The American experiment had endured for nearly 50 years when the last surviving major general of the Continental Army who had won American independence travelled to each of the 24 states of the Union to say farewell. When the great tour was over, John Quincy Adams, the 6th president of the United States of America, ordered the United States Ship Brandywine, a 44 gun heavy frigate of the young US Navy to bring him home.
I was 15 for the Bicentennial and will be 65 for the Semiquincentennial (had to look it up!). I had taken for granted that America would always be a country that cherished democracy and freedom for all - at least I believed that we would always try to live up to those ideals. Since the arrival of Trumpism, I'm not so sure anymore. I knew there were white supremacists and and anti government militia types - but they were always so far on the fringe that they were easy to ignore. January 6th really shocked me and now, I worry because I have neighbors and coworkers that would still vote Republican (even for Trump) and just shrug when I mention The Insurrection.
I feel that America has taken a step backward in it's journey to become "a more perfect Union" and we will be lucky if we can get ourselves back on the right path by our 250th anniversary. I appreciate the strong faith Steve Schmidt has in the vision our Founding Fathers had for a lasting democracy. He knows that It may take a generation to correct injustice, but we have the means to make changes through our elected representatives. Right now, however, we have a Political Party that does not want to see America move forward and will try to undo recent gains for marginalized groups and wishes to give more power to wealthy donors to their Party.
I hesitate to label the Republican Party as Fascists, because it would mean nothing to them, just as saying Democrats are Socialists or Communists means nothing to me as a Democrat. It's just name calling. But, they really ARE behaving like Fascists. We need voices like Steve Schmidt and others who can call out the Republican Party's antidemocratic spasm for what it is. The Fascist wing are not the majority, but they have a big megaphone that gives them the illusion of numbers and the spineless Republican leaders won't challenge them.
However, WE can and must challenge this by exercising our right to vote before it's too late and our access to the ballot gets restricted by "voter fraud" laws. Our voice at the ballot is the tool that will prevent fascism from taking deeper root in America. We can't fix everything that keeps American from being the Nation it aspires to be, but we must fix this NOW.
For America's Tricentennial, I hope that my kids (and grandkids) will be living in an America that Steve Schmidt writes about so eloquently and which will remain the beacon of democracy that the Marquis de Lafayette envisioned so long ago.
It can’t be said better than your remarks Bruce.. Steve’s so eloquently articulated prose are again hopeful, and inspiring us to recognize the only national path forward..we all must take.. But we face an enemy from within that is not being dealt with according to the threat..These are people who do not see so many of us as fellow Americans, they do not consider so many as fellow citizens..They are not interested in reason or the truth..While we speak of stepping up to enact change at the ballot box, they are enacting laws and policies that move those ballot boxes further away and out of reach for so many..And when the ballot box does yield the change that is required, the lies begin and lawsuits are started to fraudulently flip the result..These people require supplanting and voting is becoming an increasingly more difficult tool to use..As has been said before, we are barely holding onto our Democracy..The events of Jan 6th., the closeness of many races of 2022, and the wins of some unfit dangerous people placing them into positions of power and control.. Steve has often said how we are at the precipice of the abyss..I can not agree more with that statement. He has also often said, it is the best time to be alive in America, that now are the most exciting times for the country. However, they are desperate times that most certainly require desperate measures..
>> The presence of cynics amongst the believers doesn’t diminish the believers. It simply tests the character of the undecided. <<
Thanks Steve, a very profound piece. I would add that even though our human nature doesn’t like it, the presence of cynics and even ideas that run counter to our nation’s ideals are like the resistance necessary in exercise and development. Without it, we tend to take things for granted, become complacent and well flaccid. Like all exercise, it takes time, hard work but is irreplaceable. That has always been the silver lining I’ve held on though the last 6 years. May the celebration of our 250 years as a nation reflect the growth and strengthening of America’s believers.
