The reaction that "we are mountains and rivers" is a fabulous sentiment. It intersected for me tonight with the gorgeous song by Josh Groban "You Raise Me Up" which I'll be playing at a memorial service for a dear friend a week from Saturday who died at the age of 96. A very persistent and lovely person. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czs82sDv6jg Take a listen and go stand on mountains and be more than you can be. It's up to all of us now.
Robert, Thank you so much for being at our Heather's Herd meeting. Enjoyed especially learning that Today's Edition started in support of your daughters. That's beautiful. And, you asked for feedback on the newsletter. First, it is very fine and we need your insights optimism, and encouragement. My dream for the country and world is that we start using a Well Being Index as important as we treat GNP today. Great Britain and a few other countries are already doing this. No law can be passed in Britain without showing how it will improve the well-being of the citizens. Please see Dr. Martin Seligman's, the father of positive psychology, Theory of Well Being at authentichappiness.com or his PERMA talk https://youtu.be/iK6K_N2qe9Y Positive journalism has a deeper perspective to news than what we see in our media today. For me, this means not focusing so much on the negative news of the moment but also exploring solutions and possibilities in a more positive direction. It also means revisiting news that is still hugely relevant. Two examples of themes to keep revisiting for me are. 1. Women's Rights 2. Income Disparity. On Women's Rights, your story of your daughters made me think more about this here in these 24 hours. As a lawyer could you see a track of finding the current Texas anti-abortion law overturned on the basis of medical history is protected by privacy laws. How can someone with no standing get enough medical information on a woman who had an abortion without violating federal law. And, the vigilante injustice of all this is spreading and warrants another today's edition to update us and also talk about solutions. 2. This week one commentator on MSNBC mentioned President Biden's July 9 Executive order focusing on income disparity. It is a complicated order so got buried. For me, it is the MOST IMPORTANT thing President Biden has done so far -- addressing income disparity which I believe income disparity is a root cause (not the cause to clarify) of the move toward autocracy. I'd like you to make this executive order and its impact visible to all of us.
I so appreciate that you are writing this daily edition. I also like your vision and constantly seeking better ways to help all of us. Cathy
The poetic reference aligns beautifully with your frequent ending commentary regarding hope, Rob. Beautiful visual imagery as well as symbolic. Stoic peace strengthens. Inspires one to take time to explore work of poets as source on energy, hope and inspiration… to join in and act!
Dear Tucker: President Biden is NOT the one who has been played by Vladimir Putin. That would be YOU, and all the other "useful idiots" on this side of the ocean.
Feb 18, 2022·edited Feb 18, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
I write because your reference to the Fox News website and to the Tucker Carlson comment “Biden has been played by Putin” brought to mind the ancient Greeks, who rightly feared demagoguery and superficial manipulation, a rhetoric, from their vantage point, that mirrored a worldview that couldn’t be proven wrong because those who embraced it would admit no evidence to the contrary. Hence, the more earnest the so-called liberal narrative, the angrier the radical right of the Republican Party seems to become, not because so-called liberal spokespersons are getting it wrong, but because they are promoting narratives that the radical right doesn’t want expressed. Indeed, the one thing the far right appears to loathe more than so-called liberals is the truth. And the quickest way to be damned by them, say, as inept is to tell the truth.
Thank you for being such a voice of reason. We ARE the mountains and the rivers of democracy. I love this; just signed up for Sunday Zoom and invited friends.
My thoughts on the fate of Democracy are different. There is a Chinese saying about “ death by a thousand cuts” and I believe that the Republicans at a local, state and national level are cutting away at the fabric of Democracy through legislation, court decisions, social media and misinformation, attacks on school board members and outright threats to those they don’t agree with them. The rise in the amount of anti Semitic references like you have mentioned are troubling especially references to Hitler. Trump legitimized outrageous behavior and falsehoods and a disregard for the constitution and the rule of law. These actions and activities are all part of those one thousand “ cuts”. In the Chinese saying. D’s like me are tired of turning the other cheek and feel assaulted and want to intelligently fight back and take a stand. We have ignored climate change and that has impacted and polluted our mountains and water and I don’t want us to ignore or pollute Democracy.
