For many Americans today, President John F. Kennedy’s assassination on November 22, 1963, represents a dramatic break from what came before. Lee Harvey Oswald’s bullets hacked a chasm between an idyllic Camelot and the chaos and division of the modern era.
Not every American shares the “indignation” for the effects of the murderers in our country. The ongoing onslaught of violence, murders, and incredible injustice challenges our best intentions. These deep divisions create space for dehumanizing the other and are amplified by politicians and others with a microphone.
Such tragic outcomes seem inevitable.
With a sad and heavy heart I offer gratitude for all the blessings of this life, and in the work for peaceful community, I offer my life. Take my life, not the young ones who hold our futures.
We are a sick nation; our civility eroded by countless careless opportunistic acts. The healing we must have is dependent upon our communities and our local leaders. It’s dependent upon us, each and every one of us, in our daily, ordinary lives.
In grief, gratitude, love, and work, I earnestly pray for integrity and wisdom in our leaders and in our own lives. All depends upon our fortitude in love.
Kim, Not long ago, Reverend Senator Raphael Warnock said, “A vote is a kind of prayer,” a statement I incorporate in virtually every postcard, letter, and conversation with voters. I sensed, reading your comment, that you seemed to have a special insight into Warnock’s thought process, and, now, thanks to your comment, my appreciation for Warnock’s words also has deepened.
Barbara, thank you for sharing Sen. Rev. Ralphael Warnock’s words. May he beat that opportunist that is running against him. Pray that GA voters will support him.
@JoyDawn, Because the regrettably popular Governor Kemp, having won his race, is now campaigning hard for Walker, I expect many of us will be post carding, phone banking, canvassing (if we’re local), whatever it takes to help ensure this standout Senator keeps his seat.
I've done my bit for Sen. Warnock- I wrote Vote Forward letters and Swing State post cards and donated. I expect a lot of us have done similar things... let's hope our efforts pay off If so, that means we'll hold the Senate more firmly and won't have to have Kamala be the 51st as much.
Still writing postcards for him -- another batch will go into the mail today. Early voting starts next Monday; the runoff is Dec. 6. There's still time. PostcardstoVoters.org
Barbara, I appreciated hearing from you. I would note, aside from rendering the likes of Kyrsten Sinema irrelevant, holding a 51 majority vs. a 50-50 split means that Dems would hold the controlling vote on each committee allowing for Democratic majorities more readily to get legislation out of committee and onto the floor. Though little if any would get through the House, the goal would be to draw sharp distinctions between the two parties.
There are plenty of ways to help Sen Warnock, postcards phone banking, calling your friends and relatives in GA, donating cash. Praying is good, taking action helps more.
I wasn't aware that Sen. Warnock had said that, but it is *exactly* how I feel when I'm writing postcards or posting on social media. Thanks so much for sharing your experience.
Beautifully spoken Kim; I needed your words when I am still reeling from the unspeakable at Club Q. There are some folks such as Army vet, 3 purple hearts, Richard Fierro that instinctively respond quickly, giving instructions & receiving help from at least 2 others to disable sudden violence. Thank you Richard & thank you Kim.
I heard an interview with Richard Fierro on NPR yesterday. His daughter's high school sweetheart was among the victims, his daughter and wife were wounded. Just hearing him speak was very uplifting and I admire his courage and non-political point of view.
It is good to make contact with you today. It is always good to be in touch with you. Connection. That is our mission; it is our love for one another. Salud, Bryan Sean McKown.
Thank you, Karen. I’m deeply troubled by these endless acts of violence that appear to be stoked by ‘leaders’ in our country. I feel powerless. And yet…
And yet you aren't powerless, your words touch everyone they reach and motivate them to resist the violence. We will prevail, but not as quickly as we'd like.
That’s right guys. We are prevailing. It’s just that there is a lot more that must be done and who else is there to do it but each one of us? That’s the responsibility we embrace; Ike, Jack and Lyndon each got that in their own ways. When we more clearly know where we’ve been we have a good shot at understanding where we are now and where we can and must go. Don’t let any naysayer take you off your many good tasks ahead. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
I have written to the Congressional Task Force on Gun Violence Prevention about the shootings at UVA that my family member was exposed to. Colbert Monday night read Congress the riot act on gun violence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4hBrbCsiCw Ending it has so many moving parts. The heart of the crisis is the legislators whose campaigns are funded by the NRA and gun manufacturers who are cowed into looking the other way or making empty excuses about mental health and the 2nd amendment. For now, I will focus on violence in schools, how we keep our kids safe while working to curb gun access nationwide.
Me as well, Kim. We have in this country people, entities, who are exploiting and profiting off of our divisions. They continue to drive the wedges in between us, and they do it for one reason alone: money. Hate sells. Keeping people angry and fearful sells. Demonizing those you disagree with sells. Stoking resentment against those who are different from you sells. And on and on it goes. Done in the name of an interpretation of the First Amendment. Even politicians are now riding these waves of hatred and getting elected on platforms that mirror these fears and anger. It is a vicious, vicious cycle that continues to spiral out of control. It is easy to feel powerless when confronted with the daily onslaught of all this. AND YET...we persist. Change starts within each one of us and we have seen that justice and truth CAN prevail when we band together and fight for them. Damn the torpedoes and steer the course. I tune a lot of it out to keep my wits about me, but I also seek out reinforcement among people with whom I share a similar mind...like "all y'all"! (Southern-speak that means "everybody") Okay, maybe that's doing nothing but increasing the "division" in the country, but I have to believe that the shrill voices of hatred and ignorance have little substance and will eventually be seen for what they are. That will only happen if we hold steadfast to what we believe. It is what has held this country together for 246 years, so we can't forsake it now. A happy and meaningful Thanksgiving to you and all on here...and God bless us every one.
As someone who rejects the "lone madman" shooter meme, it behooves us to recall that the dark media networks are a unifying voice for the radical right Fascists in America.
The gunmen are similar to Isis and Al Queda; a vile pseudo-political movement which encourages individuals to kill in the name of racism, misogyny, antisemitism and homophobia; although they would call it "purification."
They are not alone. They are the point-men for the movement, and have been indirectly encouraged to kill and usually to suicide as self-styled martyrs.
I sincerely hope that our government recognizes the loosely-knit but intentional "conspiracy" of mass shootings. Not only are the shooters "mentally ill," they are almost always young white males who are isolated. The repeated stereotype and the use of semi-automatic weapons should be a call to prohibit such weapons and dismantle the information technology that encourages these loose cannons.
Thank you, Kim. Your words are the silent prayer we live with in our country. The conflict and confusion, violence, Gun laws and ownership, part of our national conversation that is always with us. With the hope we will someday see the Truth.
Kim I think you have expressed the sadness that many of us have felt as we experience the tragedies and injustices that divide us today. I agree that these divisions "create space for dehumanizing the other." And clearly the healing you call for is "dependent upon each and every one of us."
I would like to offer a somewhat different view of your statement that "We are a sick nation." We are a complex nation with many differences. A nasty group of cynical power grabbers who know how to set the stage for "them vs us" stories, continue to use riling up fear and rage, as well as extolling ignorance, to achieve their goals. This leaves us open to all the injustice, violence and lack of civility that is the inevitable result....in some folks. At the same time, this past election has given me great hope that these folks and their willing dupes are not the majority, and don’t hold all the power. Tthey just make more noise, that's all. (a paraphrase of my favorite line spoken by Jean Arthur to Jimmy Stewart in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” at his darkest hour of despair.)
So the healing that you call for is that much more possible because a majority of us really want it, and are attempting to practice it in our daily lives.... and it's already happening! Thousands if not millions of us are writing postcards, making phone calls, sending texts, to support candidates who we believe are motivated by justice and compassion and love of our country, even as they seek the power of public office. We got a lot of them elected, we're still working for Senator Warnock, and we will continue to work as we focus more and more on local and state elections from now on. So while there are many "sick" aspects to our nation, we are healing just like a human body, by recognizing, and treating the illness, but also by recognizing, strengthening and "cheering on" the cells that are already healthy so they may grow and flourish and take over. Blessings,
Thank you, Kim. Like so many of us, I've been heartsick here for some time seeing the loss of respect for others that drives so many interactions. Your final sentences touched me; I will join you in those prayers.
I saw an interview on msnbc with Tim Miller about the Club Q massacre. He said local authorities refused to enforce the state's red flag laws that would have removed the guns from the killer a year ago when he had threatened to blow up his mother with a bomb. The law that could have prevented this was already on the books!
It's Colorado Springs.....haven for radical right regressives and fundamentalists. As far as I am concerned what happened falls also on them. We here in Oregon passed a gun initiative and already there is a lawsuit and a whole bunch of sheriffs saying they won't enforce it.
They would rather be called to the next mass shooting or a domestic or road rage incident. I really get tired of all the calls for doing something about gun violence when people refuse to address the elephant in the room.
There are several elephants in the room. The power of the gun lobby, which has managed to co-opt interpretation of the 2nd Amendment. Toxic masculinity (seriously -- how many XX-chromosome people have been mass shooters?). Economic power, on which the Constitution provides no checks and balances -- and (as HCR has called attention to many times) as soon as you call for checks on economic power, you're trashed as a commie, socialist, pinko, etc.). The room is crowded with elephants.
"you're trashed as a commie, socialist, pinko, etc."
That's sure the truth of it. Most Americans are afraid of those political choices. They're afraid of the words. It's Pavlovian. I believe it generates from the late 1940s and then the 1950s. So much indoctrination has been focused on the American people by our government and assorted other entities. A plethora of movies and tv series telling the American people about "those dirty commies." McCarthyism arose from the underworld and held sway over the Government and the people. It's hard to change such deeply-ingrained images and associations as so many of us have lived through. Hopefully, more of the younger people will rise up and realize that those terms are just words. Beyond that, we have to find a sustainable method of life and government if we are to carry on as a species. I imagine that lifestyle based more on the Danish model. There's a reason they always rank at or near the top in the annual U.N. happiness survey of the happiest nations on earch.
Keep reading HCR and you'll see that red-baiting (often coupled with other things, like racism, misogyny, and anti-immigrant movements) goes back long before the 1940s. Take a look at the period following World War I (and, not coincidentally, the Russian Revolution), including the Palmer Raids, the prosecution and eventual execution of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, and the white attack on the Black community of Tulsa. Then go back even farther, to the Haymarket affair of 1886. Organized (and organizing) labor was continually accused of being socialist or communist, which is a big reason so much of organized labor in the U.S. was so conservative and vocally anti-communist: to prove their loyalty. (The same could be said of the Democratic Party, especially after the New Deal.)
P.S. What do you mean by "McCarthyism arose from the underworld"? Meaning from organized crime?
1. "The underworld"? No, I'm not thinking of organized crime which is just a manifestation of the underworld, as was Joe McCarthy. I think of the underworld more in terms of Dante's nine circles of Hades--circles or sins which are born of FEAR. Until we, as individuals or a nation, work through our fears, we are subject to some degree of being controlled by those negative elements. The underworld could also be simply described as the dark side of our nature, the weaknesses we carry.
2. Yes, I was aware of most of the earlier movements toward justice before reading HCR. I emphasize the effect of the U.S. late '40s and '50s anti-communists/socialist' movements because of their "nuclear" spread (similar to the nuclear bombs dropped two years before). But how did that attitude spread so quickly and thoroughly during that time period? I see it this way. We know that all nations involved in war develop a propaganda machine to keep people fighting. In WWII (1941-45), the U.S. developed a very sophisticated propaganda system. Following the end of WWII, television was the new medium which spread the government's anti-communist/socialist message in a huge and effective manner. The atmosphere of Fear was spread like wildfire. And here we are....
Thank you Cheryl, Tim Miller from Colorado has many skills, Tim has a best seller on the NYC List. Tim is a bulwark on the Bulwark platform & is a frequent panelist on msnbc at 4 pm Eastern.
As Tim summarized, Colardo's "Red Flag" law has only two (2) sources that can raise the Red Flag: a) the local police in this case the Red Flag Hostile Colorado Springs Police who have effectively set up a red-flag-free-zone in Colorado Springs and, b) the victim (in this case the Perp's mother) who also did not raise any flag of any color.
About one (1) year ago, the Perp's Neighborhood had to be disrupted & evacuated because of the Perp's grave bomb threat & threat to kill his mother. Police footage of the take down is all over the media now. As anyone can instantly see, The Perp is a very large man, much bigger than Richard Fierro.
I cannot imagine what this guy looked like in full body armor with an AR type automatic weapon. Still Richard Fierro charged him directly covered with blood & disabled further harm to anyone. Yes, Richard's daughter lost her boyfriend to sudden violence. Devastating.
Thanks for filling in the details. Yes, I've seen Tim many times on msnbc, and read many if his Bulwark writings. Also bought his book, WHY WE DID IT, though haven't read it yet. I hold him in very high esteem.
His brief interview with Steve Bannon recently was also right on. He didn't let Bannon get away with any of his crap. Called him on it, then said, " I'm not doing this." Tim is way up there on my list of courageous truthtellers.
Love has no opposite, even though fear tries its worst to manifest that place. As the introduction in Course in Miracles, (first copyright 1975 by the Foundation for Inner Peace) states…
1. “This is a course in miracles. It is a required course. Only the time you take it is voluntary. Free will does not mean that you can establish the curriculum. It means only that you can elect what you want to take at a given time. The course does not aim at teaching the meaning of love, for that is beyond what can be taught. It does aim, however, at removing the blocks to the awareness of love’s presence, which is your natural inheritance. The opposite of love is fear, but what is all encompassing can have no opposite.
2. This course can therefore be summed up very simply in this way:
Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God.”
This stays with me throughout decades. It’s why I am a warrior for the awareness of Love’s presence. It is our natural inheritance. It is there in all things.
Thank you, Kim. A thanksgiving of fortitude in love, bounty and blessing for us all.
In grief, gratitude, love, and work, I join you in the prayer for integrity and wisdom for us all. (I also devoutly appreciate the use of the Oxford comma.)
Thank you for this excellent post. I was stuck by Eisenhower's words in contrast to what comes out of the mouths of so many Rs....basically calling for violence. I too am sad, but also have gratitude for those who make it their lives' work to make things better for all of us. It is a struggle because it is so much easier to be uncivil and hateful, than it is to be thoughtful, compassionate, and civil.
It's the week of Thanksgiving in America, and we have had two mass shootings in the past three days. And a third, if we go back another week. We do not need more heroic Americans stepping in to disarm these mass shooters. Stepping out one's front door has become an act of heroism today. Will today be the day I experience a mass shooting? Our votes are prayers, indeed. And I pray that the men and women of Congress act to end gun violence in America. I, for one, will not call them heroes. I will be grateful that they finally remembered how to do their job.
They are, mostly Rs, happy to have guns everywhere, so every angry mentally unstable person in the land can to their dirty work while all they offer is thoughts and prayers.
To state the obvious, what distinguishes our country from truly civilized countries is one thing: guns, guns, and more guns — everywhere. Especially assault rifles.
While I certainly agree that our firearms fetish is a major indicator of our nation’s savagery, Michael, but there are so many indicators of our barbaric incivility throughout our history.
We might start with the “original sin” committed by the first “colonists” (read as invaders). The pillage and plunder heaped upon the aboriginal peoples of these continents, that marked the early years of the European foray into these lands, was perhaps as uncivil as any in human history. Add to that the importation of captive humans from Africa and the misogyny heaped upon women throughout the centuries, and we have a “perfect storm” of man’s inhumanity to man.
Sad but true, so wish that the history I learned many years ago, had been more honest. Maybe self-flagellation is not good for the soul, but a little truth and reconciliation would go a long way towards healing us all.
Jeri, I also wish for truth. What a wish. And this holiday, Thanksgiving, is an example of distorted stories. Add that to the states and political party that ban books and Critical Race Theory CRT, we continue to repeat history.
As counterpoint, Mr. Willis, your mea culpa is a bit histrionic. Yes, yes, our ancestors and contemporaries have done some really nasty shit, just like they've done some really wonderful shit, as well as a crap-load of really ordinary shit in between. All you've done is painted a single theme in really purple colors. But does it have anything to do with what Dr. Richardson wrote about? Is your polemic anything more than performative?
Perhaps I'm just too crabby this morning to appreciate figuratively standing in a circle rubbing each other's anger and self-righteous nubbins.
Wow, Mr. Addertongue. Your response appears to be the one full of histrionics. The shadows of our "civilized" country begin with our foundations of brutal colonization and dominance by white male privilege and power. White male supremacists are the ones who are appear in the powerful NRA and self-appointed militias, and sociopaths who control our lack of safety and that of our children. Maybe the color of one's skin as well as gender prevents the privileged from understanding this on a visceral level.
