Thanks to Peter and you for this peaceful picture. Told a good friend this weekend that, if I’d had such a great scholar to make American history come alive, my college major might well have been different. Your historical insights add such depth to our understanding of current and past events.
Dear Heather - I can't thank you enough for keeping me well informed, but more importantly "sane." Your email is the first email I read each day. I also frequently share. Thank You for what you do each day to defend democracy. M.
But afraid US much different now than during Watergate hearings with Fox, right wing media, reality TV, Americans' general ignorance of history while having attention span of a gnat.
Vonnegut’s work is being challenged locally by Moms For Liberty. A long-time AP English teacher just raised $5K to purchase his books for summer reading.
“People think I must have thick skin,” he said. “I don’t … I'm just a little guy trying to teach kids to think and read and write clearly so they can go to college and be good citizens. That's it.”
“I’ll rest when I’m dead” or at least “when I’ve turned in my petition signatures to get on the ballot for a grassroots run for NY CD 10” is what I take from this beautiful photo... the gallery lists other works by this artist and the next one is a higher view of what’s in the boat with the green tarp and it’s entitled “shroud.” Too many metaphors, perhaps....but the tranquility of a safe harbor is going to be a dream deferred for many if things keep on as they are, make no mistake.
“Safe” is an illusion, something we learn at different times. One of my seminal lessons was being crouched over my 12-day-old baby, with my 2- and 5-year olds on either side, in pitch blackness, listening to their voices grow fainter as I asked if they were ok on 9/11/2001.
We made it out if that debris cloud (collapse of the second World Trade Center tower to fall) with the help of heroic first responders, got stitched up and eyewashes at a hospital in Jersey City, then set about rebuilding a life.
It took politicians 10 years to pass the Zadroga Act covering health care for first responders, and longer still to pass health care provisions for civilian “victims” like my then-spouse, who became ill with lung damage, or me, who developed stage IIIa thyroid cancer. It’s taking them decades to even consider trying to regain modest ground like reinstating an assault weapon ban.
Enough! I’ll rest when I’m dead and wearing a shroud like that. Anyone have some time or some friends with time Monday and Tuesday in NYC’s newly-redrawn, no-incumbent CD 10? Need petition signatures and a small miracle. Safes are for cracking.
C’mon in, the water’s fine! Texas could use a Prof HCR Ragged Irregular on the ballot for whatever office suits your interest (or pops open) next cycle. Learning a lot, having good conversations every day. What will YOU run for next cycle?
Here's some added perspective from Alexandria Ocasio Cortez - straight from the lion's den ...:
From Alexandria Ocasio Cortez
Alexandria shared her thoughts on the Uvalde shooting and where we go from here on Instagram Live last week. Here is an abbreviated version of her remarks below. If you prefer to listen, you can watch the IG live here:
"This is such an embarrassing, shameful, deeply violent, and inexcusable moment.
"There are so many politicians defending AR-15s and the right of radicalized teens to impulse buy an AR-15. They have more to say about guns than they have to say about the kids who were killed.
"It’s just ‘prayers, prayer, prayers.’ They love to talk about a book they’ve never even read. “Faith without works is dead.” We don’t want to hear it unless you are doing something about it. These politicians aren’t trying. They’re only interested in defending themselves and the special interests that they work for. There’s no money in protecting kids, apparently.
"I don’t like, as a leader, telling you this, but so long as a Party, especially a Democratic Party, thinks there is some level of horror that will convince Republicans to change their minds, this is going to keep happening.
"Everyone wants to reach for the easy solution. More police in schools does not solve this problem. That is not an opinion, look at the data. More money to policing does not do anything. If it did, it would have by now.
"We have teachers who are not even making a living wage, who have sold their blood plasma to make ends meet. And they are now sacrificing their lives for the chance of possibly saving their students’ lives. And where are we talking about putting resources first? Not to them. Not in health care. But in the place, policing, that already has the resources that have yielded the least amount of change.