Stephen, everything you say is right. But we see history from where we sit. If we brought the same scrutiny to America 50 years ago, or 100, we would find an America that was beset by more political corruption, racism, and antisemitism than we face now. That does not mean that this moment is excusable or tolerable. With the benefit of an additional 50 and 100 years of wisdom, corruption, racism, and antisemitism should have been reduced dramatically. But their rise may a sign that the the end times are near--for racism and antisemitism. I believe one reason that the backlash is so strong from the reactionary right is that they know it is their last chance at power before they are overcome, permanently.
I also pray that you are right, Robert. As a gardener, I deal with MANY, MANY weeds. It is so very much easier to deal with baby weeds than ones that grow and strengthen and develop stronger, deeper roots. I have to be vigilant in my garden, always on the watch for weeds, disease, or pests. Anytime I don’t catch these threats in my garden I have to exert so much more effort to address the problem. Timely intervention is critical. It’s the same with our democracy. The right wing politicians have shrugged their shoulders at the “weeds,” and now effort has to be exerted to clean things up and care for the common good.
Robert, I nominate you for two Nobel Prizes. "Factual Reporting that leads to Action" and "Peace of Mind Inspiration". Your last paragraphs take me into the weekend elegantly. No lack of frightening truth. No lack of resolve. But also a calm long view of life. ooommm.
We are engaged in the same war that began the day we dropped from the trees (probably even before). Since we learned how to walk on only two feet, we have fought each other. Some of us would rather put down our clubs and share something from the hunt. I think that is the long trend. Hope so. Happy weekend and as always, thank you.
HI Robert, today's newsletter was so funny, love the reference to Fox News being a source for Russian Propaganda. And the inspiring quote was calming..... I like the mix of humor and fact.
Rob, until today, I’ve always been inspired by your belief in our power to be successful in the 2022 elections. The implication that “mountains and rivers” should sustain us in defeat seems to have displaced your usual clarion call that “we can do this”. The efforts of many phone-bankers, letter-writers, poll watchers and others who rely on your usual can-do conviction are diminished by this apparent giving-over to the next time around.
Hi, Bob. I understand your point. You will note that I always say we CAN win. I was addressing those who say that if we lose, democracy is over. My point is that even if we lose in 2022, we can still win over the long term. I am an optimist and seek to motivate people, but I also believe we must be dedicated to truth and reality. One possible outcome of 2022 is that we lose. Saying that we will nonetheless survive is not defeatism-- rather, it evinces confidence in our ability to win.
I understand your feelings but I don't agree with your impression of "apparent giving-over" as it seems to me that he was saying that we can prevail if we persist in the same way that mountains and rivers have endured in some form over the centuries.
Look at the title of today's essay: "Persisting during challenging times" and keep your spirits up! I am so grateful for his essays and this community of readers who are willing to act to preserve our democracy.
Together we can make a difference, and if we each can bring on board a few friends to help, we will increase the impact of our efforts.
I will, but we aren't going to win every battle. We don't have to, and democracy won't end if we lose some or all of the upcoming contests. We must be strong enough to suffer temporary setbacks and continue on.
That said, I am on the extreme edge of opinion in believing firmly that we will win in 2022.
Your wry humor always gives me a smile, even in these worrisome times. On another note:
In addition to being the mountains and rivers, we are also the artists who continue to inspire, challenge and bring joy to the world. Writers, painters, musicians (etc.), thank you!
I read this piece and agree with its ideas. However, I can’t shut out of my mind Susan Collins saying, “The President (Trump) has learned his lesson.” Yeah, right. He learned a lesson all right, just not the one she hoped.
