"He has tried to install a loyalist as the top lawyer at the National Security Agency, either to burrow him in or to get the green light for dumping NSA documents before he leaves office..."
Real question: Given Trump's ignorance for the protocols and processes of government, as well as his disdain for expertise beyond his own (limited) knowledge, could he really have made the decision to bury poison pills in the body of government?
Of course, this is but one example. His broad use of "acting" secretaries and appointees, his announcements by tweet to fire the Secretary of Defense and others, his selection of clearly unqualified nominees as advisors, diplomats, and judges, and his subversion of normative actions like VP Pence overturning Congress's certification of EC votes stand out as egregious violations of effective government or good executive management. Do you really this Trump is/was smart enough to make these happen?
If there is indeed a "deep state" it is those with much greater knowledge of how the government bureaucracy works, who understand the difficulties of dislodging certain appointees, and whose real purpose is to burrow into the minutes of government administration and seek opportunities for disruption. Trump's limited attention span and his propensity to flit from topic to topic according to the whims of his stream of consciousness are surely tracked by a cadre of people whose job it is to say, "hey, how's about we try this?"
Stephen Miller is a malicious and malevolent individual, but he's smart enough to obsess over ways to pervert practical or moral policies in search of ones to do the most harm. It's no surprise that people with even a residual of morality or self preservation have bailed out, leaving Miller, McCarthy, McConnell, and others like them, to be the sweepers behind the elephants of Trump's brain.
I'm hard pressed to give credence to the notion that Trump is some evil genius, or I should say I believe he's evil but no genius. Trump's been enabled by smart, even capable malcontents who've hidden behind the skirts of his outrageous addiction to being the biggest, the best, and seeking credit for everything he thinks he can get away with. Biden's team, especially the Department of Justice, as well as the House and Senate judicial, intelligence, ethics, and rules committees, must take stock how Trump came so close to undermining damn near everything we might have believed to be good and Constitutionally directed government. They must act to install implants to replace the teeth of the law, and must determine how to give Constitutional powers the means to enforce adherence to, and compliance with, the rules and demands of lawfully convened authorities.
Trump will surely, and rightly, shoulder the blame for this Administration's fiascos. However, he shouldn't receive the credit for masterminding the undoing of America. He's just not that sharp or attentive, unless it's to discern personal slights. He had help, and those people should be hung in the gibbets outside the White House, Congress, and the Supreme Court to remind us not to let this happen again.
Spot on! But Steven Miller may only be Trump’s handler and is likely not alone. This was a long and well planned attack on democracy. Trump is an idiot and no way do I get convinced he had the intelligence to plan or executed this on his own. I fear the head of the snake is still out there and unknown, regrouping and grooming their next Trump. Bannon, Barr, Murdock, Miller. ... watch the dark money.
Elaine, Hawley has exposed himself as a power hungry monster. Willing to do what it takes to take up the mantle of what is left of tRump's supporters. We can see him coming and we can stop him. He is a good example of what is bad about naked ambition.
My political awakening came with moving to MA 40 years ago almost to the day. I discovered CVW soon after. His work helps to reduce my ignorance, which is a lifelong struggle.
Maybe just Trump's square. But could that be part of the strategy? Motivate the activists. Country askew. Meanwhile, sneak... And the money trail goes where? Shell companies. Foreign governments. Very rich people. Maybe we can invent a game called, "Follow the Money."
Stephen Miller has a lot of evil on his account. He is far from alone. One of the maneuvers the enablers like McConnell are already trying, is to limit the blame to a few visible people like Tя☭mp himself and Miller, and avoid their own responsibility.
Someone asked on Twitter what Stephen Miller's next job would be. One of those "wrong answer only" questions, but I think I may have gotten it right: Summer Camp Counselor for kids of parents that hate them.
Sharon, I only had just so long to write this reply as I was on my way to Physical Therapy!!There are no doubt dozens, if not hundreds, who we've never heard of but have twisted minds and moral vacuums.
Bravo, Scott. You have managed to articulately convey what I have been saying for his entre term. He is horrifyingly ignorant, but manipulative, and has been coached - probably since before his "birther" schtick against Obama. The attack against Barack Obama played well with the racists in this country and helped him to build his base. His bromance with Putin certainly casts suspicion on Russia as being involved in his assault on our country and its Constitution. The evil, but sophisticated people who surround Trump have been playing "hey, what about this" since his unfortunate election and have utilized him as a useful idiot.
Every time that Trump and his loyalists, along with media groups like Fox, brayed about the Deep State, I knew that they were representing the real Deep State.
I agree. Trump and his loyalists represent the real Deep State. Le Carre moles embedded in our government destroying, eroding, trashing, assaulting our institutions and Constitution from the inside. Domestic terrorists. Our elected representative enablers let it happen giving them free rein--no pushback--putting party before country to further their own political future>power, $$$$$. Pence, McConnell etc etc. Now they self-servingly scramble to rehabilitate themselves to appear statesmanlike and be on record as defenders of the Constitution. Really? Couldn't stand listening to McConnell. He's got a good authoritative voice and picks the right words which to the gullible give him credence. Fortunately Pence miscalculated and is toast. Was in waaay over his head, peeing in his pants for 4 yrs hoping, waiting for providential guidance, yet with ambitious overreach with eye on being president. He would have been a calamitous one. Can Schumer stand up to machiavellian McConnell? Not be outmaneuvered? I worry. Late comment...distracted trying to keep up with unfolding events.
I thought exactly that back in the '70s, when his cruel, unethical exploits first were published. When his plans for running for the presidency were first announced, I scoffed. Silly me. What most of us didn't consider was that malicious entities were acting behind the scenes.
What is really upsetting is how easily the masses are entertained. All that we wanted was tRump to continue to stir us up. And it is what we got. Massive amounts of entertainment that almost destroyed our Republic.
Deutsche bank isn't the one supporting all tRUMPs entangled empire. he claimed $430 millionin debt which maybe DB was stupid enough to lend him but considering all his bankruptcies and the number of payoffs he's had to make AND the fact he's still breathing means the Russians want the access someone as stupid as him can provide.
Well, I agree with that. But there are so many others with skin in the game, and they all seem to be using each other. I am trying to understand this. I would be happy to discover that Stephen Miller is THE problem. But what about all the others? Paul Manafort, for example.
I can't answer that with a list of names but I think I have just lived through 4 years of "It Takes a Village to Dissolve a Democracy" and we've only squeaked by. If Miller wasn't the main driver, then at bare minimum, throw in Steve Bannon, and all of the dark money backers into the mix.
The dark money suppliers are prime here. Putin has certainly done whatever his hackers can to push Tя☭mp along. Don't forget all the minions who didn't last - Jeff Sessions got the anti-immigrant horrors started, and had the Justice Dept depart its original mission of protecting civil rights.
Nope, not being used. He is the co-architect of kidnapping children from their families. 640+ are yet to be found. His co-conspirator, Jeff Sessions. Stephen Miller’s Jewish parents and relatives disowned him as his grandparents were Holocaust survivors, as were mine. He and his wife just had a baby girl. Let that sink in.
It is horrific but he is very useable. I think the worst thing about evil is it’s lack of passion. He seems like he would fit quite well in the coat pockets Of power.
Is it not just possible that even if one has only been in post 1 day that there is a personal, financial or other advantage when your "resignation" is requested the next day. It would very much be in their mould...doing favors for friends and clients at the publics expense!
My concern is that his mission in his one day is to destroy various records and files that would be seriously damaging to the Trump administration if uncovered. Even one day’s access could destroy a lot, especially if you go in with a list.
I have thought much the same these last 4 years, and while Trump will likely fade into oblivion, maybe even jail, those handlers aren't going anywhere. They will find some new nasty way to worm their way into the graces of the next narcissistic POTUS-wannabe or the like. This isn't their endgame.
As we have recently found out, there are “unqualified” people who are entrenched in government jobs now. Biden cannot simply remove some of them but he can make their lives miserable. Their jobs are secure for at least two years but he can make it where they get a paycheck by simply doing nothing. Maybe people will be hired to quietly harass these jerks into quitting. That’s my hope anyway...that we play dirty to get them out of government.
I join the many other readers who have chimed in. There is no way Trump came up with the various hamstringing, burrowing, and despoiling moves, whether in the last weeks or throughout his "administration." Certainly Miller or other headline names could have come up with one or another nefarious idea. But it seems to me the more likely sources of long-term plans to either keep government bodies as useful servants, and/or undermine their power and utility are the raft of various shell-bodies set up to plan and implement the plutocracy. The name list of these think tanks, business associations, public interest groups, etc. has shifted over time. But the money behind them has had consistent, familiar names: Koch, Mercer, Mellon Scaife, Thiel, DeVos, etc. It is definitely not paranoid to think that these people have hired lots of skilled, industrious planners whose goals are definitely not for the benefit of the bulk of the population.
I agree. Trump has his enablers, but there is enormous power and money at the root of all of it. His obeisance to Putin is also concerning, and I can't help but wonder where he could fit into the picture.
It is of course possible that Putin has been an enabler, but I haven't seen anything documented to suggest he has felt the need to inject any capital into the fray--beyond funding his troll farms, of course. I think he has just seen Trump as a pretty much free gift that keeps on giving. In contrast, for active support for everything from campaign donations to ALEC essentially writing laws locally and federally, see Mayer's "Dark Money" and McLean's "Democracy in Chains." For a brief, more recent take on the usual suspects, see:
Thank you for the suggested reading. Since it's late, I'll open the link tomorrow morning. I doubt that Putin has invested any money, but he has some hold over Trump, and it wouldn't surprise me if he promised some future business opportunities. As for dark money, I have no doubt that it is a major factor in this nightmare. We know that these businesses are desperate to maintain their stranglehold and not give an inch to citizens who might interfere with their control. Anyone who thinks otherwise hasn't been paying attention.
However, that last sentence "...those people should be hung in the gibbets outside the White House, Congress, and the Supreme Court..." It's rhetoric like this that inspired me to end my subscription to the Wall Street Journal when Obama was president. Page after page of similar comments. It's rhetoric like this that the rioters chanted as they murdered police and destroyed the doors and windows on January 6th. Sadly, I see a lot of that rhetoric in these very replies to Letters from an American.
While we all may feel the same angst about our nation's politics, we would be better served if that kind of talk was toned way down. The quote above would be normal for (soon to be) Mr. tRump. Why stoop so low as to match it? Just think of what comments like that coming from POTUS did on January 6th.
Tom, good point. I was thinking of it less as the specific act of retributive violence than I was a memorable reminder that bad behavior has consequences.
Sabine, I'm not prone to paranoia, or at least I haven't been up until now. And even though a read many a political thriller and thought, yeah, that COULD happen, it wasn't until now that it not only could, butt probably has, under this Administration.
Yes, it feels like we've all landed in the wrong movie. And sorry, I did not mean to be offensive with the paranoid - I sometimes doubt myself if I'm paranoid or not.
This letter should be read in every high school history class this morning and reprinted everywhere. It is a stirring and sterling affirmation, in razor-sharp focus, of all that we are, what we are not, and all that we could be.
We are indeed stepping away from the abyss on Jan. 20, 2021.
Yesterday HRC sent out an email with a request.
