“You're also in good company. Right now there is a massive army of similarly walking wounded sharing this place with you; fellow exhausted souls… You need to refuse to be gaslit by people…Right now, work to find your people, those who are as heartbroken and furious as you are, and begin find ways to care for human beings in duress, to organize against the legislative assaults, and to be strengthened by loving community. In times when truth and news are pliable, truth-tellers are worth more than gold.” John Pavlovitz
Keep making us aware of how fragile the Republic is. But how do we protect the rule of Law with this Supreme Court? Please remind us of the instances when they have or will reject a Trump decree. Any mucking with birthright for instance should be rejected.
I found the entire text of Lincoln's speech at constitutioncenter.org, the website for the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.
Dr. Richardson: Thank you for sharing a portion of Lincoln's speech and for all that you do. You are a national treasure! One question I have is, "Do you ever get any sleep?"
Nothing new under the sun, so to speak. It's just we lulled ourselves into thinking this particular "version" would not come around again; and we had not prepared. Where are the voices of democracy in the Senate? I'm not hearing them.
Thank you so much for the reach back into our History… although it foreshadows an ominous time, it’s a Stark reminder to us all to be vigilant to preserving our democracy
What an amazing, and yes prescient,speech. True: we have lulled our self into thinking we would not have to again fight attacks on our democratic republic from within . These are indeed the times that try men's and women's souls. And it is up to us to step up-and not just hope another Lincoln will show up.
A well-timed essay given the violation of the law displayed by Trump's firing of the inspector generals without providing the 30-day notice required by the law. I hope that down the road the senators, like Lindsey Graham, who are saying Trump's disregard for the rule of law here is "no big deal" are noted in American history as shameful traitors to our democracy.
There may be an upside here. Someone, please ask Senator Graham for some clarification. Do we all get a shot at violating a law without consequence. If yes, then ask him how frequently can we do this? Is it daily, monthly, yearly, or once in a lifetime. If it is monthly I'm waiting until mid-April to exercise my lawlessness. Please don't tell anyone.
Government is a social contract and the truth about US democracy is that if you started again from Rawls's 'Original Position' you certainly wouldn't end up with what you have now, even though it might look the same. People are disillusioned because they don't believe government works for them - that the contract isn't fair nor what they believed they had signed up for. The pandemic has only exacerbated the terrible inequalities in American society and currently there's only one party promising to fix society - but they just happen to be lying. People on both sides are calling for radical, even revolutionary change but the disruption that creates always, always hits hardest on the most vulnerable in society, those that depend on those ailing institutions and services.
And may we find it in ourselves, to act, individually, and collectively—peacefully. That we may protect the freedoms of all, upon the altar of history, and of this sacred moment in time.
The words are printed & released before the audio version. I had to go to Substack in an external browser, rather than through the app, to manage subscriptions. You might want to try that.
I like to read it when it's first released and then listen to it the next day. I learn so much from her, and I really like her voice. She is "one of the cornerstones of my sanity" during these difficult times. I have listened to some of her excellent books and I have enjoyed seeing her interviewed. There is an excellent interview of her by Tim Miller of The Bulwark, another one of my sanity supporters.
Oh, I saw her with Jon Stewart (very good) & will look for Tim Miller, too! "Democracy Awakening" is great, I will look for the others, thanks for mentioning. She is such a cornerstone of sanity for me, too, I don't know how I would have survived this past year or been able to keep going. She was the first that caught & has held my attention in trying to become educated in current events, civics, history...I can't say enough about how much I admire & appreciate her skill. It gives me great hope that such strong voices are emerging through the onslaught of ugliness & stupidity. She brings out the best is all of us!
It is always "eerie" to hear about these warnings from early in our nation's history and how clearly and accurately they predicted our current situation. Unfortunately, Donald knows close to nothing about history. As a result of his lack of knowledge and his lack of moral compass, he completely lacks understanding of what America is about. Even if he did understand, he wouldn't care, because he only cares about himself and being able to exercise power in a brutal and cruel manner. There have been calls for reintroducing classes about government and civics into schools, and this is clearly needed. Unfortunately, in our current political climate, I would predict that members of the right wing would want to manipulate how these subjects would be taught.
For this particular podcast, I received the text via email at Sunday, January 26 at 7:37PM (PST). Check your inbox and junk mail for an email from Heather around this time. If you didn't receive the email, you might need to change your settings on Substack.
Here are quick instructions to do that:
1. In a computer browser window — not your phone — go to the upper right hand corner of the screen and click on the colorful icon to the right of "Gift a subscription."
2. In the resulting pull-down menu, select Manage Subscription.
3. In the Notifications section, make sure "Letters from an American - Receive emails for new posts" is turned on.
4. If you're not interested in listening to podcast episodes, turn off Letters from an American - Receive emails for new podcast episodes."
5. In your email client, make sure that "heathercoxrichardson@substack.com" is a verified sender, so that her emails don't go into your junk mail folder. The easiest way to do this is to create a Contact for Heather Cox Richardson, and ensure that this email address is included on the contact card.
thank you for all the research and historical knowledge you share. Lincoln was an amazing man with a clear insight into his time. The speech you refer to, and share a part of, is disturbingly applicable to our time. If only we were teaching children how to ptotect our democracy. If only we were teaching everyone. Perhaps our last election might have had a different outcome. I am terrified by what has already been dismantled in only a week. How will our democracy survive four years?
Once again, the words of Abraham Lincoln prove prescient.
