Thank you, Heather, for this superb conclusion; it allows me to bypass my rant about the Republicans!
“Vox correspondent Ian Millhiser, who is a keen observer of American politics, commented tonight: ‘This was a good week for the United States of America and I may be coming down with a case of The Hope.’”
I would love to “come down with a case of The Hope,” too!
Thank you, Heather, for this superb conclusion; it allows me to bypass my rant about the Republicans!
“Vox correspondent Ian Millhiser, who is a keen observer of American politics, commented tonight: ‘This was a good week for the United States of America and I may be coming down with a case of The Hope.’”
I would love to “come down with a case of The Hope,” too!
Please don't let anyone's Case of Hope infect you with complacency which manifests as rash self indulgence. Please don't let anything keep you from working as hard as you can to get out the vote for Democratic candidates. Otherwise Republicans will come back worse - an assault which the body politic may not be able to withstand.
I agree with you 1000% and more, lin. It has never been more important to push push push against the door of bigotry, self service, greed, and assault on democracy that Republicans have been opening wider since they put grease on the hinges when their tool walked down the golden escalator in 2016.
As always, Lin, I agree with you. “Trying to demonstrate a party’s power to kill popular legislation is an interesting approach to governance.” This was, in my opinion, the most important sentence in today’s letter. We need to use it again and again before the midterms to hammer home what Mitch McConnell and his party really stand for. Their entire platform is “Obstruction”.
"We need to use it again and again before the midterms to hammer home what Mitch McConnell and his party really stand for. Their entire platform is “Obstruction”."
ThankYou Betsy.
McConnell's Party of No has transformed itself into Trump et al's Party of Nihilism. Their motto is 'If I can't control it, then I will destroy it."
This is the operating principle of criminals from abusive partners to Putin in his war on Ukraine. It was the driving emotion of Jan 6, and is the emotion behind religious extremist credo. All share embracing and legitimizing irrationality and violence.
If any message can help Democrats, it’s making sure veterans and active duty personnel see that Republicans have demonstrated, by blocking help for veterans injured by burn pits, that the GOP has no interest in the longterm welfare of those who have served in the military. Trillions for war, nothing for warriors.
As clear as Heather explained the Republicans' tantrum, I still don't get it! Aren't there sick vets who are Republicans? Isn't it the Republican mantra to have semiconductors, amongst other manufactured items, Made in the USA? Aren't there gay Republicans? Aren't there Republicans who use birth control? Shouldn't there be a slew of angry Republican voters right about now? I have never seen anything else that better illustrates the axiom, "Cut off your nose to spite your face."
I'm late getting here, too, Sophia. I have the same questions. There is something beyond current comprehension about what makes Republican legislators tick. I am longing for someone in that pack to have the courage to out the dynamics. To blow the whistle on McConnell and his minions. NO. NOT the whistle. To blow the dang tuba. Decades ago, when my daughter was a child, I remember her clenching her fists and turning red in the face with rage about being bullied by someone. And in her fury, she spouted, "I'm sick up and fed of it!!" Yeah. That.
Ahh but everything you say assumes that people know and vote what is in their own or collective interest. You are assuming GOP voters are rational. That only applies to the GOP plutocrat paymasters and their politician puppets. The populists ... they are something else.
On some level they want what we all want - to meet basic needs and then some - but they've drunk the trickle down economics kool aid as to how to get it. Many have righteous grievances and have been mislead as to the cause and the solution.
It's taken decades to breed this much ignorance and irrationality in that part of the electorate. Who benefits from racist right wing religious extremism? Who gets what benefits from the GOP of god, guns, and greed?
Many Republicans are the blood heirs of dirt poor whites who were willing to die to perpetuate the 'noble cause' of the slave state. Many live in the embrace of existential anxieties, religious irrationalities, and blood lust resentments.
Their leaders have literally made fools of them - while making themselves rich.
Right on Lin! I could not have said it better myself. Your allusion to the dynamic of Putin's Russia, abusive partners in general is spot on. It becomes an individuals normal and they are trapped in a cycle of humiliation, anger, lashing out and then being humiliated again. Self hate leads to murder and suicide. As to The Hope, the wheels of Justice grind slowly, but once they gain a certain momentum they grind surely for the truth.
" It [abuse] becomes an individuals normal and they are trapped in a cycle of humiliation, anger, lashing out and then being humiliated again."
Or, tragically, abuse becomes an individual's normal and they adopt their abuser's justifications for the situation or construct their own justifications for why things are they way they are. On a national level, it can take the form of voter suppression by convincing people "your vote doesn't count, you can't change anything, there is no difference between the parties etc etc"
I seem to remember Mitch McConnell saying something to the effect that his job was to see that no legislation got passed under the Obama Administration "...even if it was for the good of the country." I thought that was traitorous then and, boy honey, has it ratcheted up ever since.
Yes, Kathy, I agree. Hope gives me strength. This may be infectious. I don't know exactly why but I have been feeling better than I have since the Orange nightmare elevated himself onto the scene. I have suffered many disappointments as I am sure others have felt also from the Mueller affair, the 2 impeachments and other various trials that we have all endured during this nightmare but somehow this feels different. HOPE I am right and we have HCR spearheading our way daily through truth and knowledge. Brava!
I agree. Hope is actually inspiring and gives me energy to engage. Locally, I dont see the energy I saw in 2020 or even in 2018. I hope that's about to change.
