I started these letters completely inadvertently on September 15, 2019, after I happened to see House Intelligence Committee chair Adam Schiff's (D-CA) angry letter to then–acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire on September 13, noting that the committee knew a whistleblower had made a complaint and demanding that Maguire produce that complaint as required by law.
My day starts with educating myself by reading your letter. I then go on to my middle school to educate the next generation of informed citizens. The future of our democracy depends on you and us building a community of caring individuals who are aware of our responsibility to uphold the principles passed on by previous enlightened thinkers. You are not just writing about history; you are making it. Rock on!
My gratitude runs deep for your willingness to share your gift!
Annie, I picture you carrying Heather's important facts and perspectives to class after class of young students! The future of democracy is more promising thanks to your work!
I admire you for teaching middle schoolers. I am glad for your perspective and I hope you are free from the animosity directed at many of today's teachers (and administrators and boards). Kudos.
When American politics is confusing, you bring understanding. When American politics is overwhelming, you bring centering. When American politics is disheartening, you bring inspiring words.
Sometimes I imagine you sitting with our founding fathers and they are reading your letters from an American and listening to your 21st century wise woman wisdom.
I love this, ¨Sometimes I imagine you sitting with our founding fathers and they are reading your letters from an American and listening to your 21st century wise woman wisdom.¨
I wish she would have been there in the first place. Everyone could have Voted. And our Country would have been spared a lot of grief. And I dare say we wouldn’t be in mess we are in presently.
So many of us start our days by reading your letters to give us that same sense of community and the hope that if enough good people are paying attention, we might possibly make it through this with our democracy intact.
My friends and I repeatedly say that it's only your clear explanations and connections to the sense that "we've survived these things before" that keep us going through these impossibly infuriating times.
I am glad to see I’m not the only one with the coffee in bed reading time. I picked up the habit from my mother over 50 years ago. On the mornings she didn’t go to work I would get her coffee for her and sit under the blankets and talk. When I left home I did it on my own, then with my daughter and grandson. When he was little and rambunctious we taught him coffee time is quiet time and he’d get out his little tablet and learn his alphabet and words.
Sharon I am reminded of Mamie Eisenhower who would read the papers and stay in bed until noon or one. At a White House dinner her doctor came through the receiving line. Mamie blurted out, “Hi, this is the first time I’ve seen you when I wasn’t in bed.” There was a long silence.
My experience was very similar. Mom delivered coffee in bed to dad and each kid...to extend the peaceful morning. My husband doesn't drink coffee!!! However, when my brother visits I bring him (and his sons) coffee and I sit on the end of his bed and we chat before the families descend on the morning.
Martha and Sharon you have changed my life. Getting up and getting dressed and making your bed is so overrated. I now want to make my coffee… run and get the paper and go back to bed and enjoy my coffee and the paper … I can get dressed and make the bed AFTER that … what a wonderful practice.
I really do LOVE my creature comforts. Enjoy your new morning experience. Just FYI - I nuke a 1/2 cup of skim milk in my mug, grind my beans, and use a single serve french press. Pure decadence.
In my case, Heather’s letters are so compelling I wanted to get back in bed and make a special nest with tea (and sometimes coffee as I’m already high octane) and savor every word and yours dear fellow readers and commenters. Now I have this wonderful habit. I treasure this daily education from Dr HCR and all of you! Your humor and big hearts and even your anger (and mine) truly make my day!
Course in Miracles and Marianne Williamson’s definitive works about the Course are my first teachings starting in the 90’s that changed my perspective of politics, among other things. The Introduction to the Course, page 1, which included the text’s summation…is such a unique characteristic in an introduction for a text with a path of over a thousand page. It stays with me from my first reading of it to this day as I share it. It is the cornerstone of my spiritual path. I meditate upon its profound truth and upon the glass that is ALWAYS at least half full.
From A Course in Miracle published by The Foundation for Inner Peace (Copyright
1975) Introduction
“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.”
The many times that I have grimaced and chortled and not given credence at the machinations of the former, his enablers and followers and the fall of the Republican Party is due to a particular sentence in this introduction.
It violates a principle that outlines its failure, try as they may to force their hand.
“Free will does not mean that you can establish the curriculum.”
These times have truly tested my application of these teachings. In following my vows to try to spread truth without fear, I go to Fox once a week, when I can, and sort of angelically troll them with differently messaging. Oftentimes, when I stay too long, my body begins to feel very uncomfortable. On Thanksgiving, a friend who was also my teacher of the course sent me a beautiful excerpt. I passed it along to Fox viewers 12 times. I never felt anything...I think I was protected from that insidious fear and hatred by Love. It is an incredible power when we use it. One Fox viewer actually responded and tried to tell me not to preach to him against hatred and that I need to let him do it his way. He repeated, "Let me do it my way!" several times. It was so fascinating. I did not think I was preaching, just presenting another way of looking at things. Was that a momentary crack where the light gets in? It was one of the kinder, more thoughtful responses my comments have ever received on Fox.
I have been frequently reposting your Letters on both twitter and Facebook. I lack adequate words to tell you how much I appreciate not only your broad knowledge of our history but also your analytical ability in assessing the day’s news. Most of all, though, it seems clear to me that you do all this and share your insight with no agenda except to inform, educate, and to do whatever is in your power to save our democracy which is in crisis. I am thankful for you, Dr. Richardson. Thank you for caring.
You totally rock, woman, and my world is infinitely better because of you and your work. May our co-created community support your work and our democracy.
Thank you, Professor Richardson, for starting and maintaining this forum of facts and stimulating ideas. Your work has enriched my understanding of our nation’s history and its present. And it continually makes me THINK.
