These have been four illuminating and wonderful years learning so much from you and so many of your devoted readers and commenters. We've got ourselves one helluva community here. Thank you, Heather, for all you do. Your book will be icing on the cake, and I eagerly await receiving it on September 26th.
Yes...thank you so much for illuminating these events that are so difficult to keep up with. Events that are dizzying and at times unbelievable. Without your trusted guidance I fear many of us would struggle to stay abreast. We are blessed with your diligence and clarity.
When we talk about the term “illuminate” , the Gnostic faith comes to mind. Gnosticism is a branch of Christianity that many few know about and it helps to illuminate the darkness:
"Science" has lead us to "light" (actually photons) all the way back to the start of this Universe & to the tiny microbiology of human cells & pathogens. You will not be excommunicated following or leading verifiable scientific truth.
Franklin, ,,,,,, IF !, You have, ANY Faith, in The HEREAFTER, ! READ ! : JOHN Chapter 14, Verse 6 ! ( THIS !, is the SON !, of GOD ! , in " DIRECT SPEAK !" [ ONE !, Way !!] ) . BLESSINGS !!
Science theories get updated with new data, and there is bad science unfortunately motivated by the need to publish and by money. So for those of us who rely on science just know that all science is not the Gospel. :-)
That's why it appeals to me. I was absolutely breathless, for example, seeing the images sent by the James Webb telescope. Not gospel, but we were confronted with a reality that is bigger, older and more beautiful than we ever imagined. Try telling a Christian that the universe is expanding and then wait for the response.
In science there is no point making a claim if you don't already have something "evidence wise" backing it up, if even thinly, and then it was to run the evidentiary gauntlet since there is a crowd waiting to test it to the limit. Otherwise its just speculation. God hasn't fared well in that department, imo. Sound familiar? ie Trumpworld "stolen election" with no credible evidence...
Marycat , I Am Glad, You have a Reliance, in the SCIENCES ! It is Far BETTER, than atheism ! Just KEEP, in MIND, that Science, is, MANKIND, " discovering !" , ALL THINGS! , That GOD! , *SET * " IN PLACE !, All Along ! " BLESSINGS!,,, !
agreed... at root science is conservative in what it allows for evidence to back up claims. It has to measurable in some quantifiable way that can be publicly shared and results passed around for discussion that produces a truth the scientific community can agree on, or at least understand why it doesnt, basically because evidence is incomplete and ambiguous. The world is now driven by it and technology. Actually much of science derives from thought processes involved in the crafts and the legal arts, and logical traditions in philosophy, and, needless to say, mathematics where it can be applied.
lol, i'm an agnostic/atheist. I do enjoy historical traditions in Christianity, but from a secular, human interest viewpoint. Near as i can tell, various shades of early Christianity competed for some time. "Gnostics" a term hardly anyone agrees on was overtaken early on by the both human and divine sections. My take is Jesus was human, entirely, the divine take may have been partly his own doing in the sense of having a divinely inspired reform mission, but the takeoff into a more divine like being, until finally incorporated into the very definition of godhead, is a whole different matter, and which took a while. Having a monotheistic view and an enthusiastic missionary effort helped Christianity eventually overthrow the pluralistic pagan views. Only Christians were right, and a message of Heaven or Hell eventually won the day.
I walked the same path man! I grew up pentacostal christian, went agnostic, quantum physics, etc. After going through everything, i started to see how they all connected. Gnostics had a different view on Jesus which is similar to what you mention.
Frank , JESUS ! WAS/IS Mortal Human, BUT ! " I AM ! " ,,, IS ! Also ! * The ONLY BEGOTTEN !, SON ! , of GOD ! * IN , The FATHERS EYES !, ,,,,, HE, WAS APPOINTED, To BE The PROPITIATION ! ( Intercessor ) " The , GO BETWEEN , For MANKIND, and GOD! WE, Live, at 'The TIME ! " That EVIL, ,,,, WILL ABOUND ! " THOSE CHOSEN, ,,,, Who KEEP, the FAITH ! , WILL SEE ! The COMING ! , of OUR LORD/GOD !! AMEN .
Well, those of us who've read Elaine Pagels's GNOSTIC GOSPELS (1979) have known about it for a while. Among other things, it's a reminder that Christianity didn't have to develop into an extremely male-dominated religion.
Thanks for the reminder about the Gnostic texts. In a past discussion about original Christianity, someone recommended them to me (probably because my thoughts were already in line with them). Was St. Thomas a gnostic? In the Dead Sea scrolls, the Thomas Gospel quoted Jesus as saying, "Drink from my lips, and you shall become as I am." Seems to me that Jesus is saying we can achieve what he did. If a standard denominational Christian asks me if Jesus is my savior, I say, "No. I believe that Jesus expects me to be my own savior." But I do incorporate the principals of his message in how to treat other people, including my responsibility to work toward a more just society. Some of the principals we read in the standard message are extremely difficult to do--e.g., "Love your enemy." "Do good to him who harms you." That is tough stuff. Politically, I believe that Jesus's dictum speaks more to the values of democratic socialism than the standards of selfish and unbridled capitalism.
Thanks Heydon! You're exactly right when you say: Jesus expects me to be my own savior! I think you'd enjoy my take on gnosticism if you haven't see it already:
FRANKLIN , Your Terminology, .. * GNOSTIC Faith *, ILLUMUMINATES The
. DARKNESS! , ,,,,,,,, And, It, " KEEPS ! , You , ,,, IN THE DARKNESS !! " . COME !, Into, THE LIGHT ! , And TRUTH ! Of The LORD, !, OUR GOD ! . BLESSINGS ! To YOU ! and YOURS !!!
Interesting information Franklin. I will delve into this to see where it leads. I’m guessing it could lead to a great Spiritual Awakening......I’m willing to find out!
Thank you indeed! Looking back I think there have been a few keystone figures holding this democracy together, and Adam Schiff is certainly one. I also shudder to think how quickly Ukraine would have fallen to Russia with Trump in power. It would have suited his authoritarian style and been a nice bit of petty revenge against Zelenskyy for not cooking something up when blackmailed. I wrote this quick reflection entitled “I’M HAUNTED BY A UKRAINIAN CAB DRIVER IN BARCELONA” this weekend and it spent most of Saturday as the most trending story on Daily Kos. I think it crystalizes how many of us feel about supporting Ukraine as a bulwark against fascist ambitions:
Thank you for the dailykos link -- a great article! Please keep writing them! Here's a pragraph from it:
"We’ve kind of been here before. In 1937 FDR gave a speech in which he likened international aggression to a disease that other nations must work to "quarantine." Had the isolationist mood in the country been different before Pearl Harbor, perhaps an ounce of prevention applied early (instead of the heavy toll needed later to extricate the world from tyranny) would have prevented some of the worst nightmares of WWII."
This touches on my gravest concerns. Far too many of our fellow voters are oblivious to international agression. Far too many are isolationists, libertarians, and Christian nationalists, or worse. The ounces of prevention that we are trying to apply against tyranny are not strong enough simply because a crisis of this magnitude, easliy as potentially damaging as WW II, is not the kind of thing that gets reversed quickly. It gets corrected after the damage has been done, after terrible costs. Even Elon Musk is wielding his own foreign policy (on behalf of Putin) without fear of prosecution for treason and mass murder. It doesn't get much darker than that.
Alas it could get far darker, and horrifying, and the willingness of human beings, and in this case the Republican party to roll over rights, ethics, and just rule of law in pursuit of absolute power. That is the formula that has rendered most of the avoidable horror scenes of history. And that said, we are living through politics-related horrors that have fail to trigger the scale of national revulsion and resolve they deserve, including the thousands that arguably died because politicians chose to use pandemic defense as a wedge issue, the crimes against humanity in the cruel, cynical plan to separate immigrant families, in many cases permanently, and the broad conspiracy to trump the results of the last presidential election with a barrage of lies. Democracy and a free society can only be bent so far before it breaks. This has got to stop, or the results could be very dark indeed.
You could easily go on, considering GOP's chronic attacks on social economic and support across the broad swath of US social poverty. Remember, the bottom 50% of American taxpayers only contribute a marginal portion of federal tax revenues, about 3%, compared to 40% by the top 1% of taxpayers - because of income inequality. There's a reason why socialists of most stripes describe American democracy as "capitalist" democracy. We've learned that it only functions because of some economic support to the working classes. At least the Dems want more, which would only bring them into line with eg Canadian moreso European polities.
To complete the picture, the bottom 90% provide the labor to produce the products and the profits of the economy by spending nearly 100% of their incomes. Some of those profits trickle up and stay up to be hoarded by the morbidly rich who successfully manage to pay minimal taxes. The wealthy are retaining the wealth of the nation which we paid to them through labor and consumption, break-even incomes, and poverty, and, most importantly, by lives lost on the battlefield in the wars they either caused or failed to prevent; the latter being the ultimate tax. They are holding the taxes that we otherwise could have paid for the goods and services of a responsible democratic government. That's the equivalence that needs to be drawn to illustrate why 90% tax brackets are necessary and why the wealthy, through their wholly owned Republican Party, are hell-bent on Nazi-style dictatorship. They KNOW we know what they are doing, and they are scared out of their minds that FDR 2 will come forth to lead us out of this disaster. Unfortunately, that always comes AFTER the damage has been done.