Yes! If anything The Hope energizes me. It makes me feel that all the effort and work is making a change for good. I have one debt to tRump and that's his wake-up call to me to not be too comfortable or complacent about our democracy. He made obvious what had been insidious, and now I am vigilant. I have joined our local Democratic Committee and a women's group for progress. I have built up the strength and fortitude to call out publicly injustices, and The Hope only reinforces all of this. Dr. Richardson and this group have helped to educate me and motivate me. Thank you all!!!
I feel exactly the same and you are so right about the wake-up call. I am finding my own version of taking action, starting with sharing this newsletter every day!!
Seeing good things happening and the politics of revenge practiced by Rs will not stop us from continuing our donating to get out the vote causes and certain pols. This sort of thing just strengthens our resolve. Our vet cousin in South Dakota was already pointing out to the Senate jerks in her state about the vote on this bill. You don't say just before that you support vets and then do something as stupid as this. She posts every day about the Gnome as well. Meanwhile, thankfully, the primary in WA is Tuesday and those ads will disappear unless two of them are the top two vote getters.
I need lots of help to win the Treasurer of Clay County position. I sure can't do it by myself. I am already tired and I still have over 3 months to hit the trail!
Rowshan -- I was just about to post a very similar comment. -- This was indeed an encouraging Letter this evening. I too may be coming down with a case of The Hope.
Jeanne, I think you've just said a very large truth--tha hope is essential to our survival. Not just our survival in this time of national crisis,, but in our journey as human beings. My own hope started its downward spiral the day Donald Trump was elected, and year after year it has grown weaker. I don't even mean hope for something in particular but simply hopefulness as a state of mind or being. That's what I am so afraid we're I'm danger of losing, that we are going to come out of this (and we will, of course) only to find we have left a big part of ourselves behind, om the field of battle.
Me too, and I feel as Churchill did. “I am an optimist, it does not seem to be of much use to be anything else.” Of course, this often collides with “Hope is a tease, designed to keep us from accepting reality.” Today it will be the former…
I don't know how widespread it was, but if I recall correctly, it was in the '80s "I'm a realist, not an idealist" seemed a popular phrase. In fact, optimism (which I see as related) gives you the motive for a venture, and a realistic game plan provides the means, though the two are often presented as opposites. Reality is indifferent to us and will do us no favors, but we can (often) learn to dance with it sufficiently in order to get where we want to go; so long as we know reality will call the tune. We ultimately get nowhere or worse ignoring reality, and yet history is replete with exceptional accomplishments, so some approaches do work.
To me (cautious) optimism is a judgement that there is enough of a chance of a plan working to make the effort worthwhile (or if not a plan, conditions that present a sufficient chance of being conducive, such as the chances of rain on a parade). Perhaps that's what Churchill was getting at.
Cynicism seems like a rationalization for doing what one has always done, or nothing at all. Imagination combined with effort and empirical discipline, produces practical creativity; how Einstein came up with E=MC², and how the Constitution was crafted.
I love this. Hope requires creativity and a willingness to go out on a limb. I am wondering if the GOP has lost hope. They subsist on barricading and hoarding, afraid of change and creativity.
They have nothing to offer voters except fear, hatred and violence. It got them the White House in 2016, but that may be their last hurrah. ( with fists in the air)
I pray you are right. The fact that “fear, hatred and violence” worked for them spectacularly once was eye opening. However, then they gave nothing else (oh, yeah…3 SCOTUS conservatives) but nothing else to the majority of their constituents that is of substance or popular. Let’s hope the GOP obstructing positive legislation and fist pumping the overturning of Roe will keep the Dems in the majority this November. Yesterday was a very good day for the Dems… we need to safeguard voting. That should have been number ONE on the list. Damn Joe Manchin.
I only speculate, but it seems to me that demagogues seek to manipulate our evolutionarily older "reptile brain", that nature has given a "trump card" over reason and compassion to fight for our survival. That has created a kind of "security flaw" in our "mindware" that can be worked by predatory people. Nurses have described patients denying until pretty literally their last breath the existence of the COVID virus they were dying from, and that fixed idea was planted there primarily by politicians who saw it in their own selfish interests to do so.
The machine needs some elbow grease but that takes work…which they haven’t been wanting to do. It’s easier to lie and create chaos. Let’s hope the machine breaks!
I think it is complicated amongst the rank and file. I am aware that some people are more uncomfortable than others with ambiguity. I suspect a large portion of R. rank and file may have grown up in authoritarian households where questioning ostensible authority was punished.
I also think the profession of politics draws people with many motivations, not the least of which is money and power, and these are the natural allies of plutocrats. I think much of the actually crafting of the modern "GOP" mission is shaped in one way or another by large concentrations of wealth. The record of the so-called Reagan Revolution, which is Republicans continue to this day, is abysmal for most Americans, in ways too numerous to enumerate here. It has, on the other hand, visibly contributed to making the very, very rich a great deal richer and a great deal more influential in America in determining what happens to us all. It seems to be that, seen as a whole, that that was and is the underling mission all along, and the faithful are being had.