"If you have one or two favorite letters from this series, which are they? And if you have an idea of it, can you say why you liked them?"
Today's letter, hands down, is my favorite. My reasons I stated above.
The school district I work in has tied teachers hands to not talk about these current events or the inauguration. Today. But the high school current events teacher is a friend and I so love that she, and her also history teacher husband, are huge fans of Dr Richardson and read her work everyday. Their hards are tied today. But not on Wednesday or in lessons to come. Yes! This should be read by every student! Including adults that need to be schooled!
That has been going on for many years. Teachers who come to the attention of right-wing parents who listen to a steady diet of Limbaugh and FOX News often manage to get teachers reassigned to a different subject area in order to hold truth at bay.
Yah. I remember that my daughter in middle school, about 7 years ago, when the class was tasked with writing an essay on the evils of bullying, was forbidden to write about how incessantly gay students are victimized. No reason given, just the Kafka-esque reason, "Your topic is is inappropriate," nothing more. Location: Dekalb County, Georgia.
This has gone on for decades. In the 80s, and when I was a brand new teacher, a group of parents made my life hell by spreading around that I was teaching witchcraft. Through some Halloween stories out of a children’s magazine — that was in the school
Library, no less! I covered the present oak election that year, too, with debates, voting, etc. They analyzed everything I did to make sure I gave accurate information on both sides.
Fast forward to just a few years ago and I was doing an student observation in a high school current events class. Teacher is known Trump supporter. Classroom full of Hispanic youth and some migrant students and DACA. All with their heads hung while teacher praised Trump for whatever she was teaching. I reported it to admin who did nothing.
That's a nightmare, Tricia. Good for you for reporting to Admin. Would your teacher's union have a rep. that could have spoken with the teacher? I know since I retired, many states have now not permitted teacher unions. I taught in NJ and we had strong NEA unions for our local school district, our county and for the State of NJ. I can imagine the whole witch hunt thing must have been horrible for you as a beginning teacher. I'm so sorry you had to go through that.
We do have strong union. Yet there is also a strong Trump supporter presence within our teacher body if you can believe that. Stickers on trucks and cars in parking lot. It's unbelievable. And the community is poverty, majority hispanic, and parents who keep quiet about most things.
What a combination! This country has so much work cut out for us to overcome all of the lies and conspiracy theories. I'm sorry Tricia. One thing we can focus on and that is that Betsy D. is gone! (Leaving damage in her wake.)
Dare I say this is why students don't know anything about their country's history? Because telling the facts is considered subversive or is against someone's (parent, administrator) worldview?
No "dare" involved there, Kathleen. That has been the issue and about the same time, along came "No Child Left Behind" and teachers lost curriculum time to prepare students for the State mandated tests each and every March. It didn't take long for 8th grade students to reach us with a very deficient, anemic, information base. Not long before some of them decided it was smart to storm the Capitol building too. Reverse evolution.
It should have been called "No child left with a mind." Even on its shiny surface, it was a corrupt idea based on the premise that children would be better educated if teachers had to do more paperwork. Underneath, of course, it was a way to undermine public education.
What I describe was going on in 2004 and 2005. I taught English, and the Social Studies teacher on my team was reassigned the next year to a Science assignment in a different school. That's how long this has been going on. Those were the build up years of Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck and that type of talk radio.
Yes, Elaine. An Executive Order came down demanding that any discussion of racism, sexism, and oppression by white Americans in education--not only in Student Affairs programs but also in classrooms--be "limited" and that the "other side" (the supposed glories of white men, I presume) be added, and students are given leave to complain about instructors who talk about racism, etc. This was supposed to support the deranged administration's "1776 Project." It was a clear effort--just before the November election--to hamstring all of us who teach social justice, race history, etc. issues. It will be canceled by Biden but who knows when that will be able to happen with the sewer pipe flood?
Wow, this angers me. But probably shows my naïveté. Public education in this country is funded by taxes collected from property owners and some general taxes collected by the Feds. As a contributor through the property taxes levied on my home, my opinion is that it seems completely inappropriate that this direction (order) could be enacted without input by those directly affected. Meaning the school staff (administrators and unionized), students and their parents, and community members who provide financial support. I can see it more possibly in the private school setting, even parochial. But public school? Devos 😠
My children are grown and it has been a long time since I attended school board meetings, but perhaps I need to again.
Yes. From Trump--so can be rescinded. It got dumped on us in September. Although initially supposedly relating to "diversity training" for staff and students, it is interpreted by my university's lawyers to include classroom teaching as well. Here is the information we were given about what we are going to have to "clear" in order to teach:
"Additionally, upon further review of the EO, we are providing notice that any employee of the University planning to apply for federal grant funding for a purpose that includes (but is not limited to) the “promotion of divisive concepts” as defined within the EO (see below) should take care to review the parameters of the grant and any related contracts to ensure that these parameters have not been revised because of the EO or do not prohibit such promotion.
"Further, should faculty choose to discuss what might be a “divisive concept” (see below) within the classroom setting, the position of the faculty member as indicated through presentation and discussion must be communicated in a manner that is “objective” and “without endorsement.” This provision of the EO is currently in effect, and if violated, can be reported for investigation to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), possibly resulting in adverse action against the University, which may include loss of federal grant funding or student financial aid.
"Possible concepts that may be considered “divisive” under the EO:
*Implicit/unconscious bias
*Institutional/structural racism
*Critical race theory
*Privilege based on race/ethnicity or sex/gender
*Colorblindness/encouragement to be "color-blind"
*"Aspects and assumptions" related to race/ethnicity or sex/gender
*Confronting "whiteness" or "maleness"
*Oppression of others by members of a specific race/ethnicity or sex/gender
*Responsibility for actions committed in the past by members of a specific race/ethnicity or sex/gender
*Indicating the successes of a specific race/ethnicity or sex/gender may be related to their identity rather than hard work, perseverance, etc.
*Indicating the challenges faced by individuals of any specific racial/ethnic group or sex/gender are due to their race/ethnicity or sex/gender
*Ascribing character traits, values, moral and ethical codes, privileges, status, or beliefs to a race/ethnicity or sex/gender, or to an individual because of their race/ethnicity or sex/gender
*Assigning fault, blame, or bias to a race/ethnicity or sex/gender, or to members of a race/ethnicity or sex/gender, because of their race/ethnicity or sex/gender
*Any claim that, consciously or unconsciously, and by virtue of their race/ethnicity or sex/gender, members of any race/ethnicity are inherently racist or are inherently inclined to oppress others, or that members of a sex/gender are inherently sexist or inclined to oppress others"
My colleagues and I are effectively trying to ignore this but it isn't clear when the Biden Admin is going to get around to rescinding this over. In the meantime, colleges and universities can be accused of non-compliance and can be threatened with a loss of funding. In addition, this EO was greeted with glee by Republican legislatures, which want to enforce it.
Wow. And, at the university/college level, too, hamstringing the academic ‘elites’. This is where the silencing of free thought (let alone critical thinking) begins. I can only imagine the lengths you and your colleagues have to go the fly under the radar, Linda. We need to see that this EO is moved near the top of the stack and rescinded along with all the others
I have some good news for everyone to report (wow: GOOD news!). Included in the SEVENTEEN executive orders Biden plans to sign today is one rescinding this EO. Someone was paying attention. Thanks everyone for your outrage and your encouragement. It has been a very long 4 years. My hope is that the state leg doesn't try to make this a law in Missouri--they are a bunch of cynical twits but I am hoping they don't try to embed Trumpism into their own (neofacist) agenda.
This entire thread about restrictions placed on teachers with regard to teaching current events, civics and fact-based history is extraordinarily disconcerting - alarming, actually. I knew about some of this, but not all that is mentioned here. It is extremely important to pay attention to School board elections, but it often takes some effort to get accurate information about candidates’ policy positions and party affiliation. There seems to be a lot of effort that goes into hiding candidates’ platforms or, at a minimum, to obfuscate. I don’t have school age children anymore, so I have to actively seek out accurate information about candidates from friends and community members. It is worth the effort to do that research, though, because school boards not only impact the schools, but their influence extends to the wider community.
I agree. I offered two of my favourites but this one is up there with them! I told HCR that some of her letters I liked the most were where she told us she was choosing to rest, but offering a peaceful, hopeful photograph to keep us going forward.
I ask those here in the know about what can and cannot be taught in our schools, would/could there be a ban on teaching the Constitution document? For those students who ask, is there a ban on providing links, say, to Letters from an American, for them to pursue on their own?
For many years, by Federal law, every school that receives any federal funding is required to teach the Constitution every September 17. I can’t speak for other states, but Albuquerque schools had to document their efforts and the district had to report to the state. As an elementary school librarian, I was tasked with teaching the whole school during library class. I kept it simple during the primary grades, but by 5th grade I was listing and explaining the Bill of Rights (they had a hard time with the 3rd), as well as also outlining the responsibilities of citizenship. By 5th grade, these students were full of “I know my rights!”, but I appeared to be the first to point out responsibilities.
In general, even without state pressure to limit what history can be taught, teachers are hamstrung by lack of time to cover it. It’s different in wealthier schools, where students start kindergarten well-prepared. I taught in 100% free lunch schools, where toxic exposure and lack of time/parenting skills sent us too many students who didn’t recognize letters and numbers. There, the focus on test scores to avoid school punishment was so high, we lost too much instruction time to test prep, leaving little for science and history. When they got to middle school, those teachers had to cope with the absence of the knowledge they should have gained in elementary school, and it snowballed from there.
Yes! Agree today’s is at the top. My favorite line is about skin in the game. I’ve used that often in my career and now I love it even more — democracy is a skin in the game endeavor. Love it!
The Soviets and Nazis rewrote National history to serve their ideological aims. Our nation needs to reinvigorate teaching history and civics so that we understand the full scope and complexity of the American story and how to sustain a vital democracy. Thank you for your letters to America
Me too, Elaine. I read that Report yesterday, and suddenly I was back in elementary school with its textbooks and tests at the end of the chapter. School did not teach me how to learn. I want my time back!
Me, too. I was in my 30s before I learned of the imprisonment of Japanese Americans in WWII -- and I grew up next door to a Japanese American woman who was in one of the camps for the duration.
Me too. And (unsurprisingly) I learned it from literature. It completely slayed me, to think back on my classmates of Japanese descent who probably had parents who were interned. And these families, to my child’s eyes in the 60’s. were just participating in the society with hard work and good endeavor, although they should have been murderously bitter.
I don't know. But in order to ask her about it, I'd have had to know it existed, and it wasn't covered in any of my history classes, even in college. Sad.
In some ways, attitudes are worse today, at least for those who manage to justify bigotry. In the '50s, it was unthinkable to believe that our country had any stain. Today, we have to know better, so there is malevolence, not naivety, involved in denying anyone's rights.
Yes, but in teaching history and civics, it should be done in a manner that makes it at least as important as the STEM area of learning, which necessarily receives so much emphasis these days.
HDR -- Did you start out intending this post to be inspirational? Because it was. As sobering and depressing as it is to see the need for National Guard protection of our National and State Capitol Buildings, you helped remind us of the many who have devoted their lives (and often given their lives) to the ideals of "...justice and equality before the law." Tonight's post called to mind the MLK, Jr quote that that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” -- My hope for my daughters and their children is that the arc bend a bit more quickly in their lifetimes!
