Back in January, I was working a nighttime schedule. Overnight from January 5 to 6 I was listening in the truck to news reports on the radio, switching between MSNBC and CNN on SiriusXM radio. Fully expecting one or both Democratic challengers in Georgia to lose, I was left stunned and amazed when both challengers, a Jew and a black man from MLK’s church, won those Georgia Senate seats. Shocked and stunned. I could not believe it.
Before daybreak, upon arriving home, I couldn’t sleep. I was here in Heather’s forum jabbering excitedly with all of you about the miracle that had just transpired: two underdog challengers knocked off the white Republican incumbents. I still think it’s an off-the-charts miracle.
While trying to digest and absorb what had just happened, the Senate unbelievably turning blue by a razor-thin margin, making both houses of Congress blue along with the WH, that morning I was here on Heather’s LFAA when I found out about the riot. Someone here posted an all-caps alert, and that’s why I went upstairs to the living room to turn on the TV. I was here along with Cynthia, TPJ, TC, Lynell, Marcy Meldahl, Linda Bailey and Linda Mitchell and Daria, and many many others when I learned of the attack. Please include yourself in that list if you were present.
The word “whiplash“ barely does it justice.
I could continue, but you get the idea. My experience of the January 6 attack will forever be inextricably linked with this community. Frankly there’s no place else I would rather be when that pivotal moment in U.S. history was going down.
Roland, whiplash is exactly right. I had CSPAN on my laptop so I could watch the electoral count, was in conversation here (LFAA) with you and many others about the tremendous good news from Georgia on my tablet, and had Heather's Facebook page on my phone when all hell broke loose. The shift from elation over Georgia to shock over the attack on the Capitol was heart stopping. And heartbreaking.
Deepest gratitude to Heather for bringing us together. Sincere thanks to this community for enriching my life and making me think. We have much to do in 22.
US citizens abroad, if you haven't requested your absentee ballots for 2022 yet please take a moment to do so today.
Thank YOU, Roland, for putting into words what I am certain many of us feel. Thanks to Heather as well, as this community further exemplifies her engagement with the public and her Pulitzer Prize merits.
Roland, I was very moved by your recall of subscribers Cynthia, TPJ, TC, Lynell and others seemingly huddled together last January 6th as the riotous mob in ecstasy and anger tore into The Capitol. You were a 'community' as we are now gathered together. Thank you Roland for knowing how important it is when we are together.
I was at the zoo, eating lunch with keepers I volunteer with on Wednesdays. My shift was over, about 1:30. As I was walking out of “The Nightclub,” where our nocturnal animals are housed, I saw an alert on my phone and said so but didn’t get much response (but the screech owls did ask “whooooo?”—a little humor there). When I got home I turned on the tv and sat there in shock until dinner.
I remember, Roland. As soon as I saw the "Breaking News" alert on my TV and saw what I could not believe was happening, I immediately turned to Heather's page here, to find you all confirming that what I was seeing was indeed happening. And, yes, this is the place I wanted and needed to be...grateful that you all were here with me.
Roland, thank you for this memory of 1/6. I also remember the surreal sense of whiplash you describe. Last winter, I started dipping in Lake Michigan with some friends as a way to deal with my anxiety around the pandemic and to do something fun outdoors with other people. I arrived at the beach to hurl myself into the water for a few minutes, then socialize with my friends. I had NPR on my car radio, and at the moment I turned the ignition off, there was a local news story on. About half an hour later, I got back in my car, turned it on, and NPR was broadcasting frantic reports about a siege at the US Capitol. I’ll never forget how quickly, instantly my perception of the world changed. Total whiplash.
I remember feeling great about Georgia and discussing it with my LMT (a veteran who takes his service seriously) while I was having my two hour massage. Then I arrived home to watch the unbelievable chaos at the Capitol with no help in sight. I was so appalled and sick to my stomach. It is a searing event. Since I live in the state capital, Salem, I began to worry about the safety of our legislature. Sure enough, the far right showed up and started to attack the building. Then one of the legislators just happened to open a door for them endangering everyone in the building. The state police were able to get them out fortunately. Said legislator was expelled and had some minor charges against him. He is unrepentant and a hero to all the wing nuts here. That so many people are not repelled by the attack on the Capitol and this event is also appalling and yes, scary.
I don’t know if I was providing any strength that day, I would have to review that day’s LFAA discussion to see what I posted. I was in shock like everybody else. Dazed and lost in confusion. Remember that I am a political agnostic, recently converted in the past year or two to paying close attention to political reality. Before that I did not pay attention, I found politics too distasteful.
Many Americans will remember where they were, and what they were doing, at the moment they learned of the attack on the Capital. Yet another day of infamy In Our history as Dan Rather wrote in his Steady newsletter this week.
And today I was told by a friend she was appalled that Nancy Pelosi said this is a day like Pearl Harbor Day and 9,/11 that we have to remember every year. I had to explain to her these are all days that changed America. I think she finally understood but maybe not. How many others believe tho
Is anniversary is not worthy of coverage. I haven't checked Fox but am sure they aren't covering and sure that if I brought it up with my insane husband he'd say it was just any day although he is a Marine and also took an oath to defend this country. We have changed. We're in the bizarro world where millions of people saw the same thing but half saw normal behavior and the other half saw an insurrection. A schizophrenic country. I was eager to leave and the rest of my family has already obtained permanent residence in Canada but unable due to many things. Now I'm ready to stay and fight!!
Hi Shellee. Beautiful piece of yours. Unfortunately many people have the mindset of the rioters who descended on the Capitol. That includes military service and law-enforcement. January 6 absolutely belongs with Pearl Harbor. But many people see only the surface, they don’t see the reality. January 6 was about forcing our society to remain like Donald Trump‘s world: whites come first, men come first, straights come first. To paraphrase another person here in this community, to these people, and perhaps your husband, democracy looks white and male and straight. To put it simply, Fox News has become the new KKK. America is Hitler’s Germany. We are in a social struggle between the society of the past, and the society of equal power sharing for everyone. It’s the new Civil War.
One of my most vivid memories of January 6, was joining Heather as she did an impromptu, live discussion on FB. HCR and this community continue to educate, guide, and inspire.
From unbelievable euphoria to a gut punch. Today there are dozens of vigils (mostly on line) in honor/defense of democracy that we can join and support. A small gesture perhaps, but a message worth sending.
I had just received (like, at 0700 PST) my first COVID-19 vaccination, and my work partner and I had agreed that he'd work the 6th and I'd work the 13th (when he got his shot). I went home and was puttering about when my housemate called me in to watch the debacle unfold. It didn't occur to me to sign in here. I wish I had.
I wish I'd thought to come here. I actually watched about two hours of Faux Noise coverage of the event as it was happening; it was no different than CNN or MSNBC in calling it what it was: an insurrection. They only backtracked later.
"What is at stake today in America is the nature of our government. Will we accept an authoritarian government like that currently under attack in Kazakhstan, in which an autocratic leader funnels money to his cronies while ordinary people struggle, unable to fix the system that is rigged against them until finally they lay down their lives to change it? Or will we restore the principles on which the Founders based this nation: 'that all men are created equal' and that governments derive 'their just powers from the consent of the governed...'?"
I did not take an oath over 24 years ago to be faithful to this country, its Constitution, and its democratic government in order to allow it to be overtaken by totalitarianism without a fight. I will standup to every injustice, every act of bigotry, every suppression of voters' rights, every autocratic insurrection, every authoritarian wannabe with every fiber of my being.
My oath and allegiance were not taken lightly, not given thoughtlessly. I was not born into a democracy, I was given the honor to belong to one and I will dignify it with esteem and reverence until my last breath.
Can’t thank you enough for this Rowshan. I was born into this democracy- my father was a first generation American; my mother’s English ancestors landed in 1609. I have my grandfather’s naturalization certificate hanging on the wall nearby and look at it frequently to remind myself what a privileged existence I was born into and to remember that being an active participant is part and parcel of being a citizen here. Grateful beyond words for your eloquent reminder of why so many choose to come to the US and happy to work alongside you and so many others who value Democracy. Thank you!
Thank you, Rowshan. I was not born here either, but I chose to live in this country in 1964 and became a citizen some years later. I took my citizenship oath very seriously. I encountered a member of the DAR on the courthouse steps. She gave me a tiny flag and a copy of the Constitution and congratulated me. I still rememer her face, she would be horrified at what happened a year ago. I am now doing all I can for the future of this democracy and for the future of our planet. I am seriously worried about both.
Thank you for sharing your story, Rowshan. I was birthed in this country, with my paternal line tracing back to England (grandmother's side) and to upstate New York in 1791 (father's side; noted by my great aunts/aunts/cousins as "a farmer named Tom House) and my maternal line traced to Ireland in the 1870's (as much as it can be trusted). I admire what you and your family have done here, and how you got here.
I will join you in this fight to preserve our democratic government as one who does have the training and ability to use weapons to defend those who do not.
Thank you, Rowshan, for your commitment to democracy and our country. Your article "From Iran to Vermont: A Mercy Christmas Story" on The Sisters of Mercy website about your extraordinary life journey is fascinating. Your values resonate with me deeply. Blessings!
Martha, I felt honored while reading 'From Iran to Vermont: A Mercy Christmas Story'. It brought me closer to Rowshan. I am grateful to you for providing the link to it.
Thank you so very much everyone --Sheila, Sally, Nomi, Imogene, Martha, Ally, Laureen, Lynell, Kathy, Becky, Keith, Rex, Bill, Daria, Barbara, Jack, Suzanne, Christine, Mim, David, Sandra, Mike, Heydon, Pam, Julie, Becky, and anyone I may have missed -- for your kind words, your graciousness, and for adding your own insights and stories. What a pleasure to go through them all!! What a splendid community this is!
Rowshan, There is no reason to thank this subscriber. You have always been graceful, attentive, clear and a pleasure in our exchanges. 'From Iran to Vermont: A Mercy Christmas Story' provided the opportunity to know you better. I read of the same thoughtful person I know here as I learned of the trials you have lived through. You support people as you have been supported. Rowshan, you brought the deepest sincerity to the forum and you are a model of showing respect for others. Thank you.
This day brings back feelings of hopelessness and despair for our country….at least until I read your comment. “I will standup to every injustice, every act of bigotry, every suppression of voters’ rights, every autocratic insurrection, every authoritarian wannabe with every fiber of my being.” Thank you….thank you….thank you!
I can be appalled by what is occurring in Kazakhstan (which I have difficulty locating on a map) without wishing that American military went to rescue the populists. I felt the same anguish while watching Soviet troops crush the Hungarian Revolution in 1956. The Cold War was a long and, at times, an up-and-down struggle. I expect the same with authoritarianism, with some of the bad guys almost permanently in power. We must strengthen our own democratic practices, which are at a crossroads today.
Historically, the US has been far more energetic and effective in supporting dictatorships than in opposing them. You can find examples all over the globe: most of Latin America, most of the Middle East, the Phillipines, Vietnam, on and on, during the Cold War, prior to it, and following it. Our record is atrocious.
As I left the window with the map I recalled (deja-vu) the vivid, frightening, 1956 front page pictures of red starred tanks in Budapest and a maelstrom of similar world wide events since, which truly reflect that we now are at the crossroads. These things that have always occurred in "other countries" are on our doorstep now and I, as the rest of you, deeply hope we avert the dead end and choose the one that merely bends.
Rowshan, I did not know about you until a half hour ago. Thank you thank you thank you for making so vivid and personal what is at stake. And thank you for so fully and beautifully embodying what it means to be an American. Much love to your family.
Like so many others here, Rowshawn, I find your declaration of fealty to these United(?) States of America to be very moving and inspiring. Your fierce commitment to this nation and its stated ideals provides a potent example of true patriotism.
Like you and your family, many of our Persian––I tend to prefer Persian over Iranian––friends had to flee Iran after the Revolution. Many had relatives who were imprisoned and many were executed.
Our tiny religious community in the Midwest chose to sponsor one family that had escaped the peril in their homeland. Rohollah and his wife and two small children had fled the country in the dead of night, just ahead of the clutches of the authorities.
Their saga was one filled with drama and danger. Their daughter, the eldest of the two children, had come home from school one day and had refused to talk. After days of prayers and desperate entreaties, she reluctantly told of a friend who overheard her father, a prominent member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, say that Rohollah was on a list to be arrested.
The family escaped, first to Pakistan, and later to Spain and finally the U.S. Our home was the only one in our community that had a space for these refugees. Sadly, the unheated attic room was hardly adequate for the four evacuees, and they finally settled in an enclosed second floor porch, accessible only through the bathroom!
But they were safe.
My family history is somewhat different. My forebears came here “reluctantly” in chains, loaded like inanimate cargo in the holds of ships. How anyone survived that “Middle Passage” is, in itself, miraculous.
My maternal grandparents were born enslaved; my grandfather in 1853, my grandmother in 1861. My mother, the last of 11 surviving children, was born in 1904. Her oldest brother was lynched.
My father, in contrast, entered this life in comparative luxury. His parents were teachers and his father was also a minister. Dad might possibly have qualified for W.E.B. Du Bois’ elitist “Talented Tenth”.
My mother always said that her father “worked himself to death” on the family farm. I only met my grandmother three times, I believe, but cannot forget her stern visage.
Most, if not all, of us have some version of the American story to tell. Though some tales were never learned and others forgotten, they all come together in this incredible mosaic that makes us “Americans”!
We cannot, and must not, allow that montage of diversity to be damaged any more than it has, and we can never allow it to be destroyed!
As always, Ashley, I am humbled by your praise. Your kind and generous words are reassuring to me and indicate that I may have written something useful.
It is an honor and a pleasure to be able to read Dr. Richardson’s cogent and penetrating analyses each day. I am also grateful for the opportunity to comment in this amazing collection of insightful people.
Bill, I cannot begin to compare my journey to yours nor to that of your family. All of us who have become citizens stand on their shoulders and yours when we are accepted in the beautiful mosaic of diversity which you began.
Thank you for your kindness to my compatriots. I can't tell you what that acceptance and compassion means to immigrants -- every empathic gesture becomes a gift of life and hope.
At one with you, I say: "We cannot, and must not, allow that montage of diversity to be damaged any more than it has, and we can never allow it to be destroyed!"
My deep gratitude to you for your story and for being in this community of compassionate souls.
My thanks to you, Lynell. Your thoughts and insights shared in this forum help make the LFAA community a dynamic and vital one. There are few arenas more important to the retention of a free and constructive society than this one created by Dr. HCR.
Thanks very much Bill. I always think this country isn't worthy of the fact that so many people who can tell a story like this have been among its most ardent defenders.
Thank YOU, TC. I appreciate your thoughts in this forum and would like share your intense passion and your fire regarding THEM…but I’m trying to quit. I’ll try to explain that in a moment.
But regarding the people who defend this country; that’s part of the magic of the ol’ U-S-of-A. Somehow, despite its committing all manner of atrocities against the Indigenous peoples, African Americans, Asians, Latinos, and various iterations of “foreigners”, we keep coming back for more and will happily throw down with those who dare disrespect “Her”. This nation, despite all its grievous transgressions, has something very special indeed and is worthy of our defense and care.
Regarding “I’m trying to quit”, I have, for a number of decades, been struggling to quell some pretty angry and sometimes murderous emotions. Your reactions often trigger those old feelings of hostility and sometimes rage. But I know that’s not the was.
At some point I’ll share some of the perspectives and approaches that I’ve discovered that I think would probably be more productive in the long run.
As a footnote: I truly enjoy your discussions of the P-47, Republic Aviation’s Thunderbolt! My Dad was one of the draftsmen who drew up the parts that when assembled were the tank-killing, railroad-destroying, strafing and bombing, ME 109-eliminating “Jugs”, or juggernauts of WW2!
We must talk more, but battery is ready for its coffee break.
Bill I have been thinking about what you said here, and I concluded that as good an imagination as I have, I cannot imagine what it would be like to be you with this history. I can however say that whatever that "reaction " was in detail, it was justified. And if you take that energy and transform it, it will have true power that cannot be adequately described. So yeah, again, we have to talk. Go over to that place where you have seen me write about P-47s, and you'll find my e-mail.
Bill, I am not eloquent with words, but I so much appreciate yours and Rowshan's, as I so appreciate this community and my dear country, and I thank you.
I have always felt that there are certain prerequisites of nationhood which ought to be met if a country is to survive as a legitimate nation. There is some flexibility in them but they are: (1) logical borders such as large bodies of water, deserts or mountain ranges (rivers do not qualify), (2) at least one language or ethnicity common to its inhabitants, (3) an economic base provided by plentiful natural resources, manufacturing, trading or financial acumen and finally, (4) a workable governmental structure to manage its operation. The failure of a nation to survive can sometimes be attributed to not meeting any one of the first three prerequisites, but the absence of the fourth makes failure a certainty. Whether it be autocratic or democratic, that structure must exist. It is the glue that holds any nation together, the alternative to anarchy. Our present crisis involves testing that fourth prerequisite in the United States.
Suzanne: (89) Examples might be religious ('Islamic' republics such as Iran survive by excluding other faiths), (India was destined to fail until it split off Muslim Pakistan), linguistic (the USA is still basically English speaking despite centuries of immigration - would we survive with regional languages? I don't know.), ethnic (the Hutu-Tutsi conflict in Rwanda almost destroyed the country and still might), the Netherlands (Survival facilitated by Flemish Belgium breaking off) and if they ever make it, the Kurds in Kurdistan, a thorn in the side of Turkey of which they are a part. The Swiss seem to make it with three languages, but really, geography separates those speaking German from those speaking Italian or French. If there were no Alps, there probably wouldn't be a Switzerland. And pan-Slavic Yugoslavia never worked, but the Serbs, the Croats, the Montenegrins. etc. seem to succeed each with a homogenous population. Israel faces this problem too in remaining democratic in the face of challenges to its ethnic identity.