It seems to me that we rarely discuss the flow of wealth in a society as a system, what works and what is problematic from a "whole" system point of view. From the point of view of a feudal aristocracy that dominated ownership of everything of value, they were the magnanimous benefactors of society, and that their abuses of serfs were more than justified by allowing them access to arable land. Of course they expected to be compensated. Slaveholders in both Roman empire and "Old South" times argued that they had rendered slaves, in America, by a service by removing them from "heathen" Africa, in fact I recall some "Republican" official some years ago making just that argument. In such a system, "ownership", which is to say control, is considered the arbiter of human rights.
I am by no means anti-ownership, although I recognize ownership as a legal code of rights, among others, and not a property of nature. I believe in free enterprise as a useful and probably essential component of a free society. That said, even my (1950s) middle school history book acknowledged the social danger of monopoly, and I dimly recall a chapter or major heading about Theodore Roosevelt replete with period cartoon caricatures, about "Teddy The Trust-Buster". "Teddy's" alternative to Laissez Faire was "The Square Deal".
I know many workers and vendors who offer a "square deal" it is a pleasure to pay for. There are businesses I literally grieve when the close, or are, increasingly, sold to investors who minimize service and maximize profit. I see an essential and currently deteriorating role for a robust public sector to supervise and/or provide essential and potentially dangerous but necessary services by and for the public. The 1950s were by no means the "good old days", as very necessary changes have been made since, but it was in some respects less unbalanced in my youth. "Reaganomics" was and remains predatory, feudal-oid claptrap.
That's a mindful. Currently the top half of income earners finance 97% of federal taxes, so any tax increase will by and large be on the top half of income earners, whether directly, or indirectly through corporate taxes. The other thing is that all government social support filters back into the general economy, from which business will by and large benefit, from purchases, and from a generally less poverty stricken lower income class which will convert to healthier employees etc etc. All benefit. Of course, this is one of my recurrent preaching points. You just might be right about the logic of the GOP. Trump though has figured out how to turn chump change in volume into millions for his various political and legal causes.
"Our defense is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere. Destroy this spirit, and you have planted the seeds of despotism around your own doors. Familiarize yourselves with the chains of bondage and you are preparing your own limbs to wear them. Accustomed to trample on the rights of those around you, you have lost the genius of your own independence, and become the fit subjects of the first cunning tyrant who rises." Lincoln
"Men" is an anachronism in this use, but rights are universal or they are not really rights.
James FDR’s 1937 Chicago speech on ‘international aggression’ was his effort to address the isolationist mood in America. As he later acknowledged, it was extremely frustrating to try to lead, when the American public refused to follow.
I agree that with the MAGATS that is where our country is today. The poison of their position is as obvious, in hindsight, as that of the isolationists in 1937. It is a rough and tumble battle and success in the 2024 elections is not assured, though the clarity of right over wrong I find as obvious as the nose on my face.
Fortunately we have Heather to guide and lead us through the tortuous months ahead. And WE SHALL OVERCOME!
Thanks the precise look back Keith. "International Aggression" was well under predation by 1937 on the German border, in Czechoslovakia, Austria, in Ethiopia, incursions into vast China & far flung Western Pacific Islands. FDR's covert assistance to the UK & China was formalized into "Lend-Lease Act" allowing the US to " ... transfer title, exchange, lease, lend any defense article" well before the Day of Infamy.
Bill When you are bottom fishing in a sewer, you are likely to encounter a Musk, a Ford, a Trump, a Giuliani, and other throw away junk fish. Don’t put any of these in a paella, they are poisonous!
Ha Ha! We were dining in a fancy place last week. On an island in Casco Bay. The featured fish entree was pollock. Sign of coming times? Good thing I like all the protein the sea offers. Including kelp.
American popular disinterest in foreign affairs is remarkable, considering Congress annually passes by far the world's largest military budget, its only being to project America military might on behalf of a broadly capitalist way of life, all from a country which otherwise among advanced nations provides the least amount of economic social support and which possesses a major political party (GOP of course) which while advancing military power, seeks to reduce what social support the government already offers. US policy historically has conflated social reform movements with communism, America's arch enemy by far. Rich and poor, indeed. At least the Democrats offer some advancement in that front, though what of the vast income gulf which has opened up, what really? Sorry if i wandered.
I guess i could add that that implies US military is by far the LARGEST political subsidy to the capitalist enterprise. Without an overarching doctrine to defend "American interests", military spending would be much less... at least i would hope. Imperialism used to be the big deal, with aggressive nationalisms acting imperialistically following up.
What is most concerning is your inclusion of Christian nationalists in your list. This idea that this country was founded as a Christian nation or that somehow is enshrined in the Constitution is chilling. The colonists were escaping that in England. The King being the head of the church. They were escaping oppression and sought to worship as they saw fit, or not at all, is the bedrock of the new country. This nationalist intent is part of the democracy we are fighting to protect against.
Americans are so undereducated in so many tangible ways that they are simply unable to grasp the comparison of American Christian nationalism to the Taliban, The Islamic State, or the Khomeinification of women's rights. They just don't make the connection. Or likely care.
I remain astounded at the choices members of the Republican Party have made en masse in the last seven years. Time after time they acquiesce to threats and vote to countenance immoral, illegal and often feckless behavior. The latest exhibit is the Paxton impeachment. The Senators crumble in the face of threats to their jobs.
I cannot imagine being so beholden to the upward curve of my ambition that I would prostitute myself to stay on that arc. It is despicable behavior from those elected to “serve” and it has a snowball effect. When you bow and scrape, you are forever counted on to bow and scrape.overtime you contribute mightily to the degradation of the very system you are so proud to be part of.
The American obsession with money plays a role in this. These people cannot be talented enough to realize that other opportunities would present themselves if they got primaries out of politics. Life is long and unpredictable. Stuff happens. Opportunities arise. Right now you may be unable to see them, but unless you’re a total dimwit (always possible), they will come.
Remaining in the herd is another powerful motivating factor - exceptionally so. But it is galvanizing to publicly remove oneself. It gives you the opportunity to see your character in a new light. It liberated you to speak up more and more. I’d rather stand in my own than grovel with the grubs.
Perhaps some of those who voted to acquit - who were, not to put too fine a point on it, fucking dishonest, are true believers. Perhaps the idea of looming MAGA control (so they think) intrigues them. Maybe they think they are making a better America when they get in line. . . truthfully it’s both too funny and too scary to take this reasoning any further.
We are all imperfect. I can see many times where I have failed to grow, where, to be plain, I have screwed up badly.
But I am old enough now to consider my, and their, place on earth. We all leave a legacy behind. “He voted to acquit Ken Paxton” does not exactly ring.
It’s long past time for moral courage. Imagine if ALL the Senators had voted to convict Paxton. Such solidarity would have given Texans a moment of great pride, or at the least earned them grudging respect.
I’m glad we agree, and thanks for expanding on this, really well stated. Your point about Musk really is ominous, as I hadn’t really considered how the future of democracy and foreign policy will increasingly be influenced by billionaires with money and tech infrastructure. Ugh.
Good story. The % of GDP was enlightening and the recounting another reminder of how interconnected we are in this world. I got to wondering - we read about how people of other countries sacrifice to make contributions small and large in support of Ukraine. In day 570 or whatever it is of this war, I wonder how many average Americans continue to donate to causes that support them. Leading to how angry I get when I see how much $$ goes into politics, $$ that could be tangible assistance in support of our interconnected world. Ok. Rant over.
Your Ukrainian cab driver story is right on target, Ryan. You nailed the history, the key issues, and the solutions needed. If good people stay silent, the ship of state goes down by the bow.
Thank you for publishing this reflection and haunted feeling. It expresses what any caring individual, from any walk of life, should feel. Although now retired, we still maintain contact with associates who fled Russia with their two young daughters after Chernobyl with only what they could wear or stuff into a bag. They thankfully were warned by their sister who was a doctor in NYC, as they otherwise would not have known.
I am a retired EU civil servant. I've had a ringside seat from which to observe European and world politics, but I can tell you that the people I have met who were most in touch with the realities of our world were not politicians or insiders but the most ordinary people, including taxi drivers.
Amen to that, taxi drivers hair dressers and anyone serving all walks of life really do get an inside knowledge of the workings of the world… and those who are really engaged with clients as people can be important nodes in the web of making the world a better place.
The "ordinary people" of whom I speak are, of course, marginal cases, free men and women, close to the ground, unlike the heavily conditioned masses.
I just came across a comment from a Russian exile source that, wherever he and friends moved in Europe, they found ordinary, decent people -- not warmongers -- siding with Putin. This is, of course, not a comment on Putin, on Russia or the war with Ukraine, about which they plainly know damn all, but a sharp sign of extreme dissatisfaction with politics at home.
The situation could hardly be more dangerous. There's a fable of Aesop in which a deer goes onto a promontory over the sea to escape from hunters and is killed by an arrow shot from a boat down below. Danger always comes from the least expected quarter... After the Cold War and western conditioning to fear danger from the left, stick-in-the-mud minds are slow to recognize danger from the far right. Even lefties still tend to associate the Kremlin and its Nazis with the Soviet regime from which they once took orders and inspiration...
Dr. McCormick, thank you so much for sharing your article. To reinforce your message - and Dr. Richardson’s - I share a similar memorable encounter in the Cotswolds in 1990. Three of us Yanks spent a few days in a very small village, in a 200+year old thatched-roof house. The older residents of the village quickly discovered us and virtually competed to invite us to their homes for tea or homemade elderberry wine and Stilton cheese. They told us stories of the US build-up to Normandy, with supplies lining the roads in that village. They still remembered - with clarity and emotion- small acts of kindness and generosity by American soldiers. And then: Normandy. Overnight the supplies and the soldiers went off to defend democracy. As one gentleman said as he shook our hands the day we left: “You Yanks saved our butts.”