Morning, all!! Morning, Dr. R!! Fabulous Letter today. I'll take it all...the good news and the bad.
I am inspired by these words from the Rev. William J. Barber, II of the Repairers of the Breach to "be the nation that our documents claim we are."
Nikole Hannah-Jones, author of the NYT 1619 Project, begins her essay telling of her father's allegiance to the American flag: "My dad always flew an American flag in our front yard. The blue paint on our two-story house was perennially chipping; the fence, or the rail by the stairs, or the front door, existed in a perpetual state of disrepair, but that flag always flew pristine. Our corner lot, which had been redlined by the federal government, was along the river that divided the black side from the white side of our Iowa town. At the edge of our lawn, high on an aluminum pole, soared the flag, which my dad would replace as soon as it showed the slightest tatter." She ends her what I call Forward to this 5-part essay thusly:
"We were told once, by virtue of our bondage, that we could never be American. But it was by virtue of our bondage that we became the most American of all."
Members of the President's 1776 Commission Not one historian. Most members of radical right-wing Conservative organizations
Larry P. Arnn Founder, Claremont Institute. Trustee, Heritage Foundation President, Hillsdale College: …he recalled that shortly after he assumed the presidency at Hillsdale he received a letter from the state Department of Education that said his college "violated the standards for diversity," adding, "because we didn't have enough dark ones, I guess, is what they meant.”
Carol Swain Former professor, conservative commentator. Swain called the re-election of President Barack Obama in 2012 "a very scary situation".[2] She argued that civil rights leaders like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton had used the shooting of Trayvon Martin to increase voter registration for the Democratic Party....
Matthew Spalding Professor Hillsdale College. Fellow at Heritage Foundation and Claremont Institute
Phil Bryant Former Governor( R) of Mississippi
In 2015, Phil Bryant refused to support legislation to change the flag of Mississippi to remove the Confederate battle saltire.
Jerry Davis President of College of the Ozarks
Michael Farris CEO of Alliance Defending Freedom, a right-wing Christian conservative group.
Gay Hart Gaines Republican fundraiser and activist
John Gibbs Trump nominee to head Office of Personnel Management.
On four occasions, he spread the false claim that John Podesta, the chairman of Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign took part in a "Satanic ritual”
Mike Gonzalez Spokeperson for Heritage Foundation
Claims Critical Race Theory “..has nothing to do with advancing any individual or family.” Claims it’s a stand in for Marxist politics.
Victor Davis Hanson Hoover Institute Hanson is a supporter of Donald Trump, authoring a 2019 book The Case for Trump.[21] Trump praised the book.[21] In the book, Hanson defends Trump's insults and incendiary language as "uncouth authenticity", and praises Trump for "an uncanny ability to troll and create hysteria among his media and political critics”
Charles Kesler Claremont Institute
Peter Kirsanow Lawyer Republican appointee to NLRB Testified for Roberts and against Kagan for Supreme Court
Thomas Lindsay Director Texas Public Policy Foundation Former president of Shimer College Removed after a vote of no confidence.
Bob McEwen Former Republican Congressman from Ohio and lobbyist, including for Cote d’Ivoire strongman Koudou Laurent Gbagbo who was later tried by the International Court.
Ned Ryun Founder and CEO of American Majority. “Conservative Christian”.
Julie Strauss (Levin) Attorney, Wife of Mark Levin.
Thank you for your informative research. The world would be a better place if each of these individuals decided to move to a desert island, with a one-way ticket.
Preferably one with no indigenous inhabitants, no flora, no fauna, and no potable water. They can then proceed to become the cannibals that at heart they have always been.
I'm not sure that the inclusion of historians would change things much. With apologies to HCR my undergraduate years as a history major lead me to believe that all histories are fiction. They tend to be written by people trying to prove a hypothesis or promote a position. From Homer on historians have had an axe to grind. My view of what makes historians relevant is that they usually provide food for thought rather than absolute truths. Like HCR, they often are good observers and communicators. The America-is-wonderful history of my youth has given way to a focus on the wrongs of the past. I have no doubt that pendulum will swing the other way. And back. if we make it that far.
Histories may necessarily be fiction, insofar as objective truth is impossible to obtain, especially when we are trying to recount events where multiple observers were present. But that does not mean that we cannot more closely approximate an accurate account of what did happen and what did not. Just as an opinion is not a good argument unless it brings reasons and evidence to support its claim to describe something we call reality, so can different histories be judged as more or less accurate: how well do they comprehend first-hand accounts, if we have them? How well do they either reconcile contradictory reports or explain why some are more or less accurate than others? Do they come from sources previously unheard from? Awesome! As in science, the more perspectives available, the more likely it is we can find a theory/narrative that is something like whole, in the human sense. Which is always partial and fallible.
I am not a historian--except of ideas to a point--but I do study rhetorical theory, and the techniques for evaluating textual evidence are cross-disciplinary to a large extent. One can understand all texts as fictions to a certain degree, but historical documents will have behind them all sorts of different reasons for existing as they are. The context surrounding each and every document holds clues as to its reliability: does it agree with other accounts? If not, does it refer to other viewpoints and furnish a basis for its own, or is it a lone counter-assertion? Where did it come from? Does it contain evidence of bias strong enough to call its reliability into question? And if it is seemingly anomalous, is there a good historical reason for its lack of corroboration?
One might think, for instance, of a culture in which writing did not yet exist but which was involved in the historical event being examined. Most existing written accounts will not originate with that culture, but others might come to light after those have been registered: from spoken testimony, perhaps, or even from non-discursive, graphical renderings that, at first, do not seem as useful as the written word.
This is just one imaginary scenario, but one might look at history writing as a long process of uncovering voices and admitting them back onto a scene of which we at one time had only a very limited view. When I was in high school--and dinosaurs like Led Zeppelin walked the earth commanding large audiences of stoned teenagers--the period of European history that we now refer to usually as the Medieval Period was still called the Dark Ages in our history books. In just the last 40 years, life in the European Dark Ages has been shown to have been quite diverse across the continent and not as universally benighted in vision as once thought.
Or perhaps more plainly: Roman history as written by the Romans themselves is, we can be certain now, quite often not just biased but grossly inaccurate. Not only have we had the time to find both textual and non-textual sources from quite nearly all sides involved in that collection of thousand-year-long narratives, but we have also developed critical methods that lend credence to earlier suspicions that perhaps Julius Caesar was doing something other than writing a dispassionate account of his exploits in Gaul.
Perhaps someone else can address current issues in historiography; the one thing I can say is that the discipline of history is engaged not only in writing history, but also in critically examining the methods used to determine what should be included. And rhetorical theory also continually re-examines the conditions under which discourse is produced and how those conditions change not only how we write/speak/sing/paint/bury our dead, but why we decide to produce these fictions at all and how we can use them to understand ourselves and life on Earth more generally.
It may well be that we will be continually dissatisfied with our own history as it is written--as well I think we should be--and that something like a definitive history of the United States cannot be written until after the US no longer exists. But we can look at the sources we have and reach for reliable tools for making judgments about those sources. Fiction can be useful and it can even be informative. And it can be misleading, dismissive, and even violently exclusionary. And it is not beyond us to determine how and when those different moments might be conjured out of the mass of storytelling that we seem compelled to do.
Erik--You make important points. The construction of historical narratives--what they include or leave out, what they accept as evidence, which perspective(s) on conflicts seem the most useful and significant over time, etc.--is something historians have openly argued over (and dissed each other about) for many, many years. Given the discussions above about the directives given to some teachers today, I would add one note. In all the testing mania of the last two and a half decades, the reason there aren't national or (to my knowledge) state history tests is that interpreting history is inherently political. In Massachusetts, where I taught and which prided itself as a leader in developing state-wide tests, three different versions of a history addition to the MCAS were "piloted." Each one (allegedly) showed that all the students were horribly ignorant of crucial historical figures and facts, though different groups of concerned adults pressed for massively different emphases. They would still be (and possibly are) arguing about what every student should know and be able to do with historical knowledge, except that the 2009 crash gutted any state or local ed investments and then the STEM-mania sucked up any available development funds. As a teacher at the time, I was quite happy to be ignored and have our department select curricular approaches we best thought would help the kids and their communities in their future lives.(Oh yes, we did get pressure to include "numeracy" in our lessons. Given that the use and misuses of statistical information is endemic in social and political analyses, this was not a real challenge.)
Yes I agree that history is inherently political. I tend toward the feminist position that (even) the personal is political, and I think it can be useful to consider the extent to which politics is an inherent characteristic of human interaction, since we are social animals and our sense of reality is indelibly marked by cultural biases that quite literally shape our neurological structures from the moment we have any. It has become clear relatively recently that not only is our physical inheritance from our parents not limited to genetics, but that our genes themselves are affected by the environment in ways we thought were not possible just a couple of decades ago.
The complexities of how we respond to our environment and how it shapes us are enormous, and although as a young adult I wanted very much to be able to somehow escape the machinations of politics in thought and in practice, I've come to understand that to be human is to be political.
What distresses me is the level of public discourse in the dominant cultures I live in and the way in which it influences the political forces that in turn influence it. And so I think maybe rather than resigning ourselves, or at least myself, always to have to deal with politics, which often seem so tawdry and mean, that reaching instead for ways to intervene in public discourse so that it is no longer so tawdry and mean is one way to make the political atmosphere we live in less petty, less reactive, and better informed and more critical of the biases that underwrite that petty reactivity.
If that make sense. Stating that history is political fiction doesn't have to be accompanied by a sigh of despair that it thus is irreparable; rather it can be a moment in which we understand how much power there is in discourse and decide whether or not we want to understand where that power comes from and how it works--and whether or not historical narrative can still be subject to critique if it is thought of as political fiction.
I think it can. I think we can create standards for our fictions where useful and even if a completely objective account of history is not something we finite speakers can achieve. But it does require not only rewiring long-held cultural norms regarding subjectivity vs objectivity, which inform our perception of the political as in need of purification into some completely disinterested viewpoint; it also requires that we be able and willing to take multiple, fully political viewpoints into account while remaining aware of their pitfalls *and* aware of our own biases.
Which is tricky, to say the least, and it is not something that I think we can always do quickly in this extremely complex culture we live in and as. But your perspective as a teacher under recent political demands in education is really interesting. It seems like you all were able to stage your own intervention out of a certain neglect from above: no money to enforce the demands of (possibly ill-informed and probably not particularly well-examined) conflicting political positions meant you all had room to exercise some studied discretion in putting together an actual curriculum. Although it might not have been the most ideal situation, it is still no small thing you all pulled off: using your historical training to educate students in spite of political currents that remain hostile to the idea of even acknowledging multiple viewpoints.
Pretty cool, really. And, I think, one of the ways in which a critical perspective can be put into action on the ground.
Erik, thanks for your thoughtful reply, and generous compliment. To respond to a few of the ideas you brought up, I would start by saying that the notion that history is about narratives--fictions, as you note--is not to denigrate it. We order our lives largely through stories, starting with the stories we absorb as we grow up: they tell us what to do and not to do, who's admirable and why, and who's to blame for problems, why things have happened the ways they did, and so on. We learn who "our people" are and what makes us so. These stories often contain assertions of fact--though as time passes we sometimes discover that the facts we learned weren't quite so factual.