(grumble) As I mentioned, I was a bit crabby last night, for which I apologize. But the "foundation" of our civilization came when some smart cobber realized that if he, or more likely she, deliberately planted those tasty seeds in convenient places along her migratory route, she could have preferred plants to eat in more places. In other words, the origins of agriculture, another name for "altering your environment to suit yourself instead of the other way around."
Dominance and privilege predates even that, because even the most ragged band of chimpanzees know the importance of territory and the value of kin. And these important values are always enforced brutally. The "whites" happen to have achieved a global economic dominance for a few hundred years because of some technological and organizational advances, a dominance they've already lost. To think that "whites" are somehow more terrible than anyone else is to parrot Rousseau, not state an eternal truth.
To rephrase, nothing you've said about the NRA, white male privilege, or local militias is wrong. It's just too incomplete to be useful, and I refuse to flagellate my own culture on the basis of something that's boringly, terrifyingly common in human experience. As I said, it's not useful and simply accelerates the development of competitive control areas.
Mr. Addertongue, I don’t believe it is histrionics or self-righteous to connect Gun violence with availability and protest against regulations. The USA is a standout in demonstrating that sociopolitical connection.
Sure, there's a connection, but how strong is it? As I understand it, Canadians have a higher per capita gun ownership that the U.S., yet murders with guns are comparatively rare. Violence, with guns or otherwise, seems to be a strong characteristic of American society, whether in our use of guns, our personal relationships, or our foreign policy. Where does that violence come from? What reinforces it? The weapon is secondary, the will to slaughter is primary.
For accurate data on worldwide Gun issues including USA and Canada here’s an excerpt, a rebuttal and clarification. Council on Foreign Relations. US Gun Policy and Global Comparisons:
“The United States, with less than 5 percent of the world’s population, has 46 percent of the world’s civilian-owned guns, according to the most recent report by the Switzerland-based Small Arms Survey (2018). It ranks number one in firearms per capita. The United States also has the highest homicide-by-firearm rate of the world’s most-developed nations. Many gun rights proponents say these statistics do not indicate a causal relationship.”
Canadians absolutely DO NOT own more guns per capita than Americans! A number of sources place Canada seventh in gun ownership, with about 35 guns for every 100 people. The US is way out in front, with more than 120 guns for every 100 people. That's almost double the amount of the second-place country, Falkland Islands, with 62/100.
Bill Willis simply stated the all too often over looked TRUTH. We have been a nation of violence and cruelty and bigotry and hate from the moment the first Europeans stepped on Indigenous American soil.
May I recommend a book for you sir? "The Barbarous Years" by Bernard Bailyn
I'm not sure if you were offering Mr. Bailyn's book to me, to Mr. Willis, or simply in general. At first blush, it looks like a good read, although it doesn't seem to limit itself to cruelty by European colonizers. I don't know if it's treated therein, but when it comes to breathtaking cruelty, I'd stack the Comanches against Nazis any day.
[I’m not sure there’s much point in posting this at this late hour, Mr. Addertongue, but I felt I needed to be “on the record” in this string of comments. You’ve heard a lot from a lot of people and perhaps that’s your primary goal. In any case, here’s my two cents.].
I must apologize for the delay in my reply to your comment this morning, Dirk. I was downloading an upgrade to my iPad and then found myself too semiconscious (thankfully, as I have difficulty nodding off before dawn most nights) to respond to your thoughts.
The early part of my day has been full as well.
First off, my comments hardly fit the definition of “mea culpa”. My maternal grandparents were born enslaved: my grandfather in 1853, and my grandmother in 1861. Their oldest son was the victim of a lynching around the turn of the century. My mother, born in 1904–the last of 11 live/sustainable births–never knew her “big brother,” and I, born in 1938, did not ever meet my uncle.
So I, and my recent ancestors, have ever been the recipients of the human excrement you so colorfully describe. I cannot apologize for our suffering.
If I seem histrionic, I will not, as well, ask anyone to overlook my writing style, especially in regards to the terrors and inconceivable indignities heaped upon me and all those who look like me. The horrendous “drama” we have been subjected to can never be adequately described to one who has never been its target.
Lastly, my theme is hardly singular; it involves the harsh landscape crafted by the unconsciously evil, unbelievably rapacious “explorers” and their capitalist descendants who have wreaked ungodly pain and suffering on their unfortunate prey. That it does not include the popular, self-satisfied images of “America the beautiful…” is intentional, since we have been subjected to the fantasied hymns of glory and success ad nauseum throughout the history of the colonies and our nation.
As my postscript, I refer you to the last line of Dr. Richardson’s “Letter…”, quoting President Eisenhower: “In civilized countries of the world this doesn’t happen….”
Dear Mr. Willis, it is never too late to post and to share the Truth. Thank you. I can only apologize for the evil and heinous acts of terror and violence and denial that this Country, this government, inflicted upon your ancestors (and even after a devastating Civil War, continued to inflict upon you and your family and people of color and the descendants of enslaved people.) The American celebration of Thanksgiving is complicated most by the myths perpetuated from the beginning. Americans have also created myths about slavery. Again the Truth is often denied or simply not believed. After reading the 1619 Project and witnessing the denial and pushback, the prohibition of using it as CRT in many states, especially Southern states, it’s clear that the Truth continues to be denied by some people and reconciliation if ever possible may be far down the road. I would like to be wrong. I wish you and your family and this nation a time of reflection that will someday offer true Healing, Justice and Equality. Gratitude for your letter and your story. Our nation’s story.
Once again, you have reached in and touched my heart with your eloquence and words. Once again, I wish I could have tea with you and just chat. I knew Dirk did not know to whom he was addressing. He does not appear to know the evil and historical trauma just living in a tinted skin evokes from others with less tint. Thank you for your heart-wrenching response which evoked something from Mr. Addertongue, more than just trolling or trying to elicit something. Mr. Alstrom's response to Mr. Addertongue, says it all. What it really brings up appears to be the incredible guilt and/or denial of many white people who just do not know what to say or do about true history and tinted people's actual experience due to their skin, every minute. I think we make hollow attempts to liken our occasional troubles or traumas with theirs. It is not the same. "Equal rights" in America are a mere fantasia of words and not reality. Fortunately, Dirk's innocent-seeming response depicts exactly the problem we face. This is a hard walk and requires bravery. This is not nice soundbites and move on. Maybe to start, we need to acknowledge all the people whose blood, sweat and deaths are on all the bricks and mortar of our foundations. We need to brainstorm how to apologize, thank them and build places of honor for their ancestors.
At the same time, white supremacists are alive, arrogant, and petrified of equality, reprisal, and trying to hold on by all means possible to keep themselves at the top of our caste system.
We have witnessed the huge whiplash from voting for an educated, intelligent, erudite black president. Haters are out in the light of day telling us who they are and whom they hate.
What we will do with stories like Mr. Willis' is all of our responsibility. I do not claim to know the exact pathway, but we need to be educated and develop empathy. And, enough of us need to agree that America is not the best, most wonderful, patriotic home of the free and the brave. We cannot be ostriches anymore in this country. Though we have many patriotic people who stand up for our country and Constitution, we need to face ourselves here at home openly and honestly. To be the longest, most successful democracy in the world, we need to face our demons. And then follow-through with new guidelines and reparations and policies against hatred so all our people can be treated equally as our Constitution states.
I just visited S. Africa for three weeks. For all Nelson Mandela did, bless his heart, the tinted-skinned people still are the servants to the white-skinned people, despite their so-called Freedom. It felt just like America's deep south. And I felt just like a white, colonial woman being served. Those who served me and my friend were shocked at how we wanted to know them, and their lives, and what they would love outside of waitressing or being porters or safari guides. They were so excited to see us every day. We cried when we left one another. They just want the same things all of us want—to be seen and respected, to be paid fairly, to be musicians, therapists, actors, writers, dancers, artists, managers, doctors, leaders, owners of businesses or a reserve, time with their children, vacations, birthday parties. Our white Afrikaner host told us not to tip them. What!?!??! If you have ever been a waitress, you know how hard that work is for little pay. Our host told us the average wage is about $10.00 a day. A DAY. A hamburger at McDonalds cost $7.00 (170.16 rand). Nothing but human slavery, starving in a nice outfit. That is what S. African freedom gets you? All colonized countries can do their "freed" people a hell of a lot better than all that. We can go to the moon and mars. We just have to have the will.
I see the horrors of the current, white supremacist, radical terrorists and seditionists, and their infiltration across American government for the past 40+ years coming to a head. The blatant, open hypocrisy of these ignorant "Christians" and the "Moral Majority" who exalted a dangerous, narcissistic cult figure, who contained all the worsts traits of our humanity in one disgusting corpus. And it magnetized, gave permission to others to be their worst. In front of all the children in America and the world. The Beast was openly unleashed. And now we have no choice but to smell it, name it and this time deal with it properly. As a country, we cannot pretend anymore.
I have called it "deep gardening." America needs a vast amount of gardeners willing to dig up take out our diseased roots. It is not easy, but who ever said being human was easy?
Is it possible to keep this conversation going so we can grapple with our real history, not that written by the rich, white victors? Can we create a new path, together, with All of The People? Can we help towards some iota of reparations and honoring what indigenous and enslaved people sacrificed for the benefit of the wealthy United States of America? Can we start that now even as we fight for our democracy against authoritarianism? Can we deal with the corrupt "Citizens United" who are not citizens at all? Human beings are our citizens—in all shapes, sizes and colors.
We need to all stand, together, for this fight. Our people's historical trauma belongs to all of us. We must not repeat it. We need to respectfully hear voices like Bill's, listen and then hold their hands and walk this path together with honesty, respect and a desire to create something better, together, in our world. We also need to protect one another and stand up for each other when injustices by ignorance occur. For instance, racists need to do social justice reparations to the very person they harmed, every time they commit a hate crime. Our education system needs a complete revamping of the skills necessary to live together on earth and how to communicate diplomatically together. I could go on forever...but you get the gist if you have read this far.
I am so grateful for this community. It is like breathing oxygen every morning and makes me feel hopeful and creative that we can do something, together, for all of us and the planet. What great minds and opportunities we have to grow, learn, express and try to understand one another—just in this forum!
Thank you Pensa and Mr. Willis. I was part of that conversation and appreciate not only sharing my opinions but having the comments that connect. This is all a learning process every day. And to see where each person is on the continuum and conversation is educational and enlightening. Be well. I’m grateful for this forum, for HCR and your input.
Bill, Thank-you for the reality check. I do understand the lies we (white people) tell ourselves to avoid the guilt of our ancestor's (and our own) deeds can be tremendously painful to the targets (any people who are not white, male, middle/upper class English speakers) of those deeds. While it is not really up to people of color to become "anti-racism coaches" to this nation of ours, I do appreciate your stepping up in this instance.
Please don't apologize for any delay and thank you for posting late, since I have a similar problem with nodding off. Double thanks for drafting such a complete and thoughtful essay, and for revealing so much of yourself in such a moving, elegant style. I ask that you accept the following as my reply to the un-posed question, "Why is that Addertongue fellow so worked up about my post decrying the well-documented truth of America, especially when he even agrees with me?"
Please understand, my heart aches for the suffering and injustice you describe. While I've experienced my own share of injustices, the crushing weight of generations of status-based oppression is not in my living history, so I would never dare to claim an understanding of your particular flavor of agony. All I can avow is that my family and I, too, have our own agonies, and I suspect that all varieties, in the end, taste just as horribly bitter.
No wonder I have heart problems, because my heart also aches when I read Columbus' diary, where he praised the beauty and intelligence of the native islanders he discovered, then used guns, whips, and dogs to herd them into slave pens where he worked them to death.
I quietly weep when I imagine the nightmare lived by the villagers in the what is now New England when, after a single European scout visited their shore, over 95% of them died of disease, leaving their vacant homes and fields for the amazed settlers to find when they arrived three years later.
I read with hollow-eyed horror accounts of Comanche grandmothers playfully burning the nose off a captive young white girl by repeatedly pressing hot coals against her face, searing the stump off a little at at time. Just for fun.
The Rape of Nanking haunts me. The bloody conquests of Tamarlane and the Rape of Nanking, they haunt me. And it doesn't stop there, for my conscience requires that I acknowlege that this is just human suffering, a very recent entry in the ledger of blood that defines life on Earth.
Everything alive, with only a couple of exceptions, must have something dead to live on. For us warm-blooded animals, the requirement is even stricter -- we have to eat someone else, usually every day, to continue living. Since no one voluteers to be someone else's meal, the act of feeding ourselves is always violent and bloody, filled with suffering. Just watch lions bring down a wildebeest; they don't kill it, they simply eat it, usually from the belly out, while it gasps in agony. I'll never forget seeing a dying wildebeest raising his head to look a lioness in the eye just as the big cat pulled her bloody head out his entrails, then flopping back down to continue screaming, weakly.
Just like the rest of the animals, we have to compete with others for this living food. We've gotten pretty good at it lately, but even though we've outmatched every other large predator on the planet, we're actually losing ground to the older, more successful predators, like insects and bacteria. But even they don't pose as big a threat to our survival as we do ourselves, because for the individual, there is no greater competition than that from members of our own species. Each of us has the same requirements, the same joys, the same weaknesses, so we naturally require and compete for the same resources. And just like for the rest of the world, that competition always ends in somebody's blood being spilled, somewhere.
That's the basic reason why we have to fight each other, why we've always fought each other. We didn't band together into kinship groups and tribes to protect ourselves from tigers, wolves, and bears. Those guys are the small fry, for while they can pick off individuals, a small group of humans equipped with language, coordination, and spears can and did exterminate them at will.
No, we band into groups to protect ourselves from other groups. What do those other groups want? They want, at some level, to enslave us, because slavery is the human way of eating other humans. We work each other to death, bury the bodies, and use other slaves to till the ground the bodies fertilized. Since we don't seem to be able to function without competing with some other group, if our group beats all the others and runs out of groups to compete with, we simply split. We divide our group into haves and have nots, each sub-group preying on the other sub-groups.
Why this histrionic (but hopefully not boring) polemic on the suffering of the World, this horror show of Nature?
Because your family's pain, stemming most recently from the vile treatment of several generations of your fellow imported Africans by the dominant social groups in America, is a grievously common experience, not just for humans, but for every creature God has made. (Yes, I rank the suffering of other animals as equal to our own.)
That's why, although it's almost never recognized as such, I think we humans are trying something completely new in the world -- we are trying to be better than God. God doesn't care if we eat each other, humans and non-humans together, because that's how He made us. He doesn't care if we enslave each other, because that's just a form of eating, and again, that's how God made us. He doesn't mind at all, because all of his living creations are here for the sole purpose of feeding each other. It's what we do.
We mind. We are the ones who care. We are the ones who, in spite of our billion-yea- old nature, have fitfully learned to devise better moral rules than the ones God gave the world. It's no surprise that we aren't very good at it, being better than God, because we are having to make it up out of our own heads, no good examples but the ones we make ourselves. But our better-than-divine moral formulations have allowed us to build a global civilization, because it's our moral codes that allow us to build bigger and better groups, to work cooperatively on multigenerational goals, and to learn that free humans are more valuable than slaves.
Yes, our civiliztion drips blood, as does the rest of the world. But it also glows with kindness and beauty, and marvelous achievements, precisely because our philosophical yearning for something better more often than not matches our God-given hunger for rapine and meat. And when I see too many posts about "evil" of America, I become angry that the astounding achievements of the Human Species are being denigrated, achievements that exist independently of and simlutaneously with the horror of our natural selves, all sometimes accomplished by the very same people.
When Ahmaud Arbery was hunted to death by the local villagers, they were doing what I think of as doing God's work, for they were mindlessly following the natural impulse to kill and (figuratively) eat "outsiders." But when the rest of our society, slowly and reluctantly, demanded justice for the killing, we were behaving supernaturally, understandably a very difficult thing to do. That why, for every word of condemnation we utter for those who exercise their natural bloodlust, I believe that we should at least have a breath of praise for those of our fellow humans who strive for a life better than the predator/prey abbatoir God devised. (Btw, I went to the Satillo Shores neighborhood where Mr. Arbery was killed after the murderers were arrested, and for every Trump yard sign, there seemed to at least two "Run with Ahmaud" signs.)
For if we cannot love our own society -- blood and splendor blended together into one huge world -- and communicate that love to our young, our society will tear itself apart in self-loathing, and will descend again into the natural pit from which we've wrenched it.
Well Dirk, this early bird has read your sweeping assessment of humanity, nature and "God" with admiration for your perspective. You could forgive us for thinking that your previous "zingers" might be coming from a troll.