Hi, Jack, I’m 69. You have a good grasp of history. When I was in elementary school, we talked about the US being a melting pot. But now, with a grandchild who is bi-racial (European and Vietnamese, and beautiful) I think of us as more of a mosaic.
When you see pictures of St. Paul’s Cathedral, there appear to be many beautiful paintings. These are actually mosaics. I hope our country continues to become more beautiful in the same way. Happy Epiphany!
Rowshan, thank you for your eloquent reminder that we all must defend democracy, no matter where we or our ancestors have come from or wherever it is in peril.
Rowshan,your story brought back a memory. Decades ago I was a young,”struggling” Public Health Nutritionist attending grad school at night. One day my boss asked if I could give his wife a ride to class. I was concerned the doc’s wife would melt in my little Plymouth Champ with no AC. Did I mention it was summer in Florida ?
The commute was over an hour and doc’s wife was so gracious. She told me their story…they also were friends with the shah and had to flee Iran leaving most everything behind. Doc found a job as the assistant director at our county health clinic. He had been a well-respected orthopedic surgeon in Iran. Doc eventually became the director and received nationwide recognition for his efforts to improve access for the disadvantaged.
I’d told doc’s wife I wasn’t sure where my grad degree would lead me but hopefully to a “better” life. She commented that often it’s more difficult to go the other way.
At the time I was too young, and naive , to understand that I truly had it all.
I kept my Champ for 8 years and often on those sweltering, summer days I would think about Doc and his family.THEIR struggle was real.
On a cynical note, it occurred to me this morning that maybe this is the GOP's plan to end immigration; turn America into an autocracy, then all those 'undesirables' will no longer flee their own autocratic countries to come here!
The deadline for entry this year is in less than three weeks. She certainly is eligible, but she may be too busy keeping us informed about the crisis in our government to consider doing this herself. Not only does her work honor the highest traditions of American journalism, she also has led the way in combatting the ferocious threat to freedom of expression posed by Facebook and the marauding intellectual thugs, real and robotic, who dominate its pages. In doing so, she has allowed all of us to expand our freedom to express ourselves.
Her work may fit into more than one of the 15 categories in which a prize is awarded. It certainly would be appropriate in commentary. It might also be considered in the Public Service category, what may be regarded as the highest honor the Pulitzer board awards.
The entry requires that no more than 15 pieces of work be submitted, along with the entry form. Should we as readers pick our favorite to suggest? Keep in mind that engagement with readers is one important aspect considered by a Pulitzer jury, as is sourcing, so letters that generated much comment and that showed a range of sourcing would strengthen the entry.
That she soldiered along every day of 2021 was astounding. She even gave us a photograph of that tranquil harbor or peaceful sky on the Maine coast on the days she was too exhausted to share additional insights. That gives us 365 samples to choose from.
HCR is the first to say that she is not a journalist, but a historian. Hopefully her writing, public service, and reader engagement would still qualify her for a Pulitzer nomination.
Commentators in the daily, weekly, monthly press come from all professions. As far as the Pulitzer board is concerned, they are all participants in journalism, alongside reporters, editors and publishers. With her newsletter, Prof Richardson ranks alongside William Allan White and Hazel Brannon Smith as a publisher with a remarkably disciplined and powerful pen. Like them, she has conducted a campaign to defend human dignity and freedom. In the process she has stripped naked many of the propagandists masquerading as journalists, a public service of the highest order.
As I know, Albert, you have fought for these values in all your years as a prize-winning editor. I am so happy you have discovered Richardson, too. I also recommend Robert Hubbell’s Today’s Edition to you. He and Heather keep me sane.
“Like them, she has conducted a campaign to defend human dignity and freedom. In the process she has stripped naked many of the propagandists masquerading as journalists, a public service of the highest order.” Extraordinarily she has done this (public service) by also besting them (the propagandists) at the use of their own tool, FB. Not to be repetitive, but rather to further explain my point, she has reached out to engage the masses, sharing her knowledge, and not just staying in a cocoon of her own peers.
I too find HCR serving as a top flight journalist in today's fog because of her historian training and the context she seems to be singularly gifted to render today's stories in the rich soup from which a series of events gets aroma and give us nutrition.
You are right, Ellie. But the fact that Heather writes daily could qualify her LFAA as journalism, given the word’s etymology, from the Latin diurnal or daily.
I'm sorry, Ellie, my comment higher up should really have been in response to this important observation of yours. HCR shows how the work of the historian can complete that of journalism, bringing deeper perspective to what might otherwise be superficial reporting. It can be an inspiration to both journalists and editors. This, at a time when the Nobel Peace Prize has, for a change, been awarded to highly deserving persons, journalists well aware of their duty to the public.
When, in the late 1960s, I began reading the press seriously for my job, I became aware of what most journalism lacked but the very best plainly possessed, while displaying this only obliquely: a sense of context; not just the reporting of facts, but awareness of the meaning and implications of those facts. Good editors then seized on the factual report and teased out what those facts could mean for us.
One day in the 1980s, I got into conversation with an American who had been living in Colorado Springs.
To illustrate the static parochialism of Middle America, he told me how the editor of the local newspaper had published an editorial that began with words to the effect of “As I wrote in 1923”… Over half a century before…
Now, isn’t that the opposite of both history and journalism? News—as the very word spells out—is the latest occurrences on the timeline; yet both the historian and the journalist are aware of the dynamic processes of time… with the reporter tending to fix his gaze only on the visible tip of time’s iceberg…
Great historians have always been aware of the relevance of history for our present, even if only as propaganda in favor of the current powers-that-be—think of the Holinshed chronicles and what Shakespeare made of them, at once illustrations of the thing in itself and Tudor propaganda. More faraway stories like MacBeth and Hamlet or the plays set in antiquity give a sense of history’s hidden mass.
King Lear is all myth and meaning…
Voltaire must have been well aware of the relevance for his own time of his history of Charles XII of Sweden.
HCR and Timothy Snyder are showing up both the past and its lessons for the present and how the present echoes and contrasts with the past.
The dynamics of how things happened and are happening at this very moment.
Also, earlier presentations of the past, both propaganda and views and actions... with a coloring inevitably different from ours today.
Such awareness is deeply precious and the service that it renders America and the world more than merits the Pulitzer limelight.
Here on the Forum, Peter, you are surrounded by other subscribers with very high opinions of historians, particularly of Heather Cox Richardson. I am one of the subscribers who is also a champion of journalists and the Free Press. How can historians not also be strong advocates of reporters, how could historians function without them? Just look at the end today's letter at 'Notes' to see the sources for HCR's letter. Among historians, I don't know that journalists have a better friend than Timothy Snyder.
‘It's just much harder for big lies, conspiracy theories, polarizing arguments to get through to people if they're living in a world where they have local news, where they know reporters, where they're concerned about the things which actually matter to them, like is there mercury in my water, or is my school board corrupt, or is this new local politician taking bribes? Those are the things - the kinds of things that people used to know, and now we don't because most of the United States is now, technically speaking, a news desert. Americans on most of the territory of our country, especially the less populated parts of our country, are - basically have no choice but to be following the world by way of social media.' (NPR) See link at the bottom of this comment.
In another post of yours, I provided of a number of links concerning Facebook as you seemed to second it concerning another matter. On with Timothy Snyder and the role of reporters.
'I call reporters the heroes of our time. Why is that word “heroes” not an exaggeration but rather a very precise description of how important that service — reporting — is to our moment? An investigative reporter is someone who is trying to find out the way the world actually is and, in the service of trying to find those facts, a reporter is someone who takes risks. I mean that in the most literal sense.' See link under this paragraph.
An old friend working in two different countries saw friends murdered, a promising politician and a prominent journalist. And you'll remember how many of Dmitri Muratov's star investigative journalists were murdered in Putin's Russia. Read Politkovskaya's books again, and you'll see quite how heroic her activity was.
Peter, My reply to your initial comment with the help of Timothy Snyder, was to point out the crucial role of journalists in bringing the facts and truth to the people, including historians, as you seemed to underplay their importance in your initial comment.
Message received. Maybe I took this for granted... And... it isn't only journalists who bring facts to our attention, sometimes the representatives of NGOs, also risking life and limb.
I mentioned Pilecki's witness during WW2 but not Kurt Gerstein who joined the SS to find out what was going on and passed messages to Sweden and the Vatican...
Peter, One of the biggest challenges we have in the struggle for democracy is growing outlets with news organizations based on journalistic principles around the country -- that includes local outlets in rural and remote areas. Social Media, Facebook/Meta being the giant among smaller outlets, is the largest disseminator of disinformation and misinformation. The Big Lie, lies, anti-vaccine reports, conspiracy theories -- the propaganda drowning our country cannot be counteracted without the growth of the Free Press and regulation of social media. It is as the fossil fuel sector a lethal monster that must be addressed. How do we get the facts and the truth back and how can we save the planet earth without meeting these challenges?
It takes lived experience, relevant knowledge, and strong communications skills to move from reporting the present event to being a journalist curating and informing. As I might add to your commentary, Peter, without those journalistic chops, the reporting in merely a snapshot taken with a Brownie in a digital time.
Maybe I was lucky, crossing and sometimes getting to know political correspondents, experts who knew all the ins and outs of the European Union. But... not Boris Johnson... who was at school with my son...
Rather than the products of Johnson's fertile imagination, I was sometimes troubled by the way in which some ambitious newsmen related to politicians, reporting word-for-word the precise messages the latter wanted to put across, not even summarizing content. This could be the guarantee of a very successful career...
The scurrilous thought passed through my head that if politicians were entombed like mediaeval knights, the statue on the tomb would have a little journalist lying at their feet instead of the knight's favorite hound...
Albert, let’s also keep in mind that these same letters are posted by Heather on her Facebook page, and followed and commented by an even larger audience than this forum (1.5 million followers! 40-50K daily likes, 2.5K daily comments!)
I was just scrolling thru her FB page, curious about the letters with the most likes versus those that were the most shared. I found it interesting that some letters about Liz Cheney standing up for democracy over party were some of the most popular and shared of her letters on FB this year. I wondered to myself if sharing them was an attempt to reach FB friends in the party of TFG. Social media is here to stay. Are we smart enough to make it a tool to encourage our better nature rather than our worst. We are all in this together, those on FB and those on this forum. Kudos to Heather for creating a space where real people find real knowledge and share it. ❤️🙏
You hit the nail on the head. Heather has figured out how to use different forms of social media to build her platform for influencing the political narrative and promoting civic engagement.
She uses Twitter to track information and opinions, then uses Facebook to broadcast her own opinion via LFAA and twice a week video chats which she later posts to her YouTube channel. After typo feedback, she posts LFAA to this Substack with its forum relatively free from trolls due to paying subscribers. This forum has grown into a valuable community for information sharing and support. Last year, she joined with Professor Joanne Freeman to produce their weekly podcast “Now & Then.”
Like you say, social media is here to stay, and we can use it as a tool to grow our better nature.
Ellie, I very much appreciate this comment and your work in general. I agree with you but take exception to your characterization of LFAA as “broadcasting her own opinion” rather than describing it as something like a sharing of her knowledge and expertise. ❤️
“Sharing her knowledge and expertise” does sound better! The main point Heather makes is that she does not interview primary sources like journalists do.
Thr professors chats on FB are shared with a page created in 2020 Women Against Trump. Many of these were Republican women living in red states. They all now follow HCR. So she is touching a bipartisan audience although many of the Republicans may now no longer identify with their party.
Every day, Heather keeps faith with her readers. Even on the few days she doesn’t write a letter, she gives us a photo with a note. If that isn’t commitment, I don’t know what is.
I had brought up this idea to some friends a year ago, but ran into some personal setbacks and couldn’t get the ball rolling. Should we nominate her collectively or individually? Either way, count me in!
The hard part will be choosing 15 samples from among the 365 superb letters during the year. How about reviewing one month, any one, and scanning through to pick which one had the greatest impact on you.
Mike, just pick a month in 2021 (January would be a good one, so would February) and scan through to find one that think is particularly indicative of the insight, character and writing of Prof Richardson. Then post it. I'll find it, then I'll add it to the bundle under consideration for submission.
The concluding paragraph is a Perkins quote with a stark message for all of us in this moment of our history : “”There is always a large horizon…. There is much to be done,” Perkins said. “It is up to you to contribute some small part to a program of human betterment for all time.”
Yours are both superlative choices of one kind of letter! Both made a very strong impression on me when I first read them. Both should impress anyone who's nostalgic for the Confederacy. The letter about Douglass is a reminder that, like it or not, we are all human beings. Equals, faced with life's challenges (and yet, still unequal in the treatment meted out to "Nie Blankes" in America -- excuse my Afrikaans). The other letter reminds latterday revanchists keen on reversing the outcome of the Civil War that Grant did not have horns and a tail. The kind of thing we all need to remember, especially when trying to communicate with the deluders and the deluded...
I agree: after reading through all the individual category requirements, HCR clearly merits consideration in 5 or more categories. $75 nominating fee. Might we reach a consensus as to the appropriate area for nomination?
I would be challenged to choose just 15 of my favorites. There are many scholars in this forum who could offer their judgements on which ones to submit or should popularity of individual letters matter as well? Her letters also have a large following on Facebook.
My plea (for the brilliant suggestion of nominating Prof Heather’s LFAA for a Pulitzer): Let’s leave Facebook out of this. An evil enterprise if ever there was, and despite the good it may have done or still does, Zuck and his still-undiscovered shenanigans deserve no credit for her brilliant insight and masterful delivery. Just my opinion.
I am not a fan of FB, nor Zuck. However, I would think that her reach to 1.5 million followers on FB and the engagement of those followers in commenting on her page are significant when considering her remarkable ability to inform all of us for a Pulitzer Prize. For the evil FB has wrought let us not discard what good might have come along with it. Spread of LFAA thru FB to 1.5 million is firmly the result of Heather’s own genius.
Peter, Have you considered the role that Facebook is playing concerning the mental health of children, young adults and democracy in countries around the world? Perhaps your comment was not clear. Do you know the numbers of those that would favor or approve nomination for HCR for the Pulitzer Prize via Facebook/Meta? Do we know HCR's opinion of that? In case you have not considered the role of Facebook/META in society, several articles about the enterprise have been linked below.
SLWeston, No need to be just an opinion. Facebook is irrelevant to this project. Just as an article from The New York Times may be reprinted in many formats in many channels, material submitted with a Pulitzer nomination comes only as original material published in The New York Times. For our purposes, Letters from an American on Substack, and comments made on Substack in response, is the original format.
Christy, no need for you to choose 15. Just choose 1 from a random month. Having a selection chosen by readers would add strength to the nomination. Hopefully, we'll have more than 15 readers participate, so when the application is submitted, whoever coordinates it may have to do a further subjective cull.
December 28, 2021 -- the slaughter of the Lakota. "One of the curses of history is that we cannot go back and change the course leading to disasters, no matter how much we might wish to. The past has its own terrible inevitability.
Ruth Brinton, may I include this one in the bundle to be considered for submission to the Pulitzer organization? Another one stuffed with courage and integrity, the essence of leadership.
Last night watching “Preserving Democracy: Pursuing a More Perfect Union” on PBS I was struck by how deeply embedded slavery and racial suppression exists in Trumpism. I remembered Dr. Richardson’s letter in which she revealed how the issue of abortion was brought into politics during the Nixon era to divide and distract us. Racial suppression, abortion, gun rights, immigration (and what else?) are issues used as weapons to divert the populace from the actions of those who want to destroy our democracy and institute an autocracy. We must help bring our sisters and brothers into understanding that these issues used as zero sum games are being used against us to serve the selfish desires of the greedy. Too simplistic?"
The letter she refers to might be another good prospect -- Dec 10, 2021, I think. And the one on the economy -- Dec 22, 2021.
Albert, I’m wondering if you are aware it is the exact published LFAA newsletter here that she posts on her FB page. You, yourself mentioned FB in your original post, albeit dismissively. In my mind HCR has conquered Facebook and that is an accomplishment. I have zero skill or knowledge when it comes to Pulitzer Prize nominations so I am not being contrary, but seeking understanding. You state “Keep in mind that engagement with readers is one important aspect considered by a Pulitzer jury”. Certainly her engagement with her FB followers and the FB interactive talks would support that criteria.
Ellie, that came from a very old friend in a galaxy far, far away with whom I've been re-united by Prof Richardson. I'm happy to spearhead, but a successful effort will require the participation of the LFAA community to bring together the selections. In many ways, the participants will be switching hats to become part of an awards committee rather than only readers. And the deadline is fast approaching.
Thank you, Ellie Kona. We have a good selection now to choose from, 30 picks from readers, many with more than one supporter. I'll sift through them and let everyone know how I've gotten on.
Albert, Thank you for explaining the criteria of submission for a Pulitzer. It is a relief to me that Facebook/META would have not have any role concerning HCR's LFAA.
I think anyone who takes part in selecting nominees for a Pulitzer would be aware of her newsletter by now. And it’s a body of work that speaks for itself.