And that is what I have always believed about the US: our courage, determination, and selflessness not only for our own citizens but also for a peaceful, safe and democratic world. I hope that we Yanks are still willing to save our allies’ butts. Ukraine is a test. Let us be up to that test and regain our honor.
Love this, and I could listen to those sorts of stories all day and night. I wish I could hear them from my grandfather who served in the pacific, alas I was too young when he was still here. Thank you for sharing this lovely scene
You’re right about one thing, Ryan, when you write: “I’m not a policy wonk. I’m not a historian or political scientist or foreign policy expert.”
Ukraine is the most corrupt ‘nation’ in Europe, and has been since WWII. The current proxy war is just another in a long line of Cold War atrocities engaged in by the U.S., both domestically and around the world, which have at their core a logical fallacy-based desire to ‘defeat Communism’ and perpetuate American hegemony. If you took a body count responsibility index since WWII, we would sit atop the list.
Glad you referenced Nazis in your piece. Did you know we collaborated with them, even before WWII ended, just because we were so fearful of the socialist experiment in Russia? And that fear, has led us down a path of CIA-induced brutality and terror around the world ever since.
We don’t care about the people of Ukraine, or, the truth be told, democracy (hell, we engineered the 2014 coup in Ukraine against a democratically-elected government); we only want to bleed Russia, so it doesn’t pose a threat to our hegemony. Same with China. Anyone who truly cares about the people of Ukraine being sacrificed in the meat grinder of war would be screaming for a cease fire and negotiated settlement, instead of incremental weapons of war escalation that only enhances the financial bottom lines of American corporate war profiteers.
I can send you some links that will give you more context than Russia/Putin bad, America/Schiff good, if you desire. The info is out there. One has to work to find it, because everyone is against war, until the war propaganda starts; and no one does war propaganda as insidiously, and effectively, as the U.S.
I'm not surprised it takes work to find the information you tout here because it takes work to piece together some bad ass history and apply it to today. Then is not now! Ukraine is working like hell to clear out the corruption and I believe the United States is helping. You come off as a stain on the facts provided by Professor Richardson. Anyone who believes what you write have taken the bait. Some people just get their jollies out of blasting and posting contrarian comments with an air of authority with their dismal links. I believe 100% what Professor Richardson writes. People like you who enjoy throwing doubts on what's true are what's wrong with the entire picture. You are aiding and abetting the very thing that wants to take our Democracy down! Shame on you and any one who buys your BS.
Ukraine is working to end corruption? Is that why we have no idea where so much of the weaponry we send there actually ends up?
I didn’t post any links, but when I do, as a rule, the only thing dismal about them is in pointing out American hypocrisy or corresponding media sycophancy, and the resultant hyperbole, ad hominem and logical fallacy from members of Team Vote Blue No Matter Who in response.
You believe what you wish. I believe our Democracy has already been taken down; I’ll choose Professor Wolin and his take on inverted totalitarianism over that of Professor Richardson and her focus on the GOP as our major threat.
Why do you think the GOP is so extreme? How could a shameless con man like Donald Trump even sniff the Oval Office? Why does it never seem to matter to the poor and working class which political party wins elections? If no politician is swayed by campaign donors, why are there 10 lobbyists for every elected official in DC?
If all you can think of in response is that the GOP is obstructionists, and full of BS, you’ve ceased being a curious individual and your intellectual potential is going to waste.
There’s a lot of ‘bait’ floating around in today’s political waters; much of it supplied by our national ‘security’ apparatus and cable ‘news’, and it is obvious you have swallowed plenty.
"...everyone is against war, until the war propaganda starts; and no one does war propaganda as insidiously, and effectively, as the U.S."
You speak well and correctly per my understanding of the issues.
I'm especially interested in this matter of "war propaganda." Americans in general don't grasp that our government produces propaganda just as all nations and organizations do, especially in wartime. Those of us raised in 1950s/60s U.S. can bear witness to the amount of propaganda directed at us through the new medium of TV. Take a look at the 100+ films of the late '40s through the '60s when Hollywood put the fear of God into us through their dramatic portrayal of the "evil communists." We heard the term Russian propaganda so often that we thought adding the word propaganda was just being redundant; that is, Russian = communist = propaganda. Propaganda was evil, and the American government would not produce propaganda, or so we thought. Americans must awaken to the fact that: Yes, our government produces propaganda in order to "direct us" to "proper thinking." Why does it take so long to learn these things? Because we have to learn on our own when the school system won't teach us what the word propaganda means.
Ryan, tale the time to watch/listen to the linked interview here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2451jFeZp0&t=432s Mearsheimer knows more than either of us about Ukraine, and has been prescient about everything that has happened, both before the current conflict began, and since. We should both fear what his analysis for the future holds. Our Cold War mentality, ever since the Russian Revolution in 1917, has led us down a dark path, regardless of who ‘started’ which of the many ‘wars’ we have been involved in.
If you make it through the interview, and want to learn more about how we got here, from a foreign policy perspective, I would highly recommend reading ‘The Devil’s Chessboard’, and follow that up with ‘The Jakarta Method’. Then you’ll have a good grasp on what drives American foreign policy; and hint, it’s neither democracy, human rights, nor national sovereignty. You’ll still be free to disagree with my statements, or Mearsheimer’s, but hopefully will know more than just what you currently think is enough. Peace, t
I was very touched by your article. It brought tears to my eyes. Most of my travel has been in the developing world. That kind of thank you is unlikely there! I read some of the comments after your Daily Kos article, and was surprised that several people had their own own thank you stories. I had no idea! For many reasons, it seems our relationship with France is something we should take good care of. By the way, I agree with you about Adam Schiff.
"...a reckoning with how little it has cost us in the grand scheme of preserving the world order..." If only some folks would get past the mini schemes of preserving their own powers, we might be able to see the grand scheme once again. It is rather cost effective.
Thank you Dr Ryan. A great contribution to this Letter from Dr Heather. It gets to the heart of what is wrong with the power-hungry desires dooming the rule of law, and our democracy, to failure:
"I was not expecting the diaspora caused by the Russian genocidal campaign in Ukraine to spill into a cab in the heart of Barcelona. But spill it has, along with the blood and tears of children, grandmothers, families, and untold thousands of men and women on the front lines defending their way of life, and their ancestral homeland against a force that would topple other countries like America from within and without."
Professor, thank you for the September 2019 Recap for those of us not yet aboard, LFAA. What comes next? Per Judge Scot McAfee, Co-Defendants & fallen lawyers Sidney Powell & Kenneth Chesebro get their televised "speedy" Trial. Judge McAfee is aiming to have a Jury seated by 11/2/23. The Prosecution is wisely seeking the submission of the Jury questions (voir dire) from both sides. The Rule of Law requires protecting the Jurors & their families as well as all Court personnel. Ready for Trial.
I feel as though this ride with you has been an enlightening navigation of our past and present history. I’m so grateful for this new understanding of the puzzle that is our government. As the headlines make my head spin, my back up plan - right here - brings me perspective and often calm. Curiosity stimulated, I now explore subjects rather than remain endlessly frustrated. The comments of others who tune in each day have always been thought provoking as well.
Three years ago, my real estate agent forwarded one of your posts. I read it, understanding that for the first time since the 2016 election, the gaslighting politicians who undermine our democracy had found a formidable foe and had no idea that, of all things, a Harvard trained historian, an academic, a Mainer and a woman whose understanding of our cultural roots was based in deep
research would start a « newsletter (that) accrued over one million subscribers, making her, as of December 2020, the most successful individual author of a paid publication on Substack. « That was almost three years ago. Everyone tonight who reads Heather’s post … share one of them … share and post and let history provide us with our path forward as it did for our founders. (On THAT subject, follow Joanne B Freeman by the way.) Thank you HCR. You are changing lives one post/podcast at a time.
Dan Coats (R-IN), had earned Trump’s wrath in 2018 when he confirmed—a day after Trump had denied it—that the United States intelligence community had concluded that Russia had interfered in the 2016 election.
Let’s not ever forget that the 2016 election was stolen by the Russians for Trump.
That's the thing. The GOP cries "Russiagate! Fake news!" But whether Trump colluded with Russia to screw up our elections--it appears that he did not--is immaterial. Russia DID attack the American election system, looted Democratic Party databases, and raised other hell with our institutions to put that Putin-slobberer into office and keep him there.
Russia is still our enemy, no matter how hard the GOP tries to be pals, and if Trump is re-elected, God forbid, Putin will be back in the White House.
No, you don't. We should keep out nose out of foreign elections too. Not just for reasons of "fair play," but because we suck at picking winners. All we ever seem to install are strongmen who terrorize their populations and, eventually, screw up their nations through incompetence, sucking up billions of OUR tax money in the process.
Everyone should run their elections without foreign interference, whether that be Russia, the United States, or anyone else.
But we don’t keep our nose out of foreign elections, nor other internal affairs of foreign nations. Don’t you think we should clean up our house before whining about others meddling with ours?
Russia gave us more than two decades of fair warning about the unacceptable nature of Ukraine joining NATO, and we ignored them, because our hubristic hegemonic authoritarian impulse since the fall of the Berlin Wall/Soviet Union won’t allow any other nation to question the right of the average American to get a fresh raspberry in the grocery store in the middle of winter.