Civilizations have a shelf life plus or minus 250 years. If one goes back thousands of years not hundreds a similar pattern emerges- that the “ experiment “ decays and implodes from within
We no longer have in our elected “ non-leaders” a will to compromise
We have lost our “ representative “ government. The 3 branches of government are now completely intertwined. Social Security is now an “ entitlement “
No one takes accountability. The solid rational politicians leave office / retire as their fight for right becomes impossible
I love Steve’s beautiful voice and hope, yet sadly believe we are in the bottom of the 8th inning, no manager, no bench, no bullpen
There is no one, easy answer regarding how our great country is so troubled today.
But if I had to pick one, it would be Fox News. Run by an Australian, they're literally doing all they can to destroy the country as we know it today. Because ratings. Money. Fox News cheered it on.
They had the GOP's backs on Trump, trickle down economics, the Tea Party, and now the insurrection, literally an attempt to overthrow our government.
I'm a reasonably moderate person. 68 years old and my political feelings weren't well formed until the Iraq War, which is the type of foreign policy fail that a country engages in if they want to consume and destroy themselves.
Interestingly, Vietnam was just as bad, maybe worse. But we emerged from that, coalesced around peace and disdainful of the lies that led us into it. Why? Because there was no Fox News.
Great history lesson and motivation for working towards solutions instead of blame. We look at people trying to get into America as a problem rather than an opportunity. Wouldn’t that be more constructive approach? Interesting that people other than Americans see America as an opportunity while Americans see ourselves as falling apart.
Steve’s writing is so powerful. Evokes emotion at every turn. As a poet would. I’m glad he’s taking a Trump break and leading us toward a more enlightened understanding of our country.
Steve, you remind of my 7th and 8th grade Social Studies teacher, Mrs. MacKinnon. I still remember her class on Lafayette's farewell tour, and I know that's when I fell in love with France.
I know that Joe Biden is old in years, but he is the first president since Jack Kennedy who has made me so proud of an occupant of the Oval Office. Don't get me wrong; I was inordinately proud that the US elected Barack Obama, but he didn't give my heart the same lift that Joe does. His belief in America feels like mine, like yours, and he has my vote as long as he want it.
That was beautiful Steve, I saw on the News Hour, this weekend a quote by a Frenchwoman named Annie Ernaux, who won the Noble Prize for Literature this year, she said “to write is to fight forgetting”, I think that sums up what you are so eloquently doing, writing so that we don’t forget, I thank you for that.
Couldn't agree more. Time for the younger people to take up the effort of maintaining and building the America that already is and for many will be their country. I am certain that what they continue to build will be for all the people. I have faith.
Wonderful essay. If we’re really going to change, we have to start with new, fresh leadership. Thank you, President Biden, for vanquishing the corrupt, racist, sexist, grifter ex-president in 2020. But let’s go forward down a new and better path in 2024.
Rep. Tim Ryan for President in 2024. He is the genuine “real deal”. For his running mate and to bring diversity
Just returned this AM from the annual pilgrimage to Colonial Williamsburg at Christmas. Yes of course the Marquis de Lafayette was there, along with all the others (including a discussion between James Madison and Alexander Hamilton when writing the Federalist Papers).
This time we toured the Yorktown Battlefield and Encampments. If you have not been there, worth the drive. The French involvement in our success at Yorktown was massive. I counted French encampment after encampment outside the battle lines. Lafayette's belief cemented the Ancient Regime support in our cause. The Ancient Regime fell, but the relationship remains. Our return in 1917 repaid, in part, the faith they had in us in 1780.
We are at that inflection point that requires a rethinking of our leadership process. The 2022 election cycle provided competing visions of what we can have: an inclusive, responsible government, and the cynical MAGA power at any cost. There were three good signs out of the cycle: what happened when young voters came out (and they came out); the rejection by some R's of their party's candidates, and the emergence of a new group of visionary leaders.
The opportunities are there to reject the poisonous MAGA movement. Let's start moving toward the new vision, new opportunities.
I was 15 for the Bicentennial and will be 65 for the Semiquincentennial (had to look it up!). I had taken for granted that America would always be a country that cherished democracy and freedom for all - at least I believed that we would always try to live up to those ideals. Since the arrival of Trumpism, I'm not so sure anymore. I knew there were white supremacists and and anti government militia types - but they were always so far on the fringe that they were easy to ignore. January 6th really shocked me and now, I worry because I have neighbors and coworkers that would still vote Republican (even for Trump) and just shrug when I mention The Insurrection.