I do take issue with this statement: "All I can avow is that my family and I, too, have our own agonies, and I suspect that all varieties, in the end, taste just as horribly bitter."
I adamantly disagree.
I will not pry. And I will not bore you with my own travails. But I don't think you quite grasp how insulting that sounds. It is that "whataboutism" that I described previously. While our personal horrors might personally "feel" like equivalents to Mr. Willis's family's incredible suffering, THEY ARE NOT. I am not denigrating whatever difficulties you and yours have and may continue to experience. But once we start comparing in this way, it diminishes one or the other in its meaning and lesson.
Example: For me to compare my wife's family's history of escaping pogrom after pogrom, social exclusion after social exclusion, and forever fear of being exterminated - with my own family's suffering of a very different nature but still very painful and real - is to insult my wife in a manner that is alienating and hardly empathetic.
I find your overall assessment of humanity to be quite spot on. I just don't think you realize that we who believe in telling the truth (the whole truth) about our nation's history simply want it told in an unvarnished manner. And I don't think you have considered that we who feel that way want that truth told because we DO "love our own society" and ARE proud of its achievements. We just want to move forward helping each other, ALL of US THIS TIME, rather than eating each other for lunch. That involves learning from the past and celebrating our accomplishments by improving on them.
PS: I don't detect a single bit of "self loathing" in this group of Substackers. Least of all Mr. Willis.
Mr. Addertongue. What an impressive presentation. I stand in awe of your thoughts that seem to outline your view of the human condition throughout history.
While I may have differing concepts of a struggling humanity over the eons, I am nevertheless astounded by your portrait of a fallible creature, endeavoring to control its environment and to survive its competitors; all the while virtually ignored by the Being that is apparently the Creator in this dire scenario, that established the ground rules but now has left Its creation to fend for itself.
As I implied before, my concept of this evolution portrays a different creature and a different Creator. The creature–us–is an evolving entity, appearing animal-like at its origin, but progressing throughout time to become less animalistic and more human.
The Author of this eternal production, likewise, is instead an all-loving, ever-caring Being Who parents His vulnerable progeny throughout the ages, sheltering them from their follies and disciplining them when their actions become too capricious and destructive.
This All-knowing Parent of ours has provided guidance throughout the ages in the form of successive Revelations, or religions, each one tailored to our stage of maturity. These are flawlessly designed to assist His creatures in addressing the realities of existence on Planet Earth in any era.
The process is known as Progressive Revelation.
This supreme Entity has established rules, or laws, that guide the human creation through the minefield of life. Unfortunately for us, we have ever failed to follow the instructions, often neglecting to read them in their entirety, and always misinterpreting the guidance.
As a species, we can now be understood as having reached the end of our collective “adolescence”. As can be observed in any young adult struggling with the conflicting tugs of self and generosity, the human race can be seen as a confused and conflicted adult/child, bewildered by the array of new, shiny things, and rudderless in the complexities of the ocean of life.
But (spoiler alert) the story will have a happy and productive ending. After weathering the gales of selflessness and selfishness, we will, in due time, reach the calm of a new global order, where all the talents and ingenuity latent in our interior being will burst forth and a bright, renewed civilization will be realized!
This, of course, is the “Reader’s Digest” version of this momentous history; and, I’m sure, a dangerously flawed one as well. But if this storyline piques your interest, I’d be happy to share some unadulterated excerpts from the Holy Text and links to the reference materials and the overview of the Source.
Dirk, you asked what Mr. Willis’ comment has to do with Dr. Richardson’s letter today. It “represents a dramatic break from what came before. Lee Harvey Oswald’s bullets hacked a chasm between an idyllic Camelot and the chaos and division of the modern era.” Like the government, I’m here to help.
Heather’s mention of Oswald is probably the only time I have ever disagreed with anything she’s said. Without going into reams of data regarding the assassination, there is no reason to conclude that Oswald was anything other than what he claimed he was before he was silenced- a patsy.
This was a coup of our government little different than the ones our clandestine agencies pulled off in other countries.
Eisenhower was spot-on when he warned of the Military Industrial Complex.
Yes, Bill, our history has always been violent. There have been a few great people (also with personsl struggles and heartaches) who were empowered to perform great and kind acts for some good accomplishments.
Don't we compare about the same to other countries at the time -- invading new lands, killing aboriginals, making slaves, importing slaves. Many countries did this. I see the difference being that in this country we have never, as a nation, admitted our wrong-doing. Denmark slave trade/slavery itself abolished it about 1803. England in 1833; 1811, Spain; 1848, France; 1863, U.S. and so forth. Did these and other countries have the ongoing problem of integration like the U.S.?
I'm not sure about those other European powers, but I understand that England, while being for many decades a prominent purveyor of slaves, never actually allowed slavery within England itself. It was limited to the colonies. As one of those colonies, we lived cheek-to-jowl with our slaves, forever marking our society.
I wonder if some insights could be had by looking at prison societies. Here in the U.S., prison populations very strictly self-organize by race -- no matter your views outside, if you want to survive prison, don't cross those color/ethnicity lines. I wonder if English prisons organize the same way? French? Saudi Arabian? Nigerian?
"Civilized" means to me that each civilian is responsible for their own behavior, unlike ancient Celtic law which holds the perpetrators relatives for 7 to 9 generations and degrees of cousins responsible, and who have to pay the value of the crime. In a big country like the US, it's easy to just disappear and get lost, so media accountability is doubly important, especially now that so many more people are suddenly in poverty, suffering from loss if homes due to fires, floods, hurricanes, climate change, and RepubliCON leaders refusal to help anyone by leveling the playing field. It's time to take the media mogols to task and reset standards to a decent level and make a clear separation between fantasy and reality, and focus on healing our nation. In some places police and military are already beginning to reform. The media should lead in regaining some national common sense. IMHO
Susan, thank you for your thoughtful & hopeful comments on civilization! You describe how easy it USED TO BE to get lost in this vast country which touches upon one of the central contributing factors to growing incivility that we don't seem to talk about much as we pass the 8 billion mark in human population (~11/15/22); OVERPOPULATION, or at least perceived overpopulation. Most every species of animal which has been studied (think lemmings, most recently mountain lions - Science News) demonstrate that as population density grows the rate of deviations from "normal" behavior grows with that density. When one adds the growing encroachment of climate change on the human population worldwide as well as in the United States it amplifies the pressure felt by humans., let alone the growing deviations of "wild" animals and even flora. That men with guns from the fringes of society appear as the most dramatically visible evidence of that deviation from acceptable civilized society I suspect that the deviations in political norms may also be an outgrowth of that perceived pressure. While we must find political solutions to manage these growing deviations from the norm, it will likely help us to recognize the major contribution to those deviations from climate change and perceived population density.
It was the assassinations of JFK, MLK and RFK that turned me into an ardent supporter of the true purpose of the Second Amendment -- a well-regulated militia. I blanch each time the SCOTUS has chipped away at that protection against anarchy. EDIT: I didn't say this very well but I'm not going to delete it. What I meant to say is that I became a staunch gun control advocate because I believe that the Second Amendment was about having trained militias to guard the homeland. That amendment actually became mute once the National Guard came into being. But because of successive decisions by the SCOTUS we now have people who openly carry weapons of war on our city streets.
I don’t understand your comment. What does the assassination of leaders have to do with a well-regulated militia? Do you believe these men deserved to die?
It's my fault for not stating my position clearly. I meant to say that those assassinations made me a staunch gun control advocate and person who believes that the 2nd Amendment is about having a well-regulated militia. But, just to be clear, neither JFK nor RFK were protected by "tons of guns." It was their assassinations that lead to much stronger protection details for presidents and for presidential candidates. Now a president can't go anywhere without an armored entourage that includes a fully-stocked and staffed ambulance.
Thank you Pensa_VT; " ... harmful disinformation & propaganda" .. We must address platform immunity whether the platform is physical, visual or digital. The malevolent circumstances has a name: "STOCHASTIC TERRORISM". See, Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969) not an insignifact year for basic 1st Amendment grounding. The 1st Amendment bars restrictions on GOVERNMENT action not on Carlson nor Elon Musk, not incitement, not verbal nor written threats of violence, not defamation, not even commercial defamation. The law develops in historical circumstances; we have new historical circumstances.
Yes. Yes. Yes. As we are writing at this early morning (for west coast) hour, with even some debate about gun control, another shooting is reported at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia. Mass shooting with at least six dead. This from news on YouTube where I had connected to todays link to Eisenhower’s reaction to the JFK assassination.
Yep. Men defending themselves against innocent children, shoppers, protestors, theatre, concert, nightclub and church goers. And now elections and leaders they don't like due to their need for power and dominance and brainwashing propaganda. They are their own feared apocalypse imposed upon all of us.
Another heartbreaking mass shooting and at a Walmart, where shoppers, after working all day, were probably obtaining what they need for Thanksgiving, or getting in some Christmas shopping. I will never be numb to these tragedies and I too have wondered why most mass shootings are perpetrated by white men. Thanks for the link, Zella.
Thank you for both your quick actions and the support you gave your co-worker in an awful situation. That is a traumatic incident, and your reactions to the most recent spate of mass shootings is to be expected. I'm glad you've figured out your personal self-care (music, both listening to it and playing it) are both part of my personal coping strategy. One of my "big three" professional traumatic incidents was the suicide of a friend (he and his wife were officers in a municipal agency that was in my county; they lived in the county, and both he and his wife were friends of mine).
Zella, I suggest that since earliest times humans have been organized as nuclear family groups collected as tribes. Also since earliest times, it was the young men who were most likely pushed out of that comfy family group as the dominant male perceived growing threat for dominance of the group as well as the genetic advantage of reduced inbreeding. That has continued in more "civilized" form in this country as the tendency for males to move farther away from their families to find mates, good for both genetics as well as family harmony while females have tended to remain closer to those mothers, aunts & grandmothers who can help with child-rearing. There are cultures in which the woman goes to live in the male's family (Pakistan? Afghanistan? India?) but that has been less the norm in North America. So men are more often pushed to the fringe. And I think you are correct about our culture in which boys are taught "big boys don't cry;" it works better for eventual military conscription & training that way (think Viet Nam era). And if you're not going into the military how else are you going to get that greatest of all phallic symbols, a GUN! When you feel powerless or losing power you can go get a gun.
...then there are motorcycles, fast, powerful cars, ever bigger trucks, and I suppose the ultimate phallic symbol, though not generally accessible to the majority of males, ROCKETS!😏
More privileged and yet they whine. Rupert (the most privileged of old white men) says so. Best wishes for a lovely holiday weekend, unless you are burying your dead…
Sadly, the shooter at UVA was African American as were the boys he killed, all high achieving students with brilliant futures ahead. The shooter had previous anger issues and was about to be called in for disciplinary action by UVA authorities.
TC, To be clear, my intent is not to diminish the growing signs of our culturally decadent civilization ravaged by the constant fear of violent assault and cruel insult, let alone the mean-spiritedness and coldheartedness that dominates much of our discourse. Still, I believe it equally important to take heart from the 50+% of the electorate who, earlier this month, supported candidates who accept the results of elections, who accept the rule of law, who don’t congenitally lie, and who don’t pander and indulge in conspiracy theories.
I imagine virtually all of us on this thread would agree that when we undermine these fundamental values—when we throw them away—not only does that create havoc domestically, but it makes us weaker internationally. Indeed then, we must call upon leadership that, for the past two years, has been leading a wide coalition abroad likewise to lead here at home, starting with legislation passed in the House since 2021 dealing with criminal justice, immigration reform, the economy, education, healthcare, climate, and more.
Thank you, Barbara. Well spoken. I worry when people get so attached to negativity they can't see that we have the building blocks we need - and the foundation. All of us have things in our lives that can pull us down, but we don't have to let that set the standard for how we approach all of life. Your post is a reminder of that, and a pointer to the choices we can make to move closer to our idea of equity, safety, and justice.
Thanks for reminding us that we DO have much to be thankful for. We were near the precipice. But we stepped back. I am more hopeful now than I have been in a long time. Warnock will win. The Senate will be even more powerful for the forces of good. And even if Biden doesn't get another piece of legislation signed, he will have accomplished more than almost all his predecessors. And then there will be the trifecta of 2024. The House will be returned to sane hands with powerful experienced young leadership.
I am preparing my list of suggestions for "Speaker Jeffries". Climate Action(jobs to save the Earth), Immigration Reform (the welcoming kind) and economic equality (tax the oligarchs!) to begin with. And gun control, of course....
Bill, While I am hopeful regarding 24, I am not as confident and expect we will be working as hard as, maybe harder than, we have in previous cycles. On another matter, I loved reading that you already have started preparing your “list” for Jeffries. As for me, I’m still post carding and phone banking for Warnock and pressing Dems, while they still control Congress, to advance protective measures like reforming the Electoral Count Act and prophylactically raising the debt ceiling to block Republicans, who have threatened to hold it hostage to extract concessions like cuts to Social Security and Medicare.
Jeri, In my view, “the zoo” won’t “take center stage” unless we allow it. For example, given the Republican’s very narrow majority in the House combined with virtually no vision or leadership, I expect mostly chaos. Additionally, I do anticipate we will have 51 Senate Democrats, giving us substantially more control on Senate committees than the 50-50 split had afforded, not to mention rendering Sinema, though not Manchin, irrelevant. As a final point, I would note that winning every statewide race in battleground states provides some safeguards for free and fair elections in 24 and beyond.
Kathy, I should have clarified that by chaos I meant an upending of any semblance of order necessary for a body to function. I also would note that, in my view, the next two years also will be a test of our own spirit.
The GQP House lunatics (zoo) will do two things. Entertain the other lunatics while embarrassing the rest of the nation. They will be roundly defeated in 2024. In that year we will see the largest coalition in modern history vote out the whackos. The Insurrectionists will be serving time. The Blue Wave will drown out the evil doers. Things will get done that have been waiting for way too long. I hope I am here to see it happen.
One necessary step towards becoming a civilized country would be to make it illegal to possess a firearm that can fire more than once without being reloaded. A second step would be to override the 2nd Amendment, which was passed partly to augment the US military in its mission, endorsed from the beginning by the first US president, of terrorizing the indigenous population with enough brutal violence to suppress any notions they might have of resisting domination by European settlers. The uncivilized character of the US enterprise was locked in from the outset, on purpose, with forethought and violent intention. It worked then, and it continues to plague us now.
If the amiable cohesive development of commonality for all Americans leading to a Public Good can be considered civilized we have miles to go.
Our problem is we rise in the morning, flood our secure space with light and warmth, brew a beverage of ground beans from far shores then enter a day the end of which costs mighty amounts of fossil fuel burning and call it “Civilized life.”
Our luxurious life style creates poverty of 1/3 of our fellow Americans and it burdens the atmosphere with the equal amount of carbon as 1600 Ethiopians.
With about 2/5’s of Americans dissatisfied with their share of the world goods and millions eager to destroy the structure that is America we had better decide if reaching some form of decent civilization is a genuine goal or an unreachable quest beyond our grasp.
Sad. Oops, there it is, history (but especially current politics) making me uncomfortable. Goid thing we're not in school in floriduh TC, we'd both be expelled.
Maybe, in light of what is to come after the USA it will seem civilized. Ancient Egypt is called the first civilization; constantly raiding its neighbors for slaves and keeping the population under religious terror. - Keep writing true history instead of building pyramids!
I see the "hate on America club" has convened today. That's too bad.
I am with refugees from other Countries who are amazed at being in America. Perspective is everything. What's ironic is that, most likely, the people who may send me a "but everything is awful, and we suck" response can walk out their door and walk around freely. When was the last time the police showed up for something you posted here? Have any of your family or friends been "disappeared?"
We are indeed in dire straits here. The whole planet is seething and heaving. People are begging to get into America. Perspective is everything.
Those of us who were born here and do very much appreciate all that our country has to offer, also see all that it needs to change to truly become all that it says it is. Never more so than right now. We understand that in the near future, we may not be able to walk around freely. Speak freely. Love freely. Make decisions for ourselves freely. Be free.
And conscious americans are working hard every single day to keep that free democratic ideal alive. As we debate, school boards across "free" floriduh are banning books. Democracy and free speech took a hit this time around.
Being conscious also includes respect and appreciation for what we have at this moment. Practicing hate speech on this Country serves no activism/political purpose. It is in fact dispiriting. Perhaps the enemies of Democracy love it when we do this. It could mean they are winning. We send the message of "what is there worth fighting for?"
We can isolate various situations and use it as a hammer for hating on this Country. Or we can respect and work with what we have. There is much to do.
Looking at the big picture people wiser than me are claiming a resounding victory for Democracy.