Thank you for responding. This is a thoughtful, message and I think you're absolutely right based partly on my own experience. Keeping what we've amassed, maintaining the status quo, I think is what you're saying. That fear of losing, a kind of insecurity, is what connects those who have a lot and those who have less. Having a lot can imprison you similarly to how having not much can imprison you. But not everyone in these circumstances is imprisoned—so the imprisonment is mental, psychological, a lack of faith, of trust, of one's own resilience, of one's own ability. Always having little but not the wherewithall to be content or change things, or always having a lot but not the wherewithall to see beyond your own borders. Seeing the bigger picture takes courage and selflessness, it takes heart, and love for this world, this planet, and every creature that lives. And it's necessary, because every creature is necessary. At some point, all the money in the world, and all the anger and hatred, will get you living barricaded behind walls with no one having your back. That's the big picture the GOP doesn't want to acknowledge even as it tries to herd us down that path. Live for today is a problematic slogan.
My daughter had a college roommate who lived in a war zone. The family slept fully dressed in case the needed to run. I suppose there are those who like to live on the edge of danger, but it seems like an experientially impoverished way to be forced to live; and that an environment that supports trust with abiding vigilance is far richer.
DR spoke of freedom from as well as freedom to. That surely requires watching out for one another. Democracy and rule of law is a tragic travesty without preponderant good faith. Two or more national parties at total war is a failed state.
Freedom requires a diverse array of responsible choices, and that can't scale without controversy and tension, with reasonable peaceable means of resolving or tolerating discord. Such as, who gets to drive across an intersection first? We need to agree on such things. A free society provides a foundational basis for trust.
“To believe all men honest is folly. To believe none is something worse.” - John Adams
I'll need to re-read this a few more times, JL, but by jove, I think you got it! Ignoring reality has worked for me a few times but I was not engaged in life-altering endeavors when I did so.
In these times, a minor comparison, but for me personal. As a creative person, I get an idea from looking at pieces of things. Then I put them together in a new way. Sometimes, those “pieces” have to be arranged and then re-arranged several times before the “right” placement is achieved. Reality might say to me (or anyone) these pieces do NOT fit together, throw them away and start over!” But by the simple act of rearranging “pieces”, a solution does almost always make itself known. I believe this to be true in cases both large and small. My eternal thanks for this engaging group of thinkers and actors.
Well that it, isn't it? Yes, there is joy, relief, and even the potential for insight in pure fantasy. Daydreams, nightdreams, and their ilk, fantasy in the arts, even fantasy in math (though those tend to come around to being useful). Why the hell not? Except when not appropriate. '
Lies are a kind of unreality, yet weaponized. Racisism, aggressive wars, and many kinds of injustice are enabled by lies. Lies gave the US, with perhaps the most advanced technical means of abating a pandemic, the worst comparative record for deaths. Naive or lazy misunderstandings also can kill. The higher the responsibility that is accepted by a professional, the greater the burden for integrity, or should be. Potential existential threats may rise when fantasy is presented as critical reality, and reality is labeled is "fantasy" as in Republican claims against Fauci, climate science, and truthful "fake news".
“Cynicism seems like a rationalization for doing what one has always done, or nothing at all. Imagination combined with effort and empirical discipline, produces practical creativity;…” Beautifully said! I too have hope!
“The door of a bigoted mind opens outwards so that the only result of the pressure of facts upon it is to close it more snugly.” Ogden Nash
When the dam begins to break, it does so because the truth and the facts and more and more people finally willing to speak up presses and presses hard against the door of bigotry and oppression and slams it shut. That is what optimism is. As Churchill defined. Fighting the good fight. We are standing up and not giving in to fascist governance by the Republicans and exposing Trump and his minions for the circus car they continue to be. We are pushing hard with the truth.
We on this forum have had the case of The Hope since the Biden/Harris election win.
For me in this moment, it’s Now We Know. All of Us This Time. As in any brawl, let’s kick some proverbial ass.
Christine, I'm there with you. I've posted the following before, but it seems appropriate to do so again. As Rebecca Solnit says....“Hope is not a lottery ticket you can sit on the sofa and clutch, feeling lucky. It is an axe you break down doors with in an emergency. Hope should shove you out the door, because it will take everything you have to steer the future away from endless war, from the annihilation of the earth's treasures and the grinding down of the poor and marginal... To hope is to give yourself to the future - and that commitment to the future is what makes the present inhabitable.” Carry on, friends!
“To hope is to give yourself to the future - and that commitment to the future is what makes the present inhabitable.” What a life-affirming statement!
Frankly (and given my professional background) it is no surprise that I just might wish to kick more than a "proverbial" ass. I'd love to apply a boot to the behinds of some of these Qonspiracy theorists that have become a governing party in this country.
I was being polite. 😜 When one finds the correct and relevant “proverbial ass”, it’s easier to apply the boot. And I have on my boots from LLBean. Always hit the target.
"I would love to “come down with a case of The Hope,” too!" I would too Rowshan. I do not like the place I am in. Decades ago I began my migration from center right to progressive. It was gradual, and as it developed, I became increasingly disgusted and impatient with our system of government in this country. Also I think I became a less happy camper - what a shame. Blinders were off, and my eyes were getting used to the light so to speak, and I didn't like what I saw. I think many of us have a similar story. Today, or yesterday, I feel like I am as low as low can get. The planet is burning, and the Republican party is trying their best (pretty successfully too) to have it continue to do so; so what if human civilization is forever altered if not destroyed. The Republican Party is outwardly trying to subvert democracy in my country, a minority party trying to seize power from the majority, cement it that way forever, and turn it into the something along the lines of the Republic of Gilead. And that is something I never thought I'd see. We now live in a full blown oligarchy; whose billionaire class doesn't want to pay their taxes yet wants all the benefits, is completely in bed with the Republican Party, and are so powerful that it isn't clear anything can be done. BUT - could it be we are starting to see the beginnings of the crumbling of the forces of evil? Is logic beginning to win out. Compassion, critical thinking turning the tide? If so, let us not let up. Keep the strangle hold until there is no life left in it. And play dirty if that is what it takes.