I feel that America has taken a step backward in it's journey to become "a more perfect Union" and we will be lucky if we can get ourselves back on the right path by our 250th anniversary. I appreciate the strong faith Steve Schmidt has in the vision our Founding Fathers had for a lasting democracy. He knows that It may take a generation to correct injustice, but we have the means to make changes through our elected representatives. Right now, however, we have a Political Party that does not want to see America move forward and will try to undo recent gains for marginalized groups and wishes to give more power to wealthy donors to their Party.
I hesitate to label the Republican Party as Fascists, because it would mean nothing to them, just as saying Democrats are Socialists or Communists means nothing to me as a Democrat. It's just name calling. But, they really ARE behaving like Fascists. We need voices like Steve Schmidt and others who can call out the Republican Party's antidemocratic spasm for what it is. The Fascist wing are not the majority, but they have a big megaphone that gives them the illusion of numbers and the spineless Republican leaders won't challenge them.
However, WE can and must challenge this by exercising our right to vote before it's too late and our access to the ballot gets restricted by "voter fraud" laws. Our voice at the ballot is the tool that will prevent fascism from taking deeper root in America. We can't fix everything that keeps American from being the Nation it aspires to be, but we must fix this NOW.
For America's Tricentennial, I hope that my kids (and grandkids) will be living in an America that Steve Schmidt writes about so eloquently and which will remain the beacon of democracy that the Marquis de Lafayette envisioned so long ago.
It can’t be said better than your remarks Bruce.. Steve’s so eloquently articulated prose are again hopeful, and inspiring us to recognize the only national path forward..we all must take.. But we face an enemy from within that is not being dealt with according to the threat..These are people who do not see so many of us as fellow Americans, they do not consider so many as fellow citizens..They are not interested in reason or the truth..While we speak of stepping up to enact change at the ballot box, they are enacting laws and policies that move those ballot boxes further away and out of reach for so many..And when the ballot box does yield the change that is required, the lies begin and lawsuits are started to fraudulently flip the result..These people require supplanting and voting is becoming an increasingly more difficult tool to use..As has been said before, we are barely holding onto our Democracy..The events of Jan 6th., the closeness of many races of 2022, and the wins of some unfit dangerous people placing them into positions of power and control.. Steve has often said how we are at the precipice of the abyss..I can not agree more with that statement. He has also often said, it is the best time to be alive in America, that now are the most exciting times for the country. However, they are desperate times that most certainly require desperate measures..
Perfect, Bruce!
Excellent points
Same hopes from my corner, as well.
A moving and hopeful essay; one of your best in my view.
I do so love feeling inspired and hopeful ❤️🤍💙
Beautiful.
We all emerge from the same place
We all return to the same state
There is no “other.”
Just all of us.
Destruction begins in an ill conceived moment, often premeditated. Creation takes a vision, a belief and spans lifetimes.
>> The presence of cynics amongst the believers doesn’t diminish the believers. It simply tests the character of the undecided. <<
Thanks Steve, a very profound piece. I would add that even though our human nature doesn’t like it, the presence of cynics and even ideas that run counter to our nation’s ideals are like the resistance necessary in exercise and development. Without it, we tend to take things for granted, become complacent and well flaccid. Like all exercise, it takes time, hard work but is irreplaceable. That has always been the silver lining I’ve held on though the last 6 years. May the celebration of our 250 years as a nation reflect the growth and strengthening of America’s believers.
What a beautiful retelling - thank you.
Civilizations have a shelf life plus or minus 250 years. If one goes back thousands of years not hundreds a similar pattern emerges- that the “ experiment “ decays and implodes from within
We no longer have in our elected “ non-leaders” a will to compromise
We have lost our “ representative “ government. The 3 branches of government are now completely intertwined. Social Security is now an “ entitlement “
No one takes accountability. The solid rational politicians leave office / retire as their fight for right becomes impossible
I love Steve’s beautiful voice and hope, yet sadly believe we are in the bottom of the 8th inning, no manager, no bench, no bullpen
I pray Steve’s right
There is no one, easy answer regarding how our great country is so troubled today.
