I had gotten half-way through a post tonight about what seems to me a looming split in the Republican Party, when it hit me that four years ago today I responded to my inclusion on the brand-new “Professor Watchlist.” I will never forget standing in my dark kitchen in my pajamas, at the counter, reading my laptop in shock as I found out that some young grifter named Charlie Kirk had found my name online and put it onto his new website as a danger to students (send money to resist left-wing professors like Richardson!). As I stood there, watching in horror, messages came in from all over the country telling me people had my back. And then I wrote a post to reassure my friends that I was used to this sort of harassment and it would be okay, and then that post went viral, and I came off the list within days.
My Mom died this morning (11/22). The daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants, she was the first woman in her family to attend college, where she majored in Political Science. A restless advocate, she was arrested in North Carolina in the early 1960s protesting for civil rights - an event that cost her husband patients of his dental practice, and that angered her older relatives, who might have been jailed or worse had they committed an act of civil disobedience in the old country. She was an acknowledged leader in the field of contextual therapy, the goal of which is for people to speak and relate to each other directly, rather than deflect and act out in response to disagreement or conflict.
She watched with horror as Trump was elected. She couldn't fathom that the America her family had fled to, and that she had fought to make more equitable, could be usurped by those with no respect for law, for non-whites, for non-christians, or for the political process that had grabbed her attention as a student. Every time we spoke she'd ask, "is there no one who has the integrity to stand up to him (Trump)?"
She would have had the back of a young person had they been trying to effect political of social change to better the lives of fellow citizens through ardent efforts of public debate and building coalitions to run candidates for office and to petition elected officials to start representing all of their constituents. She would have had no time or tolerance for a Charlie Kirk who propagated lies and sought to denigrate those who didn't agree with his his myopic and regressive agenda.
She was the proud mother of a son and two daughters who took for granted the ability to select and attend top colleges and pursue careers that wouldn't have been possible for immigrants 100 years ago. She and my Dad were doting grandparents of my sons, the older one an established artist and entrepreneur, the younger of whom worked the phones for Obama at age twelve, graduated top of his high school class, edited the Islamic Studies journal at Boston College, and worked to fight human trafficking with the NY District Attorneys office.
She finished a fifth book four years ago and spoke at international forums. It saddened me that she struggled to recover from my father's death nine years ago. The week before the election I was able to visit her in person for the first time since March, due to coronavirus restrictions. I asked if she had voted. She nodded and said she couldn't wait "to see the bastard kicked out." I'm grateful she was able to see that maybe, just maybe, the country and politics she loved might not have been permanently degraded by Trump and self serving conservatives.
Thanks for sharing this experience with us, and a special thank you for prompting these memories for my family.
I will always be grateful to my friend on FB who lead me to you. Your letters are the first that I read with my morning coffee. Your ability to bring the daily bombardment of news together, connect the dots, (as others here have said), compare it with past history, and suggest possible yet clear outcomes, is very amazing and appreciated by me and everyone who reads you. Thank you for what you do.
Today is also the 57th anniversary of what was the most shocking day of my life when it happened. I was in the Navy, we had a big inspection, after which we were turned loose to to on North Island NAS. A group of us were headed to the EM club for lunch when a big burly 3-=year "Gold Braid" Chief Aviation Boatswain's Mate came running up the street toward us, yelling "The president's been shot! The president's been shot!" One of us yelled "Hey Chief, that ain't funny!" He came over to us, drew himself up and in the Voice of God all Navy Chiefs posses, glared through each of us and said "I said - the *president* has been shot!" "Yes Chief." Went back to the ship and everyone aboard was in shock. Five minutes later I watched the TV as Walter Cronkite announced the death of President Kennedy.
That was the day I learned everything's not going to work out fine just because.