With students I would engage this perspective by referencing family history--every family has stories that explain who's who and how the world works, and by high school all kids can (and probably already have) undertaken the task of reinterpreting the personal histories they previously learned. It's not a great leap to: informed, critical interpretation is central to what you can get out of history, your family's or the world's. We can get better informed (where are the facts in there?) and develop critical skills. We can take any event in the school's recent social history--or any rule they want to bitch about--and do some research and compare reactions to the who, what, when, where and how. Questions about power elations inevitably emerge, whether adults to students, or peers to peer group. And so we are into politics. We can go on into any number of historical "rhymes," but we have already engaged central historical themes of fallibility and contingency: we live in error and ignorance, ambivalence and accident, and things happen "but only just."
I agree with your lament about the state of so much public discourse. I don't know how or if broad-scale changes can be accomplished, especially on any hopeful time frame. No, there isn't any artificially "objective" history--even among well-tested facts, you have to choose which ones to pay attention to and how to interpret their meanings. But it seems critical to insist that we work to find facts, and then test them, before we plunge into interpretation. With students it was often useful to take some current event, divide them up, tell them to read up on it at different sources--"Yay! We get to use our phones!"--and then follow the story through various links (so repetitious and boring, but suffer through it) and watch the silos form. OK, so what makes this story worth being "news" in the first place? What seems like fact here (if anything)? Which sites are just stealing from other sites, and what do they emphasize or leave behind? Depending on which story (interpretation) you buy, who does that benefit? ["Cui bono" may be the only Latin they learn, and mostly because it sounds funny.] So, not always and not completely, but high school students can be led to increase their awareness and skills in contemporary rhetoric (just don't use that word). Why not adults? Could be, but the students are stuck with somebody cajoling them to so so for at least one period every day. Maybe a remedial course for members of Congress? Forget the talking heads and shock jocks--they're hopeless.
Erik, I had not heard of rhetorical theory. But what a vital field of study! Thank you for sharing your unique point of view. I learn so much from others in this group.
Grandson, I just sent you today’s letter. I admit that this one made me need a tissue to dab my eyes, many times. It took me more than a few minutes to be able to type these words.
The countdown clock is now just shy of 30 hours till the aberration of humanity known as djt is out of office. He has done great harm to our society. Some of those harms are plain and easy to see. Some to yet be discovered. All need to be punished but not by physical means. By spiritual determination of a great people to right basic wrongs that divide us. That prevent us from destiny.
By history’s clock you are a newly minted adult. You are in that tumult of defining yourself and your path forward. These letters I have sent you for the past months convey all I would want to say, but better.
Have a good day. Work hard, because it is your duty to all who have gone before you and created this opportunity to shape your little piece of history. Read the newsletter over and over. It is the best one yet. God willing, even better letters await.
You asked which newsletters are our favorites. I can’t point to one specifically but this exemplifies the ones that I most enjoy (enjoy/appreciate). I love the way you put current events in the context of history. It brings history alive and it puts today into context. I tend to ponder and reflect on and discuss these posts the most. Thank you for pulling all the pieces together into a narrative that is easy to understand.
“Rather than trying to own America, the doers put skin in the game.”
To this wonderful community of truth-seekers, wherever you are today, in whatever you’re doing in your local communities, let’s “put skin in the game” as we keep working toward a real democracy for all!
Thank you, HCR. Reviewing - almost reliving - 2020, as I watch The Circus for the first time and re-read some of HCR letters. Yesterday, I thought about MLK’s statement about choosing love over hate and realized I’m not that fine a person. I hate Donald J. Trump at the sound of his voice and sight of his face, at the mention of his name and deeds. I can’t seem to forgive. And I will never forget what he said and did. The lies. The crimes against humanity and “Grifter in Chief”. Tomorrow, after toasting a joyous moment seeing Joe and KAMALA !!!👍🏻 take the oath of office 🤞🏻, my political activist energy will be focused on supporting them and on working to remove every seditious member of Congress in the next election cycle. That is, if they somehow escape prosecution. And, please, convict Trump. He’d look so good in that orange jumpsuit. ❤️🤍💙
I don't hate tRump because I am a fine person - I just don't think he's worth my energy. Now Stephan Miller, and EVERY SEDITIOUS MEMBER OF CONGRESS - Whoa! Looks like I have the energy to join your cause Deborah!! All 147 must go down!
Deborah— I too struggle to not dispense with hate in a cavalier manner. I bet many of our readers here do as well. But I think that knowing that I struggle is a sign of self awareness and self compassion. I try not to hate. Hate is a powerful emotion and it too frequently brings down innocent bystanders. And it leaves me feeling horrible. But I do hate this dumpster-fire-sorry-excuse-for-a-mass-of-carbon in the White House. I am not sorry that I feel that way. I determined many months back (ok three years ago) that I was not going to suppress my feelings while he suppressed and trampled on the rights of others. I don’t advertise how I feel about dumpster fire but in conversation I don’t back away when calling bullshit is necessary. As as good friend of mine reminds me (and we have all heard before), people can have their own opinions but they cannot have their own facts.
I do the same, then make up many combinations of 4-letter words, especially when watching television. He and his entire cretinous family should disgust every thinking person in this country and abroad.
Professor Richardson posed a question to subscribers yesterday, asking which of the letters (she referred to them as "the" letters, not "my" letters - love it!) were our favorites. I think today's letter is definitely one of them!
The more we learn about the attempted coup on January 6 and about the people inside government (both the legislative and executive branches) who were actively involved in the plot, the more it reminds me of the Guy Fawkes plot on November 5. ("Remember, remember") They were tried as traitors and executed. I would hope the present day saboteurs get long jail sentences to discourage any future attempts at insurrection....and this includes members of Congress who aided.and abetted the rioters.
HCR, you asked us for our opinions as to which or your letters are our faves. I have so many that I have not responded. But this one would be totally up there. Thank you.
I admit that not having to deal with the daily sewer-emptying of Twitter Cheeto's mind into our psyches has been a huge relief this week. The fact that he is still trying to screw up every single part of Biden's opening days and moths is also gobsmackingly appalling but not unexpected. The new one is trying to get the USA infected again by ending the travel ban from Europe and the UK, which is an Andrew-Jackson-gives-measles/smallpox-infected-blankets-to-the Seminoles move if ever there was one. The idea that this pissant piece of toe jam has the support of millions of people because their little racist misogynist hearts are warmed by fascism is what makes me nauseous. They need to be "deprogrammed."
Linda Mitchell, I’m with you! I saw Amanda Gorman on TV news last night and heard her on NPR this morning. She gives me a taste of hope for our Country, and her selection as an Inaugural poet at Joe Biden’s swearing-in does the same!
My bet is that the 1776 report goes further than you think. My bet is that it becomes part of the curriculum for lots of home schoolers, for certain religious and charter schools, and will be the basis for a permanent exhibit at the Creation Museum.
Our SD gov has already called for $900,000 in our budget to upgrade what we are teaching in history in our schools. I hope our teachers union is strong enough to push back.
70 million voted for the bastard. More then half of the republicans think the vote was rigged for Bidens win. Your are correct the 1776 report will be taught in schools.
Decades ago Republicans began the systematic rebuilding of their party by installing conservatives in school boards around the country. The rest is history.
Bravo, Dr. Richardson. “The hard work of doing is rarely the stuff of heroic biographies of leading men. It is the story of ordinary Americans who were finally pushed far enough that they put themselves on the line for this nation’s principles.” This paragraph and those that follow are testimony to those who did the hard work of fulfilling the dream of our democracy. Let it not be in vain.
As always, thank you for distilling current events and tying in our country's history to provide us thoughtful insights on a regular basis. Take care of yourself! 💜👍
Your Letters will someday make compelling reading for those who come after us. Looking forward to a future book and electronic archive.
"He has tried to install a loyalist as the top lawyer at the National Security Agency, either to burrow him in or to get the green light for dumping NSA documents before he leaves office..."
Real question: Given Trump's ignorance for the protocols and processes of government, as well as his disdain for expertise beyond his own (limited) knowledge, could he really have made the decision to bury poison pills in the body of government?
Of course, this is but one example. His broad use of "acting" secretaries and appointees, his announcements by tweet to fire the Secretary of Defense and others, his selection of clearly unqualified nominees as advisors, diplomats, and judges, and his subversion of normative actions like VP Pence overturning Congress's certification of EC votes stand out as egregious violations of effective government or good executive management. Do you really this Trump is/was smart enough to make these happen?
If there is indeed a "deep state" it is those with much greater knowledge of how the government bureaucracy works, who understand the difficulties of dislodging certain appointees, and whose real purpose is to burrow into the minutes of government administration and seek opportunities for disruption. Trump's limited attention span and his propensity to flit from topic to topic according to the whims of his stream of consciousness are surely tracked by a cadre of people whose job it is to say, "hey, how's about we try this?"
Stephen Miller is a malicious and malevolent individual, but he's smart enough to obsess over ways to pervert practical or moral policies in search of ones to do the most harm. It's no surprise that people with even a residual of morality or self preservation have bailed out, leaving Miller, McCarthy, McConnell, and others like them, to be the sweepers behind the elephants of Trump's brain.
I'm hard pressed to give credence to the notion that Trump is some evil genius, or I should say I believe he's evil but no genius. Trump's been enabled by smart, even capable malcontents who've hidden behind the skirts of his outrageous addiction to being the biggest, the best, and seeking credit for everything he thinks he can get away with. Biden's team, especially the Department of Justice, as well as the House and Senate judicial, intelligence, ethics, and rules committees, must take stock how Trump came so close to undermining damn near everything we might have believed to be good and Constitutionally directed government. They must act to install implants to replace the teeth of the law, and must determine how to give Constitutional powers the means to enforce adherence to, and compliance with, the rules and demands of lawfully convened authorities.
Trump will surely, and rightly, shoulder the blame for this Administration's fiascos. However, he shouldn't receive the credit for masterminding the undoing of America. He's just not that sharp or attentive, unless it's to discern personal slights. He had help, and those people should be hung in the gibbets outside the White House, Congress, and the Supreme Court to remind us not to let this happen again.
Spot on! But Steven Miller may only be Trump’s handler and is likely not alone. This was a long and well planned attack on democracy. Trump is an idiot and no way do I get convinced he had the intelligence to plan or executed this on his own. I fear the head of the snake is still out there and unknown, regrouping and grooming their next Trump. Bannon, Barr, Murdock, Miller. ... watch the dark money.
I think Hawley. Articulate, determined, bright. It pains me to have said that!
Elaine, Hawley has exposed himself as a power hungry monster. Willing to do what it takes to take up the mantle of what is left of tRump's supporters. We can see him coming and we can stop him. He is a good example of what is bad about naked ambition.
Let’s see what transpires with those who instigated this riot. He was one of them and hopefully there will be a penalty.
He’s the Tom Watson of this moment.
Good catch, George. C Vann Woodward reader, right?
Yes, taught the Woodward book on Watson 40 years ago..
My political awakening came with moving to MA 40 years ago almost to the day. I discovered CVW soon after. His work helps to reduce my ignorance, which is a lifelong struggle.
Absolutely, all of them, aided by dark money.
Stephen Miller, certainly, but also Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, and maybe others whose names we never heard.