Too true, but the awards committee does not go in search of nominees. They consider only those presented in the appropriate form, as defined by the entry form and attached to the entry fee. And the jury (of 3 volunteers) for each of the 15 journalism prizes has time to consider only the few samples submitted.
I am late to join. I am not a joiner. But today, this day, it seems fitting. I feel called. I must. I must try. I must stand up and share my words along side your words Heather. Words? Our words are tools, a start, a starting place, inspiration? A call to action? Earlier this week, in agonizing anticipation of this anniversary, I wrote this - a self assignment. I needed to do it and I need to share with all of you. ******** Homework Assignment - Democracy - in my own words, my thoughts:
Democracy is The Golden Rule assembled and exercised inside a geographic place, four walls, a floor and a ceiling, inside a place that we call a country (a nation).
Democracy is an idea, a governing idea, a SELF (collective self) governing idea.
The bold idea - DEMOCRACY, it sits upon a foundation, another idea, a Declaration, that ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL. All Men, created equal, a solid block set on stable ground, a foundation to hold, that must hold, the walls of a democracy.
The Golden Rule, maybe that is the ceiling, a dome... do unto others - as you would have done - unto you. Without that, a Golden Rule dome, the whole house leaks. It gets wet from the top down. It all falls apart.
Democracy is a group effort, a collective exercise, a nation's effort to treat men, all men, equally, fairly, to deal honestly and in good faith, to do unto others as we would have done unto us.
Democracy is the Rule of Law, a nation, indivisible, standing up against Darwin’s Law of the Jungle. In this place, we agree, as one, that men - are ruled - not by might - in this place, only if we agree, men are ruled by laws.
Democracy lives, it’s an idea that must be fed and nourished in order to live. This idea, like all good ideas, it requires maintenance. Ideas live, if they are fed and maintained. Ideas neglected, they die.
What (if any) truths do we hold to be self-evident? Who are we? Who do we want to be? What ideas do we want to keep alive?
We are the United States of America.
Three Hundred, Thirty Two Million of US(A).
Are we still an American dream, a Golden Rule, Democracy from Sea to shining Sea, a beacon - on a hill?
Or are we something else? Who are we? Who do we want to be? What defines us?
Marcy, I understand. I stand with you. Guiding documents, such as the Declaration of Independence, I used the original text, but in my mind, they live, they should be alive, stay alive. Keep the originals and update them like software, version 2.0 etc. People, humankind, all humanity. I understand. Thank you for your kind words, comment. I stand with you.
Scott, Welcome to Letters from an American. Thank you for joining us and for sharing in your own words what Democracy means to you. January 6, 2022, is a fine day to recommit yourself to principles of Democracy, to be among engaged American citizens and other advocates of Democracy from around the world.
Good for you Scott. I think it important to write in one's own words what one knows and holds to be true. And, sometimes writing them where others get to read them is to trust in yourself while sharing. Sometimes I comment here simply to give light to my hopes and ideas and see them through the eyes of others who I am coming to respect. There is a certain validation in doing so, for sure, but there is also a timestamp as I come back, affording a tracking of the history of our (my) thinking and ideas. I think we grow through our writing open to the light.
Fred, I read this somewhere and it stuck with me. It rang true - for me. I'm not getting it quite right. I'm not as eloquent, but it went something like: "I don't know what I think, until I read what I have written." And then to have feedback, from you, others, a trusted community, Wow, yes, it sure is validating. I feel less alone. I am part of a team. I am (finally) IN THE GAME. Thank you Fred.
Welcome, Scott. You write well, and in your post here, I see some good things to use to ask my friends who have fallen for the "big lie" hook, line, sinker, pole, reel, and boat who also firmly believe in the Constitution, and have sworn oaths to protect and defend it. Thank you.
I have pondered for years, that all societies have garnered their strength from the collective notion that moral codes are derived from a Conservation of Energy, in that mutual agreement to trust your neighbor not to steal from your home while you are away, hunting and gathering
These agreements originally upheld by peer pressure from the group’s elders to abide by these moral and ethical tenants, who used progressive discipline ie shunning and ostracizing as enforcement
These “tenants” eventually took the form of laws that provided society the ability to thrive
Democracies in and of themselves are prone to be fragile with the idea of “majority rule” equalling “plus 1”
Better for Society is the notion of the Golden rule, but this requires a dedication to empathy; something decidedly lacking in our current public arena; hence the need for third party enforcement, The Rule of Law
Without it, society cannot Conserve its Energies for productive Hunting and Gathering
Welcome to this community, Scott! I love what you penned as you enjoined my creed, The Golden Rule, with our form of this experiment, this dream of Democracy. It is so eloquent and simple (at least in my naïveté?) to abide under TGR. I learned that when I was very young and later felt that all the thick books on philosophy and religious teachings are really trying to say this one simple thing. For me, The Golden Rule = Love for Self and Other. Therein may lie the rub. In my experience as a teacher and a therapist, I have tried to explore why people just cannot treat others as they would want to be treated: Many people loathe themselves. Self-love, if not felt intrinsically, must be nurtured by family and community...maybe religion (but religion and I have a sordid past due to my being called a "sinner" at nine years old, and that a man named Jesus was mercilessly crucified for my sins--- I did not buy it. I said to myself, I am only nine, and this guy never met me! This story apparently happened more than 2,000 years ago! I learned at that moment to question those in authority and trust my Self to make good decisions. And when my Godmother, who had suddenly been "re-Born," laid all this on me, and then disappeared forever when I refused to have the bleeding man on the cross above my bed, I learned something about some Christians. Love is conditional for some of them. My Godmother's own fears blinded her to the Light of who I am. In her disappearance, she lost me and our family. I was hurt, but very clear. The Golden Rule has always been the best decision-making factor in all I approach, even if it means I must give something up...for friends, family, community or country. At least I usually feel something that feels like...Integrity for my Self, and Love for my fellow-humans, all creatures (minus ticks and mozzies), and our gorgeous planet whirling in this beautiful Universe. Uni-Verse. If we all spoke the language of The Golden Rule, imagine life on earth? "Imagine," like Yoko and John implored us with what should become a Global Anthem for choice-making. Does this action I am about to take or speak benefit the whole? How about for seven generations? Thank you for your contribution to today's comment section, Scott. This is quite a read today full of tears of reader's stories and full of hope, support and community.
What is genuinely frightening is the fact that the things that were done in the White House and its "war rooms", as outline by Peter Navarro, may not be illegal. It turns out, there is nothing - NOT ONE WORD - in the Constitution that requires free and democratic elections. The closest anything comes is the Constitution giving the state legislatures the power to "devise systems", with no requirement what that system should be. It turns out that the use of "democracy" has merely been a collectively-agreed "tradition" that has no teeth to enforce it.
So, the DOJ could do everything Garland said, and not get Trump et al, because there is no statute or constitutional requirement that makes their acts criminal. About the most that's there is "election tampering" like Trump's phone call to Raffensperger or the Kanye West publicist's attempt to get the woman accused of "voter fraud" to "confess."
It turns out we've been living in a nailed-together, jury-rigged system that promises more than it requires.
Your’s is a wise analysis of a very sad fact. Much of what is done in our government is by tradition, not law. This is why a person with no respect for norms or history like Trump could easily spend five years trampling on everything folks feel is law but is not. He respects nothing and realized early in his life that his lawyers were his weapons of choice to get what he wants. The Golden Rule = Them that has the gold makes the rule.
That’s my opinion too. Garland is a good man, a smart and was a thoughtful judge, and we hope he can muster his DOJ staff to prosecute Trump and the other conspirators. It has never been done before so will be new legal territory. DOJ will be the last stand after what will probably be the lost of both houses in ‘22. The DOJ and SCOTUS will be how this shakes out.
"Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States."
Amendment XIV, Section 3 prohibits any person who had gone to war against the union or given aid and comfort to the nation's enemies from running for federal or state office, unless Congress by a two-thirds vote specifically permitted it.
Plus, someplace there is a law making sedition and treason illegal.
If Merick Garland cannot find a way to charge Trump with his obvious crimes against the US government then he was the wrong man at the wrong time.
Peter Navarro is way off on this.
However, it is true that the constitution does not require popular vote for election outcomes in the states. Hence, southern states are, once again, moving to become dictatorships of rich, white, men.
Cults are rarely anything else. Think back. Navarro likely knows better. But I m constantly amazed that tv talking heads are surprised that so many are truly convinced that chump won the election and evil democrats stole it from him. Could it be the constant barrage of propaganda spewed on Fox and clones that they are loathe to mention. At least Hitler proudly named Goebbels the Minister of Propaganda. Rupert slinks in the background, surrounded by billions and basks in the glory of owning the WSJ, which apparently gives him cover for his Enquirer on the air, Fox. Make no mistake, he is not the only one (social media being another elephant in the room) but if Rupert lost his power to lie with impunity, the oxygen would be sucked out of the Magat cult movement to a lethal degree. Of course, no one will mess with a "journalist." Hahaha But stop with the shock about half the country buying the Big Lie from the Biggest Loser. It's disgustingly clear to anyone not in a coma. Several countries have banned Fox, ask them how that went. No regrets, I'll wager.
There exists a problem when the lawmakers depend upon the Billionaires to fund their increasingly expensive campaigns. Factor in the primary source of income for all media outlets and the legs of the stool support each other in harmony
Brava, Jeri! Perfect dubbing of Fox/Rupert as our own terrorizing "Ministers of Propaganda." Rallies and tweets by the orange Yeti were/are part of the Hitlerian essentials of constant brainwashing lies we have witnessed from these anti-Americans for the past six years. When we re-create our country, we must deal with issues of propagandism vs Freedom of Speech (with responsibility and boundaries) in all venues of our communication systems.
Reviewing Germany in the 1930's is the best activity for understanding what has happened for 30 years (way before chump), but he had the unmitigated gall to openly espouse their evil.
Yes. Anyone who studied Germany, pre-WWII could see the same tactics being used in 2016 America by the republicans. It has been a plan in the making for decades. TFG was the perfect narcissist to carry out their full attempt at this coup d'etat.
The Massachuesetts Constitution, written by John Adams states:
"Article IV.
The people of this commonwealth have the sole and exclusive right of governing themselves, as a free, sovereign, and independent state; and do, and forever hereafter shall, exercise and enjoy every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not, or may not hereafter, be by them expressly delegated to the United States of America in Congress assembled."
Adams MA constitution was the model for the 1787 US constitution, although, unfortunately, Adams was in France at the time. In retrospect, that was a mistake. But, I think his son was fluent in French by then so off they went.
Since the Presidential elections are all held in the states, we have to look at STATE constitutions where state electors are picked.
Because, the states do, in fact, decide the outcome of the Presidential election, not the US Constitution. Same with the legislators.
At least in Massachusetts, where John Adams vision held sway because he encoded it in the MA constitution, the election IS specified as controlled by the people.
IN SHORT: Do not give up hope and work guys.
If Trump can define the Constitution as supporting him being President for the rest of his life and then Don Jr, and then Don Jr, Jr?
Well, we can define it however we want AS WELL.
So, I am here to say that the US Constitution, modeled on John Adams MA constitution, meant to say and does say that the PEOPLE will consent to be governed in the USA.
That is what John Adams intended and I don't care what they actually wrote when he was in France.
At the very least we need federal laws to protect national elections. “States Rights” may prevent us from enacting federal laws protecting state elections, but, it’s long past time to codify norms wherever we can. This mess won’t be easy to unwind so begin at the federal level and work from there.
Garland: "The Dept. of Justice will continue to do all it can to protect voting rights with the enforcement powers we have. It is essential that Congress act to give the Department the powers we need to ensure that every eligible voter can cast a vote that counts."
So what is the fix? Congress already established the DOJ in 1870 to combat KKK domestic terrorism against voters newly enfranchised by the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution. What should Congress do now?
Enact a national voting law that will protect our individual right to vote and have each vote counted as meant by the voter. Either get rid of the filibuster Totally or make it as originally intended to be worked for. Stand and talk for hours, days or more in an attempt to block voting. In other words show their face and work for what they want. Not just push a button and go to lunch
"... will we restore the principles on which the Founders based this nation: “that all men are created equal” and that governments derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed...”?" (HCR)
... how do we 'restore' those principles when they never have been firmly established as constitutional law? We expend immense amounts of time and energy. expounding the virtues of "our democracy" - rising to defend a dreamed of freedom that only ever has been just that: a dream.
So, how do wee people make that dream a reality?
People at Move To Amend have been working for several years to do just that. It remains to be seen how successful their efforts will be. Anyone with courage and inspiration to contribute is welcome to participate:
Remember, all those deadicated service people sworn to defend the Constitution, are beholden to follow orders of the high command ... effectively, anyone who questions or challenges the validity of "our" Constitution may well be considered an "enemy" and treated accordingly.
"... there is nothing - NOT ONE WORD - in the Constitution that requires free and democratic elections. The closest anything comes is the Constitution giving the state legislatures the power to "devise systems", with no requirement what that system should be ... the use of "democracy" has merely been a collectively-agreed "tradition" that has no teeth to enforce it."
"It turns out we've been living in a nailed-together, jury-rigged system that promises more than it requires."(TCinLA)
Isn't this why we are more than a nation of laws, but of tradition, of bonds man-made, of myths built to stress our commonality, of history written to reveal our story and give fabric to what was hinted at in the two documents upon which this experiment was started? All that is good (or evil) cannot be enshrined only in laws, but rendered in traditions for which the governed hold true or worthy to follow. Someone else, today, referred to the cracks where light comes in. That connected to me, as does this concern you express that there is nothing explicit in our constitution. Cracks occur, light is needed, and, IMHO, it must be the sweep of history that arrives to deliver judgment on the peridot that is January 6th. Can we really leave all up to one institution to resolve this breach of intents and hoped for goals imagined by our forefathers and fought for these past 350 years? Sadly, I am little help here.
Article IV, Section 4, states: "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence." That's about as close to a guarantee as we have. The term "Republican Form" of government may be open to some interpretation, but in general it has been construed as one in which the People govern through elections. In Federalist No. 57, Alexander Hamilton wrote "The elective mode of obtaining rulers is the characteristic policy of republican government.”
There is a monument on the Mall in Washington that rarely gets attention, tho it is directly in front of the Capital. The Ulysses S. Grant Memorial depicts him on his horse, slouched and still, while flanking him are a life-size Cavalry Group on the north and an Artillery Group on the south. They appear to be defending the Capital building, as they did in life. I’m thinking on them today, their sacrifice to hold our country together, and Grant’s defeat of the first KKK thru the newly created Justice Department (1870), and the Ku Klux Klan Act (1871), devised to defend the 14th Amendment. We must not let their sacrifice be trampled by modern seditionists. We must support those in Congress who are fighting to defend voting rights, like Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) who participated in meetings from his car while trapped on I95 on Tuesday. We must use all lawful means to restore our democracy.
Because Light, every time, will insert itself in the cracks of darkness. There is no opposite of Light so always call on it for protection and strength. When your actions are done with Love, Light encircles that action. Think of it.
We are all in this together. There is enough to go around.
And our "Liberty" Bell has a crack in it. It is our turn in American history to define "whose" Liberty are we are talking about NOW, in 2022. That's how the Light gets in. All The People, this time. "People, let your Light shine, all night and day!" — Jesse Colin Young
Yes today is epiphany as well as the anniversary of the coup. Garland gave a good speech yesterday— following the rule of law takes time. Let’s be grateful for the fact that Biden has 3 more years and we all have many possible modes of free speech and intelligent actions.
For an entire year, it never registered on me that the 2021 Insurrection took place on the Feast of the Epiphany, that's how much the one story overshadowed the other in my mind and in the media. And before this, I was always well aware of Epiphany, having been raised Greek Orthodox. The insurrectionists not only attacked our democracy, they also desecrated the Feastday. From now on, in my mind at least, it will be the Epiphany 2021 Insurrection.
Thank you for the reminder. Perhaps this explains my experience of the last few days. Oscillating between a simmering fear of Omicron (I’m boosted) vs. let’s have a modern day Pox party to get this infection over with and move closer to herd immunity. December 31 to now has been quite an emotional drain. Surely I didn’t expect 2022 to be magical 6 days in right? And I can’t help but wonder if the anniversary of Jan 6 is playing a role in how I feel. Today I will embrace the light and turn away from the dark.
I am already drained, or should I say I’m still drained. In addition to all that goes on in our country, I also got the news a week ago about a close friend’s aggressive cancer. While I’m big on the afterlife (see: George Anderson), I’m grieving so many things I’m feeling tired and defenseless. And today is our daughter’s 38th birthday, so there’s that. Sorry to be such a bummer.
Marcy, I believe we are all in some stage of grief and have been for some time. People are dying, the earth is dying, democracy seems to be quite sick, but we still carry on. Feeling "bummed" is nothing to apologize about. We, here can hold you as you gain new strength.
Still drained, and the "suck" keeps getting bigger. This community is where you can come to get some relief and some "boosting", even if all you do is speak your truth.
Laura, thanks. My wife is Orthodox Christian (Greek). I will surprise her this morning with this information since, normally, I have no idea about all the different days in that church. There are many.
It does help to have a "religion coach". I have a Jewish coach and an Episcopal coach. I was not raised in any church nor do I follow a path in life determined by any one religion. I still hold high a comment from a friend of mine (a preacher's kid who is very religious and a member of a Christ based church that isn't in the mainstream fold) who told me "For an atheist (how I defined myself at the time, at age 20; I now use the term non-theist) you are the most Christian person I know."