I wanted to comment, but everyone already read my mind. All I have is a thank-you for truth, understanding,your love of democracy, and for sharing your thoughts EVERY DANG DAY. You're my hero.
I have been reading the NY Times since 1982 daily. It is my "go to" newspaper and I have greatly benefited from NY Times insights over these many years.
However, I am writing to suggest that the NY Times team up with Heather Cox Richardson who writes a daily named "Letters from an American".
Dr. Richardson's daily "letter" is filled with information from today in the context of American historical precedent and history.
The latter part of the above sentence is how Letters' from an American is different from anything offered at the NY Times.
I think the NY Times readership would GREATLY benefit from a partnership with Letters from an American and Dr. Richardson.
The only writer you have that comes even close to the riveting information provided by Dr. Richardson's "Letters" is Jamelle Bouie.
Please consider this a serious suggestion and a great opportunity for the NY Times.
Please no :( . I also read the times regularly. Daily. But NYT is also click bait. Provocative headlines and language and 4 paragraphs in to find out the article is not news. It takes time and patience to weed through its money making noise and find out what actually matters. Heather is doing this for us. By us :):):). I do not wish NYT oversight and influence on her. I am so thankful for her indepent insight and wisdom!
Given your respect for HCR, do you not think her capable to decide the distribution of her work? As a regular reader of The NY Times, my opinion differs from yours, while noting its strengths and weakness. Withal, I have no opinion about HRC being affiliated with the paper or not. It was good for Michael Sanchez to promote HRC's work and to wish that it was more widely distributed to the people. Letters from an American is an admirable teacher. The American people and the country would benefit greatly from a knowledge of civics.
For what it isn't worth, I'll admit to having spent no few years as a reader of the NYT -- a sign of my deep dissatisfaction with British and French media. In the end I got a surfeit of its smug thought-free ersatz thinking, all too reminiscent of the politics of, by and for smelly old machinery to which the Democratic Party's bureaucracy still seems so attached.
Peter, I would like you to read the British newsletter I receive online, which is entitle The Canary. I certain if you did, your mind would be changed about the news they cover.
I agree Fern. The wider the distribution, the better. I don't think the NYT, which I get daily, will influence the Professor's writing, except maybe for formatting. You see click bait in just about every commercial website for media these days. I say just avoid it.
I started reading the NYT at age 7/8 to have something to discuss with dad at dinner.In Egypt in the 50s I received it days late. In the Congo I received the Times/Herald Tribune edition by crocodile. In Chile the mail was delayed. I still read the Times, though with less sense of it being definitive than when I was much younger. I appreciate the Washington Post digital. The Economist daily and weekly provides a fine US section as well as broad global news. The Week provides excellent daily and weekly articles, including disparate newspaper/magazine reporting and some zinger cartoons. The New York Review of Books provides some excellent in-depth articles on key ongoing matters. The Atlantic and the New York have insightful articles, when I find the time.
When I was in the Foreign Service more than occasionally I had to write a classified memo to The Secretary ‘correcting’ a Times or Post article of that morning. Even now I assume that many of the top folks in Washington read the Times and/or Post while limosinng to work. I just read them with my first cup of coffee.
Even before coffee my must read is Heather’s nightly Letter. If limited to a single source, for keen insights on critical domestic issues for me Heather is #1.
Plainly, I am (and I don't doubt that we all are) very much in favor of spreading and sharing this work, but aren't we coming close to hijacking our mentor?
Anyway, the more media offers or expressions of interest, the better. And of course, it will be for HCR to decide how, whether and with whom to link up.
'...but aren't we coming close to hijacking our mentor?' Who are you talking about, Peter? 'We' cannot hijack' HCR and her work Some subscribers may have wishes about how her work is distributed. Those are wishes not a matter of 'control.'
Sounds like we're planning to release swarms of Heather's Hornets on the nation... Goodness knows there are millions of couch potatoes and sleepwalkers in need of saving from an even direr awakening, yet I'm sure HCR (and Substack) will be well aware of all this buzzing in Her Hive and know how to act or not act on it.
The Franklin Project is an offshoot from the Lincoln Project, with a goal to increase public civil knowledge and organize against our current anti democracy threat. LP has no direct or legal connections with FP. FP is directed by Greg Jenkins, an alumnus of the George W. Bush administration.
Diane, Thank you for this link. I was not familiar with the 'franklin project', and the link was not helpful. There was almost nothing about the organization, who its leaders are and background of the the organization were missing. It was a an unusual site given the paucity of information
I didn't notice that one, but I did balk at the word "fight". A fight may prove unavoidable but if there's one constant complaint I have about media jargon in the United States, it is the gross overuse of terms that imply violence. Action has to be "aggressive", anything that needs doing must be handled "aggressively".
Haven't we all seen far too much of fools -- often the most brilliant fools with vast expertise, vaster IQs, limitless hubris -- rushing in where angels fear to tread?
That said, all initiatives in defense of democracy are, at the very least, worthy of our attention.
Or just type in The Franklin Project into your browser search. It should pop up. Their team and details you are looking for are all there on their site.
Thanks, Diane that helped. I was not seeking anything just commenting of various opinions of subscribers about their wishes concerning distribution of LFAA. The Franklin Project seems to be staffed primarily by folks with experience in press, public relations areas. The Project appears to be an offshoot of the Lincoln Project. Thanks, again.
Still surely worth looking into both the program proposed and the individuals behind it. Doesn't it smack of political independence, with its airing of the third party question?