I grow sad with each Tesla I pass on the road - and there are many, many of them here in the East Bay of San Francisco. I picture more and more money going into the pockets of Elon Musk which enables him to spend a lot of money on harmful and hateful political speech!
I'm doing my part to boycott Tesla, but that's meaningless since I couldn't afford one anyhow!
In the longer view, the rivers will be replenished when the melting begins after next ice age. The message I get from the last paragraphs of today's letter is that we can look at life from a longer perspective. Not downplaying the horrors of the fascists attacking us. Gotta fight back! But just remembering that this fight has been going on for many thousands of years and if we are not destroyed by an asteroid or nuclear war...it will continue for a few more thousand.
In essence, the struggle has always been, stripped of all other definitions, the haves verses the have nots. And really this even applies to animal clans although a feral cat once ate beside a raccoon so I provided two plates and I have the photo to prove it. One might extract that animals can get along better than humans. But don’t get me started.
I think Putin went to China to work out a deal with peng. “You ok our doped athletes and we won’t invade The Ukraine until after the Olympics “. The Olympics is over tomorrow. That would put the invasion at dawn Monday. Midnight EST in the US. I pray not.
The reaction that "we are mountains and rivers" is a fabulous sentiment. It intersected for me tonight with the gorgeous song by Josh Groban "You Raise Me Up" which I'll be playing at a memorial service for a dear friend a week from Saturday who died at the age of 96. A very persistent and lovely person. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czs82sDv6jg Take a listen and go stand on mountains and be more than you can be. It's up to all of us now.
When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary
When troubles come and my heart burdened be
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence
Until You come and sit awhile with me.
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up to more than I can be
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up to more than I can be.
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up to more than I can be.
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up to more than I can be.
You raise me up to more than I can be.
A fitting tribute.
Robert, Thank you so much for being at our Heather's Herd meeting. Enjoyed especially learning that Today's Edition started in support of your daughters. That's beautiful. And, you asked for feedback on the newsletter. First, it is very fine and we need your insights optimism, and encouragement. My dream for the country and world is that we start using a Well Being Index as important as we treat GNP today. Great Britain and a few other countries are already doing this. No law can be passed in Britain without showing how it will improve the well-being of the citizens. Please see Dr. Martin Seligman's, the father of positive psychology, Theory of Well Being at authentichappiness.com or his PERMA talk https://youtu.be/iK6K_N2qe9Y Positive journalism has a deeper perspective to news than what we see in our media today. For me, this means not focusing so much on the negative news of the moment but also exploring solutions and possibilities in a more positive direction. It also means revisiting news that is still hugely relevant. Two examples of themes to keep revisiting for me are. 1. Women's Rights 2. Income Disparity. On Women's Rights, your story of your daughters made me think more about this here in these 24 hours. As a lawyer could you see a track of finding the current Texas anti-abortion law overturned on the basis of medical history is protected by privacy laws. How can someone with no standing get enough medical information on a woman who had an abortion without violating federal law. And, the vigilante injustice of all this is spreading and warrants another today's edition to update us and also talk about solutions. 2. This week one commentator on MSNBC mentioned President Biden's July 9 Executive order focusing on income disparity. It is a complicated order so got buried. For me, it is the MOST IMPORTANT thing President Biden has done so far -- addressing income disparity which I believe income disparity is a root cause (not the cause to clarify) of the move toward autocracy. I'd like you to make this executive order and its impact visible to all of us.
I so appreciate that you are writing this daily edition. I also like your vision and constantly seeking better ways to help all of us. Cathy
A beautiful song and an elegant choice for this situation and the memorial.
This was one of the songs I selected to be sung at my husband's memorial service. It was a favorite of ours.
Beautiful lyrics and perfect choice to complement today's letter as well as a tribute to your friend. I am very sorry for your loss. 💔
The poetic reference aligns beautifully with your frequent ending commentary regarding hope, Rob. Beautiful visual imagery as well as symbolic. Stoic peace strengthens. Inspires one to take time to explore work of poets as source on energy, hope and inspiration… to join in and act!