In my experience, that is frequently the fact. I think that many of we atheists are people who looked at Christianity, compared it to the "Christians" and said "Nope." But they liked the ideas, which is why we dislike the idolators.
This unexpected development may cause Putin to rethink his position on Ukraine. The fact that he has not acted with force suggests that no one in Moscow anticipated the extent of anger in Kazakhstan.
Putin’s greatest fear is something akin to an Orange Revolution, a popular uprising like what’s happening in Kazakhstan, because a popular movement of that size will not allow him to maintain the type of control he now exercises. Stuart Attewell (if I read him correctly, often he is way over my head) points out the need for Russia to join Europe and ally with the U.S. and with democracy. If Putin does not align with his own people, and with the need of the world to unify, if he does not ride the tide of history that wants Russia to be the great nation that unifies Europe and Asia, then he will be swept away by that Tide. What he doesn’t realize is that you don’t control the tide, you let the tide wash you where it wants to take you. Control is the problem, not the solution. The solution is allowing and accepting what needs to happen, allowing oneself to be moved by that Tide of history, to become an instrument in the evolution of that destiny. Let the wind blow your sailboat where it will, stop deciding that you know better than the wind. That, my dear Vladimir, is the difference between becoming a great leader and being an also-ran. Your greatest fear is also your greatest opportunity. If you can let go of control, and allow the forces of history to operate through you instead of resisting them with that fear-based control, miracles will happen. Your desire for a powerful Russian nation which is admired around the world is possible, absolutely possible, if you allow yourself to be the vehicle of Russia’s glorious evolution without interfering. You will become the tool of destiny, the vehicle of destiny, the instrument through which destiny operates, rather than the human, small individual human, control freak who opposes destiny. But you cannot go backwards. The USSR is gone. The new Russia will not look like something that has already disintegrated. It will look like something brand new, something that has never existed before. Your attempts to take Russia backwards are merely delaying destiny’s desire to take Russia forwards, to a brand new glorious reality that we cannot picture because it has never existed. Your dream of a Russian Empire from the past will not happen. However, with proper nourishment, as Nikita Khrushchev would appreciate, with proper watering and sunlight, as any farmer understands, the sickle of the hammer and sickle, a brand new Russia will grow and strengthen. Support your people in having what they want. Change your position towards Russia and its people from one of opposition to one of support and encouragement. That is how your dream of a glorious Russia will happen. The Cold War is over. Say yes. Say yes to proposals, initiatives, movements in your own country, and in foreign relations (affairs of state). “Yes” is your ticket to fulfilling your dreams for Russia. “No” to evolution, trying to stop progress and take things back to the USSR, is impossible, and will only cause you and your people grief and trouble.
Letters like this is why I start my morning with HCR and avoid the punditry on morning TV. I love the energized feeling I get from them. I loved how she started out about the Kazakhstan unrest with that great segue "So, we are watching people in Kazakhstan try to recover the right to have a say in their own government on the anniversary of the day that Americans came perilously close to losing that right." Being a Michigander, I am extremely happy with the new electoral map released last week. Hopefully, over time the rest of the country can follow suit and along with voting rights legislation being passed. That is how you get things done. Slowly and steady.
My House Rep, Jennifer Wexton, has reported that our district has NOT been as egregiously gerrymandered as many had feared. So, yes, Sharon, slowly and steady.
"Members of the country’s wealthy political class who could, appear to have fled the country in private jets before protesters took over the airport."
What countries they fled to would be telling about these destinations' governments. I have no doubt that ruling class oligarchs in other countries were taking note of this and already have contingency plans of their own.
President Biden said exactly the right thing this morning:
“We saw it with our own eyes. Rioters menaced these halls, threatening the life of the Speaker of the House, literally erecting gallows to hang the Vice President of the United States of America.
“But what did we not see?
“We didn’t see a former president, who had just rallied the mob to attack — sitting in the private dining room off the Oval Office in the White House, watching it all on television and doing nothing for hours as police were assaulted, lives at risk, and the nation’s capital under siege.
“This wasn’t a group of tourists. This was an armed insurrection.
“They weren’t looking to uphold the will of the people. They were looking to deny the will of the people.
“They were looking to uphold — they weren’t looking to uphold a free and fair election. They were looking to overturn one.
“They weren’t looking to save the cause of America. They were looking to subvert the Constitution.
“This isn’t about being bogged down in the past. This is about making sure the past isn’t buried.
“That’s the only way forward. That’s what great nations do. They don’t bury the truth, they face up to it. Sounds like hyperbole, but that’s the truth: They face up to it.
“We are a great nation.
“My fellow Americans, in life, there’s truth and, tragically, there are lies — lies conceived and spread for profit and power.
“We must be absolutely clear about what is true and what is a lie.
“And here is the truth: The former president of the United States of America has created and spread a web of lies about the 2020 election. He’s done so because he values power over principle, because he sees his own interests as more important than his country’s interests and America’s interests, and because his bruised ego matters more to him than our democracy or our Constitution.
“He can’t accept he lost, even though that’s what 93 United States senators, his own Attorney General, his own Vice President, governors and state officials in every battleground state have all said: He lost.
“That’s what 81 million of you did as you voted for a new way forward.
“He has done what no president in American history — the history of this country — has ever, ever done: He refused to accept the results of an election and the will of the American people.”
Soon after Biden's speech, I listened to the NPR report about it. Mara Liasson, a veteran journalist, gave a solid overview and critique, including pointing out The Big Lie (my words not hers). But she characterized those who believe Trump actually won as "non-rational" rather than "irrational."
To me, the former is too polite: "not able to be explained by reason." The latter is more accurate and damning: "lacking usual or normal mental clarity or coherence, not endowed with reason or understanding." Perhaps I'm splitting hairs.
The Democrats all need to be spreading messages like this. It is past time to articulate the truth, and Biden has set the stage for that. Read James Carville's latest....
Here's something to think about today. January 6, 1961:
Nixon believed that Kennedy’s allies had stolen the election through systematic fraud. He had far more evidence in his court than Donald Trump, and his margin of loss was much smaller than Trump’s. He didn’t concede right away, and gave serious consideration to fighting the results. But ultimately Nixon accepted them—and so did the Republican Party as well as the American public.
Despite the razor-thin margin, Nixon publicly conceded defeat very early the morning after the election, shortly before Kennedy declared victory. Nixon did not encourage Republicans to regard the country as locked in a permanent civil war, or to treat the incoming president as a usurper. To the contrary, on January 6, 1961, he discharged his responsibily as president of the Senate and presided over the congressional tally of the electoral college vote. “In our campaigns, no matter how hard they may be, no matter how close the election may turn out to be, those who lose accept the verdict and support those who win.” Nixon noted that he was the first vice president since 1860 to declare his opponent the winner and called it "a striking example of the stability of our constitutional system.”
Ironically, Nixon was substantially less bad than any Republican president since he resigned, except Gerald Ford, who was hapless, perhaps, but not evil like senile movie actor, the elderbush, the moron, and the grifter.
This morning, one year to the day after the 1/6 Insurrection attempted to subvert a free and fair election, I read the article to which I have linked below. I admit to being a pessimist about this country's future, as when we can't even agree on history, how can we move forward together into the future? However, this Op-Ed neatly lays out how deep and dire the the threat is. Our democracy may have survived 1/6, but as we have come to find out, it was barely, and it is now in a far weaker condition. Next time--and rest assured, there WILL be a "next time"--it very well may not.
I can see American citizens having to physically take out the corrupt trash of our own worsening kleptocracy. None of these people will stop themselves, you know.
The Trump Presidency told us that the corruption within government along with its wealthy/corporate cohorts have grown too large to maintain the polite illusion of democracy anymore. They clearly want to stop the inconvenience of holding elections.
Our educational & political systems are rigged to keep most of us in a particular socio-economic place and ignorant of civics and of true history such as what we did to Indigenous Peoples, to humans stolen from Africa and forced into slavery, and to Chinese laborers.
In other words, America began with corruption. It is the core of who we are, and until we understand this and decide as a people to acknowledge and change, we will continue to be increasingly consumed by this monster - not just BlPOC communities, LGBTQ+ communities, poor & low income communities (women in particular), etc, but it will escalate until it’s affect on White middle & upper middle class communities becomes intolerable as well.
Remember the Martin Niemöller piece, “First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew”?
Most of the very wealthy can do what their counterparts in Kazakhstan did, wring the blood out of us and flee.
We either unite as a people who are fairly and equally treated under all laws regardless of income level, appearance, etc., or we will continue to fall apart, piece by piece.
You clearly state a perspective "America began with corruption. It is the core of who we are..." This is in complete (and more articulate than my oft stated perspective) agreement of what I believe about the US: We were founded and gained our wealth so quickly as a nation because we stole land from the Indigenous peoples and based our economy on enslaved labor. Until we (the global "we") acknowledge this and make reparations, we are a soulless nation, convinced (as many teenagers are, which is about where we are as a nation based on historical assessment of nations) that we have all the answers and are invincible.
"EU warns US and Russia against new ‘Yalta’ deal to divide Europe" (Financial Times, Jan 6th 2022).
One can ask the people of Kazakhstan, Georgia, Ukraine and Byelorussia what they think of living next door to the "Bear" and get the same answers around their fears and uncertainties. The possibility of conflict for the Russians on several borders at once is a great deal too heavy for its small economy to support, regardless of the military force that it can deploy. History provides ample evidence that Russia was always part of "Europe" untill the Bolsheviks went their own way and gave us the Stalin/Brezhnev "nuclear deep freeze". Ways must be found now to bring Russia back into Europe rather than to re-divide Europe by "secutrity walls which we thought we had demolished in 1989 and therebye avoid future battles of Stalingrad and Oder-Neiss lines. Russia is a leading military power but only middling in the Economic stakes. It's choice now is whether to ally themselves to China in a subordinate role, to engulf Europe in a "Third Block" that it will attempt to dominate but for which they don't have the wherewithal or to join with the Europe on an basis of equality with its other European Nation partners.
Only the latter offers much hope for the people on any of Russia's borders and beyond. Russia must be brought back into the fold but the difficulties abound:
-Nato is essentially an American dominated anti-Russian alliance which loses its essential "raison d'être" should Russia come home
-Europe currently can't defend itself, with only 2 real military forces in France and UK while most of the countries are quite happy to see the US spend the money and provide the umbrella than having to bear the political consequences of doing it themselves.
-The US would find its role and influence reduced as the world moved into a game of 3 politico-military blocks and economic powerhouses.
Much as one appreciates that a stool with 3 legs is more stable than with 2, the possibility then always exists of 2 ganging up on the 3rd rather than the 3 agreeing peaceably for the good of their people. Lots of room therefore in the future for autocratic power structures ruling through "fear of the external enemy".
I appreciate your thought. Make that a world "becoming civilized".. I view life/the world as a "line" (a string) spiraling up or down, but the ends never attach permanently..or for long. Humans (human nature) cannot exist in equilibrium, so it seems.
Any "coming together" is always subject to revolution/dissolution/oligarchism/separation/intimidation, when governments run amok. The corruption in Russia is the Bear.
The "bug bear" without doubt but do look at 19C political cartoons as Russia has been the "Bear" for much longer than we have lived in a democracy. You should also look at international comparisons of corruption in different countries and you'll find that neither the US nor France are particularly well placed.
A Personal Note about January 6, 2021
Back in January, I was working a nighttime schedule. Overnight from January 5 to 6 I was listening in the truck to news reports on the radio, switching between MSNBC and CNN on SiriusXM radio. Fully expecting one or both Democratic challengers in Georgia to lose, I was left stunned and amazed when both challengers, a Jew and a black man from MLK’s church, won those Georgia Senate seats. Shocked and stunned. I could not believe it.
Before daybreak, upon arriving home, I couldn’t sleep. I was here in Heather’s forum jabbering excitedly with all of you about the miracle that had just transpired: two underdog challengers knocked off the white Republican incumbents. I still think it’s an off-the-charts miracle.
While trying to digest and absorb what had just happened, the Senate unbelievably turning blue by a razor-thin margin, making both houses of Congress blue along with the WH, that morning I was here on Heather’s LFAA when I found out about the riot. Someone here posted an all-caps alert, and that’s why I went upstairs to the living room to turn on the TV. I was here along with Cynthia, TPJ, TC, Lynell, Marcy Meldahl, Linda Bailey and Linda Mitchell and Daria, and many many others when I learned of the attack. Please include yourself in that list if you were present.
The word “whiplash“ barely does it justice.
I could continue, but you get the idea. My experience of the January 6 attack will forever be inextricably linked with this community. Frankly there’s no place else I would rather be when that pivotal moment in U.S. history was going down.
Thank you, one and all.
Long live Stacey Abrams, yes?
I was not yet part of this written word community last Jan 06.
However, the huge impact one person, Stacey Abrams, had and can have was clear to me then.
I think Dr. Richardson is also having a large impact in a different way.
YES
Roland, whiplash is exactly right. I had CSPAN on my laptop so I could watch the electoral count, was in conversation here (LFAA) with you and many others about the tremendous good news from Georgia on my tablet, and had Heather's Facebook page on my phone when all hell broke loose. The shift from elation over Georgia to shock over the attack on the Capitol was heart stopping. And heartbreaking.
Deepest gratitude to Heather for bringing us together. Sincere thanks to this community for enriching my life and making me think. We have much to do in 22.
US citizens abroad, if you haven't requested your absentee ballots for 2022 yet please take a moment to do so today.
https://www.votefromabroad.org/
Much to do in '22 is right, Daria. Let us make it happen!
Thank you. Will do.
Much todo on ‘22!
Thank YOU, Roland, for putting into words what I am certain many of us feel. Thanks to Heather as well, as this community further exemplifies her engagement with the public and her Pulitzer Prize merits.
Roland, I was very moved by your recall of subscribers Cynthia, TPJ, TC, Lynell and others seemingly huddled together last January 6th as the riotous mob in ecstasy and anger tore into The Capitol. You were a 'community' as we are now gathered together. Thank you Roland for knowing how important it is when we are together.
FERN you are a wonderful and appreciated member of this community, we need more representation from New York City.
Yes, Roland!! Fern is quite possibly the best Apple of this bunch!
Thank you, Roland. I also think that we need more NYC and NJ subscribers. 🍎
I was at the zoo, eating lunch with keepers I volunteer with on Wednesdays. My shift was over, about 1:30. As I was walking out of “The Nightclub,” where our nocturnal animals are housed, I saw an alert on my phone and said so but didn’t get much response (but the screech owls did ask “whooooo?”—a little humor there). When I got home I turned on the tv and sat there in shock until dinner.
I remember, Roland. As soon as I saw the "Breaking News" alert on my TV and saw what I could not believe was happening, I immediately turned to Heather's page here, to find you all confirming that what I was seeing was indeed happening. And, yes, this is the place I wanted and needed to be...grateful that you all were here with me.
I’m deeply grateful as well
Roland, thank you for this memory of 1/6. I also remember the surreal sense of whiplash you describe. Last winter, I started dipping in Lake Michigan with some friends as a way to deal with my anxiety around the pandemic and to do something fun outdoors with other people. I arrived at the beach to hurl myself into the water for a few minutes, then socialize with my friends. I had NPR on my car radio, and at the moment I turned the ignition off, there was a local news story on. About half an hour later, I got back in my car, turned it on, and NPR was broadcasting frantic reports about a siege at the US Capitol. I’ll never forget how quickly, instantly my perception of the world changed. Total whiplash.
I remember feeling great about Georgia and discussing it with my LMT (a veteran who takes his service seriously) while I was having my two hour massage. Then I arrived home to watch the unbelievable chaos at the Capitol with no help in sight. I was so appalled and sick to my stomach. It is a searing event. Since I live in the state capital, Salem, I began to worry about the safety of our legislature. Sure enough, the far right showed up and started to attack the building. Then one of the legislators just happened to open a door for them endangering everyone in the building. The state police were able to get them out fortunately. Said legislator was expelled and had some minor charges against him. He is unrepentant and a hero to all the wing nuts here. That so many people are not repelled by the attack on the Capitol and this event is also appalling and yes, scary.
“I was so appalled and sick to my stomach. It is a searing event.“ ❤️❤️
Roland, I was so glad you were there. Our "group" needed a strong shoulder to rest on for certain that day. Thank you
I don’t know if I was providing any strength that day, I would have to review that day’s LFAA discussion to see what I posted. I was in shock like everybody else. Dazed and lost in confusion. Remember that I am a political agnostic, recently converted in the past year or two to paying close attention to political reality. Before that I did not pay attention, I found politics too distasteful.
Thank you for the appreciation Linda 🙏❤️
Roland 💕
Many Americans will remember where they were, and what they were doing, at the moment they learned of the attack on the Capital. Yet another day of infamy In Our history as Dan Rather wrote in his Steady newsletter this week.
And today I was told by a friend she was appalled that Nancy Pelosi said this is a day like Pearl Harbor Day and 9,/11 that we have to remember every year. I had to explain to her these are all days that changed America. I think she finally understood but maybe not. How many others believe tho
Is anniversary is not worthy of coverage. I haven't checked Fox but am sure they aren't covering and sure that if I brought it up with my insane husband he'd say it was just any day although he is a Marine and also took an oath to defend this country. We have changed. We're in the bizarro world where millions of people saw the same thing but half saw normal behavior and the other half saw an insurrection. A schizophrenic country. I was eager to leave and the rest of my family has already obtained permanent residence in Canada but unable due to many things. Now I'm ready to stay and fight!!
