Elizabeth Wiling Powel could not vote. The 19th Amendment and Suffrage movements didn’t exist in a country not yet born. Powel was a politician’s wife. She was married to the Mayor of Philadelphia and a fixture of Philadelphia society. She was close to General Washington and his wife Martha. It was Powel who asked Ben Franklin the question that elicited the famous and oft-quoted answer from our most important founding elder, ‘’A Republic if you can keep it.’
The times today are every bit as perilous as the years leading up to 1861.
A nation plagued by insufferably inhumane human enslavement vs. a president of the US and his party trying to overthrow the government, backed by a major cable network that seems to exist purely to end the United States as we know it.
They are powerful, big in numbers and use their media as a weapon, just like the Confederates used cannon balls. Fox News and their minions openly attempt to take down our republic and replace it with permanent rule by a party committed to codify white supremacy, violence, ahorrent racism and bigotry.
How are these times any LESS perilous than the lead up to 1861? And like the Southerners then, we have 1/2 of our government PLUS THE SUPREME COURT, not just looking the other way, but actually aiding and abetting the modern day confederates.
The times are dark. Their power and prevalence seem to be growing. Meanwhile the Democrats have leaders in their 70s and 80s who want to play nice; keep the filibuster so we don't upset the confederates who continue to terrorize us.
Inspiration is badly lacking on the left. . To be blunt: There is none.
There is feckless leadership. Chuck Schumer, Steny Hoyer and even Nancy, I'm looking at YOU.
Biden is a very good person who has all the right instincts, but he's not the leader we need now. I'm sorry, I love the guy. But the right has treated him with the usual dose of cruelty, lies, and obstruction and he's been badly damaged in the public eye.
Can we get some leaders who weren't born before WWII?
Some who have fire in their belly? Some who will stand up to these fucks?
If being on the precipice of losing the country isn't enough to wake people up, then we're done. Literally, finished.
The November elections will tell us all we need to know.
Will Democrats show up?
Or will they be content to play around on social media, thinking posting a .gif is enough to stop the freight train roaring toward us?
I'm not optimistic.
We've already had our Fort Sumter event on 1/6/21.
You have to continue talking us through. It is really hard and sometimes we could not see ahead. Your clear thought and vision are very much needed in this continuing crisis. Thank you!
Your last paragraph cuts to the heart of the matter. The Civil War preserved the nation, but war doesn't end hate and racism that imbued a shocking number of people back then — and now.
Thank you for these encouraging words after a week that will haunt me until our hard fought freedoms are reinstated. The avarice of men continues to shock my sensibilities. When did truth die?
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, it is priceless. Words are what bind us together. President Zelenskyi said today, "With its aggression, Russia wants to prove that it supposedly has not just territory under its control, but life as such, and that it can supposedly decide for everyone whether they will have life at all. Therefore, this war is not just ours, not just local - somewhere in the east of Europe. This is Russia's attack on everything that is of value to you and me. Therefore, the reconstruction of Ukraine is not a local project, not the project of one people, but a joint task of the entire democratic world - of all countries that can say about themselves: we are civilized. To rebuild Ukraine is to restore the principles of life, to restore the space of life, to restore what makes people human." Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke at the Conference on Restoration of Ukraine held in Lugano.
Something else to remember this Independence Day via Abigale Adams to her husband, John Adams.
Abigail Adam’s letter to John Adams: “I long to hear that you have declared an independency—and by the way in the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to foment a Rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation.”
Happy 4th, Steve. It dawned on me while chatting with a very far right Okie day before yesterday how ingrained their beliefs are, going back to the days of the civil war. I’m not sure people like him will ever see the light. 😢
"That struggle continues today, and the work is undone. "
Banning history books in schools isn't exactly a step forward to completing our Constitutional tasks.
But, setting all that aside, if there’s a sharper critique of America’s failed education system than 33% of our nation's breathless, mindless voters, I can’t name it. In addition to having a Supreme Court that contains justices who lied under oath while being confimred, rights are being taken away. Will we once again revisit a time when the following people can't vote -- women, blacks, minorities, lgbt, etc.
The challenges to national unity under our Constitution are, if anything, far greater than those confronting the infant nation in 1787. Although the new nation was a pluralistic one by the standards of the 18th century, the face of America in 2022 looks very different from the original: we are no longer a people united by a common language, religion or culture; and while our overall level of material prosperity is staggering by the standards of any age, the widening gulf between rich and poor is perhaps the most serious threat to a common definition of the "pursuit of happiness."
The times today are every bit as perilous as the years leading up to 1861.
A nation plagued by insufferably inhumane human enslavement vs. a president of the US and his party trying to overthrow the government, backed by a major cable network that seems to exist purely to end the United States as we know it.
They are powerful, big in numbers and use their media as a weapon, just like the Confederates used cannon balls. Fox News and their minions openly attempt to take down our republic and replace it with permanent rule by a party committed to codify white supremacy, violence, ahorrent racism and bigotry.
How are these times any LESS perilous than the lead up to 1861? And like the Southerners then, we have 1/2 of our government PLUS THE SUPREME COURT, not just looking the other way, but actually aiding and abetting the modern day confederates.
The times are dark. Their power and prevalence seem to be growing. Meanwhile the Democrats have leaders in their 70s and 80s who want to play nice; keep the filibuster so we don't upset the confederates who continue to terrorize us.
Inspiration is badly lacking on the left. . To be blunt: There is none.
There is feckless leadership. Chuck Schumer, Steny Hoyer and even Nancy, I'm looking at YOU.