Hi, Katherine. Hope you and your family are well. Please give my warm regards to all!
Dear Tucker: President Biden is NOT the one who has been played by Vladimir Putin. That would be YOU, and all the other "useful idiots" on this side of the ocean.
And don’t forget Rupert
I write because your reference to the Fox News website and to the Tucker Carlson comment “Biden has been played by Putin” brought to mind the ancient Greeks, who rightly feared demagoguery and superficial manipulation, a rhetoric, from their vantage point, that mirrored a worldview that couldn’t be proven wrong because those who embraced it would admit no evidence to the contrary. Hence, the more earnest the so-called liberal narrative, the angrier the radical right of the Republican Party seems to become, not because so-called liberal spokespersons are getting it wrong, but because they are promoting narratives that the radical right doesn’t want expressed. Indeed, the one thing the far right appears to loathe more than so-called liberals is the truth. And the quickest way to be damned by them, say, as inept is to tell the truth.
Thank you for being such a voice of reason. We ARE the mountains and the rivers of democracy. I love this; just signed up for Sunday Zoom and invited friends.
Glad to hear you signed up for the Zoom. Per the organizers, you will be joined by lots of other Today's Edition readers. Thanks for doing your part!
I hope it's OK that I shared the link on my FB page and invited friends to participate. The more letter writers, the merrier, I would hope!
My thoughts on the fate of Democracy are different. There is a Chinese saying about “ death by a thousand cuts” and I believe that the Republicans at a local, state and national level are cutting away at the fabric of Democracy through legislation, court decisions, social media and misinformation, attacks on school board members and outright threats to those they don’t agree with them. The rise in the amount of anti Semitic references like you have mentioned are troubling especially references to Hitler. Trump legitimized outrageous behavior and falsehoods and a disregard for the constitution and the rule of law. These actions and activities are all part of those one thousand “ cuts”. In the Chinese saying. D’s like me are tired of turning the other cheek and feel assaulted and want to intelligently fight back and take a stand. We have ignored climate change and that has impacted and polluted our mountains and water and I don’t want us to ignore or pollute Democracy.
Stephen, everything you say is right. But we see history from where we sit. If we brought the same scrutiny to America 50 years ago, or 100, we would find an America that was beset by more political corruption, racism, and antisemitism than we face now. That does not mean that this moment is excusable or tolerable. With the benefit of an additional 50 and 100 years of wisdom, corruption, racism, and antisemitism should have been reduced dramatically. But their rise may a sign that the the end times are near--for racism and antisemitism. I believe one reason that the backlash is so strong from the reactionary right is that they know it is their last chance at power before they are overcome, permanently.
Thank you for your response and clear level headed thinking. I pray your right.
I also pray that you are right, Robert. As a gardener, I deal with MANY, MANY weeds. It is so very much easier to deal with baby weeds than ones that grow and strengthen and develop stronger, deeper roots. I have to be vigilant in my garden, always on the watch for weeds, disease, or pests. Anytime I don’t catch these threats in my garden I have to exert so much more effort to address the problem. Timely intervention is critical. It’s the same with our democracy. The right wing politicians have shrugged their shoulders at the “weeds,” and now effort has to be exerted to clean things up and care for the common good.
100%. It is the Nazi playbook to accuse others of what they do. Expect nothing else.
Absolutely correct. We have been here before, we will be here again. Take hope and endure.
Robert, I nominate you for two Nobel Prizes. "Factual Reporting that leads to Action" and "Peace of Mind Inspiration". Your last paragraphs take me into the weekend elegantly. No lack of frightening truth. No lack of resolve. But also a calm long view of life. ooommm.
We are engaged in the same war that began the day we dropped from the trees (probably even before). Since we learned how to walk on only two feet, we have fought each other. Some of us would rather put down our clubs and share something from the hunt. I think that is the long trend. Hope so. Happy weekend and as always, thank you.