Thanks, James. I'm always interested in stories like yours where a person DOES in fact change! What, if Imay ask, were the influences or forces that helped you change? Why or when did you begin to be more logical and compassionate or learn critical thinking? At some precise point or gradually? Why did you change?
Mary - how did I change? Why? Thank you for asking. I think it was inevitable. I am largely a southern person although I've been around. My family, like so many other southern families, is quite racist - my dad (deceased), my mom (in assisted living), and my three siblings all who live in the deep south. I was NEVER comfortable with the racism I saw every day while growing up. I cannot explain that; my friends didn't seem to have any problem with it. And I was destined to be an engineer - math and science were my skill sets in high school. The engineering profession has a whole lot of rational thinkers and problem solvers; they are thick as thieves. And this mindset I think is more likely to result in progressive thinking. Most (not all) have well developed BS meters. Then came the "aha" moment. In my late 20's I dusted off years of old "Scientific American" magazines one day, that I had paid no attention to up til that point, and started reading articles about deep space, evolution, sub-atomic particle physics, etc, and I tell you - it all started falling into place. Later, after moving to WA state and picking up mountain climbing, my progressive attitudes were just re-enforced - something about the grandeur of high mountain glaciated wilderness can affect a person's soul, can put a person in his/her place. Not sure if this adequately explains to many, but it does to me. I wish I could spread it but few seem to want to listen.
Thanks, James, for responding. It seems you were different from the beginning than your parents and siblings in that you were not comfortable with racism. I wonder how many Prof. Richardson fans could say the same thing , we were different from our siblings even as youngsters.
Ageuk.org says, "We inherit cognitive function [thinking skills] from our parents, in the same way that physical characteristics are passed down. Scientists have discovered that, unlike eye colour, cognitive function is not influenced by a few genes but by many. Individually, each gene has a small influence but together they account for more than half (or 50%) of the differences in cognitive function between us." Given this, it's easy to understand why siblings can be so different. Of course there is also the influence of opportunity and education as we grow, both significant, as you experienced and mention in your explanation.
Even though I'm generally familiar with the demographics of Trumpers, it's still hard to wrap my brain around the characteristics or reasons so many people have been deluded by him. But I've also realized many followers aren't deluded; they are just going along with Trump for their own advantage but they know the truth.
Thanks again. You've confirmed that open-mindedness and education are two key characteristics of the more liberal mindset.
Forgot to mention Mary - that the most important "aha" moment for me when boning up on all things science years ago was climate change. That literally set my hair on fire. Because I knew it to be true - the evidence even decades ago was irrefutable. And now - well we are on our way aren't we. To me, nothing else matters nearly as much - I am left wondering what to tell my kids - where to move, how to prepare. It's our planet for gods sake. And look who the deniers are. Hyper-religious Christians, self-serving industrialists, heads of so many corporations, other 1%'ers who see their fortunes put at risk, and of course the Republicans who represent them all. And look who don't care or don't know to care - poorly educated and/or willingly ignorant people with their collective heads in the sand, some being gaslighted to not trust the scientific world. WTF? I was one of those years ago. No more.
Thank you, Heather, for this superb conclusion; it allows me to bypass my rant about the Republicans!
“Vox correspondent Ian Millhiser, who is a keen observer of American politics, commented tonight: ‘This was a good week for the United States of America and I may be coming down with a case of The Hope.’”
I would love to “come down with a case of The Hope,” too!
Please don't let anyone's Case of Hope infect you with complacency which manifests as rash self indulgence. Please don't let anything keep you from working as hard as you can to get out the vote for Democratic candidates. Otherwise Republicans will come back worse - an assault which the body politic may not be able to withstand.
I agree with you 1000% and more, lin. It has never been more important to push push push against the door of bigotry, self service, greed, and assault on democracy that Republicans have been opening wider since they put grease on the hinges when their tool walked down the golden escalator in 2016.
🗽
Christine, spot on my Shero !!
🥂💜🗽
As always, Lin, I agree with you. “Trying to demonstrate a party’s power to kill popular legislation is an interesting approach to governance.” This was, in my opinion, the most important sentence in today’s letter. We need to use it again and again before the midterms to hammer home what Mitch McConnell and his party really stand for. Their entire platform is “Obstruction”.
"We need to use it again and again before the midterms to hammer home what Mitch McConnell and his party really stand for. Their entire platform is “Obstruction”."
ThankYou Betsy.
McConnell's Party of No has transformed itself into Trump et al's Party of Nihilism. Their motto is 'If I can't control it, then I will destroy it."
This is the operating principle of criminals from abusive partners to Putin in his war on Ukraine. It was the driving emotion of Jan 6, and is the emotion behind religious extremist credo. All share embracing and legitimizing irrationality and violence.
"Obstruction" is a tactic. So is their culture war.
The strategy is to get and hold on to political power.
Power for what? you may ask. And I would reply...
FOLLOW THE MONEY!
If any message can help Democrats, it’s making sure veterans and active duty personnel see that Republicans have demonstrated, by blocking help for veterans injured by burn pits, that the GOP has no interest in the longterm welfare of those who have served in the military. Trillions for war, nothing for warriors.