If such an initiative proved worthy of its name, I'd be happy to see it exported to France and Britain for a start -- countries where Benjamin Franklin was active and influential, countries in dire need of a genuine revival of democratic institutions, not the populist simulacra we've been seeing far too much of.
PR people primarily and an offshoot of the Lincoln Project. It does not seem to be a grassroots organization, and my sense is that it is more politically affiliated than not.
Mike, Perhaps, you were discouraged by comments from subscribers. A much greater number who replied were very positive about your idea. I withheld judgement except to note favorably about your belief that it would be beneficial for a wider audience to read HCR's Letter. A combination of your idea with my 2 cents calls for a PR project, for which subscribers may not be the right engine. I would like to see monthly essays by HCR widely distributed. Would she be interested? It would be another work load. An outstanding aspect of your idea, from my point of view, was to alert a major newspaper about the extraordinary source HCR would be for their national coverage. I see your effort as one by a consumer of news advocating that more Americans be exposed to the unbiased and masterly analysis of current affairs written by HCR. Communication of this nature need not be restricted to the NY Times. Network news operations, CNN, USA Today, Wall St. Journal, Washington Post, Politico, NPR, Time Magazine and US News & World Report are all good targets. A letter to each with a small sample of her work, would, perhaps, be a prompt to the right people who direct the news coverage for the company. For those interested in spreading LFAA, I think of that the history, journalism, government. political science and teaching departments of Universities/colleges would do well to consider the LFAA as part of the curriculum. These are the hopes of those of us wishing for a more educated and enlightened citizenry. Here's to that, Mike!
I agree, Please, no. The NYT has gone the way of "Breaking News..."
Heather's words are traveling and spreading from the ground up and out beautifully. As we each introduce people, we know, to Heather's letters the word spreads, and it's not "coming from the Times".
"Please no", is what I say. It could change "why" the writing is happening..and learnng from Heather's extraordinary perspective is what I want to hear. I already read headlines in the Times, and would prefer to leave it at that...
What has not changed since 1969? All change is not for the worst. Do you remember the Times's reporting on the USA's invasion on Iraq? It was for the worst. If your interested into reporting on the insurrection, have you been following the Washington Post's series "The Attack'?
I agree with you. Independent, well referenced news from large media outlets is sparse. I feel NYT & WashPost & others (WSJ) are MOSTLY shallow, poorly documented articles on par w college undergrad output. They have done a terrible job of providing context & informing the public on critical current issues/events. In general, the content is shallow or for sensationalism. (Not all, but true informative, relevant journalism is hard to find.) Loss of independence seems to degrade content. (As you know, there are several other well researched independent daily news feeds. I like this trend & wish the audiences were broadened.)
As a reader of both papers I was surprised by your strong critique of the NYT and Washington Post. We greatly differ on that score. Correct me if I'm wrong in assuming that your have diligently read both papers up until recently. Thank you.
Mea culpa. Both outlets have done some outstanding investigative journalism. But I do not find what HCR offers; a daily capsule of critical political news which is well referenced & provides contextual meaning.
Thank you, mfabel. You appear to have made an important correction. To have compared both The New York Times and the Washington Post as 'shallow, poorly documented on a par with college undergrad output' and the rest of what you initially wrote was egregious, incorrect and uncalled for. I hope, in the future, you will be thoughtful and truthful in what you express.
mfabel, Have been been following the series by the Washington Post called, The Attack, which is revelatory about the coup to prevent the transfer of power? It is not clear to me about whether you have rejected the the most serious journalism being produced in the country.
Agree! NYT can be informative but also annoying every time I read an issue, so I would prefer to avoid the aggravation entirely and keep Dr. Heather independent. 👍
I look at the NYT only every few days after amnesia has kicked in and then remember why I don't read it regularly. 😬
The recipes paywall is the final straw, because why post pics of appealing recipes then you click and a pop-up appears? Especially when they have non-paywall recipes available. Smh.
We subscribe and I did forget the food section. We get all the recipes and the puzzles as part of that. My spouse reads it more thoroughly than I do. I don't appreciate pay walls either when I encounter them from some newspaper where I just want to read a single article that was referenced in something else I read.
Eh,! Old, experienced and a respected member of the free-press -- The New York Times is not perfect but vitally important as a reliable source of the facts.
While I appreciate your sentiment to have LFAA read as widely as possible, it seems to me that having it unaffiliated with any media outlet is key. Her readership has grown enormously since I first ran across the letters. Her independent voice is so valuable. In any event, my guess is that an enormous % of the regular readership of the NYT already reads Heather!
I agree completely. Those who want to see more people reading her should broadcast her columns to your email lists, or post them on fb enough times that your correspondents will have the data to determine whether they want to subscribe.
I think HCR should remain independent. The NYT has made a lot of big mistakes over the last 20 years. I myself now lean more heavily on the WaPo than the NYT, for which I have lost trust. HCR does not need to be tied to an oft errant bureaucracy.
I get Dr. Sanchez's point but why only the NYT? In my imaginary world these letters should be mandatory reading, because they connect what we were and are as country to what is happening now. That is what the study of history is all about.
I appreciate the sentiment to reach more with her wisdom, but today's media/News model for journalism would compromise her voice and the discussion that the Teacher Heather incites each morning. I think I appreciate the high praise you intend, Michael Sanchez.
I don’t understand how papers like NYT or WaPo publishing her letters would make her less independent, surely a lack of that type of knowledge on my part? Seems the more readers the better? Not sure all here are aware she has 1.5 million followers on Facebook. I’ve often said I wish smaller more rural community newspapers would publish at least some of her letters
Dr. R... You have educated many; you have given us hope; you have so often connected the dots; and you have brought us together on this worthy page. I am a reader, not a writer.....I have learned so much from your letters and they have inspired me to act more, read more, converse more. Your letters are high up on my list of gratitudes.... I sincerely thank you!