The American Empire is waning. I wish we could look at that fact soberly, and glide to a soft landing, but I fear the corporate grip on our politicians, of both parties, won’t allow it.
Whining? I don't whine, Tom, I state facts and opinions.
"Don't you think we should clean up our own house before . . . "
No. We should do both at the same time: clean up our own house while also warning foreign powers to remove their noses from under our skirts.
Sorry to be blunt, but fuck Russia's feelings. Ukraine is a soveriegn nation, not a Russian vassal state, and can join NATO if it wants. Khrushchev signed a treaty that made Ukraine free and independent of Mother Russia. Putin can hate that all he likes, but it gives him no right to invade and murder. If Z wants to join the Canadian Hockey League, let alone NATO and the EU, he has every legal right to do so.
The war in Ukraine is not because of "our hubristic hegemonic authoritarian impulse," it's because Putin smelled an opportunity to grab up some land for what he assumed would be a low cost. Your America-bashing is entirely unwarranted in this case.
And why *shouldn't* the average American buy fresh raspberries on a winter's midnight if he or she wants? Who is anybody to question what our citizens can or cannot do?
The American Empire is maturing, not waning. As it must: the unique postwar economic monopoly that let us rule a bombed-out planet is long gone, and other cultures and economies are ascending. That's good. We need healthy competition and strong rivals to check our bullying impulses. And the rest of the world can start paying the freight to protect themselves from their enemies instead of letting us do it for them. I'd rather invest those trillions save in getting our own house in order.
‘Fuck Russia’s feelings’. Spoken like a true imperialist. I love the hypocrisy inherent in the sovereign nation argument, especially as pertaining nuclear weaponry on one’s own border. Putin’s reasons (note the plural) had nothing to do with land grabbing for its own sake; all were strategic security responses to Western ‘land grabs’ after the West promised not to expand NATO. What Putin did was wrong, but we pushed him there.
As to your argument ‘we should do both at the same time’, I am reminded of the Henry Rollins line about labor being lied to by capitalist overseers again and again, and being asked to adopt more concessions when promised that the overseers would make some to: ‘You first, mf’er’.
Which would be a mistake on par with "the Titanic is unsinkable," but yes, if Trump retakes the Oval, that's exactly what he'll do: give Ukraine to Putin.
Perhaps it is time to start an honor roll, a naming of individuals who decided to make a stand for the truth and suffered the consequences rather than take the easy way out. Americans who stood in the face of wrong doing and did not flinch.
Perhaps we should also start a dishonor role. Americans that valued themselves more than standing against those who are determined to change our elected government from representatives of the people to rulers of the people. Take back your power and stop the use of fear against jurors.
How will neutral and just jurors (heck - any jurors?) ever be found if their privacy and safety cannot be assured? I am very concerned for the safety of jurors today, as I am for poll workers and witnesses.
The Republicans seem to have perfected that distraction. They have been using and continue to use it in every false narrative they wish to claim. Decades old frankly but has been put on steroids the last 10 years without shame.
I'm glad you know how much we appreciate you. Sometimes your letter is the only news I can read. Thank you for presenting the information wisely and calmly
Heather, as I add my thanks to those that precede this comment, I am puzzled by the lack of attention in the media to something that you noted at the beginning of tonight's reflection. "I wrote a review of Trump’s mental decline amidst his faltering presidency..." Why has so much attention been focused on Biden's age, with barely a word anywhere reminding us that he's only three years older than Trump. Biden rides a bicycle while Trump needs a golf cart to get around. And then, again, no word of Trump's evident mental decline.. Biden has, throughout his political career, spoken slowly because of his stuttering and has misspoken on more than one occasion But nothing to compare to the incomprehensible and meaningless word salads that Trump produces. Certainly these comparisons merit attention as people consider the qualifications of the two candidates. Why is the MSM apparently so reluctant to bring any of this up?
But our Prof. did relate in today’s Letter tfg’s talk before a Republican audience after which they loudly applauded. But, after the speaker left, most roared with laughter.
His decline is perhaps not perceptible to many but, he has been a “hot mess” since at least the 70s. One of the reasons he was able to get elected, the MSM ignored his past and chose not to vet him in any viable way. I challenge anyone to find a single instance of actual Trump courtesy, largess, integrity or even being reasonable on any point that can withstand even the most cursory challenges. He is indeed insane but it was obvious before his staged escalator ride.
I have always believed the MSM. with their already having to cope with loss of revenue and readership, leaves Trump's mental issues alone simply because they don't want to get sued.
Professor, I know of no one who for four critical years has done so much to truly illuminate what ails us, the historical context, and what hangs in the balance. I suspect I am far from alone here in feeling like your daily work helps me cope with the deluge of troubling news. Thank you.
I so appreciate your steady and informed efforts to give context and implications for current events. You are a rare gem of the academy, a bridge to the academic and non-academic folks who want to maintain a republic. Thank you.
A wonderful achievement. One I am personally so grateful for. As an Australian and with superficial knowledge of American history, ( before) following your posts and vids has been one hell of a lesson and given me nuanced insight into the state of America today. Whether we like it or not, the United States holds one of the keys to world stability. A foundering if it’s democracy would be catastrophic world wide. Everyone on the planet has a stake in its survival.
"Whether we like it or not, the United States holds one of the keys to world stability. A foundering if it’s democracy would be catastrophic world wide. Everyone on the planet has a stake in its survival".
This is the message that needs to be broadcasted across our nation! I have no doubt that by the time we go to the polls to re-elect President Biden, this message will be one of the biggest reasons why!
I did not read that first letter from you. It took a while for me to find my way to you. I am immensely grateful to you, and this community, for all the insights, stories, truth telling, historical and political perspective, and hopefulness that you have been providing to us over these four years. You are my number one resource for getting a grip on where we are, and what I need to know to understand where we are, and how we got here. My gratitude to, and for, you is boundless. I am thrilled that I will get to see you in person in northern California when you come here on your book tour! Lucky me!!
Congrats and applause to you and your huge (not!) staff which every day scans the world, culls the significant items, writes an amazingly in-depth perspective, summoning up precisely relevant history chapters and quotes. Very valuable and meaningful, especially amid all the media clutter. You put to shame the "reporting" which should be offered by the good press and TV. Thank you.
So, does HCR have anything resembling research resource as MCNBC's Rachel Maddow etc? apart from her inherent historical knowledge, which is bountiful. Just look at the internet links each posting!
Thank you for your first letter and every one after, plus all the other things you do like history and politics chats. Can’t wait for my Democracy Awakening copy to arrive!
It’s been a wild ride, thankfully fully chronicled by you, the impartial historian. Future generations will read your letters as a window into this turbulent period of American history.
These have been four illuminating and wonderful years learning so much from you and so many of your devoted readers and commenters. We've got ourselves one helluva community here. Thank you, Heather, for all you do. Your book will be icing on the cake, and I eagerly await receiving it on September 26th.
Yes...thank you so much for illuminating these events that are so difficult to keep up with. Events that are dizzying and at times unbelievable. Without your trusted guidance I fear many of us would struggle to stay abreast. We are blessed with your diligence and clarity.
When we talk about the term “illuminate” , the Gnostic faith comes to mind. Gnosticism is a branch of Christianity that many few know about and it helps to illuminate the darkness:
https://unorthodoxy.substack.com/p/why-gnosticism-is-the-christianity#details
No idea on the Gnosticism, but whatever motivates political action. I take it , NOT evangelical Christianity.
Atheism works best for a lot of us. For me, science illuminates the darkness.
I have three words for organized religion:
Hierarchy
Hypocrisy
Homophobia
And I chose them to help myself reject all forms of organized religion.
I have just one:
Patriarchy.
I can agree with this to an extent. Gnosticism and the early alchemists used science to illuminate the dark. That’s what I mention in the podcast.
There’s no ONE way to the truth. There are multiple ways
"Science" has lead us to "light" (actually photons) all the way back to the start of this Universe & to the tiny microbiology of human cells & pathogens. You will not be excommunicated following or leading verifiable scientific truth.
Franklin, ,,,,,, IF !, You have, ANY Faith, in The HEREAFTER, ! READ ! : JOHN Chapter 14, Verse 6 ! ( THIS !, is the SON !, of GOD ! , in " DIRECT SPEAK !" [ ONE !, Way !!] ) . BLESSINGS !!
Science theories get updated with new data, and there is bad science unfortunately motivated by the need to publish and by money. So for those of us who rely on science just know that all science is not the Gospel. :-)
That's why it appeals to me. I was absolutely breathless, for example, seeing the images sent by the James Webb telescope. Not gospel, but we were confronted with a reality that is bigger, older and more beautiful than we ever imagined. Try telling a Christian that the universe is expanding and then wait for the response.
But Mary, it takes as much energy to believe in Nothing as it does to believe in Something.
The lowest energy state around religion is: There is no evidence of a God and there is no evidence of no God. Agnostic.
So, everybody is right about religion no matter what they believe or not believe or not bother to do either.
:-)
In science there is no point making a claim if you don't already have something "evidence wise" backing it up, if even thinly, and then it was to run the evidentiary gauntlet since there is a crowd waiting to test it to the limit. Otherwise its just speculation. God hasn't fared well in that department, imo. Sound familiar? ie Trumpworld "stolen election" with no credible evidence...
First, I am Marycat2021, not Mary. Second, we have wasted enough time and space on an off-topic as I am willing to tolerate. Please, drop it.