Pro-life until the child is born.
Pro-police until the cops attempt to stop a coup.
Pro-veterans until soldiers' health fails.
Pro-America until Russia holds out a cheque.
Pro-rights as long as the people protected are exactly like them.
Pro-Freedom of Religion as long as it's Christianity.
Pro-peace as long as they can carry military grade weapons.
Pro-environment unless it interferes with corporate donations.
Pro-fact, but only if they control how a fact is defined.
Pro-family if the family is straight, white, and votes red.
Pro-kindness except when it's about brown people needing asylum.
Pro-law, unless it's inconvenient.
How many did I miss?
Actually, they’re pro-police until they attempt to stop a coup, which is what I guess you meant.
I'm glad one of us knew what I meant! Thank you for the correction. I'll see if I can fix it!
As clear as Heather explained the Republicans' tantrum, I still don't get it! Aren't there sick vets who are Republicans? Isn't it the Republican mantra to have semiconductors, amongst other manufactured items, Made in the USA? Aren't there gay Republicans? Aren't there Republicans who use birth control? Shouldn't there be a slew of angry Republican voters right about now? I have never seen anything else that better illustrates the axiom, "Cut off your nose to spite your face."
I'm late getting here, too, Sophia. I have the same questions. There is something beyond current comprehension about what makes Republican legislators tick. I am longing for someone in that pack to have the courage to out the dynamics. To blow the whistle on McConnell and his minions. NO. NOT the whistle. To blow the dang tuba. Decades ago, when my daughter was a child, I remember her clenching her fists and turning red in the face with rage about being bullied by someone. And in her fury, she spouted, "I'm sick up and fed of it!!" Yeah. That.
It is there in plain sight. Opportunism and ideology.
Rhetoric unmoored from reality - spinning bad impulses into worse facts on the ground. Insecurity - wanting absolutes in a changing world.
Ahh but everything you say assumes that people know and vote what is in their own or collective interest. You are assuming GOP voters are rational. That only applies to the GOP plutocrat paymasters and their politician puppets. The populists ... they are something else.
The idea that Republicans vote for what is not in their self-interest leaves me apoplectic...like I said, I don't get it....
On some level they want what we all want - to meet basic needs and then some - but they've drunk the trickle down economics kool aid as to how to get it. Many have righteous grievances and have been mislead as to the cause and the solution.
It's taken decades to breed this much ignorance and irrationality in that part of the electorate. Who benefits from racist right wing religious extremism? Who gets what benefits from the GOP of god, guns, and greed?
Many Republicans are the blood heirs of dirt poor whites who were willing to die to perpetuate the 'noble cause' of the slave state. Many live in the embrace of existential anxieties, religious irrationalities, and blood lust resentments.
Their leaders have literally made fools of them - while making themselves rich.
Right on Lin! I could not have said it better myself. Your allusion to the dynamic of Putin's Russia, abusive partners in general is spot on. It becomes an individuals normal and they are trapped in a cycle of humiliation, anger, lashing out and then being humiliated again. Self hate leads to murder and suicide. As to The Hope, the wheels of Justice grind slowly, but once they gain a certain momentum they grind surely for the truth.
" It [abuse] becomes an individuals normal and they are trapped in a cycle of humiliation, anger, lashing out and then being humiliated again."
Or, tragically, abuse becomes an individual's normal and they adopt their abuser's justifications for the situation or construct their own justifications for why things are they way they are. On a national level, it can take the form of voter suppression by convincing people "your vote doesn't count, you can't change anything, there is no difference between the parties etc etc"
Well said!
I think "obstruction" is too abstract to get the average voter riled up. Tell voters what the Republicans don't want them to have.
"Republicans voted against healthcare for veterans!
Republicans voted against making chips in America so you don't have to wait forever to buy a car!
Republicans voted against..."
Etc.
I seem to remember Mitch McConnell saying something to the effect that his job was to see that no legislation got passed under the Obama Administration "...even if it was for the good of the country." I thought that was traitorous then and, boy honey, has it ratcheted up ever since.
Actually, Lin, it Case of Hope has thrown fuel on my fire !
Yes, Kathy, I agree. Hope gives me strength. This may be infectious. I don't know exactly why but I have been feeling better than I have since the Orange nightmare elevated himself onto the scene. I have suffered many disappointments as I am sure others have felt also from the Mueller affair, the 2 impeachments and other various trials that we have all endured during this nightmare but somehow this feels different. HOPE I am right and we have HCR spearheading our way daily through truth and knowledge. Brava!
I agree. Hope is actually inspiring and gives me energy to engage. Locally, I dont see the energy I saw in 2020 or even in 2018. I hope that's about to change.
🙏
Yes! If anything The Hope energizes me. It makes me feel that all the effort and work is making a change for good. I have one debt to tRump and that's his wake-up call to me to not be too comfortable or complacent about our democracy. He made obvious what had been insidious, and now I am vigilant. I have joined our local Democratic Committee and a women's group for progress. I have built up the strength and fortitude to call out publicly injustices, and The Hope only reinforces all of this. Dr. Richardson and this group have helped to educate me and motivate me. Thank you all!!!
I feel exactly the same and you are so right about the wake-up call. I am finding my own version of taking action, starting with sharing this newsletter every day!!
Yay, Suzanne! Go, Girl!
