In our history, the United States has gone through turning points when we have had to adjust our democratic principles to new circumstances. The alternative is to lose those principles to a small group of people who insist that democracy is outdated and must be replaced by a government run by a few leaders or, now, by a single man.
Thank heavens you got a little rest! Your writing is superb ! Always worthy of at least two careful readings, I’m now off to spread your words near & far to friends & family, many of whom have become members of Letters from an American. Your words lift my spirit again on these dark days and nights of impossible cruelty half a world away, Professor Richardson. Please continue making time daily/weekly for your well being. We need you more than ever before.
The individuals who seek only money and power are depraved of well-being. Money doesn't buy happiness; but it can buy power, a sick power of superiority. My dream is we measure our government by a Well-Being Index when every piece of legislation has to show its benefit to the well being of all the people. In my world the WBI would replace GNP as the measure of wealth in this country and in the world. Native Americans measure wealth by the generosity of a person, that through giving what they have more than enough of strengthens the well being of the entire tribe or community. It has also shown that one major element of well being is having Meaning in one's life by being part of something larger (like defending democracy) than yourself and giving to others. This gives one real happiness that glows for a long time. We, the People, all of us this time.
That was wonderful, thank you. Here is my take on it:
Here's the basic premise in the founding of the enlightenment model of the US: Rights were given to you by your creator, not by your government. Your government didn't give them to you so, they can't take them away. Furthermore the 9th amendment to the constitution makes these guarantees explicit. If any person in the government tries to take them away anyway, despite lacking any authority to do so, they are traitors to the citizens and must be treated as such.
A common misconception regarding the US government is that it is not the case that they start with total power and authority and the Constitution then subtracts from those powers. Under the Constitutional principle of Enumerated Powers and despite common wisdom, the government actually starts with zero power. Powers are then granted (Enumerated) by the constitution. This means that our natural rights such as the right to privacy or the right to free speech do not need to be explicitly granted to the populace - we have them by default. (The bill of rights is - quite literally - redundant and completely unnecessary.) What it does mean is that the government cannot violate those rights unless the ability to do so is explicitly granted by the Constitution - which in those cases it is not.
Just to be clear, our government has invalidated itself by abrogating its duties and for subjugating us, meaning we do not have one and instead we have a bunch of criminals masquerading as our government.
For too long we've sat back, relaxed, and let the government police itself, and by doing so have given the wolves the keys to the hen house while naively expecting - in our blissful ignorance - for the chickens to be in good hands...
Those chickens have been and are being slaughtered, and the time has come for us to put those wolves in prison and to take back what is ours.
Despite what the government wants badly for you to believe, you do not serve them. They serve you.
Spending my entire career as a public librarian, I winced after reading that quote by Carnegie, a man who in 40 years built over 2500 libraries here in the States and elsewhere. This is something that the current crop of oligarchs could never dream of entertaining. What type of presidential library will there be for POTUS45? I hope the term library is not used for whatever comes to be.
Heather, it is with heavy heart I read your reiteration of what you've stated so many times before. Those among us who choose power and money over equality have, it seems, always ended up running the show. Everyday ordinary people have rarely managed to make gains, OR sustain gains made, precisely because we/they lack the financial wherewithal to buy the influence required to make changes stick. The dilemma we face now, in the US, is predicated on a slavish devotion to a man who has garnered popularity through pure and utter bullshit. And, despite the fact he's been out of office for well over a year, continues to hold sway over the GOP, Republican members of the House and Senate, millions of everyday Americans, but most importantly, industrialists, financiers, and oligarchs, both home grown and foreign. While we have not yet fallen we are in a precarious place where the choices of the minority may very well determine our future.
How do we fight this when state legislatures are going rogue? How do we stop the influx of dark money which has infiltrated every level of our politics? How do we open lines of communication to reach those who have been sucked into accepting the pro authoritarian propaganda that was unthinkable a generation ago?
You're absolutely right. We are at an inflection point. Which way will we bend?