Let’s not forget Tillerson, Pompeo, Rosenstein, Barr, DeJoy, Moscow Mitch and a laundry list of forgettable “acting” enablers, too!
So, if Trump was a game, what would the gameboard look like, and who would the players be, and what would be the ultimate prize?
Becky, I'm not sure exactly what game it'd be, but I envision it with the board askew and the pieces strewn all over the floor!
Maybe just Trump's square. But could that be part of the strategy? Motivate the activists. Country askew. Meanwhile, sneak... And the money trail goes where? Shell companies. Foreign governments. Very rich people. Maybe we can invent a game called, "Follow the Money."
When I watched "Get Me Roger Stone," I realized that some of the players do see this as a game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IPyv4KgTAA
Celebrity Inmate
Janice, see above. If not endless, the list is indeed long.
All trolls to be sure, but, Steven Miller is the one behind the curtain working mostly unseen to undermine much of what we hold dear.
Stephen Miller has a lot of evil on his account. He is far from alone. One of the maneuvers the enablers like McConnell are already trying, is to limit the blame to a few visible people like Tя☭mp himself and Miller, and avoid their own responsibility.
Someone asked on Twitter what Stephen Miller's next job would be. One of those "wrong answer only" questions, but I think I may have gotten it right: Summer Camp Counselor for kids of parents that hate them.
Sharon, I only had just so long to write this reply as I was on my way to Physical Therapy!!There are no doubt dozens, if not hundreds, who we've never heard of but have twisted minds and moral vacuums.
“The sweepers behind the elephants of Trump’s brain”. Wow, just wow.
Bravo, Scott. You have managed to articulately convey what I have been saying for his entre term. He is horrifyingly ignorant, but manipulative, and has been coached - probably since before his "birther" schtick against Obama. The attack against Barack Obama played well with the racists in this country and helped him to build his base. His bromance with Putin certainly casts suspicion on Russia as being involved in his assault on our country and its Constitution. The evil, but sophisticated people who surround Trump have been playing "hey, what about this" since his unfortunate election and have utilized him as a useful idiot.
Every time that Trump and his loyalists, along with media groups like Fox, brayed about the Deep State, I knew that they were representing the real Deep State.
I agree. Trump and his loyalists represent the real Deep State. Le Carre moles embedded in our government destroying, eroding, trashing, assaulting our institutions and Constitution from the inside. Domestic terrorists. Our elected representative enablers let it happen giving them free rein--no pushback--putting party before country to further their own political future>power, $$$$$. Pence, McConnell etc etc. Now they self-servingly scramble to rehabilitate themselves to appear statesmanlike and be on record as defenders of the Constitution. Really? Couldn't stand listening to McConnell. He's got a good authoritative voice and picks the right words which to the gullible give him credence. Fortunately Pence miscalculated and is toast. Was in waaay over his head, peeing in his pants for 4 yrs hoping, waiting for providential guidance, yet with ambitious overreach with eye on being president. He would have been a calamitous one. Can Schumer stand up to machiavellian McConnell? Not be outmaneuvered? I worry. Late comment...distracted trying to keep up with unfolding events.
The slumlord from NY. Hated, despised, and never to return.
I thought exactly that back in the '70s, when his cruel, unethical exploits first were published. When his plans for running for the presidency were first announced, I scoffed. Silly me. What most of us didn't consider was that malicious entities were acting behind the scenes.
What is really upsetting is how easily the masses are entertained. All that we wanted was tRump to continue to stir us up. And it is what we got. Massive amounts of entertainment that almost destroyed our Republic.
Do you remember the 2016 primaries? Tя☭mp was the one who looked at least half liberal.
I've gotta come up with something instead of "hate". Too used.
Abhorred, detested, loathed, regarded with disgust, scorned, abominated...
Abhorrent, despicable, unkind, monstrous, cruel, sack of💩...
Jailed!
Exactly.
Two words: Stephen Miller.
I hate to mention this word but . .....Russians
Deutsche bank isn't the one supporting all tRUMPs entangled empire. he claimed $430 millionin debt which maybe DB was stupid enough to lend him but considering all his bankruptcies and the number of payoffs he's had to make AND the fact he's still breathing means the Russians want the access someone as stupid as him can provide.
Stephen Miller is a white supremist, a person motivated by hate. While he has an agenda, I suspect that ultimately he is also being used.
Respectfully, I have to disagree. He is a classic user. I believe he has been doing a lot of the orchestrations of evil wrongdoing.
Well, I agree with that. But there are so many others with skin in the game, and they all seem to be using each other. I am trying to understand this. I would be happy to discover that Stephen Miller is THE problem. But what about all the others? Paul Manafort, for example.
I can't answer that with a list of names but I think I have just lived through 4 years of "It Takes a Village to Dissolve a Democracy" and we've only squeaked by. If Miller wasn't the main driver, then at bare minimum, throw in Steve Bannon, and all of the dark money backers into the mix.
The dark money suppliers are prime here. Putin has certainly done whatever his hackers can to push Tя☭mp along. Don't forget all the minions who didn't last - Jeff Sessions got the anti-immigrant horrors started, and had the Justice Dept depart its original mission of protecting civil rights.
Yes. I agree.
Nope, not being used. He is the co-architect of kidnapping children from their families. 640+ are yet to be found. His co-conspirator, Jeff Sessions. Stephen Miller’s Jewish parents and relatives disowned him as his grandparents were Holocaust survivors, as were mine. He and his wife just had a baby girl. Let that sink in.
It is horrific but he is very useable. I think the worst thing about evil is it’s lack of passion. He seems like he would fit quite well in the coat pockets Of power.
Is it not just possible that even if one has only been in post 1 day that there is a personal, financial or other advantage when your "resignation" is requested the next day. It would very much be in their mould...doing favors for friends and clients at the publics expense!
My concern is that his mission in his one day is to destroy various records and files that would be seriously damaging to the Trump administration if uncovered. Even one day’s access could destroy a lot, especially if you go in with a list.
Good point, well made. The possibilities seem endless.
Darn
I have thought much the same these last 4 years, and while Trump will likely fade into oblivion, maybe even jail, those handlers aren't going anywhere. They will find some new nasty way to worm their way into the graces of the next narcissistic POTUS-wannabe or the like. This isn't their endgame.
As we have recently found out, there are “unqualified” people who are entrenched in government jobs now. Biden cannot simply remove some of them but he can make their lives miserable. Their jobs are secure for at least two years but he can make it where they get a paycheck by simply doing nothing. Maybe people will be hired to quietly harass these jerks into quitting. That’s my hope anyway...that we play dirty to get them out of government.
I join the many other readers who have chimed in. There is no way Trump came up with the various hamstringing, burrowing, and despoiling moves, whether in the last weeks or throughout his "administration." Certainly Miller or other headline names could have come up with one or another nefarious idea. But it seems to me the more likely sources of long-term plans to either keep government bodies as useful servants, and/or undermine their power and utility are the raft of various shell-bodies set up to plan and implement the plutocracy. The name list of these think tanks, business associations, public interest groups, etc. has shifted over time. But the money behind them has had consistent, familiar names: Koch, Mercer, Mellon Scaife, Thiel, DeVos, etc. It is definitely not paranoid to think that these people have hired lots of skilled, industrious planners whose goals are definitely not for the benefit of the bulk of the population.
As Mary Trump has said, her uncle was trained by his father to be the tool of smarter, more powerful men.
Yes, I think this is getting closer. Moneyed interests. Keep government bodies as useful servants. Plan and implement plutocracy. I wan to know more.
I agree. Trump has his enablers, but there is enormous power and money at the root of all of it. His obeisance to Putin is also concerning, and I can't help but wonder where he could fit into the picture.
It is of course possible that Putin has been an enabler, but I haven't seen anything documented to suggest he has felt the need to inject any capital into the fray--beyond funding his troll farms, of course. I think he has just seen Trump as a pretty much free gift that keeps on giving. In contrast, for active support for everything from campaign donations to ALEC essentially writing laws locally and federally, see Mayer's "Dark Money" and McLean's "Democracy in Chains." For a brief, more recent take on the usual suspects, see:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/18/the-capitol-riot-wasnt-a-fringe-uprising-it-was-enabled-by-very-deep-pockets
Again, these folks are well organized, extremely well funded, and they ain't going anywhere.
Thank you for the suggested reading. Since it's late, I'll open the link tomorrow morning. I doubt that Putin has invested any money, but he has some hold over Trump, and it wouldn't surprise me if he promised some future business opportunities. As for dark money, I have no doubt that it is a major factor in this nightmare. We know that these businesses are desperate to maintain their stranglehold and not give an inch to citizens who might interfere with their control. Anyone who thinks otherwise hasn't been paying attention.
I liked what you had to say.
However, that last sentence "...those people should be hung in the gibbets outside the White House, Congress, and the Supreme Court..." It's rhetoric like this that inspired me to end my subscription to the Wall Street Journal when Obama was president. Page after page of similar comments. It's rhetoric like this that the rioters chanted as they murdered police and destroyed the doors and windows on January 6th. Sadly, I see a lot of that rhetoric in these very replies to Letters from an American.
While we all may feel the same angst about our nation's politics, we would be better served if that kind of talk was toned way down. The quote above would be normal for (soon to be) Mr. tRump. Why stoop so low as to match it? Just think of what comments like that coming from POTUS did on January 6th.
Tom, good point. I was thinking of it less as the specific act of retributive violence than I was a memorable reminder that bad behavior has consequences.
I too, have a problem with WSJ.
This makes more sense and is more frightening than what I imagined was going on behind the scenes of this administration.
Sounds slightly paranoid - but can't find a fault in the logic.
Just because we are paranoid doesn't mean they are not out to get us. tRump's inner circle needs to be convicted right along with him.
I, so very deeply agree with you.
Sabine, I'm not prone to paranoia, or at least I haven't been up until now. And even though a read many a political thriller and thought, yeah, that COULD happen, it wasn't until now that it not only could, butt probably has, under this Administration.
Yes, it feels like we've all landed in the wrong movie. And sorry, I did not mean to be offensive with the paranoid - I sometimes doubt myself if I'm paranoid or not.
Being surrounded by Trump supporters I often doubted myself until I started reading HCR’s letters and responses from her readers.
Isn’t that frightening? How powerful the repetition of lies can be?
You weren't offensive. If we're all not slightly nuts by now, we weren't living in the USA for the last few years.
It's helpful to remember that even paranoid have enemies.
Just because you're paranoid does not mean they're not out to get you. :)
So true!
This letter should be read in every high school history class this morning and reprinted everywhere. It is a stirring and sterling affirmation, in razor-sharp focus, of all that we are, what we are not, and all that we could be.
We are indeed stepping away from the abyss on Jan. 20, 2021.
Yesterday HRC sent out an email with a request.
"If you have one or two favorite letters from this series, which are they? And if you have an idea of it, can you say why you liked them?"
Today's letter, hands down, is my favorite. My reasons I stated above.
Thank you again, Professor Richardson.
The school district I work in has tied teachers hands to not talk about these current events or the inauguration. Today. But the high school current events teacher is a friend and I so love that she, and her also history teacher husband, are huge fans of Dr Richardson and read her work everyday. Their hards are tied today. But not on Wednesday or in lessons to come. Yes! This should be read by every student! Including adults that need to be schooled!