Seeing good things happening and the politics of revenge practiced by Rs will not stop us from continuing our donating to get out the vote causes and certain pols. This sort of thing just strengthens our resolve. Our vet cousin in South Dakota was already pointing out to the Senate jerks in her state about the vote on this bill. You don't say just before that you support vets and then do something as stupid as this. She posts every day about the Gnome as well. Meanwhile, thankfully, the primary in WA is Tuesday and those ads will disappear unless two of them are the top two vote getters.
Absolutely! Maintain momentum!
Nope, not going to kick back! I will continue to work as hard as I can to get out the vote for Democratic candidates. It's still critically important.
I need lots of help to win the Treasurer of Clay County position. I sure can't do it by myself. I am already tired and I still have over 3 months to hit the trail!
The specter of another four years of t and co is enough to keep the fires lit. Action. Action. Action.
Getting a Case of Hope spurs me on to work harder for the democracy I want to keep.
Rowshan -- I was just about to post a very similar comment. -- This was indeed an encouraging Letter this evening. I too may be coming down with a case of The Hope.
Let’s do this, Steve!
I'm with the both of you. A case of The Hope is essential to our survival.
Jeanne, I think you've just said a very large truth--tha hope is essential to our survival. Not just our survival in this time of national crisis,, but in our journey as human beings. My own hope started its downward spiral the day Donald Trump was elected, and year after year it has grown weaker. I don't even mean hope for something in particular but simply hopefulness as a state of mind or being. That's what I am so afraid we're I'm danger of losing, that we are going to come out of this (and we will, of course) only to find we have left a big part of ourselves behind, om the field of battle.
Perhaps the next “pandemic”?
A pandemic of hope. That has a nice ring to it!
That should please Fauci.
He could handle a case of The Hope himself at this point in time.
?
No doubt!
Me too, and I feel as Churchill did. “I am an optimist, it does not seem to be of much use to be anything else.” Of course, this often collides with “Hope is a tease, designed to keep us from accepting reality.” Today it will be the former…
I don't know how widespread it was, but if I recall correctly, it was in the '80s "I'm a realist, not an idealist" seemed a popular phrase. In fact, optimism (which I see as related) gives you the motive for a venture, and a realistic game plan provides the means, though the two are often presented as opposites. Reality is indifferent to us and will do us no favors, but we can (often) learn to dance with it sufficiently in order to get where we want to go; so long as we know reality will call the tune. We ultimately get nowhere or worse ignoring reality, and yet history is replete with exceptional accomplishments, so some approaches do work.
To me (cautious) optimism is a judgement that there is enough of a chance of a plan working to make the effort worthwhile (or if not a plan, conditions that present a sufficient chance of being conducive, such as the chances of rain on a parade). Perhaps that's what Churchill was getting at.
Cynicism seems like a rationalization for doing what one has always done, or nothing at all. Imagination combined with effort and empirical discipline, produces practical creativity; how Einstein came up with E=MC², and how the Constitution was crafted.
I love this. Hope requires creativity and a willingness to go out on a limb. I am wondering if the GOP has lost hope. They subsist on barricading and hoarding, afraid of change and creativity.
They have nothing to offer voters except fear, hatred and violence. It got them the White House in 2016, but that may be their last hurrah. ( with fists in the air)
I pray you are right. The fact that “fear, hatred and violence” worked for them spectacularly once was eye opening. However, then they gave nothing else (oh, yeah…3 SCOTUS conservatives) but nothing else to the majority of their constituents that is of substance or popular. Let’s hope the GOP obstructing positive legislation and fist pumping the overturning of Roe will keep the Dems in the majority this November. Yesterday was a very good day for the Dems… we need to safeguard voting. That should have been number ONE on the list. Damn Joe Manchin.
I only speculate, but it seems to me that demagogues seek to manipulate our evolutionarily older "reptile brain", that nature has given a "trump card" over reason and compassion to fight for our survival. That has created a kind of "security flaw" in our "mindware" that can be worked by predatory people. Nurses have described patients denying until pretty literally their last breath the existence of the COVID virus they were dying from, and that fixed idea was planted there primarily by politicians who saw it in their own selfish interests to do so.
Nope. They hope their lies will continue to run the machine of authoritarianism. Sounds like that machine is sputtering.
The machine needs some elbow grease but that takes work…which they haven’t been wanting to do. It’s easier to lie and create chaos. Let’s hope the machine breaks!
One day the machine got busted, the darned thing wouldn't go...
The limb they DID go out on appears to have a serious case of rot!!
I think it is complicated amongst the rank and file. I am aware that some people are more uncomfortable than others with ambiguity. I suspect a large portion of R. rank and file may have grown up in authoritarian households where questioning ostensible authority was punished.
I also think the profession of politics draws people with many motivations, not the least of which is money and power, and these are the natural allies of plutocrats. I think much of the actually crafting of the modern "GOP" mission is shaped in one way or another by large concentrations of wealth. The record of the so-called Reagan Revolution, which is Republicans continue to this day, is abysmal for most Americans, in ways too numerous to enumerate here. It has, on the other hand, visibly contributed to making the very, very rich a great deal richer and a great deal more influential in America in determining what happens to us all. It seems to be that, seen as a whole, that that was and is the underling mission all along, and the faithful are being had.