The US doesn’t get a pass on having, by design, the most violent civilian population the planet just because a lot of people want to live here. You point out that the US isn’t as bad as, say Pinochet’s Chile (which was put in place by the US government). Yes, good on us for that. Doesn’t make us civilized.
I hear Eisenhower’s statement as aspirational and a way, as a leader, of guiding the nation away from anger, fear and violence. If more of our present day leaders could speak as sincerely about the strength and unity our country needs we could, perhaps, regain some of our shared purpose and commitment to each other. I’m sure Eisenhower saw in the commitment, courage and loyalty to each other of the men he commanded during the war, the most uncivilized undertaking of any country, the best of what the US could be.
I was eleven years old. I remember that awful day in 1963 like it was yesterday. The sights. The sounds. The tears. A nation’s shock and its grief. All seared into my memory.
I was a month shy of 13 and, like you, remember everything in remarkably vivid detail. The nonstop news coverage, too, especially the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald the next day and the funeral for JFK. Adding to the grief and shock was my admiration for JFK, especially in the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis a year earlier — a terrifying event for the world but especially for a kid in Central Florida.
At the time, my father was stationed in NC at Ft. Bragg. Florida was definitely on the edge. Living on a military base is a bit scary too in situations that could result in a war, as bases would become targets. We were sort of holding our collective breath during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
I was also an ‘army brat’ and was 12 when Pres. Kennedy was shot, living at Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah. Our school was dismissed with the announcement of the death and we ran home to find our mother sobbing and in tears. It was such an unsettling time.
I was 5, and banished to the back of the house with a "Quick-draw McGraw" album. I remember the neighborhood adults sitting in our living room, crying.
My father-in-law had earned a bronze star for his covert flying missions in an Albatross doing low level recon in Cuba and transporting infiltration/exfiltration personnel to and from Cuba. He was in the cadre of Air Force One pilots 11/22/63, and was not on the Texas trip. My wife and her brother (ages 3 and 1) had been playing in the car, knocked it out of gear, and it rolled down the driveway and into a neighbor's tree. The three of them were at the autobody shop when he was scrambled. My mother-in-law had to take a taxi to the shop, and finish dealing with the incident. My FiL was gone three days, completely out of contact.
Michael, I was 18, had just entered the convent ( Benedictines at St. Leo). I was at the college in a physics class when the teacher across the hall ( an Irish monk named Malachy McGuire) had a radio and started shouting to us what had happened. Ordinarily, as novices, we were not allowed tv news or newspapers. ( Maybe why I went into tv-news later) But when Kennedy was shot the tv went on non- stop and the Mother Superior let all of us watch it, right through the funeral. Awful, awful time. That day and the Cuban Missile Crisis were the two events seared into my Central Florida young adulthood.
Cloistered in a convent and then, suddenly, the evil of the outside world can't be avoided. Remarkable memory for a day none of us can forget.
Speaking of Central Florida, some of the high schools didn't cancel their football games that Friday night. It was disrespectful, especially because the decision likely had something to do with politics and JFK being Catholic. Hope I'm wrong about that.
Evelyn, I was 9 at the time. I awoke yesterday (Tuesday), and thought JFK died on this day, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. That experience is forever burned in my memory. And to have 11/22 fall this year on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving brought all of the memories flooding back. Such a loss; such a pivotal moment.
What a great quote: Eisenhower replied: “The country is far more important than any of us.”
Once again, we are reminded of the norms that we took for granted until TFG and his allies shattered them. These norms are as seemingly small as adherence to the emoluments clause of the Constitution and as large as the peaceful transfer of power. Now we have candidates refusing to admit defeat and elections officials refusing to certify the votes cast. Even though we stopped a red wave, we need to keep in mind that things are not as we used to expect; we need to keep informed so that we know what essential norms are being attacked so that we can shine a bright light on them as we urge our representatives to codify them into law.
"“These things have happened,” he said, “and it seems inexplicable to me, because Americans are loyal, and it is just this occasional psychopathic sort of accident that occurs and I don’t know what we can do about it…."
Loyalty is a quality that is earned. When a government turns psychopathic, only psychopaths remain loyal to it.
It is a fact that psychopathic governments exist. "What we can do about it..." is strive to prevent psychopaths from getting into positions of power either in government or into positions where they can buy control over those elected to government.
Given the difference in status in Kennedy's time and now in waging illegal, undeclared wars, allowing the nation's infrastructure to decay, bankrupting families and depriving others of care through a murderous for-profit system of health care, generating more homeless citizens, destroying workers' efforts to unionize, imprisoning whistleblowers and publishers who report government malfeasance, militarizing the police, allowing oligarchs to destroy our planet and letting psychopaths have unrestricted access to military hardware, it seems like our government has moved toward becoming psychopathic. We just narrowly avoided making that official in 2020.
When one party lies, spins, cheats in order to rule without opposition, (and it ain’t Dems, despite Rupert’s vitriol), it is Nazism. Ike knew this well. And he warned us. Call it what it is.
Listen to Rachel Maddow's podcast "Ultra" for chilling examples of how it has happened in the 1940's following Joe McCarthy's "Red Scare!" ...right up through Congress, the DOJ and finally even President Truman.
Eisenhower was a general who fought Nazism, so he surely did know that well. But what he also warned us about was unregulated corporatism, and particularly the military-industrial complex.
I clicked the link to Ike’s comments on JFK’s assassination. I particularly noticed his remark “In a civilized country this doesn’t happen.” Massachusetts may be our most civilized state with its gun safety laws and lowest death rate due to guns. Y’all know that the authorities in Colorado let slide the red alert on the shooter at the LGBTQ club. I feel sick.
I am not sure there really was a Camelot even though I lived through it (I was in high school) and admired Kennedy enormously -- much to the dismay of my very Republican parents. I was devastated by his assassination.
In retrospect, JFK was flawed, as all Presidents are, brought to power supported by family wealth, without a strong personal moral compass, a great orator, with a mixed record on dealing with crises (Bay of Pigs, Cuban Missile crisis, the start of Vietnam) at a time when violent racism was rampant. I think a major part of his legacy that tends to be neglected was a renewed focus on science and technology and the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
Kennedy was marketed as an agent of change, youthful, vigorous, glamourous and idealistic, against a sweaty and crude pol, Nixon.
I think at some level we do a disservice to history to keep the Camelot narrative alive. It is a fog that veils us from the racial violence and killings of civil rights leaders and the sheer terror of the Cuban missile crisis that was going on during Kennedy's presidency.
Georgia I completely agree. I've often thought that Camelot was nothing more than a justified response by the Catholics and monied people who idiolized that fabricated personna of the Kennedys. The reality is, JFK was a good public speaker who had a revolving door of women. To this day, whenever I hear Jackie Kennedys name, I only think of what that woman was forced to put up with. If you honestly think Camelot was a glorious time, I'll eat my hat.
I grew up in an "I like Ike" family. My folks didn't like JFK. They thought he was all show. The truth is that we'll never know what he might have accomplished. As Georgia said, he flopped on a few projects and I have always thought that he should have been held accountable for the beginnings of Vietnam - a conflict invented from paranoia and a stunning lack of knowledge about the Vietnamese themselves. Now we buy their T-shirts. Johnson turned up the volume on the lies and ignorance and then the violence. But I digress.
I was 16 when JFK was killed. I came home from school and my entire "Republican I like Ike family" was in tears. It was an unimaginable horror. My folks had risked their lives to protect their country. Now it was being attacked from within. Politics became irrelevant.
I listened to Johnson and was reassured that he was experienced and could handle the job. It was a few years later that I began to learn just how misguided these two presidents were. But then...it was just a horror.
This week the NYT interviewed people about who should run in 2024. After several rebukes for leaping ahead when the heat of 2022 had barely cooled, one respondent said - I have deep misgivings about anyone who would consider running for President.
I remember my shock and terror…I was a brand new mother, living in Washington D. C., full of Kennedy hope. Today your post appears in my mailbox above news of another horrible mass shooting. Thank you for your steady, extraordinary, brilliant efforts to explain the present moment. You have kept hope alive. I am thankful for you this year, and some day my brand new great granddaughter will study history and be thankful for you too.
Yes, Kim. I remember as if it were yesterday. My brutal step-father was jubilant at the news that Kennedy had been shot. I went to school, thinking a bad man had been extinguished. The bad man was the one who had married my mother and brutalized me and my little brother.
This was in Florida, but it is certain that racial hatred and small-mindedness are just two of the feasts for white right-extremism - in the South and throughout the nation.
Thanks Mike. It wasn't easy. As silly as it may sound, it was the song we sang in the all-white Southern Baptist church: "Jesus loves the little children - all the children of the world. Red and Yellow, Black and White, they are precious in his sight." I beccame a musician, and then a theologian. I still look to that Jewish rabbi for guidance.
So sorry, Rosalind. It’s a hard childhood to live with the sentiments and actions of anger, abuse and vitriol, racism and hate. It seems you have been fortunate to have been helped by mentors and loving, caring people. What we all need for our mental health. Now you pass that love on.
Music. It was music - and my own childish brand of who Jesus was. My mother did stand up for me having horn lessons, which led me to a college scholarship and the rest of my life.
It was the end of the age of innocence for me. I think my real adult life started that day, even though married two years with infant twins. My husband (a recent Naval Officer) and I were brought to our knees for at least a week. We were glued to a tiny TV set, attended a funeral mass, cried and held our babies close. The America I felt was the best society in the world suddenly wasn’t. In a new house ( our first) less than a month, student teaching, actually getting used to adult life, I suddenly became interested in the real world. I will add here, I attended Kennedy’s acceptance speech for his Presidential nomination held in the L.A. Coliseum. While a college student I worked at one of the hotels housing delegates to Convention and got to interact with them at front desk. Our manager sent the three of us students off to that big event because of historical significance. That made the assassination that much more horrific.
Thanks, Sue. Yes, that's how we all felt about America then, and the President of America was an untouchable hero. I was living in New Zealand during the campaign, and I remember one journalist commenting that he saw Pat Nixon as a more likely First Lady than the "glamorous Jackie Kennedy". Then the pageant unfolded, with "Ask not what your country can do for you." He was strength, he was hope, and we forgave him things like "Happy birthday Mr President". And Jackie? Watch the video of Clint Hill's recollections of Dallas, and what she was in the act of doing when he managed to scramble into the front of the limousine, her words to the man dying in her arms, her dignity imprinted with stark shock and despair. I watched the chain of videos Heather put on line here. All of them extraordinarily revealing. Jackie's rose garden has been destroyed, so recently.
I remember the day Kennedy was shot. I was in the 7th grade in Barron Ave. Jr. High School in Woodbridge, NJ.
I remember the steady, reassuring voice of Walter Cronkite staying on the air…forever, it seemed to me.
And, I remember the Republican Party of Dwight Eisenhower.
What would those two decent, unselfish, patriotic men think of today’s Republican Party?
That day was indeed a turning point for me. That was the day the facade of what I believed this country was, and I really believed, cracked. The assassinations that followed, the Vietnam War, what I learned about the treatment of black and indigenous peoples that ensued in the following few years, reduced the facade into a pile of rubble.
I learned it was better to see the world as it really is, even if I didn’t like what I was seeing.
It’s been a long time since that day. There has been much progress, and much left to do. Ike’s GOP has degenerated into a mob of zealots it seems to me.
Still, I will be thankful tomorrow; first for my (reasonably) good health, and then for the efforts of so many of us to bend MLK’s arc of history toward truth and justice.
And, I will be thankful for Heather Cox Richardson for helping me to remember and understand.
Ralph, thank you for your stirring words. Anyone of a certain age remembers JFK's assassination, Walter Cronkite almost breaking down on-camera, the funeral, and the events of that long weekend. The end of the age of innocence ..
I am among those who remember precisely where I was, and what I was doing when my brother ran in to my room to tell me the dreadful news that JFK had been assassinated. The country did,for a time, stand behind the government. Then the centrifugal forces of the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, the Hippie and Counter-culture Movements began to tear at the fabric of our lives. Those challenges, however, seem to have sought the vision of America that the current right wing despises. Plurality, democracy, fairness are no longer goals of the current GOP., if they ever were. JFK's assassination threw the country headlong into ugly realities.
The better angels of our nature: we harken to the better angels of our nature.
That inclusion in our plan is what distinguishes this country's direction and mission towards being more Civilized . The architects of the Constitution knew they did not and could not get everything right in that 4500-word document, but they left room for, and an imperative to, get it more right, later. That is what makes us civilized. Yes, settlement here came with manifold sins committed, but there’s room, and a directive, to get it right.
“The country is far more important than any of us.”
In my Early Childhood Education classes in the '80s in British Colombia, Canada and in Orange County, California, the professors were very concerned about violence in children's cartoons, specifically those produced in Japan, which were popular with children, and with those produced by Disney. The thought was that villains were being idolized as powerful, something children wish to be. The impressions made on their minds at an early age would influence their later years. Parents weren't prepared to manage this negative influence, and teachers tried to counteract it in school, but it was so difficult to fight big money behind the entertainment industry.
Even in the '70s when he was barely a teenager, my son, who later made films, was horrified by the children's cartoons from Japan, regarding them as criminal... as mind poison.
Not every American shares the “indignation” for the effects of the murderers in our country. The ongoing onslaught of violence, murders, and incredible injustice challenges our best intentions. These deep divisions create space for dehumanizing the other and are amplified by politicians and others with a microphone.
Such tragic outcomes seem inevitable.
With a sad and heavy heart I offer gratitude for all the blessings of this life, and in the work for peaceful community, I offer my life. Take my life, not the young ones who hold our futures.
We are a sick nation; our civility eroded by countless careless opportunistic acts. The healing we must have is dependent upon our communities and our local leaders. It’s dependent upon us, each and every one of us, in our daily, ordinary lives.
In grief, gratitude, love, and work, I earnestly pray for integrity and wisdom in our leaders and in our own lives. All depends upon our fortitude in love.
Kim, Not long ago, Reverend Senator Raphael Warnock said, “A vote is a kind of prayer,” a statement I incorporate in virtually every postcard, letter, and conversation with voters. I sensed, reading your comment, that you seemed to have a special insight into Warnock’s thought process, and, now, thanks to your comment, my appreciation for Warnock’s words also has deepened.
Barbara, thank you for sharing Sen. Rev. Ralphael Warnock’s words. May he beat that opportunist that is running against him. Pray that GA voters will support him.
Peace, JoyDawn
@JoyDawn, Because the regrettably popular Governor Kemp, having won his race, is now campaigning hard for Walker, I expect many of us will be post carding, phone banking, canvassing (if we’re local), whatever it takes to help ensure this standout Senator keeps his seat.
I've done my bit for Sen. Warnock- I wrote Vote Forward letters and Swing State post cards and donated. I expect a lot of us have done similar things... let's hope our efforts pay off If so, that means we'll hold the Senate more firmly and won't have to have Kamala be the 51st as much.
Still writing postcards for him -- another batch will go into the mail today. Early voting starts next Monday; the runoff is Dec. 6. There's still time. PostcardstoVoters.org
Barbara, I appreciated hearing from you. I would note, aside from rendering the likes of Kyrsten Sinema irrelevant, holding a 51 majority vs. a 50-50 split means that Dems would hold the controlling vote on each committee allowing for Democratic majorities more readily to get legislation out of committee and onto the floor. Though little if any would get through the House, the goal would be to draw sharp distinctions between the two parties.
There are plenty of ways to help Sen Warnock, postcards phone banking, calling your friends and relatives in GA, donating cash. Praying is good, taking action helps more.
Did you miss the OP's point, that taking action is a form of prayer?
Good point, Susanna, voting is another way to support Sen. Warnock and voting is an action that is a kind of prayer. I think that's what it is.
That Warnock is a wonderful man, and what a great thought to incorporate into your letters!
I wasn't aware that Sen. Warnock had said that, but it is *exactly* how I feel when I'm writing postcards or posting on social media. Thanks so much for sharing your experience.
Beautifully spoken Kim; I needed your words when I am still reeling from the unspeakable at Club Q. There are some folks such as Army vet, 3 purple hearts, Richard Fierro that instinctively respond quickly, giving instructions & receiving help from at least 2 others to disable sudden violence. Thank you Richard & thank you Kim.
I heard an interview with Richard Fierro on NPR yesterday. His daughter's high school sweetheart was among the victims, his daughter and wife were wounded. Just hearing him speak was very uplifting and I admire his courage and non-political point of view.
It is good to make contact with you today. It is always good to be in touch with you. Connection. That is our mission; it is our love for one another. Salud, Bryan Sean McKown.
Beautifully said Kim!