I think that yellow jacket sting was like the proverbial flap of butterfly wings that can cause such change in the world. I've learned so very much as a reader of LFAA, listener of the podcast, watcher of the video chats, and reader of books (yours and others that the Herd has recommended). I cannot adequately express my gratitude to you, Professor, and your support crew, family, and friends that make it all possible. As well, my soul is grateful to Buddy and others who share the beauty they've captured in the cycling of a camera's shutter. Some of those images have been the beauty that pulls me back to a place of light and hope. I will be an eternal fan of you and the unswerving dedication you've shown to this accidental calling that serves to educate and inform a global audience. Blessings of the holiday season to everyone, in whatever manner you observe it. Be well and stay safe as we step through the last days of this calendar year.
Never before has a yellow jacket sting wrought such a fine, expansive body of work or brought so many together. Thank you, Heather, for starting this journey and staying with us beyond Biden's first 100 days. I'm honored to be among the many who respect and appreciate your daily insights and diligence.
And one of our greatest gifts, since you started those letters, is the clarity snd perspective you bring to each one. You definitely are on my gratitude list! Thank you. 🍁
What a relief. As I started reading, I braced myself, thinking, "Uh-oh, this is starting to sound like a 'Dear John/Jane' letter." I am so thankful to be wrong. Shout out to Adam Schiff for inspiring Heather Cox Richardson to gather such a powerful community as we have here!
Thank goodness, there are some people in government who know the law and will call out crimes when they see them. Thank you, Adam Schiff. But it’s important that historians like HCR put current happenings into context and call attention to those happenings. I have learned so much history that I never knew by reading these letters and this forum. I appreciate the contributions of thoughtful, concerned readers that added to my knowledge.
Thank you, HCR, and thank you to everyone who subscribes and thoughtfully shares their insights.
"Crime there was but where are the charges, the trial and the judgement of the perpetrator?" Buried so far, it seems. But LFAA is thriving! Morning, Stuart!!
Thank goodness but every crime perpetrated during the past administration that we let pass weakens and cuts the ground on which stand together with Heather.
You are not alone! There is no end to the gratitude we feel at this communion of ideas and grounded information. We’ve come to realize what a precious commodity it is!
Here in Australia, the Letters arrive late afternoon. I look for the day's Letter as if waiting at the gate for the postman; so now does the friend who's been staying with me during the past few days. Your profoundly well-informed writings, balanced and clearsighted, are havens of calm in the chaos. Beacons of hope. The real thing. Happy Thanksgiving, in your beautiful Maine.
Your name was mentioned with great appreciation at our dinner table tonight, and we toasted in gratitude, to the gift of history you have shared. Thank you!
We talked about your letters at dinner today as well. The sustenance of good food, good friends & intelligent conversation included a few new young grad students eagerly taking down your name & substack. Always in gratitude for your willingness to teach all of us through your letters.
My day starts with educating myself by reading your letter. I then go on to my middle school to educate the next generation of informed citizens. The future of our democracy depends on you and us building a community of caring individuals who are aware of our responsibility to uphold the principles passed on by previous enlightened thinkers. You are not just writing about history; you are making it. Rock on!
My gratitude runs deep for your willingness to share your gift!
Thank you for filling the minds of our next generation of leaders with Heather’s wisdom.
Annie, I picture you carrying Heather's important facts and perspectives to class after class of young students! The future of democracy is more promising thanks to your work!
I admire you for teaching middle schoolers. I am glad for your perspective and I hope you are free from the animosity directed at many of today's teachers (and administrators and boards). Kudos.
Thank you for educating our young in today's attempt to silence teachers.
Thank you for what you do, shaping the future.
Thank you thank you on this day of gratitude.
When American politics is confusing, you bring understanding. When American politics is overwhelming, you bring centering. When American politics is disheartening, you bring inspiring words.
Sometimes I imagine you sitting with our founding fathers and they are reading your letters from an American and listening to your 21st century wise woman wisdom.
I love this, ¨Sometimes I imagine you sitting with our founding fathers and they are reading your letters from an American and listening to your 21st century wise woman wisdom.¨
Thank you, Gailee!
I wish she would have been there in the first place. Everyone could have Voted. And our Country would have been spared a lot of grief. And I dare say we wouldn’t be in mess we are in presently.
Really! A founding mother.
❤️
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
So many of us start our days by reading your letters to give us that same sense of community and the hope that if enough good people are paying attention, we might possibly make it through this with our democracy intact.
My friends and I repeatedly say that it's only your clear explanations and connections to the sense that "we've survived these things before" that keep us going through these impossibly infuriating times.
Or end our days! I often find myself staying up long enough to read Professor Richardson's missives...
This... Exactly this.
I read your letter before I get out of bed every morning. The clarity keeps my head from exploding.
Ditto. Well after I've gotten my coffee and crawled back into bed:)
I am glad to see I’m not the only one with the coffee in bed reading time. I picked up the habit from my mother over 50 years ago. On the mornings she didn’t go to work I would get her coffee for her and sit under the blankets and talk. When I left home I did it on my own, then with my daughter and grandson. When he was little and rambunctious we taught him coffee time is quiet time and he’d get out his little tablet and learn his alphabet and words.
Sharon I am reminded of Mamie Eisenhower who would read the papers and stay in bed until noon or one. At a White House dinner her doctor came through the receiving line. Mamie blurted out, “Hi, this is the first time I’ve seen you when I wasn’t in bed.” There was a long silence.