Thank you for responding. This is a thoughtful, message and I think you're absolutely right based partly on my own experience. Keeping what we've amassed, maintaining the status quo, I think is what you're saying. That fear of losing, a kind of insecurity, is what connects those who have a lot and those who have less. Having a lot can imprison you similarly to how having not much can imprison you. But not everyone in these circumstances is imprisoned—so the imprisonment is mental, psychological, a lack of faith, of trust, of one's own resilience, of one's own ability. Always having little but not the wherewithall to be content or change things, or always having a lot but not the wherewithall to see beyond your own borders. Seeing the bigger picture takes courage and selflessness, it takes heart, and love for this world, this planet, and every creature that lives. And it's necessary, because every creature is necessary. At some point, all the money in the world, and all the anger and hatred, will get you living barricaded behind walls with no one having your back. That's the big picture the GOP doesn't want to acknowledge even as it tries to herd us down that path. Live for today is a problematic slogan.
My daughter had a college roommate who lived in a war zone. The family slept fully dressed in case the needed to run. I suppose there are those who like to live on the edge of danger, but it seems like an experientially impoverished way to be forced to live; and that an environment that supports trust with abiding vigilance is far richer.
DR spoke of freedom from as well as freedom to. That surely requires watching out for one another. Democracy and rule of law is a tragic travesty without preponderant good faith. Two or more national parties at total war is a failed state.
Freedom requires a diverse array of responsible choices, and that can't scale without controversy and tension, with reasonable peaceable means of resolving or tolerating discord. Such as, who gets to drive across an intersection first? We need to agree on such things. A free society provides a foundational basis for trust.
“To believe all men honest is folly. To believe none is something worse.” - John Adams
Yes, they (Rs) are desperate.
Withering and shrinking
I'll need to re-read this a few more times, JL, but by jove, I think you got it! Ignoring reality has worked for me a few times but I was not engaged in life-altering endeavors when I did so.
In these times, a minor comparison, but for me personal. As a creative person, I get an idea from looking at pieces of things. Then I put them together in a new way. Sometimes, those “pieces” have to be arranged and then re-arranged several times before the “right” placement is achieved. Reality might say to me (or anyone) these pieces do NOT fit together, throw them away and start over!” But by the simple act of rearranging “pieces”, a solution does almost always make itself known. I believe this to be true in cases both large and small. My eternal thanks for this engaging group of thinkers and actors.
Love your creative way of looking at things, Patricia.
Einstein described his process as "combinatory play".
Well that it, isn't it? Yes, there is joy, relief, and even the potential for insight in pure fantasy. Daydreams, nightdreams, and their ilk, fantasy in the arts, even fantasy in math (though those tend to come around to being useful). Why the hell not? Except when not appropriate. '
Lies are a kind of unreality, yet weaponized. Racisism, aggressive wars, and many kinds of injustice are enabled by lies. Lies gave the US, with perhaps the most advanced technical means of abating a pandemic, the worst comparative record for deaths. Naive or lazy misunderstandings also can kill. The higher the responsibility that is accepted by a professional, the greater the burden for integrity, or should be. Potential existential threats may rise when fantasy is presented as critical reality, and reality is labeled is "fantasy" as in Republican claims against Fauci, climate science, and truthful "fake news".
“Cynicism seems like a rationalization for doing what one has always done, or nothing at all. Imagination combined with effort and empirical discipline, produces practical creativity;…” Beautifully said! I too have hope!
Hmm; just when I was thinking that we may finally see the end of the "alternate reality" we have been fed for the past 40+ years.
❤️ 40+ and we were slow to feel the water heating up…
Time for republican frog's to feel the boil finally!
Feel the boil or jump out of the pot.
I think we are seeing a lot of froggy looking people willing to testify now!
Sounds like it's time to showcase "Frog's Legs" on the menu!! So sorry....could not stop myself !!
Good morning Rowshan.
“The door of a bigoted mind opens outwards so that the only result of the pressure of facts upon it is to close it more snugly.” Ogden Nash
When the dam begins to break, it does so because the truth and the facts and more and more people finally willing to speak up presses and presses hard against the door of bigotry and oppression and slams it shut. That is what optimism is. As Churchill defined. Fighting the good fight. We are standing up and not giving in to fascist governance by the Republicans and exposing Trump and his minions for the circus car they continue to be. We are pushing hard with the truth.
We on this forum have had the case of The Hope since the Biden/Harris election win.
For me in this moment, it’s Now We Know. All of Us This Time. As in any brawl, let’s kick some proverbial ass.
🗽
Christine, I'm there with you. I've posted the following before, but it seems appropriate to do so again. As Rebecca Solnit says....“Hope is not a lottery ticket you can sit on the sofa and clutch, feeling lucky. It is an axe you break down doors with in an emergency. Hope should shove you out the door, because it will take everything you have to steer the future away from endless war, from the annihilation of the earth's treasures and the grinding down of the poor and marginal... To hope is to give yourself to the future - and that commitment to the future is what makes the present inhabitable.” Carry on, friends!
“To hope is to give yourself to the future - and that commitment to the future is what makes the present inhabitable.” What a life-affirming statement!
Thanks, Pam. Excellent quote. I'll copy and use this.
Perfect!.
Love this quote, Pam! Thank you!
Me, too, Rowshan. Thank you, Pam!
Frankly (and given my professional background) it is no surprise that I just might wish to kick more than a "proverbial" ass. I'd love to apply a boot to the behinds of some of these Qonspiracy theorists that have become a governing party in this country.
I was being polite. 😜 When one finds the correct and relevant “proverbial ass”, it’s easier to apply the boot. And I have on my boots from LLBean. Always hit the target.
