for a long time to come.
Any pure and good concept can be abused. A would-be dictator can convince a people to be unified, for example, behind an unjust cause. Or he can direct that unified national team spirit in nasty directions. Let’s work together, like the fasces. (Mussolini) Let’s join together and find joy in our work. (Arbeit macht frei). Socialism and communism are also in this camp.
The problem is not the pure concept. The problem is letting one person, or an elite (oligarchic) group of people, decide what is best for the rest. It is the hierarchy that is the danger. It is placing a certain class or group of people in a superior position to another group that is the danger. Heather says it several different ways, including:
“Now, once again, democracy is under attack by those who believe some people are better than others.”
So while I understand the demonization of the word “fascism” as a shorthand label for Mussolini’s Italy, I encourage us to look deeper to find the true roots of the problem.
Heather expresses it beautifully in this article, and that’s why I’m stating my love for her.
People joining forces for the common good is the underlying principle of fascism, communism, socialism, et al. The principle is at worst neutral, and at best brilliant. And then, as in all things beautiful, it gets corrupted by greed and self-aggrandizement. Republicans, the extremist wing, obviously know better than we do what’s best for us as a society. Whites first. Males superior. Straights over non-straights. Reactionaries from the past, a past that we know does not work.
Others: Putin’s band of reactionaries wanting to recreate Tsarist Russia. China’s Orwellian society. The USA’s capitalist economic system that puts laborers at the bottom, underpays them, and allows an elite few to exploit their work by becoming billionaires.
Correction: “If we don’t hang together, surely we will hang separately.”
I’m only awake because I can’t sleep, and I’m not working until noon today.
Thank you, Roland. I always look forward to learning from you and gaining new perspective.
Hi, Roland!
You and HCR make quite the complimentary pair here.
Many thanks for another great read 👆🏻.
Here’s to wrapping the work day and catching up on sleep.
"I hear a lot these days about how American democracy is doomed and the reactionaries will win. Maybe. But the beauty of our system is that it gives us people like Doris Miller.
Even better, it makes us people like Doris Miller."
Challenge accepted. Thank You.
Inspiration is what we need. Thank you Heather. What a gift to us. 🙏❤️ “When the going gets tough, the tough get going”. How many times I heard that as a child. We, all of us together, can do this. Much respect to Doris Miller and John Lewis. I’m in it until the end.
In a country of Ted Cruzes and Josh Hawleys, be a Doris Miller.
Thank you for this powerful letter, written on what for me is always a complicated commemoration. My late father was white, and his father served as a chaplain in Europe during World War II. My mother, who became a naturalized US citizen in 1961 (several years after moving here with my dad), was born in Japan. When the Japanese military attacked Pearl Harbor, both my parents were just 10 years old, but living in vastly different worlds. My dad told me as the war progressed, he used to keep a map and put a thumbtack on places where the good guys scored another victory. My mom, the youngest in a relatively big family, saw her brothers go fight in a war that, I think, permanently scarred my oldest uncle. When he finally came back, he swore he'd never kill another living thing.
James Shaw, Anthony Huber, LTC Vindman all stood up! There are many more; we just need to find ourselves.
Yes! I'm also thinking of Sally Yates, Marie Yovanovitch, Fiona Hill..
I'm also thinking of Edward Snowden and Reality Winner who put their lives on the line to expose government lies. One is exiled and the other is in prison. When we point to Putin's administration as corrupt, we must look in the mirror.
Me too!!
I hear the call to action in this piece and yet I find myself very unclear about what effective action looks like at this time. In a future article, please outline what history tells us effective organizing against the sort of institutional sabotage we are seeing. What are the ways ordinary citizens can resist the moves of State Legislatures to disenfranchise voters? What kinds of protests move the needle on public opinion? Short of civil war, what are the arenas in which conflict can be decisive in favor of democracy?
Check out others' expertise. David Pepper is a lawyer/politician/academician who just wrote a book, Laboratories of Autocracy: A Wake Up Call From Behind the Lines. His book includes 30 steps to save democracy at the federal, state, and individual level. Here's
an interview of David Pepper by Ruth Ben-Ghiat, an expert on autocracy:
https://lucid.substack.com/p/david-pepper-on-us-statehouses-as
The experts' simplest advice for resistance is to register register register more voters. Join organizations such as League of Women Voters (lots of men there, too). David Pepper also reminds us to support local and state candidates, even if they lose, because it's a stepping stone to winning the next race, bigger and better.
There is lots to be done to prevent and mitigate autocracy, including passage of federal voting rights legislation, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
And after those voters are registered then make sure they can get to the polls. Organize shuttle services on election. Help people fill out a ballot.
And I know people don't believe this any more but I do. Write write write or call your State, Local and Federal Representatives. They might not read or hear your message but someone gives them the tallies of feedback. Many times I will get a letter back concerning the issue I wrote about.
Yes, and this is exactly what HCR says in her video chats, to make our voices heard to our representatives, to the media, and to our communities.