That has been going on for many years. Teachers who come to the attention of right-wing parents who listen to a steady diet of Limbaugh and FOX News often manage to get teachers reassigned to a different subject area in order to hold truth at bay.
Yah. I remember that my daughter in middle school, about 7 years ago, when the class was tasked with writing an essay on the evils of bullying, was forbidden to write about how incessantly gay students are victimized. No reason given, just the Kafka-esque reason, "Your topic is is inappropriate," nothing more. Location: Dekalb County, Georgia.
Wow.
Wow, I had no idea!
Wow.
This has gone on for decades. In the 80s, and when I was a brand new teacher, a group of parents made my life hell by spreading around that I was teaching witchcraft. Through some Halloween stories out of a children’s magazine — that was in the school
Library, no less! I covered the present oak election that year, too, with debates, voting, etc. They analyzed everything I did to make sure I gave accurate information on both sides.
Fast forward to just a few years ago and I was doing an student observation in a high school current events class. Teacher is known Trump supporter. Classroom full of Hispanic youth and some migrant students and DACA. All with their heads hung while teacher praised Trump for whatever she was teaching. I reported it to admin who did nothing.
That's a nightmare, Tricia. Good for you for reporting to Admin. Would your teacher's union have a rep. that could have spoken with the teacher? I know since I retired, many states have now not permitted teacher unions. I taught in NJ and we had strong NEA unions for our local school district, our county and for the State of NJ. I can imagine the whole witch hunt thing must have been horrible for you as a beginning teacher. I'm so sorry you had to go through that.
We do have strong union. Yet there is also a strong Trump supporter presence within our teacher body if you can believe that. Stickers on trucks and cars in parking lot. It's unbelievable. And the community is poverty, majority hispanic, and parents who keep quiet about most things.
What a combination! This country has so much work cut out for us to overcome all of the lies and conspiracy theories. I'm sorry Tricia. One thing we can focus on and that is that Betsy D. is gone! (Leaving damage in her wake.)
Dare I say this is why students don't know anything about their country's history? Because telling the facts is considered subversive or is against someone's (parent, administrator) worldview?
No "dare" involved there, Kathleen. That has been the issue and about the same time, along came "No Child Left Behind" and teachers lost curriculum time to prepare students for the State mandated tests each and every March. It didn't take long for 8th grade students to reach us with a very deficient, anemic, information base. Not long before some of them decided it was smart to storm the Capitol building too. Reverse evolution.
It should have been called "No child left with a mind." Even on its shiny surface, it was a corrupt idea based on the premise that children would be better educated if teachers had to do more paperwork. Underneath, of course, it was a way to undermine public education.
We called it "No Teacher Left Standing." Totally agree, Joan.
This is horrible. The inauguration is a historic event (everyone of them are) and to not be able to talk about them is wrong.
Are you saying this administration has tied the educators hands in that way? Had it already gone that far?
What I describe was going on in 2004 and 2005. I taught English, and the Social Studies teacher on my team was reassigned the next year to a Science assignment in a different school. That's how long this has been going on. Those were the build up years of Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck and that type of talk radio.
Yes, Elaine. An Executive Order came down demanding that any discussion of racism, sexism, and oppression by white Americans in education--not only in Student Affairs programs but also in classrooms--be "limited" and that the "other side" (the supposed glories of white men, I presume) be added, and students are given leave to complain about instructors who talk about racism, etc. This was supposed to support the deranged administration's "1776 Project." It was a clear effort--just before the November election--to hamstring all of us who teach social justice, race history, etc. issues. It will be canceled by Biden but who knows when that will be able to happen with the sewer pipe flood?
Wow, this angers me. But probably shows my naïveté. Public education in this country is funded by taxes collected from property owners and some general taxes collected by the Feds. As a contributor through the property taxes levied on my home, my opinion is that it seems completely inappropriate that this direction (order) could be enacted without input by those directly affected. Meaning the school staff (administrators and unionized), students and their parents, and community members who provide financial support. I can see it more possibly in the private school setting, even parochial. But public school? Devos 😠
My children are grown and it has been a long time since I attended school board meetings, but perhaps I need to again.
Wait, WHAT??? An executive order from the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT????
Yes. From Trump--so can be rescinded. It got dumped on us in September. Although initially supposedly relating to "diversity training" for staff and students, it is interpreted by my university's lawyers to include classroom teaching as well. Here is the information we were given about what we are going to have to "clear" in order to teach:
"Additionally, upon further review of the EO, we are providing notice that any employee of the University planning to apply for federal grant funding for a purpose that includes (but is not limited to) the “promotion of divisive concepts” as defined within the EO (see below) should take care to review the parameters of the grant and any related contracts to ensure that these parameters have not been revised because of the EO or do not prohibit such promotion.
"Further, should faculty choose to discuss what might be a “divisive concept” (see below) within the classroom setting, the position of the faculty member as indicated through presentation and discussion must be communicated in a manner that is “objective” and “without endorsement.” This provision of the EO is currently in effect, and if violated, can be reported for investigation to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), possibly resulting in adverse action against the University, which may include loss of federal grant funding or student financial aid.
"Possible concepts that may be considered “divisive” under the EO:
*Implicit/unconscious bias
*Institutional/structural racism
*Critical race theory
*Privilege based on race/ethnicity or sex/gender
*Colorblindness/encouragement to be "color-blind"
*"Aspects and assumptions" related to race/ethnicity or sex/gender
*Confronting "whiteness" or "maleness"
*Oppression of others by members of a specific race/ethnicity or sex/gender
*Responsibility for actions committed in the past by members of a specific race/ethnicity or sex/gender
*Indicating the successes of a specific race/ethnicity or sex/gender may be related to their identity rather than hard work, perseverance, etc.
*Indicating the challenges faced by individuals of any specific racial/ethnic group or sex/gender are due to their race/ethnicity or sex/gender
*Ascribing character traits, values, moral and ethical codes, privileges, status, or beliefs to a race/ethnicity or sex/gender, or to an individual because of their race/ethnicity or sex/gender
*Assigning fault, blame, or bias to a race/ethnicity or sex/gender, or to members of a race/ethnicity or sex/gender, because of their race/ethnicity or sex/gender
*Any claim that, consciously or unconsciously, and by virtue of their race/ethnicity or sex/gender, members of any race/ethnicity are inherently racist or are inherently inclined to oppress others, or that members of a sex/gender are inherently sexist or inclined to oppress others"
My colleagues and I are effectively trying to ignore this but it isn't clear when the Biden Admin is going to get around to rescinding this over. In the meantime, colleges and universities can be accused of non-compliance and can be threatened with a loss of funding. In addition, this EO was greeted with glee by Republican legislatures, which want to enforce it.
Why, I wonder, hasn't the MEDIA published anything about THIS!!! It's the first I've heard about it.
The TRUTH HAS TO BE TAUGHT in schools. Damn it!!!!😡😠
Absolutely frightening, and enraging!
Oh. My. Thank you so much for this. Things are SO MUCH WORSE than I had appreciated. And I thought they were terrible. Thank you.
Wow. And, at the university/college level, too, hamstringing the academic ‘elites’. This is where the silencing of free thought (let alone critical thinking) begins. I can only imagine the lengths you and your colleagues have to go the fly under the radar, Linda. We need to see that this EO is moved near the top of the stack and rescinded along with all the others
I have some good news for everyone to report (wow: GOOD news!). Included in the SEVENTEEN executive orders Biden plans to sign today is one rescinding this EO. Someone was paying attention. Thanks everyone for your outrage and your encouragement. It has been a very long 4 years. My hope is that the state leg doesn't try to make this a law in Missouri--they are a bunch of cynical twits but I am hoping they don't try to embed Trumpism into their own (neofacist) agenda.
I had no idea. How sick.
That is a shame. But yes: they might be gagged today but not tomorrow.
This entire thread about restrictions placed on teachers with regard to teaching current events, civics and fact-based history is extraordinarily disconcerting - alarming, actually. I knew about some of this, but not all that is mentioned here. It is extremely important to pay attention to School board elections, but it often takes some effort to get accurate information about candidates’ policy positions and party affiliation. There seems to be a lot of effort that goes into hiding candidates’ platforms or, at a minimum, to obfuscate. I don’t have school age children anymore, so I have to actively seek out accurate information about candidates from friends and community members. It is worth the effort to do that research, though, because school boards not only impact the schools, but their influence extends to the wider community.
I agree. I offered two of my favourites but this one is up there with them! I told HCR that some of her letters I liked the most were where she told us she was choosing to rest, but offering a peaceful, hopeful photograph to keep us going forward.
It is very difficult to pick only two favorites, but I agree that this is one of them!
My impulse is always to print her letters out and create a REAL history book.
Ralph Averill, I was thinking the same thing
YES!!
We are of the same mind in this, Ralph Averill.
I ask those here in the know about what can and cannot be taught in our schools, would/could there be a ban on teaching the Constitution document? For those students who ask, is there a ban on providing links, say, to Letters from an American, for them to pursue on their own?
For many years, by Federal law, every school that receives any federal funding is required to teach the Constitution every September 17. I can’t speak for other states, but Albuquerque schools had to document their efforts and the district had to report to the state. As an elementary school librarian, I was tasked with teaching the whole school during library class. I kept it simple during the primary grades, but by 5th grade I was listing and explaining the Bill of Rights (they had a hard time with the 3rd), as well as also outlining the responsibilities of citizenship. By 5th grade, these students were full of “I know my rights!”, but I appeared to be the first to point out responsibilities.
In general, even without state pressure to limit what history can be taught, teachers are hamstrung by lack of time to cover it. It’s different in wealthier schools, where students start kindergarten well-prepared. I taught in 100% free lunch schools, where toxic exposure and lack of time/parenting skills sent us too many students who didn’t recognize letters and numbers. There, the focus on test scores to avoid school punishment was so high, we lost too much instruction time to test prep, leaving little for science and history. When they got to middle school, those teachers had to cope with the absence of the knowledge they should have gained in elementary school, and it snowballed from there.
Thank you, Danielle, for taking the time to share your experience. So troubling to hear but not surprising.
Agreed.
Mine as well, Ralph.
Yes! Agree today’s is at the top. My favorite line is about skin in the game. I’ve used that often in my career and now I love it even more — democracy is a skin in the game endeavor. Love it!
The Soviets and Nazis rewrote National history to serve their ideological aims. Our nation needs to reinvigorate teaching history and civics so that we understand the full scope and complexity of the American story and how to sustain a vital democracy. Thank you for your letters to America
We have a teacher as our new First Lady. I’m betting that those changes are coming.
I for one am furious that I was not taught the truth about this country in school! Talk about brainwashing!
Me too, Elaine. I read that Report yesterday, and suddenly I was back in elementary school with its textbooks and tests at the end of the chapter. School did not teach me how to learn. I want my time back!
Me, too. I was in my 30s before I learned of the imprisonment of Japanese Americans in WWII -- and I grew up next door to a Japanese American woman who was in one of the camps for the duration.
Me too. And (unsurprisingly) I learned it from literature. It completely slayed me, to think back on my classmates of Japanese descent who probably had parents who were interned. And these families, to my child’s eyes in the 60’s. were just participating in the society with hard work and good endeavor, although they should have been murderously bitter.