Biden is a very good person who has all the right instincts, but he's not the leader we need now. I'm sorry, I love the guy. But the right has treated him with the usual dose of cruelty, lies, and obstruction and he's been badly damaged in the public eye.
Can we get some leaders who weren't born before WWII?
Some who have fire in their belly? Some who will stand up to these fucks?
If being on the precipice of losing the country isn't enough to wake people up, then we're done. Literally, finished.
The November elections will tell us all we need to know.
Will Democrats show up?
Or will they be content to play around on social media, thinking posting a .gif is enough to stop the freight train roaring toward us?
I'm not optimistic.
We've already had our Fort Sumter event on 1/6/21.
What's next?
Mike Walsh, Scottsdale, AZ
Important, thoughtful words as we face an Independence Day where “celebration” feels like the wrong word entirely.
You have to continue talking us through. It is really hard and sometimes we could not see ahead. Your clear thought and vision are very much needed in this continuing crisis. Thank you!
Your last paragraph cuts to the heart of the matter. The Civil War preserved the nation, but war doesn't end hate and racism that imbued a shocking number of people back then — and now.
Thank you for these encouraging words after a week that will haunt me until our hard fought freedoms are reinstated. The avarice of men continues to shock my sensibilities. When did truth die?
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, it is priceless. Words are what bind us together. President Zelenskyi said today, "With its aggression, Russia wants to prove that it supposedly has not just territory under its control, but life as such, and that it can supposedly decide for everyone whether they will have life at all. Therefore, this war is not just ours, not just local - somewhere in the east of Europe. This is Russia's attack on everything that is of value to you and me. Therefore, the reconstruction of Ukraine is not a local project, not the project of one people, but a joint task of the entire democratic world - of all countries that can say about themselves: we are civilized. To rebuild Ukraine is to restore the principles of life, to restore the space of life, to restore what makes people human." Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke at the Conference on Restoration of Ukraine held in Lugano.
Thank you. I’m proud to be a subscriber to “The Warning”. We’ve never needed people like Steve Schmidt as we need them today.
Something else to remember this Independence Day via Abigale Adams to her husband, John Adams.
Abigail Adam’s letter to John Adams: “I long to hear that you have declared an independency—and by the way in the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to foment a Rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation.”
Happy 4th, Steve. It dawned on me while chatting with a very far right Okie day before yesterday how ingrained their beliefs are, going back to the days of the civil war. I’m not sure people like him will ever see the light. 😢
This article is so profound..How did so many Americans become so ignorant and hateful
Bring Civics back soon!!! We are in a crisis. Will evil prevail or love triumph??? Get rid of Fox News. Its not really news anyway
I have thoroughly enjoyed this series, along with all of your thoughtful passionate and patriotic musings.
As a Canadian with family, great friends and a home in the US, I pray you’re right. 🇨🇦🇺🇸
Thanks, Steve.
"That struggle continues today, and the work is undone. "
Banning history books in schools isn't exactly a step forward to completing our Constitutional tasks.
But, setting all that aside, if there’s a sharper critique of America’s failed education system than 33% of our nation's breathless, mindless voters, I can’t name it. In addition to having a Supreme Court that contains justices who lied under oath while being confimred, rights are being taken away. Will we once again revisit a time when the following people can't vote -- women, blacks, minorities, lgbt, etc.
The challenges to national unity under our Constitution are, if anything, far greater than those confronting the infant nation in 1787. Although the new nation was a pluralistic one by the standards of the 18th century, the face of America in 2022 looks very different from the original: we are no longer a people united by a common language, religion or culture; and while our overall level of material prosperity is staggering by the standards of any age, the widening gulf between rich and poor is perhaps the most serious threat to a common definition of the "pursuit of happiness."
"A Republic if you can keep it." Indeed.
A poem I wrote in 2018 about the American Flag
Who Will Mend Me?
Once I was old and glorious.
Once, my children held firmly together, little stars, shiny and proud.
Each different, each honored to belong to a greatness history had never seen.
And there was a time they were torn.
Miraculously they held together, through unbearable pain,
and horrific shedding of brotherly blood.
A death-to-the-end fight for equality, a noble fight, my children fought.
I have been bravely carried and planted in places on this earth man had never seen.
I have been to the moon!
I have been dug from the rubble, and resurrected like a phoenix,
to inspire courage and the strength to go on.
I have witnessed moments, and have been proud.
I have witnessed moments, and have been ashamed.
Once I was sacred.
Desecrating me for political gain would have been a thing only an enemy would dare do.
Today, cowards falsely embrace me with sham patriotism, and unbridled hypocrisy.
They drape themselves with me.
Bent on abolishing their freedoms, they rip my children apart.
For what end? I am at a loss.
Now I am tired, faded, and in need of repair, who will mend me?
Who will see my agony, and take a kind, loving hand to me?
I have been steadfast, I have never wavered, I have been here for you all.
I have led you through battles with your bodies, through battles for your souls.
And now you desert me, you use me to destroy your neighbors.
What will become of me? What is this fear I have yet ever to feel?
Will the evil in man’s heart, will his insatiable worship of power, of money, be my demise?
To fly again, all new and whole, to fly with my children united,
my threads mended, my colors brilliant, to be strong and proud again.
This is my hope, this is my dream.
Who will mercifully mend me? I ask.
Lorraine Parish
July 4th 2018
Published by The Vineyard Gazette
Thank you.for sharing. Lincoln's words bring comfort.
Wonderful