I took this photo a year ago today, when Trump was still president, the pandemic was still new, and I was just becoming acclimated to isolation. It seems to me that, completely by accident, my camera caught the brittle fragility of that terrifying moment.
Well it's not over. Not covid19, not Trumpism, not climate change, not the conspiracy theories, not racism, income inequality, not the detachment and loss of connection to each other, with our families, friends, neighbors, communities, countrymen, world and planet. I hate to be so pessimistic.
I read more history and books about our national conditions in the last year than ever. It's important to do so. But it reminds us how insensitive and unrealistic humans can be. And h oh w many generations it can take to come to our senses and fix something long after severe damage has been done. Yet the pressure is building and time is running faster and shorter.
NPR, particularly Maine Public, has been a great source of information, good and bad news. Yesterday a hospital CEO in Missouri reported that the Delta variant of covid19 is beginning to overwhelm his hospital with unvaccinated patients who are either regretting they refused vaccinations or refuse to believe they hsve covid19. And they are dying from the most deadly strain yet, created by the unvaccinated giving covid19 time to mutate to more nifectiiys more deadly strains. 10% of American covid19 cases are the Delta variant. This is increasing and expected to be dominant bt fall. Young children are still not getting vaccinated. Health issues with covid19 survivors are showing up. Vaccinated Americans are giving up on those who won't get vaccinated and a large number of Americans have bought into a FOX and America One reality, an infection more deadly than covid19 because it makes us all vulnerable to every illness of the body, mind and soul possible in the 21st Century, regardless of our vaccinations, NPR, history lessons and clear understandings of our national and human conditions.
One last observation. Coming up with words and names like "CRT" as in "Critical Race Theory" and holiday names like "Juneteenth" doesn't help. We need words and names that are immediately understandable to all of us which convey the value and impact intended. "Indian Wars", "Tulsa Race Riots" or "Wilmington Race Riots" in their day were more understandable than CRT or Juneteenth are today. But "massacres" are what really happened. Words and language matter. If FOX spreads disinformation by abusing words and language, that should be a lesson that we cannot afford to be careless.
Living a century in a year is the perfect description. It seems another lifetime ago, doesn’t it? And yet, we continue to learn how fragile the state of our democracy remains - much of it triggered or brought to light by someone I consider to be one of the (if not THE) most dangerous leader(s) this country has experienced. Then, today, I read that the majority of GOP leaders and rank-and-file Republicans find Vladimir Putin to be a more desirable leader than our current president. Former president Trump was not an aberration, I fear. I suspect he was a mirror of what and who many of us are or want our country to be. The GOP for years has been treading an authoritarian leaning and divisive political direction to hold onto power. We someday may be grateful - despite the traumatizing experience we endured that century ago last year - that the person who became the personalization of this perspective proved to be - in many ways - so inept.
By your reliably clear, steady, trustworthy reporting and historical contextualizing you dared the rest of us to hope, so it's hard to believe that you yourself would not have dared. The hope you gave us is what allowed me, for one among many, to emerge from the long darkness without experiencing the breakdown that often follows a time of stress. What I'm now hearing in your post is that what the people were told that day in Galveston was not actually the truth. They were, in fact, still not free. That was the first big lie in the long chain of lies that has kept us all enslaved since then. Nevertheless, it gave us the feeling of freedom, if not freedom itself then the knowledge of it, and that's what we celebrate today and what we strive for, now that we know what it is and how it feels.
Boston traffic is back with a VENGEANCE. On the bright side, I have been elected as a delegate to the Mass Democratic convention. Perhaps as part of my environmental concerns I can advocate for rail and transit to be prioritized on the platform? I’m new to this, though, so…
It does feel like the last year was 100 . 🙏 so much fir these letters.
Maybe because It doesn’t feel like 600,000 deaths. It feels more like 900,000 to a million.
It takes more than 18-24 months to tally and then catch up with each county coroner’s data. 2.8 million Americans died in 2018. We can look at this average and adjust for population changes. We don’t yet have 2019 data, so there’s no way we would have the exact 2020 data to claim 600,000 more in 2020. There are many reasons why.