Marycat , I Am Glad, You have a Reliance, in the SCIENCES ! It is Far BETTER, than atheism ! Just KEEP, in MIND, that Science, is, MANKIND, " discovering !" , ALL THINGS! , That GOD! , *SET * " IN PLACE !, All Along ! " BLESSINGS!,,, !
I am an atheist. I do not believe in a god. Keep your god away from me. Thank you.
agreed... at root science is conservative in what it allows for evidence to back up claims. It has to measurable in some quantifiable way that can be publicly shared and results passed around for discussion that produces a truth the scientific community can agree on, or at least understand why it doesnt, basically because evidence is incomplete and ambiguous. The world is now driven by it and technology. Actually much of science derives from thought processes involved in the crafts and the legal arts, and logical traditions in philosophy, and, needless to say, mathematics where it can be applied.
SPOT ON !! , F rank ! ,,,,,,
I agree 100%! I think you’d enjoy the podcast. I’d argue there’s a reason why Gnosticism is left out of Traditional Evangelical Christianity
lol, i'm an agnostic/atheist. I do enjoy historical traditions in Christianity, but from a secular, human interest viewpoint. Near as i can tell, various shades of early Christianity competed for some time. "Gnostics" a term hardly anyone agrees on was overtaken early on by the both human and divine sections. My take is Jesus was human, entirely, the divine take may have been partly his own doing in the sense of having a divinely inspired reform mission, but the takeoff into a more divine like being, until finally incorporated into the very definition of godhead, is a whole different matter, and which took a while. Having a monotheistic view and an enthusiastic missionary effort helped Christianity eventually overthrow the pluralistic pagan views. Only Christians were right, and a message of Heaven or Hell eventually won the day.
I walked the same path man! I grew up pentacostal christian, went agnostic, quantum physics, etc. After going through everything, i started to see how they all connected. Gnostics had a different view on Jesus which is similar to what you mention.
I think you'd like my podcast! The preview touches on the peices you just mentioned here: https://unorthodoxy.substack.com/p/why-gnosticism-is-the-christianity#details
Frank , JESUS ! WAS/IS Mortal Human, BUT ! " I AM ! " ,,, IS ! Also ! * The ONLY BEGOTTEN !, SON ! , of GOD ! * IN , The FATHERS EYES !, ,,,,, HE, WAS APPOINTED, To BE The PROPITIATION ! ( Intercessor ) " The , GO BETWEEN , For MANKIND, and GOD! WE, Live, at 'The TIME ! " That EVIL, ,,,, WILL ABOUND ! " THOSE CHOSEN, ,,,, Who KEEP, the FAITH ! , WILL SEE ! The COMING ! , of OUR LORD/GOD !! AMEN .
Well, those of us who've read Elaine Pagels's GNOSTIC GOSPELS (1979) have known about it for a while. Among other things, it's a reminder that Christianity didn't have to develop into an extremely male-dominated religion.
Thanks Susanna! That's something I will have to look into. Wondering if my thoughts on it are similar to Elaine's: https://unorthodoxy.substack.com/p/why-gnosticism-is-the-christianity#details
Thanks for the reminder about the Gnostic texts. In a past discussion about original Christianity, someone recommended them to me (probably because my thoughts were already in line with them). Was St. Thomas a gnostic? In the Dead Sea scrolls, the Thomas Gospel quoted Jesus as saying, "Drink from my lips, and you shall become as I am." Seems to me that Jesus is saying we can achieve what he did. If a standard denominational Christian asks me if Jesus is my savior, I say, "No. I believe that Jesus expects me to be my own savior." But I do incorporate the principals of his message in how to treat other people, including my responsibility to work toward a more just society. Some of the principals we read in the standard message are extremely difficult to do--e.g., "Love your enemy." "Do good to him who harms you." That is tough stuff. Politically, I believe that Jesus's dictum speaks more to the values of democratic socialism than the standards of selfish and unbridled capitalism.
Thanks Heydon! You're exactly right when you say: Jesus expects me to be my own savior! I think you'd enjoy my take on gnosticism if you haven't see it already:
https://unorthodoxy.substack.com/p/why-gnosticism-is-the-christianity#details
FRANKLIN , Your Terminology, .. * GNOSTIC Faith *, ILLUMUMINATES The
. DARKNESS! , ,,,,,,,, And, It, " KEEPS ! , You , ,,, IN THE DARKNESS !! " . COME !, Into, THE LIGHT ! , And TRUTH ! Of The LORD, !, OUR GOD ! . BLESSINGS ! To YOU ! and YOURS !!!
Thanks Mark!!!
Interesting information Franklin. I will delve into this to see where it leads. I’m guessing it could lead to a great Spiritual Awakening......I’m willing to find out!
That's the plan! Please let me know your thoughts!
It’s been terrifying, And SO glad to have Heather direct it all for us.
Thank you indeed! Looking back I think there have been a few keystone figures holding this democracy together, and Adam Schiff is certainly one. I also shudder to think how quickly Ukraine would have fallen to Russia with Trump in power. It would have suited his authoritarian style and been a nice bit of petty revenge against Zelenskyy for not cooking something up when blackmailed. I wrote this quick reflection entitled “I’M HAUNTED BY A UKRAINIAN CAB DRIVER IN BARCELONA” this weekend and it spent most of Saturday as the most trending story on Daily Kos. I think it crystalizes how many of us feel about supporting Ukraine as a bulwark against fascist ambitions:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/16/2193643/-I-m-haunted-by-a-Ukrainian-cab-driver-in-Barcelona
Congratulations, and as they say:
“FOUR MORE YEARS! FOUR MORE YEARS!”
Thank you for the dailykos link -- a great article! Please keep writing them! Here's a pragraph from it:
"We’ve kind of been here before. In 1937 FDR gave a speech in which he likened international aggression to a disease that other nations must work to "quarantine." Had the isolationist mood in the country been different before Pearl Harbor, perhaps an ounce of prevention applied early (instead of the heavy toll needed later to extricate the world from tyranny) would have prevented some of the worst nightmares of WWII."
This touches on my gravest concerns. Far too many of our fellow voters are oblivious to international agression. Far too many are isolationists, libertarians, and Christian nationalists, or worse. The ounces of prevention that we are trying to apply against tyranny are not strong enough simply because a crisis of this magnitude, easliy as potentially damaging as WW II, is not the kind of thing that gets reversed quickly. It gets corrected after the damage has been done, after terrible costs. Even Elon Musk is wielding his own foreign policy (on behalf of Putin) without fear of prosecution for treason and mass murder. It doesn't get much darker than that.
Alas it could get far darker, and horrifying, and the willingness of human beings, and in this case the Republican party to roll over rights, ethics, and just rule of law in pursuit of absolute power. That is the formula that has rendered most of the avoidable horror scenes of history. And that said, we are living through politics-related horrors that have fail to trigger the scale of national revulsion and resolve they deserve, including the thousands that arguably died because politicians chose to use pandemic defense as a wedge issue, the crimes against humanity in the cruel, cynical plan to separate immigrant families, in many cases permanently, and the broad conspiracy to trump the results of the last presidential election with a barrage of lies. Democracy and a free society can only be bent so far before it breaks. This has got to stop, or the results could be very dark indeed.
You are so right JL Graham. Trump is responsible for politicizing Covid and thousands upon thousands who listened to him have died.
You could easily go on, considering GOP's chronic attacks on social economic and support across the broad swath of US social poverty. Remember, the bottom 50% of American taxpayers only contribute a marginal portion of federal tax revenues, about 3%, compared to 40% by the top 1% of taxpayers - because of income inequality. There's a reason why socialists of most stripes describe American democracy as "capitalist" democracy. We've learned that it only functions because of some economic support to the working classes. At least the Dems want more, which would only bring them into line with eg Canadian moreso European polities.
To complete the picture, the bottom 90% provide the labor to produce the products and the profits of the economy by spending nearly 100% of their incomes. Some of those profits trickle up and stay up to be hoarded by the morbidly rich who successfully manage to pay minimal taxes. The wealthy are retaining the wealth of the nation which we paid to them through labor and consumption, break-even incomes, and poverty, and, most importantly, by lives lost on the battlefield in the wars they either caused or failed to prevent; the latter being the ultimate tax. They are holding the taxes that we otherwise could have paid for the goods and services of a responsible democratic government. That's the equivalence that needs to be drawn to illustrate why 90% tax brackets are necessary and why the wealthy, through their wholly owned Republican Party, are hell-bent on Nazi-style dictatorship. They KNOW we know what they are doing, and they are scared out of their minds that FDR 2 will come forth to lead us out of this disaster. Unfortunately, that always comes AFTER the damage has been done.
RIGHT ON !! , James !
It seems to me that we rarely discuss the flow of wealth in a society as a system, what works and what is problematic from a "whole" system point of view. From the point of view of a feudal aristocracy that dominated ownership of everything of value, they were the magnanimous benefactors of society, and that their abuses of serfs were more than justified by allowing them access to arable land. Of course they expected to be compensated. Slaveholders in both Roman empire and "Old South" times argued that they had rendered slaves, in America, by a service by removing them from "heathen" Africa, in fact I recall some "Republican" official some years ago making just that argument. In such a system, "ownership", which is to say control, is considered the arbiter of human rights.
I am by no means anti-ownership, although I recognize ownership as a legal code of rights, among others, and not a property of nature. I believe in free enterprise as a useful and probably essential component of a free society. That said, even my (1950s) middle school history book acknowledged the social danger of monopoly, and I dimly recall a chapter or major heading about Theodore Roosevelt replete with period cartoon caricatures, about "Teddy The Trust-Buster". "Teddy's" alternative to Laissez Faire was "The Square Deal".