“How many others believe this anniversary is not worthy of coverage”
Hi Shellee. Beautiful piece of yours. Unfortunately many people have the mindset of the rioters who descended on the Capitol. That includes military service and law-enforcement. January 6 absolutely belongs with Pearl Harbor. But many people see only the surface, they don’t see the reality. January 6 was about forcing our society to remain like Donald Trump‘s world: whites come first, men come first, straights come first. To paraphrase another person here in this community, to these people, and perhaps your husband, democracy looks white and male and straight. To put it simply, Fox News has become the new KKK. America is Hitler’s Germany. We are in a social struggle between the society of the past, and the society of equal power sharing for everyone. It’s the new Civil War.
I am just beginning to dig in to this community of like minded people and am also grateful that it exists.
Roland!
Here’s to the mighty souls of Heather’s LFAA, you among the tops❣️
Thank you Ashley, it’s very sweet of you to say that 😘
One of my most vivid memories of January 6, was joining Heather as she did an impromptu, live discussion on FB. HCR and this community continue to educate, guide, and inspire.
Yes!
From unbelievable euphoria to a gut punch. Today there are dozens of vigils (mostly on line) in honor/defense of democracy that we can join and support. A small gesture perhaps, but a message worth sending.
Thank you Maureen
I had just received (like, at 0700 PST) my first COVID-19 vaccination, and my work partner and I had agreed that he'd work the 6th and I'd work the 13th (when he got his shot). I went home and was puttering about when my housemate called me in to watch the debacle unfold. It didn't occur to me to sign in here. I wish I had.
Ally, I think we were looking for a safe haven at the time.
I wish I'd thought to come here. I actually watched about two hours of Faux Noise coverage of the event as it was happening; it was no different than CNN or MSNBC in calling it what it was: an insurrection. They only backtracked later.
"What is at stake today in America is the nature of our government. Will we accept an authoritarian government like that currently under attack in Kazakhstan, in which an autocratic leader funnels money to his cronies while ordinary people struggle, unable to fix the system that is rigged against them until finally they lay down their lives to change it? Or will we restore the principles on which the Founders based this nation: 'that all men are created equal' and that governments derive 'their just powers from the consent of the governed...'?"
I did not take an oath over 24 years ago to be faithful to this country, its Constitution, and its democratic government in order to allow it to be overtaken by totalitarianism without a fight. I will standup to every injustice, every act of bigotry, every suppression of voters' rights, every autocratic insurrection, every authoritarian wannabe with every fiber of my being.
My oath and allegiance were not taken lightly, not given thoughtlessly. I was not born into a democracy, I was given the honor to belong to one and I will dignify it with esteem and reverence until my last breath.
Can’t thank you enough for this Rowshan. I was born into this democracy- my father was a first generation American; my mother’s English ancestors landed in 1609. I have my grandfather’s naturalization certificate hanging on the wall nearby and look at it frequently to remind myself what a privileged existence I was born into and to remember that being an active participant is part and parcel of being a citizen here. Grateful beyond words for your eloquent reminder of why so many choose to come to the US and happy to work alongside you and so many others who value Democracy. Thank you!
Thank you, Rowshan. I was not born here either, but I chose to live in this country in 1964 and became a citizen some years later. I took my citizenship oath very seriously. I encountered a member of the DAR on the courthouse steps. She gave me a tiny flag and a copy of the Constitution and congratulated me. I still rememer her face, she would be horrified at what happened a year ago. I am now doing all I can for the future of this democracy and for the future of our planet. I am seriously worried about both.
Thank you for sharing your story, Rowshan. I was birthed in this country, with my paternal line tracing back to England (grandmother's side) and to upstate New York in 1791 (father's side; noted by my great aunts/aunts/cousins as "a farmer named Tom House) and my maternal line traced to Ireland in the 1870's (as much as it can be trusted). I admire what you and your family have done here, and how you got here.
I will join you in this fight to preserve our democratic government as one who does have the training and ability to use weapons to defend those who do not.
Wow, Ally, most impressive lineage! I would like to join the fight, but am not well versed in weapons, so will have to serve in other ways.
Thank you, Rowshan, for your commitment to democracy and our country. Your article "From Iran to Vermont: A Mercy Christmas Story" on The Sisters of Mercy website about your extraordinary life journey is fascinating. Your values resonate with me deeply. Blessings!
A link to Rowshan's article: https://www.sistersofmercy.org/from-iran-to-vermont-a-mercy-christmas-story/
Martha, I felt honored while reading 'From Iran to Vermont: A Mercy Christmas Story'. It brought me closer to Rowshan. I am grateful to you for providing the link to it.
Thanks for the link!!
Thank you for the link.
Well, now I know how privileged I am that Rowshan is a TAFM paid subscriber.
Thank you for the link!
Thank you for including this link. Powerful story.
Just found and read Rowshan's story. Extraordinary life, indeed!
I just read Rowshan's wonderful and amazing story on the Sisters of Mercy website, thank you Imogene!
Same here! Thanks, Imogene, and thank you ,Rowshan ,for sharing your story.
Thanks for directing us to this article. Rowshan, what an interesting life you have led!
Thank you so very much everyone --Sheila, Sally, Nomi, Imogene, Martha, Ally, Laureen, Lynell, Kathy, Becky, Keith, Rex, Bill, Daria, Barbara, Jack, Suzanne, Christine, Mim, David, Sandra, Mike, Heydon, Pam, Julie, Becky, and anyone I may have missed -- for your kind words, your graciousness, and for adding your own insights and stories. What a pleasure to go through them all!! What a splendid community this is!
Rowshan, There is no reason to thank this subscriber. You have always been graceful, attentive, clear and a pleasure in our exchanges. 'From Iran to Vermont: A Mercy Christmas Story' provided the opportunity to know you better. I read of the same thoughtful person I know here as I learned of the trials you have lived through. You support people as you have been supported. Rowshan, you brought the deepest sincerity to the forum and you are a model of showing respect for others. Thank you.
This day brings back feelings of hopelessness and despair for our country….at least until I read your comment. “I will standup to every injustice, every act of bigotry, every suppression of voters’ rights, every autocratic insurrection, every authoritarian wannabe with every fiber of my being.” Thank you….thank you….thank you!
Love you, Rowshan!
Rowshan, Best wishes for a peaceful and blessed Epiphany. 🌷
Rowshan, thank you for your gracious "thank you" and for affirming that this community is indeed splendid. We're glad you're a member of it.
I can be appalled by what is occurring in Kazakhstan (which I have difficulty locating on a map) without wishing that American military went to rescue the populists. I felt the same anguish while watching Soviet troops crush the Hungarian Revolution in 1956. The Cold War was a long and, at times, an up-and-down struggle. I expect the same with authoritarianism, with some of the bad guys almost permanently in power. We must strengthen our own democratic practices, which are at a crossroads today.
Historically, the US has been far more energetic and effective in supporting dictatorships than in opposing them. You can find examples all over the globe: most of Latin America, most of the Middle East, the Phillipines, Vietnam, on and on, during the Cold War, prior to it, and following it. Our record is atrocious.
Thank you Keith.
As I left the window with the map I recalled (deja-vu) the vivid, frightening, 1956 front page pictures of red starred tanks in Budapest and a maelstrom of similar world wide events since, which truly reflect that we now are at the crossroads. These things that have always occurred in "other countries" are on our doorstep now and I, as the rest of you, deeply hope we avert the dead end and choose the one that merely bends.
A crossroads indeed.
Rowshan, I did not know about you until a half hour ago. Thank you thank you thank you for making so vivid and personal what is at stake. And thank you for so fully and beautifully embodying what it means to be an American. Much love to your family.
Like so many others here, Rowshawn, I find your declaration of fealty to these United(?) States of America to be very moving and inspiring. Your fierce commitment to this nation and its stated ideals provides a potent example of true patriotism.
Like you and your family, many of our Persian––I tend to prefer Persian over Iranian––friends had to flee Iran after the Revolution. Many had relatives who were imprisoned and many were executed.
Our tiny religious community in the Midwest chose to sponsor one family that had escaped the peril in their homeland. Rohollah and his wife and two small children had fled the country in the dead of night, just ahead of the clutches of the authorities.
Their saga was one filled with drama and danger. Their daughter, the eldest of the two children, had come home from school one day and had refused to talk. After days of prayers and desperate entreaties, she reluctantly told of a friend who overheard her father, a prominent member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, say that Rohollah was on a list to be arrested.
The family escaped, first to Pakistan, and later to Spain and finally the U.S. Our home was the only one in our community that had a space for these refugees. Sadly, the unheated attic room was hardly adequate for the four evacuees, and they finally settled in an enclosed second floor porch, accessible only through the bathroom!
But they were safe.
My family history is somewhat different. My forebears came here “reluctantly” in chains, loaded like inanimate cargo in the holds of ships. How anyone survived that “Middle Passage” is, in itself, miraculous.
My maternal grandparents were born enslaved; my grandfather in 1853, my grandmother in 1861. My mother, the last of 11 surviving children, was born in 1904. Her oldest brother was lynched.
My father, in contrast, entered this life in comparative luxury. His parents were teachers and his father was also a minister. Dad might possibly have qualified for W.E.B. Du Bois’ elitist “Talented Tenth”.
My mother always said that her father “worked himself to death” on the family farm. I only met my grandmother three times, I believe, but cannot forget her stern visage.
Most, if not all, of us have some version of the American story to tell. Though some tales were never learned and others forgotten, they all come together in this incredible mosaic that makes us “Americans”!
We cannot, and must not, allow that montage of diversity to be damaged any more than it has, and we can never allow it to be destroyed!
Dear Bill Willis,
You must know by now how I admire you, your words, passion, activism, and camaraderie.
Your family’s contributions to our American quilt richly magnify the struggles too many have long endured.
I am coming to terms with my privilege, as a middle-aged, white female who has nonchalantly called the US home since birth.
Here’s to doing all we must to preserve and add to the vibrant fabric of our national quilt!
As always, Ashley, I am humbled by your praise. Your kind and generous words are reassuring to me and indicate that I may have written something useful.
It is an honor and a pleasure to be able to read Dr. Richardson’s cogent and penetrating analyses each day. I am also grateful for the opportunity to comment in this amazing collection of insightful people.
Good for you Ashley. That's very admirable.
TC,
Don’t think for a second you haven’t given me and so many multi-bite food for thought regularly here and on your substack!! Thank you.
(none too proud of the negative phraseology 👆🏻- chafed my English major self.)
Ha-ha! Sometimes a negative turn of phrase is the better way to go.
ROFLMAO! :-)
Bill, I cannot begin to compare my journey to yours nor to that of your family. All of us who have become citizens stand on their shoulders and yours when we are accepted in the beautiful mosaic of diversity which you began.
Thank you for your kindness to my compatriots. I can't tell you what that acceptance and compassion means to immigrants -- every empathic gesture becomes a gift of life and hope.
At one with you, I say: "We cannot, and must not, allow that montage of diversity to be damaged any more than it has, and we can never allow it to be destroyed!"
My deep gratitude to you for your story and for being in this community of compassionate souls.
Rowshan and Bill, IMHO, both of your journeys sit side-by-side. They are both American stories.
I agree, Lynell!
I am humbled by your history, Bill. It is an ultimate contribution to our American story. Blessings to you and your family. Thank you for being here.
My thanks to you, Lynell. Your thoughts and insights shared in this forum help make the LFAA community a dynamic and vital one. There are few arenas more important to the retention of a free and constructive society than this one created by Dr. HCR.
True, this, Bill!
Thanks very much Bill. I always think this country isn't worthy of the fact that so many people who can tell a story like this have been among its most ardent defenders.
Thank YOU, TC. I appreciate your thoughts in this forum and would like share your intense passion and your fire regarding THEM…but I’m trying to quit. I’ll try to explain that in a moment.
But regarding the people who defend this country; that’s part of the magic of the ol’ U-S-of-A. Somehow, despite its committing all manner of atrocities against the Indigenous peoples, African Americans, Asians, Latinos, and various iterations of “foreigners”, we keep coming back for more and will happily throw down with those who dare disrespect “Her”. This nation, despite all its grievous transgressions, has something very special indeed and is worthy of our defense and care.
Regarding “I’m trying to quit”, I have, for a number of decades, been struggling to quell some pretty angry and sometimes murderous emotions. Your reactions often trigger those old feelings of hostility and sometimes rage. But I know that’s not the was.
At some point I’ll share some of the perspectives and approaches that I’ve discovered that I think would probably be more productive in the long run.
As a footnote: I truly enjoy your discussions of the P-47, Republic Aviation’s Thunderbolt! My Dad was one of the draftsmen who drew up the parts that when assembled were the tank-killing, railroad-destroying, strafing and bombing, ME 109-eliminating “Jugs”, or juggernauts of WW2!
We must talk more, but battery is ready for its coffee break.
Bill I have been thinking about what you said here, and I concluded that as good an imagination as I have, I cannot imagine what it would be like to be you with this history. I can however say that whatever that "reaction " was in detail, it was justified. And if you take that energy and transform it, it will have true power that cannot be adequately described. So yeah, again, we have to talk. Go over to that place where you have seen me write about P-47s, and you'll find my e-mail.
Yes indeed - we must talk more!
Bill, I am not eloquent with words, but I so much appreciate yours and Rowshan's, as I so appreciate this community and my dear country, and I thank you.
Rowshan,
You are a woman of amazing grace, strength and determination. Thank you for sharing your journey and your mission with us.
With profound respect,
daria
Thank you for articulating my thoughts exactly.
I have always felt that there are certain prerequisites of nationhood which ought to be met if a country is to survive as a legitimate nation. There is some flexibility in them but they are: (1) logical borders such as large bodies of water, deserts or mountain ranges (rivers do not qualify), (2) at least one language or ethnicity common to its inhabitants, (3) an economic base provided by plentiful natural resources, manufacturing, trading or financial acumen and finally, (4) a workable governmental structure to manage its operation. The failure of a nation to survive can sometimes be attributed to not meeting any one of the first three prerequisites, but the absence of the fourth makes failure a certainty. Whether it be autocratic or democratic, that structure must exist. It is the glue that holds any nation together, the alternative to anarchy. Our present crisis involves testing that fourth prerequisite in the United States.
Jack, you look to be about my age. Could you expand on your second point, please? Thx
Suzanne: (89) Examples might be religious ('Islamic' republics such as Iran survive by excluding other faiths), (India was destined to fail until it split off Muslim Pakistan), linguistic (the USA is still basically English speaking despite centuries of immigration - would we survive with regional languages? I don't know.), ethnic (the Hutu-Tutsi conflict in Rwanda almost destroyed the country and still might), the Netherlands (Survival facilitated by Flemish Belgium breaking off) and if they ever make it, the Kurds in Kurdistan, a thorn in the side of Turkey of which they are a part. The Swiss seem to make it with three languages, but really, geography separates those speaking German from those speaking Italian or French. If there were no Alps, there probably wouldn't be a Switzerland. And pan-Slavic Yugoslavia never worked, but the Serbs, the Croats, the Montenegrins. etc. seem to succeed each with a homogenous population. Israel faces this problem too in remaining democratic in the face of challenges to its ethnic identity.
Hi, Jack, I’m 69. You have a good grasp of history. When I was in elementary school, we talked about the US being a melting pot. But now, with a grandchild who is bi-racial (European and Vietnamese, and beautiful) I think of us as more of a mosaic.
When you see pictures of St. Paul’s Cathedral, there appear to be many beautiful paintings. These are actually mosaics. I hope our country continues to become more beautiful in the same way. Happy Epiphany!
So, in the interest of accuracy and honesty, it’s not St. Paul’s. It’s St. Peter’s Basilica. “ Not all visitors to the most important church in the Christian world realize that the vast majority of the images are not paintings, but mosaic replicas of famous Renaissance and Baroque paintings.” https://insidethevatican.com/magazine/culture/restoration-work-on-the-mosaics-of-st-peters-basilica/
Suzanne,
Let’s be like Jack when we grow up💙?!
From wherever we came to forever being united in the Light….We are all in this together. There is enough to go around.
Love to you Sister Rowshan. Fabulous post for this memorable date.
Rowshan, thank you for your eloquent reminder that we all must defend democracy, no matter where we or our ancestors have come from or wherever it is in peril.
Rowshan,your story brought back a memory. Decades ago I was a young,”struggling” Public Health Nutritionist attending grad school at night. One day my boss asked if I could give his wife a ride to class. I was concerned the doc’s wife would melt in my little Plymouth Champ with no AC. Did I mention it was summer in Florida ?
The commute was over an hour and doc’s wife was so gracious. She told me their story…they also were friends with the shah and had to flee Iran leaving most everything behind. Doc found a job as the assistant director at our county health clinic. He had been a well-respected orthopedic surgeon in Iran. Doc eventually became the director and received nationwide recognition for his efforts to improve access for the disadvantaged.
I’d told doc’s wife I wasn’t sure where my grad degree would lead me but hopefully to a “better” life. She commented that often it’s more difficult to go the other way.
At the time I was too young, and naive , to understand that I truly had it all.
I kept my Champ for 8 years and often on those sweltering, summer days I would think about Doc and his family.THEIR struggle was real.
Kathy, what a wonderful memory. Thank you for sharing on this day when the stories of true compassion are so often not heard.
Well said, Rowshan...well said.
I don't tear up over very many things, Rowshan, but I teared up over this. Thank you.
