In our history, the United States has gone through turning points when we have had to adjust our democratic principles to new circumstances. The alternative is to lose those principles to a small group of people who insist that democracy is outdated and must be replaced by a government run by a few leaders or, now, by a single man.
Thank heavens you got a little rest! Your writing is superb ! Always worthy of at least two careful readings, I’m now off to spread your words near & far to friends & family, many of whom have become members of Letters from an American. Your words lift my spirit again on these dark days and nights of impossible cruelty half a world away, Professor Richardson. Please continue making time daily/weekly for your well being. We need you more than ever before.
Yesterday my optimism was waning. Being reminded how we’ve been here before and how the common man rallied to save our experiment in democracy gave my optimism a much needed boost. Thank you Professor. 🥰
The individuals who seek only money and power are depraved of well-being. Money doesn't buy happiness; but it can buy power, a sick power of superiority. My dream is we measure our government by a Well-Being Index when every piece of legislation has to show its benefit to the well being of all the people. In my world the WBI would replace GNP as the measure of wealth in this country and in the world. Native Americans measure wealth by the generosity of a person, that through giving what they have more than enough of strengthens the well being of the entire tribe or community. It has also shown that one major element of well being is having Meaning in one's life by being part of something larger (like defending democracy) than yourself and giving to others. This gives one real happiness that glows for a long time. We, the People, all of us this time.
Cathy, I wish I knew how to further your message. This Greek proverb embraces it: “A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.” Yet semi-consciously I castigate myself for not having early on made a resolution to a single minded acquisition of money. This is a fearful emotional response to financial insecurity. As a young man I hated the notion of a commitment to making money. Later on I would see the result of shrewdly acquisitive people who behind a cordial veneer seemed to be telling me, "I got mine, the rest be damned." Say what we will, the veneration of wealth is in the soil and air of this nation. Those who don't subscribe to that ethos will pay a price. The culture will remind you: Your destiny isn't in your aspirations, it's in your bank account. Well, I'm being called away. I'll look for your posts. I'll keep planting trees.
Some people are money motivated in career terms and do make a commitment to making money and/or preserving the privilege that goes with it, with no regard for those people being exploited as a result. But it is possible to work for reasonable financial security while helping to make this world a better place--with generalized well-being, equal opportunity, and planting trees.
Yes, Ellie. The “well-being index” as Cathy describes above, restructures what it is to have money…which, in its present form, can darkly ascend to being a worshipped golden calf. Utterly ridiculous in my opinion.
Money is a tool, a means to an end. Never to be intended as an end to a means. Avaricious greed of a self chosen few offsets the inner resources that every human has the inalienable right to develop in order to prosper and be well.
Let’s end just kicking the can down the dusty, bloody road. Ukraine people have shown us what it really is to rise up. Not just with words such as these but with everything one has got to push back against greed. Push back so hard on the door of bigoted greed opening outward that the result of our truth is to slam it and “close it more snugly” as Ogden Nash might describe it.
And certainly, it is not age that determines who stands up. This is a multigenerational effort. We all have sunflower seeds in our pockets.
Words to live and stand tall by, Christine! And to push back hard enough to slam shut that door of bigoted greed. I'm planting sunflower seeds in milk-jug greenhouses here in central Wisconsin (where we just got an inch or two of snow last night to "water" them), and carrying envelopes of seeds to hand out in my pockets.
Well said. And what healthy, practical, generous styles you have in making the milk-jug greenhouses as well as giving packets of seeds to other people.
I'm getting a little jump on spring germination and growth by putting my Sugar Snap (edible-pod) peas in a moist paper towel and saving a week or two of germination time when I plant them on St. Patrick's Day. (Here in central Indiana--and perhaps zone 5 as a whole--we plant the Sugar Snaps traditionally on St. Patrick's Day.) The pea shells will soften and some will germinate by the time I plant them. Some years I've planted them when it was snowing out, just to stay on traditional schedule; and they grew just fine. The cold bursts just seem to add body to their crunch. Seems to me like Indian children of times when their mothers would bathe them in cold streams to make their bodies and immune systems stronger.
Seeds are a true symbol of hope. They illustrate birth and rebirth through germination. They further show us that we can grow and thrive. As my friend Henry Thoreau said, "Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed... Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders." That could also be a nice message to put on your packets. I do this already when giving out seeds.
Far out Ellie! Waiting on broccoli seeds for the sprout "farm." and slowly assembling 2 large raised beds for the back deck. Easy access from my chair. One bed for herbs, the other for veg. I never thought about giving seeds away (how selfish is that?) But when I'm growing I share. Until these perfect beds became available I could only grow in Homer buckets on bricks, but as you well know, we just gotta grow!
I characterize the vast majority of the working middle class (painting with a very broad stroke) all around the world--who work with integrity--as examples of pursuing reasonable financial security while helping to make this world a better plan.
Yes, me, too. For many people who grow up in any kind of poverty, including the childhood low on love and respect, see money as proof of their worth and value. Lots of implications and offshoots to this reality. Working middle class are quite often people who know when enough is enough because they didn’t grow up in the scarcity of fiscal or emotional poverty. Again, one purpose of a social safety net is to provide the “climate” for taking care of such basic needs for everyone.
Mario, I share your history of an early aversion to amassing money for its own sake. So I don't have any now. I have no regrets! Amassing power and wealth would have distracted me from the really important things in life -- the absolutely wonderful people who came my way, and enjoyment of the creation we all call home.
We have a welcome mat by our front door which has the welcoming words of Thoreau printed on it. "It is surprising how many great men and women a small house will contain."
Can't take the credit Heydon. Had a wife with a truck load of common sense. Part Cherokee, she grew up dirt poor and learned from it. All I had to do is behave myself. Well, I guess I did make good choices -- thanks!
Mario, I'd suggest you explore Dr. Martin Seligman's Theory of Well Being and take the survey https://www.viacharacter.org/ He also has some TED talks and books - one is titled "Flourish". The theory of the character strengths questionnaire is that if you go into a profession which aligns with your top five character strengths you will flourish.
Great Britain and a number of other countries have already adopted a WBI.
Mario I am reminded of seeing forests planted in England 500 years ago with a beautiful focus on the future. In the American colonies, there was an ordinance in 1636 to prevent the chopping down of magnificent trees [but that was to preserve them as masts for British war ships]. From acorns….
There is one industry in many places of the world, and in the common good of America, where the well being index is a primary motivator or work in that industry. That being public education. Every teacher, however skilled or new, accept as a professional oath that the well being of children is central and essential to creating community, resourcefulness within individuals, and heightening problem solving and critical thinking skills. In other words, a model for creating peace and love within oneself and towards others.
Yet today we witness an attack on public education. The only “critical theory” I’ve ever seen promoted in a classroom is development of critical thinking skills which certainly is essential as children navigate acceptance of differences as a building block to success and innovation. It’s a 1+1=3 type skill. Children gain traction in all areas of life when they understand differences are the melting pot that cooks up the very element essential to sustaining our existence. The Light within all of us. Peace, not war.
I loathe the efforts to clone our children with hate towards others and school them into putting a foot on the neck of someone “below” them instead of reaching and giving a “hand up” which is the natural, human instinct of a child.
Salud, Cathy. May we all jump on the well-being train. Doesn’t need fossil fuels to run. Just our Light.
Wonderful, yet teachers are one of the most exploited groups in our society in terms of low pay and long hours rather than a profession highly valued for its impact on the well being of children and the values in our society. The CXRT laws in Texas that says you can't teach anything that would make a young white boy uncomfortable will produce a generation of dumb wimp's who can't handle any of the difficulties of life. I think the objective by those passing these laws are to keep people dumb and ignorant and therefore more malleable and controllable. We need to teach resilience and openess to ideas and perspectives of others.
It is the least among us who bring nourishment that ensures survival and have the greatest appreciation of that which is of greatest value being life...and well-being. Salud to Cathy and you.
I was fortunate to be able to be a professor from age 58 to 80, when it would have been impossible to subsist on the community college compensation for a non-tenured professor. Some of my colleagues had to teach at three different community colleges simply to subsist. Meanwhile, a richly-paid administrative branch more than doubled.
Cathy, this is revolutionary! I would gladly campaign and vote for a WBI to replace the GNP. When was the last time any of us actually used the GNP to measure something? Is our country based on wealth, or people? This may be a little naive of me, but go with it -- I'm trying to make a point here....
I think this is right in line with what Dr. Richardson wrote about -- an adjustment to Democracy to meet another rising threat.
If they had a WBI by each state, where would our two states (TX and GA) rank?
Thanks Cathy, my head.will be buzzing with this great thought for days! Fight on in Texas.
Great Britain is already doing this and several other countries. In President Biden's interview with Heather he talks about the US was the only government formed around an idea which is democracy. Personally, while I have mostly enjoyed living in Texas for twenty years, I am quite worried now that the rights of people are being taken away and a minority government is in place. We need to start with our local communities with WBI. I wouldn't recommend trying to replace GNP, it is useful for some things. It doesn't have to be WBI OR GNP; it can be WBI AND GNP. I'm an AND philosophy person; not an OR. I want to make more and bigger pies for all of us to share rather than the thinking that if someone gets more of the pie, you're losing your share. Dr. Martin Seligman's Theory of Well Being (he has several TED talks you could listen to) is a good way to start thinking about all this. Five elements (abbreviated PERMA) of Well Being are Positive emotions (but these are fleeting), Engagement (being so engrossed in what you are doing you lose track of time), Positive Relationships (my premise is even one real relationship counters loneliness), Meaning (you are doing something larger than yourself) and Accomplishment. I start with what I call Big Talk rather than Small Talk. Things like "What was the best thing that happened to you today?" My favorite is "What is your dream?" My favorite answer is "I'm living my dream." When someone's eyes light up you know they are thinking of their dream. You can create a meaningful connection with a total stranger in less than a minute.
Cathy, what is Texas doing about its slide into authoritarianism? Reports sound like a great deal of apathy. Major urban and suburban areas growing rapidly with people moving in from more liberal democratic who simply want to enjoy the fast road to greater prosperity and lower costs, and letting Republicans do whatever they want with state government.
I listened to an hour podcast about women's health & abortion rights, with a young devout Christian Texas woman talking about her difficulty having children with two stillborn pregnancies that she carried to term knowing from her doctors that their were physical problems with the fetuses. Her well known mega church supported her decision not to abort, but gave her no comfort when live healthy babies did not result. She was contacted by other Christian women in her church faced with similar pregnancy issues who couldn't bear living with a diagnosed fetus that could not survive to or much beyond birth. She came to believe that women like her are being abandoned by their churches, that abortion has a place and purpose, and that the decision should be with the mother, father and their doctor. She expressed great concern for the families that are put through the harrowing experiences that she and her husband went through by people who are intervening in the lives of people who need help not judgement and punishment. I got out of this podcast that we live in a world where those who live the "good life" think that those who have challenges are to be rejected and hidden from sight as they might contaminate or rub off on the "good life". So we repress, reject, conceal and legislate away everything we don't want to know about. Iui s this Texas?
The Texas anti-abortion law gives life of the fetus, a potential human priority over the life of the woman,. an existing fully cognizant life. It takes away all rights of the woman to make any decision about her own right to life with its no exceptions even with the fetus barely viable much less because of rape or incest or health concerns for the woman. It goes further and gives vigilantes literally anyone the right to bankrupt the woman by suing her and her doctor and even the Uber driver who drives her to the clinic. And, this law which takes away existing Constitutional rights of half the population is being upheld bu the US Supreme Court becauise they are anticipating taking away rights from people for the first time in the history of the Court. They are basing their position on potential future law not existing constitutional law. I think that what the SCOTUS does with Roe v Wade in the next month or so will create a backlash throughout the country and you'll see a women's movement like none we've ever seen and a huge backlash from the electorate throughout the nation. The Gross Old Patriarchs of the Republican Party will be scorned and voted out of office despite the gerrymandering. Governor Abbott's answer to this heinous law is a promise to eliminate rape in Texas! Good luck with that approach. The only effective way to even begin to eliminate rape is penectomy and that should make men quite squimish about rights over their own bodies. Hopefully, the stupidity of his promise will bring Beto the governership. I hope I'm right about the ire messing with women's rights will trigger. The whole country not just Texas should be aware and respond to SCOTUS dismantling democracy itself through Citizens United legalizing bribery of elected office holders, gutting voting rights and taking away rights from all citizens. This isn't simply a Texas problem but whether democracy or autocracy will prevail. We the People, ALL of us this time.
Cathy, you’ve expressed this so clearly and it gives me chills. The chills are more like excited goosebumps not fearful ones as you have so much faith that we will rise up and “The Gross Old Patriarchs of the Republican Party will be scorned and voted out of office despite the gerrymandering”! Make it so, Lord!!!
Humble Cathy Learoyd of Texas did not specifically answer what Texas is "doing about its slide into authoritarianism." Unfortunately, she is not the Queen of Texas to act unilaterally for the whole state, but in her capacity as a citizen, I can vouch that she is very engaged through a grassroots organization and with her legislative representatives.
Moreover, as she points out, "This isn't simply a Texas problem but whether democracy or autocracy will prevail." It's on all of us.
David, let me try to answer your specific question about what Texans are doing about the slide into authoritarianism. There are all sorts of organizations here in Texas that are fighting for democracy. Tasks they are focused on include Fair Maps Texas fighting against gerrymandering, Texas Civil Rights Project fighting the voter suppression laws first through legal methods. we just had a primary that shows the extreme right conspiracy Republicans are quite alive and well in Texas. There is no fraud in Texas. The moderate Republicans that have been in charge of elections in Texas over the past decade or more did an excellent job in choosing voting machines, setting up the ERIC data base to prove there is no fraud, making the right choices on election procedure. It has only been recently that Texas with Abbott going so far to the Trump side of the Rep. party. He's competing with Florida's de Santis (both have Presidential ambitions) in who can be the most cruel and take away the most rights. After the invasion of Ukraine I've heard that Trump campaign signs have disappeared in some areas. The primary was a mess so many of us are spending a lot of time in educating voters on the ID laws and how to fill out the confusing forms. We are focusing on registering the youth just turning 18. Getting out the vote will determine who wins in Texas in November 2022. The Republicans and even the white population are now minorities in Texas. Beto is energizing the Democrats but he needs a Democratic majority legislature to turn things around. While there are still a lot of Texans who love Trump, I also had a Trump supporter volunteer that she would probably not vote for him in 2024 -- too much chaos. I do think most people in Texas believe it is still a democracy. I don't. People like me are spreading the word that we now have an autocracy. Read David Pepper's book on Laboratories of Autocracy to see the 30 actions he recommends to get back on the track of democracy. Something like 141 out of 254 counties have no Democrats running against Republicans. that has to change. Of particular concern besides the legislature is the possibility extreme Republicans ready to turn over elections will become Election Officials and the Attorney General. It isn't a pretty picture and I don't know what to tell you on when Texas will turn purple at least. Hopefully the Ukraine war is showing all of us that democracy is worth fighting even dying for in Texas and the other 19 states that are now autocracies. Hope this gives you a bit of a picture about Texas.
I haven't read through all of the comments, so forgive me if this has already been said, but I believe the pioneer of the Wellbeing Economy movement was the country of Bhutan. They created a Gross National Happiness(GNH) index to gauge the wellbeing of its citizens. GNH is inspired by the Buddhist concept of “The Middle Path” and seeks to balance multiple goals. The Bhutanese government uses a policy screening tool to help the GNH Commission assess policy proposals against its GNH framework and set conditions for businesses to add value to society and the environment. (Just try to imagine the U.S. Congress engaging in this kind of conversation on the floor!) Inclusion of the environment-- not just what is best for human inhabitants--is critical for determining the real, sustainable size of that pie that we want everyone to have an equal, or at least fair, portion of.