I know many workers and vendors who offer a "square deal" it is a pleasure to pay for. There are businesses I literally grieve when the close, or are, increasingly, sold to investors who minimize service and maximize profit. I see an essential and currently deteriorating role for a robust public sector to supervise and/or provide essential and potentially dangerous but necessary services by and for the public. The 1950s were by no means the "good old days", as very necessary changes have been made since, but it was in some respects less unbalanced in my youth. "Reaganomics" was and remains predatory, feudal-oid claptrap.
That's a mindful. Currently the top half of income earners finance 97% of federal taxes, so any tax increase will by and large be on the top half of income earners, whether directly, or indirectly through corporate taxes. The other thing is that all government social support filters back into the general economy, from which business will by and large benefit, from purchases, and from a generally less poverty stricken lower income class which will convert to healthier employees etc etc. All benefit. Of course, this is one of my recurrent preaching points. You just might be right about the logic of the GOP. Trump though has figured out how to turn chump change in volume into millions for his various political and legal causes.
J L Graham !, KEEP ! , THE FAITH ! .....
I keep reposting this but it's a thing of beauty;
"Our defense is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere. Destroy this spirit, and you have planted the seeds of despotism around your own doors. Familiarize yourselves with the chains of bondage and you are preparing your own limbs to wear them. Accustomed to trample on the rights of those around you, you have lost the genius of your own independence, and become the fit subjects of the first cunning tyrant who rises." Lincoln
"Men" is an anachronism in this use, but rights are universal or they are not really rights.
James FDR’s 1937 Chicago speech on ‘international aggression’ was his effort to address the isolationist mood in America. As he later acknowledged, it was extremely frustrating to try to lead, when the American public refused to follow.
I agree that with the MAGATS that is where our country is today. The poison of their position is as obvious, in hindsight, as that of the isolationists in 1937. It is a rough and tumble battle and success in the 2024 elections is not assured, though the clarity of right over wrong I find as obvious as the nose on my face.
Fortunately we have Heather to guide and lead us through the tortuous months ahead. And WE SHALL OVERCOME!
Well said, Keith.
almost a barnstormer you have there, Keith!
Thanks the precise look back Keith. "International Aggression" was well under predation by 1937 on the German border, in Czechoslovakia, Austria, in Ethiopia, incursions into vast China & far flung Western Pacific Islands. FDR's covert assistance to the UK & China was formalized into "Lend-Lease Act" allowing the US to " ... transfer title, exchange, lease, lend any defense article" well before the Day of Infamy.
Is Elon Musk this century's Charles Lindbherg? Or Henry Ford?
Bill When you are bottom fishing in a sewer, you are likely to encounter a Musk, a Ford, a Trump, a Giuliani, and other throw away junk fish. Don’t put any of these in a paella, they are poisonous!
Ha Ha! We were dining in a fancy place last week. On an island in Casco Bay. The featured fish entree was pollock. Sign of coming times? Good thing I like all the protein the sea offers. Including kelp.
Bill Here we flounder into fluke.
Both, obviously.
American popular disinterest in foreign affairs is remarkable, considering Congress annually passes by far the world's largest military budget, its only being to project America military might on behalf of a broadly capitalist way of life, all from a country which otherwise among advanced nations provides the least amount of economic social support and which possesses a major political party (GOP of course) which while advancing military power, seeks to reduce what social support the government already offers. US policy historically has conflated social reform movements with communism, America's arch enemy by far. Rich and poor, indeed. At least the Democrats offer some advancement in that front, though what of the vast income gulf which has opened up, what really? Sorry if i wandered.
I guess i could add that that implies US military is by far the LARGEST political subsidy to the capitalist enterprise. Without an overarching doctrine to defend "American interests", military spending would be much less... at least i would hope. Imperialism used to be the big deal, with aggressive nationalisms acting imperialistically following up.
What is most concerning is your inclusion of Christian nationalists in your list. This idea that this country was founded as a Christian nation or that somehow is enshrined in the Constitution is chilling. The colonists were escaping that in England. The King being the head of the church. They were escaping oppression and sought to worship as they saw fit, or not at all, is the bedrock of the new country. This nationalist intent is part of the democracy we are fighting to protect against.
Americans are so undereducated in so many tangible ways that they are simply unable to grasp the comparison of American Christian nationalism to the Taliban, The Islamic State, or the Khomeinification of women's rights. They just don't make the connection. Or likely care.
Very true. I think it’s their lack of connection. Perhaps it’s a case of NIMBY. They don’t see it that way. Good analogy though.
FDR also said, “We, and all who believe in freedom as deeply as we do, would rather die on our feet than live on our knees.”
I remain astounded at the choices members of the Republican Party have made en masse in the last seven years. Time after time they acquiesce to threats and vote to countenance immoral, illegal and often feckless behavior. The latest exhibit is the Paxton impeachment. The Senators crumble in the face of threats to their jobs.
I cannot imagine being so beholden to the upward curve of my ambition that I would prostitute myself to stay on that arc. It is despicable behavior from those elected to “serve” and it has a snowball effect. When you bow and scrape, you are forever counted on to bow and scrape.overtime you contribute mightily to the degradation of the very system you are so proud to be part of.
The American obsession with money plays a role in this. These people cannot be talented enough to realize that other opportunities would present themselves if they got primaries out of politics. Life is long and unpredictable. Stuff happens. Opportunities arise. Right now you may be unable to see them, but unless you’re a total dimwit (always possible), they will come.
Remaining in the herd is another powerful motivating factor - exceptionally so. But it is galvanizing to publicly remove oneself. It gives you the opportunity to see your character in a new light. It liberated you to speak up more and more. I’d rather stand in my own than grovel with the grubs.
Perhaps some of those who voted to acquit - who were, not to put too fine a point on it, fucking dishonest, are true believers. Perhaps the idea of looming MAGA control (so they think) intrigues them. Maybe they think they are making a better America when they get in line. . . truthfully it’s both too funny and too scary to take this reasoning any further.
We are all imperfect. I can see many times where I have failed to grow, where, to be plain, I have screwed up badly.
But I am old enough now to consider my, and their, place on earth. We all leave a legacy behind. “He voted to acquit Ken Paxton” does not exactly ring.
It’s long past time for moral courage. Imagine if ALL the Senators had voted to convict Paxton. Such solidarity would have given Texans a moment of great pride, or at the least earned them grudging respect.
I’m glad we agree, and thanks for expanding on this, really well stated. Your point about Musk really is ominous, as I hadn’t really considered how the future of democracy and foreign policy will increasingly be influenced by billionaires with money and tech infrastructure. Ugh.
Good story. The % of GDP was enlightening and the recounting another reminder of how interconnected we are in this world. I got to wondering - we read about how people of other countries sacrifice to make contributions small and large in support of Ukraine. In day 570 or whatever it is of this war, I wonder how many average Americans continue to donate to causes that support them. Leading to how angry I get when I see how much $$ goes into politics, $$ that could be tangible assistance in support of our interconnected world. Ok. Rant over.
Keep ranting.
Agree, enjoyed the rant, more like an enlightened soliloquy 😉
I love some of the comments on that post, especially those from EU and British citizens. Bravo
Your Ukrainian cab driver story is right on target, Ryan. You nailed the history, the key issues, and the solutions needed. If good people stay silent, the ship of state goes down by the bow.
Thank you for publishing this reflection and haunted feeling. It expresses what any caring individual, from any walk of life, should feel. Although now retired, we still maintain contact with associates who fled Russia with their two young daughters after Chernobyl with only what they could wear or stuff into a bag. They thankfully were warned by their sister who was a doctor in NYC, as they otherwise would not have known.
Thank you for this moving testimony.
I am a retired EU civil servant. I've had a ringside seat from which to observe European and world politics, but I can tell you that the people I have met who were most in touch with the realities of our world were not politicians or insiders but the most ordinary people, including taxi drivers.
Amen to that, taxi drivers hair dressers and anyone serving all walks of life really do get an inside knowledge of the workings of the world… and those who are really engaged with clients as people can be important nodes in the web of making the world a better place.
The "ordinary people" of whom I speak are, of course, marginal cases, free men and women, close to the ground, unlike the heavily conditioned masses.
I just came across a comment from a Russian exile source that, wherever he and friends moved in Europe, they found ordinary, decent people -- not warmongers -- siding with Putin. This is, of course, not a comment on Putin, on Russia or the war with Ukraine, about which they plainly know damn all, but a sharp sign of extreme dissatisfaction with politics at home.
The situation could hardly be more dangerous. There's a fable of Aesop in which a deer goes onto a promontory over the sea to escape from hunters and is killed by an arrow shot from a boat down below. Danger always comes from the least expected quarter... After the Cold War and western conditioning to fear danger from the left, stick-in-the-mud minds are slow to recognize danger from the far right. Even lefties still tend to associate the Kremlin and its Nazis with the Soviet regime from which they once took orders and inspiration...