Too funny
My experience was very similar. Mom delivered coffee in bed to dad and each kid...to extend the peaceful morning. My husband doesn't drink coffee!!! However, when my brother visits I bring him (and his sons) coffee and I sit on the end of his bed and we chat before the families descend on the morning.
Martha and Sharon you have changed my life. Getting up and getting dressed and making your bed is so overrated. I now want to make my coffee… run and get the paper and go back to bed and enjoy my coffee and the paper … I can get dressed and make the bed AFTER that … what a wonderful practice.
I really do LOVE my creature comforts. Enjoy your new morning experience. Just FYI - I nuke a 1/2 cup of skim milk in my mug, grind my beans, and use a single serve french press. Pure decadence.
Exactly! I do the same thing. I read it after my daily meditation from A Course in Miracles.
In my case, Heather’s letters are so compelling I wanted to get back in bed and make a special nest with tea (and sometimes coffee as I’m already high octane) and savor every word and yours dear fellow readers and commenters. Now I have this wonderful habit. I treasure this daily education from Dr HCR and all of you! Your humor and big hearts and even your anger (and mine) truly make my day!
Thank you!
Course in Miracles and Marianne Williamson’s definitive works about the Course are my first teachings starting in the 90’s that changed my perspective of politics, among other things. The Introduction to the Course, page 1, which included the text’s summation…is such a unique characteristic in an introduction for a text with a path of over a thousand page. It stays with me from my first reading of it to this day as I share it. It is the cornerstone of my spiritual path. I meditate upon its profound truth and upon the glass that is ALWAYS at least half full.
From A Course in Miracle published by The Foundation for Inner Peace (Copyright
1975) Introduction
“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.”
The many times that I have grimaced and chortled and not given credence at the machinations of the former, his enablers and followers and the fall of the Republican Party is due to a particular sentence in this introduction.
It violates a principle that outlines its failure, try as they may to force their hand.
“Free will does not mean that you can establish the curriculum.”
That was done in the instant before Creation.
Love and Light!
These times have truly tested my application of these teachings. In following my vows to try to spread truth without fear, I go to Fox once a week, when I can, and sort of angelically troll them with differently messaging. Oftentimes, when I stay too long, my body begins to feel very uncomfortable. On Thanksgiving, a friend who was also my teacher of the course sent me a beautiful excerpt. I passed it along to Fox viewers 12 times. I never felt anything...I think I was protected from that insidious fear and hatred by Love. It is an incredible power when we use it. One Fox viewer actually responded and tried to tell me not to preach to him against hatred and that I need to let him do it his way. He repeated, "Let me do it my way!" several times. It was so fascinating. I did not think I was preaching, just presenting another way of looking at things. Was that a momentary crack where the light gets in? It was one of the kinder, more thoughtful responses my comments have ever received on Fox.
Yes. That was a crack. And Light immediately entered. Love and Light, Penelope!
Oh, Christine, you're at it again. Morning!
Again? Hahahahahahaha. That would mean I took a break! I keep this engine on all the time. Love you Lynell!
Me too!
What a great way to prepare yourself for the news...our Shakespearean play!
I have been frequently reposting your Letters on both twitter and Facebook. I lack adequate words to tell you how much I appreciate not only your broad knowledge of our history but also your analytical ability in assessing the day’s news. Most of all, though, it seems clear to me that you do all this and share your insight with no agenda except to inform, educate, and to do whatever is in your power to save our democracy which is in crisis. I am thankful for you, Dr. Richardson. Thank you for caring.
“…no agenda except to inform, educate…and save our democracy…”. The very opposite of what our government has been for for so long. Priceless
You totally rock, woman, and my world is infinitely better because of you and your work. May our co-created community support your work and our democracy.
Thank you, Professor Richardson, for starting and maintaining this forum of facts and stimulating ideas. Your work has enriched my understanding of our nation’s history and its present. And it continually makes me THINK.
I agree about making me think. That’s what I do after I’m done panicking! 😊 Our Professor is a National Treasure of a Professor.
I wanted to comment, but everyone already read my mind. All I have is a thank-you for truth, understanding,your love of democracy, and for sharing your thoughts EVERY DANG DAY. You're my hero.
Done. Sent to the editorial board just now.
A "letter to the NY Times"
To whom it may concern:
My name is Michael Sanchez.
I have been reading the NY Times since 1982 daily. It is my "go to" newspaper and I have greatly benefited from NY Times insights over these many years.
However, I am writing to suggest that the NY Times team up with Heather Cox Richardson who writes a daily named "Letters from an American".
Dr. Richardson's daily "letter" is filled with information from today in the context of American historical precedent and history.
The latter part of the above sentence is how Letters' from an American is different from anything offered at the NY Times.
I think the NY Times readership would GREATLY benefit from a partnership with Letters from an American and Dr. Richardson.
The only writer you have that comes even close to the riveting information provided by Dr. Richardson's "Letters" is Jamelle Bouie.
Please consider this a serious suggestion and a great opportunity for the NY Times.
Michael Sanchez, Ph.D
Please no :( . I also read the times regularly. Daily. But NYT is also click bait. Provocative headlines and language and 4 paragraphs in to find out the article is not news. It takes time and patience to weed through its money making noise and find out what actually matters. Heather is doing this for us. By us :):):). I do not wish NYT oversight and influence on her. I am so thankful for her indepent insight and wisdom!