This conversation also brings to mind the book of another brilliant Heather--Heather McGhee--The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together. In it, she uses history and data to tell a very compelling and heartbreaking story of how we are living in a zero-sum paradigm in which at least half our country resists anything that could contribute to a public good that includes people they see as unworthy (aka BIPOC, immigrants and other marginalized groups). McGhee points to that period Cox Richardson references "...after Black and Brown veterans coming home from World War II demanded equality, that New Deal government, under Democratic president Harry Truman and Republican president Dwight D. Eisenhower, worked to end racial and, later, gender hierarchies in American society..." as when public goods in this country--from parks/pools (draining the public pool is a metaphor she returns to throughout the book) to schools to healthcare--have been systematically gutted with the full support of many who stand to benefit from them most (aka poor white people).
Given all that we as a country, have already been willing to give up to ensure that all people are not treated equally--that all people do not prosper--it's a little hard to imagine right now that the threat of losing our democracy will be the thing that finally galvanizes us. But I'm trying.
Yes, Bhutan is the leading country in promoting well-being. I'll just note that Dr. Seligman finds the word happiness and the smily faces that go with not a good representation of the fullness of well-being. Positive emotions like happiness are of the moment like enjoying a good ski run and dissipate quite quickly. Longer range lasting positive feelings come from doing things for others and having meaning in your life doing something larger than yourself. Yes, Heather McGhee book is very fine. Yes, it's time to bake more and bigger pies together so we all get to share in the wealth of well-being.
One of the biggest failures of the 1950s programs with long range impact we're seeing today was the discrimination against blacks and browns in the GI Bill meant to enable GI's to buy homes and create equity that is inherited by the next generation.
Besides winning against Governor Abbott, Beto needs a Democratic majority legislature to work with him! Please support Democrats running for state office!!! It's critical!
Please donate to Democrats running for state legislature! It will be difficult for Beto to have an impact with the current Republican majority Texas legislature!!!
Good suggestions, Cathy. I'm going to add more of "What is the best thing that happened to you today?" to my conversations. It's also a good question to ask yourself before going to sleep.
Here is a wonderful TED talk on Gratitude that I like to watch every few months. The voice is Benedictine monk Brother David Steindl-Rast. In the late 1990s I heard him speak at a seminar on religion in the 21st century. It was so beautiful. He so obviously had well-being mastered. I was saying to myself whatever he has, I want to have too. I felt rude that I was staring at him in awe but I couldn't help it. https://www.ted.com/talks/louie_schwartzberg_nature_beauty_gratitude?language=en
Cathy, this video lowered my blood pressure, so thank you for posting this! If we just take the time to see and engage beyond our noses, positive things can happen. Through a child’s eyes and the wisdom of Brother Steindl-Rast, we would be so much better off in the world. Perhaps this could be taught as just “critically hopeful theory”.
I like your "critically hopeful theory". I might do a variation on that like RHT - Resilient Hope Theory. The analogy I like to use is a fat kid being uncomfortable with being bullied about heirs (his/her) weight and so the teachers can't teach nutrition. The schools need to address bullying, good self image and resilience rather than stop teaching knowledge of history and other subjects. In teaching history, I would teach not taking people out of the context of their time or judging them by today's "standards". The LGBTQ attacks are making trans children feel uncomfortable but Republicans don't care about that. They don't have the right to push their religious beliefs on the rest of us.
George, it is simply gob-smacking how much there is to be grateful for! We don't even have to think too hard about it. Even in the very, very hardest of times. Thank you for reminding me of Ekhart's writing.
Gus, Stanley Goodman sent me a podcast that is very informative. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/scene-on-radio/id1036276968?i=1000545055844 This podcast is triggering some big thoughts about well-being as an economic system as well as general well-being. In that sense WBI would replace GNP. I was thinking of them as being able to coexist. But if GNP is basically supporting only the chrematists, i.e. people accumulating money for its own sake, than it should be replaced.
Thank you Cathy, I have both podcasts bookmarked and intend to listen soon.
By the way, I'm open to both indexes, as you suggested -- so long as the GNP is useful for economic monitoring and not just a chrematist harvesting tool. I'm an 'And' person too! But the four R's (Russians, Republicans, Racists, Reapers) are making it somewhat difficult to stay focused....
This link should bring you to a podcast on GDP, its history, implications, and alternatives to it. The podcast is about an hour but worth several listens. It’s from people at Duke Univ. They even mention Bhutan, which measures Gross Domestic Happiness and, to some extent, operates accordingly.
Thank you. Very informative. Will use the word chrematists now for those who accumulate money for its own sake. CEOs make 351 times as much as the average worker in their corporation. I can understand CEOs getting paid better for making decisions that could make or cost the company millions, but that does not excuse this kind of excess. Hollowing out the middle class which is happening today reduces the ability of consumers to support the capitalistic system and eventually lead to its collapse! Oligarchic kleptocracy is NOT capitalism.
Stanley, I've been looking for a new economic system to replace capitalism and its venerability to chrematist. Now I realize it will be based on the common good and the well-being of people. So what would a WBI economy look like? I'm going to think and explore that idea. Thank you for nudging my brain along!
Stanley, This podcast is triggering some big thoughts about well-being as an economic system as well as general well-being. In that sense WBI would replace GNP. I was thinking of them as being able to coexist. But if GNP is basically supporting only the chrematists than it should be replaced.
I think someone should write a spec fiction about someone who wakes up one morning and finds her/him/themself in an alternative universe where money is worthless and all "wealth" and transactions are measured by and dependent on cooperation and compassion. Long ago, there was a corporate diversity training game called Bafa Bafa that sort of simulated this. What if our ability to thrive and "succeed" were tied to how much we helped others thrive and succeed?
Happy Daylight Savings Time Cathy. I like the concept of a Well Being Index. It represents a sea change from a materialist/scarcity model to a people centered/inclusive one. My brushes with material success have shown me that resources, or lack of them, is not the problem (though being poor enough to be food insecure really, really sucks), it's what I tell myself about whatever condition I'm in that is the problem. When I was a poor case manager working for a human services agency, I told myself I was "less than". When I joined the middle class by becoming a Nurse Manager, I was, well, smug about it.
Wealthy people seem to think they are wealthy through some special ability, when really, most of them are just lucky. Poor people are often blamed for their condition, when really, they are just unlucky. A focus on a well being Index would be a way to get us to stop focusing on all the self-talk about how superior/inferior we are and focus on really being useful to one another.
I like your phrase "a materialistic/scarcity model to a people centered/inclusive model." I like the political cartoon that shows a man of privilege ready to start a race with a female. The man's track is clear while the woman's path is an obstacle course. The man says "What's wrong; it's the same distance., isn't it?" People with privilege so often think they succeeded through their own merits and are totally unaware of how privilege have given them a huge advantage.
As we wait for the well-being index to be initiated and enforced, it's worth noting the Happiness level survey conducted by the United Nations which measures Happiness in individual countries. It's a thorough survey asking people in each country how they feel about the legislated system they have in place, especially about how they feel they're treated economically.
It's no surprise to me that the Scandinavian nations rank highest in the Happiness index. Finland
Denmark
Switzerland
Iceland
Netherlands
Norway
Sweden
Luxembourg
New Zealand
and Austria were the top 10 nations in the 2020 Happiness survey. A highlight of these nations is their pursuit of economic justice. Their citizens feel that they are cared about.
The U.S. ranked 19th in that survey. We are constantly told that the U.S. is the wealthiest nation in the world. Yet, I believe we now have the greatest wealth disparity in the world. How does that happen? Can't we at least take care of the basic living needs of all our citizens? Can't we aspire to some day be the leading nation in the Happiness survey?
Yup, you hit the nail on the head . . . until, when, and if we take care of the basic needs of people our "well-being" index will continue to lag. It doesn't matter about feel good projects if people who are supposed to be getting assistance cannot afford housing, education, and health care. Collectively, we donate $billions to worthy causes and charities but it doesn't move the needle for folks because for so many they are one paycheck away from financial disaster due to illness, education debt, unfordable housing.
I may be financially secure (for now!) but families I mentor (as well as my biological kids) have a different economic and physical climate environment to face. I have a personal "feel good index" for the joy of families, but my well-being/happiness index is not high as I know what they all face (through no fault of their own) and of course as "Mom", I worry!
Mentoring a group of former S. Sudanese refugees for 20 years (and still going) has provided me with the highest happiness factor . . . the life change glow is hard to describe but you know it when you see and feel it! But, that makes no sense to the dictators or oligarchs of the world whose wealth and power is obscene. And, they are not the ones reading or educating themselves, nor do they have any moral/ethical compass to see past the bows of their massive yachts or armies.
That a few men have the power, will, and desire to destroy so many lives, entire cities, and countries (perhaps the world if the nukes start flying) is overwhelming. It is incomprehensible to me that we are so far off the rails of humanity. Frankly, I don't know if it is even possible to stabilize the world to be a safe place to live.
Janet Kudos for mentoring S. Sudanese for 20 years. Back in 1954 I made a documentary SUDAN: LAND OF CONTRASTS, with a substantial portion on southern Sudan. In February, 1955 troubles began there. These were bad, but nothing compared with the discovery of oil and the dredging of the Sudd.
The Arab north, especially with a military dictatorship, exacerbated the troubles in the southern Sudan. After South Sudan obtained its independence (2011?) the bloody tribal fighting made the place even more horrendous.
I had a favorable opinion of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan under its first prime minister, Ismail Azhari. I even practiced with the Sudanese national soccer team before they played against Egypt in Cairo. In Egypt there was great discrimination against Black people. [Egypt was governed by Black Sudanese 700-600 BCE].
Subsequently the Sudan and the Southern Sudan went to hell in a hand basket. I found this dreadfully sad. The last time I saw the Southern Sudan was when, as a Foreign Service Officer, in 1965 in northern Congo, when I saw the Mbuti pygmies [gentle hunting and gathering people}, who I had first photographed in 1954.Sad, sad, sad.
My Rotary club has sponsored water projects in southern Sudan for more than a decade.
I fear that our only really unique achievement as a species will be that we were the only creatures who actually saw our own extinction coming...and were still unable to stop it.
During the last election, my spouse and I decided there needed to be, at a minimum, a cabinet-level commissioner of well-being, with Marianne Williams as the first appointment
That was wonderful, thank you. Here is my take on it:
Here's the basic premise in the founding of the enlightenment model of the US: Rights were given to you by your creator, not by your government. Your government didn't give them to you so, they can't take them away. Furthermore the 9th amendment to the constitution makes these guarantees explicit. If any person in the government tries to take them away anyway, despite lacking any authority to do so, they are traitors to the citizens and must be treated as such.
A common misconception regarding the US government is that it is not the case that they start with total power and authority and the Constitution then subtracts from those powers. Under the Constitutional principle of Enumerated Powers and despite common wisdom, the government actually starts with zero power. Powers are then granted (Enumerated) by the constitution. This means that our natural rights such as the right to privacy or the right to free speech do not need to be explicitly granted to the populace - we have them by default. (The bill of rights is - quite literally - redundant and completely unnecessary.) What it does mean is that the government cannot violate those rights unless the ability to do so is explicitly granted by the Constitution - which in those cases it is not.
Just to be clear, our government has invalidated itself by abrogating its duties and for subjugating us, meaning we do not have one and instead we have a bunch of criminals masquerading as our government.
For too long we've sat back, relaxed, and let the government police itself, and by doing so have given the wolves the keys to the hen house while naively expecting - in our blissful ignorance - for the chickens to be in good hands...
Those chickens have been and are being slaughtered, and the time has come for us to put those wolves in prison and to take back what is ours.
Despite what the government wants badly for you to believe, you do not serve them. They serve you.
Must take issue with one of your comments, in which you say that the Bill of Rights was taken for granted and is completely unnecessary in the Constitution as a legal matter. I disagree. As the document was being actually being written, the original founders were mostly in Europe building relationships for the USA as an independent nation (and partying, but heck). They fully expected that a Bill of Rights for the people would be part of the document. These rights grew out of English common law, and while assumed, the founders recognized that the Declaration of Independence effectively rendered the English common law moot. We were about to develop our own common law based on case law arising from American law that grew from Constitutional principles. When the founders came back, they were livid that the Constitution as written did not include a written Bill of Rights. Hence, the first ten amendments to ensure that these rights were entailed in American law were quickly added. For the simple reason that they WERE needed. And we've seen plenty of evidence that they indeed were.
I think where we diverge is in the question of theory vs practice.
In theory they are redundant and unnecessary for the reasons I stated because they are granted by the creator. The constitution grants powers to the government and therefore any power not granted cannot be exercised, so you would not need them.
In practice, you are correct because we're dealing with flawed men with their flawed legal system for which guidelines are necessary.
Don't think we diverge at all on that. That's why the Founders were so adamant about the Bill of Rights being ensconced within the Constitution. BTW, I should add that even the Brits had this moment of reckoning, which resulted in the Magna Carta and limits on the power of the monarchy, as well as affirming the rights that grew out of common law. And the Magna Carta had no small part in the thinking of what rights were in need of protection.
This letter is not simply magnificent, it is a singular clarion call to stand up and give every ounce of our being to uphold and save our democracy and our "unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness!'
Agree 100%. See my comment listed below. The state legislatures have been fed 'model legislation' by big money political donors in Heritage Foundation. The unlimited & ever growing money in politics since SCOTUS Citizen United decision in 2010 has allowed RW dark money to farm out this ideology pre-written & corrupt our system to serve the interests of the elite donor class as the powerful few at the top of the hierarchy.
Marie, I would add the org. ALEC which is a behind-the-scenes group that has been supporting and rewarding and encouraging right-wing candidates and office-holders for decades. It is subversive, and not very visible. It needs to be closed down, I think.
ALEC is a tool for Heritage to effect action- a "bill mill" co-founded by Paul Weyrich who also co-founded Heritage. It is funded by corporations & RW family foundations such as Koch, Bradley, Scaife, DeVos, etc who are mostly funders of Heritage as well. The dark money shadow groups are mostly intertwined and work in concert. Of course, the Federalist Society is another closely coordinated entity pushing the RW agenda in the federal courts for decades.
And those donors are fueling a second Civil War-NH has gone so far as to try to pass a law to withdraw from the Union. It came to a vote last week. Result: 300+ against; 13 for withdrawing. We have about 73 members of the NH House of Representatives who belong to an extremist Libertarian group, The Free State Project, who proposed the bill & caucus w/Republicans.
When do efforts to break the Union become treason? If elected officials take an oath of office, presumably including their commitment to our Constitution, then act against it, is that treason? Can any lawyer- or historian-readers clarify?
You may apprecitiate the book "A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear," by Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling, about a small New Hampshire town that gets infested with Libertarians and the reaction of the local bears. It's non-fiction, but reads like a bizzare, abeit dark, comedy.
True... the model legislation is already pushed to the state legislators in the State Policy Network & ALEC then when 1 state's legislators have success in pushing it through, others build on that as 'proof' of concept.
Spending my entire career as a public librarian, I winced after reading that quote by Carnegie, a man who in 40 years built over 2500 libraries here in the States and elsewhere. This is something that the current crop of oligarchs could never dream of entertaining. What type of presidential library will there be for POTUS45? I hope the term library is not used for whatever comes to be.
Indeed! And, I propose that the bloated, gold spray painted statue of Donald be at the exit so fan boys and girls can snap a selfie with it before they go.
There won't be partly because he destroyed some of the official papers. There might be videos of him spouting word salad. I am a former high school librarian and I can't imagine anything that he has done that would merit being in a library. Maybe some of his sharpie tricks.
But I can promise you, Rupert’s lies can find a home in a “library” dedicated to image and spin. Just imagine what Goebbels could have created for Adolf given the chance. It was the mission of Fox every day, still is.
Every day I stand in wonder as to why Rupert Murdoch and his son (the bad one) are not pilloried in the press for what they do. Carlson, Hannity, etc. are his golden geese but still really just his puppets. Fox exists and has been the source of suffering and death - may I mention the erosion of democracy - because of one man.