This story you wrote about a Barcelona cab driver is so heartfelt, I need to thank you
Dr. McCormick, thank you so much for sharing your article. To reinforce your message - and Dr. Richardson’s - I share a similar memorable encounter in the Cotswolds in 1990. Three of us Yanks spent a few days in a very small village, in a 200+year old thatched-roof house. The older residents of the village quickly discovered us and virtually competed to invite us to their homes for tea or homemade elderberry wine and Stilton cheese. They told us stories of the US build-up to Normandy, with supplies lining the roads in that village. They still remembered - with clarity and emotion- small acts of kindness and generosity by American soldiers. And then: Normandy. Overnight the supplies and the soldiers went off to defend democracy. As one gentleman said as he shook our hands the day we left: “You Yanks saved our butts.”
And that is what I have always believed about the US: our courage, determination, and selflessness not only for our own citizens but also for a peaceful, safe and democratic world. I hope that we Yanks are still willing to save our allies’ butts. Ukraine is a test. Let us be up to that test and regain our honor.
Love this, and I could listen to those sorts of stories all day and night. I wish I could hear them from my grandfather who served in the pacific, alas I was too young when he was still here. Thank you for sharing this lovely scene
You’re right about one thing, Ryan, when you write: “I’m not a policy wonk. I’m not a historian or political scientist or foreign policy expert.”
Ukraine is the most corrupt ‘nation’ in Europe, and has been since WWII. The current proxy war is just another in a long line of Cold War atrocities engaged in by the U.S., both domestically and around the world, which have at their core a logical fallacy-based desire to ‘defeat Communism’ and perpetuate American hegemony. If you took a body count responsibility index since WWII, we would sit atop the list.
Glad you referenced Nazis in your piece. Did you know we collaborated with them, even before WWII ended, just because we were so fearful of the socialist experiment in Russia? And that fear, has led us down a path of CIA-induced brutality and terror around the world ever since.
We don’t care about the people of Ukraine, or, the truth be told, democracy (hell, we engineered the 2014 coup in Ukraine against a democratically-elected government); we only want to bleed Russia, so it doesn’t pose a threat to our hegemony. Same with China. Anyone who truly cares about the people of Ukraine being sacrificed in the meat grinder of war would be screaming for a cease fire and negotiated settlement, instead of incremental weapons of war escalation that only enhances the financial bottom lines of American corporate war profiteers.
I can send you some links that will give you more context than Russia/Putin bad, America/Schiff good, if you desire. The info is out there. One has to work to find it, because everyone is against war, until the war propaganda starts; and no one does war propaganda as insidiously, and effectively, as the U.S.
I'm not surprised it takes work to find the information you tout here because it takes work to piece together some bad ass history and apply it to today. Then is not now! Ukraine is working like hell to clear out the corruption and I believe the United States is helping. You come off as a stain on the facts provided by Professor Richardson. Anyone who believes what you write have taken the bait. Some people just get their jollies out of blasting and posting contrarian comments with an air of authority with their dismal links. I believe 100% what Professor Richardson writes. People like you who enjoy throwing doubts on what's true are what's wrong with the entire picture. You are aiding and abetting the very thing that wants to take our Democracy down! Shame on you and any one who buys your BS.
Bless your heart, Gayle.
Ukraine is working to end corruption? Is that why we have no idea where so much of the weaponry we send there actually ends up?
I didn’t post any links, but when I do, as a rule, the only thing dismal about them is in pointing out American hypocrisy or corresponding media sycophancy, and the resultant hyperbole, ad hominem and logical fallacy from members of Team Vote Blue No Matter Who in response.
You believe what you wish. I believe our Democracy has already been taken down; I’ll choose Professor Wolin and his take on inverted totalitarianism over that of Professor Richardson and her focus on the GOP as our major threat.
Why do you think the GOP is so extreme? How could a shameless con man like Donald Trump even sniff the Oval Office? Why does it never seem to matter to the poor and working class which political party wins elections? If no politician is swayed by campaign donors, why are there 10 lobbyists for every elected official in DC?
If all you can think of in response is that the GOP is obstructionists, and full of BS, you’ve ceased being a curious individual and your intellectual potential is going to waste.
There’s a lot of ‘bait’ floating around in today’s political waters; much of it supplied by our national ‘security’ apparatus and cable ‘news’, and it is obvious you have swallowed plenty.
"...everyone is against war, until the war propaganda starts; and no one does war propaganda as insidiously, and effectively, as the U.S."
You speak well and correctly per my understanding of the issues.
I'm especially interested in this matter of "war propaganda." Americans in general don't grasp that our government produces propaganda just as all nations and organizations do, especially in wartime. Those of us raised in 1950s/60s U.S. can bear witness to the amount of propaganda directed at us through the new medium of TV. Take a look at the 100+ films of the late '40s through the '60s when Hollywood put the fear of God into us through their dramatic portrayal of the "evil communists." We heard the term Russian propaganda so often that we thought adding the word propaganda was just being redundant; that is, Russian = communist = propaganda. Propaganda was evil, and the American government would not produce propaganda, or so we thought. Americans must awaken to the fact that: Yes, our government produces propaganda in order to "direct us" to "proper thinking." Why does it take so long to learn these things? Because we have to learn on our own when the school system won't teach us what the word propaganda means.
Hi there, not any expert but know enough to very much disagree with your statements here.
Ryan, tale the time to watch/listen to the linked interview here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2451jFeZp0&t=432s Mearsheimer knows more than either of us about Ukraine, and has been prescient about everything that has happened, both before the current conflict began, and since. We should both fear what his analysis for the future holds. Our Cold War mentality, ever since the Russian Revolution in 1917, has led us down a dark path, regardless of who ‘started’ which of the many ‘wars’ we have been involved in.
If you make it through the interview, and want to learn more about how we got here, from a foreign policy perspective, I would highly recommend reading ‘The Devil’s Chessboard’, and follow that up with ‘The Jakarta Method’. Then you’ll have a good grasp on what drives American foreign policy; and hint, it’s neither democracy, human rights, nor national sovereignty. You’ll still be free to disagree with my statements, or Mearsheimer’s, but hopefully will know more than just what you currently think is enough. Peace, t
Thank you for expressing these views, doesn't happen often enough on here
I was very touched by your article. It brought tears to my eyes. Most of my travel has been in the developing world. That kind of thank you is unlikely there! I read some of the comments after your Daily Kos article, and was surprised that several people had their own own thank you stories. I had no idea! For many reasons, it seems our relationship with France is something we should take good care of. By the way, I agree with you about Adam Schiff.
Thank you, Ryan.
"...a reckoning with how little it has cost us in the grand scheme of preserving the world order..." If only some folks would get past the mini schemes of preserving their own powers, we might be able to see the grand scheme once again. It is rather cost effective.
Thank you Dr Ryan. A great contribution to this Letter from Dr Heather. It gets to the heart of what is wrong with the power-hungry desires dooming the rule of law, and our democracy, to failure:
"I was not expecting the diaspora caused by the Russian genocidal campaign in Ukraine to spill into a cab in the heart of Barcelona. But spill it has, along with the blood and tears of children, grandmothers, families, and untold thousands of men and women on the front lines defending their way of life, and their ancestral homeland against a force that would topple other countries like America from within and without."
Ryan McCormick, MD -- Thank you very much for the link to your 9/16 article!
Thank you Ryan, for sharing your DailyKos article. Very poignant read. It sums up our moment well.
ThT was an absolutely beautiful article. Thank you. We must all get together to defeat these thugs and Ty robot h here and abroad.
Professor, thank you for the September 2019 Recap for those of us not yet aboard, LFAA. What comes next? Per Judge Scot McAfee, Co-Defendants & fallen lawyers Sidney Powell & Kenneth Chesebro get their televised "speedy" Trial. Judge McAfee is aiming to have a Jury seated by 11/2/23. The Prosecution is wisely seeking the submission of the Jury questions (voir dire) from both sides. The Rule of Law requires protecting the Jurors & their families as well as all Court personnel. Ready for Trial.
I feel as though this ride with you has been an enlightening navigation of our past and present history. I’m so grateful for this new understanding of the puzzle that is our government. As the headlines make my head spin, my back up plan - right here - brings me perspective and often calm. Curiosity stimulated, I now explore subjects rather than remain endlessly frustrated. The comments of others who tune in each day have always been thought provoking as well.
The calm voice of truth in a perilous time.
Just as you said so elegantly, my same thoughts.
Thanks...and good!
networking or at least tapping into and maybe from every organizational effort possible to tip the balance of political power in the USA
Ditto that! thank you Heather
So are we eager to see what comes next.
You have been the light in the darkness covering America. Thank you for giving so much to all of us.
Congratulations and gratitude for your reasoned and informed leadership, Professor. You are doing your part, and doing it well.
For four years you have been a dot connector. I depend on you to help me make sense of our confusing times. Thank you. Thank you.
Three years ago, my real estate agent forwarded one of your posts. I read it, understanding that for the first time since the 2016 election, the gaslighting politicians who undermine our democracy had found a formidable foe and had no idea that, of all things, a Harvard trained historian, an academic, a Mainer and a woman whose understanding of our cultural roots was based in deep
research would start a « newsletter (that) accrued over one million subscribers, making her, as of December 2020, the most successful individual author of a paid publication on Substack. « That was almost three years ago. Everyone tonight who reads Heather’s post … share one of them … share and post and let history provide us with our path forward as it did for our founders. (On THAT subject, follow Joanne B Freeman by the way.) Thank you HCR. You are changing lives one post/podcast at a time.
The
Dan Coats (R-IN), had earned Trump’s wrath in 2018 when he confirmed—a day after Trump had denied it—that the United States intelligence community had concluded that Russia had interfered in the 2016 election.
Let’s not ever forget that the 2016 election was stolen by the Russians for Trump.