And we're glad you're here, Rowshan.
On a cynical note, it occurred to me this morning that maybe this is the GOP's plan to end immigration; turn America into an autocracy, then all those 'undesirables' will no longer flee their own autocratic countries to come here!
Should we readers of Letters from an American nominate Prof Richardson for a Pulitzer Prize? https://www.pulitzer.org/page/how-enter
The deadline for entry this year is in less than three weeks. She certainly is eligible, but she may be too busy keeping us informed about the crisis in our government to consider doing this herself. Not only does her work honor the highest traditions of American journalism, she also has led the way in combatting the ferocious threat to freedom of expression posed by Facebook and the marauding intellectual thugs, real and robotic, who dominate its pages. In doing so, she has allowed all of us to expand our freedom to express ourselves.
Her work may fit into more than one of the 15 categories in which a prize is awarded. It certainly would be appropriate in commentary. It might also be considered in the Public Service category, what may be regarded as the highest honor the Pulitzer board awards.
The entry requires that no more than 15 pieces of work be submitted, along with the entry form. Should we as readers pick our favorite to suggest? Keep in mind that engagement with readers is one important aspect considered by a Pulitzer jury, as is sourcing, so letters that generated much comment and that showed a range of sourcing would strengthen the entry.
That she soldiered along every day of 2021 was astounding. She even gave us a photograph of that tranquil harbor or peaceful sky on the Maine coast on the days she was too exhausted to share additional insights. That gives us 365 samples to choose from.
HCR is the first to say that she is not a journalist, but a historian. Hopefully her writing, public service, and reader engagement would still qualify her for a Pulitzer nomination.
Commentators in the daily, weekly, monthly press come from all professions. As far as the Pulitzer board is concerned, they are all participants in journalism, alongside reporters, editors and publishers. With her newsletter, Prof Richardson ranks alongside William Allan White and Hazel Brannon Smith as a publisher with a remarkably disciplined and powerful pen. Like them, she has conducted a campaign to defend human dignity and freedom. In the process she has stripped naked many of the propagandists masquerading as journalists, a public service of the highest order.
As I know, Albert, you have fought for these values in all your years as a prize-winning editor. I am so happy you have discovered Richardson, too. I also recommend Robert Hubbell’s Today’s Edition to you. He and Heather keep me sane.
“Like them, she has conducted a campaign to defend human dignity and freedom. In the process she has stripped naked many of the propagandists masquerading as journalists, a public service of the highest order.” Extraordinarily she has done this (public service) by also besting them (the propagandists) at the use of their own tool, FB. Not to be repetitive, but rather to further explain my point, she has reached out to engage the masses, sharing her knowledge, and not just staying in a cocoon of her own peers.
I too find HCR serving as a top flight journalist in today's fog because of her historian training and the context she seems to be singularly gifted to render today's stories in the rich soup from which a series of events gets aroma and give us nutrition.
You are right, Ellie. But the fact that Heather writes daily could qualify her LFAA as journalism, given the word’s etymology, from the Latin diurnal or daily.
In her video chats, HCR takes great pride in her training and method as a historian, and distinguishes it from the training and method of journalists.
I'm sorry, Ellie, my comment higher up should really have been in response to this important observation of yours. HCR shows how the work of the historian can complete that of journalism, bringing deeper perspective to what might otherwise be superficial reporting. It can be an inspiration to both journalists and editors. This, at a time when the Nobel Peace Prize has, for a change, been awarded to highly deserving persons, journalists well aware of their duty to the public.
Nonetheless, Ellie, she has become a journalist.
When, in the late 1960s, I began reading the press seriously for my job, I became aware of what most journalism lacked but the very best plainly possessed, while displaying this only obliquely: a sense of context; not just the reporting of facts, but awareness of the meaning and implications of those facts. Good editors then seized on the factual report and teased out what those facts could mean for us.
One day in the 1980s, I got into conversation with an American who had been living in Colorado Springs.
To illustrate the static parochialism of Middle America, he told me how the editor of the local newspaper had published an editorial that began with words to the effect of “As I wrote in 1923”… Over half a century before…
Now, isn’t that the opposite of both history and journalism? News—as the very word spells out—is the latest occurrences on the timeline; yet both the historian and the journalist are aware of the dynamic processes of time… with the reporter tending to fix his gaze only on the visible tip of time’s iceberg…
Great historians have always been aware of the relevance of history for our present, even if only as propaganda in favor of the current powers-that-be—think of the Holinshed chronicles and what Shakespeare made of them, at once illustrations of the thing in itself and Tudor propaganda. More faraway stories like MacBeth and Hamlet or the plays set in antiquity give a sense of history’s hidden mass.
King Lear is all myth and meaning…
Voltaire must have been well aware of the relevance for his own time of his history of Charles XII of Sweden.
HCR and Timothy Snyder are showing up both the past and its lessons for the present and how the present echoes and contrasts with the past.
The dynamics of how things happened and are happening at this very moment.
Also, earlier presentations of the past, both propaganda and views and actions... with a coloring inevitably different from ours today.
Such awareness is deeply precious and the service that it renders America and the world more than merits the Pulitzer limelight.
The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.
My husbands fav, he doesn’t remember but I do. Thank you
Here on the Forum, Peter, you are surrounded by other subscribers with very high opinions of historians, particularly of Heather Cox Richardson. I am one of the subscribers who is also a champion of journalists and the Free Press. How can historians not also be strong advocates of reporters, how could historians function without them? Just look at the end today's letter at 'Notes' to see the sources for HCR's letter. Among historians, I don't know that journalists have a better friend than Timothy Snyder.
‘It's just much harder for big lies, conspiracy theories, polarizing arguments to get through to people if they're living in a world where they have local news, where they know reporters, where they're concerned about the things which actually matter to them, like is there mercury in my water, or is my school board corrupt, or is this new local politician taking bribes? Those are the things - the kinds of things that people used to know, and now we don't because most of the United States is now, technically speaking, a news desert. Americans on most of the territory of our country, especially the less populated parts of our country, are - basically have no choice but to be following the world by way of social media.' (NPR) See link at the bottom of this comment.
In another post of yours, I provided of a number of links concerning Facebook as you seemed to second it concerning another matter. On with Timothy Snyder and the role of reporters.
'I call reporters the heroes of our time. Why is that word “heroes” not an exaggeration but rather a very precise description of how important that service — reporting — is to our moment? An investigative reporter is someone who is trying to find out the way the world actually is and, in the service of trying to find those facts, a reporter is someone who takes risks. I mean that in the most literal sense.' See link under this paragraph.
https://gijn.org/2018/04/17/historian-reporters-heroes-time/
https://www.npr.org/transcripts/958828047
Thanks. I feel we are all indebted to Snyder.
An old friend working in two different countries saw friends murdered, a promising politician and a prominent journalist. And you'll remember how many of Dmitri Muratov's star investigative journalists were murdered in Putin's Russia. Read Politkovskaya's books again, and you'll see quite how heroic her activity was.
Peter, My reply to your initial comment with the help of Timothy Snyder, was to point out the crucial role of journalists in bringing the facts and truth to the people, including historians, as you seemed to underplay their importance in your initial comment.
Message received. Maybe I took this for granted... And... it isn't only journalists who bring facts to our attention, sometimes the representatives of NGOs, also risking life and limb.
I mentioned Pilecki's witness during WW2 but not Kurt Gerstein who joined the SS to find out what was going on and passed messages to Sweden and the Vatican...
Peter, One of the biggest challenges we have in the struggle for democracy is growing outlets with news organizations based on journalistic principles around the country -- that includes local outlets in rural and remote areas. Social Media, Facebook/Meta being the giant among smaller outlets, is the largest disseminator of disinformation and misinformation. The Big Lie, lies, anti-vaccine reports, conspiracy theories -- the propaganda drowning our country cannot be counteracted without the growth of the Free Press and regulation of social media. It is as the fossil fuel sector a lethal monster that must be addressed. How do we get the facts and the truth back and how can we save the planet earth without meeting these challenges?
It takes lived experience, relevant knowledge, and strong communications skills to move from reporting the present event to being a journalist curating and informing. As I might add to your commentary, Peter, without those journalistic chops, the reporting in merely a snapshot taken with a Brownie in a digital time.
Maybe I was lucky, crossing and sometimes getting to know political correspondents, experts who knew all the ins and outs of the European Union. But... not Boris Johnson... who was at school with my son...
Rather than the products of Johnson's fertile imagination, I was sometimes troubled by the way in which some ambitious newsmen related to politicians, reporting word-for-word the precise messages the latter wanted to put across, not even summarizing content. This could be the guarantee of a very successful career...
The scurrilous thought passed through my head that if politicians were entombed like mediaeval knights, the statue on the tomb would have a little journalist lying at their feet instead of the knight's favorite hound...
Albert, let’s also keep in mind that these same letters are posted by Heather on her Facebook page, and followed and commented by an even larger audience than this forum (1.5 million followers! 40-50K daily likes, 2.5K daily comments!)
As I avoid FB like the plague I consider it to be, I did not know this. This is heartening to me. Thank you.
I didn’t know this! I hope HCR is reaching people on the “other side of the isle”.
I was just scrolling thru her FB page, curious about the letters with the most likes versus those that were the most shared. I found it interesting that some letters about Liz Cheney standing up for democracy over party were some of the most popular and shared of her letters on FB this year. I wondered to myself if sharing them was an attempt to reach FB friends in the party of TFG. Social media is here to stay. Are we smart enough to make it a tool to encourage our better nature rather than our worst. We are all in this together, those on FB and those on this forum. Kudos to Heather for creating a space where real people find real knowledge and share it. ❤️🙏
You hit the nail on the head. Heather has figured out how to use different forms of social media to build her platform for influencing the political narrative and promoting civic engagement.
She uses Twitter to track information and opinions, then uses Facebook to broadcast her own opinion via LFAA and twice a week video chats which she later posts to her YouTube channel. After typo feedback, she posts LFAA to this Substack with its forum relatively free from trolls due to paying subscribers. This forum has grown into a valuable community for information sharing and support. Last year, she joined with Professor Joanne Freeman to produce their weekly podcast “Now & Then.”
Like you say, social media is here to stay, and we can use it as a tool to grow our better nature.
Ellie, I very much appreciate this comment and your work in general. I agree with you but take exception to your characterization of LFAA as “broadcasting her own opinion” rather than describing it as something like a sharing of her knowledge and expertise. ❤️
“Sharing her knowledge and expertise” does sound better! The main point Heather makes is that she does not interview primary sources like journalists do.
Thr professors chats on FB are shared with a page created in 2020 Women Against Trump. Many of these were Republican women living in red states. They all now follow HCR. So she is touching a bipartisan audience although many of the Republicans may now no longer identify with their party.
Wow, this is gold! Best thing I read all day! Is this the group?
https://m.facebook.com/Women-Against-Trump-1842340009369111/
Also Suburban Women Against Trump.. All HCR followers.
Every day, Heather keeps faith with her readers. Even on the few days she doesn’t write a letter, she gives us a photo with a note. If that isn’t commitment, I don’t know what is.
YES!
I had brought up this idea to some friends a year ago, but ran into some personal setbacks and couldn’t get the ball rolling. Should we nominate her collectively or individually? Either way, count me in!
The hard part will be choosing 15 samples from among the 365 superb letters during the year. How about reviewing one month, any one, and scanning through to pick which one had the greatest impact on you.
Thanks, Rose. How about nominating a favorite letter from 2021 to be part of the submission?
Albert, I have three nominees:
September 11 (where Heather connects the history since that infamous date 20 years ago with the “now”)
November 26 (where she reports that Ahmaud Arbery’s murderers were found guilty)
December 30 (where she recaps the “not ordinary times” that characterized 2021–another reader also mentioned this letter)
I only went back about half the year; I hope this helps a bit. Let me know how else I can help.
Of course! I will review last year’s and get back to you, here, later today.
I agree Dr. Richardson deserves a Pulitzer Prize.
Should we nominate Dr. Richardson for Nobel Prize?
Absolutely yes.
How to do that as a team? I am not sure that can be done at the submission level but we can help a single submission.
Perhaps we can nominate one of the good board writers here like yourself to gather it together and we can help if needed?
Mike, just pick a month in 2021 (January would be a good one, so would February) and scan through to find one that think is particularly indicative of the insight, character and writing of Prof Richardson. Then post it. I'll find it, then I'll add it to the bundle under consideration for submission.
A great idea Albert - I hope those of us with better memories will suggest the best pieces to submit!!
December 30, 2021
Good one. Thank you.
How about scanning through a month or more and choosing one that had the greatest impact on you?
I choose this letter for one of my most loved: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/may-23-2021
Yes. It's exemplary. And a double whammy, not just a significant episode in US history but a message to students setting out on active life
❤️❤️ agreed, Peter. I’m so grateful she chooses the hard work of educating our young. So important!
Her letter highlighting Frances Perkins was also beyond her normal out of the ball park letters. https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/september-5-2021
The concluding paragraph is a Perkins quote with a stark message for all of us in this moment of our history : “”There is always a large horizon…. There is much to be done,” Perkins said. “It is up to you to contribute some small part to a program of human betterment for all time.”
Happy Labor Day, everyone.”
Here’s another: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/april-8-2021
Yours are both superlative choices of one kind of letter! Both made a very strong impression on me when I first read them. Both should impress anyone who's nostalgic for the Confederacy. The letter about Douglass is a reminder that, like it or not, we are all human beings. Equals, faced with life's challenges (and yet, still unequal in the treatment meted out to "Nie Blankes" in America -- excuse my Afrikaans). The other letter reminds latterday revanchists keen on reversing the outcome of the Civil War that Grant did not have horns and a tail. The kind of thing we all need to remember, especially when trying to communicate with the deluders and the deluded...
I agree: after reading through all the individual category requirements, HCR clearly merits consideration in 5 or more categories. $75 nominating fee. Might we reach a consensus as to the appropriate area for nomination?
Historian having created a journalistic newsletter addressing American democracy in peril?
I would be challenged to choose just 15 of my favorites. There are many scholars in this forum who could offer their judgements on which ones to submit or should popularity of individual letters matter as well? Her letters also have a large following on Facebook.
My plea (for the brilliant suggestion of nominating Prof Heather’s LFAA for a Pulitzer): Let’s leave Facebook out of this. An evil enterprise if ever there was, and despite the good it may have done or still does, Zuck and his still-undiscovered shenanigans deserve no credit for her brilliant insight and masterful delivery. Just my opinion.
I am not a fan of FB, nor Zuck. However, I would think that her reach to 1.5 million followers on FB and the engagement of those followers in commenting on her page are significant when considering her remarkable ability to inform all of us for a Pulitzer Prize. For the evil FB has wrought let us not discard what good might have come along with it. Spread of LFAA thru FB to 1.5 million is firmly the result of Heather’s own genius.
And Heather has consistently said she chose FB to demonstrate that not all posts are disinformation.
Far more than your opinion!
Peter, Have you considered the role that Facebook is playing concerning the mental health of children, young adults and democracy in countries around the world? Perhaps your comment was not clear. Do you know the numbers of those that would favor or approve nomination for HCR for the Pulitzer Prize via Facebook/Meta? Do we know HCR's opinion of that? In case you have not considered the role of Facebook/META in society, several articles about the enterprise have been linked below.
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/facebook-a-threat-to-democracy-and-biased-against-facts-says-nobel-winner-1.4696301
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/10/facebook-papers-democracy-election-zuckerberg/620478/
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/22/world/europe/belarus-migrants-facebook-fake-news.html?searchResultPosition=28
https://www.nytimes.com/video/embedded/world/europe/100000008041816/frances-haugen-parliament-livestream.html?searchResultPosition=71
https://www.nytimes.com/video/technology/100000008042835/facebook-whistleblower-frances-haugen-uk-parliament.html?searchResultPosition=73
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/02/business/media/crowdtangle-facebook-brandon-silverman.html?searchResultPosition=1
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/08/technology/adam-mosseri-instagram-senate.html?searchResultPosition=20
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-58805965
https://www.thenation.com/article/society/facebook-regulation-democracy-australia/
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/jul/26/roger-mcnamee-facebook-is-a-threat-to-whatever-remains-of-democracy-in-the-us
https://prospect.org/politics/altercation-facebook-threat-to-democracy-and-us-all/
SLWeston, No need to be just an opinion. Facebook is irrelevant to this project. Just as an article from The New York Times may be reprinted in many formats in many channels, material submitted with a Pulitzer nomination comes only as original material published in The New York Times. For our purposes, Letters from an American on Substack, and comments made on Substack in response, is the original format.
Christy, no need for you to choose 15. Just choose 1 from a random month. Having a selection chosen by readers would add strength to the nomination. Hopefully, we'll have more than 15 readers participate, so when the application is submitted, whoever coordinates it may have to do a further subjective cull.
December 28, 2021 -- the slaughter of the Lakota. "One of the curses of history is that we cannot go back and change the course leading to disasters, no matter how much we might wish to. The past has its own terrible inevitability.
But it is never too late to change the future."
Ruth Brinton, may I include this one in the bundle to be considered for submission to the Pulitzer organization? Another one stuffed with courage and integrity, the essence of leadership.
Yes, please do.