It's not Fox News Network. It's the Murdoch monarchy of madness. He is the Putin of the press. How do we allow him such comfort, such protection from accountability?
I wonder the same thing, Bill. Carlson is a front man, and one apparently in it for the goodies that flow his way, but the Murdochs run the show. Rupert Murdoch became an American citizen years ago, and has taken our freedom of the press to mean freedom to disseminate misinformation and sow distrust at every turn.
When FTC destroyed the regulations preventing majority control of media markets by 1 media corporation under GW Bush, the door was opened to the capture off entire sections of the population by single sources of information. Fox & Sinclair control swaths of the country in a 'state' media bubble of an alternative spin of reality. I think a major step to protecting US democracy requires reversing this market capture by single media monopolies
I predict that if there is a building at all, it will be merely a shell to house a grotesque statue of himself (gold if he is not completely bankrupt financially) and of course fake Time magazine pictures of himself on the walls.
He already created his library; 15 boxes of confidential documents stacked up in the store-room at Mara Lago. He holds court there almost nightly, creating more and more alternate facts to fill the shelves. I doubt he'd stoop to stock any other authors than himself.
It will be a monument to stupidity and idolatry. As monumental as his idiot supporters can afford and have nothing in common with a library. BTW, idiot supporters will likely include Thiel and his ilk. All for the ugliest man alive, even uglier than what a great fiction writer (maybe Wilde) could imagine.
Jerry Carnegie, after some devious doing during a strike at the Carnegie mills, paid blood money in establishing a wonderful network of libraries. Rockefeller did much the same,after squeezing defenseless people in creating Standard Oil.
Jerry, I had the same thought. Ill-gotten gains are still ill-gotten, even when laundered through public service projects. The balancing act between seeing the good that results as "restitution," and rejecting the funds as "blood money," is a tough one.
Amazing what a guilty conscience can produce, isn’t it? I have been told that is they reason for Mr. C’s library spree was all about, but cant swear to it 😈
Heather, it is with heavy heart I read your reiteration of what you've stated so many times before. Those among us who choose power and money over equality have, it seems, always ended up running the show. Everyday ordinary people have rarely managed to make gains, OR sustain gains made, precisely because we/they lack the financial wherewithal to buy the influence required to make changes stick. The dilemma we face now, in the US, is predicated on a slavish devotion to a man who has garnered popularity through pure and utter bullshit. And, despite the fact he's been out of office for well over a year, continues to hold sway over the GOP, Republican members of the House and Senate, millions of everyday Americans, but most importantly, industrialists, financiers, and oligarchs, both home grown and foreign. While we have not yet fallen we are in a precarious place where the choices of the minority may very well determine our future.
How do we fight this when state legislatures are going rogue? How do we stop the influx of dark money which has infiltrated every level of our politics? How do we open lines of communication to reach those who have been sucked into accepting the pro authoritarian propaganda that was unthinkable a generation ago?
You're absolutely right. We are at an inflection point. Which way will we bend?
Daria, As I contemplate your question “Which way will we bend,” though my response probably seems overly narrow and simplistic compared with the more provocative issues you raise, I decided the matters that most haunt me were still worth mentioning.
To start, virtually everything, in my view, that is disfunctional in our politics can, in some way, be attributed, at this point, to the Senate filibuster—a veto by the minority over the will of the majority. Hence, unless Senate Dems change this rule, while they still can, I fear the false grievance that the 2020 election was stolen could, among other faux grievances, lay the groundwork for Republicans to retake both the House and the Senate in November. Were that to happen, Republicans would have captured, at every turn, the dynamic of the political conversation in the country, leaving but a small window to protect the key mechanisms of American democracy. Further down the road, Republicans plausibly could retain control of Congress and win the White House, conceivably staging both a fatal weakening of American civic institutions and also a presidency eager and able to consolidate power, wherein the rule of law would be subjugated to an individual.
If we are to imagine a different trajectory, I submit it must include calling out Manchin and Sinema, who, despite not hesitating to set aside the filibuster, say, to raise the debt ceiling, refuse even to consider a modest rule change for legislation they allegedly support, such as federal voter protection safeguards. Indeed, how hard would it be for anyone with a megaphone, for example, to call out Kyrsten Sinema’s defense of the 60-vote threshold as “a critical tool that we need to safeguard our democracy from threats in the years to come,” adding that to eliminate it would “worsen the underlying disease of division infecting the country”?
Daria, you have expressed quite well the dilemma we face. IMHO, the big question you pose is how to reach the millions who can't/don't seem to want to engage in meaningful conversations. I can put myself in that category sometimes when I come up against someone who won't even listen, or who can only spout Fox News as their source.
Pam, thank you for acknowledging the dilemma that is the absence of conversation between those who support democracy and those who reject it. Sadly, I have no answers and the very good suggestions by others here which address supporting democracy are more than appropriate but they do not address the issue of how to open and maintain clear, honest channels of communication.
I have always voted and will continue to do so. But...if we can't have reasoned conversations with those who hold their views like cement, or don't vote at all, we can never allow them to see what is happening before their very eyes. People need to better understand what their vote means not just to them but for the country.
Daria, Admittedly a pragmatist, I had believed (and still do) that passage of even some of Biden’s transformative economic, social, and environmental agenda (BBB) was and remains integral to creating an environment conducive for people who hold different viewpoints possibly to attempt to seek common ground. Regrettably, the confluence of rising inflation with no package to replace the expired American Rescue Plan presents an enormous challenge for engaging people who, might, otherwise, have been receptive, at least to talking.
Barbara, I tried to respond to your comment in re the filibuster yesterday and was unable to post it - the post function would not work. In a nut shell, I agree with you whole heartedly.
I also agree with your stated opinion above. The financial pressure on US Americans is mounting at a very rapid pace and will do nothing but cause some very regrettable outcomes both in the the near and long-terms. It will become even more impossible to communicate.
I think another way to look at Dr. Richardson's message is that the United States has already fallen two-three times, depending on how you count the fall of the old confederation that preceeded the current Constitution. Our country fell in 1860 with the Civil War and fell again during the Great Depression. But just because the government falls, the people still remain, and have, after each fall, reconstituted themselves into something new.
The United States of American is falling, right now. The debate is over what we become next. And remember, there's no going back, for what was before no longer exists.
With all due respect, I am not one of those who needs convincing or prompted to donate to organizations/candidates who are focused on expanding/upholding democracy. The question is this: How do we reach the millions of people who see no harm in the attacks on democracy; both those that are bloody and aggressive and those that ate tacit and insidious?
I appreciate your reply, Ellie, and I'm sorry if my comment and subsequent response to your post are construed as negative. To assume I have done none of the above is both hurtful and insulting, which I am sure you did not intend. I'm done.
No, Daria, I did not at all assume you have done none of the above, and I know to the contrary. I'm sorry my post caused you to be hurt and insulted. It was not directed to you, but to the thousands of the rest of us on this forum. I valued your important question about upholding democracy as a springboard for naming the many specific ways we can do the work.
As we unite in doing the work, as the Ukrainians have united, we expand our force and bring in the Independent voters in the middle, who are more reachable than the far right trumpers. Like Rebecca Solnit writes, when we review social change of the past 50 years since the Civil Rights Movement, we are the mighty river.
No worries, Daria. Maybe we are all feeling heightened anxiety and stress. Speaking for myself, it reminds me that my feelings are only a smidgeon of the direct trauma and PTSD being experienced by the Ukrainians. We say "do self-care" but, really? And yet we must in order to keep going and not burn out. The other aspect of this is that caring makes us sensitive.
BTW I looked up the link for the bookbinding group but did not see any recent posts--wondering if they'd been taken down for protection reasons. I love marbling and greatly admired the work of the two Russian marbling artists.
Ellie, thanks. You bring up good points around folks feeling heightened stress and anxiety and how those of use watching from afar cannot begin to understand the intensity being felt by Ukrainians (or any other people under violent attack). You are so gracious.
In re Ibookbinding – I'm posting 2 links. One is the original Facebook Live Pavel and Stepan did on March 2nd. It's about 2 hours long. The 2nd link is an edited version posted on YouTube 3 days ago. You won't miss anything if you watch the edited version.
Dr. Richardson, when you say, "...that New Deal government, under Democratic president Harry Truman and Republican president Dwight D. Eisenhower, worked to end racial and, later, gender hierarchies..." shouldn't you also credit LBJ, who ushered in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965?
And, while we're at it let's give credit to FDR's Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, the first woman in any President's Cabinet, who proposed the New Deal to FDR and made it happen.
We've heard again and again the litany of events in our history that have served as bellwethers reminding us to look back and take stock once again of what our founders were attempting. It never gets old seeing it all laid out there once more. Only a fool would ignore it. HCR's summations always concisely put all these facts into a perspective that is so easy to grasp. One cannot help but see the lessons to be learned from this past, that is, if one but chooses to look, or, in the case of today's Letter, be reminded. HCR is a real "teacher" with the gift of being able to explain things to students who may be relatively clueless and do it in ways that are engaging, thought-provoking, and easy to grasp. A teacher--or one worth their weight in gold--has insights into just what will draw the student in and awaken that spark of wanting to learn more, not just reciting a litany of facts to them, which they then regurgitate on a test. HCR's knack of keeping to the facts and presenting them in such a way as to give so many of us an "Aha!" moment is no small feat. It's what makes these Letters such jewels, so full of essential nuggets of truth and irrefutable facts. But, in each Letter there's always a lesson to be gleaned by the end...but then, that's kind of the way history works too, idnit?
You know what I thought privately after reading Professor Richardson’s letter tonight, Bruce? Which, for me, once again traced this reoccurring battle of bigoted greed pushing outward on the door of democracy.
“Oh for heaven’s sake. Men and their money. Ridiculous. Good thing God also invented woman.”
The insanity in all this is the greed.
Dressed up on the stage right now as a Russian warship. And here at home as the orange-tinged golden calf.
Well…Russian warship…go f*ck yourself. And same-o to you know who.
I say, let’s “Frances Perkins” it to the Peace Room. Let’s make a New Deal. (another one).
I thought exactly the same thing while ruminating on what was the thrust of HCR's Letter: we can easily see a similar "red thread" (they use that phrase in Dutch and I'm not sure if it's used in English...) that runs through ongoing events in Ukraine. The greed unleashed by unbridled capitalism that subsequently ends up creating a moneyed oligarchy and which, like any biological organism, has as its first priority self-preservation. OUR greed, OUR capitalism are essentially what helped create Vladimir Putin...AND the Orange Menace. They were empowered, allowed to get away unscathed with every dirty deed, and were there to reap the benefits. Now, Putin and the oligarchic state he has built up around himself are doing everything in their power to keep their stranglehold on Russia. If it means the utter destruction of Ukraine, then that's a price he, and they, will pay. Nothing else matters to them. So then, is this any different, at least in practice, from what we see when we look at our own history?? Similar to the annihilation of Ukraine, our country eventually tore itself apart in the 1860s, killing hundreds of thousands of our soldiers, and all in an attempt to prop up a corrupt, moneyed class elite. And then even recently, right here, WE have empowered a similarly deranged, corrupt individual. It defies logic. I didn't go into this in my statement above, but I think an implicit message in HCR's Letter is holding up a mirror of our own history and then, tacitly, comparing it to what is happening now in Ukraine. "There, but for the grace of God, go we..." Thing is, how much longer will this "grace of God" spare US?? Yes, greed (and power) is essentially at the heart of so many ills afflicting humanity (remember Stephen Hawking saying that what will ultimately do us in as a species is greed...), but while it has been primarily men who are the guilty parties, make no mistake, greed and power-lust cut across ALL boundaries and categories on this planet to varying degrees. WHY can we not read the bloody signs that it's happening again, even in "our own backyard"?? It's like we're stuck on this Sisyphean treadmill...
I always appreciate your comments. I can hear you “ruminating” in your comments. You are such a thinker and writer. Is that part of your professional career?
Thanks! Yeah, I DO do a lot of thinking...sometimes too much for my own good. I've always been slightly obsessed with "how things work", even from my childhood, when, as my mom tells it, at the age of three I somehow managed to get the mantel clock off the fireplace mantle--from my play pen, N.B.--and had completely dismantled it. I pretty much pegged my behaviour as apparent even then! Being a highly trained singer then meant I was going to be intrigued as to the workings of the human voice, not just my own (where too much thinking can definitely get in one's way), but others as well. In my teaching I was always analyzing voices--still do--trying to hone in on what to suggest to get a voice to improve. I also was good (so my students told me) at analyzing a score or a song, putting together all the elements a composer or librettist put into the music to bring it to life. It's not hard really, as I told them, it just involves noticing the little details and using your imagination. I still do this when I listen to music. I'm always trying to dig under the mere notes and symbols on the page to get at what the composer is trying to say. It's actually fun as there's so much that is there! So yeah...I think a LOT and have used it in my work. Now that I'm retired--forced into it really because of my bum spine handicapping me at present--I guess I've transferred my analytical mind over to current events and stuff, so I try and consider all the angles, sometimes playing the devil's advocate in the process (I'm a Libra and apparently we're known for doing that--weighing, "balancing" the arguments). Sometimes I hit pay dirt and make sense, and sometimes I miss the mark. Whatever...at least I'm THINKING! My dad was this way, so I'm pretty sure I got it from him. A long answer...but you asked! LOL!
Oh my. This is wonderful. My exhaustion is sending me to bed without fully processing how to translate it into action. Tomorrow brings my first visit in well over two years to my far away grandsons home. My heart and my head are so very full. We are on an edge I know.
An excellent article, although I quarrel with your term "Black colonists." In what sense were the slaves brought by force to this country, colonists? They did not colonize anything or own any property or advance to take any property from others. They "lived" as forced, unpaid labor on the property of White colonists.
A distinction must be made between free and enslaved people. Colonists generally refer to Settlers, those who organised and ruled a colony/settlement. While there were free Black persons living in the British colonies they were a rarity. To call an enslaved person a colonist is abominable.
"Usage of Colonist and Colonizer
Colonist and colonizer both have meanings closely tied to the word colonialism in its use referring to domination of a foreign people or area. Colonist, which comes directly from the noun colony, is the more common—and usually more neutral—term. Colonizer, which comes from the verb colonize, is used especially in contexts in which the exploitative nature of colonialism is being discussed or evoked; in phrases like "colonizer mindset/mentality" it implies a benefit from or even active participation in that exploitation."
I would suggest that HCR is using 'colonist' as an inhabitant of a colony. And that it is common usage among historians. I may be wrong. She may elucidate it.
But as an example:
"The first African slaves in what would become the present-day United States of America arrived August 9, 1526 in Winyah Bay with a Spanish expedition. Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón brought 600 colonists to start a colony. Records say the colonists included enslaved Africans, without saying how many. After a month Ayllón moved the colony to what is now Georgia."
Peck, Douglas T. (2001). "Lucas Vásquez de Ayllón's Doomed Colony of San Miguel de Gualdape". The Georgia Historical Quarterly. 85 (2): 183–198. ISSN 0016-8297. JSTOR 40584407.
That may be so, however, since slaves were considered property, not unlike livestock, and therefore, without rights, I find it difficult to believe that property/livestock can also be considered a colonist.
The telling of western history has long been the purview of white men of European descent. They have set the definitions and standards of language to describe all aspects of our lives. The language used is woefully inaccurate and inadequate. While I respect Heather to the highest degree I take issue with the use of the word colonist to describe an enslaved human being.
Words' meanings change. Dictionary definitions do not fix meaning for all time. The definitions trace words' trajectories through social space.
The very first African laborers were not technically enslaved, they were situated as indentured servants. Although they could not contract their labor. Slavery as we commonly think of it developed through legal cases which became precedent for the enslavement and commodification of Black persons in the Colonies.