Ellie, here's the link posted in HH for detailed info on candidates across the country. Looks like a useful resource. https://lenspoliticalnotes.com/
Hi, Jan! Thrills me that we have more and more “TNs” here. 💙💙💙💙
and from Robert Hubbell's Substack of 12/7/21:
"...the proper response to this concerning state of affairs is for Democrats to do everything in their power to place law-abiding Democrats in key election positions and in state legislatures. There are several organizations that focus on state elections and would welcome the opportunity to channel your nervous energy into victories at the state level. Readers of this newsletter are heavily involved in Sister District, which is actively recruiting volunteers to help with all phases of the 2022 election. A reader sent the following note:
'Our flagship electoral program works to get Democrats elected to strategic state legislative seats by supporting campaigns with grassroots action. We “sister” volunteers from deep blue districts with carefully targeted races in swing districts, where flipping control of the state legislature will advance progressive policy. Our volunteers canvass, phonebank, write postcards, text bank, and fundraise for candidates. We welcome volunteers and candidates of all genders!'"
https://sisterdistrict.com/volunteer/
https://roberthubbell.substack.com/p/todays-edition-a-tale-of-two-presidents
Thanks Ellie. Rob Wittman is my Rep and he needs to go. I’ve been sending $ to his opponent and will be boots on the ground in May.
Please, everyone, carefully read Ellie Kona’s response three levels down, about Robert Hubbell’s post today which contains very specific information about Sister District, an organization I had not heard about until this morning when I read his letter for the day. It is time for every single one of us to think, move and respond like Doris Miller…. get to “the gun” and do what you/we can to defend that which is worth defending. And of course I am not referring to a real gun, I’m talking about ALL of us DOING absolutely ALL that we can do now that we are actively under attack. I, for one, am signing up with Sister District today.
Just did, thank you
Timothy Snyder is on substack as well with his list of ways to fight autocracy.
https://snyder.substack.com/
As Phil Ochs put it so eloquently in his song "The War is Over", "But just before the end even treason might be worth a try. This country is too young to die.". Those words make me cry. Every time.
Do we depend on the Dems to save us? With the likes of Trojan horses gumming the works? As a lifelong Democrat, I have hope but still see the MSM catering to the evil. If business is with the democrats, maybe. But so far it’s been a crap shoot.
Like most if not all of Heather’s readers, I think our democracy is in jeopardy. As much as I hope she will continue to enlighten us with an aggregation of current news stories and historical perspective on them, I hope we can now move on to finding ways we can mobilize to stem the tide of autocracy. I’ve read some good ideas in these comments. Perhaps we could start a cumulative list and then commit to taking grassroots action, each of us as we are willing and able. Here are some suggestions, some of which have certainly been suggested before: donate to progressive political candidates at every level of government, volunteer for their campaigns, donate to the League of Woman Voters, apply to be an election judge, make sure everyone you know gets to the polls and votes in every election (even elections for dog catcher), call and write your elected representatives, write to your local newspaper, show up at demonstrations against hate and for good causes, attend school board meetings. Please add suggestions and please commit to taking at least one action to support democratic institutions every week or at least every month. We can do this!
I have been exhausted since last year so its been hard to mobilize again although I know we must! One thing I did that does help is set up
automatic monthly donations to various Dem organizations especially When We All Vote and Stacey Abrams org Fair fight, The DCCC and to Democratic Governors even $10/month helps. This way I am still consistently supporting without burning myself out.
Stacey Abrams for President!!!
Biden missed a bet by not making her VP. Missed a huge opportunity.
I believe she declined his offer. VP, with the exception of Dick Cheney, is a ceremonial position. Abrams has greater things to do.
Of course you are correct historically, but I wonder if that’s true anymore. Notice how our current president is the former VP under Obama. And every time I think of Kamala Harris now, I wonder if she’s being groomed for president as well. VP is as close to President as you can get, and I’m wondering if now people are beginning to think of it as prime résumé real estate for getting you into the Oval Office. Just thinking out loud 🤔
Kamala Harris cannot win. She is a very poor organizer and and angers the people around her routinely.
Then we wouldn’t have her (hope and pray) for GA! Also, methinks Harris none to shabby. 😉
Agreed. A week or so ago, there was a thread going in here about polling and people talking about how they are never polled, or never answer their phone and wondering where these polls come from. I mentioned that early in my retirement/pandemic, I discovered surveyjunkie.com which pays you to answer polls. (very little money, I might add, but poor eyesight doesn't allow me to read all day long and I'm not a gamer) Most of the surveys are on financial products, cars, and restaurants, although you do get to voice opinions on possible upcoming products. Sometimes, you get linked to a university study. And there are the political polls! (oh how I love to strongly disapprove of tfg!!)
One poll that I participated in was rather long, it was showing videos and arguments for/against 5 possible female VPs to run along with Biden. I don't recall who all of them were, but Abrams was one as was Harris. I went with Abrams for my choice, but as part of the poll inquired at the end, I admitted that I would vote for Biden regardless of who his VP choice would be.
Wasn’t her time. YET!
The thing is, history is not kind to bad choices.
Kamala Harris had previously run a poor Presidential campaign and alienated her entire staff with her personality and her use of her sister as one of the leadership of the campaign.
Biden should have learned from that information.
Brava for you! As has been repeatedly observed, apathy is our greatest danger. You recognized your own exhaustion, in which you are far from alone, and took action anyway!
That’s a great idea, Cara. Automatic to avoid overwhelm.
Information on Democratic candidates all over the country. Pretty detailed. https://lenspoliticalnotes.com/