From the comments after the Jan 6 letter:
"janet sanders
6 hr ago
Last night watching “Preserving Democracy: Pursuing a More Perfect Union” on PBS I was struck by how deeply embedded slavery and racial suppression exists in Trumpism. I remembered Dr. Richardson’s letter in which she revealed how the issue of abortion was brought into politics during the Nixon era to divide and distract us. Racial suppression, abortion, gun rights, immigration (and what else?) are issues used as weapons to divert the populace from the actions of those who want to destroy our democracy and institute an autocracy. We must help bring our sisters and brothers into understanding that these issues used as zero sum games are being used against us to serve the selfish desires of the greedy. Too simplistic?"
The letter she refers to might be another good prospect -- Dec 10, 2021, I think. And the one on the economy -- Dec 22, 2021.
Albert, I’m wondering if you are aware it is the exact published LFAA newsletter here that she posts on her FB page. You, yourself mentioned FB in your original post, albeit dismissively. In my mind HCR has conquered Facebook and that is an accomplishment. I have zero skill or knowledge when it comes to Pulitzer Prize nominations so I am not being contrary, but seeking understanding. You state “Keep in mind that engagement with readers is one important aspect considered by a Pulitzer jury”. Certainly her engagement with her FB followers and the FB interactive talks would support that criteria.
Albert, another reader wrote that you are a respected editor. Are you willing and able to spearhead this Pulitzer nomination project?
Ellie, that came from a very old friend in a galaxy far, far away with whom I've been re-united by Prof Richardson. I'm happy to spearhead, but a successful effort will require the participation of the LFAA community to bring together the selections. In many ways, the participants will be switching hats to become part of an awards committee rather than only readers. And the deadline is fast approaching.
Albert, you can email us to see if Heather’s Herd infrastructure can aid the cause: heathersherd@gmail.com
Thank you, Ellie Kona. We have a good selection now to choose from, 30 picks from readers, many with more than one supporter. I'll sift through them and let everyone know how I've gotten on.
Albert, Thank you for explaining the criteria of submission for a Pulitzer. It is a relief to me that Facebook/META would have not have any role concerning HCR's LFAA.
I think anyone who takes part in selecting nominees for a Pulitzer would be aware of her newsletter by now. And it’s a body of work that speaks for itself.
Too true, but the awards committee does not go in search of nominees. They consider only those presented in the appropriate form, as defined by the entry form and attached to the entry fee. And the jury (of 3 volunteers) for each of the 15 journalism prizes has time to consider only the few samples submitted.
I am late to join. I am not a joiner. But today, this day, it seems fitting. I feel called. I must. I must try. I must stand up and share my words along side your words Heather. Words? Our words are tools, a start, a starting place, inspiration? A call to action? Earlier this week, in agonizing anticipation of this anniversary, I wrote this - a self assignment. I needed to do it and I need to share with all of you. ******** Homework Assignment - Democracy - in my own words, my thoughts:
Democracy is The Golden Rule assembled and exercised inside a geographic place, four walls, a floor and a ceiling, inside a place that we call a country (a nation).
Democracy is an idea, a governing idea, a SELF (collective self) governing idea.
The bold idea - DEMOCRACY, it sits upon a foundation, another idea, a Declaration, that ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL. All Men, created equal, a solid block set on stable ground, a foundation to hold, that must hold, the walls of a democracy.
The Golden Rule, maybe that is the ceiling, a dome... do unto others - as you would have done - unto you. Without that, a Golden Rule dome, the whole house leaks. It gets wet from the top down. It all falls apart.
Democracy is a group effort, a collective exercise, a nation's effort to treat men, all men, equally, fairly, to deal honestly and in good faith, to do unto others as we would have done unto us.
Democracy is the Rule of Law, a nation, indivisible, standing up against Darwin’s Law of the Jungle. In this place, we agree, as one, that men - are ruled - not by might - in this place, only if we agree, men are ruled by laws.
Democracy lives, it’s an idea that must be fed and nourished in order to live. This idea, like all good ideas, it requires maintenance. Ideas live, if they are fed and maintained. Ideas neglected, they die.
What (if any) truths do we hold to be self-evident? Who are we? Who do we want to be? What ideas do we want to keep alive?
We are the United States of America.
Three Hundred, Thirty Two Million of US(A).
Are we still an American dream, a Golden Rule, Democracy from Sea to shining Sea, a beacon - on a hill?
Or are we something else? Who are we? Who do we want to be? What defines us?
Scott Snyder
Sarasota
One suggestion, Scott, on your lovely piece. Replace “men” w “people.” I know in the past men meant humankind, but no so much anymore.
I like the word "humankind."
Eileen, excellent suggestion. Thank you.
Marcy, I understand. I stand with you. Guiding documents, such as the Declaration of Independence, I used the original text, but in my mind, they live, they should be alive, stay alive. Keep the originals and update them like software, version 2.0 etc. People, humankind, all humanity. I understand. Thank you for your kind words, comment. I stand with you.
Scott, Welcome to Letters from an American. Thank you for joining us and for sharing in your own words what Democracy means to you. January 6, 2022, is a fine day to recommit yourself to principles of Democracy, to be among engaged American citizens and other advocates of Democracy from around the world.
Scott, well said, thank you & welcome.
Welcome to the board Scott. Good to have you here.
Good for you Scott. I think it important to write in one's own words what one knows and holds to be true. And, sometimes writing them where others get to read them is to trust in yourself while sharing. Sometimes I comment here simply to give light to my hopes and ideas and see them through the eyes of others who I am coming to respect. There is a certain validation in doing so, for sure, but there is also a timestamp as I come back, affording a tracking of the history of our (my) thinking and ideas. I think we grow through our writing open to the light.
Fred, I read this somewhere and it stuck with me. It rang true - for me. I'm not getting it quite right. I'm not as eloquent, but it went something like: "I don't know what I think, until I read what I have written." And then to have feedback, from you, others, a trusted community, Wow, yes, it sure is validating. I feel less alone. I am part of a team. I am (finally) IN THE GAME. Thank you Fred.
You are "in the game" indeed sir. My only complaint about what you wrote is it doesn't have my name in the byline. :-)
Welcome, Scott. You write well, and in your post here, I see some good things to use to ask my friends who have fallen for the "big lie" hook, line, sinker, pole, reel, and boat who also firmly believe in the Constitution, and have sworn oaths to protect and defend it. Thank you.
SCOTT SNYDER‼️🎉🏆🌍
You bring tears to my eyes
I have pondered for years, that all societies have garnered their strength from the collective notion that moral codes are derived from a Conservation of Energy, in that mutual agreement to trust your neighbor not to steal from your home while you are away, hunting and gathering
These agreements originally upheld by peer pressure from the group’s elders to abide by these moral and ethical tenants, who used progressive discipline ie shunning and ostracizing as enforcement
These “tenants” eventually took the form of laws that provided society the ability to thrive
Democracies in and of themselves are prone to be fragile with the idea of “majority rule” equalling “plus 1”
Better for Society is the notion of the Golden rule, but this requires a dedication to empathy; something decidedly lacking in our current public arena; hence the need for third party enforcement, The Rule of Law
Without it, society cannot Conserve its Energies for productive Hunting and Gathering
We need to enforce the law
Tenets
Well yes, thank you
Scott, what a great way to introduce yourself to this community. Welcome, and thank you.
You’re right on time Scott. Thank you for your beautiful words and welcome.
Welcome to this community, Scott! I love what you penned as you enjoined my creed, The Golden Rule, with our form of this experiment, this dream of Democracy. It is so eloquent and simple (at least in my naïveté?) to abide under TGR. I learned that when I was very young and later felt that all the thick books on philosophy and religious teachings are really trying to say this one simple thing. For me, The Golden Rule = Love for Self and Other. Therein may lie the rub. In my experience as a teacher and a therapist, I have tried to explore why people just cannot treat others as they would want to be treated: Many people loathe themselves. Self-love, if not felt intrinsically, must be nurtured by family and community...maybe religion (but religion and I have a sordid past due to my being called a "sinner" at nine years old, and that a man named Jesus was mercilessly crucified for my sins--- I did not buy it. I said to myself, I am only nine, and this guy never met me! This story apparently happened more than 2,000 years ago! I learned at that moment to question those in authority and trust my Self to make good decisions. And when my Godmother, who had suddenly been "re-Born," laid all this on me, and then disappeared forever when I refused to have the bleeding man on the cross above my bed, I learned something about some Christians. Love is conditional for some of them. My Godmother's own fears blinded her to the Light of who I am. In her disappearance, she lost me and our family. I was hurt, but very clear. The Golden Rule has always been the best decision-making factor in all I approach, even if it means I must give something up...for friends, family, community or country. At least I usually feel something that feels like...Integrity for my Self, and Love for my fellow-humans, all creatures (minus ticks and mozzies), and our gorgeous planet whirling in this beautiful Universe. Uni-Verse. If we all spoke the language of The Golden Rule, imagine life on earth? "Imagine," like Yoko and John implored us with what should become a Global Anthem for choice-making. Does this action I am about to take or speak benefit the whole? How about for seven generations? Thank you for your contribution to today's comment section, Scott. This is quite a read today full of tears of reader's stories and full of hope, support and community.
Well said. Much learning from experience. Core is a Golden Anthem for thy own behavior. Good.
What is genuinely frightening is the fact that the things that were done in the White House and its "war rooms", as outline by Peter Navarro, may not be illegal. It turns out, there is nothing - NOT ONE WORD - in the Constitution that requires free and democratic elections. The closest anything comes is the Constitution giving the state legislatures the power to "devise systems", with no requirement what that system should be. It turns out that the use of "democracy" has merely been a collectively-agreed "tradition" that has no teeth to enforce it.
So, the DOJ could do everything Garland said, and not get Trump et al, because there is no statute or constitutional requirement that makes their acts criminal. About the most that's there is "election tampering" like Trump's phone call to Raffensperger or the Kanye West publicist's attempt to get the woman accused of "voter fraud" to "confess."
It turns out we've been living in a nailed-together, jury-rigged system that promises more than it requires.
TCinLA,
Your’s is a wise analysis of a very sad fact. Much of what is done in our government is by tradition, not law. This is why a person with no respect for norms or history like Trump could easily spend five years trampling on everything folks feel is law but is not. He respects nothing and realized early in his life that his lawyers were his weapons of choice to get what he wants. The Golden Rule = Them that has the gold makes the rule.
🤨😶🤨😶🤨
Hi Sophia,
That’s my opinion too. Garland is a good man, a smart and was a thoughtful judge, and we hope he can muster his DOJ staff to prosecute Trump and the other conspirators. It has never been done before so will be new legal territory. DOJ will be the last stand after what will probably be the lost of both houses in ‘22. The DOJ and SCOTUS will be how this shakes out.
What Trump did was illegal.
US legal code 2383:
"Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States."
Amendment XIV, Section 3 prohibits any person who had gone to war against the union or given aid and comfort to the nation's enemies from running for federal or state office, unless Congress by a two-thirds vote specifically permitted it.
Plus, someplace there is a law making sedition and treason illegal.
If Merick Garland cannot find a way to charge Trump with his obvious crimes against the US government then he was the wrong man at the wrong time.
Peter Navarro is way off on this.
However, it is true that the constitution does not require popular vote for election outcomes in the states. Hence, southern states are, once again, moving to become dictatorships of rich, white, men.
Peter Navarro came across as a lunatic in his interview with Ari Melber.
Cults are rarely anything else. Think back. Navarro likely knows better. But I m constantly amazed that tv talking heads are surprised that so many are truly convinced that chump won the election and evil democrats stole it from him. Could it be the constant barrage of propaganda spewed on Fox and clones that they are loathe to mention. At least Hitler proudly named Goebbels the Minister of Propaganda. Rupert slinks in the background, surrounded by billions and basks in the glory of owning the WSJ, which apparently gives him cover for his Enquirer on the air, Fox. Make no mistake, he is not the only one (social media being another elephant in the room) but if Rupert lost his power to lie with impunity, the oxygen would be sucked out of the Magat cult movement to a lethal degree. Of course, no one will mess with a "journalist." Hahaha But stop with the shock about half the country buying the Big Lie from the Biggest Loser. It's disgustingly clear to anyone not in a coma. Several countries have banned Fox, ask them how that went. No regrets, I'll wager.
Time for Anti Trust Laws to break up media monopolies and return control to localities free of Sinclair, Murdoch, et al
When you analyze this, the roots run back to a coordinated effort by a few, to control messaging to the masses
Break that up, profits to billionaires be damned
WAY PAST TIME, TR pulled off similar, but he had an extra dose of guts.
There exists a problem when the lawmakers depend upon the Billionaires to fund their increasingly expensive campaigns. Factor in the primary source of income for all media outlets and the legs of the stool support each other in harmony
Brava, Jeri! Perfect dubbing of Fox/Rupert as our own terrorizing "Ministers of Propaganda." Rallies and tweets by the orange Yeti were/are part of the Hitlerian essentials of constant brainwashing lies we have witnessed from these anti-Americans for the past six years. When we re-create our country, we must deal with issues of propagandism vs Freedom of Speech (with responsibility and boundaries) in all venues of our communication systems.
Reviewing Germany in the 1930's is the best activity for understanding what has happened for 30 years (way before chump), but he had the unmitigated gall to openly espouse their evil.
Yes. Anyone who studied Germany, pre-WWII could see the same tactics being used in 2016 America by the republicans. It has been a plan in the making for decades. TFG was the perfect narcissist to carry out their full attempt at this coup d'etat.
Probably being paid by the Federalist Society.
The leave no rock unturned in their evil quest.
TCinLA,
The Massachuesetts Constitution, written by John Adams states:
"Article IV.
The people of this commonwealth have the sole and exclusive right of governing themselves, as a free, sovereign, and independent state; and do, and forever hereafter shall, exercise and enjoy every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not, or may not hereafter, be by them expressly delegated to the United States of America in Congress assembled."
Adams MA constitution was the model for the 1787 US constitution, although, unfortunately, Adams was in France at the time. In retrospect, that was a mistake. But, I think his son was fluent in French by then so off they went.
Since the Presidential elections are all held in the states, we have to look at STATE constitutions where state electors are picked.
Because, the states do, in fact, decide the outcome of the Presidential election, not the US Constitution. Same with the legislators.
At least in Massachusetts, where John Adams vision held sway because he encoded it in the MA constitution, the election IS specified as controlled by the people.
IN SHORT: Do not give up hope and work guys.
If Trump can define the Constitution as supporting him being President for the rest of his life and then Don Jr, and then Don Jr, Jr?
Well, we can define it however we want AS WELL.
So, I am here to say that the US Constitution, modeled on John Adams MA constitution, meant to say and does say that the PEOPLE will consent to be governed in the USA.
That is what John Adams intended and I don't care what they actually wrote when he was in France.
John Adams has, over the past 20 years, risen much higher in my regard, after reading more accurate history of him.
The 50 separate states of America.
Treason, sedition, incitement to violence, violence????
At the very least we need federal laws to protect national elections. “States Rights” may prevent us from enacting federal laws protecting state elections, but, it’s long past time to codify norms wherever we can. This mess won’t be easy to unwind so begin at the federal level and work from there.
Garland: "The Dept. of Justice will continue to do all it can to protect voting rights with the enforcement powers we have. It is essential that Congress act to give the Department the powers we need to ensure that every eligible voter can cast a vote that counts."
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1478821127417851905?s=20
So what is the fix? Congress already established the DOJ in 1870 to combat KKK domestic terrorism against voters newly enfranchised by the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution. What should Congress do now?
Enact a national voting law that will protect our individual right to vote and have each vote counted as meant by the voter. Either get rid of the filibuster Totally or make it as originally intended to be worked for. Stand and talk for hours, days or more in an attempt to block voting. In other words show their face and work for what they want. Not just push a button and go to lunch
https://www.movetoamend.org/
Koch’s want to amend too, be careful what you ask for
"... will we restore the principles on which the Founders based this nation: “that all men are created equal” and that governments derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed...”?" (HCR)
... how do we 'restore' those principles when they never have been firmly established as constitutional law? We expend immense amounts of time and energy. expounding the virtues of "our democracy" - rising to defend a dreamed of freedom that only ever has been just that: a dream.
So, how do wee people make that dream a reality?
People at Move To Amend have been working for several years to do just that. It remains to be seen how successful their efforts will be. Anyone with courage and inspiration to contribute is welcome to participate:
https://www.movetoamend.org
Remember, all those deadicated service people sworn to defend the Constitution, are beholden to follow orders of the high command ... effectively, anyone who questions or challenges the validity of "our" Constitution may well be considered an "enemy" and treated accordingly.
"... there is nothing - NOT ONE WORD - in the Constitution that requires free and democratic elections. The closest anything comes is the Constitution giving the state legislatures the power to "devise systems", with no requirement what that system should be ... the use of "democracy" has merely been a collectively-agreed "tradition" that has no teeth to enforce it."
"It turns out we've been living in a nailed-together, jury-rigged system that promises more than it requires."(TCinLA)
I looked at movetoamend.org and did not readily find the text of the proposed amendment. Can you provide a direct link to the text on movetoamend.org?
Isn't this why we are more than a nation of laws, but of tradition, of bonds man-made, of myths built to stress our commonality, of history written to reveal our story and give fabric to what was hinted at in the two documents upon which this experiment was started? All that is good (or evil) cannot be enshrined only in laws, but rendered in traditions for which the governed hold true or worthy to follow. Someone else, today, referred to the cracks where light comes in. That connected to me, as does this concern you express that there is nothing explicit in our constitution. Cracks occur, light is needed, and, IMHO, it must be the sweep of history that arrives to deliver judgment on the peridot that is January 6th. Can we really leave all up to one institution to resolve this breach of intents and hoped for goals imagined by our forefathers and fought for these past 350 years? Sadly, I am little help here.