Words' meanings do change and are not fixed in time, (except for French, of course!). Indentured service implies the ability to serve out one's contract and be free. However,
"In 1619, slavery, as codified by law, did not yet exist in Virginia or elsewhere in places that would later become the United States.
But any question about the status of Black people in the colonies—free, enslaved or indentured servants—was made clear with the passage of the Virginia Slave Codes of 1705, a series of laws that stripped away legal rights and legalized the barbaric and dehumanizing nature of slavery."
I think it does no good to split hairs. IMHO, the reason CRT is so critically important is because it identifies the culturally ignorant insistance of perpetuating a system and language of lies which reinforces a centuries long campaign to denigrate people of color. The use of the word colonist to describe an enslaved individual is a prime example.
I think HCR's misstep here, if she was using the term "colonist" as used among historians, was akin to Ambassador Michael McFaul who said a couple days ago that Hitler was not as bad as Putin because Hitler did not attack Germans. McFaul was quoting someone who was referencing the Nazi blitzkrieg into Poland and exempting the ethnically German Volksdeutsche. But that did not come out at all and McFaul got taken to task big time as being a Holocaust denier.
Not to mention the destruction by Hitler of whole swathes of the German people who were considered either "untermenschen" (handicapped, homosexual, Gypsys and more) or in supposedly in political opposition to the nazi regime
It occurs to me that many people of basically like minds find it necessary to quibble over nuances
I am in no way innocent, but I’m thinking that this form of curious adversity clouds the overall, apologies to Deep Throat’s admonition to Woodward and Bernstein
There were a few Black slaveholders in the British colonies, but as they did not represent the prevailing power structure, I would not use the term "Black colonists." I agree with Daria that it is clarifying to use the term "colonizers," who are working to exploit the resources of the land (material and human).
Heather's use of "Black colonists" clouds the fact of African enslavement. It would be interesting to hear her thought process.
In the most narrow sense of the word - someone who lives in a colony - I guess you could say "Black colonists, but this is not the common sense of the word. A colonist is usually thought of as a colonizer. I think it's an unfortunate use of the term. It's kind of like calling them immigrants.
I agree with you. Writing for broad persuasion does better to avoid narrow meaning as with "Black colonists," and enslaved Africans certainly were not immigrants!
Reminds me of a soulful, touching series "Into the Depths" by Tara Roberts for NatGeo on researching sunken slave ships, historiography, lost lineage/identity, and so much more:
There were also enslaved persons of African descent who fought under the flag of the British loyalists against the Revolution, on the British promise of being recognized as free men.
That is one definition, among several. The Puritan Pilgrim colonists were not backed by the British government. But by London stockholders.
"In 1620, a group of Separatists known as the Pilgrims settled in New England and established the Plymouth Colony. The Pilgrims originated as a dissenting congregation in Scrooby led by Richard Clyfton, John Robinson and William Brewster. This congregation was subject to persecution with members being imprisoned or having property seized. Fearing greater persecution, the group left England and settled in the Dutch city of Leiden. In 1620, after receiving a patent from the London Company, the Pilgrims left for New England on board the Mayflower, landing at Plymouth Rock."
"To raise money for the voyage the Pilgrims signed a contract with a group of London stockholders. In return the stockholders would share in the profits of the planned colony."
I agree that there are several definitions of "COLONIST." Some narrow; some broad. In the most common sense of the word, though, would you agree that a colonist is someone who colonizes? not just someone who lives in a colony? The Puritans came to colonize! They set up colonies, establishing property rights, and took land away from the Indigenous people in order to do so.
"would you agree that a colonist is someone who colonizes"
No. Because the definition of colonist includes people who did not have the volition to colonize - indentured and enslaved persons. Although they provided the labor of colonizing the land taken from indigenous peoples.
Colonist. Colonialist. Colonizer. Different words. Different definitions. Different usage. There is overlap. There is more or less precise usage. There is common usage. And understanding of the ideas and events which the words signify is itself in flux.
It is heartening that this all is in flux. It is as it should be.
Dr. Richardson had a reason for writing that. Why are we picking nits here? We are losing focus on the Main Thing she was writing about, and what it means in today's context.
Oh, I'm sorry. If expressing an opinion about the use of a word is now taboo on this page and considered nit picking, I should keep my mouth shut about any and everything from here on out, right? Since when are we supposed to blindly accept the words and opinion of one person as gospel?
Honestly, this forum has become less an open venue for discussion and more a very narrow echo chamber. That is very dangerous.
Daria, I think you misunderstood my reply. It was not an attack on your opinion, since I have the highest regard for your thoughts. I did not address the reply to you personally, but to the group of folks who seemed to be missing the forrest for one tree of a word. It was meant to be helpful, redirective; moving the conversation away from being critical of one word chosen by our professor, instead of asking her what she meant.
I accept your criticism. We are all at high stress point here. War will do that to us....
Daria, you have no idea how relieved I am! I don't ever want to unnecessarily offend or hurt anyone on this forum, least of all you. But if there is a clarification needed, or an offensive remark from me, or I appear to be attempting to limit anyone's speech (Exception: trolls!) I want you to always call me on it. Such things can quickly be cleared up or corrected between people who appreciate each other.
We're in this together!
It didn't happen this time, but frequently people's replies and comments wind up in vastly different order, even wnen attached to each other by a 'heart,' especially by the next day. Sometimes a time-stamped reply appears hours before the comment was made, etc. It can be downright hilarious, or distressing, potentially disastrous. The only thing I can do is carefully name the person I am replying to, use the correct pronouns, and watch what I say. As I said, it didn't happen here, thankfully.
Daria, I couldn't agree more. I was told to leave this group the other day by one of the members. Go away until I feel better- translation go away until you respond the exact same way I want you to. Unbelievable.
I'm responding to you because I truly think so highly of you. Always have.
I only scanned the comments just now to hopefully see an update from Allen Hingston.
I thought this group was better than this.
Daria, perhaps you and I should form a Substack page where everyone's opinion is equally important. I'm pretty sure that was Heather's intent at the start.
I think we're all in a state of heightened sensitivity. I started to write, "Don't let one bad apple spoil the whole barrel," but actually I limit my comment to a behavior of the person, and not to the person as a whole. This group overall has outstandingly respectful conduct.
Ellie, with all due respect, my comment had nothing to do with an exchange today. This was in reference to someone telling me to go away and come back when my opinions were more in-tune to hers and pass it off as a mental slip up recently. I come from a place where you do not dismiss someone over an opinion. My reference is not a situation where you may simply not agree with someone, but literally dismissing them from the group. That is a rather dangerous protocol and should not be tolerated. I would not want someone to do this you, my friend.
Linda, I remember that admonishment - it was unbelievable. I appreciate you POV and comments because they are honest and not gushing click bait fodder for likes.
I don't know that our own Substack page is the answer, administering it would be a nightmare!
Narrowness becomes the bi-product of overlooking the general message while focusing on minutia As Democrats argue about who meets the Progressive Purity tests, the Autocracy Ship has already left the port
Challenges to your thoughts come with the territory, criticizing others for sharing theirs in opposition to yours seems a bit defensive
You know, Dave, you're probably right about me being a bit defensive. You have expressed your opinion about my reaction now please consider this: when someone expresses an opinion that is not mainstream to the flow of this forum best case scenario is they are accused of being negative and/or unsupportive of "the cause". Worst case scenario is they are deemed an outsider or troll and hounded until they leave. Nice way to model a democracy, eh?
I suffer many that criticize my POV in hostile websites or pages, so I can empathsize with your comments That said, state your mind and prepare for pushback at times, but the notion by others that one should look for another place, rather than defend your thoughts here is a non starter. Every perspective adds to the discussion, however it should not lead to divisiveness on anyone’s part. Peace be with you
Then, once again, daria, perhaps you should look a little further into the history of black people in America. The idea is not absurd, and though rare, it did happen. By denying even the possibility, we deny the agency of black people who took control of their own lives. We need to open our minds so that we can catch the nuances.
Open our minds? Catch the nuance? Catching a nuance is based on our own personal experience. What we have lived ourselves. I asked a friend today about the phrase “black colonists”. His answer… you mean in Harlem? I had to laugh.
Annie, You have chosen to misinterpret and give a hidden, dark motive to my comments and deem me closed minded. I strongly disagree with you.
Yes, there were free black colonials but, by and large they were rare and were not generally allowed to participate in the processes of government and commerce in same way that a free white man could participate.
Daria, I think you have come up with a more accurate term. Black "colonials" implies "of the Colonial era," whereas "colonists" implies agency that Black people of that era did not have, no matter their socio-economic status.
There were free black settlers in the early settlements, even in the south (though in the south they were at risk and tended to settle at the fringes). I think many of us have become just a little too "woke" and lump every black person who settled in the colonies into the category of slaves. Free black settlers were sometimes not treated well, but many were a part of their mixed communities and some even held office. This does in no way mitigate or deny the ugliness of American chattel slavery, so please don't go there. Not with me.
Thank you Heather for another one of your superb and prescient posts that bring in historical context to paint a better picture of narratives today. This is so spot-on. These next 2 election cycles are critical for keeping on a path that Joe has started us to steer back toward true democracy, not an autocratic plutocracy.
This terrific post got me wondering whether the movements to expand authoritarian domination in Asia and Europe will require a new sort of declaration, something like a Declaration of Interdependence. The notion of independence seems to have led to a lot of what the Beatles called “I, me, me, mine.” But will this be enough to maintain sovereign borders and the independence? I wonder.
Brilliant concept, Michael... the Declaration of Interdependence. I'd love to see an update of America's First Continental Congress... the First Intercontinental Congress. Get the climate crisis organizations behind it, and the great majority of 20- and 30-year-olds, especially in Europe, who are looking for a new ethos of sustainability in our governments.
It's a global concern, and we must have a global response.
We never know as much as we need to know to make the decisions we must. That is the human condition. And the hard nut on which all of philosophy and science eventually crack their teeth. I would bet, most people do not take it beyond confusion. Most people are just trying to keep their heads above water and are often willing to stand on someone else's neck to do it.
But for people who do take it one step beyond confusion and desperation, it seems there are two responses - terror and paralysis, or terror and exhilaration. Paralysis in the face of the unknown and unknowable. Exhilaration at the excuse for exploration and the possibility of discovery.
Those who are paralyzed need some prime mover, a god or an ideology, to give all the answers and assurances. And to be certain of that authority, they need everyone else to buy into agreement or be forced into compliance. Ethics to go. One size fits all - or else. Sound familiar?
Those who are exhilarated at the possibilities, accept the great responsibility of their actions. For better or worse.
I think this where we start from. And the charlatans have a field day with those so desperate for absolutes and absolution that to believe themselves morally in the clear, they are willing and eager to be unfair and abusive. Individually and through the power of the state.
We here are concerned about these things, and more. Especially on the level of the state - on government and politics. 2020 had one of the highest voter turnouts. I think only something like 61% of eligible citizens voted. Here are the tables in case I got it wrong.
Wow, lin. There were some profound nuggets in that response. Thank you.
I’m envisioning an 85%+ turnout of voters. Having realized what the vote can be to crush yet again a recurring attempt to protect greed and rule instead of govern.
Yes, however I’d like to suggest a third type, the one who faces challenge not with paralysis, nor with exhilaration , but rather with a dogged determination to put one foot in front of the other, “ soldier on”; using today’s information to meet the next set of data with renewed hope/faith that “moving in the right direction” reveals a clearer path to the solution or at least toward mitigation. The Mensch in the Trench
I think I have gone beyond confusion and desperation, as well as terror and paralysis. The next step for me is action, one step at a time. It’s all my age and condition allow, but when I hear praise of a master class moron, it is imperative.
Ah now that ties the time together. Thanks again for making sense of the circle we are in, in history. The big picture! I just wish I could make some of those more dogmatic people educate themselves on what they are rooting for by following an authoritarian. It seems so odd to me that people will follow someone who so obviously does not have their interest in mind. Sometimes I think they all believe they are going to become billionaires. It's like mass delusion. I keep coming back to feeling they are cult followers. Strange times.
Thank heavens you got a little rest! Your writing is superb ! Always worthy of at least two careful readings, I’m now off to spread your words near & far to friends & family, many of whom have become members of Letters from an American. Your words lift my spirit again on these dark days and nights of impossible cruelty half a world away, Professor Richardson. Please continue making time daily/weekly for your well being. We need you more than ever before.
Hear, hear!
Yesterday my optimism was waning. Being reminded how we’ve been here before and how the common man rallied to save our experiment in democracy gave my optimism a much needed boost. Thank you Professor. 🥰
I echo Carol’s letter to you completely! We are all so grateful for you.
Me 2❤❤❤
Agreed and my thanks as well.
I read right after she posted last night, and I just finished reading for the second time!
Well said Carol O!
AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!
The individuals who seek only money and power are depraved of well-being. Money doesn't buy happiness; but it can buy power, a sick power of superiority. My dream is we measure our government by a Well-Being Index when every piece of legislation has to show its benefit to the well being of all the people. In my world the WBI would replace GNP as the measure of wealth in this country and in the world. Native Americans measure wealth by the generosity of a person, that through giving what they have more than enough of strengthens the well being of the entire tribe or community. It has also shown that one major element of well being is having Meaning in one's life by being part of something larger (like defending democracy) than yourself and giving to others. This gives one real happiness that glows for a long time. We, the People, all of us this time.
Cathy, I wish I knew how to further your message. This Greek proverb embraces it: “A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.” Yet semi-consciously I castigate myself for not having early on made a resolution to a single minded acquisition of money. This is a fearful emotional response to financial insecurity. As a young man I hated the notion of a commitment to making money. Later on I would see the result of shrewdly acquisitive people who behind a cordial veneer seemed to be telling me, "I got mine, the rest be damned." Say what we will, the veneration of wealth is in the soil and air of this nation. Those who don't subscribe to that ethos will pay a price. The culture will remind you: Your destiny isn't in your aspirations, it's in your bank account. Well, I'm being called away. I'll look for your posts. I'll keep planting trees.
Some people are money motivated in career terms and do make a commitment to making money and/or preserving the privilege that goes with it, with no regard for those people being exploited as a result. But it is possible to work for reasonable financial security while helping to make this world a better place--with generalized well-being, equal opportunity, and planting trees.
Yes, Ellie. The “well-being index” as Cathy describes above, restructures what it is to have money…which, in its present form, can darkly ascend to being a worshipped golden calf. Utterly ridiculous in my opinion.
Money is a tool, a means to an end. Never to be intended as an end to a means. Avaricious greed of a self chosen few offsets the inner resources that every human has the inalienable right to develop in order to prosper and be well.
Let’s end just kicking the can down the dusty, bloody road. Ukraine people have shown us what it really is to rise up. Not just with words such as these but with everything one has got to push back against greed. Push back so hard on the door of bigoted greed opening outward that the result of our truth is to slam it and “close it more snugly” as Ogden Nash might describe it.
And certainly, it is not age that determines who stands up. This is a multigenerational effort. We all have sunflower seeds in our pockets.
Salud, Ellie! We are the truth of Peace. ☮️
Well said, Christine. Money is a tool. And Ukrainians are showing us what it means to rise up.
Words to live and stand tall by, Christine! And to push back hard enough to slam shut that door of bigoted greed. I'm planting sunflower seeds in milk-jug greenhouses here in central Wisconsin (where we just got an inch or two of snow last night to "water" them), and carrying envelopes of seeds to hand out in my pockets.
Well said. And what healthy, practical, generous styles you have in making the milk-jug greenhouses as well as giving packets of seeds to other people.
I'm getting a little jump on spring germination and growth by putting my Sugar Snap (edible-pod) peas in a moist paper towel and saving a week or two of germination time when I plant them on St. Patrick's Day. (Here in central Indiana--and perhaps zone 5 as a whole--we plant the Sugar Snaps traditionally on St. Patrick's Day.) The pea shells will soften and some will germinate by the time I plant them. Some years I've planted them when it was snowing out, just to stay on traditional schedule; and they grew just fine. The cold bursts just seem to add body to their crunch. Seems to me like Indian children of times when their mothers would bathe them in cold streams to make their bodies and immune systems stronger.