I've been keeping up on Charlie Kirk's antics through Dr. John Fea's blog, The Way of Improvement Leads Home. Kirk continues to insist that Trump won the election by a landslide, which, as we all know, is a crazier notion than his ill-conceived "watch list." What's really troubling is that he is the Kirk behind Liberty University's Falkirk Center, co-founder with Jerry Falwell, Jr (who was recently forced to resign as president of the university due to a sex scandal). These are the "fine, upstanding moral men" who want the nation to believe that Trump is still president, Black Lives don't matter, immigrants are criminals, and women belong at home. Oh, but don't kill babies. Anything, and everything else is acceptable, but abortion is "unbiblical" and they'll stoop to any form of propaganda to perpetuate their claims. These beliefs are stoking the division in this country, while also giving Christianity a bad name. I will continue to post your letters and defend you in any way I can. Thank you for all that you do!!
You are indeed dangerous to the people who aim for the wholesale subversion of our country. And if your back is ever somehow in need of protection again, know I'm one of the legions guarding it. I do worry sometimes though, and hope you're watchful.
Yes, America is worth fighting for. I, too, will not shut up! Thank you.
Always found it amazing that the link between Donald Trump and Senator Joseph McCarthy is exactly one person, Roy Cohn, the guy sitting next to McCarthy during the hearings on UnAmerican Activities and later Trump's lawyer, the guy who taught Trump to double down at all costs. I've been looking for the Edward R. Murrow for our time since Trump was elected. Murrow brought down McCarthy with McCarthy's own words. One of my favorite biographies is Murrow His Life and Times by A.M. Sperber.
Hmmmm ... the results of the recent election would tend to confirm your statement that most Americans prefer the "liberal consensus" established by FDR and Eisenhower ... but I find it distressing that so many do not, given the large fraction of the votes not given to Biden/Harris.
We have a challenge with the great diversity of backgrounds and the melting pot of cultures ... but it can work well when we accept certain social aspects and behavior as how we interact.
I look to the Nordic countries as an example ... and they do have a benefit in that people generally in Nordic countries tend to favor what is good for all rather than only the individual. An example which I saw first hand while traveling in Sweden was encountering a "road narrows" sign on the freeway where there was construction ahead. What surprised me was that immediately, everyone formed a single lane ... leaving an empty lane for a couple of kilometers before it was removed. The social idea was that we are all going to have to narrow to one lane so we all do it now so that anyone with a true emergency or reason for hurry can use the empty lane to get to the front quickly. This is a different concept from here or certainly nearby in Germany where in equivalent situation, everyone struggles to be first, only merging when they absolutely must.
Some might say the Nordic countries work this way because of more uniform backgrounds in the population ... but I point to the traffic law in California that says that pedestrians have the right of way in a crosswalk. It works (mostly) and not because people in CA are all of the same background ... other than being educated and trained as part of driver training that this is the law and the way CA works in this social situation ... drivers stop for people in crosswalks.
I believe we could move in the direction of the social nature of the Nordic countries but it means giving up the idea of "rugged individualism" or me and mine at all costs ... and adopting a social conscience that we are all in this together.
The recent election indicates we have a challenge in this regard, much more than I would hope. The horrible challenge of dealing with so many people having a negative reaction to working together and branding it "socialism" as a bad term instead of the good idea that this is a wonderful way for society to function is one we have to face and struggle to overcome.
Reading the letter you wrote 4 years ago read like you might have written it yesterday. The "battle to save democracy" has always been part of your work. There are few who are as clear about history and its role in today's news. There are few who are so obviously clear about her love for this country as seen through your historical lens as you. Like others here, I can't imagine starting my day not reading Letter from an American. Like others here, I feel part of the Richardson family, part of a wonderful community that you have created. There are some here whom I feel I know personally, and many I wish I could know personally. Thank you, Heather, for not giving in to the bullies, and moving ahead to make us all better people for having known/read you!
Happy Monday HCR and the HCR Community. We have to keep up this fight. If anyone is interested, John Pavlovitz has been presenting an alternative to the Movement Conservative Radical Right people who call themselves "Christians" (I suppose in the same way the KKK claims to be a "Christian" movement) and he has kind of lost his usually focused temper, which results in posts that have me pounding my desk and cheering (instead of screaming at the radio, which I do a lot). https://johnpavlovitz.com
HCR, all of us in the Ed Biz have a duty of care to combat the prejudices that our students absorb through being raised by people who revel in them, to examine our own prejudices and biases daily (hourly, really), to use our privileges in education, the skill of critical thinking, and our positions to do good. You have done this with bells on and I thank you. My hope is that if we have some support at the top in Washington, we can begin to repair the destruction on our local levels and fight against the love of ignorance that the current Grasping Omniprejudiced Party embraces.