"There are no easy solutions here. And as long as we continue to ignore the difficult issues, this is going to happen. Something we have to talk about is the radicalization of young men. This is about an ideology of hatred and violence, whether it’s the explicit white supremacy we saw in Buffalo or simply the silos that young men radicalize themselves in online. People like Mark Zuckerburg are busy having dinner with people like Tucker Carlson, who’s airing “Great Replacement” theories and inciting violence, and platforming the very people that mass shooters are citing in their own clearly written manifestos.
"Another issue we have, and the reason we can’t get these broadly popular gun reform bills through Congress, is the unrepresentative nature of our democracy. You have a presidency that’s often not determined by popular vote. You have a Senate where tens of millions more people can vote for a candidate or party and still be in the minority. Even the House of Representatives, that’s supposed to represent our population, gets gerrymandered to all hell. It’s becoming increasingly difficult for people to defend the stance that we live in a true democracy.
"So what do we do? I’m not going to be one of those ding dongs who tell you to vote harder. But, hopelessness is not an option.
"It’s really easy, when government doesn’t work for you, to say “screw this, I’m opting out.” By giving into that cynicism, you become less human. You turn off a part of your human experience. And, what all of these special interests are trying to do is to extinguish the life out of you. They want to extinguish your hope and desire to fight for a better future.
"There are so many things we can do. It’s just about getting creative and it starts in one place. It’s not top down. It almost always starts with a small group or one community that decides to take a creative action that works for them. And it works on a small level and it inspires others. Right now is the moment to try *anything.* Even, just keep an eye on the young men in your life. Because you all are the ones who have the power to deradicalize. And it’s never just one conversation, but it always starts there.
"I wish I had easy answers. I don’t.
"It’s appropriate to feel rage at injustice. But the moment they take that away from you, is the moment they get you to acquiesce. And we will not acquiesce. We reject dystopia till the end."
Oh, I do so agree, Mary - so honest and sincere, straight from the heart - it is a gift to be able to share the views of this inspired young woman ... my thoughts and prayers go to her, and others like her who give their all to serve the best interest of all - may they be blessed with enduring good health and strength to persevere in peace through these most challenging times ... they are the ones who give me hope!!
In this historic, inter-generational meeting of minds, Laura Flanders brings together New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and MIT professor emeritus Noam Chomsky—for the first time ever—to discuss the way forward for people, politics, and the planet. From labor strikes to racial uprisings to climate action to the Great Resignation, they reflect on the renewed power of collective organizing and the changing tide in economic thinking and electoral politics. Their insights demand that we think differently about everything from our nation’s history and its place in the world, to who can run for office in America and win. In their first face-to-face conversation, the mutual admiration is palpable. Laura closes with some thoughts on thinking the unthinkable.
“We’re now having one of the major strikes in American history when workers are simply saying, ‘We're not gonna go back to the rotten, oppressive jobs, or precarious circumstances, with no health[care].’ The one-sided class war of the last 40 years is becoming two-sided…” —Noam Chomsky
“There are already communities actively experimenting and developing solutions… What I work on is not how we find solutions but how we scale [them] to transform our society.” —AOC
*****
You can find the uncut version of this interview, and more on The Laura Flanders Show Patreon page (affordable membership fee required.)
Mary, Kathleen et al, the boats in today's beautiful photograph are dories, otherwise known as "the pick-up trucks of the sea". Those pictured are clearly working boats. AOC is asking us to do the work of tending to those around us, an activity which enlarges our spirit, even if it is an often painful, sisyphean task. She is also right, giving into despair diminishes our spirit, makes us less human. Albert Camus explored this in his work "The Myth of Sisyphus", which basically said "learn to enjoy rolling your particular boulder". We have work to do. Most of it is not "political" in the traditional sense. The best way to enlarge our spirits is to help those around us enlarge theirs. This, at its base, is a joyful, unending, task. Keep up the good work.
"The hearing scheduled this coming Thursday at 8:00 PM Eastern by the January 6th Committee will likely dominate the week’s news—and remind many Americans that Trump came perilously close to preventing the transfer of power to his legitimate successor. Rep. Adam Schiff implied that the Committee would reveal additional “bombshells,” while Rep. Liz Cheney described the Committee’s findings as “chilling.” Finally, a moment of truth about Trump."