“You're also in good company. Right now there is a massive army of similarly walking wounded sharing this place with you; fellow exhausted souls… You need to refuse to be gaslit by people…Right now, work to find your people, those who are as heartbroken and furious as you are, and begin find ways to care for human beings in duress, to organize against the legislative assaults, and to be strengthened by loving community. In times when truth and news are pliable, truth-tellers are worth more than gold.” John Pavlovitz
The DNC is not leading.
https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/i-will-call-the-dnc-today?r=3m1bs
Heather,
Keep making us aware of how fragile the Republic is. But how do we protect the rule of Law with this Supreme Court? Please remind us of the instances when they have or will reject a Trump decree. Any mucking with birthright for instance should be rejected.
I found the entire text of Lincoln's speech at constitutioncenter.org, the website for the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.
Dr. Richardson: Thank you for sharing a portion of Lincoln's speech and for all that you do. You are a national treasure! One question I have is, "Do you ever get any sleep?"
Mr. Griggs, might you share the link? My feeble search yielded naught.
Nothing new under the sun, so to speak. It's just we lulled ourselves into thinking this particular "version" would not come around again; and we had not prepared. Where are the voices of democracy in the Senate? I'm not hearing them.
I like the audio - that way I can do something else at the same time.
Thank you so much for the reach back into our History… although it foreshadows an ominous time, it’s a Stark reminder to us all to be vigilant to preserving our democracy
What an amazing, and yes prescient,speech. True: we have lulled our self into thinking we would not have to again fight attacks on our democratic republic from within . These are indeed the times that try men's and women's souls. And it is up to us to step up-and not just hope another Lincoln will show up.
A well-timed essay given the violation of the law displayed by Trump's firing of the inspector generals without providing the 30-day notice required by the law. I hope that down the road the senators, like Lindsey Graham, who are saying Trump's disregard for the rule of law here is "no big deal" are noted in American history as shameful traitors to our democracy.
There may be an upside here. Someone, please ask Senator Graham for some clarification. Do we all get a shot at violating a law without consequence. If yes, then ask him how frequently can we do this? Is it daily, monthly, yearly, or once in a lifetime. If it is monthly I'm waiting until mid-April to exercise my lawlessness. Please don't tell anyone.
Government is a social contract and the truth about US democracy is that if you started again from Rawls's 'Original Position' you certainly wouldn't end up with what you have now, even though it might look the same. People are disillusioned because they don't believe government works for them - that the contract isn't fair nor what they believed they had signed up for. The pandemic has only exacerbated the terrible inequalities in American society and currently there's only one party promising to fix society - but they just happen to be lying. People on both sides are calling for radical, even revolutionary change but the disruption that creates always, always hits hardest on the most vulnerable in society, those that depend on those ailing institutions and services.
And so we weep.
And may we find it in ourselves, to act, individually, and collectively—peacefully. That we may protect the freedoms of all, upon the altar of history, and of this sacred moment in time.
I don’t want to ‘listen’. I need to read your words. Please print your remarks. Otherwise I will not be able to decipher them.
As was mentioned, the written version is released first, often in the midnight to 1 a.m. time frame. The audio is provided a few hours later.
The words are printed & released before the audio version. I had to go to Substack in an external browser, rather than through the app, to manage subscriptions. You might want to try that.
I like to read it when it's first released and then listen to it the next day. I learn so much from her, and I really like her voice. She is "one of the cornerstones of my sanity" during these difficult times. I have listened to some of her excellent books and I have enjoyed seeing her interviewed. There is an excellent interview of her by Tim Miller of The Bulwark, another one of my sanity supporters.
Oh, I saw her with Jon Stewart (very good) & will look for Tim Miller, too! "Democracy Awakening" is great, I will look for the others, thanks for mentioning. She is such a cornerstone of sanity for me, too, I don't know how I would have survived this past year or been able to keep going. She was the first that caught & has held my attention in trying to become educated in current events, civics, history...I can't say enough about how much I admire & appreciate her skill. It gives me great hope that such strong voices are emerging through the onslaught of ugliness & stupidity. She brings out the best is all of us!
They are printed. The audio is a day after the written version.
Click on the Letters From an American above the audio link. You will see the print version in the list. Normally right underneath the audio version.
It is always "eerie" to hear about these warnings from early in our nation's history and how clearly and accurately they predicted our current situation. Unfortunately, Donald knows close to nothing about history. As a result of his lack of knowledge and his lack of moral compass, he completely lacks understanding of what America is about. Even if he did understand, he wouldn't care, because he only cares about himself and being able to exercise power in a brutal and cruel manner. There have been calls for reintroducing classes about government and civics into schools, and this is clearly needed. Unfortunately, in our current political climate, I would predict that members of the right wing would want to manipulate how these subjects would be taught.
For this particular podcast, I received the text via email at Sunday, January 26 at 7:37PM (PST). Check your inbox and junk mail for an email from Heather around this time. If you didn't receive the email, you might need to change your settings on Substack.
Here are quick instructions to do that:
1. In a computer browser window — not your phone — go to the upper right hand corner of the screen and click on the colorful icon to the right of "Gift a subscription."
2. In the resulting pull-down menu, select Manage Subscription.
3. In the Notifications section, make sure "Letters from an American - Receive emails for new posts" is turned on.
4. If you're not interested in listening to podcast episodes, turn off Letters from an American - Receive emails for new podcast episodes."
5. In your email client, make sure that "heathercoxrichardson@substack.com" is a verified sender, so that her emails don't go into your junk mail folder. The easiest way to do this is to create a Contact for Heather Cox Richardson, and ensure that this email address is included on the contact card.
thank you for all the research and historical knowledge you share. Lincoln was an amazing man with a clear insight into his time. The speech you refer to, and share a part of, is disturbingly applicable to our time. If only we were teaching children how to ptotect our democracy. If only we were teaching everyone. Perhaps our last election might have had a different outcome. I am terrified by what has already been dismantled in only a week. How will our democracy survive four years?
like elizabeth i need to read words since I am deaf. thank you