Reader comments open for weekend.
May 20, 2023
[No audio version due to travel. Audio recording will resume Monday.]
This short newsletter is primarily intended to open the Comments section to paying subscribers. Thanks to those subscribers for helping to make the work of this newsletter possible. Everyone can read the Comments section (click on the dialog icon next to the heart icon at the top of the newsletter). The discourse in the Comments section is both insightful and cathartic. Check it out!
Travel to D.C. My wife and I spent the day in D.C. celebrating our youngest daughter’s birthday. We toured the White House (picture below). It was an emotional experience that reminded us that we are blessed to be living in America despite all its faults and shortcomings. And we are fortunate that sons and daughters of liberty responded to the call of our nation in its time of need. We must do the same.
Debt negotiations: Yesterday, I wrote: Anything can still happen—from a negotiated deal to unilateral action by Biden to a vote to remove Kevin McCarthy as Speaker.” I believe that statement reflects where negotiations stand heading into the weekend.
Meeting with readers in DC: Jill and I met with two dozen readers at the home of Susan C. for two hours of companionship and discussion. As always, I was inspired by the readers who attended. One reader, Don S., commented about “losing forward,” a concept discussed by Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action. She said the following about “losing” a battle:
When we lose a battle, for example in a state house, we think about all the ways we actually won. That might mean taking note that the group grew in size or that it created new, meaningful relationships with lawmakers. Whatever we learned, we try to [internalize] so thath next time we will win.
“Losing forward” is a helpful framework for viewing the struggle in red states. The North Carolina legislature overrode the veto of Governor Roy Cooper of a bill imposing a ten-week abortion ban. While people supporting reproductive liberty understandably view the override as a loss, it is a loss that will ensure Democratic victory in North Carolina in 2024. The loss this week was dispiriting and disappointing. But we will convert the temporary loss into a long-term victory by defeating the reactionary legislators in North Carolina and winning the state’s electors in the 2024 presidential election.
A retrospective.
To prepare for today’s meeting in DC, I reviewed my email with the guests who RSVP’d to the meeting. One guest (Arlene M.), asked on June 3, 2017, to be included on the distribution list of the daily email that evolved into this newsletter —only four months after the newsletter started. At that time, I was sending a nightly email to 51 people. I have pasted below an excerpt from the June 3, 2017 newsletter. Its message still resonates today:
Today’s Edition: June 3, 2017: Pale blue dot.
The withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement was a tough emotional hit for many of us. For the third day, the climate agreement is the major focus of this newsletter. I have heard from many readers who say that this decision has affected them like no other Trump has made. That is understandable. The stakes are huge. The decision was irresponsible, ignorant, short-sighted, callous and partisan. But it’s going to be ok.
Why it affects people so deeply. The decision feels like Trump has attacked our home, our planet, the fragile “pale blue dot” on which humanity depends for its very existence. Although we expected the decision, there was a chance that voices of reason inside and outside the Administration would prevail. Instead, the most reactionary elements in the White House won. It felt like the sucker punch of election night all over again. It is difficult to comprehend that this is actually happening.
As a matter of self-protection and mental health, we need to stop kidding ourselves. We must assume that Trump will be exactly the monster he portrayed on the campaign trail. Don’t be cynical or defeatist. But be realistic. We are long past any notion of a pivot. “When someone shows you who they are, believe them. The first time.” Maya Angelou.
Concluding Thoughts (For June 3, 2017).
A reader has expressed a sense of guilt over not immediately doing every act of resistance I recommend. Whoa!! I am trying to help people reduce their anxiety, not exacerbate it. I do not want anyone to feel worse by reading this newsletter.
Look at it this way: if you performed only one act of resistance in response to my suggestions, that would likely increase the total number of political actions you have undertaken in your entire life by 100%. That one action is multiplied by all other people who are taking their first political action steps. It may not seem like a lot to you, but to members of Congress, it is a deluge. So, relax. Do what you can. Otherwise, read the newsletter for information and as a sanity check. Then go for a walk without your phone.
Concluding Thoughts (for May 20, 2023).
I think that advice applies with equal force today. Millions of Americans have risen to help redeem democracy and restore the rule of law. That is hard work. But it is the shared work of millions. Bless you for all you do! But recognize that it is not all on your shoulders. We are here for one another in times of victory, defeat, sorrow, and joy.
If you can, relax and renew this weekend. Next week will be wild. We will need our strength.
Stay strong, remain calm, and reconnect with someone you love!
Talk to you on Monday!
I have a number of thoughts sparked by today's brief newsletter:
First, every time I hear someone say that the absurdly restrictive abortion bans being implemented are "disappointing" and will ensure GOP election defeats, I see the many, many women who are suffering right now because of the loss of crucial medical care in the midst of extreme health threats. For those of us who've suffered complications of pregnancy, miscarriages, and other frightening and devastating reproductive losses, it's horrifying that so many of today's women now also face doctors and other healthcare practitioners whose hands are tied by ill-informed, ambiguous, and anti-medical laws. These laws, dressed up as "saving babies," are based on the underlying suggestion that abortion is slutty birth control. Please just remember the real suffering right now. And work like crazy to turn this around, of course!
Second, I've learned (at least) two things in my years of activism: change happens in tiny increments and change takes time. Women's suffrage took roughly 100 years. Black Americans are still fighting for a level playing field after 400 years.
An example of the tiny ripples of change: postcards. We often write for long-shot candidates who deserve support because of who they are and what they stand for. They often lose. But during the campaign postcards start showing up, volunteers pin them to the wall and feel energized to go knock on some more doors. The results are closer than projected and that gets noticed by the local and state Democratic party, which may then invest a little more the next time. The candidates and their teams may try again, now savvier and a little-better known, their names getting familiar to voters. More folks may volunteer next time, and Democratic/Independent turnout might build. And, importantly, the opposition will need to spend more $$ where they didn't used to.
Finally, and why Robert's newsletter has been so important to me, hope is a choice. That choice requires action.
(Here endeth the sermon! Sorry.)
This is my first comment to your wonderful letters to all of us. When I despair, I think of you and all of your readers who share my desperation, yet share my hopes and dreams for our beautiful country. I try to do my part by keeping informed, listening to those around me and try to educate others who might disagree with what I call gentle firmness.
Thank you to all you true activists who do such more with courage and grit.
Yes the road is tough but together we CAN succeed because we are on the side of truth and justice.