Join us to watch the first January 6th Commission hearing. We'll have time for questions and discussion before and following the hearing.
It’s been more than a year since armed, right-wing militants attacked our Capitol and tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
This is the first of six proposed hearings. During these hearings, Americans will witness testimony of those involved in the attack on our democracy.
The promise of democracy is not a partisan issue, but a calling that unites us as Americans. Let's come together to prevent another January 6th attack and realize the promise of democracy for all of us––no matter our color, zip code, or income.
"It’s appropriate to feel rage at injustice. But the moment they take that away from you, is the moment they get you to acquiesce. And we will not acquiesce. We reject dystopia till the end."
ALSO--hoping with all that is going on and will be going on this week, we collectively don't forget Uvale and continue to call/email our elected officials!!
Join us to watch the first January 6th Commission hearing. We'll have time for questions and discussion before and following the hearing.
It’s been more than a year since armed, right-wing militants attacked our Capitol and tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
This is the first of six proposed hearings. During these hearings, Americans will witness testimony of those involved in the attack on our democracy.
The promise of democracy is not a partisan issue, but a calling that unites us as Americans. Let's come together to prevent another January 6th attack and realize the promise of democracy for all of us––no matter our color, zip code, or income.
After waking early this past Thursday morning, the thirteen colonies along the Atlantic coast, the Founding Fathers papers, The Constitution, The Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights flashed quickly through my mind. These extraordinary feats accomplished in formation of the country's Democracy and we the people are under assault -- we are in the line of fire, My headlights would not have turned on this way but for Heather Cox Richardson's Letter each morning. Letters from an American is the book of citizenry that I open each morning. Thank you for lighting my mind Heather, and today I am also grateful to Peter Ralston for his eye-opening image.
When Puffy says, and we won’ t stop, 'cause we can’ t stop.
Rasheed Copeland
I think of a good night’s sleep
an exhale taking its precious time
to leave my lungs unworried
about the breathing to come If only
I did not hail from the sweet state
of panic the town’s river,
my adrenaline raging without cease
I’d love peace but the moon is pulling me by my water
I know this is no way to live but I was born here
a mobile of vultures orbiting above my crib
the noise you speak bragging
about the luxury of your stillness
reminds me that some children are told to pick flowers
“I wrote this poem to reflect on the foregone circumstances that many Black children are born into, how these circumstances animate themselves and are taught through their interactions with families and their neighborhoods. Many times, the aforementioned entities are often functioning from their own inheritance of gross mishandling. And without remedy, they are forced to normalize the dysfunction that has been visited upon them. This poem is an attempt to hold space for those who continue to navigate the culture of harm that has informed their entire existence despite how indelible its effects may seem.”
Boats offer many lessons, offering metaphors for any time. Safely at anchor during calm and storms. In or heading to their home port. Sailing, cruising and navigating treacherous and friendly coastlines. Relying on navigational aids and charts. Awareness, use or avoidance of certain weather, tides and currents. Those who deny or miscalculate all of these long known lessons put themselves, their passengers and cargo at sometimes great risk and loss. Heroes at sea are not those who survive foundering on the rocks, or die saving their passengers and cargo after a careless catastrophe, but those who plan their trip, course and conditions well, never losing their way in the fog or foundering on the rocks.
Heather's newsletters are one more navigational aid among our many seagoing tools and knowledge of the seas and coastlines.
Thank you, Professor Richardson, for your creative endeavor in teaching and learning through LFAA. It certainly has prepared me in a significant, proactive way for the coming weeks as we rise to defend and embrace democracy. It will feel good to clear the air.
Thanks to Peter and you for this peaceful picture. Told a good friend this weekend that, if I’d had such a great scholar to make American history come alive, my college major might well have been different. Your historical insights add such depth to our understanding of current and past events.