John Kasich apparently said that one of the two reasons why his fellow travelers are supporting Drumpf is because they are afraid of being criticized by his supporters. This tells me everything: the cowardice. The opportunism. The lack of integrity. That is the modern GOP. If Chris Christie, who is one of the most oleaginous mendacious humans ever to be called human, is now saying that Cheeto needs to concede and his derangement is embarrassing, then we know it's really bad in Trumplandia.
I didn’t know you existed four years ago. But I am very grateful that you did not give up. I love your lectures and look forward to “class” each Tuesday and Thursday. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for what you do. You are amazing♥️❣️
During this time of Thanksgiving, I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you how much your ability to assimilate and convey factual and meaningful content has meant. A friend forwarded your newsletter and I feel honored to pay for it. You excel at delving into topics to provide meaning and a deeper understanding of current issues through pertinent historical information. What you do matters to so many. May you truly feel the impact of our gratitude this Thanksgiving season as we continue to feast on the buffet you’ve provided, one that continues to sustain all who partake.
Of all the people who have vowed never to "shut up", I'm most grateful for you and your pledge. But for some people, we kinda wish they'd actually just go ahead and actually shut up. I'm thinking in particular of that guy...whatshisname, you know, the freak with the mango coif, good old...damn, just can't come up with it so early in the morning. I'll get back to you...
Thank you for your books, your Facebook talks, and this Letter from an American. These have been so enlightening. I now have hope that our ship of state will weather the storm it finds itself in so long as we the people continue to fight for equality under the law. If we do so, then our government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. Thank you for your gift of hope.
I was not following your work 4 years back, but certainly supported what you were then and now are about. The far right will never give up, but also will never win out because people like yourself and, I believe, millions of us out here in villages, towns, and cities across America won't stand for it. Keep leading the charge. We'll have your back.
I’ve been impressed by all you share and educate since sitting in your classroom at MIT with my daughter and my husband so many years ago. Thank you for your commitment. Thank you for Letters from an American. Than you for challenging me to consider that state of our country and our future.
My Mom died this morning (11/22). The daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants, she was the first woman in her family to attend college, where she majored in Political Science. A restless advocate, she was arrested in North Carolina in the early 1960s protesting for civil rights - an event that cost her husband patients of his dental practice, and that angered her older relatives, who might have been jailed or worse had they committed an act of civil disobedience in the old country. She was an acknowledged leader in the field of contextual therapy, the goal of which is for people to speak and relate to each other directly, rather than deflect and act out in response to disagreement or conflict.
She watched with horror as Trump was elected. She couldn't fathom that the America her family had fled to, and that she had fought to make more equitable, could be usurped by those with no respect for law, for non-whites, for non-christians, or for the political process that had grabbed her attention as a student. Every time we spoke she'd ask, "is there no one who has the integrity to stand up to him (Trump)?"
She would have had the back of a young person had they been trying to effect political of social change to better the lives of fellow citizens through ardent efforts of public debate and building coalitions to run candidates for office and to petition elected officials to start representing all of their constituents. She would have had no time or tolerance for a Charlie Kirk who propagated lies and sought to denigrate those who didn't agree with his his myopic and regressive agenda.
She was the proud mother of a son and two daughters who took for granted the ability to select and attend top colleges and pursue careers that wouldn't have been possible for immigrants 100 years ago. She and my Dad were doting grandparents of my sons, the older one an established artist and entrepreneur, the younger of whom worked the phones for Obama at age twelve, graduated top of his high school class, edited the Islamic Studies journal at Boston College, and worked to fight human trafficking with the NY District Attorneys office.
She finished a fifth book four years ago and spoke at international forums. It saddened me that she struggled to recover from my father's death nine years ago. The week before the election I was able to visit her in person for the first time since March, due to coronavirus restrictions. I asked if she had voted. She nodded and said she couldn't wait "to see the bastard kicked out." I'm grateful she was able to see that maybe, just maybe, the country and politics she loved might not have been permanently degraded by Trump and self serving conservatives.