Given your respect for HCR, do you not think her capable to decide the distribution of her work? As a regular reader of The NY Times, my opinion differs from yours, while noting its strengths and weakness. Withal, I have no opinion about HRC being affiliated with the paper or not. It was good for Michael Sanchez to promote HRC's work and to wish that it was more widely distributed to the people. Letters from an American is an admirable teacher. The American people and the country would benefit greatly from a knowledge of civics.
Yes, and hers is not an opinion piece- it’s facts, history, and the truth! What paper has all 3! Thank you, Ms. Richardson!
Wallis there are essay pieces in the Times, which on occasion, combine elements, which constitute those in LFAA.
For what it isn't worth, I'll admit to having spent no few years as a reader of the NYT -- a sign of my deep dissatisfaction with British and French media. In the end I got a surfeit of its smug thought-free ersatz thinking, all too reminiscent of the politics of, by and for smelly old machinery to which the Democratic Party's bureaucracy still seems so attached.
Peter, I would like you to read the British newsletter I receive online, which is entitle The Canary. I certain if you did, your mind would be changed about the news they cover.
'...smug thought-free ersatz thinking...' I come across on the Opinion page, but not in the other sections, which you seem to insinuate.
I agree Fern. The wider the distribution, the better. I don't think the NYT, which I get daily, will influence the Professor's writing, except maybe for formatting. You see click bait in just about every commercial website for media these days. I say just avoid it.
I started reading the NYT at age 7/8 to have something to discuss with dad at dinner.In Egypt in the 50s I received it days late. In the Congo I received the Times/Herald Tribune edition by crocodile. In Chile the mail was delayed. I still read the Times, though with less sense of it being definitive than when I was much younger. I appreciate the Washington Post digital. The Economist daily and weekly provides a fine US section as well as broad global news. The Week provides excellent daily and weekly articles, including disparate newspaper/magazine reporting and some zinger cartoons. The New York Review of Books provides some excellent in-depth articles on key ongoing matters. The Atlantic and the New York have insightful articles, when I find the time.
When I was in the Foreign Service more than occasionally I had to write a classified memo to The Secretary ‘correcting’ a Times or Post article of that morning. Even now I assume that many of the top folks in Washington read the Times and/or Post while limosinng to work. I just read them with my first cup of coffee.
Even before coffee my must read is Heather’s nightly Letter. If limited to a single source, for keen insights on critical domestic issues for me Heather is #1.
Plainly, I am (and I don't doubt that we all are) very much in favor of spreading and sharing this work, but aren't we coming close to hijacking our mentor?
Anyway, the more media offers or expressions of interest, the better. And of course, it will be for HCR to decide how, whether and with whom to link up.
'...but aren't we coming close to hijacking our mentor?' Who are you talking about, Peter? 'We' cannot hijack' HCR and her work Some subscribers may have wishes about how her work is distributed. Those are wishes not a matter of 'control.'
Correct. One only need read one letter to understand nobody can “highjack” Dr. Richardson.
Of course.
How about as an insert in every college/university's newspaper/bulletin?
Sounds like we're planning to release swarms of Heather's Hornets on the nation... Goodness knows there are millions of couch potatoes and sleepwalkers in need of saving from an even direr awakening, yet I'm sure HCR (and Substack) will be well aware of all this buzzing in Her Hive and know how to act or not act on it.
Indeed 👍
Worth a look: franklinproject.us
The Franklin Project is an offshoot from the Lincoln Project, with a goal to increase public civil knowledge and organize against our current anti democracy threat. LP has no direct or legal connections with FP. FP is directed by Greg Jenkins, an alumnus of the George W. Bush administration.
Thank you for clarifying. I knew LP had no direct involvement but did not know about Greg Jenkins. Love learning something new, every day!
Diane, Thank you for this link. I was not familiar with the 'franklin project', and the link was not helpful. There was almost nothing about the organization, who its leaders are and background of the the organization were missing. It was a an unusual site given the paucity of information
I looked as well and the first thing that pops out is "heroes" I cringe anymore when I see the massive and inappropriate use of the word "hero".
I didn't notice that one, but I did balk at the word "fight". A fight may prove unavoidable but if there's one constant complaint I have about media jargon in the United States, it is the gross overuse of terms that imply violence. Action has to be "aggressive", anything that needs doing must be handled "aggressively".
Haven't we all seen far too much of fools -- often the most brilliant fools with vast expertise, vaster IQs, limitless hubris -- rushing in where angels fear to tread?
That said, all initiatives in defense of democracy are, at the very least, worthy of our attention.
That’s odd. I was just scrolling through and reading their newsletter from November 16, “2024 is the new 1984”.
Try this? https://franklinproject.us/
Or just type in The Franklin Project into your browser search. It should pop up. Their team and details you are looking for are all there on their site.
Thanks, Diane that helped. I was not seeking anything just commenting of various opinions of subscribers about their wishes concerning distribution of LFAA. The Franklin Project seems to be staffed primarily by folks with experience in press, public relations areas. The Project appears to be an offshoot of the Lincoln Project. Thanks, again.
Or perhaps I misunderstood what you were seeking? Haven’t finished my coffee yet ;)
Still surely worth looking into both the program proposed and the individuals behind it. Doesn't it smack of political independence, with its airing of the third party question?
If such an initiative proved worthy of its name, I'd be happy to see it exported to France and Britain for a start -- countries where Benjamin Franklin was active and influential, countries in dire need of a genuine revival of democratic institutions, not the populist simulacra we've been seeing far too much of.
PR people primarily and an offshoot of the Lincoln Project. It does not seem to be a grassroots organization, and my sense is that it is more politically affiliated than not.
Hi Fern, thanks. HCR is definitely capable of accomplishing growing her audience and the number of folks reading.