Dr. Richardson, when you say, "...that New Deal government, under Democratic president Harry Truman and Republican president Dwight D. Eisenhower, worked to end racial and, later, gender hierarchies..." shouldn't you also credit LBJ, who ushered in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965?
We've heard again and again the litany of events in our history that have served as bellwethers reminding us to look back and take stock once again of what our founders were attempting. It never gets old seeing it all laid out there once more. Only a fool would ignore it. HCR's summations always concisely put all these facts into a perspective that is so easy to grasp. One cannot help but see the lessons to be learned from this past, that is, if one but chooses to look, or, in the case of today's Letter, be reminded. HCR is a real "teacher" with the gift of being able to explain things to students who may be relatively clueless and do it in ways that are engaging, thought-provoking, and easy to grasp. A teacher--or one worth their weight in gold--has insights into just what will draw the student in and awaken that spark of wanting to learn more, not just reciting a litany of facts to them, which they then regurgitate on a test. HCR's knack of keeping to the facts and presenting them in such a way as to give so many of us an "Aha!" moment is no small feat. It's what makes these Letters such jewels, so full of essential nuggets of truth and irrefutable facts. But, in each Letter there's always a lesson to be gleaned by the end...but then, that's kind of the way history works too, idnit?
Oh my. This is wonderful. My exhaustion is sending me to bed without fully processing how to translate it into action. Tomorrow brings my first visit in well over two years to my far away grandsons home. My heart and my head are so very full. We are on an edge I know.
An excellent article, although I quarrel with your term "Black colonists." In what sense were the slaves brought by force to this country, colonists? They did not colonize anything or own any property or advance to take any property from others. They "lived" as forced, unpaid labor on the property of White colonists.
Thank you Heather for another one of your superb and prescient posts that bring in historical context to paint a better picture of narratives today. This is so spot-on. These next 2 election cycles are critical for keeping on a path that Joe has started us to steer back toward true democracy, not an autocratic plutocracy.
This terrific post got me wondering whether the movements to expand authoritarian domination in Asia and Europe will require a new sort of declaration, something like a Declaration of Interdependence. The notion of independence seems to have led to a lot of what the Beatles called “I, me, me, mine.” But will this be enough to maintain sovereign borders and the independence? I wonder.
We never know as much as we need to know to make the decisions we must. That is the human condition. And the hard nut on which all of philosophy and science eventually crack their teeth. I would bet, most people do not take it beyond confusion. Most people are just trying to keep their heads above water and are often willing to stand on someone else's neck to do it.
But for people who do take it one step beyond confusion and desperation, it seems there are two responses - terror and paralysis, or terror and exhilaration. Paralysis in the face of the unknown and unknowable. Exhilaration at the excuse for exploration and the possibility of discovery.
Those who are paralyzed need some prime mover, a god or an ideology, to give all the answers and assurances. And to be certain of that authority, they need everyone else to buy into agreement or be forced into compliance. Ethics to go. One size fits all - or else. Sound familiar?
Those who are exhilarated at the possibilities, accept the great responsibility of their actions. For better or worse.
I think this where we start from. And the charlatans have a field day with those so desperate for absolutes and absolution that to believe themselves morally in the clear, they are willing and eager to be unfair and abusive. Individually and through the power of the state.
We here are concerned about these things, and more. Especially on the level of the state - on government and politics. 2020 had one of the highest voter turnouts. I think only something like 61% of eligible citizens voted. Here are the tables in case I got it wrong.
Ah now that ties the time together. Thanks again for making sense of the circle we are in, in history. The big picture! I just wish I could make some of those more dogmatic people educate themselves on what they are rooting for by following an authoritarian. It seems so odd to me that people will follow someone who so obviously does not have their interest in mind. Sometimes I think they all believe they are going to become billionaires. It's like mass delusion. I keep coming back to feeling they are cult followers. Strange times.