Dear Heather - I can't thank you enough for keeping me well informed, but more importantly "sane." Your email is the first email I read each day. I also frequently share. Thank You for what you do each day to defend democracy. M.
Beautiful…
The tides come in and go out, seasons change, flowers bloom, trees bud, animals mate… Why can’t we humans get with the program?
Human governments and politicians are so totally off script.
Rest up. We'll be looking for your reports this week. Gratefully.
Big week for sure. June 9th looms large.
But afraid US much different now than during Watergate hearings with Fox, right wing media, reality TV, Americans' general ignorance of history while having attention span of a gnat.
There's that. That gnat span.
Tranquility. We need more of it.
Requiem (ending)
When the last living thing
has died on account of us,
how poetical it would be if Earth could say,
in a voice floating up
perhaps
from the floor of the Grand Canyon,
"It is done.
People did not like it here.”
— Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country, 2005
Thank you, Molly.
Vonnegut’s work is being challenged locally by Moms For Liberty. A long-time AP English teacher just raised $5K to purchase his books for summer reading.
“People think I must have thick skin,” he said. “I don’t … I'm just a little guy trying to teach kids to think and read and write clearly so they can go to college and be good citizens. That's it.”
Whoa! Thank you. You have no idea what this poem spoke to me.
It spoke volumes to me.
I just ordered the book. It should be here tomorrow. Thank you.
and so it goes....
🥲
Thank you for some welcome calm.
Heather, sleep well, too.
“I’ll rest when I’m dead” or at least “when I’ve turned in my petition signatures to get on the ballot for a grassroots run for NY CD 10” is what I take from this beautiful photo... the gallery lists other works by this artist and the next one is a higher view of what’s in the boat with the green tarp and it’s entitled “shroud.” Too many metaphors, perhaps....but the tranquility of a safe harbor is going to be a dream deferred for many if things keep on as they are, make no mistake.
“Safe” is an illusion, something we learn at different times. One of my seminal lessons was being crouched over my 12-day-old baby, with my 2- and 5-year olds on either side, in pitch blackness, listening to their voices grow fainter as I asked if they were ok on 9/11/2001.
We made it out if that debris cloud (collapse of the second World Trade Center tower to fall) with the help of heroic first responders, got stitched up and eyewashes at a hospital in Jersey City, then set about rebuilding a life.
It took politicians 10 years to pass the Zadroga Act covering health care for first responders, and longer still to pass health care provisions for civilian “victims” like my then-spouse, who became ill with lung damage, or me, who developed stage IIIa thyroid cancer. It’s taking them decades to even consider trying to regain modest ground like reinstating an assault weapon ban.
Enough! I’ll rest when I’m dead and wearing a shroud like that. Anyone have some time or some friends with time Monday and Tuesday in NYC’s newly-redrawn, no-incumbent CD 10? Need petition signatures and a small miracle. Safes are for cracking.
You inspire, even in Texas
C’mon in, the water’s fine! Texas could use a Prof HCR Ragged Irregular on the ballot for whatever office suits your interest (or pops open) next cycle. Learning a lot, having good conversations every day. What will YOU run for next cycle?
Great interview on NPR! Thanks for your insights!
F.C. is this the interview that you’re referring to? https://pbswisconsin.org/watch/amanpour-co/heather-cox-richardson-american-gun-culture-11xcq4/
Here's some added perspective from Alexandria Ocasio Cortez - straight from the lion's den ...:
From Alexandria Ocasio Cortez
Alexandria shared her thoughts on the Uvalde shooting and where we go from here on Instagram Live last week. Here is an abbreviated version of her remarks below. If you prefer to listen, you can watch the IG live here:
https://www.instagram.com/tv/Cd_9ew6OLwB/
"This is such an embarrassing, shameful, deeply violent, and inexcusable moment.
"There are so many politicians defending AR-15s and the right of radicalized teens to impulse buy an AR-15. They have more to say about guns than they have to say about the kids who were killed.