That's the thing. The GOP cries "Russiagate! Fake news!" But whether Trump colluded with Russia to screw up our elections--it appears that he did not--is immaterial. Russia DID attack the American election system, looted Democratic Party databases, and raised other hell with our institutions to put that Putin-slobberer into office and keep him there.
Russia is still our enemy, no matter how hard the GOP tries to be pals, and if Trump is re-elected, God forbid, Putin will be back in the White House.
We thought we won the Cold War and everyone went home. We took our eyes off the ball. Cyber warfare is more powerful than bullets. I hope we’re ready
You are correct about cyber warfare, and no, we're not ready. We're never ready, because America doesn't plan ahead, it only reacts to emergencies.
We are not ready. Rather, some of our population is eager for authoritarianism.
A lot of our population. If the 2024 presidential election was tomorrow, is it probable that Biden would lose?
So we get to interfere with other countries elections, but Russia doesn’t? Have I got that right?
"Have I got that right?"
No, you don't. We should keep out nose out of foreign elections too. Not just for reasons of "fair play," but because we suck at picking winners. All we ever seem to install are strongmen who terrorize their populations and, eventually, screw up their nations through incompetence, sucking up billions of OUR tax money in the process.
Everyone should run their elections without foreign interference, whether that be Russia, the United States, or anyone else.
But we don’t keep our nose out of foreign elections, nor other internal affairs of foreign nations. Don’t you think we should clean up our house before whining about others meddling with ours?
Russia gave us more than two decades of fair warning about the unacceptable nature of Ukraine joining NATO, and we ignored them, because our hubristic hegemonic authoritarian impulse since the fall of the Berlin Wall/Soviet Union won’t allow any other nation to question the right of the average American to get a fresh raspberry in the grocery store in the middle of winter.
The American Empire is waning. I wish we could look at that fact soberly, and glide to a soft landing, but I fear the corporate grip on our politicians, of both parties, won’t allow it.
Whining? I don't whine, Tom, I state facts and opinions.
"Don't you think we should clean up our own house before . . . "
No. We should do both at the same time: clean up our own house while also warning foreign powers to remove their noses from under our skirts.
Sorry to be blunt, but fuck Russia's feelings. Ukraine is a soveriegn nation, not a Russian vassal state, and can join NATO if it wants. Khrushchev signed a treaty that made Ukraine free and independent of Mother Russia. Putin can hate that all he likes, but it gives him no right to invade and murder. If Z wants to join the Canadian Hockey League, let alone NATO and the EU, he has every legal right to do so.
The war in Ukraine is not because of "our hubristic hegemonic authoritarian impulse," it's because Putin smelled an opportunity to grab up some land for what he assumed would be a low cost. Your America-bashing is entirely unwarranted in this case.
And why *shouldn't* the average American buy fresh raspberries on a winter's midnight if he or she wants? Who is anybody to question what our citizens can or cannot do?
The American Empire is maturing, not waning. As it must: the unique postwar economic monopoly that let us rule a bombed-out planet is long gone, and other cultures and economies are ascending. That's good. We need healthy competition and strong rivals to check our bullying impulses. And the rest of the world can start paying the freight to protect themselves from their enemies instead of letting us do it for them. I'd rather invest those trillions save in getting our own house in order.
‘Fuck Russia’s feelings’. Spoken like a true imperialist. I love the hypocrisy inherent in the sovereign nation argument, especially as pertaining nuclear weaponry on one’s own border. Putin’s reasons (note the plural) had nothing to do with land grabbing for its own sake; all were strategic security responses to Western ‘land grabs’ after the West promised not to expand NATO. What Putin did was wrong, but we pushed him there.
As to your argument ‘we should do both at the same time’, I am reminded of the Henry Rollins line about labor being lied to by capitalist overseers again and again, and being asked to adopt more concessions when promised that the overseers would make some to: ‘You first, mf’er’.
Ukraine will "instantly" stop received US military/financial support.
Which would be a mistake on par with "the Titanic is unsinkable," but yes, if Trump retakes the Oval, that's exactly what he'll do: give Ukraine to Putin.
Perhaps it is time to start an honor roll, a naming of individuals who decided to make a stand for the truth and suffered the consequences rather than take the easy way out. Americans who stood in the face of wrong doing and did not flinch.
Perhaps we should also start a dishonor role. Americans that valued themselves more than standing against those who are determined to change our elected government from representatives of the people to rulers of the people. Take back your power and stop the use of fear against jurors.
How will neutral and just jurors (heck - any jurors?) ever be found if their privacy and safety cannot be assured? I am very concerned for the safety of jurors today, as I am for poll workers and witnesses.
Whenever Trump accuses anyone else of doing anything, when you look just under the surface, you can see that is what he and his cronies are doing.
Exactly. It's a trick that seems to have worked for him over and over again. Projection. I can't wait to get my hands on Professor Richardson's book!
The Republicans seem to have perfected that distraction. They have been using and continue to use it in every false narrative they wish to claim. Decades old frankly but has been put on steroids the last 10 years without shame.
I'm glad you know how much we appreciate you. Sometimes your letter is the only news I can read. Thank you for presenting the information wisely and calmly
You are such a treasure. Your honesty, perceptiveness are keeping your great country upright. To many more years. And thank you.
Heather, as I add my thanks to those that precede this comment, I am puzzled by the lack of attention in the media to something that you noted at the beginning of tonight's reflection. "I wrote a review of Trump’s mental decline amidst his faltering presidency..." Why has so much attention been focused on Biden's age, with barely a word anywhere reminding us that he's only three years older than Trump. Biden rides a bicycle while Trump needs a golf cart to get around. And then, again, no word of Trump's evident mental decline.. Biden has, throughout his political career, spoken slowly because of his stuttering and has misspoken on more than one occasion But nothing to compare to the incomprehensible and meaningless word salads that Trump produces. Certainly these comparisons merit attention as people consider the qualifications of the two candidates. Why is the MSM apparently so reluctant to bring any of this up?
MSM is controlled by the same corporate interests that want Trump to be in power.
No, MSM is controlled by the same corporate interests that don’t care who is in power. Fify.
Maybe they don’t have the $5k per day!
But our Prof. did relate in today’s Letter tfg’s talk before a Republican audience after which they loudly applauded. But, after the speaker left, most roared with laughter.
His decline is perhaps not perceptible to many but, he has been a “hot mess” since at least the 70s. One of the reasons he was able to get elected, the MSM ignored his past and chose not to vet him in any viable way. I challenge anyone to find a single instance of actual Trump courtesy, largess, integrity or even being reasonable on any point that can withstand even the most cursory challenges. He is indeed insane but it was obvious before his staged escalator ride.
I have always believed the MSM. with their already having to cope with loss of revenue and readership, leaves Trump's mental issues alone simply because they don't want to get sued.
Help me out here. What does the acronym MSM stand for?
Main stream media ... but I'm sure you've already received this info. :-)
Professor, I know of no one who for four critical years has done so much to truly illuminate what ails us, the historical context, and what hangs in the balance. I suspect I am far from alone here in feeling like your daily work helps me cope with the deluge of troubling news. Thank you.
I so appreciate your steady and informed efforts to give context and implications for current events. You are a rare gem of the academy, a bridge to the academic and non-academic folks who want to maintain a republic. Thank you.
A wonderful achievement. One I am personally so grateful for. As an Australian and with superficial knowledge of American history, ( before) following your posts and vids has been one hell of a lesson and given me nuanced insight into the state of America today. Whether we like it or not, the United States holds one of the keys to world stability. A foundering if it’s democracy would be catastrophic world wide. Everyone on the planet has a stake in its survival.
Thank you
"Whether we like it or not, the United States holds one of the keys to world stability. A foundering if it’s democracy would be catastrophic world wide. Everyone on the planet has a stake in its survival".
This is the message that needs to be broadcasted across our nation! I have no doubt that by the time we go to the polls to re-elect President Biden, this message will be one of the biggest reasons why!
I did not read that first letter from you. It took a while for me to find my way to you. I am immensely grateful to you, and this community, for all the insights, stories, truth telling, historical and political perspective, and hopefulness that you have been providing to us over these four years. You are my number one resource for getting a grip on where we are, and what I need to know to understand where we are, and how we got here. My gratitude to, and for, you is boundless. I am thrilled that I will get to see you in person in northern California when you come here on your book tour! Lucky me!!
Me too!!
Me three, and also from rural Northern California.
Lucky you indeed! I’m from western Oregon and I think Seattle is my closest book tour location.
Congrats and applause to you and your huge (not!) staff which every day scans the world, culls the significant items, writes an amazingly in-depth perspective, summoning up precisely relevant history chapters and quotes. Very valuable and meaningful, especially amid all the media clutter. You put to shame the "reporting" which should be offered by the good press and TV. Thank you.
Absolutely right! I subscribe to the NY Times and the Washington Post and I gain more insight spending five minutes reading Heather’s posts.
I want to cancel my NYT subscription. Do you ever feel this way. I am not sure what is holding me back.
Marj, cancel it! You won't miss it!
Thank you!
So, does HCR have anything resembling research resource as MCNBC's Rachel Maddow etc? apart from her inherent historical knowledge, which is bountiful. Just look at the internet links each posting!
Thank you for your first letter and every one after, plus all the other things you do like history and politics chats. Can’t wait for my Democracy Awakening copy to arrive!
It’s been a wild ride, thankfully fully chronicled by you, the impartial historian. Future generations will read your letters as a window into this turbulent period of American history.