Thanks, Bill. Have a wonderful weekend!
HI Robert, today's newsletter was so funny, love the reference to Fox News being a source for Russian Propaganda. And the inspiring quote was calming..... I like the mix of humor and fact.
I laughed out loud, today. Thanks!
Rob, until today, I’ve always been inspired by your belief in our power to be successful in the 2022 elections. The implication that “mountains and rivers” should sustain us in defeat seems to have displaced your usual clarion call that “we can do this”. The efforts of many phone-bankers, letter-writers, poll watchers and others who rely on your usual can-do conviction are diminished by this apparent giving-over to the next time around.
Hi, Bob. I understand your point. You will note that I always say we CAN win. I was addressing those who say that if we lose, democracy is over. My point is that even if we lose in 2022, we can still win over the long term. I am an optimist and seek to motivate people, but I also believe we must be dedicated to truth and reality. One possible outcome of 2022 is that we lose. Saying that we will nonetheless survive is not defeatism-- rather, it evinces confidence in our ability to win.
I understand your feelings but I don't agree with your impression of "apparent giving-over" as it seems to me that he was saying that we can prevail if we persist in the same way that mountains and rivers have endured in some form over the centuries.
Look at the title of today's essay: "Persisting during challenging times" and keep your spirits up! I am so grateful for his essays and this community of readers who are willing to act to preserve our democracy.
Together we can make a difference, and if we each can bring on board a few friends to help, we will increase the impact of our efforts.
Stay inspired, and healthy! 💜👍
Bob, I agree with your interpretation, and feel some unease as a result - Robert, please power on and keep encouraging us, pushing us.
I will, but we aren't going to win every battle. We don't have to, and democracy won't end if we lose some or all of the upcoming contests. We must be strong enough to suffer temporary setbacks and continue on.
That said, I am on the extreme edge of opinion in believing firmly that we will win in 2022.
Thanks, Robert! I appreciate so much that you are both a realist and determined - an inspiration!
Your wry humor always gives me a smile, even in these worrisome times. On another note:
In addition to being the mountains and rivers, we are also the artists who continue to inspire, challenge and bring joy to the world. Writers, painters, musicians (etc.), thank you!
This opinion piece is encouraging - Susan Collins: Our Democracy Shouldn’t Rest on a Rickety Law
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/18/opinion/politics/susan-collins-eca-reform.html?referringSource=articleShare
Thanks, Joan. I will check it.
I read this piece and agree with its ideas. However, I can’t shut out of my mind Susan Collins saying, “The President (Trump) has learned his lesson.” Yeah, right. He learned a lesson all right, just not the one she hoped.
Susan has nothing to say to me.
We are the mountains and the rivers. Indeed.
I grow sad with each Tesla I pass on the road - and there are many, many of them here in the East Bay of San Francisco. I picture more and more money going into the pockets of Elon Musk which enables him to spend a lot of money on harmful and hateful political speech!
I'm doing my part to boycott Tesla, but that's meaningless since I couldn't afford one anyhow!
The only problem with Du Fu’s metaphor is that some of those rivers are actually drying up out west.
In the longer view, the rivers will be replenished when the melting begins after next ice age. The message I get from the last paragraphs of today's letter is that we can look at life from a longer perspective. Not downplaying the horrors of the fascists attacking us. Gotta fight back! But just remembering that this fight has been going on for many thousands of years and if we are not destroyed by an asteroid or nuclear war...it will continue for a few more thousand.
In essence, the struggle has always been, stripped of all other definitions, the haves verses the have nots. And really this even applies to animal clans although a feral cat once ate beside a raccoon so I provided two plates and I have the photo to prove it. One might extract that animals can get along better than humans. But don’t get me started.
I think Putin went to China to work out a deal with peng. “You ok our doped athletes and we won’t invade The Ukraine until after the Olympics “. The Olympics is over tomorrow. That would put the invasion at dawn Monday. Midnight EST in the US. I pray not.
Me thinks you are right