We never were taught that in my rural NC town!
Oh, that's sad. I wonder if she would have told you about it if you'd asked?
I don't know. But in order to ask her about it, I'd have had to know it existed, and it wasn't covered in any of my history classes, even in college. Sad.
I can even recall a high school teacher making excuses for slavery - this in suburban Boston, no less!
I think just as many are ill informed today, we certainly were back then. It was considered unamerican to believe we weren’t spotless.
In some ways, attitudes are worse today, at least for those who manage to justify bigotry. In the '50s, it was unthinkable to believe that our country had any stain. Today, we have to know better, so there is malevolence, not naivety, involved in denying anyone's rights.
Yes, but in teaching history and civics, it should be done in a manner that makes it at least as important as the STEM area of learning, which necessarily receives so much emphasis these days.
HDR -- Did you start out intending this post to be inspirational? Because it was. As sobering and depressing as it is to see the need for National Guard protection of our National and State Capitol Buildings, you helped remind us of the many who have devoted their lives (and often given their lives) to the ideals of "...justice and equality before the law." Tonight's post called to mind the MLK, Jr quote that that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” -- My hope for my daughters and their children is that the arc bend a bit more quickly in their lifetimes!
Apologies... HCR, not HDR
Morning, all!! Morning, Dr. R!! Fabulous Letter today. I'll take it all...the good news and the bad.
I am inspired by these words from the Rev. William J. Barber, II of the Repairers of the Breach to "be the nation that our documents claim we are."
Nikole Hannah-Jones, author of the NYT 1619 Project, begins her essay telling of her father's allegiance to the American flag: "My dad always flew an American flag in our front yard. The blue paint on our two-story house was perennially chipping; the fence, or the rail by the stairs, or the front door, existed in a perpetual state of disrepair, but that flag always flew pristine. Our corner lot, which had been redlined by the federal government, was along the river that divided the black side from the white side of our Iowa town. At the edge of our lawn, high on an aluminum pole, soared the flag, which my dad would replace as soon as it showed the slightest tatter." She ends her what I call Forward to this 5-part essay thusly:
"We were told once, by virtue of our bondage, that we could never be American. But it was by virtue of our bondage that we became the most American of all."
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/black-history-american-democracy.html
This link contains several essays written by others for this project.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619-america-slavery.html
This link takes you directly to the first episode of five podcasts, with the fifth episode divided into two parts. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/23/podcasts/1619-slavery-anniversary.html
"Forward together, not one step back."
thank you for your contribution to the discussion! Very helpful!
Members of the President's 1776 Commission Not one historian. Most members of radical right-wing Conservative organizations
Larry P. Arnn Founder, Claremont Institute. Trustee, Heritage Foundation President, Hillsdale College: …he recalled that shortly after he assumed the presidency at Hillsdale he received a letter from the state Department of Education that said his college "violated the standards for diversity," adding, "because we didn't have enough dark ones, I guess, is what they meant.”
Carol Swain Former professor, conservative commentator. Swain called the re-election of President Barack Obama in 2012 "a very scary situation".[2] She argued that civil rights leaders like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton had used the shooting of Trayvon Martin to increase voter registration for the Democratic Party....
Matthew Spalding Professor Hillsdale College. Fellow at Heritage Foundation and Claremont Institute
Phil Bryant Former Governor( R) of Mississippi
In 2015, Phil Bryant refused to support legislation to change the flag of Mississippi to remove the Confederate battle saltire.
Jerry Davis President of College of the Ozarks
Michael Farris CEO of Alliance Defending Freedom, a right-wing Christian conservative group.
Gay Hart Gaines Republican fundraiser and activist
John Gibbs Trump nominee to head Office of Personnel Management.
On four occasions, he spread the false claim that John Podesta, the chairman of Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign took part in a "Satanic ritual”
Mike Gonzalez Spokeperson for Heritage Foundation
Claims Critical Race Theory “..has nothing to do with advancing any individual or family.” Claims it’s a stand in for Marxist politics.
Victor Davis Hanson Hoover Institute Hanson is a supporter of Donald Trump, authoring a 2019 book The Case for Trump.[21] Trump praised the book.[21] In the book, Hanson defends Trump's insults and incendiary language as "uncouth authenticity", and praises Trump for "an uncanny ability to troll and create hysteria among his media and political critics”
Charles Kesler Claremont Institute
Peter Kirsanow Lawyer Republican appointee to NLRB Testified for Roberts and against Kagan for Supreme Court
Thomas Lindsay Director Texas Public Policy Foundation Former president of Shimer College Removed after a vote of no confidence.
Bob McEwen Former Republican Congressman from Ohio and lobbyist, including for Cote d’Ivoire strongman Koudou Laurent Gbagbo who was later tried by the International Court.
Ned Ryun Founder and CEO of American Majority. “Conservative Christian”.
Julie Strauss (Levin) Attorney, Wife of Mark Levin.
This is what I love about this group, you add additional layers of understanding to each topic. Thank you.
Yes!!
Thank you for your informative research. The world would be a better place if each of these individuals decided to move to a desert island, with a one-way ticket.
Preferably one with no indigenous inhabitants, no flora, no fauna, and no potable water. They can then proceed to become the cannibals that at heart they have always been.
Thank you for completing the picture!
Love it!
Gosh, I just marvel at that idea, Lanita!
Yes, thank you for that info.
So glad competence and veracity will be back tomorrow. Biden's Cabinet and Day 1 executive orders are so refreshing. Humanity is back!
Thank you for this information. A stellar bunch -- of non-historians. Living in an alternative universe, where America has done no wrong.
Wow, I was wondering who these people were. Thanks for taking the time I would not have to find out and list here.
Thank you for this. Never heard of any of them and couldn’t be bothered, but your efforts prove I was right.
I'm not sure that the inclusion of historians would change things much. With apologies to HCR my undergraduate years as a history major lead me to believe that all histories are fiction. They tend to be written by people trying to prove a hypothesis or promote a position. From Homer on historians have had an axe to grind. My view of what makes historians relevant is that they usually provide food for thought rather than absolute truths. Like HCR, they often are good observers and communicators. The America-is-wonderful history of my youth has given way to a focus on the wrongs of the past. I have no doubt that pendulum will swing the other way. And back. if we make it that far.
Histories may necessarily be fiction, insofar as objective truth is impossible to obtain, especially when we are trying to recount events where multiple observers were present. But that does not mean that we cannot more closely approximate an accurate account of what did happen and what did not. Just as an opinion is not a good argument unless it brings reasons and evidence to support its claim to describe something we call reality, so can different histories be judged as more or less accurate: how well do they comprehend first-hand accounts, if we have them? How well do they either reconcile contradictory reports or explain why some are more or less accurate than others? Do they come from sources previously unheard from? Awesome! As in science, the more perspectives available, the more likely it is we can find a theory/narrative that is something like whole, in the human sense. Which is always partial and fallible.
I am not a historian--except of ideas to a point--but I do study rhetorical theory, and the techniques for evaluating textual evidence are cross-disciplinary to a large extent. One can understand all texts as fictions to a certain degree, but historical documents will have behind them all sorts of different reasons for existing as they are. The context surrounding each and every document holds clues as to its reliability: does it agree with other accounts? If not, does it refer to other viewpoints and furnish a basis for its own, or is it a lone counter-assertion? Where did it come from? Does it contain evidence of bias strong enough to call its reliability into question? And if it is seemingly anomalous, is there a good historical reason for its lack of corroboration?
One might think, for instance, of a culture in which writing did not yet exist but which was involved in the historical event being examined. Most existing written accounts will not originate with that culture, but others might come to light after those have been registered: from spoken testimony, perhaps, or even from non-discursive, graphical renderings that, at first, do not seem as useful as the written word.
This is just one imaginary scenario, but one might look at history writing as a long process of uncovering voices and admitting them back onto a scene of which we at one time had only a very limited view. When I was in high school--and dinosaurs like Led Zeppelin walked the earth commanding large audiences of stoned teenagers--the period of European history that we now refer to usually as the Medieval Period was still called the Dark Ages in our history books. In just the last 40 years, life in the European Dark Ages has been shown to have been quite diverse across the continent and not as universally benighted in vision as once thought.
Or perhaps more plainly: Roman history as written by the Romans themselves is, we can be certain now, quite often not just biased but grossly inaccurate. Not only have we had the time to find both textual and non-textual sources from quite nearly all sides involved in that collection of thousand-year-long narratives, but we have also developed critical methods that lend credence to earlier suspicions that perhaps Julius Caesar was doing something other than writing a dispassionate account of his exploits in Gaul.
Perhaps someone else can address current issues in historiography; the one thing I can say is that the discipline of history is engaged not only in writing history, but also in critically examining the methods used to determine what should be included. And rhetorical theory also continually re-examines the conditions under which discourse is produced and how those conditions change not only how we write/speak/sing/paint/bury our dead, but why we decide to produce these fictions at all and how we can use them to understand ourselves and life on Earth more generally.
It may well be that we will be continually dissatisfied with our own history as it is written--as well I think we should be--and that something like a definitive history of the United States cannot be written until after the US no longer exists. But we can look at the sources we have and reach for reliable tools for making judgments about those sources. Fiction can be useful and it can even be informative. And it can be misleading, dismissive, and even violently exclusionary. And it is not beyond us to determine how and when those different moments might be conjured out of the mass of storytelling that we seem compelled to do.
Erik--You make important points. The construction of historical narratives--what they include or leave out, what they accept as evidence, which perspective(s) on conflicts seem the most useful and significant over time, etc.--is something historians have openly argued over (and dissed each other about) for many, many years. Given the discussions above about the directives given to some teachers today, I would add one note. In all the testing mania of the last two and a half decades, the reason there aren't national or (to my knowledge) state history tests is that interpreting history is inherently political. In Massachusetts, where I taught and which prided itself as a leader in developing state-wide tests, three different versions of a history addition to the MCAS were "piloted." Each one (allegedly) showed that all the students were horribly ignorant of crucial historical figures and facts, though different groups of concerned adults pressed for massively different emphases. They would still be (and possibly are) arguing about what every student should know and be able to do with historical knowledge, except that the 2009 crash gutted any state or local ed investments and then the STEM-mania sucked up any available development funds. As a teacher at the time, I was quite happy to be ignored and have our department select curricular approaches we best thought would help the kids and their communities in their future lives.(Oh yes, we did get pressure to include "numeracy" in our lessons. Given that the use and misuses of statistical information is endemic in social and political analyses, this was not a real challenge.)
Yes I agree that history is inherently political. I tend toward the feminist position that (even) the personal is political, and I think it can be useful to consider the extent to which politics is an inherent characteristic of human interaction, since we are social animals and our sense of reality is indelibly marked by cultural biases that quite literally shape our neurological structures from the moment we have any. It has become clear relatively recently that not only is our physical inheritance from our parents not limited to genetics, but that our genes themselves are affected by the environment in ways we thought were not possible just a couple of decades ago.
The complexities of how we respond to our environment and how it shapes us are enormous, and although as a young adult I wanted very much to be able to somehow escape the machinations of politics in thought and in practice, I've come to understand that to be human is to be political.