Thank you, Karen. I’m deeply troubled by these endless acts of violence that appear to be stoked by ‘leaders’ in our country. I feel powerless. And yet…
And yet you aren't powerless, your words touch everyone they reach and motivate them to resist the violence. We will prevail, but not as quickly as we'd like.
That’s right guys. We are prevailing. It’s just that there is a lot more that must be done and who else is there to do it but each one of us? That’s the responsibility we embrace; Ike, Jack and Lyndon each got that in their own ways. When we more clearly know where we’ve been we have a good shot at understanding where we are now and where we can and must go. Don’t let any naysayer take you off your many good tasks ahead. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
And a happy Thanksgiving to you as well.
attempted like
attempted ike
Thanks MaryPat.
Thanks.
I have written to the Congressional Task Force on Gun Violence Prevention about the shootings at UVA that my family member was exposed to. Colbert Monday night read Congress the riot act on gun violence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4hBrbCsiCw Ending it has so many moving parts. The heart of the crisis is the legislators whose campaigns are funded by the NRA and gun manufacturers who are cowed into looking the other way or making empty excuses about mental health and the 2nd amendment. For now, I will focus on violence in schools, how we keep our kids safe while working to curb gun access nationwide.
Thank you for this Colbert clip. Shared.
Me as well, Kim. We have in this country people, entities, who are exploiting and profiting off of our divisions. They continue to drive the wedges in between us, and they do it for one reason alone: money. Hate sells. Keeping people angry and fearful sells. Demonizing those you disagree with sells. Stoking resentment against those who are different from you sells. And on and on it goes. Done in the name of an interpretation of the First Amendment. Even politicians are now riding these waves of hatred and getting elected on platforms that mirror these fears and anger. It is a vicious, vicious cycle that continues to spiral out of control. It is easy to feel powerless when confronted with the daily onslaught of all this. AND YET...we persist. Change starts within each one of us and we have seen that justice and truth CAN prevail when we band together and fight for them. Damn the torpedoes and steer the course. I tune a lot of it out to keep my wits about me, but I also seek out reinforcement among people with whom I share a similar mind...like "all y'all"! (Southern-speak that means "everybody") Okay, maybe that's doing nothing but increasing the "division" in the country, but I have to believe that the shrill voices of hatred and ignorance have little substance and will eventually be seen for what they are. That will only happen if we hold steadfast to what we believe. It is what has held this country together for 246 years, so we can't forsake it now. A happy and meaningful Thanksgiving to you and all on here...and God bless us every one.
As someone who rejects the "lone madman" shooter meme, it behooves us to recall that the dark media networks are a unifying voice for the radical right Fascists in America.
The gunmen are similar to Isis and Al Queda; a vile pseudo-political movement which encourages individuals to kill in the name of racism, misogyny, antisemitism and homophobia; although they would call it "purification."
They are not alone. They are the point-men for the movement, and have been indirectly encouraged to kill and usually to suicide as self-styled martyrs.
I sincerely hope that our government recognizes the loosely-knit but intentional "conspiracy" of mass shootings. Not only are the shooters "mentally ill," they are almost always young white males who are isolated. The repeated stereotype and the use of semi-automatic weapons should be a call to prohibit such weapons and dismantle the information technology that encourages these loose cannons.
I agree! What we are missing is indignation at the violence in out country and leaders that glorify violence.
Thank you, Kim. Your words are the silent prayer we live with in our country. The conflict and confusion, violence, Gun laws and ownership, part of our national conversation that is always with us. With the hope we will someday see the Truth.
You stated my thoughts, Kim, and you said them more eloquently than I would have. 👏🏼👏🏼
HCR, 11/22
Kim I think you have expressed the sadness that many of us have felt as we experience the tragedies and injustices that divide us today. I agree that these divisions "create space for dehumanizing the other." And clearly the healing you call for is "dependent upon each and every one of us."
I would like to offer a somewhat different view of your statement that "We are a sick nation." We are a complex nation with many differences. A nasty group of cynical power grabbers who know how to set the stage for "them vs us" stories, continue to use riling up fear and rage, as well as extolling ignorance, to achieve their goals. This leaves us open to all the injustice, violence and lack of civility that is the inevitable result....in some folks. At the same time, this past election has given me great hope that these folks and their willing dupes are not the majority, and don’t hold all the power. Tthey just make more noise, that's all. (a paraphrase of my favorite line spoken by Jean Arthur to Jimmy Stewart in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” at his darkest hour of despair.)
So the healing that you call for is that much more possible because a majority of us really want it, and are attempting to practice it in our daily lives.... and it's already happening! Thousands if not millions of us are writing postcards, making phone calls, sending texts, to support candidates who we believe are motivated by justice and compassion and love of our country, even as they seek the power of public office. We got a lot of them elected, we're still working for Senator Warnock, and we will continue to work as we focus more and more on local and state elections from now on. So while there are many "sick" aspects to our nation, we are healing just like a human body, by recognizing, and treating the illness, but also by recognizing, strengthening and "cheering on" the cells that are already healthy so they may grow and flourish and take over. Blessings,
Chaplain Terry Nicholetti - connection - it is in connecting that we find our strength and our love for one another.
Well said, kim.
Thanks, Cathy. Means much coming from you.
Your words spoke to my soul. We have power if we work together in hope and love.
We do, indeed.
Thank you, Kim. Like so many of us, I've been heartsick here for some time seeing the loss of respect for others that drives so many interactions. Your final sentences touched me; I will join you in those prayers.
What you wish for not just in our leaders but all world leaders. We all have to play together in the same sandbox. Pray we learn to get along.
It is our only sandbox. Trash it at our peril…
I saw an interview on msnbc with Tim Miller about the Club Q massacre. He said local authorities refused to enforce the state's red flag laws that would have removed the guns from the killer a year ago when he had threatened to blow up his mother with a bomb. The law that could have prevented this was already on the books!
It's Colorado Springs.....haven for radical right regressives and fundamentalists. As far as I am concerned what happened falls also on them. We here in Oregon passed a gun initiative and already there is a lawsuit and a whole bunch of sheriffs saying they won't enforce it.
They would rather be called to the next mass shooting or a domestic or road rage incident. I really get tired of all the calls for doing something about gun violence when people refuse to address the elephant in the room.
There are several elephants in the room. The power of the gun lobby, which has managed to co-opt interpretation of the 2nd Amendment. Toxic masculinity (seriously -- how many XX-chromosome people have been mass shooters?). Economic power, on which the Constitution provides no checks and balances -- and (as HCR has called attention to many times) as soon as you call for checks on economic power, you're trashed as a commie, socialist, pinko, etc.). The room is crowded with elephants.
"you're trashed as a commie, socialist, pinko, etc."
That's sure the truth of it. Most Americans are afraid of those political choices. They're afraid of the words. It's Pavlovian. I believe it generates from the late 1940s and then the 1950s. So much indoctrination has been focused on the American people by our government and assorted other entities. A plethora of movies and tv series telling the American people about "those dirty commies." McCarthyism arose from the underworld and held sway over the Government and the people. It's hard to change such deeply-ingrained images and associations as so many of us have lived through. Hopefully, more of the younger people will rise up and realize that those terms are just words. Beyond that, we have to find a sustainable method of life and government if we are to carry on as a species. I imagine that lifestyle based more on the Danish model. There's a reason they always rank at or near the top in the annual U.N. happiness survey of the happiest nations on earch.
Keep reading HCR and you'll see that red-baiting (often coupled with other things, like racism, misogyny, and anti-immigrant movements) goes back long before the 1940s. Take a look at the period following World War I (and, not coincidentally, the Russian Revolution), including the Palmer Raids, the prosecution and eventual execution of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, and the white attack on the Black community of Tulsa. Then go back even farther, to the Haymarket affair of 1886. Organized (and organizing) labor was continually accused of being socialist or communist, which is a big reason so much of organized labor in the U.S. was so conservative and vocally anti-communist: to prove their loyalty. (The same could be said of the Democratic Party, especially after the New Deal.)
P.S. What do you mean by "McCarthyism arose from the underworld"? Meaning from organized crime?
1. "The underworld"? No, I'm not thinking of organized crime which is just a manifestation of the underworld, as was Joe McCarthy. I think of the underworld more in terms of Dante's nine circles of Hades--circles or sins which are born of FEAR. Until we, as individuals or a nation, work through our fears, we are subject to some degree of being controlled by those negative elements. The underworld could also be simply described as the dark side of our nature, the weaknesses we carry.
2. Yes, I was aware of most of the earlier movements toward justice before reading HCR. I emphasize the effect of the U.S. late '40s and '50s anti-communists/socialist' movements because of their "nuclear" spread (similar to the nuclear bombs dropped two years before). But how did that attitude spread so quickly and thoroughly during that time period? I see it this way. We know that all nations involved in war develop a propaganda machine to keep people fighting. In WWII (1941-45), the U.S. developed a very sophisticated propaganda system. Following the end of WWII, television was the new medium which spread the government's anti-communist/socialist message in a huge and effective manner. The atmosphere of Fear was spread like wildfire. And here we are....
3. Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you Cheryl, Tim Miller from Colorado has many skills, Tim has a best seller on the NYC List. Tim is a bulwark on the Bulwark platform & is a frequent panelist on msnbc at 4 pm Eastern.
As Tim summarized, Colardo's "Red Flag" law has only two (2) sources that can raise the Red Flag: a) the local police in this case the Red Flag Hostile Colorado Springs Police who have effectively set up a red-flag-free-zone in Colorado Springs and, b) the victim (in this case the Perp's mother) who also did not raise any flag of any color.
About one (1) year ago, the Perp's Neighborhood had to be disrupted & evacuated because of the Perp's grave bomb threat & threat to kill his mother. Police footage of the take down is all over the media now. As anyone can instantly see, The Perp is a very large man, much bigger than Richard Fierro.
I cannot imagine what this guy looked like in full body armor with an AR type automatic weapon. Still Richard Fierro charged him directly covered with blood & disabled further harm to anyone. Yes, Richard's daughter lost her boyfriend to sudden violence. Devastating.
Thanks for filling in the details. Yes, I've seen Tim many times on msnbc, and read many if his Bulwark writings. Also bought his book, WHY WE DID IT, though haven't read it yet. I hold him in very high esteem.
His brief interview with Steve Bannon recently was also right on. He didn't let Bannon get away with any of his crap. Called him on it, then said, " I'm not doing this." Tim is way up there on my list of courageous truthtellers.
'NOVEMBER 22, 2022 12:01 PM'
'Politicians in Colorado Springs Chose Flouting Gun Laws Over People’s Lives'
'The Club Q shooter had threatened his family and told police he would kill them, too. El Paso County politicians…'
TIM MILLER (thebulwark) See link below
https://thetriad.thebulwark.com/p/politicians-in-colorado-springs-chose
Thank you for the Link FERN; Tim lays out all the necessary facts compassionate facts.
Yup. They're a "freedom zone" regarding unfettered access to and usage of any firearm.
They need to be on the receiving end if the results if their misguided idea of what "freedom" is. 😪😡
Legal action in the works, criminal & civil, state & Federal. I am certain Tim will cover it.
Sad isn't it.
Love has no opposite, even though fear tries its worst to manifest that place. As the introduction in Course in Miracles, (first copyright 1975 by the Foundation for Inner Peace) states…
1. “This is a course in miracles. It is a required course. Only the time you take it is voluntary. Free will does not mean that you can establish the curriculum. It means only that you can elect what you want to take at a given time. The course does not aim at teaching the meaning of love, for that is beyond what can be taught. It does aim, however, at removing the blocks to the awareness of love’s presence, which is your natural inheritance. The opposite of love is fear, but what is all encompassing can have no opposite.
2. This course can therefore be summed up very simply in this way:
Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God.”
This stays with me throughout decades. It’s why I am a warrior for the awareness of Love’s presence. It is our natural inheritance. It is there in all things.
Thank you, Kim. A thanksgiving of fortitude in love, bounty and blessing for us all.
Unita! 💜
🗽
Christine, Gratitude and thank you.
Thank you for this heartfelt message.
In grief, gratitude, love, and work, I join you in the prayer for integrity and wisdom for us all. (I also devoutly appreciate the use of the Oxford comma.)
This octogenarian feels the same way. May I share your beautiful statement?
I`m going to read it out loud this coming Thursday at dinner.
Thank you for this excellent post. I was stuck by Eisenhower's words in contrast to what comes out of the mouths of so many Rs....basically calling for violence. I too am sad, but also have gratitude for those who make it their lives' work to make things better for all of us. It is a struggle because it is so much easier to be uncivil and hateful, than it is to be thoughtful, compassionate, and civil.
And yes, I wish everyone here a joyous and serene Thanksgiving in hopes that everyone experiences civility and love.
It's the week of Thanksgiving in America, and we have had two mass shootings in the past three days. And a third, if we go back another week. We do not need more heroic Americans stepping in to disarm these mass shooters. Stepping out one's front door has become an act of heroism today. Will today be the day I experience a mass shooting? Our votes are prayers, indeed. And I pray that the men and women of Congress act to end gun violence in America. I, for one, will not call them heroes. I will be grateful that they finally remembered how to do their job.
Damn tootin'
They are, mostly Rs, happy to have guns everywhere, so every angry mentally unstable person in the land can to their dirty work while all they offer is thoughts and prayers.
Kim ---Your words are a gift. Thank you
"In civilized countries of this world this doesn't happen."
Anyone who mistakes this country as "civilized" is either a fool or an ignoramus too stupid to know what is what.
To state the obvious, what distinguishes our country from truly civilized countries is one thing: guns, guns, and more guns — everywhere. Especially assault rifles.
While I certainly agree that our firearms fetish is a major indicator of our nation’s savagery, Michael, but there are so many indicators of our barbaric incivility throughout our history.
We might start with the “original sin” committed by the first “colonists” (read as invaders). The pillage and plunder heaped upon the aboriginal peoples of these continents, that marked the early years of the European foray into these lands, was perhaps as uncivil as any in human history. Add to that the importation of captive humans from Africa and the misogyny heaped upon women throughout the centuries, and we have a “perfect storm” of man’s inhumanity to man.
Sad but true, so wish that the history I learned many years ago, had been more honest. Maybe self-flagellation is not good for the soul, but a little truth and reconciliation would go a long way towards healing us all.
Jeri, I also wish for truth. What a wish. And this holiday, Thanksgiving, is an example of distorted stories. Add that to the states and political party that ban books and Critical Race Theory CRT, we continue to repeat history.
Thanks for your nice note... and this posting.
As counterpoint, Mr. Willis, your mea culpa is a bit histrionic. Yes, yes, our ancestors and contemporaries have done some really nasty shit, just like they've done some really wonderful shit, as well as a crap-load of really ordinary shit in between. All you've done is painted a single theme in really purple colors. But does it have anything to do with what Dr. Richardson wrote about? Is your polemic anything more than performative?
Perhaps I'm just too crabby this morning to appreciate figuratively standing in a circle rubbing each other's anger and self-righteous nubbins.
Wow, Mr. Addertongue. Your response appears to be the one full of histrionics. The shadows of our "civilized" country begin with our foundations of brutal colonization and dominance by white male privilege and power. White male supremacists are the ones who are appear in the powerful NRA and self-appointed militias, and sociopaths who control our lack of safety and that of our children. Maybe the color of one's skin as well as gender prevents the privileged from understanding this on a visceral level.
(grumble) As I mentioned, I was a bit crabby last night, for which I apologize. But the "foundation" of our civilization came when some smart cobber realized that if he, or more likely she, deliberately planted those tasty seeds in convenient places along her migratory route, she could have preferred plants to eat in more places. In other words, the origins of agriculture, another name for "altering your environment to suit yourself instead of the other way around."
Dominance and privilege predates even that, because even the most ragged band of chimpanzees know the importance of territory and the value of kin. And these important values are always enforced brutally. The "whites" happen to have achieved a global economic dominance for a few hundred years because of some technological and organizational advances, a dominance they've already lost. To think that "whites" are somehow more terrible than anyone else is to parrot Rousseau, not state an eternal truth.
To rephrase, nothing you've said about the NRA, white male privilege, or local militias is wrong. It's just too incomplete to be useful, and I refuse to flagellate my own culture on the basis of something that's boringly, terrifyingly common in human experience. As I said, it's not useful and simply accelerates the development of competitive control areas.
See https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331074460_WEAK_STATES_STRONG_NONSTATE_ACTORS_THEORY_OF_COMPETITIVE_CONTROL_IN_NORTHERN_SYRIA, and note that there's no mention of race or privilege. Yet it more accurately hints at the root of our American troubles than any theories related to skin color or sex.