"It’s just ‘prayers, prayer, prayers.’ They love to talk about a book they’ve never even read. “Faith without works is dead.” We don’t want to hear it unless you are doing something about it. These politicians aren’t trying. They’re only interested in defending themselves and the special interests that they work for. There’s no money in protecting kids, apparently.
"I don’t like, as a leader, telling you this, but so long as a Party, especially a Democratic Party, thinks there is some level of horror that will convince Republicans to change their minds, this is going to keep happening.
"Everyone wants to reach for the easy solution. More police in schools does not solve this problem. That is not an opinion, look at the data. More money to policing does not do anything. If it did, it would have by now.
"We have teachers who are not even making a living wage, who have sold their blood plasma to make ends meet. And they are now sacrificing their lives for the chance of possibly saving their students’ lives. And where are we talking about putting resources first? Not to them. Not in health care. But in the place, policing, that already has the resources that have yielded the least amount of change.
"There are no easy solutions here. And as long as we continue to ignore the difficult issues, this is going to happen. Something we have to talk about is the radicalization of young men. This is about an ideology of hatred and violence, whether it’s the explicit white supremacy we saw in Buffalo or simply the silos that young men radicalize themselves in online. People like Mark Zuckerburg are busy having dinner with people like Tucker Carlson, who’s airing “Great Replacement” theories and inciting violence, and platforming the very people that mass shooters are citing in their own clearly written manifestos.
"Another issue we have, and the reason we can’t get these broadly popular gun reform bills through Congress, is the unrepresentative nature of our democracy. You have a presidency that’s often not determined by popular vote. You have a Senate where tens of millions more people can vote for a candidate or party and still be in the minority. Even the House of Representatives, that’s supposed to represent our population, gets gerrymandered to all hell. It’s becoming increasingly difficult for people to defend the stance that we live in a true democracy.
"So what do we do? I’m not going to be one of those ding dongs who tell you to vote harder. But, hopelessness is not an option.
"It’s really easy, when government doesn’t work for you, to say “screw this, I’m opting out.” By giving into that cynicism, you become less human. You turn off a part of your human experience. And, what all of these special interests are trying to do is to extinguish the life out of you. They want to extinguish your hope and desire to fight for a better future.
"There are so many things we can do. It’s just about getting creative and it starts in one place. It’s not top down. It almost always starts with a small group or one community that decides to take a creative action that works for them. And it works on a small level and it inspires others. Right now is the moment to try *anything.* Even, just keep an eye on the young men in your life. Because you all are the ones who have the power to deradicalize. And it’s never just one conversation, but it always starts there.
"I wish I had easy answers. I don’t.
"It’s appropriate to feel rage at injustice. But the moment they take that away from you, is the moment they get you to acquiesce. And we will not acquiesce. We reject dystopia till the end."
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/16FYB8tjzKvayuFc0r2AF2ZGZ-qQfctmH/mobilepresent?slide=id.p25
Her comments were far the best of any politician's. Thank you so much for posting this.
Oh, I do so agree, Mary - so honest and sincere, straight from the heart - it is a gift to be able to share the views of this inspired young woman ... my thoughts and prayers go to her, and others like her who give their all to serve the best interest of all - may they be blessed with enduring good health and strength to persevere in peace through these most challenging times ... they are the ones who give me hope!!
For more, here is an interview with AOC and Noam Chomsky on The Laura Flanders Show (10/28/2021):
AOC & Noam Chomsky: The Way Forward
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b6M9VxHLqV8
In this historic, inter-generational meeting of minds, Laura Flanders brings together New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and MIT professor emeritus Noam Chomsky—for the first time ever—to discuss the way forward for people, politics, and the planet. From labor strikes to racial uprisings to climate action to the Great Resignation, they reflect on the renewed power of collective organizing and the changing tide in economic thinking and electoral politics. Their insights demand that we think differently about everything from our nation’s history and its place in the world, to who can run for office in America and win. In their first face-to-face conversation, the mutual admiration is palpable. Laura closes with some thoughts on thinking the unthinkable.