BINGO!!
Article IV, Section 4, states: "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence." That's about as close to a guarantee as we have. The term "Republican Form" of government may be open to some interpretation, but in general it has been construed as one in which the People govern through elections. In Federalist No. 57, Alexander Hamilton wrote "The elective mode of obtaining rulers is the characteristic policy of republican government.”
Hoping for a back door conviction. Perhaps like Al Capone finally getting busted for tax evasion?
There is a monument on the Mall in Washington that rarely gets attention, tho it is directly in front of the Capital. The Ulysses S. Grant Memorial depicts him on his horse, slouched and still, while flanking him are a life-size Cavalry Group on the north and an Artillery Group on the south. They appear to be defending the Capital building, as they did in life. I’m thinking on them today, their sacrifice to hold our country together, and Grant’s defeat of the first KKK thru the newly created Justice Department (1870), and the Ku Klux Klan Act (1871), devised to defend the 14th Amendment. We must not let their sacrifice be trampled by modern seditionists. We must support those in Congress who are fighting to defend voting rights, like Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) who participated in meetings from his car while trapped on I95 on Tuesday. We must use all lawful means to restore our democracy.
https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/ulysses-s-grant-memorial
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/created-150-years-ago-justice-departments-first-mission-was-protect-black-rights-180975232/
https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/blog/looking-back-at-the-ku-klux-klan-act
For those of you so inclined, today is also the Feast of the Epiphany; lightness and dark, very much entwined....
Because Light, every time, will insert itself in the cracks of darkness. There is no opposite of Light so always call on it for protection and strength. When your actions are done with Love, Light encircles that action. Think of it.
We are all in this together. There is enough to go around.
United.
“There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in”
- Anthem, Leonard Cohen
And our "Liberty" Bell has a crack in it. It is our turn in American history to define "whose" Liberty are we are talking about NOW, in 2022. That's how the Light gets in. All The People, this time. "People, let your Light shine, all night and day!" — Jesse Colin Young
You are so right, Christine. Thank you for a beautiful reminder.
Christine's a professional at beautiful reminders. :-)
Yes today is epiphany as well as the anniversary of the coup. Garland gave a good speech yesterday— following the rule of law takes time. Let’s be grateful for the fact that Biden has 3 more years and we all have many possible modes of free speech and intelligent actions.
For an entire year, it never registered on me that the 2021 Insurrection took place on the Feast of the Epiphany, that's how much the one story overshadowed the other in my mind and in the media. And before this, I was always well aware of Epiphany, having been raised Greek Orthodox. The insurrectionists not only attacked our democracy, they also desecrated the Feastday. From now on, in my mind at least, it will be the Epiphany 2021 Insurrection.
Thank you for the reminder. Perhaps this explains my experience of the last few days. Oscillating between a simmering fear of Omicron (I’m boosted) vs. let’s have a modern day Pox party to get this infection over with and move closer to herd immunity. December 31 to now has been quite an emotional drain. Surely I didn’t expect 2022 to be magical 6 days in right? And I can’t help but wonder if the anniversary of Jan 6 is playing a role in how I feel. Today I will embrace the light and turn away from the dark.
I am already drained, or should I say I’m still drained. In addition to all that goes on in our country, I also got the news a week ago about a close friend’s aggressive cancer. While I’m big on the afterlife (see: George Anderson), I’m grieving so many things I’m feeling tired and defenseless. And today is our daughter’s 38th birthday, so there’s that. Sorry to be such a bummer.
Marcy, I believe we are all in some stage of grief and have been for some time. People are dying, the earth is dying, democracy seems to be quite sick, but we still carry on. Feeling "bummed" is nothing to apologize about. We, here can hold you as you gain new strength.
Not being a bummer to share with like minded people. This is a good place to come for encouragement and I hope you’ll feel some.
Still drained, and the "suck" keeps getting bigger. This community is where you can come to get some relief and some "boosting", even if all you do is speak your truth.
Laura, thanks. My wife is Orthodox Christian (Greek). I will surprise her this morning with this information since, normally, I have no idea about all the different days in that church. There are many.
It does help to have a "religion coach". I have a Jewish coach and an Episcopal coach. I was not raised in any church nor do I follow a path in life determined by any one religion. I still hold high a comment from a friend of mine (a preacher's kid who is very religious and a member of a Christ based church that isn't in the mainstream fold) who told me "For an atheist (how I defined myself at the time, at age 20; I now use the term non-theist) you are the most Christian person I know."
In my experience, that is frequently the fact. I think that many of we atheists are people who looked at Christianity, compared it to the "Christians" and said "Nope." But they liked the ideas, which is why we dislike the idolators.
Thanks be to God
Heather, you are a freaking gem. Thank you for covering democracy the world over, not just here. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Roland, just so.
This unexpected development may cause Putin to rethink his position on Ukraine. The fact that he has not acted with force suggests that no one in Moscow anticipated the extent of anger in Kazakhstan.
Putin’s greatest fear is something akin to an Orange Revolution, a popular uprising like what’s happening in Kazakhstan, because a popular movement of that size will not allow him to maintain the type of control he now exercises. Stuart Attewell (if I read him correctly, often he is way over my head) points out the need for Russia to join Europe and ally with the U.S. and with democracy. If Putin does not align with his own people, and with the need of the world to unify, if he does not ride the tide of history that wants Russia to be the great nation that unifies Europe and Asia, then he will be swept away by that Tide. What he doesn’t realize is that you don’t control the tide, you let the tide wash you where it wants to take you. Control is the problem, not the solution. The solution is allowing and accepting what needs to happen, allowing oneself to be moved by that Tide of history, to become an instrument in the evolution of that destiny. Let the wind blow your sailboat where it will, stop deciding that you know better than the wind. That, my dear Vladimir, is the difference between becoming a great leader and being an also-ran. Your greatest fear is also your greatest opportunity. If you can let go of control, and allow the forces of history to operate through you instead of resisting them with that fear-based control, miracles will happen. Your desire for a powerful Russian nation which is admired around the world is possible, absolutely possible, if you allow yourself to be the vehicle of Russia’s glorious evolution without interfering. You will become the tool of destiny, the vehicle of destiny, the instrument through which destiny operates, rather than the human, small individual human, control freak who opposes destiny. But you cannot go backwards. The USSR is gone. The new Russia will not look like something that has already disintegrated. It will look like something brand new, something that has never existed before. Your attempts to take Russia backwards are merely delaying destiny’s desire to take Russia forwards, to a brand new glorious reality that we cannot picture because it has never existed. Your dream of a Russian Empire from the past will not happen. However, with proper nourishment, as Nikita Khrushchev would appreciate, with proper watering and sunlight, as any farmer understands, the sickle of the hammer and sickle, a brand new Russia will grow and strengthen. Support your people in having what they want. Change your position towards Russia and its people from one of opposition to one of support and encouragement. That is how your dream of a glorious Russia will happen. The Cold War is over. Say yes. Say yes to proposals, initiatives, movements in your own country, and in foreign relations (affairs of state). “Yes” is your ticket to fulfilling your dreams for Russia. “No” to evolution, trying to stop progress and take things back to the USSR, is impossible, and will only cause you and your people grief and trouble.
As much chance as the cult listening to reason….
Wow, eloquently said, Roland!!! 👏🏼👏🏿👏
🙏
Letters like this is why I start my morning with HCR and avoid the punditry on morning TV. I love the energized feeling I get from them. I loved how she started out about the Kazakhstan unrest with that great segue "So, we are watching people in Kazakhstan try to recover the right to have a say in their own government on the anniversary of the day that Americans came perilously close to losing that right." Being a Michigander, I am extremely happy with the new electoral map released last week. Hopefully, over time the rest of the country can follow suit and along with voting rights legislation being passed. That is how you get things done. Slowly and steady.
My House Rep, Jennifer Wexton, has reported that our district has NOT been as egregiously gerrymandered as many had feared. So, yes, Sharon, slowly and steady.
"Members of the country’s wealthy political class who could, appear to have fled the country in private jets before protesters took over the airport."
What countries they fled to would be telling about these destinations' governments. I have no doubt that ruling class oligarchs in other countries were taking note of this and already have contingency plans of their own.
Remember when the bin Laden family (and likely other Saudis) escaped the USA on the day that all commercial aviation was grounded?
Assisted by Bush
Something was rotten in the state...of the US.
Yeh... "cleared as filed"...maintain runway heading.....contact departure control, frequency...###.##..................asta la vista
President Biden said exactly the right thing this morning:
“We saw it with our own eyes. Rioters menaced these halls, threatening the life of the Speaker of the House, literally erecting gallows to hang the Vice President of the United States of America.
“But what did we not see?
“We didn’t see a former president, who had just rallied the mob to attack — sitting in the private dining room off the Oval Office in the White House, watching it all on television and doing nothing for hours as police were assaulted, lives at risk, and the nation’s capital under siege.
“This wasn’t a group of tourists. This was an armed insurrection.
“They weren’t looking to uphold the will of the people. They were looking to deny the will of the people.
“They were looking to uphold — they weren’t looking to uphold a free and fair election. They were looking to overturn one.
“They weren’t looking to save the cause of America. They were looking to subvert the Constitution.
“This isn’t about being bogged down in the past. This is about making sure the past isn’t buried.
“That’s the only way forward. That’s what great nations do. They don’t bury the truth, they face up to it. Sounds like hyperbole, but that’s the truth: They face up to it.
“We are a great nation.
“My fellow Americans, in life, there’s truth and, tragically, there are lies — lies conceived and spread for profit and power.
“We must be absolutely clear about what is true and what is a lie.
“And here is the truth: The former president of the United States of America has created and spread a web of lies about the 2020 election. He’s done so because he values power over principle, because he sees his own interests as more important than his country’s interests and America’s interests, and because his bruised ego matters more to him than our democracy or our Constitution.
“He can’t accept he lost, even though that’s what 93 United States senators, his own Attorney General, his own Vice President, governors and state officials in every battleground state have all said: He lost.
“That’s what 81 million of you did as you voted for a new way forward.
“He has done what no president in American history — the history of this country — has ever, ever done: He refused to accept the results of an election and the will of the American people.”
Wow. My president, our president, President Biden. Thank you, TC, for getting this to us. A very busy day.
Soon after Biden's speech, I listened to the NPR report about it. Mara Liasson, a veteran journalist, gave a solid overview and critique, including pointing out The Big Lie (my words not hers). But she characterized those who believe Trump actually won as "non-rational" rather than "irrational."
To me, the former is too polite: "not able to be explained by reason." The latter is more accurate and damning: "lacking usual or normal mental clarity or coherence, not endowed with reason or understanding." Perhaps I'm splitting hairs.
The Democrats all need to be spreading messages like this. It is past time to articulate the truth, and Biden has set the stage for that. Read James Carville's latest....
Can you provide a url for that? I ask because I asked google and he didn't have an answer.
Here's something to think about today. January 6, 1961:
Nixon believed that Kennedy’s allies had stolen the election through systematic fraud. He had far more evidence in his court than Donald Trump, and his margin of loss was much smaller than Trump’s. He didn’t concede right away, and gave serious consideration to fighting the results. But ultimately Nixon accepted them—and so did the Republican Party as well as the American public.
Despite the razor-thin margin, Nixon publicly conceded defeat very early the morning after the election, shortly before Kennedy declared victory. Nixon did not encourage Republicans to regard the country as locked in a permanent civil war, or to treat the incoming president as a usurper. To the contrary, on January 6, 1961, he discharged his responsibily as president of the Senate and presided over the congressional tally of the electoral college vote. “In our campaigns, no matter how hard they may be, no matter how close the election may turn out to be, those who lose accept the verdict and support those who win.” Nixon noted that he was the first vice president since 1860 to declare his opponent the winner and called it "a striking example of the stability of our constitutional system.”
Richard. Fucking. Nixon.
Ironically, Nixon was substantially less bad than any Republican president since he resigned, except Gerald Ford, who was hapless, perhaps, but not evil like senile movie actor, the elderbush, the moron, and the grifter.
I've said many times that I wish I "still had Nixon to kick around" as he put it in 1962.
This morning, one year to the day after the 1/6 Insurrection attempted to subvert a free and fair election, I read the article to which I have linked below. I admit to being a pessimist about this country's future, as when we can't even agree on history, how can we move forward together into the future? However, this Op-Ed neatly lays out how deep and dire the the threat is. Our democracy may have survived 1/6, but as we have come to find out, it was barely, and it is now in a far weaker condition. Next time--and rest assured, there WILL be a "next time"--it very well may not.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/04/next-us-civil-war-already-here-we-refuse-to-see-it
Agree. Marche's opinion piece is sobering and compelling.
This says it all. Phony war getting away with a mascarade of phony peace.
In terms of the real challenges facing America and the world, the timing could hardly be worse.
But too much has been systematically swept under the carpet for too long.
NEGATIVITY ALERT
*
I can see American citizens having to physically take out the corrupt trash of our own worsening kleptocracy. None of these people will stop themselves, you know.
The Trump Presidency told us that the corruption within government along with its wealthy/corporate cohorts have grown too large to maintain the polite illusion of democracy anymore. They clearly want to stop the inconvenience of holding elections.
Our educational & political systems are rigged to keep most of us in a particular socio-economic place and ignorant of civics and of true history such as what we did to Indigenous Peoples, to humans stolen from Africa and forced into slavery, and to Chinese laborers.
In other words, America began with corruption. It is the core of who we are, and until we understand this and decide as a people to acknowledge and change, we will continue to be increasingly consumed by this monster - not just BlPOC communities, LGBTQ+ communities, poor & low income communities (women in particular), etc, but it will escalate until it’s affect on White middle & upper middle class communities becomes intolerable as well.
Remember the Martin Niemöller piece, “First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew”?
Most of the very wealthy can do what their counterparts in Kazakhstan did, wring the blood out of us and flee.
We either unite as a people who are fairly and equally treated under all laws regardless of income level, appearance, etc., or we will continue to fall apart, piece by piece.
You clearly state a perspective "America began with corruption. It is the core of who we are..." This is in complete (and more articulate than my oft stated perspective) agreement of what I believe about the US: We were founded and gained our wealth so quickly as a nation because we stole land from the Indigenous peoples and based our economy on enslaved labor. Until we (the global "we") acknowledge this and make reparations, we are a soulless nation, convinced (as many teenagers are, which is about where we are as a nation based on historical assessment of nations) that we have all the answers and are invincible.
We. Do. Not.
We. Are. Not.
Thanks for the alert, that is why I read your bit of writing. :-)
But, I found no negativity. It seems fairly on point and accurate. So, if it reflects actual reality, it cannot be negative.
It just.....is.
Same here, Mike.
😂
"EU warns US and Russia against new ‘Yalta’ deal to divide Europe" (Financial Times, Jan 6th 2022).
One can ask the people of Kazakhstan, Georgia, Ukraine and Byelorussia what they think of living next door to the "Bear" and get the same answers around their fears and uncertainties. The possibility of conflict for the Russians on several borders at once is a great deal too heavy for its small economy to support, regardless of the military force that it can deploy. History provides ample evidence that Russia was always part of "Europe" untill the Bolsheviks went their own way and gave us the Stalin/Brezhnev "nuclear deep freeze". Ways must be found now to bring Russia back into Europe rather than to re-divide Europe by "secutrity walls which we thought we had demolished in 1989 and therebye avoid future battles of Stalingrad and Oder-Neiss lines. Russia is a leading military power but only middling in the Economic stakes. It's choice now is whether to ally themselves to China in a subordinate role, to engulf Europe in a "Third Block" that it will attempt to dominate but for which they don't have the wherewithal or to join with the Europe on an basis of equality with its other European Nation partners.
Only the latter offers much hope for the people on any of Russia's borders and beyond. Russia must be brought back into the fold but the difficulties abound:
-Nato is essentially an American dominated anti-Russian alliance which loses its essential "raison d'être" should Russia come home
-Europe currently can't defend itself, with only 2 real military forces in France and UK while most of the countries are quite happy to see the US spend the money and provide the umbrella than having to bear the political consequences of doing it themselves.
-The US would find its role and influence reduced as the world moved into a game of 3 politico-military blocks and economic powerhouses.
Much as one appreciates that a stool with 3 legs is more stable than with 2, the possibility then always exists of 2 ganging up on the 3rd rather than the 3 agreeing peaceably for the good of their people. Lots of room therefore in the future for autocratic power structures ruling through "fear of the external enemy".
The planet needs cooperation among people and countries now, competition is exhausting and unsustainable. Wait, that may be socialism.
Not on your life, that's consideration for the other and tolerance of different points of view, values, traditions and individual freedoms
Let's have that conversation
Competition improves the breed.
Mad dogs and pit bull.
Might does not make right.
Ar least not in a "civilized" world.
I appreciate your thought. Make that a world "becoming civilized".. I view life/the world as a "line" (a string) spiraling up or down, but the ends never attach permanently..or for long. Humans (human nature) cannot exist in equilibrium, so it seems.
Yes, becoming, agreed.
Any "coming together" is always subject to revolution/dissolution/oligarchism/separation/intimidation, when governments run amok. The corruption in Russia is the Bear.
The "bug bear" without doubt but do look at 19C political cartoons as Russia has been the "Bear" for much longer than we have lived in a democracy. You should also look at international comparisons of corruption in different countries and you'll find that neither the US nor France are particularly well placed.