Thanks for sharing this experience with us, and a special thank you for prompting these memories for my family.
Your mind at work puts my mind at ease. Happy to share your words and cover your backside, whenever and wherever. Onward!
I will always be grateful to my friend on FB who lead me to you. Your letters are the first that I read with my morning coffee. Your ability to bring the daily bombardment of news together, connect the dots, (as others here have said), compare it with past history, and suggest possible yet clear outcomes, is very amazing and appreciated by me and everyone who reads you. Thank you for what you do.
Today is also the 57th anniversary of what was the most shocking day of my life when it happened. I was in the Navy, we had a big inspection, after which we were turned loose to to on North Island NAS. A group of us were headed to the EM club for lunch when a big burly 3-=year "Gold Braid" Chief Aviation Boatswain's Mate came running up the street toward us, yelling "The president's been shot! The president's been shot!" One of us yelled "Hey Chief, that ain't funny!" He came over to us, drew himself up and in the Voice of God all Navy Chiefs posses, glared through each of us and said "I said - the *president* has been shot!" "Yes Chief." Went back to the ship and everyone aboard was in shock. Five minutes later I watched the TV as Walter Cronkite announced the death of President Kennedy.
That was the day I learned everything's not going to work out fine just because.
I've been keeping up on Charlie Kirk's antics through Dr. John Fea's blog, The Way of Improvement Leads Home. Kirk continues to insist that Trump won the election by a landslide, which, as we all know, is a crazier notion than his ill-conceived "watch list." What's really troubling is that he is the Kirk behind Liberty University's Falkirk Center, co-founder with Jerry Falwell, Jr (who was recently forced to resign as president of the university due to a sex scandal). These are the "fine, upstanding moral men" who want the nation to believe that Trump is still president, Black Lives don't matter, immigrants are criminals, and women belong at home. Oh, but don't kill babies. Anything, and everything else is acceptable, but abortion is "unbiblical" and they'll stoop to any form of propaganda to perpetuate their claims. These beliefs are stoking the division in this country, while also giving Christianity a bad name. I will continue to post your letters and defend you in any way I can. Thank you for all that you do!!
You are indeed dangerous to the people who aim for the wholesale subversion of our country. And if your back is ever somehow in need of protection again, know I'm one of the legions guarding it. I do worry sometimes though, and hope you're watchful.
Yes, America is worth fighting for. I, too, will not shut up! Thank you.
Always found it amazing that the link between Donald Trump and Senator Joseph McCarthy is exactly one person, Roy Cohn, the guy sitting next to McCarthy during the hearings on UnAmerican Activities and later Trump's lawyer, the guy who taught Trump to double down at all costs. I've been looking for the Edward R. Murrow for our time since Trump was elected. Murrow brought down McCarthy with McCarthy's own words. One of my favorite biographies is Murrow His Life and Times by A.M. Sperber.
Hmmmm ... the results of the recent election would tend to confirm your statement that most Americans prefer the "liberal consensus" established by FDR and Eisenhower ... but I find it distressing that so many do not, given the large fraction of the votes not given to Biden/Harris.
We have a challenge with the great diversity of backgrounds and the melting pot of cultures ... but it can work well when we accept certain social aspects and behavior as how we interact.
I look to the Nordic countries as an example ... and they do have a benefit in that people generally in Nordic countries tend to favor what is good for all rather than only the individual. An example which I saw first hand while traveling in Sweden was encountering a "road narrows" sign on the freeway where there was construction ahead. What surprised me was that immediately, everyone formed a single lane ... leaving an empty lane for a couple of kilometers before it was removed. The social idea was that we are all going to have to narrow to one lane so we all do it now so that anyone with a true emergency or reason for hurry can use the empty lane to get to the front quickly. This is a different concept from here or certainly nearby in Germany where in equivalent situation, everyone struggles to be first, only merging when they absolutely must.