( I just want folks to monitor this metric and link. I believe it will become more important as the weeks and months go by).
Eventually we will all know the truth. Watch this link and how surplus deaths will spike greater than 600k for 2020. The difference between about 2.8m will tell us how much former guy and firmer administration lied).
I predict the red counties and ref states tally’s will be the biggest correction. And I do hope we get this info before the 2022 midterms. And former guy and Republicans will pay an electoral price for the damage they have caused this country of ours.
A very apt and symbolic photo. The timing of HCR’s Letters was perfect. There is no doubt they kept so many of us from completely falling off the edge. Four years of the horror that was trump (and still is) topped off with a deadly virus that shut everything down for a year+ was simply unimaginable. No one could have ever anticipated a daily Letter (along with 2 videos/week) from a history professor would have such a positive impact on the minds of so many thirsty for knowledge and context. The Letters have become a healthy, brain calming addiction (although there is an impact on sleep!) just like my instant addiction to pickleball a few years ago!! Grateful for finding both :)
As far as the greater Boston traffic goes, it is a nightmare and it is everywhere. All the major highways are total gridlock and secondary roads are constant streams of traffic. Every hour is “rush hour” - going nowhere fast. Don’t even think about traveling in a timely fashion on the weekends. Everything one tries to do is like a giant swarm! I’m thankful to get on the water in a kayak (although getting in and out could be a routine from “I Love Lucy”) 🤣
The evil of many Republicans is still strong. McConnell promising (again) to block a Democratic president, the Catholic Church endeavoring to keep Biden from receiving communion (seems his stance on abortion rights is far worse than priests being pedophiles!), lawmakers lying and cheating to make voter repression a reality, denials of insurrection on January 6th, and the list goes on. And whatever happened to the Trump-Kushner Far East fiasco??? It’s as if the media totally missed it, except for the Washington Post!
Thank you for all you’ve done to help steer us through this unprecedented upheaval with perspective and knowledge and calm. I’d be worse off without your words.
I have to say, the last 15 months have been the most productive period of my writing career ever. But then, writing is best done at home, alone. When they said "don't go out!" I replied, "What is this 'go out' you speak of?"
We are all (or, at least, many or some of us are) transitioning "back," with a certain amount of disbelief at what we used to do with much more ease. Have a good weekend... and thank you again for continuing to write and post beautiful photos EVERY DAY (how do you do it??).
It also feels to me like we have lived a century in a year. The immense responsibility we healthcare providers have felt, and dealt with caring for COVID patients. It has taken a toll on many. That being said I feel a weight lifted off that is tremendous. Although we still have to keep vigilant to keep COVID at bay, we also have an immense threat to our democracy that requires our participation. Like you Heather, I am so honored and happy to have Juneteenth recognized. And I would never have dreamed of it a year ago. And yes the traffic is very bad again here too.
Even before Covid 19 America was imploding under the former President. People and institutions were collapsing into their own bubbles in a effort to distance themselves from the nightmare in Washington D.C.
But yet again America chose light over darkness by the biggest and thinest of margins. A 7 million vote spread between the winner and loser hinged on a mere 70,000 votes in a handful of states. It was, thankfully, all that was needed to turn the prior implosion into today's expansion of ideas and solutions, and the return of hope in the American psyche.
The right is floundering like a catch of fish on the deck of a boat. Critical Race Theory! Biden is mentally incompetent! The election was rigged! Missing in all their flipping and flopping is one iota of positive or constructive information, only stories of fear and hatred. Their biggest militia at the Jan 6 Capitol storming has burned up in a heap of corruption opening the door for an even more unreal contingent built on a foundation of conspiracy theories.
The question in my mind is not will the President and Congress rise to the occasion but rather will the people push them into action? It's been a long while but as I recall in our democratic republic power rises from the people to their elected officials. Democrats need to communicate their demands to all their elected officials in both parties in equal numbers. This is how we leverage the 7 million vote advantage, the real elephant in the room.
Well it's not over. Not covid19, not Trumpism, not climate change, not the conspiracy theories, not racism, income inequality, not the detachment and loss of connection to each other, with our families, friends, neighbors, communities, countrymen, world and planet. I hate to be so pessimistic.