Thank heavens you got a little rest! Your writing is superb ! Always worthy of at least two careful readings, I’m now off to spread your words near & far to friends & family, many of whom have become members of Letters from an American. Your words lift my spirit again on these dark days and nights of impossible cruelty half a world away, Professor Richardson. Please continue making time daily/weekly for your well being. We need you more than ever before.
The individuals who seek only money and power are depraved of well-being. Money doesn't buy happiness; but it can buy power, a sick power of superiority. My dream is we measure our government by a Well-Being Index when every piece of legislation has to show its benefit to the well being of all the people. In my world the WBI would replace GNP as the measure of wealth in this country and in the world. Native Americans measure wealth by the generosity of a person, that through giving what they have more than enough of strengthens the well being of the entire tribe or community. It has also shown that one major element of well being is having Meaning in one's life by being part of something larger (like defending democracy) than yourself and giving to others. This gives one real happiness that glows for a long time. We, the People, all of us this time.
That was wonderful, thank you. Here is my take on it:
Here's the basic premise in the founding of the enlightenment model of the US: Rights were given to you by your creator, not by your government. Your government didn't give them to you so, they can't take them away. Furthermore the 9th amendment to the constitution makes these guarantees explicit. If any person in the government tries to take them away anyway, despite lacking any authority to do so, they are traitors to the citizens and must be treated as such.
A common misconception regarding the US government is that it is not the case that they start with total power and authority and the Constitution then subtracts from those powers. Under the Constitutional principle of Enumerated Powers and despite common wisdom, the government actually starts with zero power. Powers are then granted (Enumerated) by the constitution. This means that our natural rights such as the right to privacy or the right to free speech do not need to be explicitly granted to the populace - we have them by default. (The bill of rights is - quite literally - redundant and completely unnecessary.) What it does mean is that the government cannot violate those rights unless the ability to do so is explicitly granted by the Constitution - which in those cases it is not.
Just to be clear, our government has invalidated itself by abrogating its duties and for subjugating us, meaning we do not have one and instead we have a bunch of criminals masquerading as our government.
For too long we've sat back, relaxed, and let the government police itself, and by doing so have given the wolves the keys to the hen house while naively expecting - in our blissful ignorance - for the chickens to be in good hands...
Those chickens have been and are being slaughtered, and the time has come for us to put those wolves in prison and to take back what is ours.
Despite what the government wants badly for you to believe, you do not serve them. They serve you.
https://tritorch.com/covenant/
Those who expect to remain ignorant and free, expect what never was, and will never be. -Thomas Jefferson
This is magnificent. I’m sharing it on my social media sites. We must rise up.
Spending my entire career as a public librarian, I winced after reading that quote by Carnegie, a man who in 40 years built over 2500 libraries here in the States and elsewhere. This is something that the current crop of oligarchs could never dream of entertaining. What type of presidential library will there be for POTUS45? I hope the term library is not used for whatever comes to be.
Heather, it is with heavy heart I read your reiteration of what you've stated so many times before. Those among us who choose power and money over equality have, it seems, always ended up running the show. Everyday ordinary people have rarely managed to make gains, OR sustain gains made, precisely because we/they lack the financial wherewithal to buy the influence required to make changes stick. The dilemma we face now, in the US, is predicated on a slavish devotion to a man who has garnered popularity through pure and utter bullshit. And, despite the fact he's been out of office for well over a year, continues to hold sway over the GOP, Republican members of the House and Senate, millions of everyday Americans, but most importantly, industrialists, financiers, and oligarchs, both home grown and foreign. While we have not yet fallen we are in a precarious place where the choices of the minority may very well determine our future.
How do we fight this when state legislatures are going rogue? How do we stop the influx of dark money which has infiltrated every level of our politics? How do we open lines of communication to reach those who have been sucked into accepting the pro authoritarian propaganda that was unthinkable a generation ago?
You're absolutely right. We are at an inflection point. Which way will we bend?
Dr. Richardson, when you say, "...that New Deal government, under Democratic president Harry Truman and Republican president Dwight D. Eisenhower, worked to end racial and, later, gender hierarchies..." shouldn't you also credit LBJ, who ushered in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965?