Seeds are a true symbol of hope. They illustrate birth and rebirth through germination. They further show us that we can grow and thrive. As my friend Henry Thoreau said, "Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed... Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders." That could also be a nice message to put on your packets. I do this already when giving out seeds.
Great job Heydon. First People culture and Thoreau in the same post. Thanks!
Yes, Eileen!
Far out Ellie! Waiting on broccoli seeds for the sprout "farm." and slowly assembling 2 large raised beds for the back deck. Easy access from my chair. One bed for herbs, the other for veg. I never thought about giving seeds away (how selfish is that?) But when I'm growing I share. Until these perfect beds became available I could only grow in Homer buckets on bricks, but as you well know, we just gotta grow!
Well said as always Christine and Ellie!! Money is a means. It is what you do with it AND how you “make” it. People make the choices.
Ellie, I agree, and I know several shining examples of folks like that. But sadly they are the exceptions.
If I have learned anything in 72 years it is this: you can't buy self hood.
Someday maybe Putin or Jabba might learn that, but it will be too late....
I characterize the vast majority of the working middle class (painting with a very broad stroke) all around the world--who work with integrity--as examples of pursuing reasonable financial security while helping to make this world a better plan.
Understood! I was talking about the wealthy people who do use their wealth and power for humanity. I wasn't specific, I will learn from this.
Yes, me, too. For many people who grow up in any kind of poverty, including the childhood low on love and respect, see money as proof of their worth and value. Lots of implications and offshoots to this reality. Working middle class are quite often people who know when enough is enough because they didn’t grow up in the scarcity of fiscal or emotional poverty. Again, one purpose of a social safety net is to provide the “climate” for taking care of such basic needs for everyone.
Yes, I certainly agree.
I totally agree with your thinking Deborah. I learn so much from all of you.
Mario, I share your history of an early aversion to amassing money for its own sake. So I don't have any now. I have no regrets! Amassing power and wealth would have distracted me from the really important things in life -- the absolutely wonderful people who came my way, and enjoyment of the creation we all call home.
Gus, sounds to me like you've made good choices.
We have a welcome mat by our front door which has the welcoming words of Thoreau printed on it. "It is surprising how many great men and women a small house will contain."
Can't take the credit Heydon. Had a wife with a truck load of common sense. Part Cherokee, she grew up dirt poor and learned from it. All I had to do is behave myself. Well, I guess I did make good choices -- thanks!
Love your doormat!
Yup.
Mario, I'd suggest you explore Dr. Martin Seligman's Theory of Well Being and take the survey https://www.viacharacter.org/ He also has some TED talks and books - one is titled "Flourish". The theory of the character strengths questionnaire is that if you go into a profession which aligns with your top five character strengths you will flourish.
Great Britain and a number of other countries have already adopted a WBI.
Oooh. Adding this resource to chapter about social capital.
Mario I am reminded of seeing forests planted in England 500 years ago with a beautiful focus on the future. In the American colonies, there was an ordinance in 1636 to prevent the chopping down of magnificent trees [but that was to preserve them as masts for British war ships]. From acorns….
There is one industry in many places of the world, and in the common good of America, where the well being index is a primary motivator or work in that industry. That being public education. Every teacher, however skilled or new, accept as a professional oath that the well being of children is central and essential to creating community, resourcefulness within individuals, and heightening problem solving and critical thinking skills. In other words, a model for creating peace and love within oneself and towards others.
Yet today we witness an attack on public education. The only “critical theory” I’ve ever seen promoted in a classroom is development of critical thinking skills which certainly is essential as children navigate acceptance of differences as a building block to success and innovation. It’s a 1+1=3 type skill. Children gain traction in all areas of life when they understand differences are the melting pot that cooks up the very element essential to sustaining our existence. The Light within all of us. Peace, not war.
I loathe the efforts to clone our children with hate towards others and school them into putting a foot on the neck of someone “below” them instead of reaching and giving a “hand up” which is the natural, human instinct of a child.
Salud, Cathy. May we all jump on the well-being train. Doesn’t need fossil fuels to run. Just our Light.
💜☮️
Wonderful, yet teachers are one of the most exploited groups in our society in terms of low pay and long hours rather than a profession highly valued for its impact on the well being of children and the values in our society. The CXRT laws in Texas that says you can't teach anything that would make a young white boy uncomfortable will produce a generation of dumb wimp's who can't handle any of the difficulties of life. I think the objective by those passing these laws are to keep people dumb and ignorant and therefore more malleable and controllable. We need to teach resilience and openess to ideas and perspectives of others.
It is the least among us who bring nourishment that ensures survival and have the greatest appreciation of that which is of greatest value being life...and well-being. Salud to Cathy and you.
I was fortunate to be able to be a professor from age 58 to 80, when it would have been impossible to subsist on the community college compensation for a non-tenured professor. Some of my colleagues had to teach at three different community colleges simply to subsist. Meanwhile, a richly-paid administrative branch more than doubled.
Cathy, this is revolutionary! I would gladly campaign and vote for a WBI to replace the GNP. When was the last time any of us actually used the GNP to measure something? Is our country based on wealth, or people? This may be a little naive of me, but go with it -- I'm trying to make a point here....
I think this is right in line with what Dr. Richardson wrote about -- an adjustment to Democracy to meet another rising threat.
If they had a WBI by each state, where would our two states (TX and GA) rank?
Thanks Cathy, my head.will be buzzing with this great thought for days! Fight on in Texas.
Great Britain is already doing this and several other countries. In President Biden's interview with Heather he talks about the US was the only government formed around an idea which is democracy. Personally, while I have mostly enjoyed living in Texas for twenty years, I am quite worried now that the rights of people are being taken away and a minority government is in place. We need to start with our local communities with WBI. I wouldn't recommend trying to replace GNP, it is useful for some things. It doesn't have to be WBI OR GNP; it can be WBI AND GNP. I'm an AND philosophy person; not an OR. I want to make more and bigger pies for all of us to share rather than the thinking that if someone gets more of the pie, you're losing your share. Dr. Martin Seligman's Theory of Well Being (he has several TED talks you could listen to) is a good way to start thinking about all this. Five elements (abbreviated PERMA) of Well Being are Positive emotions (but these are fleeting), Engagement (being so engrossed in what you are doing you lose track of time), Positive Relationships (my premise is even one real relationship counters loneliness), Meaning (you are doing something larger than yourself) and Accomplishment. I start with what I call Big Talk rather than Small Talk. Things like "What was the best thing that happened to you today?" My favorite is "What is your dream?" My favorite answer is "I'm living my dream." When someone's eyes light up you know they are thinking of their dream. You can create a meaningful connection with a total stranger in less than a minute.
Cathy, what is Texas doing about its slide into authoritarianism? Reports sound like a great deal of apathy. Major urban and suburban areas growing rapidly with people moving in from more liberal democratic who simply want to enjoy the fast road to greater prosperity and lower costs, and letting Republicans do whatever they want with state government.
I listened to an hour podcast about women's health & abortion rights, with a young devout Christian Texas woman talking about her difficulty having children with two stillborn pregnancies that she carried to term knowing from her doctors that their were physical problems with the fetuses. Her well known mega church supported her decision not to abort, but gave her no comfort when live healthy babies did not result. She was contacted by other Christian women in her church faced with similar pregnancy issues who couldn't bear living with a diagnosed fetus that could not survive to or much beyond birth. She came to believe that women like her are being abandoned by their churches, that abortion has a place and purpose, and that the decision should be with the mother, father and their doctor. She expressed great concern for the families that are put through the harrowing experiences that she and her husband went through by people who are intervening in the lives of people who need help not judgement and punishment. I got out of this podcast that we live in a world where those who live the "good life" think that those who have challenges are to be rejected and hidden from sight as they might contaminate or rub off on the "good life". So we repress, reject, conceal and legislate away everything we don't want to know about. Iui s this Texas?
The Texas anti-abortion law gives life of the fetus, a potential human priority over the life of the woman,. an existing fully cognizant life. It takes away all rights of the woman to make any decision about her own right to life with its no exceptions even with the fetus barely viable much less because of rape or incest or health concerns for the woman. It goes further and gives vigilantes literally anyone the right to bankrupt the woman by suing her and her doctor and even the Uber driver who drives her to the clinic. And, this law which takes away existing Constitutional rights of half the population is being upheld bu the US Supreme Court becauise they are anticipating taking away rights from people for the first time in the history of the Court. They are basing their position on potential future law not existing constitutional law. I think that what the SCOTUS does with Roe v Wade in the next month or so will create a backlash throughout the country and you'll see a women's movement like none we've ever seen and a huge backlash from the electorate throughout the nation. The Gross Old Patriarchs of the Republican Party will be scorned and voted out of office despite the gerrymandering. Governor Abbott's answer to this heinous law is a promise to eliminate rape in Texas! Good luck with that approach. The only effective way to even begin to eliminate rape is penectomy and that should make men quite squimish about rights over their own bodies. Hopefully, the stupidity of his promise will bring Beto the governership. I hope I'm right about the ire messing with women's rights will trigger. The whole country not just Texas should be aware and respond to SCOTUS dismantling democracy itself through Citizens United legalizing bribery of elected office holders, gutting voting rights and taking away rights from all citizens. This isn't simply a Texas problem but whether democracy or autocracy will prevail. We the People, ALL of us this time.
Gross Old Patriarchs - perfect!
Cathy, you’ve expressed this so clearly and it gives me chills. The chills are more like excited goosebumps not fearful ones as you have so much faith that we will rise up and “The Gross Old Patriarchs of the Republican Party will be scorned and voted out of office despite the gerrymandering”! Make it so, Lord!!!
Humble Cathy Learoyd of Texas did not specifically answer what Texas is "doing about its slide into authoritarianism." Unfortunately, she is not the Queen of Texas to act unilaterally for the whole state, but in her capacity as a citizen, I can vouch that she is very engaged through a grassroots organization and with her legislative representatives.
Moreover, as she points out, "This isn't simply a Texas problem but whether democracy or autocracy will prevail." It's on all of us.
David, let me try to answer your specific question about what Texans are doing about the slide into authoritarianism. There are all sorts of organizations here in Texas that are fighting for democracy. Tasks they are focused on include Fair Maps Texas fighting against gerrymandering, Texas Civil Rights Project fighting the voter suppression laws first through legal methods. we just had a primary that shows the extreme right conspiracy Republicans are quite alive and well in Texas. There is no fraud in Texas. The moderate Republicans that have been in charge of elections in Texas over the past decade or more did an excellent job in choosing voting machines, setting up the ERIC data base to prove there is no fraud, making the right choices on election procedure. It has only been recently that Texas with Abbott going so far to the Trump side of the Rep. party. He's competing with Florida's de Santis (both have Presidential ambitions) in who can be the most cruel and take away the most rights. After the invasion of Ukraine I've heard that Trump campaign signs have disappeared in some areas. The primary was a mess so many of us are spending a lot of time in educating voters on the ID laws and how to fill out the confusing forms. We are focusing on registering the youth just turning 18. Getting out the vote will determine who wins in Texas in November 2022. The Republicans and even the white population are now minorities in Texas. Beto is energizing the Democrats but he needs a Democratic majority legislature to turn things around. While there are still a lot of Texans who love Trump, I also had a Trump supporter volunteer that she would probably not vote for him in 2024 -- too much chaos. I do think most people in Texas believe it is still a democracy. I don't. People like me are spreading the word that we now have an autocracy. Read David Pepper's book on Laboratories of Autocracy to see the 30 actions he recommends to get back on the track of democracy. Something like 141 out of 254 counties have no Democrats running against Republicans. that has to change. Of particular concern besides the legislature is the possibility extreme Republicans ready to turn over elections will become Election Officials and the Attorney General. It isn't a pretty picture and I don't know what to tell you on when Texas will turn purple at least. Hopefully the Ukraine war is showing all of us that democracy is worth fighting even dying for in Texas and the other 19 states that are now autocracies. Hope this gives you a bit of a picture about Texas.
I haven't read through all of the comments, so forgive me if this has already been said, but I believe the pioneer of the Wellbeing Economy movement was the country of Bhutan. They created a Gross National Happiness(GNH) index to gauge the wellbeing of its citizens. GNH is inspired by the Buddhist concept of “The Middle Path” and seeks to balance multiple goals. The Bhutanese government uses a policy screening tool to help the GNH Commission assess policy proposals against its GNH framework and set conditions for businesses to add value to society and the environment. (Just try to imagine the U.S. Congress engaging in this kind of conversation on the floor!) Inclusion of the environment-- not just what is best for human inhabitants--is critical for determining the real, sustainable size of that pie that we want everyone to have an equal, or at least fair, portion of.
This conversation also brings to mind the book of another brilliant Heather--Heather McGhee--The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together. In it, she uses history and data to tell a very compelling and heartbreaking story of how we are living in a zero-sum paradigm in which at least half our country resists anything that could contribute to a public good that includes people they see as unworthy (aka BIPOC, immigrants and other marginalized groups). McGhee points to that period Cox Richardson references "...after Black and Brown veterans coming home from World War II demanded equality, that New Deal government, under Democratic president Harry Truman and Republican president Dwight D. Eisenhower, worked to end racial and, later, gender hierarchies in American society..." as when public goods in this country--from parks/pools (draining the public pool is a metaphor she returns to throughout the book) to schools to healthcare--have been systematically gutted with the full support of many who stand to benefit from them most (aka poor white people).
Given all that we as a country, have already been willing to give up to ensure that all people are not treated equally--that all people do not prosper--it's a little hard to imagine right now that the threat of losing our democracy will be the thing that finally galvanizes us. But I'm trying.
Yes, Bhutan is the leading country in promoting well-being. I'll just note that Dr. Seligman finds the word happiness and the smily faces that go with not a good representation of the fullness of well-being. Positive emotions like happiness are of the moment like enjoying a good ski run and dissipate quite quickly. Longer range lasting positive feelings come from doing things for others and having meaning in your life doing something larger than yourself. Yes, Heather McGhee book is very fine. Yes, it's time to bake more and bigger pies together so we all get to share in the wealth of well-being.
Just must add: wonderful letter, comments, links and reflections. Thank you all for teaching and enriching my world nearly daily!!!
One of the biggest failures of the 1950s programs with long range impact we're seeing today was the discrimination against blacks and browns in the GI Bill meant to enable GI's to buy homes and create equity that is inherited by the next generation.
Go Beto
Go Beto!
Besides winning against Governor Abbott, Beto needs a Democratic majority legislature to work with him! Please support Democrats running for state office!!! It's critical!
YES! Beto!
Go Beto by donating to his campaign. I just did. Turn Texas blue.
Please donate to Democrats running for state legislature! It will be difficult for Beto to have an impact with the current Republican majority Texas legislature!!!
Turn Texas back to democracy!
I'm investing in his campaign even tho I live in MD. We need more good candidates country-wide who believe in democracy!
Please donate to Democrats running for the Texas State Legislature or Beto's governorship will be super difficult!
Cathy, any specific candidate recommendations for us?
Cathy, I’ve donated to Cisneros. Who else to support in Tx??
Good suggestions, Cathy. I'm going to add more of "What is the best thing that happened to you today?" to my conversations. It's also a good question to ask yourself before going to sleep.
Here is a wonderful TED talk on Gratitude that I like to watch every few months. The voice is Benedictine monk Brother David Steindl-Rast. In the late 1990s I heard him speak at a seminar on religion in the 21st century. It was so beautiful. He so obviously had well-being mastered. I was saying to myself whatever he has, I want to have too. I felt rude that I was staring at him in awe but I couldn't help it. https://www.ted.com/talks/louie_schwartzberg_nature_beauty_gratitude?language=en
Cathy, this video lowered my blood pressure, so thank you for posting this! If we just take the time to see and engage beyond our noses, positive things can happen. Through a child’s eyes and the wisdom of Brother Steindl-Rast, we would be so much better off in the world. Perhaps this could be taught as just “critically hopeful theory”.