I read more history and books about our national conditions in the last year than ever. It's important to do so. But it reminds us how insensitive and unrealistic humans can be. And h oh w many generations it can take to come to our senses and fix something long after severe damage has been done. Yet the pressure is building and time is running faster and shorter.
NPR, particularly Maine Public, has been a great source of information, good and bad news. Yesterday a hospital CEO in Missouri reported that the Delta variant of covid19 is beginning to overwhelm his hospital with unvaccinated patients who are either regretting they refused vaccinations or refuse to believe they hsve covid19. And they are dying from the most deadly strain yet, created by the unvaccinated giving covid19 time to mutate to more nifectiiys more deadly strains. 10% of American covid19 cases are the Delta variant. This is increasing and expected to be dominant bt fall. Young children are still not getting vaccinated. Health issues with covid19 survivors are showing up. Vaccinated Americans are giving up on those who won't get vaccinated and a large number of Americans have bought into a FOX and America One reality, an infection more deadly than covid19 because it makes us all vulnerable to every illness of the body, mind and soul possible in the 21st Century, regardless of our vaccinations, NPR, history lessons and clear understandings of our national and human conditions.
One last observation. Coming up with words and names like "CRT" as in "Critical Race Theory" and holiday names like "Juneteenth" doesn't help. We need words and names that are immediately understandable to all of us which convey the value and impact intended. "Indian Wars", "Tulsa Race Riots" or "Wilmington Race Riots" in their day were more understandable than CRT or Juneteenth are today. But "massacres" are what really happened. Words and language matter. If FOX spreads disinformation by abusing words and language, that should be a lesson that we cannot afford to be careless.
Living a century in a year is the perfect description. It seems another lifetime ago, doesn’t it? And yet, we continue to learn how fragile the state of our democracy remains - much of it triggered or brought to light by someone I consider to be one of the (if not THE) most dangerous leader(s) this country has experienced. Then, today, I read that the majority of GOP leaders and rank-and-file Republicans find Vladimir Putin to be a more desirable leader than our current president. Former president Trump was not an aberration, I fear. I suspect he was a mirror of what and who many of us are or want our country to be. The GOP for years has been treading an authoritarian leaning and divisive political direction to hold onto power. We someday may be grateful - despite the traumatizing experience we endured that century ago last year - that the person who became the personalization of this perspective proved to be - in many ways - so inept.
By your reliably clear, steady, trustworthy reporting and historical contextualizing you dared the rest of us to hope, so it's hard to believe that you yourself would not have dared. The hope you gave us is what allowed me, for one among many, to emerge from the long darkness without experiencing the breakdown that often follows a time of stress. What I'm now hearing in your post is that what the people were told that day in Galveston was not actually the truth. They were, in fact, still not free. That was the first big lie in the long chain of lies that has kept us all enslaved since then. Nevertheless, it gave us the feeling of freedom, if not freedom itself then the knowledge of it, and that's what we celebrate today and what we strive for, now that we know what it is and how it feels.
Boston traffic is back with a VENGEANCE. On the bright side, I have been elected as a delegate to the Mass Democratic convention. Perhaps as part of my environmental concerns I can advocate for rail and transit to be prioritized on the platform? I’m new to this, though, so…
Your willingness to share your perception of this past year has been a godsend!! It has been a lighthouse for so many of us! Thank you again.
It does feel like the last year was 100 . 🙏 so much fir these letters.
Maybe because It doesn’t feel like 600,000 deaths. It feels more like 900,000 to a million.
It takes more than 18-24 months to tally and then catch up with each county coroner’s data. 2.8 million Americans died in 2018. We can look at this average and adjust for population changes. We don’t yet have 2019 data, so there’s no way we would have the exact 2020 data to claim 600,000 more in 2020. There are many reasons why.
( I just want folks to monitor this metric and link. I believe it will become more important as the weeks and months go by).
Eventually we will all know the truth. Watch this link and how surplus deaths will spike greater than 600k for 2020. The difference between about 2.8m will tell us how much former guy and firmer administration lied).