But if I had to pick one, it would be Fox News. Run by an Australian, they're literally doing all they can to destroy the country as we know it today. Because ratings. Money. Fox News cheered it on.
They had the GOP's backs on Trump, trickle down economics, the Tea Party, and now the insurrection, literally an attempt to overthrow our government.
I'm a reasonably moderate person. 68 years old and my political feelings weren't well formed until the Iraq War, which is the type of foreign policy fail that a country engages in if they want to consume and destroy themselves.
Interestingly, Vietnam was just as bad, maybe worse. But we emerged from that, coalesced around peace and disdainful of the lies that led us into it. Why? Because there was no Fox News.
I believe we are at an inflection point. We will emerge from this as we did in 1865 and again in 1945, different but with a clearer vision.
I hope not….
Great history lesson and motivation for working towards solutions instead of blame. We look at people trying to get into America as a problem rather than an opportunity. Wouldn’t that be more constructive approach? Interesting that people other than Americans see America as an opportunity while Americans see ourselves as falling apart.
Steve’s writing is so powerful. Evokes emotion at every turn. As a poet would. I’m glad he’s taking a Trump break and leading us toward a more enlightened understanding of our country.
Steve, you remind of my 7th and 8th grade Social Studies teacher, Mrs. MacKinnon. I still remember her class on Lafayette's farewell tour, and I know that's when I fell in love with France.
I know that Joe Biden is old in years, but he is the first president since Jack Kennedy who has made me so proud of an occupant of the Oval Office. Don't get me wrong; I was inordinately proud that the US elected Barack Obama, but he didn't give my heart the same lift that Joe does. His belief in America feels like mine, like yours, and he has my vote as long as he want it.
Brilliant, Steve. And thank you. It has. It will. You are Our North Star, Sir. Building Tomorrow. Sandy
Absolutely fantastic, Mr. Schmidt--thank you for the history lesson and the much-needed dose of hope!
That was beautiful Steve, I saw on the News Hour, this weekend a quote by a Frenchwoman named Annie Ernaux, who won the Noble Prize for Literature this year, she said “to write is to fight forgetting”, I think that sums up what you are so eloquently doing, writing so that we don’t forget, I thank you for that.
Couldn't agree more. Time for the younger people to take up the effort of maintaining and building the America that already is and for many will be their country. I am certain that what they continue to build will be for all the people. I have faith.
We saw the beginnings in the 2022 midterm turnout.
Wonderful essay. If we’re really going to change, we have to start with new, fresh leadership. Thank you, President Biden, for vanquishing the corrupt, racist, sexist, grifter ex-president in 2020. But let’s go forward down a new and better path in 2024.
Rep. Tim Ryan for President in 2024. He is the genuine “real deal”. For his running mate and to bring diversity
Just returned this AM from the annual pilgrimage to Colonial Williamsburg at Christmas. Yes of course the Marquis de Lafayette was there, along with all the others (including a discussion between James Madison and Alexander Hamilton when writing the Federalist Papers).
This time we toured the Yorktown Battlefield and Encampments. If you have not been there, worth the drive. The French involvement in our success at Yorktown was massive. I counted French encampment after encampment outside the battle lines. Lafayette's belief cemented the Ancient Regime support in our cause. The Ancient Regime fell, but the relationship remains. Our return in 1917 repaid, in part, the faith they had in us in 1780.
We are at that inflection point that requires a rethinking of our leadership process. The 2022 election cycle provided competing visions of what we can have: an inclusive, responsible government, and the cynical MAGA power at any cost. There were three good signs out of the cycle: what happened when young voters came out (and they came out); the rejection by some R's of their party's candidates, and the emergence of a new group of visionary leaders.
The opportunities are there to reject the poisonous MAGA movement. Let's start moving toward the new vision, new opportunities.