I like your "critically hopeful theory". I might do a variation on that like RHT - Resilient Hope Theory. The analogy I like to use is a fat kid being uncomfortable with being bullied about heirs (his/her) weight and so the teachers can't teach nutrition. The schools need to address bullying, good self image and resilience rather than stop teaching knowledge of history and other subjects. In teaching history, I would teach not taking people out of the context of their time or judging them by today's "standards". The LGBTQ attacks are making trans children feel uncomfortable but Republicans don't care about that. They don't have the right to push their religious beliefs on the rest of us.
A wise person, Meister Eckhart, once wrote, "If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is 'Thank you,' it will be enough."
George, it is simply gob-smacking how much there is to be grateful for! We don't even have to think too hard about it. Even in the very, very hardest of times. Thank you for reminding me of Ekhart's writing.
Go Beto!!
Gus, Stanley Goodman sent me a podcast that is very informative. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/scene-on-radio/id1036276968?i=1000545055844 This podcast is triggering some big thoughts about well-being as an economic system as well as general well-being. In that sense WBI would replace GNP. I was thinking of them as being able to coexist. But if GNP is basically supporting only the chrematists, i.e. people accumulating money for its own sake, than it should be replaced.
Thank you Cathy, I have both podcasts bookmarked and intend to listen soon.
By the way, I'm open to both indexes, as you suggested -- so long as the GNP is useful for economic monitoring and not just a chrematist harvesting tool. I'm an 'And' person too! But the four R's (Russians, Republicans, Racists, Reapers) are making it somewhat difficult to stay focused....
"Chrematist." Word of the Day....
This link should bring you to a podcast on GDP, its history, implications, and alternatives to it. The podcast is about an hour but worth several listens. It’s from people at Duke Univ. They even mention Bhutan, which measures Gross Domestic Happiness and, to some extent, operates accordingly.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/scene-on-radio/id1036276968?i=1000545055844
Thank you. Very informative. Will use the word chrematists now for those who accumulate money for its own sake. CEOs make 351 times as much as the average worker in their corporation. I can understand CEOs getting paid better for making decisions that could make or cost the company millions, but that does not excuse this kind of excess. Hollowing out the middle class which is happening today reduces the ability of consumers to support the capitalistic system and eventually lead to its collapse! Oligarchic kleptocracy is NOT capitalism.
Stanley, I've been looking for a new economic system to replace capitalism and its venerability to chrematist. Now I realize it will be based on the common good and the well-being of people. So what would a WBI economy look like? I'm going to think and explore that idea. Thank you for nudging my brain along!
Stanley, This podcast is triggering some big thoughts about well-being as an economic system as well as general well-being. In that sense WBI would replace GNP. I was thinking of them as being able to coexist. But if GNP is basically supporting only the chrematists than it should be replaced.
I think someone should write a spec fiction about someone who wakes up one morning and finds her/him/themself in an alternative universe where money is worthless and all "wealth" and transactions are measured by and dependent on cooperation and compassion. Long ago, there was a corporate diversity training game called Bafa Bafa that sort of simulated this. What if our ability to thrive and "succeed" were tied to how much we helped others thrive and succeed?
Happy Daylight Savings Time Cathy. I like the concept of a Well Being Index. It represents a sea change from a materialist/scarcity model to a people centered/inclusive one. My brushes with material success have shown me that resources, or lack of them, is not the problem (though being poor enough to be food insecure really, really sucks), it's what I tell myself about whatever condition I'm in that is the problem. When I was a poor case manager working for a human services agency, I told myself I was "less than". When I joined the middle class by becoming a Nurse Manager, I was, well, smug about it.
Wealthy people seem to think they are wealthy through some special ability, when really, most of them are just lucky. Poor people are often blamed for their condition, when really, they are just unlucky. A focus on a well being Index would be a way to get us to stop focusing on all the self-talk about how superior/inferior we are and focus on really being useful to one another.
I like your phrase "a materialistic/scarcity model to a people centered/inclusive model." I like the political cartoon that shows a man of privilege ready to start a race with a female. The man's track is clear while the woman's path is an obstacle course. The man says "What's wrong; it's the same distance., isn't it?" People with privilege so often think they succeeded through their own merits and are totally unaware of how privilege have given them a huge advantage.
As we wait for the well-being index to be initiated and enforced, it's worth noting the Happiness level survey conducted by the United Nations which measures Happiness in individual countries. It's a thorough survey asking people in each country how they feel about the legislated system they have in place, especially about how they feel they're treated economically.
It's no surprise to me that the Scandinavian nations rank highest in the Happiness index. Finland
Denmark
Switzerland
Iceland
Netherlands
Norway
Sweden
Luxembourg
New Zealand
and Austria were the top 10 nations in the 2020 Happiness survey. A highlight of these nations is their pursuit of economic justice. Their citizens feel that they are cared about.
The U.S. ranked 19th in that survey. We are constantly told that the U.S. is the wealthiest nation in the world. Yet, I believe we now have the greatest wealth disparity in the world. How does that happen? Can't we at least take care of the basic living needs of all our citizens? Can't we aspire to some day be the leading nation in the Happiness survey?
Yup, you hit the nail on the head . . . until, when, and if we take care of the basic needs of people our "well-being" index will continue to lag. It doesn't matter about feel good projects if people who are supposed to be getting assistance cannot afford housing, education, and health care. Collectively, we donate $billions to worthy causes and charities but it doesn't move the needle for folks because for so many they are one paycheck away from financial disaster due to illness, education debt, unfordable housing.
I may be financially secure (for now!) but families I mentor (as well as my biological kids) have a different economic and physical climate environment to face. I have a personal "feel good index" for the joy of families, but my well-being/happiness index is not high as I know what they all face (through no fault of their own) and of course as "Mom", I worry!
I like your wording: depraved rather than deprived.
It was intentional. Thank you.
Yep - thought so …
Mentoring a group of former S. Sudanese refugees for 20 years (and still going) has provided me with the highest happiness factor . . . the life change glow is hard to describe but you know it when you see and feel it! But, that makes no sense to the dictators or oligarchs of the world whose wealth and power is obscene. And, they are not the ones reading or educating themselves, nor do they have any moral/ethical compass to see past the bows of their massive yachts or armies.
That a few men have the power, will, and desire to destroy so many lives, entire cities, and countries (perhaps the world if the nukes start flying) is overwhelming. It is incomprehensible to me that we are so far off the rails of humanity. Frankly, I don't know if it is even possible to stabilize the world to be a safe place to live.
Janet Kudos for mentoring S. Sudanese for 20 years. Back in 1954 I made a documentary SUDAN: LAND OF CONTRASTS, with a substantial portion on southern Sudan. In February, 1955 troubles began there. These were bad, but nothing compared with the discovery of oil and the dredging of the Sudd.
The Arab north, especially with a military dictatorship, exacerbated the troubles in the southern Sudan. After South Sudan obtained its independence (2011?) the bloody tribal fighting made the place even more horrendous.
I had a favorable opinion of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan under its first prime minister, Ismail Azhari. I even practiced with the Sudanese national soccer team before they played against Egypt in Cairo. In Egypt there was great discrimination against Black people. [Egypt was governed by Black Sudanese 700-600 BCE].
Subsequently the Sudan and the Southern Sudan went to hell in a hand basket. I found this dreadfully sad. The last time I saw the Southern Sudan was when, as a Foreign Service Officer, in 1965 in northern Congo, when I saw the Mbuti pygmies [gentle hunting and gathering people}, who I had first photographed in 1954.Sad, sad, sad.
My Rotary club has sponsored water projects in southern Sudan for more than a decade.
I fear that our only really unique achievement as a species will be that we were the only creatures who actually saw our own extinction coming...and were still unable to stop it.
I've missed hearing from you,Dirk! Well said!
Thank you, Hope! It's good to see your name, too.
We will stabilize it, rest assured, but what we have to go through to get there is the issue.
Hear hear!
During the last election, my spouse and I decided there needed to be, at a minimum, a cabinet-level commissioner of well-being, with Marianne Williams as the first appointment
We should live as well as the cabinet level WBI commissioner.
Love that idea!
Well said. Well commented upon.
(Your use of the word "depraved" is accurate though I think you meant "deprived".)
Yes, but "depraved" works so well in this context!
No, my use of depraved was thought about and intentional.
That was wonderful, thank you. Here is my take on it:
Here's the basic premise in the founding of the enlightenment model of the US: Rights were given to you by your creator, not by your government. Your government didn't give them to you so, they can't take them away. Furthermore the 9th amendment to the constitution makes these guarantees explicit. If any person in the government tries to take them away anyway, despite lacking any authority to do so, they are traitors to the citizens and must be treated as such.
A common misconception regarding the US government is that it is not the case that they start with total power and authority and the Constitution then subtracts from those powers. Under the Constitutional principle of Enumerated Powers and despite common wisdom, the government actually starts with zero power. Powers are then granted (Enumerated) by the constitution. This means that our natural rights such as the right to privacy or the right to free speech do not need to be explicitly granted to the populace - we have them by default. (The bill of rights is - quite literally - redundant and completely unnecessary.) What it does mean is that the government cannot violate those rights unless the ability to do so is explicitly granted by the Constitution - which in those cases it is not.
Just to be clear, our government has invalidated itself by abrogating its duties and for subjugating us, meaning we do not have one and instead we have a bunch of criminals masquerading as our government.
For too long we've sat back, relaxed, and let the government police itself, and by doing so have given the wolves the keys to the hen house while naively expecting - in our blissful ignorance - for the chickens to be in good hands...
Those chickens have been and are being slaughtered, and the time has come for us to put those wolves in prison and to take back what is ours.
Despite what the government wants badly for you to believe, you do not serve them. They serve you.
https://tritorch.com/covenant/
Those who expect to remain ignorant and free, expect what never was, and will never be. -Thomas Jefferson
Must take issue with one of your comments, in which you say that the Bill of Rights was taken for granted and is completely unnecessary in the Constitution as a legal matter. I disagree. As the document was being actually being written, the original founders were mostly in Europe building relationships for the USA as an independent nation (and partying, but heck). They fully expected that a Bill of Rights for the people would be part of the document. These rights grew out of English common law, and while assumed, the founders recognized that the Declaration of Independence effectively rendered the English common law moot. We were about to develop our own common law based on case law arising from American law that grew from Constitutional principles. When the founders came back, they were livid that the Constitution as written did not include a written Bill of Rights. Hence, the first ten amendments to ensure that these rights were entailed in American law were quickly added. For the simple reason that they WERE needed. And we've seen plenty of evidence that they indeed were.
Thanks for your reply Annie.
I think where we diverge is in the question of theory vs practice.
In theory they are redundant and unnecessary for the reasons I stated because they are granted by the creator. The constitution grants powers to the government and therefore any power not granted cannot be exercised, so you would not need them.
In practice, you are correct because we're dealing with flawed men with their flawed legal system for which guidelines are necessary.
Thank you for your comment.
Don't think we diverge at all on that. That's why the Founders were so adamant about the Bill of Rights being ensconced within the Constitution. BTW, I should add that even the Brits had this moment of reckoning, which resulted in the Magna Carta and limits on the power of the monarchy, as well as affirming the rights that grew out of common law. And the Magna Carta had no small part in the thinking of what rights were in need of protection.
This is magnificent. I’m sharing it on my social media sites. We must rise up.
This letter is not simply magnificent, it is a singular clarion call to stand up and give every ounce of our being to uphold and save our democracy and our "unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness!'
It is indeed a clarion call and I would hope people would understand our peril. Many do, but I worry about the damage state legislatures are doing.
Agree 100%. See my comment listed below. The state legislatures have been fed 'model legislation' by big money political donors in Heritage Foundation. The unlimited & ever growing money in politics since SCOTUS Citizen United decision in 2010 has allowed RW dark money to farm out this ideology pre-written & corrupt our system to serve the interests of the elite donor class as the powerful few at the top of the hierarchy.
Exactly! The idea that use of money is a form of free speech violates the Declaration of Independence and the concepts one person, one vote.
Marie, I would add the org. ALEC which is a behind-the-scenes group that has been supporting and rewarding and encouraging right-wing candidates and office-holders for decades. It is subversive, and not very visible. It needs to be closed down, I think.
ALEC is a tool for Heritage to effect action- a "bill mill" co-founded by Paul Weyrich who also co-founded Heritage. It is funded by corporations & RW family foundations such as Koch, Bradley, Scaife, DeVos, etc who are mostly funders of Heritage as well. The dark money shadow groups are mostly intertwined and work in concert. Of course, the Federalist Society is another closely coordinated entity pushing the RW agenda in the federal courts for decades.
And those donors are fueling a second Civil War-NH has gone so far as to try to pass a law to withdraw from the Union. It came to a vote last week. Result: 300+ against; 13 for withdrawing. We have about 73 members of the NH House of Representatives who belong to an extremist Libertarian group, The Free State Project, who proposed the bill & caucus w/Republicans.
When do efforts to break the Union become treason? If elected officials take an oath of office, presumably including their commitment to our Constitution, then act against it, is that treason? Can any lawyer- or historian-readers clarify?
But that's NH. Always been that way. Periodically have to trot something out to remind us.
You may apprecitiate the book "A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear," by Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling, about a small New Hampshire town that gets infested with Libertarians and the reaction of the local bears. It's non-fiction, but reads like a bizzare, abeit dark, comedy.
Don’t forget ALEC
And, when one state, e.g., TX, passes a law like the recent abortion law and it stands, it is legitimated and spreads to other states.
True... the model legislation is already pushed to the state legislators in the State Policy Network & ALEC then when 1 state's legislators have success in pushing it through, others build on that as 'proof' of concept.
❤❤❤❤
Spending my entire career as a public librarian, I winced after reading that quote by Carnegie, a man who in 40 years built over 2500 libraries here in the States and elsewhere. This is something that the current crop of oligarchs could never dream of entertaining. What type of presidential library will there be for POTUS45? I hope the term library is not used for whatever comes to be.
Arcade? The Trump Arcade?
It could be an exhibit, propped up somewhere near the public lavatories.
It would be the flow from the public lavatories.
Gawd, I love this group of people! (Meaning us, here, on Heather's page.)
Indeed! And, I propose that the bloated, gold spray painted statue of Donald be at the exit so fan boys and girls can snap a selfie with it before they go.
It should certainly be front and center, wherever it resides.
Ha, ha, Daria. Imagine the length of the line waiting for pics!
Or maybe the Trump payday loan center.
Yes, that fits perfectly.
Lol. Good one.
Bravo! Great idea for Trump's memories.
Trump Fast Food
There won't be partly because he destroyed some of the official papers. There might be videos of him spouting word salad. I am a former high school librarian and I can't imagine anything that he has done that would merit being in a library. Maybe some of his sharpie tricks.
The Trump Dump would seem appropriate!
But I can promise you, Rupert’s lies can find a home in a “library” dedicated to image and spin. Just imagine what Goebbels could have created for Adolf given the chance. It was the mission of Fox every day, still is.
Every day I stand in wonder as to why Rupert Murdoch and his son (the bad one) are not pilloried in the press for what they do. Carlson, Hannity, etc. are his golden geese but still really just his puppets. Fox exists and has been the source of suffering and death - may I mention the erosion of democracy - because of one man.
It's not Fox News Network. It's the Murdoch monarchy of madness. He is the Putin of the press. How do we allow him such comfort, such protection from accountability?
I wonder the same thing, Bill. Carlson is a front man, and one apparently in it for the goodies that flow his way, but the Murdochs run the show. Rupert Murdoch became an American citizen years ago, and has taken our freedom of the press to mean freedom to disseminate misinformation and sow distrust at every turn.