“We’re now having one of the major strikes in American history when workers are simply saying, ‘We're not gonna go back to the rotten, oppressive jobs, or precarious circumstances, with no health[care].’ The one-sided class war of the last 40 years is becoming two-sided…” —Noam Chomsky
“There are already communities actively experimenting and developing solutions… What I work on is not how we find solutions but how we scale [them] to transform our society.” —AOC
*****
You can find the uncut version of this interview, and more on The Laura Flanders Show Patreon page (affordable membership fee required.)
https://www.patreon.com/thelfshow
Thank you!
Mary, Kathleen et al, the boats in today's beautiful photograph are dories, otherwise known as "the pick-up trucks of the sea". Those pictured are clearly working boats. AOC is asking us to do the work of tending to those around us, an activity which enlarges our spirit, even if it is an often painful, sisyphean task. She is also right, giving into despair diminishes our spirit, makes us less human. Albert Camus explored this in his work "The Myth of Sisyphus", which basically said "learn to enjoy rolling your particular boulder". We have work to do. Most of it is not "political" in the traditional sense. The best way to enlarge our spirits is to help those around us enlarge theirs. This, at its base, is a joyful, unending, task. Keep up the good work.
Wonderful, Steve! Thanks
Thank you Steve - same to you and more of it ... finding peace in one breath - one breath at a time ....
Thanks for posting this. I am a huge fan of AOC. She always, always speaks the truth.
Sure thing Marlene - likewise ... always a pleasure, and a privelege to share voices of truth ((too often too rare!!))
... speaking of which ...:
A moment of truth.
June 6, 2022 - Robert B. Hubbell
Audio version here:
https://www.callin.com/episode/a-moment-of-truth-aPnvzSUZmD
"The hearing scheduled this coming Thursday at 8:00 PM Eastern by the January 6th Committee will likely dominate the week’s news—and remind many Americans that Trump came perilously close to preventing the transfer of power to his legitimate successor. Rep. Adam Schiff implied that the Committee would reveal additional “bombshells,” while Rep. Liz Cheney described the Committee’s findings as “chilling.” Finally, a moment of truth about Trump."
Join us for a January 6th Hearing Watch Event on June 9th @ 4:30 pm PT - Virtual Event via Zoom (Time tentative based on Commission schedule)
REGISTER HERE:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_tUim-Dh8Q_GjUBQvDlaNkQ
Join us to watch the first January 6th Commission hearing. We'll have time for questions and discussion before and following the hearing.
It’s been more than a year since armed, right-wing militants attacked our Capitol and tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
This is the first of six proposed hearings. During these hearings, Americans will witness testimony of those involved in the attack on our democracy.
The promise of democracy is not a partisan issue, but a calling that unites us as Americans. Let's come together to prevent another January 6th attack and realize the promise of democracy for all of us––no matter our color, zip code, or income.
REGISTER HERE:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_tUim-Dh8Q_GjUBQvDlaNkQ
(Please note time is approximate & subject to change based on hearing schedule.)
"It’s appropriate to feel rage at injustice. But the moment they take that away from you, is the moment they get you to acquiesce. And we will not acquiesce. We reject dystopia till the end."
Powerful, Kathleen! Thank you for sharing.
Yes it is. Thank you.
And thank you, Mary.
THANK YOU for this! Forwarding it on!
ALSO--hoping with all that is going on and will be going on this week, we collectively don't forget Uvale and continue to call/email our elected officials!!
F.C., while the professor sleeps, (or whenever good for you), can you direct me to the NPR interview? I did a search and it's eluding me. TY
https://pbswisconsin.org/watch/amanpour-co/heather-cox-richardson-american-gun-culture-11xcq4/
TY, F.C.
I recommend Robert Reich's Substack post for today. He compares the upcoming televised hearings of the House Select Committee on the January 6 insurrection those for the Senate Watergate Committee. https://robertreich.substack.com/p/the-week-ahead-why-everything-depends
Thank you Jan - here's a link to register for the first hearing this Thursday:
January 6th Hearing Watch Event on June 9th @ 4:30 pm PT - Virtual Event via Zoom (Time tentative based on Commission schedule)
REGISTER HERE:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_tUim-Dh8Q_GjUBQvDlaNkQ
Join us to watch the first January 6th Commission hearing. We'll have time for questions and discussion before and following the hearing.