I predict the red counties and ref states tally’s will be the biggest correction. And I do hope we get this info before the 2022 midterms. And former guy and Republicans will pay an electoral price for the damage they have caused this country of ours.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/deaths.htm
Yes, thank you. There were many days when your words felt like a lifeline. I still look forward to hearing from you every day.
I truly think we are all suffering from some degree of PTSD. I know I am. Thank you for helping me sort this all out.
A very apt and symbolic photo. The timing of HCR’s Letters was perfect. There is no doubt they kept so many of us from completely falling off the edge. Four years of the horror that was trump (and still is) topped off with a deadly virus that shut everything down for a year+ was simply unimaginable. No one could have ever anticipated a daily Letter (along with 2 videos/week) from a history professor would have such a positive impact on the minds of so many thirsty for knowledge and context. The Letters have become a healthy, brain calming addiction (although there is an impact on sleep!) just like my instant addiction to pickleball a few years ago!! Grateful for finding both :)
As far as the greater Boston traffic goes, it is a nightmare and it is everywhere. All the major highways are total gridlock and secondary roads are constant streams of traffic. Every hour is “rush hour” - going nowhere fast. Don’t even think about traveling in a timely fashion on the weekends. Everything one tries to do is like a giant swarm! I’m thankful to get on the water in a kayak (although getting in and out could be a routine from “I Love Lucy”) 🤣
The evil of many Republicans is still strong. McConnell promising (again) to block a Democratic president, the Catholic Church endeavoring to keep Biden from receiving communion (seems his stance on abortion rights is far worse than priests being pedophiles!), lawmakers lying and cheating to make voter repression a reality, denials of insurrection on January 6th, and the list goes on. And whatever happened to the Trump-Kushner Far East fiasco??? It’s as if the media totally missed it, except for the Washington Post!
Thank you for all you’ve done to help steer us through this unprecedented upheaval with perspective and knowledge and calm. I’d be worse off without your words.
I have to say, the last 15 months have been the most productive period of my writing career ever. But then, writing is best done at home, alone. When they said "don't go out!" I replied, "What is this 'go out' you speak of?"
Happy Juneteenth!
We are all (or, at least, many or some of us are) transitioning "back," with a certain amount of disbelief at what we used to do with much more ease. Have a good weekend... and thank you again for continuing to write and post beautiful photos EVERY DAY (how do you do it??).
Happy Juneteenth. What a long & strange trip the last 15 months have been. You, Dr. R, have been a beacon of light through it all. Thank you.
It also feels to me like we have lived a century in a year. The immense responsibility we healthcare providers have felt, and dealt with caring for COVID patients. It has taken a toll on many. That being said I feel a weight lifted off that is tremendous. Although we still have to keep vigilant to keep COVID at bay, we also have an immense threat to our democracy that requires our participation. Like you Heather, I am so honored and happy to have Juneteenth recognized. And I would never have dreamed of it a year ago. And yes the traffic is very bad again here too.
Even before Covid 19 America was imploding under the former President. People and institutions were collapsing into their own bubbles in a effort to distance themselves from the nightmare in Washington D.C.
But yet again America chose light over darkness by the biggest and thinest of margins. A 7 million vote spread between the winner and loser hinged on a mere 70,000 votes in a handful of states. It was, thankfully, all that was needed to turn the prior implosion into today's expansion of ideas and solutions, and the return of hope in the American psyche.
The right is floundering like a catch of fish on the deck of a boat. Critical Race Theory! Biden is mentally incompetent! The election was rigged! Missing in all their flipping and flopping is one iota of positive or constructive information, only stories of fear and hatred. Their biggest militia at the Jan 6 Capitol storming has burned up in a heap of corruption opening the door for an even more unreal contingent built on a foundation of conspiracy theories.
The question in my mind is not will the President and Congress rise to the occasion but rather will the people push them into action? It's been a long while but as I recall in our democratic republic power rises from the people to their elected officials. Democrats need to communicate their demands to all their elected officials in both parties in equal numbers. This is how we leverage the 7 million vote advantage, the real elephant in the room.