What distresses me is the level of public discourse in the dominant cultures I live in and the way in which it influences the political forces that in turn influence it. And so I think maybe rather than resigning ourselves, or at least myself, always to have to deal with politics, which often seem so tawdry and mean, that reaching instead for ways to intervene in public discourse so that it is no longer so tawdry and mean is one way to make the political atmosphere we live in less petty, less reactive, and better informed and more critical of the biases that underwrite that petty reactivity.
If that make sense. Stating that history is political fiction doesn't have to be accompanied by a sigh of despair that it thus is irreparable; rather it can be a moment in which we understand how much power there is in discourse and decide whether or not we want to understand where that power comes from and how it works--and whether or not historical narrative can still be subject to critique if it is thought of as political fiction.
I think it can. I think we can create standards for our fictions where useful and even if a completely objective account of history is not something we finite speakers can achieve. But it does require not only rewiring long-held cultural norms regarding subjectivity vs objectivity, which inform our perception of the political as in need of purification into some completely disinterested viewpoint; it also requires that we be able and willing to take multiple, fully political viewpoints into account while remaining aware of their pitfalls *and* aware of our own biases.
Which is tricky, to say the least, and it is not something that I think we can always do quickly in this extremely complex culture we live in and as. But your perspective as a teacher under recent political demands in education is really interesting. It seems like you all were able to stage your own intervention out of a certain neglect from above: no money to enforce the demands of (possibly ill-informed and probably not particularly well-examined) conflicting political positions meant you all had room to exercise some studied discretion in putting together an actual curriculum. Although it might not have been the most ideal situation, it is still no small thing you all pulled off: using your historical training to educate students in spite of political currents that remain hostile to the idea of even acknowledging multiple viewpoints.
Pretty cool, really. And, I think, one of the ways in which a critical perspective can be put into action on the ground.
Erik, thanks for your thoughtful reply, and generous compliment. To respond to a few of the ideas you brought up, I would start by saying that the notion that history is about narratives--fictions, as you note--is not to denigrate it. We order our lives largely through stories, starting with the stories we absorb as we grow up: they tell us what to do and not to do, who's admirable and why, and who's to blame for problems, why things have happened the ways they did, and so on. We learn who "our people" are and what makes us so. These stories often contain assertions of fact--though as time passes we sometimes discover that the facts we learned weren't quite so factual.
With students I would engage this perspective by referencing family history--every family has stories that explain who's who and how the world works, and by high school all kids can (and probably already have) undertaken the task of reinterpreting the personal histories they previously learned. It's not a great leap to: informed, critical interpretation is central to what you can get out of history, your family's or the world's. We can get better informed (where are the facts in there?) and develop critical skills. We can take any event in the school's recent social history--or any rule they want to bitch about--and do some research and compare reactions to the who, what, when, where and how. Questions about power elations inevitably emerge, whether adults to students, or peers to peer group. And so we are into politics. We can go on into any number of historical "rhymes," but we have already engaged central historical themes of fallibility and contingency: we live in error and ignorance, ambivalence and accident, and things happen "but only just."
I agree with your lament about the state of so much public discourse. I don't know how or if broad-scale changes can be accomplished, especially on any hopeful time frame. No, there isn't any artificially "objective" history--even among well-tested facts, you have to choose which ones to pay attention to and how to interpret their meanings. But it seems critical to insist that we work to find facts, and then test them, before we plunge into interpretation. With students it was often useful to take some current event, divide them up, tell them to read up on it at different sources--"Yay! We get to use our phones!"--and then follow the story through various links (so repetitious and boring, but suffer through it) and watch the silos form. OK, so what makes this story worth being "news" in the first place? What seems like fact here (if anything)? Which sites are just stealing from other sites, and what do they emphasize or leave behind? Depending on which story (interpretation) you buy, who does that benefit? ["Cui bono" may be the only Latin they learn, and mostly because it sounds funny.] So, not always and not completely, but high school students can be led to increase their awareness and skills in contemporary rhetoric (just don't use that word). Why not adults? Could be, but the students are stuck with somebody cajoling them to so so for at least one period every day. Maybe a remedial course for members of Congress? Forget the talking heads and shock jocks--they're hopeless.
Uhh, one too many "so's" there....
Erik, I had not heard of rhetorical theory. But what a vital field of study! Thank you for sharing your unique point of view. I learn so much from others in this group.
You're welcome! I'm glad someone found all those words useful. :)
Grandson, I just sent you today’s letter. I admit that this one made me need a tissue to dab my eyes, many times. It took me more than a few minutes to be able to type these words.
The countdown clock is now just shy of 30 hours till the aberration of humanity known as djt is out of office. He has done great harm to our society. Some of those harms are plain and easy to see. Some to yet be discovered. All need to be punished but not by physical means. By spiritual determination of a great people to right basic wrongs that divide us. That prevent us from destiny.
By history’s clock you are a newly minted adult. You are in that tumult of defining yourself and your path forward. These letters I have sent you for the past months convey all I would want to say, but better.
Have a good day. Work hard, because it is your duty to all who have gone before you and created this opportunity to shape your little piece of history. Read the newsletter over and over. It is the best one yet. God willing, even better letters await.
Love from Grandpa.
Okay, I am crying again. Your lucky grandson.
Oh how I wish I’d had you for my Grandpa.
You asked which newsletters are our favorites. I can’t point to one specifically but this exemplifies the ones that I most enjoy (enjoy/appreciate). I love the way you put current events in the context of history. It brings history alive and it puts today into context. I tend to ponder and reflect on and discuss these posts the most. Thank you for pulling all the pieces together into a narrative that is easy to understand.
Seconded
YES!!! Agreed.
here-here!!
“Rather than trying to own America, the doers put skin in the game.”
To this wonderful community of truth-seekers, wherever you are today, in whatever you’re doing in your local communities, let’s “put skin in the game” as we keep working toward a real democracy for all!
Thank you, HCR. Reviewing - almost reliving - 2020, as I watch The Circus for the first time and re-read some of HCR letters. Yesterday, I thought about MLK’s statement about choosing love over hate and realized I’m not that fine a person. I hate Donald J. Trump at the sound of his voice and sight of his face, at the mention of his name and deeds. I can’t seem to forgive. And I will never forget what he said and did. The lies. The crimes against humanity and “Grifter in Chief”. Tomorrow, after toasting a joyous moment seeing Joe and KAMALA !!!👍🏻 take the oath of office 🤞🏻, my political activist energy will be focused on supporting them and on working to remove every seditious member of Congress in the next election cycle. That is, if they somehow escape prosecution. And, please, convict Trump. He’d look so good in that orange jumpsuit. ❤️🤍💙
I don't hate tRump because I am a fine person - I just don't think he's worth my energy. Now Stephan Miller, and EVERY SEDITIOUS MEMBER OF CONGRESS - Whoa! Looks like I have the energy to join your cause Deborah!! All 147 must go down!
Deborah— I too struggle to not dispense with hate in a cavalier manner. I bet many of our readers here do as well. But I think that knowing that I struggle is a sign of self awareness and self compassion. I try not to hate. Hate is a powerful emotion and it too frequently brings down innocent bystanders. And it leaves me feeling horrible. But I do hate this dumpster-fire-sorry-excuse-for-a-mass-of-carbon in the White House. I am not sorry that I feel that way. I determined many months back (ok three years ago) that I was not going to suppress my feelings while he suppressed and trampled on the rights of others. I don’t advertise how I feel about dumpster fire but in conversation I don’t back away when calling bullshit is necessary. As as good friend of mine reminds me (and we have all heard before), people can have their own opinions but they cannot have their own facts.
I use that word and many other 4-letter ones too!
I do the same, then make up many combinations of 4-letter words, especially when watching television. He and his entire cretinous family should disgust every thinking person in this country and abroad.
Professor Richardson posed a question to subscribers yesterday, asking which of the letters (she referred to them as "the" letters, not "my" letters - love it!) were our favorites. I think today's letter is definitely one of them!
ABSOLUTELY AGREE!
Yes, today's Letter!
The more we learn about the attempted coup on January 6 and about the people inside government (both the legislative and executive branches) who were actively involved in the plot, the more it reminds me of the Guy Fawkes plot on November 5. ("Remember, remember") They were tried as traitors and executed. I would hope the present day saboteurs get long jail sentences to discourage any future attempts at insurrection....and this includes members of Congress who aided.and abetted the rioters.
Vs not holding a senate trial in order to "promote unity" Gag me with a spoon.
Well Lynn, you just gave me an indication of your age! It made me giggle out loud!
Proudly in the women over 58 group here!
78 in 12 days - may I join you?
HCR, you asked us for our opinions as to which or your letters are our faves. I have so many that I have not responded. But this one would be totally up there. Thank you.
Here is something that will warm everyone's hearts. NPR this morning interviewed the poet, Amanda Gorman, whom Biden asked to participate in the inauguration. She is remarkable, she has a speech impediment she is happy to talk about, and Steve Inskeep's interview was deeply humane and deeply satisfying. She read a bit of the poem she wrote for the inauguration. https://www.npr.org/sections/biden-transition-updates/2021/01/19/958077401/history-has-its-eyes-on-us-poet-amanda-gorman-seeks-right-words-for-inauguration
I admit that not having to deal with the daily sewer-emptying of Twitter Cheeto's mind into our psyches has been a huge relief this week. The fact that he is still trying to screw up every single part of Biden's opening days and moths is also gobsmackingly appalling but not unexpected. The new one is trying to get the USA infected again by ending the travel ban from Europe and the UK, which is an Andrew-Jackson-gives-measles/smallpox-infected-blankets-to-the Seminoles move if ever there was one. The idea that this pissant piece of toe jam has the support of millions of people because their little racist misogynist hearts are warmed by fascism is what makes me nauseous. They need to be "deprogrammed."
Linda Mitchell, I’m with you! I saw Amanda Gorman on TV news last night and heard her on NPR this morning. She gives me a taste of hope for our Country, and her selection as an Inaugural poet at Joe Biden’s swearing-in does the same!
Wow. I started crying just reading the title of Gorman's poem: "The Hill We Climb". Thank You Linda.
My bet is that the 1776 report goes further than you think. My bet is that it becomes part of the curriculum for lots of home schoolers, for certain religious and charter schools, and will be the basis for a permanent exhibit at the Creation Museum.
Our SD gov has already called for $900,000 in our budget to upgrade what we are teaching in history in our schools. I hope our teachers union is strong enough to push back.
Sadly, you are correct.
70 million voted for the bastard. More then half of the republicans think the vote was rigged for Bidens win. Your are correct the 1776 report will be taught in schools.
Decades ago Republicans began the systematic rebuilding of their party by installing conservatives in school boards around the country. The rest is history.
And they can do it again.
Agreed completely.
Horrors.
Bravo, Dr. Richardson. “The hard work of doing is rarely the stuff of heroic biographies of leading men. It is the story of ordinary Americans who were finally pushed far enough that they put themselves on the line for this nation’s principles.” This paragraph and those that follow are testimony to those who did the hard work of fulfilling the dream of our democracy. Let it not be in vain.
As always, thank you for distilling current events and tying in our country's history to provide us thoughtful insights on a regular basis. Take care of yourself! 💜👍
Your Letters will someday make compelling reading for those who come after us. Looking forward to a future book and electronic archive.