We've heard again and again the litany of events in our history that have served as bellwethers reminding us to look back and take stock once again of what our founders were attempting. It never gets old seeing it all laid out there once more. Only a fool would ignore it. HCR's summations always concisely put all these facts into a perspective that is so easy to grasp. One cannot help but see the lessons to be learned from this past, that is, if one but chooses to look, or, in the case of today's Letter, be reminded. HCR is a real "teacher" with the gift of being able to explain things to students who may be relatively clueless and do it in ways that are engaging, thought-provoking, and easy to grasp. A teacher--or one worth their weight in gold--has insights into just what will draw the student in and awaken that spark of wanting to learn more, not just reciting a litany of facts to them, which they then regurgitate on a test. HCR's knack of keeping to the facts and presenting them in such a way as to give so many of us an "Aha!" moment is no small feat. It's what makes these Letters such jewels, so full of essential nuggets of truth and irrefutable facts. But, in each Letter there's always a lesson to be gleaned by the end...but then, that's kind of the way history works too, idnit?
Oh my. This is wonderful. My exhaustion is sending me to bed without fully processing how to translate it into action. Tomorrow brings my first visit in well over two years to my far away grandsons home. My heart and my head are so very full. We are on an edge I know.
Wonderful piece
An excellent article, although I quarrel with your term "Black colonists." In what sense were the slaves brought by force to this country, colonists? They did not colonize anything or own any property or advance to take any property from others. They "lived" as forced, unpaid labor on the property of White colonists.
Thank you Heather for another one of your superb and prescient posts that bring in historical context to paint a better picture of narratives today. This is so spot-on. These next 2 election cycles are critical for keeping on a path that Joe has started us to steer back toward true democracy, not an autocratic plutocracy.
This terrific post got me wondering whether the movements to expand authoritarian domination in Asia and Europe will require a new sort of declaration, something like a Declaration of Interdependence. The notion of independence seems to have led to a lot of what the Beatles called “I, me, me, mine.” But will this be enough to maintain sovereign borders and the independence? I wonder.
We never know as much as we need to know to make the decisions we must. That is the human condition. And the hard nut on which all of philosophy and science eventually crack their teeth. I would bet, most people do not take it beyond confusion. Most people are just trying to keep their heads above water and are often willing to stand on someone else's neck to do it.
But for people who do take it one step beyond confusion and desperation, it seems there are two responses - terror and paralysis, or terror and exhilaration. Paralysis in the face of the unknown and unknowable. Exhilaration at the excuse for exploration and the possibility of discovery.
Those who are paralyzed need some prime mover, a god or an ideology, to give all the answers and assurances. And to be certain of that authority, they need everyone else to buy into agreement or be forced into compliance. Ethics to go. One size fits all - or else. Sound familiar?
Those who are exhilarated at the possibilities, accept the great responsibility of their actions. For better or worse.
I think this where we start from. And the charlatans have a field day with those so desperate for absolutes and absolution that to believe themselves morally in the clear, they are willing and eager to be unfair and abusive. Individually and through the power of the state.
We here are concerned about these things, and more. Especially on the level of the state - on government and politics. 2020 had one of the highest voter turnouts. I think only something like 61% of eligible citizens voted. Here are the tables in case I got it wrong.
https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/voting-and-registration/p20-585.html
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/01/28/turnout-soared-in-2020-as-nearly-two-thirds-of-eligible-u-s-voters-cast-ballots-for-president/
Heather, every time I see your latest post, I think it can't be surpassed, and then I am proven wrong. Thank you for your call to action.
Ah now that ties the time together. Thanks again for making sense of the circle we are in, in history. The big picture! I just wish I could make some of those more dogmatic people educate themselves on what they are rooting for by following an authoritarian. It seems so odd to me that people will follow someone who so obviously does not have their interest in mind. Sometimes I think they all believe they are going to become billionaires. It's like mass delusion. I keep coming back to feeling they are cult followers. Strange times.