Mr. Addertongue, I don’t believe it is histrionics or self-righteous to connect Gun violence with availability and protest against regulations. The USA is a standout in demonstrating that sociopolitical connection.
Sure, there's a connection, but how strong is it? As I understand it, Canadians have a higher per capita gun ownership that the U.S., yet murders with guns are comparatively rare. Violence, with guns or otherwise, seems to be a strong characteristic of American society, whether in our use of guns, our personal relationships, or our foreign policy. Where does that violence come from? What reinforces it? The weapon is secondary, the will to slaughter is primary.
For accurate data on worldwide Gun issues including USA and Canada here’s an excerpt, a rebuttal and clarification. Council on Foreign Relations. US Gun Policy and Global Comparisons:
“The United States, with less than 5 percent of the world’s population, has 46 percent of the world’s civilian-owned guns, according to the most recent report by the Switzerland-based Small Arms Survey (2018). It ranks number one in firearms per capita. The United States also has the highest homicide-by-firearm rate of the world’s most-developed nations. Many gun rights proponents say these statistics do not indicate a causal relationship.”
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/us-gun-policy-global-comparisons
Canadians absolutely DO NOT own more guns per capita than Americans! A number of sources place Canada seventh in gun ownership, with about 35 guns for every 100 people. The US is way out in front, with more than 120 guns for every 100 people. That's almost double the amount of the second-place country, Falkland Islands, with 62/100.
Bill Willis simply stated the all too often over looked TRUTH. We have been a nation of violence and cruelty and bigotry and hate from the moment the first Europeans stepped on Indigenous American soil.
May I recommend a book for you sir? "The Barbarous Years" by Bernard Bailyn
https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780394515700
I'm not sure if you were offering Mr. Bailyn's book to me, to Mr. Willis, or simply in general. At first blush, it looks like a good read, although it doesn't seem to limit itself to cruelty by European colonizers. I don't know if it's treated therein, but when it comes to breathtaking cruelty, I'd stack the Comanches against Nazis any day.
This fish bit the worm once and it tasted great. But I have no appetite for "whataboutism". Have a nice Thanksgiving.
[I’m not sure there’s much point in posting this at this late hour, Mr. Addertongue, but I felt I needed to be “on the record” in this string of comments. You’ve heard a lot from a lot of people and perhaps that’s your primary goal. In any case, here’s my two cents.].
I must apologize for the delay in my reply to your comment this morning, Dirk. I was downloading an upgrade to my iPad and then found myself too semiconscious (thankfully, as I have difficulty nodding off before dawn most nights) to respond to your thoughts.
The early part of my day has been full as well.
First off, my comments hardly fit the definition of “mea culpa”. My maternal grandparents were born enslaved: my grandfather in 1853, and my grandmother in 1861. Their oldest son was the victim of a lynching around the turn of the century. My mother, born in 1904–the last of 11 live/sustainable births–never knew her “big brother,” and I, born in 1938, did not ever meet my uncle.
So I, and my recent ancestors, have ever been the recipients of the human excrement you so colorfully describe. I cannot apologize for our suffering.
If I seem histrionic, I will not, as well, ask anyone to overlook my writing style, especially in regards to the terrors and inconceivable indignities heaped upon me and all those who look like me. The horrendous “drama” we have been subjected to can never be adequately described to one who has never been its target.
Lastly, my theme is hardly singular; it involves the harsh landscape crafted by the unconsciously evil, unbelievably rapacious “explorers” and their capitalist descendants who have wreaked ungodly pain and suffering on their unfortunate prey. That it does not include the popular, self-satisfied images of “America the beautiful…” is intentional, since we have been subjected to the fantasied hymns of glory and success ad nauseum throughout the history of the colonies and our nation.
As my postscript, I refer you to the last line of Dr. Richardson’s “Letter…”, quoting President Eisenhower: “In civilized countries of the world this doesn’t happen….”
That is the connection to my “polemic”.
Dear Mr. Willis, it is never too late to post and to share the Truth. Thank you. I can only apologize for the evil and heinous acts of terror and violence and denial that this Country, this government, inflicted upon your ancestors (and even after a devastating Civil War, continued to inflict upon you and your family and people of color and the descendants of enslaved people.) The American celebration of Thanksgiving is complicated most by the myths perpetuated from the beginning. Americans have also created myths about slavery. Again the Truth is often denied or simply not believed. After reading the 1619 Project and witnessing the denial and pushback, the prohibition of using it as CRT in many states, especially Southern states, it’s clear that the Truth continues to be denied by some people and reconciliation if ever possible may be far down the road. I would like to be wrong. I wish you and your family and this nation a time of reflection that will someday offer true Healing, Justice and Equality. Gratitude for your letter and your story. Our nation’s story.
Dear Mr. Willis,
Once again, you have reached in and touched my heart with your eloquence and words. Once again, I wish I could have tea with you and just chat. I knew Dirk did not know to whom he was addressing. He does not appear to know the evil and historical trauma just living in a tinted skin evokes from others with less tint. Thank you for your heart-wrenching response which evoked something from Mr. Addertongue, more than just trolling or trying to elicit something. Mr. Alstrom's response to Mr. Addertongue, says it all. What it really brings up appears to be the incredible guilt and/or denial of many white people who just do not know what to say or do about true history and tinted people's actual experience due to their skin, every minute. I think we make hollow attempts to liken our occasional troubles or traumas with theirs. It is not the same. "Equal rights" in America are a mere fantasia of words and not reality. Fortunately, Dirk's innocent-seeming response depicts exactly the problem we face. This is a hard walk and requires bravery. This is not nice soundbites and move on. Maybe to start, we need to acknowledge all the people whose blood, sweat and deaths are on all the bricks and mortar of our foundations. We need to brainstorm how to apologize, thank them and build places of honor for their ancestors.
At the same time, white supremacists are alive, arrogant, and petrified of equality, reprisal, and trying to hold on by all means possible to keep themselves at the top of our caste system.
We have witnessed the huge whiplash from voting for an educated, intelligent, erudite black president. Haters are out in the light of day telling us who they are and whom they hate.
What we will do with stories like Mr. Willis' is all of our responsibility. I do not claim to know the exact pathway, but we need to be educated and develop empathy. And, enough of us need to agree that America is not the best, most wonderful, patriotic home of the free and the brave. We cannot be ostriches anymore in this country. Though we have many patriotic people who stand up for our country and Constitution, we need to face ourselves here at home openly and honestly. To be the longest, most successful democracy in the world, we need to face our demons. And then follow-through with new guidelines and reparations and policies against hatred so all our people can be treated equally as our Constitution states.
I just visited S. Africa for three weeks. For all Nelson Mandela did, bless his heart, the tinted-skinned people still are the servants to the white-skinned people, despite their so-called Freedom. It felt just like America's deep south. And I felt just like a white, colonial woman being served. Those who served me and my friend were shocked at how we wanted to know them, and their lives, and what they would love outside of waitressing or being porters or safari guides. They were so excited to see us every day. We cried when we left one another. They just want the same things all of us want—to be seen and respected, to be paid fairly, to be musicians, therapists, actors, writers, dancers, artists, managers, doctors, leaders, owners of businesses or a reserve, time with their children, vacations, birthday parties. Our white Afrikaner host told us not to tip them. What!?!??! If you have ever been a waitress, you know how hard that work is for little pay. Our host told us the average wage is about $10.00 a day. A DAY. A hamburger at McDonalds cost $7.00 (170.16 rand). Nothing but human slavery, starving in a nice outfit. That is what S. African freedom gets you? All colonized countries can do their "freed" people a hell of a lot better than all that. We can go to the moon and mars. We just have to have the will.
I see the horrors of the current, white supremacist, radical terrorists and seditionists, and their infiltration across American government for the past 40+ years coming to a head. The blatant, open hypocrisy of these ignorant "Christians" and the "Moral Majority" who exalted a dangerous, narcissistic cult figure, who contained all the worsts traits of our humanity in one disgusting corpus. And it magnetized, gave permission to others to be their worst. In front of all the children in America and the world. The Beast was openly unleashed. And now we have no choice but to smell it, name it and this time deal with it properly. As a country, we cannot pretend anymore.
I have called it "deep gardening." America needs a vast amount of gardeners willing to dig up take out our diseased roots. It is not easy, but who ever said being human was easy?
Is it possible to keep this conversation going so we can grapple with our real history, not that written by the rich, white victors? Can we create a new path, together, with All of The People? Can we help towards some iota of reparations and honoring what indigenous and enslaved people sacrificed for the benefit of the wealthy United States of America? Can we start that now even as we fight for our democracy against authoritarianism? Can we deal with the corrupt "Citizens United" who are not citizens at all? Human beings are our citizens—in all shapes, sizes and colors.
We need to all stand, together, for this fight. Our people's historical trauma belongs to all of us. We must not repeat it. We need to respectfully hear voices like Bill's, listen and then hold their hands and walk this path together with honesty, respect and a desire to create something better, together, in our world. We also need to protect one another and stand up for each other when injustices by ignorance occur. For instance, racists need to do social justice reparations to the very person they harmed, every time they commit a hate crime. Our education system needs a complete revamping of the skills necessary to live together on earth and how to communicate diplomatically together. I could go on forever...but you get the gist if you have read this far.
I am so grateful for this community. It is like breathing oxygen every morning and makes me feel hopeful and creative that we can do something, together, for all of us and the planet. What great minds and opportunities we have to grow, learn, express and try to understand one another—just in this forum!
Thank you Pensa and Mr. Willis. I was part of that conversation and appreciate not only sharing my opinions but having the comments that connect. This is all a learning process every day. And to see where each person is on the continuum and conversation is educational and enlightening. Be well. I’m grateful for this forum, for HCR and your input.
Bill, Thank-you for the reality check. I do understand the lies we (white people) tell ourselves to avoid the guilt of our ancestor's (and our own) deeds can be tremendously painful to the targets (any people who are not white, male, middle/upper class English speakers) of those deeds. While it is not really up to people of color to become "anti-racism coaches" to this nation of ours, I do appreciate your stepping up in this instance.
Please don't apologize for any delay and thank you for posting late, since I have a similar problem with nodding off. Double thanks for drafting such a complete and thoughtful essay, and for revealing so much of yourself in such a moving, elegant style. I ask that you accept the following as my reply to the un-posed question, "Why is that Addertongue fellow so worked up about my post decrying the well-documented truth of America, especially when he even agrees with me?"
Please understand, my heart aches for the suffering and injustice you describe. While I've experienced my own share of injustices, the crushing weight of generations of status-based oppression is not in my living history, so I would never dare to claim an understanding of your particular flavor of agony. All I can avow is that my family and I, too, have our own agonies, and I suspect that all varieties, in the end, taste just as horribly bitter.
No wonder I have heart problems, because my heart also aches when I read Columbus' diary, where he praised the beauty and intelligence of the native islanders he discovered, then used guns, whips, and dogs to herd them into slave pens where he worked them to death.
I quietly weep when I imagine the nightmare lived by the villagers in the what is now New England when, after a single European scout visited their shore, over 95% of them died of disease, leaving their vacant homes and fields for the amazed settlers to find when they arrived three years later.
I read with hollow-eyed horror accounts of Comanche grandmothers playfully burning the nose off a captive young white girl by repeatedly pressing hot coals against her face, searing the stump off a little at at time. Just for fun.
The Rape of Nanking haunts me. The bloody conquests of Tamarlane and the Rape of Nanking, they haunt me. And it doesn't stop there, for my conscience requires that I acknowlege that this is just human suffering, a very recent entry in the ledger of blood that defines life on Earth.
Everything alive, with only a couple of exceptions, must have something dead to live on. For us warm-blooded animals, the requirement is even stricter -- we have to eat someone else, usually every day, to continue living. Since no one voluteers to be someone else's meal, the act of feeding ourselves is always violent and bloody, filled with suffering. Just watch lions bring down a wildebeest; they don't kill it, they simply eat it, usually from the belly out, while it gasps in agony. I'll never forget seeing a dying wildebeest raising his head to look a lioness in the eye just as the big cat pulled her bloody head out his entrails, then flopping back down to continue screaming, weakly.
Just like the rest of the animals, we have to compete with others for this living food. We've gotten pretty good at it lately, but even though we've outmatched every other large predator on the planet, we're actually losing ground to the older, more successful predators, like insects and bacteria. But even they don't pose as big a threat to our survival as we do ourselves, because for the individual, there is no greater competition than that from members of our own species. Each of us has the same requirements, the same joys, the same weaknesses, so we naturally require and compete for the same resources. And just like for the rest of the world, that competition always ends in somebody's blood being spilled, somewhere.
That's the basic reason why we have to fight each other, why we've always fought each other. We didn't band together into kinship groups and tribes to protect ourselves from tigers, wolves, and bears. Those guys are the small fry, for while they can pick off individuals, a small group of humans equipped with language, coordination, and spears can and did exterminate them at will.
No, we band into groups to protect ourselves from other groups. What do those other groups want? They want, at some level, to enslave us, because slavery is the human way of eating other humans. We work each other to death, bury the bodies, and use other slaves to till the ground the bodies fertilized. Since we don't seem to be able to function without competing with some other group, if our group beats all the others and runs out of groups to compete with, we simply split. We divide our group into haves and have nots, each sub-group preying on the other sub-groups.
Why this histrionic (but hopefully not boring) polemic on the suffering of the World, this horror show of Nature?
Because your family's pain, stemming most recently from the vile treatment of several generations of your fellow imported Africans by the dominant social groups in America, is a grievously common experience, not just for humans, but for every creature God has made. (Yes, I rank the suffering of other animals as equal to our own.)
That's why, although it's almost never recognized as such, I think we humans are trying something completely new in the world -- we are trying to be better than God. God doesn't care if we eat each other, humans and non-humans together, because that's how He made us. He doesn't care if we enslave each other, because that's just a form of eating, and again, that's how God made us. He doesn't mind at all, because all of his living creations are here for the sole purpose of feeding each other. It's what we do.
We mind. We are the ones who care. We are the ones who, in spite of our billion-yea- old nature, have fitfully learned to devise better moral rules than the ones God gave the world. It's no surprise that we aren't very good at it, being better than God, because we are having to make it up out of our own heads, no good examples but the ones we make ourselves. But our better-than-divine moral formulations have allowed us to build a global civilization, because it's our moral codes that allow us to build bigger and better groups, to work cooperatively on multigenerational goals, and to learn that free humans are more valuable than slaves.
Yes, our civiliztion drips blood, as does the rest of the world. But it also glows with kindness and beauty, and marvelous achievements, precisely because our philosophical yearning for something better more often than not matches our God-given hunger for rapine and meat. And when I see too many posts about "evil" of America, I become angry that the astounding achievements of the Human Species are being denigrated, achievements that exist independently of and simlutaneously with the horror of our natural selves, all sometimes accomplished by the very same people.
When Ahmaud Arbery was hunted to death by the local villagers, they were doing what I think of as doing God's work, for they were mindlessly following the natural impulse to kill and (figuratively) eat "outsiders." But when the rest of our society, slowly and reluctantly, demanded justice for the killing, we were behaving supernaturally, understandably a very difficult thing to do. That why, for every word of condemnation we utter for those who exercise their natural bloodlust, I believe that we should at least have a breath of praise for those of our fellow humans who strive for a life better than the predator/prey abbatoir God devised. (Btw, I went to the Satillo Shores neighborhood where Mr. Arbery was killed after the murderers were arrested, and for every Trump yard sign, there seemed to at least two "Run with Ahmaud" signs.)
For if we cannot love our own society -- blood and splendor blended together into one huge world -- and communicate that love to our young, our society will tear itself apart in self-loathing, and will descend again into the natural pit from which we've wrenched it.
Well Dirk, this early bird has read your sweeping assessment of humanity, nature and "God" with admiration for your perspective. You could forgive us for thinking that your previous "zingers" might be coming from a troll.
I do take issue with this statement: "All I can avow is that my family and I, too, have our own agonies, and I suspect that all varieties, in the end, taste just as horribly bitter."
I adamantly disagree.
I will not pry. And I will not bore you with my own travails. But I don't think you quite grasp how insulting that sounds. It is that "whataboutism" that I described previously. While our personal horrors might personally "feel" like equivalents to Mr. Willis's family's incredible suffering, THEY ARE NOT. I am not denigrating whatever difficulties you and yours have and may continue to experience. But once we start comparing in this way, it diminishes one or the other in its meaning and lesson.
Example: For me to compare my wife's family's history of escaping pogrom after pogrom, social exclusion after social exclusion, and forever fear of being exterminated - with my own family's suffering of a very different nature but still very painful and real - is to insult my wife in a manner that is alienating and hardly empathetic.