However, the NY Times could help, but, likely will not. I think that HCR would be too independent for NY Times.
So, I will just keep forwarding her letters.
Mike, Perhaps, you were discouraged by comments from subscribers. A much greater number who replied were very positive about your idea. I withheld judgement except to note favorably about your belief that it would be beneficial for a wider audience to read HCR's Letter. A combination of your idea with my 2 cents calls for a PR project, for which subscribers may not be the right engine. I would like to see monthly essays by HCR widely distributed. Would she be interested? It would be another work load. An outstanding aspect of your idea, from my point of view, was to alert a major newspaper about the extraordinary source HCR would be for their national coverage. I see your effort as one by a consumer of news advocating that more Americans be exposed to the unbiased and masterly analysis of current affairs written by HCR. Communication of this nature need not be restricted to the NY Times. Network news operations, CNN, USA Today, Wall St. Journal, Washington Post, Politico, NPR, Time Magazine and US News & World Report are all good targets. A letter to each with a small sample of her work, would, perhaps, be a prompt to the right people who direct the news coverage for the company. For those interested in spreading LFAA, I think of that the history, journalism, government. political science and teaching departments of Universities/colleges would do well to consider the LFAA as part of the curriculum. These are the hopes of those of us wishing for a more educated and enlightened citizenry. Here's to that, Mike!
:-)
There is no other writing like "Letters from an American" Fern. It is the only synthesis of today in the context of the detailed history of yesterday.
I will just keep bothering all my friends by forrwarding and encouraging them to subscribe, plus all my family.
However, this is a tiny number of people and I worry that folks are not getting a clear picture of our current reality without "Letters".
In a rush to leave but will connect you much later or tomorrow. Cheers!
I understand the concern but I am not worried.
I am more worried that too few people see this writing and historical perspective.
Agree.
I agree, Please, no. The NYT has gone the way of "Breaking News..."
Heather's words are traveling and spreading from the ground up and out beautifully. As we each introduce people, we know, to Heather's letters the word spreads, and it's not "coming from the Times".
"Please no", is what I say. It could change "why" the writing is happening..and learnng from Heather's extraordinary perspective is what I want to hear. I already read headlines in the Times, and would prefer to leave it at that...
Eric makes a salient point. The “Old Gray Lady” has changed since it was required reading in my poly sci 101 class at Harvard Summer School in 1969.
“The WSJ is edited for those who run the world;
the WaPo is edited for those who think they run the world;
the NYT is edited for those who think they should run the world.”
by jaqua December 10, 2005
What has not changed since 1969? All change is not for the worst. Do you remember the Times's reporting on the USA's invasion on Iraq? It was for the worst. If your interested into reporting on the insurrection, have you been following the Washington Post's series "The Attack'?
I agree with you. Independent, well referenced news from large media outlets is sparse. I feel NYT & WashPost & others (WSJ) are MOSTLY shallow, poorly documented articles on par w college undergrad output. They have done a terrible job of providing context & informing the public on critical current issues/events. In general, the content is shallow or for sensationalism. (Not all, but true informative, relevant journalism is hard to find.) Loss of independence seems to degrade content. (As you know, there are several other well researched independent daily news feeds. I like this trend & wish the audiences were broadened.)
As a reader of both papers I was surprised by your strong critique of the NYT and Washington Post. We greatly differ on that score. Correct me if I'm wrong in assuming that your have diligently read both papers up until recently. Thank you.
Mea culpa. Both outlets have done some outstanding investigative journalism. But I do not find what HCR offers; a daily capsule of critical political news which is well referenced & provides contextual meaning.
Thank you, mfabel. You appear to have made an important correction. To have compared both The New York Times and the Washington Post as 'shallow, poorly documented on a par with college undergrad output' and the rest of what you initially wrote was egregious, incorrect and uncalled for. I hope, in the future, you will be thoughtful and truthful in what you express.
Yes, I try to be “thoughtful & truthful” & appreciate the push back…
2 other political news feeds that I am analyzing:
1) Tangle- Issac Saul-https://www.readtangle.com/posts/kyle-rittenhouse-verdict/
I appreciate reading opposing arguments.
2) The EditorialBoard - John Stoehr.
Just starting to look at this. https://www.editorialboard.com/search/
interesting-
Neither provides the historical context like HCR. But the former is pretty balanced & the later thought provoking at least.
mfabel, Have been been following the series by the Washington Post called, The Attack, which is revelatory about the coup to prevent the transfer of power? It is not clear to me about whether you have rejected the the most serious journalism being produced in the country.
Agree! NYT can be informative but also annoying every time I read an issue, so I would prefer to avoid the aggravation entirely and keep Dr. Heather independent. 👍
I look at the NYT only every few days after amnesia has kicked in and then remember why I don't read it regularly. 😬
I think the NYT and Washington Post are well respected papers and present the news fairly. What annoys you about it?
I limit myself to the puzzle, the science section, the book review, and the COVID letter. I used to read more fully, but not now.
The recipes paywall is the final straw, because why post pics of appealing recipes then you click and a pop-up appears? Especially when they have non-paywall recipes available. Smh.
We subscribe and I did forget the food section. We get all the recipes and the puzzles as part of that. My spouse reads it more thoroughly than I do. I don't appreciate pay walls either when I encounter them from some newspaper where I just want to read a single article that was referenced in something else I read.
A very sage warning: Avoidance of the old "Follow The Money" fat old rich white boys closed-door strategic alliances, Eh!?
Eh,! Old, experienced and a respected member of the free-press -- The New York Times is not perfect but vitally important as a reliable source of the facts.