🥂, Sister Ally. 🗽
Right on, Christine❣️
Nice, Christine, nice!
Today's Letter is proof positive that Rowshan's poetry is working...May we never "recover" from the case of "The Hope"!
You’re too kind, Lynell! Thank you!
It could be very contagious. Even across party lines.
Just say "no" to thugs.
One would HOPE! ;-)
Indeed, it could, Anne-Louise!
I was about to post this too: “This was a good week for the United States of America and I may be coming down with a case of The Hope.”
Ohhh it sounds so good to these ears.
"I would love to “come down with a case of The Hope,” too!" I would too Rowshan. I do not like the place I am in. Decades ago I began my migration from center right to progressive. It was gradual, and as it developed, I became increasingly disgusted and impatient with our system of government in this country. Also I think I became a less happy camper - what a shame. Blinders were off, and my eyes were getting used to the light so to speak, and I didn't like what I saw. I think many of us have a similar story. Today, or yesterday, I feel like I am as low as low can get. The planet is burning, and the Republican party is trying their best (pretty successfully too) to have it continue to do so; so what if human civilization is forever altered if not destroyed. The Republican Party is outwardly trying to subvert democracy in my country, a minority party trying to seize power from the majority, cement it that way forever, and turn it into the something along the lines of the Republic of Gilead. And that is something I never thought I'd see. We now live in a full blown oligarchy; whose billionaire class doesn't want to pay their taxes yet wants all the benefits, is completely in bed with the Republican Party, and are so powerful that it isn't clear anything can be done. BUT - could it be we are starting to see the beginnings of the crumbling of the forces of evil? Is logic beginning to win out. Compassion, critical thinking turning the tide? If so, let us not let up. Keep the strangle hold until there is no life left in it. And play dirty if that is what it takes.
James, we need to keep believing that we can change things! It needn’t be this way! Vote!
Thanks, James. I'm always interested in stories like yours where a person DOES in fact change! What, if Imay ask, were the influences or forces that helped you change? Why or when did you begin to be more logical and compassionate or learn critical thinking? At some precise point or gradually? Why did you change?
Mary - how did I change? Why? Thank you for asking. I think it was inevitable. I am largely a southern person although I've been around. My family, like so many other southern families, is quite racist - my dad (deceased), my mom (in assisted living), and my three siblings all who live in the deep south. I was NEVER comfortable with the racism I saw every day while growing up. I cannot explain that; my friends didn't seem to have any problem with it. And I was destined to be an engineer - math and science were my skill sets in high school. The engineering profession has a whole lot of rational thinkers and problem solvers; they are thick as thieves. And this mindset I think is more likely to result in progressive thinking. Most (not all) have well developed BS meters. Then came the "aha" moment. In my late 20's I dusted off years of old "Scientific American" magazines one day, that I had paid no attention to up til that point, and started reading articles about deep space, evolution, sub-atomic particle physics, etc, and I tell you - it all started falling into place. Later, after moving to WA state and picking up mountain climbing, my progressive attitudes were just re-enforced - something about the grandeur of high mountain glaciated wilderness can affect a person's soul, can put a person in his/her place. Not sure if this adequately explains to many, but it does to me. I wish I could spread it but few seem to want to listen.
Thanks, James, for responding. It seems you were different from the beginning than your parents and siblings in that you were not comfortable with racism. I wonder how many Prof. Richardson fans could say the same thing , we were different from our siblings even as youngsters.
Ageuk.org says, "We inherit cognitive function [thinking skills] from our parents, in the same way that physical characteristics are passed down. Scientists have discovered that, unlike eye colour, cognitive function is not influenced by a few genes but by many. Individually, each gene has a small influence but together they account for more than half (or 50%) of the differences in cognitive function between us." Given this, it's easy to understand why siblings can be so different. Of course there is also the influence of opportunity and education as we grow, both significant, as you experienced and mention in your explanation.
Even though I'm generally familiar with the demographics of Trumpers, it's still hard to wrap my brain around the characteristics or reasons so many people have been deluded by him. But I've also realized many followers aren't deluded; they are just going along with Trump for their own advantage but they know the truth.
Thanks again. You've confirmed that open-mindedness and education are two key characteristics of the more liberal mindset.
Forgot to mention Mary - that the most important "aha" moment for me when boning up on all things science years ago was climate change. That literally set my hair on fire. Because I knew it to be true - the evidence even decades ago was irrefutable. And now - well we are on our way aren't we. To me, nothing else matters nearly as much - I am left wondering what to tell my kids - where to move, how to prepare. It's our planet for gods sake. And look who the deniers are. Hyper-religious Christians, self-serving industrialists, heads of so many corporations, other 1%'ers who see their fortunes put at risk, and of course the Republicans who represent them all. And look who don't care or don't know to care - poorly educated and/or willingly ignorant people with their collective heads in the sand, some being gaslighted to not trust the scientific world. WTF? I was one of those years ago. No more.
Well said. Life is indeed a journey.
“I would love to come down with a case of The Hope”
I hear it’s spreading and there’s no vaccine
"The Hope"....such a fine condition to have. Think I'll try to catch it.
👍👍🏽👍🏼👍🏿
Meet the Moment.
Hope Votes!
I don't need to write my own comment because this is exactly what I would say!!!
How wonderful!
I still ranted. McConnell is the worst.
I hear you!!! 😉
Finally…hopeful