I find your overall assessment of humanity to be quite spot on. I just don't think you realize that we who believe in telling the truth (the whole truth) about our nation's history simply want it told in an unvarnished manner. And I don't think you have considered that we who feel that way want that truth told because we DO "love our own society" and ARE proud of its achievements. We just want to move forward helping each other, ALL of US THIS TIME, rather than eating each other for lunch. That involves learning from the past and celebrating our accomplishments by improving on them.
PS: I don't detect a single bit of "self loathing" in this group of Substackers. Least of all Mr. Willis.
Mr. Addertongue. What an impressive presentation. I stand in awe of your thoughts that seem to outline your view of the human condition throughout history.
While I may have differing concepts of a struggling humanity over the eons, I am nevertheless astounded by your portrait of a fallible creature, endeavoring to control its environment and to survive its competitors; all the while virtually ignored by the Being that is apparently the Creator in this dire scenario, that established the ground rules but now has left Its creation to fend for itself.
As I implied before, my concept of this evolution portrays a different creature and a different Creator. The creature–us–is an evolving entity, appearing animal-like at its origin, but progressing throughout time to become less animalistic and more human.
The Author of this eternal production, likewise, is instead an all-loving, ever-caring Being Who parents His vulnerable progeny throughout the ages, sheltering them from their follies and disciplining them when their actions become too capricious and destructive.
This All-knowing Parent of ours has provided guidance throughout the ages in the form of successive Revelations, or religions, each one tailored to our stage of maturity. These are flawlessly designed to assist His creatures in addressing the realities of existence on Planet Earth in any era.
The process is known as Progressive Revelation.
This supreme Entity has established rules, or laws, that guide the human creation through the minefield of life. Unfortunately for us, we have ever failed to follow the instructions, often neglecting to read them in their entirety, and always misinterpreting the guidance.
As a species, we can now be understood as having reached the end of our collective “adolescence”. As can be observed in any young adult struggling with the conflicting tugs of self and generosity, the human race can be seen as a confused and conflicted adult/child, bewildered by the array of new, shiny things, and rudderless in the complexities of the ocean of life.
But (spoiler alert) the story will have a happy and productive ending. After weathering the gales of selflessness and selfishness, we will, in due time, reach the calm of a new global order, where all the talents and ingenuity latent in our interior being will burst forth and a bright, renewed civilization will be realized!
This, of course, is the “Reader’s Digest” version of this momentous history; and, I’m sure, a dangerously flawed one as well. But if this storyline piques your interest, I’d be happy to share some unadulterated excerpts from the Holy Text and links to the reference materials and the overview of the Source.
BTW, you sure know how to write!
Dirk, you asked what Mr. Willis’ comment has to do with Dr. Richardson’s letter today. It “represents a dramatic break from what came before. Lee Harvey Oswald’s bullets hacked a chasm between an idyllic Camelot and the chaos and division of the modern era.” Like the government, I’m here to help.
Heather’s mention of Oswald is probably the only time I have ever disagreed with anything she’s said. Without going into reams of data regarding the assassination, there is no reason to conclude that Oswald was anything other than what he claimed he was before he was silenced- a patsy.
This was a coup of our government little different than the ones our clandestine agencies pulled off in other countries.
Eisenhower was spot-on when he warned of the Military Industrial Complex.
Don't touch my nubbin.
Are nubbins where our wings attach?
Well, at least ask politely, first.
Self-righteous nubbins!
Barbarity is inherent in our brain. But we can help prevent slaughters through gun safety regulations.
Yes, Bill, our history has always been violent. There have been a few great people (also with personsl struggles and heartaches) who were empowered to perform great and kind acts for some good accomplishments.
Don't we compare about the same to other countries at the time -- invading new lands, killing aboriginals, making slaves, importing slaves. Many countries did this. I see the difference being that in this country we have never, as a nation, admitted our wrong-doing. Denmark slave trade/slavery itself abolished it about 1803. England in 1833; 1811, Spain; 1848, France; 1863, U.S. and so forth. Did these and other countries have the ongoing problem of integration like the U.S.?
I'm not sure about those other European powers, but I understand that England, while being for many decades a prominent purveyor of slaves, never actually allowed slavery within England itself. It was limited to the colonies. As one of those colonies, we lived cheek-to-jowl with our slaves, forever marking our society.
I wonder if some insights could be had by looking at prison societies. Here in the U.S., prison populations very strictly self-organize by race -- no matter your views outside, if you want to survive prison, don't cross those color/ethnicity lines. I wonder if English prisons organize the same way? French? Saudi Arabian? Nigerian?
"Civilized" means to me that each civilian is responsible for their own behavior, unlike ancient Celtic law which holds the perpetrators relatives for 7 to 9 generations and degrees of cousins responsible, and who have to pay the value of the crime. In a big country like the US, it's easy to just disappear and get lost, so media accountability is doubly important, especially now that so many more people are suddenly in poverty, suffering from loss if homes due to fires, floods, hurricanes, climate change, and RepubliCON leaders refusal to help anyone by leveling the playing field. It's time to take the media mogols to task and reset standards to a decent level and make a clear separation between fantasy and reality, and focus on healing our nation. In some places police and military are already beginning to reform. The media should lead in regaining some national common sense. IMHO
Susan, thank you for your thoughtful & hopeful comments on civilization! You describe how easy it USED TO BE to get lost in this vast country which touches upon one of the central contributing factors to growing incivility that we don't seem to talk about much as we pass the 8 billion mark in human population (~11/15/22); OVERPOPULATION, or at least perceived overpopulation. Most every species of animal which has been studied (think lemmings, most recently mountain lions - Science News) demonstrate that as population density grows the rate of deviations from "normal" behavior grows with that density. When one adds the growing encroachment of climate change on the human population worldwide as well as in the United States it amplifies the pressure felt by humans., let alone the growing deviations of "wild" animals and even flora. That men with guns from the fringes of society appear as the most dramatically visible evidence of that deviation from acceptable civilized society I suspect that the deviations in political norms may also be an outgrowth of that perceived pressure. While we must find political solutions to manage these growing deviations from the norm, it will likely help us to recognize the major contribution to those deviations from climate change and perceived population density.
Interesting thoughts, John.
attempted like
It was the assassinations of JFK, MLK and RFK that turned me into an ardent supporter of the true purpose of the Second Amendment -- a well-regulated militia. I blanch each time the SCOTUS has chipped away at that protection against anarchy. EDIT: I didn't say this very well but I'm not going to delete it. What I meant to say is that I became a staunch gun control advocate because I believe that the Second Amendment was about having trained militias to guard the homeland. That amendment actually became mute once the National Guard came into being. But because of successive decisions by the SCOTUS we now have people who openly carry weapons of war on our city streets.
I don’t understand your comment. What does the assassination of leaders have to do with a well-regulated militia? Do you believe these men deserved to die?
I said it poorly. What I meant to say is that it made me a staunch support of gun control measures.
Sometimes the anarchists wear the garb of patriots, duh
JFK and RFK were protected by tons of guns. More guns--a militia--would've served no purpose.
And it would have been terrific if the almost-always-all-white militias were protecting MLK.
It's my fault for not stating my position clearly. I meant to say that those assassinations made me a staunch gun control advocate and person who believes that the 2nd Amendment is about having a well-regulated militia. But, just to be clear, neither JFK nor RFK were protected by "tons of guns." It was their assassinations that lead to much stronger protection details for presidents and for presidential candidates. Now a president can't go anywhere without an armored entourage that includes a fully-stocked and staffed ambulance.
...And an internet and some media that allows cultish wackos and harmful disinformation and propaganda to run rampant.
Thank you Pensa_VT; " ... harmful disinformation & propaganda" .. We must address platform immunity whether the platform is physical, visual or digital. The malevolent circumstances has a name: "STOCHASTIC TERRORISM". See, Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969) not an insignifact year for basic 1st Amendment grounding. The 1st Amendment bars restrictions on GOVERNMENT action not on Carlson nor Elon Musk, not incitement, not verbal nor written threats of violence, not defamation, not even commercial defamation. The law develops in historical circumstances; we have new historical circumstances.
Do we ever, the “enemy” is a “transformer” whose shape and circumstance keep us guessing.
Yes. Yes. Yes. As we are writing at this early morning (for west coast) hour, with even some debate about gun control, another shooting is reported at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia. Mass shooting with at least six dead. This from news on YouTube where I had connected to todays link to Eisenhower’s reaction to the JFK assassination.
Every week - sometimes more than once - another mass shooting. The families of those killed will not be having a happy Thanksgiving.
And the beat goes on…
Per CNN, yes, dead & injured & the shooter commited suicide Chesapeake is not that far from University of Virginia where 3 athletes were killed.
And yes.
Oh, you mean those military weapons of war we carry all over the place?
Yep. Men defending themselves against innocent children, shoppers, protestors, theatre, concert, nightclub and church goers. And now elections and leaders they don't like due to their need for power and dominance and brainwashing propaganda. They are their own feared apocalypse imposed upon all of us.
You nailed it
You are on a roll today. Don't stop now!
Thanks Bill and Jeri, I did not even have my morning caffeine, yet!
And moments ago, yet another report of mass murder, this time at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia.
We are killing ourselves - and at a maddening rate.
Damn.
Double damn
The will of bad actors, the will to kill the 'other'. Can we marshal the power of love? Can we rise up? We must.
Another heartbreaking mass shooting and at a Walmart, where shoppers, after working all day, were probably obtaining what they need for Thanksgiving, or getting in some Christmas shopping. I will never be numb to these tragedies and I too have wondered why most mass shootings are perpetrated by white men. Thanks for the link, Zella.
Thank you for both your quick actions and the support you gave your co-worker in an awful situation. That is a traumatic incident, and your reactions to the most recent spate of mass shootings is to be expected. I'm glad you've figured out your personal self-care (music, both listening to it and playing it) are both part of my personal coping strategy. One of my "big three" professional traumatic incidents was the suicide of a friend (he and his wife were officers in a municipal agency that was in my county; they lived in the county, and both he and his wife were friends of mine).
Please do take care of yourself today.
Zella, I suggest that since earliest times humans have been organized as nuclear family groups collected as tribes. Also since earliest times, it was the young men who were most likely pushed out of that comfy family group as the dominant male perceived growing threat for dominance of the group as well as the genetic advantage of reduced inbreeding. That has continued in more "civilized" form in this country as the tendency for males to move farther away from their families to find mates, good for both genetics as well as family harmony while females have tended to remain closer to those mothers, aunts & grandmothers who can help with child-rearing. There are cultures in which the woman goes to live in the male's family (Pakistan? Afghanistan? India?) but that has been less the norm in North America. So men are more often pushed to the fringe. And I think you are correct about our culture in which boys are taught "big boys don't cry;" it works better for eventual military conscription & training that way (think Viet Nam era). And if you're not going into the military how else are you going to get that greatest of all phallic symbols, a GUN! When you feel powerless or losing power you can go get a gun.
...then there are motorcycles, fast, powerful cars, ever bigger trucks, and I suppose the ultimate phallic symbol, though not generally accessible to the majority of males, ROCKETS!😏
More privileged and yet they whine. Rupert (the most privileged of old white men) says so. Best wishes for a lovely holiday weekend, unless you are burying your dead…
Sadly, the shooter at UVA was African American as were the boys he killed, all high achieving students with brilliant futures ahead. The shooter had previous anger issues and was about to be called in for disciplinary action by UVA authorities.
TC, To be clear, my intent is not to diminish the growing signs of our culturally decadent civilization ravaged by the constant fear of violent assault and cruel insult, let alone the mean-spiritedness and coldheartedness that dominates much of our discourse. Still, I believe it equally important to take heart from the 50+% of the electorate who, earlier this month, supported candidates who accept the results of elections, who accept the rule of law, who don’t congenitally lie, and who don’t pander and indulge in conspiracy theories.
I imagine virtually all of us on this thread would agree that when we undermine these fundamental values—when we throw them away—not only does that create havoc domestically, but it makes us weaker internationally. Indeed then, we must call upon leadership that, for the past two years, has been leading a wide coalition abroad likewise to lead here at home, starting with legislation passed in the House since 2021 dealing with criminal justice, immigration reform, the economy, education, healthcare, climate, and more.
Thank you, Barbara. Well spoken. I worry when people get so attached to negativity they can't see that we have the building blocks we need - and the foundation. All of us have things in our lives that can pull us down, but we don't have to let that set the standard for how we approach all of life. Your post is a reminder of that, and a pointer to the choices we can make to move closer to our idea of equity, safety, and justice.
Annie, Thank you for your reply that, to a great degree, amplifies that the next two years, in many respects, will serve as a test of our spirit.
Thanks for reminding us that we DO have much to be thankful for. We were near the precipice. But we stepped back. I am more hopeful now than I have been in a long time. Warnock will win. The Senate will be even more powerful for the forces of good. And even if Biden doesn't get another piece of legislation signed, he will have accomplished more than almost all his predecessors. And then there will be the trifecta of 2024. The House will be returned to sane hands with powerful experienced young leadership.
I am preparing my list of suggestions for "Speaker Jeffries". Climate Action(jobs to save the Earth), Immigration Reform (the welcoming kind) and economic equality (tax the oligarchs!) to begin with. And gun control, of course....
Bill, While I am hopeful regarding 24, I am not as confident and expect we will be working as hard as, maybe harder than, we have in previous cycles. On another matter, I loved reading that you already have started preparing your “list” for Jeffries. As for me, I’m still post carding and phone banking for Warnock and pressing Dems, while they still control Congress, to advance protective measures like reforming the Electoral Count Act and prophylactically raising the debt ceiling to block Republicans, who have threatened to hold it hostage to extract concessions like cuts to Social Security and Medicare.
And the zoo is about to take center stage, and almost half of us applaud. Wish it weren’t so.
Jeri, In my view, “the zoo” won’t “take center stage” unless we allow it. For example, given the Republican’s very narrow majority in the House combined with virtually no vision or leadership, I expect mostly chaos. Additionally, I do anticipate we will have 51 Senate Democrats, giving us substantially more control on Senate committees than the 50-50 split had afforded, not to mention rendering Sinema, though not Manchin, irrelevant. As a final point, I would note that winning every statewide race in battleground states provides some safeguards for free and fair elections in 24 and beyond.
Zoo = chaos?
Kathy, I should have clarified that by chaos I meant an upending of any semblance of order necessary for a body to function. I also would note that, in my view, the next two years also will be a test of our own spirit.
The GQP House lunatics (zoo) will do two things. Entertain the other lunatics while embarrassing the rest of the nation. They will be roundly defeated in 2024. In that year we will see the largest coalition in modern history vote out the whackos. The Insurrectionists will be serving time. The Blue Wave will drown out the evil doers. Things will get done that have been waiting for way too long. I hope I am here to see it happen.
Great post. Thank you.
Mike, Your affirming reply means a great deal to me. My thanks.
One necessary step towards becoming a civilized country would be to make it illegal to possess a firearm that can fire more than once without being reloaded. A second step would be to override the 2nd Amendment, which was passed partly to augment the US military in its mission, endorsed from the beginning by the first US president, of terrorizing the indigenous population with enough brutal violence to suppress any notions they might have of resisting domination by European settlers. The uncivilized character of the US enterprise was locked in from the outset, on purpose, with forethought and violent intention. It worked then, and it continues to plague us now.
Not just the indigenous population, but to keep the slave population in line as well. Such noble causes. <heavy sarcasm font>.
More dead by gunshot in Chesapeake, VA tonight. The USA is an uncivilized shooting gallery.
A quote attributed to Oscar Wilde (and others) the U.S. is “the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between.”
Oscar knew a thing or two about barbarism and civilization, and maybe decadence
Definitely decadence
First define “civilized.” I don’t joke.
If the amiable cohesive development of commonality for all Americans leading to a Public Good can be considered civilized we have miles to go.
Our problem is we rise in the morning, flood our secure space with light and warmth, brew a beverage of ground beans from far shores then enter a day the end of which costs mighty amounts of fossil fuel burning and call it “Civilized life.”
Our luxurious life style creates poverty of 1/3 of our fellow Americans and it burdens the atmosphere with the equal amount of carbon as 1600 Ethiopians.
With about 2/5’s of Americans dissatisfied with their share of the world goods and millions eager to destroy the structure that is America we had better decide if reaching some form of decent civilization is a genuine goal or an unreachable quest beyond our grasp.
We cannot decide something is unreachable. Think of Lincoln.
Sad. Oops, there it is, history (but especially current politics) making me uncomfortable. Goid thing we're not in school in floriduh TC, we'd both be expelled.