While I appreciate your sentiment to have LFAA read as widely as possible, it seems to me that having it unaffiliated with any media outlet is key. Her readership has grown enormously since I first ran across the letters. Her independent voice is so valuable. In any event, my guess is that an enormous % of the regular readership of the NYT already reads Heather!
I agree completely. Those who want to see more people reading her should broadcast her columns to your email lists, or post them on fb enough times that your correspondents will have the data to determine whether they want to subscribe.
Could be a big overlap. True.
Would be great if local public broadcasting stations would play her interviews also 😁😁 Doesn’t hurt to request 😁. https://www.mainepublic.org/show/maine-calling/2021-03-26/heather-cox-richardson-historian-and-professor-speaks-about-the-current-state-of-our-nation
I think HCR should remain independent. The NYT has made a lot of big mistakes over the last 20 years. I myself now lean more heavily on the WaPo than the NYT, for which I have lost trust. HCR does not need to be tied to an oft errant bureaucracy.
PS: I'm glad to hear she has editors to help her.
Certainly an important view.
I get Dr. Sanchez's point but why only the NYT? In my imaginary world these letters should be mandatory reading, because they connect what we were and are as country to what is happening now. That is what the study of history is all about.
I appreciate the sentiment to reach more with her wisdom, but today's media/News model for journalism would compromise her voice and the discussion that the Teacher Heather incites each morning. I think I appreciate the high praise you intend, Michael Sanchez.
I don’t understand how papers like NYT or WaPo publishing her letters would make her less independent, surely a lack of that type of knowledge on my part? Seems the more readers the better? Not sure all here are aware she has 1.5 million followers on Facebook. I’ve often said I wish smaller more rural community newspapers would publish at least some of her letters
Dr. R... You have educated many; you have given us hope; you have so often connected the dots; and you have brought us together on this worthy page. I am a reader, not a writer.....I have learned so much from your letters and they have inspired me to act more, read more, converse more. Your letters are high up on my list of gratitudes.... I sincerely thank you!
I think that yellow jacket sting was like the proverbial flap of butterfly wings that can cause such change in the world. I've learned so very much as a reader of LFAA, listener of the podcast, watcher of the video chats, and reader of books (yours and others that the Herd has recommended). I cannot adequately express my gratitude to you, Professor, and your support crew, family, and friends that make it all possible. As well, my soul is grateful to Buddy and others who share the beauty they've captured in the cycling of a camera's shutter. Some of those images have been the beauty that pulls me back to a place of light and hope. I will be an eternal fan of you and the unswerving dedication you've shown to this accidental calling that serves to educate and inform a global audience. Blessings of the holiday season to everyone, in whatever manner you observe it. Be well and stay safe as we step through the last days of this calendar year.
Never before has a yellow jacket sting wrought such a fine, expansive body of work or brought so many together. Thank you, Heather, for starting this journey and staying with us beyond Biden's first 100 days. I'm honored to be among the many who respect and appreciate your daily insights and diligence.
Nature has ways of reminding us who is in charge, Daria.
😘
Back at you Marcy!🌷
Just so, Stuart, just so.
And one of our greatest gifts, since you started those letters, is the clarity snd perspective you bring to each one. You definitely are on my gratitude list! Thank you. 🍁
What a relief. As I started reading, I braced myself, thinking, "Uh-oh, this is starting to sound like a 'Dear John/Jane' letter." I am so thankful to be wrong. Shout out to Adam Schiff for inspiring Heather Cox Richardson to gather such a powerful community as we have here!
Thank goodness, there are some people in government who know the law and will call out crimes when they see them. Thank you, Adam Schiff. But it’s important that historians like HCR put current happenings into context and call attention to those happenings. I have learned so much history that I never knew by reading these letters and this forum. I appreciate the contributions of thoughtful, concerned readers that added to my knowledge.
Thank you, HCR, and thank you to everyone who subscribes and thoughtfully shares their insights.
You bring up something I often reflect upon and discuss with friends—our history educations were seriously lacking.
Morning Lynell. Crime there was but where are the charges, the trial and the judgement of the perpetrator?
"Crime there was but where are the charges, the trial and the judgement of the perpetrator?" Buried so far, it seems. But LFAA is thriving! Morning, Stuart!!
Thank goodness but every crime perpetrated during the past administration that we let pass weakens and cuts the ground on which stand together with Heather.
“It ain’t over till it’s over.”
Shout out to the bee that stung her.
A yellow jacket no less. Sneaky attack from a ground nest. Also where traitors reside!
😂 Whatever U two are drinking this early A.M. I want some.😉
😂
That was my initial thought too when i read the first sentence
You are not alone! There is no end to the gratitude we feel at this communion of ideas and grounded information. We’ve come to realize what a precious commodity it is!
I felt the same tremble, Lynell!! I was so relieved by the end of it! 😁
Here in Australia, the Letters arrive late afternoon. I look for the day's Letter as if waiting at the gate for the postman; so now does the friend who's been staying with me during the past few days. Your profoundly well-informed writings, balanced and clearsighted, are havens of calm in the chaos. Beacons of hope. The real thing. Happy Thanksgiving, in your beautiful Maine.
Your name was mentioned with great appreciation at our dinner table tonight, and we toasted in gratitude, to the gift of history you have shared. Thank you!
We talked about your letters at dinner today as well. The sustenance of good food, good friends & intelligent conversation included a few new young grad students eagerly taking down your name & substack. Always in gratitude for your willingness to teach all of us through your letters.
At our table tonight, we also talked about the Now and Then Podcast. What a great solace is perspective.