When FTC destroyed the regulations preventing majority control of media markets by 1 media corporation under GW Bush, the door was opened to the capture off entire sections of the population by single sources of information. Fox & Sinclair control swaths of the country in a 'state' media bubble of an alternative spin of reality. I think a major step to protecting US democracy requires reversing this market capture by single media monopolies
Yesyesyesyesyes!!!
A merry go round perhaps.
I predict that if there is a building at all, it will be merely a shell to house a grotesque statue of himself (gold if he is not completely bankrupt financially) and of course fake Time magazine pictures of himself on the walls.
Aux contraire! Fake gold should be required!
He already created his library; 15 boxes of confidential documents stacked up in the store-room at Mara Lago. He holds court there almost nightly, creating more and more alternate facts to fill the shelves. I doubt he'd stoop to stock any other authors than himself.
Which begs the question – do they have flush toilets at Mar a Lago or Jiffy Johns?
And he shares those with Putin! Pillow talk.
Don't forget love letters from Kim.
Fantasy theme or horror park perhaps?
I hazard there will be lots of merchandising opportunities, at rip-off prices, everything will be monetised.
There will be very few books and almost none whose author is not DJT, or is an acolyte or adulatroy of the 'great stable genuis'.
The Presidential 'papers' will be sparse and research material and opportunities for scholars extremely limited, if at all.
“Libary”
Liberry.
The books would have to have a v-e-r-y limited vocabulary.
And hard copy menus from McDonald's and Taco Bell.
Daria, your image is too real. Love it.
Picture book perhaps?
Yes, but they would be bigly and the best books ever.
Spot on!
A sod hut, behind some sagging levees and inside a rusting paper shredder.
A true "Liebrary"
You win with LIEBRARY!
Poorly built because contractors know his history.
It will be a monument to stupidity and idolatry. As monumental as his idiot supporters can afford and have nothing in common with a library. BTW, idiot supporters will likely include Thiel and his ilk. All for the ugliest man alive, even uglier than what a great fiction writer (maybe Wilde) could imagine.
Jerry Carnegie, after some devious doing during a strike at the Carnegie mills, paid blood money in establishing a wonderful network of libraries. Rockefeller did much the same,after squeezing defenseless people in creating Standard Oil.
Jerry, I had the same thought. Ill-gotten gains are still ill-gotten, even when laundered through public service projects. The balancing act between seeing the good that results as "restitution," and rejecting the funds as "blood money," is a tough one.
Amazing what a guilty conscience can produce, isn’t it? I have been told that is they reason for Mr. C’s library spree was all about, but cant swear to it 😈
For your enjoyment, a satirical piece from July 2021:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10223895810683941&id=1256481771
An outhouse, perhaps??
Heather, it is with heavy heart I read your reiteration of what you've stated so many times before. Those among us who choose power and money over equality have, it seems, always ended up running the show. Everyday ordinary people have rarely managed to make gains, OR sustain gains made, precisely because we/they lack the financial wherewithal to buy the influence required to make changes stick. The dilemma we face now, in the US, is predicated on a slavish devotion to a man who has garnered popularity through pure and utter bullshit. And, despite the fact he's been out of office for well over a year, continues to hold sway over the GOP, Republican members of the House and Senate, millions of everyday Americans, but most importantly, industrialists, financiers, and oligarchs, both home grown and foreign. While we have not yet fallen we are in a precarious place where the choices of the minority may very well determine our future.
How do we fight this when state legislatures are going rogue? How do we stop the influx of dark money which has infiltrated every level of our politics? How do we open lines of communication to reach those who have been sucked into accepting the pro authoritarian propaganda that was unthinkable a generation ago?
You're absolutely right. We are at an inflection point. Which way will we bend?
Daria, As I contemplate your question “Which way will we bend,” though my response probably seems overly narrow and simplistic compared with the more provocative issues you raise, I decided the matters that most haunt me were still worth mentioning.
To start, virtually everything, in my view, that is disfunctional in our politics can, in some way, be attributed, at this point, to the Senate filibuster—a veto by the minority over the will of the majority. Hence, unless Senate Dems change this rule, while they still can, I fear the false grievance that the 2020 election was stolen could, among other faux grievances, lay the groundwork for Republicans to retake both the House and the Senate in November. Were that to happen, Republicans would have captured, at every turn, the dynamic of the political conversation in the country, leaving but a small window to protect the key mechanisms of American democracy. Further down the road, Republicans plausibly could retain control of Congress and win the White House, conceivably staging both a fatal weakening of American civic institutions and also a presidency eager and able to consolidate power, wherein the rule of law would be subjugated to an individual.
If we are to imagine a different trajectory, I submit it must include calling out Manchin and Sinema, who, despite not hesitating to set aside the filibuster, say, to raise the debt ceiling, refuse even to consider a modest rule change for legislation they allegedly support, such as federal voter protection safeguards. Indeed, how hard would it be for anyone with a megaphone, for example, to call out Kyrsten Sinema’s defense of the 60-vote threshold as “a critical tool that we need to safeguard our democracy from threats in the years to come,” adding that to eliminate it would “worsen the underlying disease of division infecting the country”?
Bloomberg and Gates (both) maybe. I can scream into the abyss with zip effect. It will take some heavy lifting and is critically needed…
Jeri, I’m less certain about Bloomberg and Gates than I am about the heavy lift and the critical need.
Daria, you have expressed quite well the dilemma we face. IMHO, the big question you pose is how to reach the millions who can't/don't seem to want to engage in meaningful conversations. I can put myself in that category sometimes when I come up against someone who won't even listen, or who can only spout Fox News as their source.
Pam, thank you for acknowledging the dilemma that is the absence of conversation between those who support democracy and those who reject it. Sadly, I have no answers and the very good suggestions by others here which address supporting democracy are more than appropriate but they do not address the issue of how to open and maintain clear, honest channels of communication.
🌷
I have always voted and will continue to do so. But...if we can't have reasoned conversations with those who hold their views like cement, or don't vote at all, we can never allow them to see what is happening before their very eyes. People need to better understand what their vote means not just to them but for the country.
Daria, Admittedly a pragmatist, I had believed (and still do) that passage of even some of Biden’s transformative economic, social, and environmental agenda (BBB) was and remains integral to creating an environment conducive for people who hold different viewpoints possibly to attempt to seek common ground. Regrettably, the confluence of rising inflation with no package to replace the expired American Rescue Plan presents an enormous challenge for engaging people who, might, otherwise, have been receptive, at least to talking.
Barbara, I tried to respond to your comment in re the filibuster yesterday and was unable to post it - the post function would not work. In a nut shell, I agree with you whole heartedly.
I also agree with your stated opinion above. The financial pressure on US Americans is mounting at a very rapid pace and will do nothing but cause some very regrettable outcomes both in the the near and long-terms. It will become even more impossible to communicate.
Qs I ask myself daily.
I think another way to look at Dr. Richardson's message is that the United States has already fallen two-three times, depending on how you count the fall of the old confederation that preceeded the current Constitution. Our country fell in 1860 with the Civil War and fell again during the Great Depression. But just because the government falls, the people still remain, and have, after each fall, reconstituted themselves into something new.
The United States of American is falling, right now. The debate is over what we become next. And remember, there's no going back, for what was before no longer exists.
With all due respect, I am not one of those who needs convincing or prompted to donate to organizations/candidates who are focused on expanding/upholding democracy. The question is this: How do we reach the millions of people who see no harm in the attacks on democracy; both those that are bloody and aggressive and those that ate tacit and insidious?
I appreciate your reply, Ellie, and I'm sorry if my comment and subsequent response to your post are construed as negative. To assume I have done none of the above is both hurtful and insulting, which I am sure you did not intend. I'm done.
No, Daria, I did not at all assume you have done none of the above, and I know to the contrary. I'm sorry my post caused you to be hurt and insulted. It was not directed to you, but to the thousands of the rest of us on this forum. I valued your important question about upholding democracy as a springboard for naming the many specific ways we can do the work.
As we unite in doing the work, as the Ukrainians have united, we expand our force and bring in the Independent voters in the middle, who are more reachable than the far right trumpers. Like Rebecca Solnit writes, when we review social change of the past 50 years since the Civil Rights Movement, we are the mighty river.
Ellie, I'm sorry my response to your list of forward moving action was overly sensitive. Clearly, I misunderstood your intent.
No worries, Daria. Maybe we are all feeling heightened anxiety and stress. Speaking for myself, it reminds me that my feelings are only a smidgeon of the direct trauma and PTSD being experienced by the Ukrainians. We say "do self-care" but, really? And yet we must in order to keep going and not burn out. The other aspect of this is that caring makes us sensitive.
BTW I looked up the link for the bookbinding group but did not see any recent posts--wondering if they'd been taken down for protection reasons. I love marbling and greatly admired the work of the two Russian marbling artists.
Ellie, thanks. You bring up good points around folks feeling heightened stress and anxiety and how those of use watching from afar cannot begin to understand the intensity being felt by Ukrainians (or any other people under violent attack). You are so gracious.
In re Ibookbinding – I'm posting 2 links. One is the original Facebook Live Pavel and Stepan did on March 2nd. It's about 2 hours long. The 2nd link is an edited version posted on YouTube 3 days ago. You won't miss anything if you watch the edited version.
https://m.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=699547571202640&_rdr#!/sharer.php?fs=60&sid=699547571202640&ref=watch_permalink&_ft_=top_level_post_id.699547571202640%3Acontent_owner_id_new.501699673244424%3Apage_id.501699673244424%3Astory_location.9%3Astory_attachment_style.video_inline%3Aott.AX9CS8iC3rqUqGxS%3Atds_flgs.3&__tn__=J%2AW
https://youtu.be/HGl-LGzLxV8
Dr. Richardson, when you say, "...that New Deal government, under Democratic president Harry Truman and Republican president Dwight D. Eisenhower, worked to end racial and, later, gender hierarchies..." shouldn't you also credit LBJ, who ushered in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965?
And, while we're at it let's give credit to FDR's Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, the first woman in any President's Cabinet, who proposed the New Deal to FDR and made it happen.
YES!
Absolutely!
Because of the efforts of Lady Bird.
Who pulled off a miracle
We've heard again and again the litany of events in our history that have served as bellwethers reminding us to look back and take stock once again of what our founders were attempting. It never gets old seeing it all laid out there once more. Only a fool would ignore it. HCR's summations always concisely put all these facts into a perspective that is so easy to grasp. One cannot help but see the lessons to be learned from this past, that is, if one but chooses to look, or, in the case of today's Letter, be reminded. HCR is a real "teacher" with the gift of being able to explain things to students who may be relatively clueless and do it in ways that are engaging, thought-provoking, and easy to grasp. A teacher--or one worth their weight in gold--has insights into just what will draw the student in and awaken that spark of wanting to learn more, not just reciting a litany of facts to them, which they then regurgitate on a test. HCR's knack of keeping to the facts and presenting them in such a way as to give so many of us an "Aha!" moment is no small feat. It's what makes these Letters such jewels, so full of essential nuggets of truth and irrefutable facts. But, in each Letter there's always a lesson to be gleaned by the end...but then, that's kind of the way history works too, idnit?
You know what I thought privately after reading Professor Richardson’s letter tonight, Bruce? Which, for me, once again traced this reoccurring battle of bigoted greed pushing outward on the door of democracy.
“Oh for heaven’s sake. Men and their money. Ridiculous. Good thing God also invented woman.”
The insanity in all this is the greed.
Dressed up on the stage right now as a Russian warship. And here at home as the orange-tinged golden calf.
Well…Russian warship…go f*ck yourself. And same-o to you know who.
I say, let’s “Frances Perkins” it to the Peace Room. Let’s make a New Deal. (another one).
Salud, Bruce! ☮️
I thought exactly the same thing while ruminating on what was the thrust of HCR's Letter: we can easily see a similar "red thread" (they use that phrase in Dutch and I'm not sure if it's used in English...) that runs through ongoing events in Ukraine. The greed unleashed by unbridled capitalism that subsequently ends up creating a moneyed oligarchy and which, like any biological organism, has as its first priority self-preservation. OUR greed, OUR capitalism are essentially what helped create Vladimir Putin...AND the Orange Menace. They were empowered, allowed to get away unscathed with every dirty deed, and were there to reap the benefits. Now, Putin and the oligarchic state he has built up around himself are doing everything in their power to keep their stranglehold on Russia. If it means the utter destruction of Ukraine, then that's a price he, and they, will pay. Nothing else matters to them. So then, is this any different, at least in practice, from what we see when we look at our own history?? Similar to the annihilation of Ukraine, our country eventually tore itself apart in the 1860s, killing hundreds of thousands of our soldiers, and all in an attempt to prop up a corrupt, moneyed class elite. And then even recently, right here, WE have empowered a similarly deranged, corrupt individual. It defies logic. I didn't go into this in my statement above, but I think an implicit message in HCR's Letter is holding up a mirror of our own history and then, tacitly, comparing it to what is happening now in Ukraine. "There, but for the grace of God, go we..." Thing is, how much longer will this "grace of God" spare US?? Yes, greed (and power) is essentially at the heart of so many ills afflicting humanity (remember Stephen Hawking saying that what will ultimately do us in as a species is greed...), but while it has been primarily men who are the guilty parties, make no mistake, greed and power-lust cut across ALL boundaries and categories on this planet to varying degrees. WHY can we not read the bloody signs that it's happening again, even in "our own backyard"?? It's like we're stuck on this Sisyphean treadmill...
I greatly appreciated your response, Christine!
I always appreciate your comments. I can hear you “ruminating” in your comments. You are such a thinker and writer. Is that part of your professional career?
Thanks! Yeah, I DO do a lot of thinking...sometimes too much for my own good. I've always been slightly obsessed with "how things work", even from my childhood, when, as my mom tells it, at the age of three I somehow managed to get the mantel clock off the fireplace mantle--from my play pen, N.B.--and had completely dismantled it. I pretty much pegged my behaviour as apparent even then! Being a highly trained singer then meant I was going to be intrigued as to the workings of the human voice, not just my own (where too much thinking can definitely get in one's way), but others as well. In my teaching I was always analyzing voices--still do--trying to hone in on what to suggest to get a voice to improve. I also was good (so my students told me) at analyzing a score or a song, putting together all the elements a composer or librettist put into the music to bring it to life. It's not hard really, as I told them, it just involves noticing the little details and using your imagination. I still do this when I listen to music. I'm always trying to dig under the mere notes and symbols on the page to get at what the composer is trying to say. It's actually fun as there's so much that is there! So yeah...I think a LOT and have used it in my work. Now that I'm retired--forced into it really because of my bum spine handicapping me at present--I guess I've transferred my analytical mind over to current events and stuff, so I try and consider all the angles, sometimes playing the devil's advocate in the process (I'm a Libra and apparently we're known for doing that--weighing, "balancing" the arguments). Sometimes I hit pay dirt and make sense, and sometimes I miss the mark. Whatever...at least I'm THINKING! My dad was this way, so I'm pretty sure I got it from him. A long answer...but you asked! LOL!
I love long answers like this.
Christine, I thought the same thing!
Bruce, you've nailed the essence of HCRs writing. Thank you.
Oh my. This is wonderful. My exhaustion is sending me to bed without fully processing how to translate it into action. Tomorrow brings my first visit in well over two years to my far away grandsons home. My heart and my head are so very full. We are on an edge I know.
Visiting your grandsons after such a long absence sounds like some pretty good darn love action to me!
Salud, Carole!
Wonderful piece
An excellent article, although I quarrel with your term "Black colonists." In what sense were the slaves brought by force to this country, colonists? They did not colonize anything or own any property or advance to take any property from others. They "lived" as forced, unpaid labor on the property of White colonists.
Not every Black person living in the British colonies was an enslaved person.