Some might say the Nordic countries work this way because of more uniform backgrounds in the population ... but I point to the traffic law in California that says that pedestrians have the right of way in a crosswalk. It works (mostly) and not because people in CA are all of the same background ... other than being educated and trained as part of driver training that this is the law and the way CA works in this social situation ... drivers stop for people in crosswalks.
I believe we could move in the direction of the social nature of the Nordic countries but it means giving up the idea of "rugged individualism" or me and mine at all costs ... and adopting a social conscience that we are all in this together.
The recent election indicates we have a challenge in this regard, much more than I would hope. The horrible challenge of dealing with so many people having a negative reaction to working together and branding it "socialism" as a bad term instead of the good idea that this is a wonderful way for society to function is one we have to face and struggle to overcome.
Reading the letter you wrote 4 years ago read like you might have written it yesterday. The "battle to save democracy" has always been part of your work. There are few who are as clear about history and its role in today's news. There are few who are so obviously clear about her love for this country as seen through your historical lens as you. Like others here, I can't imagine starting my day not reading Letter from an American. Like others here, I feel part of the Richardson family, part of a wonderful community that you have created. There are some here whom I feel I know personally, and many I wish I could know personally. Thank you, Heather, for not giving in to the bullies, and moving ahead to make us all better people for having known/read you!
Happy Monday HCR and the HCR Community. We have to keep up this fight. If anyone is interested, John Pavlovitz has been presenting an alternative to the Movement Conservative Radical Right people who call themselves "Christians" (I suppose in the same way the KKK claims to be a "Christian" movement) and he has kind of lost his usually focused temper, which results in posts that have me pounding my desk and cheering (instead of screaming at the radio, which I do a lot). https://johnpavlovitz.com
HCR, all of us in the Ed Biz have a duty of care to combat the prejudices that our students absorb through being raised by people who revel in them, to examine our own prejudices and biases daily (hourly, really), to use our privileges in education, the skill of critical thinking, and our positions to do good. You have done this with bells on and I thank you. My hope is that if we have some support at the top in Washington, we can begin to repair the destruction on our local levels and fight against the love of ignorance that the current Grasping Omniprejudiced Party embraces.
John Kasich apparently said that one of the two reasons why his fellow travelers are supporting Drumpf is because they are afraid of being criticized by his supporters. This tells me everything: the cowardice. The opportunism. The lack of integrity. That is the modern GOP. If Chris Christie, who is one of the most oleaginous mendacious humans ever to be called human, is now saying that Cheeto needs to concede and his derangement is embarrassing, then we know it's really bad in Trumplandia.
I didn’t know you existed four years ago. But I am very grateful that you did not give up. I love your lectures and look forward to “class” each Tuesday and Thursday. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for what you do. You are amazing♥️❣️
During this time of Thanksgiving, I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you how much your ability to assimilate and convey factual and meaningful content has meant. A friend forwarded your newsletter and I feel honored to pay for it. You excel at delving into topics to provide meaning and a deeper understanding of current issues through pertinent historical information. What you do matters to so many. May you truly feel the impact of our gratitude this Thanksgiving season as we continue to feast on the buffet you’ve provided, one that continues to sustain all who partake.
Of all the people who have vowed never to "shut up", I'm most grateful for you and your pledge. But for some people, we kinda wish they'd actually just go ahead and actually shut up. I'm thinking in particular of that guy...whatshisname, you know, the freak with the mango coif, good old...damn, just can't come up with it so early in the morning. I'll get back to you...
Thank you for your books, your Facebook talks, and this Letter from an American. These have been so enlightening. I now have hope that our ship of state will weather the storm it finds itself in so long as we the people continue to fight for equality under the law. If we do so, then our government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. Thank you for your gift of hope.
Heather,
I was not following your work 4 years back, but certainly supported what you were then and now are about. The far right will never give up, but also will never win out because people like yourself and, I believe, millions of us out here in villages, towns, and cities across America won't stand for it. Keep leading the charge. We'll have your back.
I’ve been impressed by all you share and educate since sitting in your classroom at MIT with my daughter and my husband so many years ago. Thank you for your commitment. Thank you for Letters from an American. Than you for challenging me to consider that state of our country and our future.