It’s been more than a year since armed, right-wing militants attacked our Capitol and tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
This is the first of six proposed hearings. During these hearings, Americans will witness testimony of those involved in the attack on our democracy.
The promise of democracy is not a partisan issue, but a calling that unites us as Americans. Let's come together to prevent another January 6th attack and realize the promise of democracy for all of us––no matter our color, zip code, or income.
REGISTER HERE:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_tUim-Dh8Q_GjUBQvDlaNkQ
(Please note time is approximate & subject to change based on hearing schedule.)
Thank you. Forwarding this all over the place, esp to the young voters that I know!
After waking early this past Thursday morning, the thirteen colonies along the Atlantic coast, the Founding Fathers papers, The Constitution, The Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights flashed quickly through my mind. These extraordinary feats accomplished in formation of the country's Democracy and we the people are under assault -- we are in the line of fire, My headlights would not have turned on this way but for Heather Cox Richardson's Letter each morning. Letters from an American is the book of citizenry that I open each morning. Thank you for lighting my mind Heather, and today I am also grateful to Peter Ralston for his eye-opening image.
When Puffy says, and we won’ t stop, 'cause we can’ t stop.
Rasheed Copeland
I think of a good night’s sleep
an exhale taking its precious time
to leave my lungs unworried
about the breathing to come If only
I did not hail from the sweet state
of panic the town’s river,
my adrenaline raging without cease
I’d love peace but the moon is pulling me by my water
I know this is no way to live but I was born here
a mobile of vultures orbiting above my crib
the noise you speak bragging
about the luxury of your stillness
reminds me that some children are told to pick flowers
while others are told to pick a tree switch
that’ll best write a lesson across their hide
and my skin is a master course written in welts
I touch myself and read about the years
I cannot escape I hold my kids
and pray our embrace is not a history
repeating itself
Copyright © 2020 by Rasheed Copeland. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on July 22, 2020 by the Academy of American Poets.
About This Poem
“I wrote this poem to reflect on the foregone circumstances that many Black children are born into, how these circumstances animate themselves and are taught through their interactions with families and their neighborhoods. Many times, the aforementioned entities are often functioning from their own inheritance of gross mishandling. And without remedy, they are forced to normalize the dysfunction that has been visited upon them. This poem is an attempt to hold space for those who continue to navigate the culture of harm that has informed their entire existence despite how indelible its effects may seem.”
—Rasheed Copeland
Fern, thank you. Powerful: " a mobile of vultures orbiting above my crib".........
Yes, the poem moves deeply within us. Thank you, Carol. May, January 6th's Committee hearings beginning this week move Americans to the truth. Salud.
What a gift
The USA is unsafe. Canada is far safer.
So true and wish I could travel.
Sandy, agreed.
Boats offer many lessons, offering metaphors for any time. Safely at anchor during calm and storms. In or heading to their home port. Sailing, cruising and navigating treacherous and friendly coastlines. Relying on navigational aids and charts. Awareness, use or avoidance of certain weather, tides and currents. Those who deny or miscalculate all of these long known lessons put themselves, their passengers and cargo at sometimes great risk and loss. Heroes at sea are not those who survive foundering on the rocks, or die saving their passengers and cargo after a careless catastrophe, but those who plan their trip, course and conditions well, never losing their way in the fog or foundering on the rocks.
Heather's newsletters are one more navigational aid among our many seagoing tools and knowledge of the seas and coastlines.
Thank you, Professor Richardson, for your creative endeavor in teaching and learning through LFAA. It certainly has prepared me in a significant, proactive way for the coming weeks as we rise to defend and embrace democracy. It will feel good to clear the air.
UNITA! 🙋🏻🙋🏼🙋🏽🙋🏾🙋🏿🗽
Sleep well. This picture added needed calm to my brain activity tonight.