By definition, colonist means any inhabitant of a colony.
A distinction must be made between free and enslaved people. Colonists generally refer to Settlers, those who organised and ruled a colony/settlement. While there were free Black persons living in the British colonies they were a rarity. To call an enslaved person a colonist is abominable.
"Usage of Colonist and Colonizer
Colonist and colonizer both have meanings closely tied to the word colonialism in its use referring to domination of a foreign people or area. Colonist, which comes directly from the noun colony, is the more common—and usually more neutral—term. Colonizer, which comes from the verb colonize, is used especially in contexts in which the exploitative nature of colonialism is being discussed or evoked; in phrases like "colonizer mindset/mentality" it implies a benefit from or even active participation in that exploitation."
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/colonist
I would suggest that HCR is using 'colonist' as an inhabitant of a colony. And that it is common usage among historians. I may be wrong. She may elucidate it.
But as an example:
"The first African slaves in what would become the present-day United States of America arrived August 9, 1526 in Winyah Bay with a Spanish expedition. Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón brought 600 colonists to start a colony. Records say the colonists included enslaved Africans, without saying how many. After a month Ayllón moved the colony to what is now Georgia."
Peck, Douglas T. (2001). "Lucas Vásquez de Ayllón's Doomed Colony of San Miguel de Gualdape". The Georgia Historical Quarterly. 85 (2): 183–198. ISSN 0016-8297. JSTOR 40584407.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_the_colonial_history_of_the_United_States
That may be so, however, since slaves were considered property, not unlike livestock, and therefore, without rights, I find it difficult to believe that property/livestock can also be considered a colonist.
The telling of western history has long been the purview of white men of European descent. They have set the definitions and standards of language to describe all aspects of our lives. The language used is woefully inaccurate and inadequate. While I respect Heather to the highest degree I take issue with the use of the word colonist to describe an enslaved human being.
Words' meanings change. Dictionary definitions do not fix meaning for all time. The definitions trace words' trajectories through social space.
The very first African laborers were not technically enslaved, they were situated as indentured servants. Although they could not contract their labor. Slavery as we commonly think of it developed through legal cases which became precedent for the enslavement and commodification of Black persons in the Colonies.
Words' meanings do change and are not fixed in time, (except for French, of course!). Indentured service implies the ability to serve out one's contract and be free. However,
"In 1619, slavery, as codified by law, did not yet exist in Virginia or elsewhere in places that would later become the United States.
But any question about the status of Black people in the colonies—free, enslaved or indentured servants—was made clear with the passage of the Virginia Slave Codes of 1705, a series of laws that stripped away legal rights and legalized the barbaric and dehumanizing nature of slavery."
I think it does no good to split hairs. IMHO, the reason CRT is so critically important is because it identifies the culturally ignorant insistance of perpetuating a system and language of lies which reinforces a centuries long campaign to denigrate people of color. The use of the word colonist to describe an enslaved individual is a prime example.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indentured_servitude
https://www.history.com/news/american-slavery-before-jamestown-1619
I think HCR's misstep here, if she was using the term "colonist" as used among historians, was akin to Ambassador Michael McFaul who said a couple days ago that Hitler was not as bad as Putin because Hitler did not attack Germans. McFaul was quoting someone who was referencing the Nazi blitzkrieg into Poland and exempting the ethnically German Volksdeutsche. But that did not come out at all and McFaul got taken to task big time as being a Holocaust denier.
Not to mention the destruction by Hitler of whole swathes of the German people who were considered either "untermenschen" (handicapped, homosexual, Gypsys and more) or in supposedly in political opposition to the nazi regime
and of course the German Jews, though they comprised a small percentage of Jews murdered by the Nazis, when including Jews from other countries.
Correct!
Yes, this colony appeared to have included Black slaves. They were included to serve the colony. Not to be part of it.
It occurs to me that many people of basically like minds find it necessary to quibble over nuances
I am in no way innocent, but I’m thinking that this form of curious adversity clouds the overall, apologies to Deep Throat’s admonition to Woodward and Bernstein
HCR is the first to say, "Words matter."
As do definitions and the manner in which those definitions change over time as society evolves
Context, as words mesh together, matters
I agree 1000%, Daria. It made me shiver a bit.
There were a few Black slaveholders in the British colonies, but as they did not represent the prevailing power structure, I would not use the term "Black colonists." I agree with Daria that it is clarifying to use the term "colonizers," who are working to exploit the resources of the land (material and human).
Heather's use of "Black colonists" clouds the fact of African enslavement. It would be interesting to hear her thought process.
https://pin.it/6luE8UX
In the most narrow sense of the word - someone who lives in a colony - I guess you could say "Black colonists, but this is not the common sense of the word. A colonist is usually thought of as a colonizer. I think it's an unfortunate use of the term. It's kind of like calling them immigrants.
I agree with you. Writing for broad persuasion does better to avoid narrow meaning as with "Black colonists," and enslaved Africans certainly were not immigrants!
Reminds me of a soulful, touching series "Into the Depths" by Tara Roberts for NatGeo on researching sunken slave ships, historiography, lost lineage/identity, and so much more:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/podcasts/into-the-depths
There were also enslaved persons of African descent who fought under the flag of the British loyalists against the Revolution, on the British promise of being recognized as free men.
A colonist is a member of a government-backed group that settles in a new country or region.
That is one definition, among several. The Puritan Pilgrim colonists were not backed by the British government. But by London stockholders.
"In 1620, a group of Separatists known as the Pilgrims settled in New England and established the Plymouth Colony. The Pilgrims originated as a dissenting congregation in Scrooby led by Richard Clyfton, John Robinson and William Brewster. This congregation was subject to persecution with members being imprisoned or having property seized. Fearing greater persecution, the group left England and settled in the Dutch city of Leiden. In 1620, after receiving a patent from the London Company, the Pilgrims left for New England on board the Mayflower, landing at Plymouth Rock."
"To raise money for the voyage the Pilgrims signed a contract with a group of London stockholders. In return the stockholders would share in the profits of the planned colony."
I agree that there are several definitions of "COLONIST." Some narrow; some broad. In the most common sense of the word, though, would you agree that a colonist is someone who colonizes? not just someone who lives in a colony? The Puritans came to colonize! They set up colonies, establishing property rights, and took land away from the Indigenous people in order to do so.
"would you agree that a colonist is someone who colonizes"
No. Because the definition of colonist includes people who did not have the volition to colonize - indentured and enslaved persons. Although they provided the labor of colonizing the land taken from indigenous peoples.
Colonist. Colonialist. Colonizer. Different words. Different definitions. Different usage. There is overlap. There is more or less precise usage. There is common usage. And understanding of the ideas and events which the words signify is itself in flux.
It is heartening that this all is in flux. It is as it should be.
The Puritans were backed by Dutch stockholders, having fled from religious persecution in England to Holland.
I absolutely concur. The idea of black colonists, in the Americas and Caribbean, is absurd.
Dr. Richardson had a reason for writing that. Why are we picking nits here? We are losing focus on the Main Thing she was writing about, and what it means in today's context.
Oh, I'm sorry. If expressing an opinion about the use of a word is now taboo on this page and considered nit picking, I should keep my mouth shut about any and everything from here on out, right? Since when are we supposed to blindly accept the words and opinion of one person as gospel?
Honestly, this forum has become less an open venue for discussion and more a very narrow echo chamber. That is very dangerous.
Daria, I think you misunderstood my reply. It was not an attack on your opinion, since I have the highest regard for your thoughts. I did not address the reply to you personally, but to the group of folks who seemed to be missing the forrest for one tree of a word. It was meant to be helpful, redirective; moving the conversation away from being critical of one word chosen by our professor, instead of asking her what she meant.
I accept your criticism. We are all at high stress point here. War will do that to us....
I did misundertand your reply entirely, Gus. I'm sorry. I understand your point now. Thank you for clarifying.
Daria, you have no idea how relieved I am! I don't ever want to unnecessarily offend or hurt anyone on this forum, least of all you. But if there is a clarification needed, or an offensive remark from me, or I appear to be attempting to limit anyone's speech (Exception: trolls!) I want you to always call me on it. Such things can quickly be cleared up or corrected between people who appreciate each other.
We're in this together!
It didn't happen this time, but frequently people's replies and comments wind up in vastly different order, even wnen attached to each other by a 'heart,' especially by the next day. Sometimes a time-stamped reply appears hours before the comment was made, etc. It can be downright hilarious, or distressing, potentially disastrous. The only thing I can do is carefully name the person I am replying to, use the correct pronouns, and watch what I say. As I said, it didn't happen here, thankfully.
Be well Daria!
Daria, I couldn't agree more. I was told to leave this group the other day by one of the members. Go away until I feel better- translation go away until you respond the exact same way I want you to. Unbelievable.
I'm responding to you because I truly think so highly of you. Always have.
I only scanned the comments just now to hopefully see an update from Allen Hingston.
I thought this group was better than this.
Daria, perhaps you and I should form a Substack page where everyone's opinion is equally important. I'm pretty sure that was Heather's intent at the start.
I think we're all in a state of heightened sensitivity. I started to write, "Don't let one bad apple spoil the whole barrel," but actually I limit my comment to a behavior of the person, and not to the person as a whole. This group overall has outstandingly respectful conduct.
Ellie, with all due respect, my comment had nothing to do with an exchange today. This was in reference to someone telling me to go away and come back when my opinions were more in-tune to hers and pass it off as a mental slip up recently. I come from a place where you do not dismiss someone over an opinion. My reference is not a situation where you may simply not agree with someone, but literally dismissing them from the group. That is a rather dangerous protocol and should not be tolerated. I would not want someone to do this you, my friend.
Linda, I remember that admonishment - it was unbelievable. I appreciate you POV and comments because they are honest and not gushing click bait fodder for likes.
I don't know that our own Substack page is the answer, administering it would be a nightmare!
Daria, thank you. Your comments are always above the fray and based in fact. I know when I see a comment from you, it's reliable.
I've often wondered what is involved in starting a Substack page 🤔
Narrowness becomes the bi-product of overlooking the general message while focusing on minutia As Democrats argue about who meets the Progressive Purity tests, the Autocracy Ship has already left the port
Challenges to your thoughts come with the territory, criticizing others for sharing theirs in opposition to yours seems a bit defensive
You know, Dave, you're probably right about me being a bit defensive. You have expressed your opinion about my reaction now please consider this: when someone expresses an opinion that is not mainstream to the flow of this forum best case scenario is they are accused of being negative and/or unsupportive of "the cause". Worst case scenario is they are deemed an outsider or troll and hounded until they leave. Nice way to model a democracy, eh?
I suffer many that criticize my POV in hostile websites or pages, so I can empathsize with your comments That said, state your mind and prepare for pushback at times, but the notion by others that one should look for another place, rather than defend your thoughts here is a non starter. Every perspective adds to the discussion, however it should not lead to divisiveness on anyone’s part. Peace be with you
Then, once again, daria, perhaps you should look a little further into the history of black people in America. The idea is not absurd, and though rare, it did happen. By denying even the possibility, we deny the agency of black people who took control of their own lives. We need to open our minds so that we can catch the nuances.
Open our minds? Catch the nuance? Catching a nuance is based on our own personal experience. What we have lived ourselves. I asked a friend today about the phrase “black colonists”. His answer… you mean in Harlem? I had to laugh.
Annie, You have chosen to misinterpret and give a hidden, dark motive to my comments and deem me closed minded. I strongly disagree with you.
Yes, there were free black colonials but, by and large they were rare and were not generally allowed to participate in the processes of government and commerce in same way that a free white man could participate.
Daria, I think you have come up with a more accurate term. Black "colonials" implies "of the Colonial era," whereas "colonists" implies agency that Black people of that era did not have, no matter their socio-economic status.
Thanks, Ellie, for recognizing that.
There were free black settlers in the early settlements, even in the south (though in the south they were at risk and tended to settle at the fringes). I think many of us have become just a little too "woke" and lump every black person who settled in the colonies into the category of slaves. Free black settlers were sometimes not treated well, but many were a part of their mixed communities and some even held office. This does in no way mitigate or deny the ugliness of American chattel slavery, so please don't go there. Not with me.
Thank you Heather for another one of your superb and prescient posts that bring in historical context to paint a better picture of narratives today. This is so spot-on. These next 2 election cycles are critical for keeping on a path that Joe has started us to steer back toward true democracy, not an autocratic plutocracy.
This terrific post got me wondering whether the movements to expand authoritarian domination in Asia and Europe will require a new sort of declaration, something like a Declaration of Interdependence. The notion of independence seems to have led to a lot of what the Beatles called “I, me, me, mine.” But will this be enough to maintain sovereign borders and the independence? I wonder.
Brilliant concept, Michael... the Declaration of Interdependence. I'd love to see an update of America's First Continental Congress... the First Intercontinental Congress. Get the climate crisis organizations behind it, and the great majority of 20- and 30-year-olds, especially in Europe, who are looking for a new ethos of sustainability in our governments.
It's a global concern, and we must have a global response.
An update of the United Nations charter? Charter of Interdependence?
We never know as much as we need to know to make the decisions we must. That is the human condition. And the hard nut on which all of philosophy and science eventually crack their teeth. I would bet, most people do not take it beyond confusion. Most people are just trying to keep their heads above water and are often willing to stand on someone else's neck to do it.
But for people who do take it one step beyond confusion and desperation, it seems there are two responses - terror and paralysis, or terror and exhilaration. Paralysis in the face of the unknown and unknowable. Exhilaration at the excuse for exploration and the possibility of discovery.
Those who are paralyzed need some prime mover, a god or an ideology, to give all the answers and assurances. And to be certain of that authority, they need everyone else to buy into agreement or be forced into compliance. Ethics to go. One size fits all - or else. Sound familiar?
Those who are exhilarated at the possibilities, accept the great responsibility of their actions. For better or worse.
I think this where we start from. And the charlatans have a field day with those so desperate for absolutes and absolution that to believe themselves morally in the clear, they are willing and eager to be unfair and abusive. Individually and through the power of the state.
We here are concerned about these things, and more. Especially on the level of the state - on government and politics. 2020 had one of the highest voter turnouts. I think only something like 61% of eligible citizens voted. Here are the tables in case I got it wrong.
https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/voting-and-registration/p20-585.html
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/01/28/turnout-soared-in-2020-as-nearly-two-thirds-of-eligible-u-s-voters-cast-ballots-for-president/
Wow, lin. There were some profound nuggets in that response. Thank you.
I’m envisioning an 85%+ turnout of voters. Having realized what the vote can be to crush yet again a recurring attempt to protect greed and rule instead of govern.
Salud! United.
Yes, however I’d like to suggest a third type, the one who faces challenge not with paralysis, nor with exhilaration , but rather with a dogged determination to put one foot in front of the other, “ soldier on”; using today’s information to meet the next set of data with renewed hope/faith that “moving in the right direction” reveals a clearer path to the solution or at least toward mitigation. The Mensch in the Trench
So true. I’ve always voted, no matter what. But whenever I encouraged my friends to vote they’d just say that voting is useless.
Tell them it’s not. And to do it before they get robbed of their golden ticket. They might understand it in crude American Idol terminology.
I think I have gone beyond confusion and desperation, as well as terror and paralysis. The next step for me is action, one step at a time. It’s all my age and condition allow, but when I hear praise of a master class moron, it is imperative.
Heather, every time I see your latest post, I think it can't be surpassed, and then I am proven wrong. Thank you for your call to action.
Ah now that ties the time together. Thanks again for making sense of the circle we are in, in history. The big picture! I just wish I could make some of those more dogmatic people educate themselves on what they are rooting for by following an authoritarian. It seems so odd to me that people will follow someone who so obviously does not have their interest in mind. Sometimes I think they all believe they are going to become billionaires. It's like mass delusion. I keep coming back to feeling they are cult followers. Strange times.
The cult rules the fools, no mistake there.