Maybe, in light of what is to come after the USA it will seem civilized. Ancient Egypt is called the first civilization; constantly raiding its neighbors for slaves and keeping the population under religious terror. - Keep writing true history instead of building pyramids!
I see the "hate on America club" has convened today. That's too bad.
I am with refugees from other Countries who are amazed at being in America. Perspective is everything. What's ironic is that, most likely, the people who may send me a "but everything is awful, and we suck" response can walk out their door and walk around freely. When was the last time the police showed up for something you posted here? Have any of your family or friends been "disappeared?"
We are indeed in dire straits here. The whole planet is seething and heaving. People are begging to get into America. Perspective is everything.
Those of us who were born here and do very much appreciate all that our country has to offer, also see all that it needs to change to truly become all that it says it is. Never more so than right now. We understand that in the near future, we may not be able to walk around freely. Speak freely. Love freely. Make decisions for ourselves freely. Be free.
I agree Gailee. We need to fight hard to protect what we have. And we need to fight hard against what could happen.
Political activism is mutually exclusive with pounding on this Country. Frankly it is dispiriting.
And conscious americans are working hard every single day to keep that free democratic ideal alive. As we debate, school boards across "free" floriduh are banning books. Democracy and free speech took a hit this time around.
Being conscious also includes respect and appreciation for what we have at this moment. Practicing hate speech on this Country serves no activism/political purpose. It is in fact dispiriting. Perhaps the enemies of Democracy love it when we do this. It could mean they are winning. We send the message of "what is there worth fighting for?"
We can isolate various situations and use it as a hammer for hating on this Country. Or we can respect and work with what we have. There is much to do.
Looking at the big picture people wiser than me are claiming a resounding victory for Democracy.
The US doesn’t get a pass on having, by design, the most violent civilian population the planet just because a lot of people want to live here. You point out that the US isn’t as bad as, say Pinochet’s Chile (which was put in place by the US government). Yes, good on us for that. Doesn’t make us civilized.
I hear Eisenhower’s statement as aspirational and a way, as a leader, of guiding the nation away from anger, fear and violence. If more of our present day leaders could speak as sincerely about the strength and unity our country needs we could, perhaps, regain some of our shared purpose and commitment to each other. I’m sure Eisenhower saw in the commitment, courage and loyalty to each other of the men he commanded during the war, the most uncivilized undertaking of any country, the best of what the US could be.
TCinLA:
Good morning to you too. Perhaps, the common good and sense of many of us will still prevail.
I was eleven years old. I remember that awful day in 1963 like it was yesterday. The sights. The sounds. The tears. A nation’s shock and its grief. All seared into my memory.
And my memory has never been my strong point!
I was a month shy of 13 and, like you, remember everything in remarkably vivid detail. The nonstop news coverage, too, especially the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald the next day and the funeral for JFK. Adding to the grief and shock was my admiration for JFK, especially in the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis a year earlier — a terrifying event for the world but especially for a kid in Central Florida.
Yes, all of that!
At the time, my father was stationed in NC at Ft. Bragg. Florida was definitely on the edge. Living on a military base is a bit scary too in situations that could result in a war, as bases would become targets. We were sort of holding our collective breath during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
So were we. 14 of us huddled round a kitchen table listening to Kennedy on the radio.
I was also an ‘army brat’ and was 12 when Pres. Kennedy was shot, living at Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah. Our school was dismissed with the announcement of the death and we ran home to find our mother sobbing and in tears. It was such an unsettling time.
I was 5, and banished to the back of the house with a "Quick-draw McGraw" album. I remember the neighborhood adults sitting in our living room, crying.
My father-in-law had earned a bronze star for his covert flying missions in an Albatross doing low level recon in Cuba and transporting infiltration/exfiltration personnel to and from Cuba. He was in the cadre of Air Force One pilots 11/22/63, and was not on the Texas trip. My wife and her brother (ages 3 and 1) had been playing in the car, knocked it out of gear, and it rolled down the driveway and into a neighbor's tree. The three of them were at the autobody shop when he was scrambled. My mother-in-law had to take a taxi to the shop, and finish dealing with the incident. My FiL was gone three days, completely out of contact.
Michael, I was 18, had just entered the convent ( Benedictines at St. Leo). I was at the college in a physics class when the teacher across the hall ( an Irish monk named Malachy McGuire) had a radio and started shouting to us what had happened. Ordinarily, as novices, we were not allowed tv news or newspapers. ( Maybe why I went into tv-news later) But when Kennedy was shot the tv went on non- stop and the Mother Superior let all of us watch it, right through the funeral. Awful, awful time. That day and the Cuban Missile Crisis were the two events seared into my Central Florida young adulthood.
Cloistered in a convent and then, suddenly, the evil of the outside world can't be avoided. Remarkable memory for a day none of us can forget.
Speaking of Central Florida, some of the high schools didn't cancel their football games that Friday night. It was disrespectful, especially because the decision likely had something to do with politics and JFK being Catholic. Hope I'm wrong about that.
Gosh, I hope you’re wrong about that too. (But…Florida)!
I was living in London. People wept in the streets.
I was age 16, living in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Catholic country. Random strangers rang doorbell throughout weekend to offer condolences.
Some things will be there until the light goes out.
Evelyn, I was 9 at the time. I awoke yesterday (Tuesday), and thought JFK died on this day, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. That experience is forever burned in my memory. And to have 11/22 fall this year on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving brought all of the memories flooding back. Such a loss; such a pivotal moment.
What a great quote: Eisenhower replied: “The country is far more important than any of us.”
Once again, we are reminded of the norms that we took for granted until TFG and his allies shattered them. These norms are as seemingly small as adherence to the emoluments clause of the Constitution and as large as the peaceful transfer of power. Now we have candidates refusing to admit defeat and elections officials refusing to certify the votes cast. Even though we stopped a red wave, we need to keep in mind that things are not as we used to expect; we need to keep informed so that we know what essential norms are being attacked so that we can shine a bright light on them as we urge our representatives to codify them into law.
https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/17/kari-lake-refuse-concede-arizona-governor-election-republican
https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2022-11-21/2nd-arizona-county-delays-certifying-election-for-now
The political heathens will never conform to norms, their egos might expand and explode. A sight I would love to see.
This quote....
"“These things have happened,” he said, “and it seems inexplicable to me, because Americans are loyal, and it is just this occasional psychopathic sort of accident that occurs and I don’t know what we can do about it…."
Loyalty is a quality that is earned. When a government turns psychopathic, only psychopaths remain loyal to it.
It is a fact that psychopathic governments exist. "What we can do about it..." is strive to prevent psychopaths from getting into positions of power either in government or into positions where they can buy control over those elected to government.
Given the difference in status in Kennedy's time and now in waging illegal, undeclared wars, allowing the nation's infrastructure to decay, bankrupting families and depriving others of care through a murderous for-profit system of health care, generating more homeless citizens, destroying workers' efforts to unionize, imprisoning whistleblowers and publishers who report government malfeasance, militarizing the police, allowing oligarchs to destroy our planet and letting psychopaths have unrestricted access to military hardware, it seems like our government has moved toward becoming psychopathic. We just narrowly avoided making that official in 2020.
When one party lies, spins, cheats in order to rule without opposition, (and it ain’t Dems, despite Rupert’s vitriol), it is Nazism. Ike knew this well. And he warned us. Call it what it is.
Listen to Rachel Maddow's podcast "Ultra" for chilling examples of how it has happened in the 1940's following Joe McCarthy's "Red Scare!" ...right up through Congress, the DOJ and finally even President Truman.
I listened to Episode 8 last night. Absolutely stunning.
Eisenhower was a general who fought Nazism, so he surely did know that well. But what he also warned us about was unregulated corporatism, and particularly the military-industrial complex.
Very, very well said.
I clicked the link to Ike’s comments on JFK’s assassination. I particularly noticed his remark “In a civilized country this doesn’t happen.” Massachusetts may be our most civilized state with its gun safety laws and lowest death rate due to guns. Y’all know that the authorities in Colorado let slide the red alert on the shooter at the LGBTQ club. I feel sick.
The tyranny of unchecked local power....
so sorry to learn The Hero's family was wounded. So many were, of course, but one always hopes the lives surrounding The Good Guy are spared.
If we were a civilized nation we wouldn’t have more guns than people.
I am not sure there really was a Camelot even though I lived through it (I was in high school) and admired Kennedy enormously -- much to the dismay of my very Republican parents. I was devastated by his assassination.
In retrospect, JFK was flawed, as all Presidents are, brought to power supported by family wealth, without a strong personal moral compass, a great orator, with a mixed record on dealing with crises (Bay of Pigs, Cuban Missile crisis, the start of Vietnam) at a time when violent racism was rampant. I think a major part of his legacy that tends to be neglected was a renewed focus on science and technology and the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
Kennedy was marketed as an agent of change, youthful, vigorous, glamourous and idealistic, against a sweaty and crude pol, Nixon.
I think at some level we do a disservice to history to keep the Camelot narrative alive. It is a fog that veils us from the racial violence and killings of civil rights leaders and the sheer terror of the Cuban missile crisis that was going on during Kennedy's presidency.
Georgia I completely agree. I've often thought that Camelot was nothing more than a justified response by the Catholics and monied people who idiolized that fabricated personna of the Kennedys. The reality is, JFK was a good public speaker who had a revolving door of women. To this day, whenever I hear Jackie Kennedys name, I only think of what that woman was forced to put up with. If you honestly think Camelot was a glorious time, I'll eat my hat.
I grew up in an "I like Ike" family. My folks didn't like JFK. They thought he was all show. The truth is that we'll never know what he might have accomplished. As Georgia said, he flopped on a few projects and I have always thought that he should have been held accountable for the beginnings of Vietnam - a conflict invented from paranoia and a stunning lack of knowledge about the Vietnamese themselves. Now we buy their T-shirts. Johnson turned up the volume on the lies and ignorance and then the violence. But I digress.
I was 16 when JFK was killed. I came home from school and my entire "Republican I like Ike family" was in tears. It was an unimaginable horror. My folks had risked their lives to protect their country. Now it was being attacked from within. Politics became irrelevant.
I listened to Johnson and was reassured that he was experienced and could handle the job. It was a few years later that I began to learn just how misguided these two presidents were. But then...it was just a horror.
This week the NYT interviewed people about who should run in 2024. After several rebukes for leaping ahead when the heat of 2022 had barely cooled, one respondent said - I have deep misgivings about anyone who would consider running for President.
Households of today worry me
Huge statement: "Peace be with us". And you also.
I remember my shock and terror…I was a brand new mother, living in Washington D. C., full of Kennedy hope. Today your post appears in my mailbox above news of another horrible mass shooting. Thank you for your steady, extraordinary, brilliant efforts to explain the present moment. You have kept hope alive. I am thankful for you this year, and some day my brand new great granddaughter will study history and be thankful for you too.
Thank you Heather .
Eisenhower's words ring true today.
If only we listen, carefully.
Be safe. Be well.
Yes, Kim. I remember as if it were yesterday. My brutal step-father was jubilant at the news that Kennedy had been shot. I went to school, thinking a bad man had been extinguished. The bad man was the one who had married my mother and brutalized me and my little brother.
This was in Florida, but it is certain that racial hatred and small-mindedness are just two of the feasts for white right-extremism - in the South and throughout the nation.
Wow. Sounds like you made it out. Good for you!
Thanks Mike. It wasn't easy. As silly as it may sound, it was the song we sang in the all-white Southern Baptist church: "Jesus loves the little children - all the children of the world. Red and Yellow, Black and White, they are precious in his sight." I beccame a musician, and then a theologian. I still look to that Jewish rabbi for guidance.
💞
So sorry, Rosalind. It’s a hard childhood to live with the sentiments and actions of anger, abuse and vitriol, racism and hate. It seems you have been fortunate to have been helped by mentors and loving, caring people. What we all need for our mental health. Now you pass that love on.
Music. It was music - and my own childish brand of who Jesus was. My mother did stand up for me having horn lessons, which led me to a college scholarship and the rest of my life.
I thank her for that.
“In civilized countries of the world this doesn’t happen….” WOW. So perhaps we’re not as civilized as we’d like to believe!
That was then. Lisa McCubbin said, in that last video, "It was the end of the age of innocence".
It was the end of the age of innocence for me. I think my real adult life started that day, even though married two years with infant twins. My husband (a recent Naval Officer) and I were brought to our knees for at least a week. We were glued to a tiny TV set, attended a funeral mass, cried and held our babies close. The America I felt was the best society in the world suddenly wasn’t. In a new house ( our first) less than a month, student teaching, actually getting used to adult life, I suddenly became interested in the real world. I will add here, I attended Kennedy’s acceptance speech for his Presidential nomination held in the L.A. Coliseum. While a college student I worked at one of the hotels housing delegates to Convention and got to interact with them at front desk. Our manager sent the three of us students off to that big event because of historical significance. That made the assassination that much more horrific.
Thanks, Sue. Yes, that's how we all felt about America then, and the President of America was an untouchable hero. I was living in New Zealand during the campaign, and I remember one journalist commenting that he saw Pat Nixon as a more likely First Lady than the "glamorous Jackie Kennedy". Then the pageant unfolded, with "Ask not what your country can do for you." He was strength, he was hope, and we forgave him things like "Happy birthday Mr President". And Jackie? Watch the video of Clint Hill's recollections of Dallas, and what she was in the act of doing when he managed to scramble into the front of the limousine, her words to the man dying in her arms, her dignity imprinted with stark shock and despair. I watched the chain of videos Heather put on line here. All of them extraordinarily revealing. Jackie's rose garden has been destroyed, so recently.
Not even close
Memories stir.
I remember the day Kennedy was shot. I was in the 7th grade in Barron Ave. Jr. High School in Woodbridge, NJ.
I remember the steady, reassuring voice of Walter Cronkite staying on the air…forever, it seemed to me.
And, I remember the Republican Party of Dwight Eisenhower.
What would those two decent, unselfish, patriotic men think of today’s Republican Party?
That day was indeed a turning point for me. That was the day the facade of what I believed this country was, and I really believed, cracked. The assassinations that followed, the Vietnam War, what I learned about the treatment of black and indigenous peoples that ensued in the following few years, reduced the facade into a pile of rubble.
I learned it was better to see the world as it really is, even if I didn’t like what I was seeing.
It’s been a long time since that day. There has been much progress, and much left to do. Ike’s GOP has degenerated into a mob of zealots it seems to me.
Still, I will be thankful tomorrow; first for my (reasonably) good health, and then for the efforts of so many of us to bend MLK’s arc of history toward truth and justice.
And, I will be thankful for Heather Cox Richardson for helping me to remember and understand.
Best to you all; tomorrow and every day.
Ralph, thank you for your stirring words. Anyone of a certain age remembers JFK's assassination, Walter Cronkite almost breaking down on-camera, the funeral, and the events of that long weekend. The end of the age of innocence ..
I am among those who remember precisely where I was, and what I was doing when my brother ran in to my room to tell me the dreadful news that JFK had been assassinated. The country did,for a time, stand behind the government. Then the centrifugal forces of the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, the Hippie and Counter-culture Movements began to tear at the fabric of our lives. Those challenges, however, seem to have sought the vision of America that the current right wing despises. Plurality, democracy, fairness are no longer goals of the current GOP., if they ever were. JFK's assassination threw the country headlong into ugly realities.
The better angels of our nature: we harken to the better angels of our nature.
That inclusion in our plan is what distinguishes this country's direction and mission towards being more Civilized . The architects of the Constitution knew they did not and could not get everything right in that 4500-word document, but they left room for, and an imperative to, get it more right, later. That is what makes us civilized. Yes, settlement here came with manifold sins committed, but there’s room, and a directive, to get it right.
“The country is far more important than any of us.”
Well said. And true.
In my Early Childhood Education classes in the '80s in British Colombia, Canada and in Orange County, California, the professors were very concerned about violence in children's cartoons, specifically those produced in Japan, which were popular with children, and with those produced by Disney. The thought was that villains were being idolized as powerful, something children wish to be. The impressions made on their minds at an early age would influence their later years. Parents weren't prepared to manage this negative influence, and teachers tried to counteract it in school, but it was so difficult to fight big money behind the entertainment industry.
…and yet, Japan does not have 1% of the violence problem that we suffer.
It's not cartoons, comic books, or Disney films.
Japan didn't allow gun ownership and even the police were unarmed for decades after the war.
“A handgun has been part of the standard equipment for the police force since 1949 …”
Jahttps://thetokyotourist.com/do-japanese-police-carry-guns/
Thank you for pointing this out.
Even in the '70s when he was barely a teenager, my son, who later made films, was horrified by the children's cartoons from Japan, regarding them as criminal... as mind poison.
He was prescient, he was right.