IMHO, A lot of what is tearing this country asunder has its root in slavery. Those myths of the nation's founding are lovely, but the darkness they cover up.....
Hydrate, take regular walks outdoors, hug your loved ones, breathe, stretch, put on your favorite music, avoid Verdi’s Dies Irae, listen to the Sanctus, and keep the faith
Margaret, I laughed out loud when I read "a number of friends who’ve told me that they intend to start “self-medicating” early today in order to deal with the angst of Election Day." Very, very understandable action to take! I am taking the other path of GOTV activities, at least until later today when I'll join fellow Democratic club members at an Election Watch party. No doubt, we'll sufficiently"self-medicate" together.
Thank you for the film suggestion. I expect a long, whiskey fueled night and I need something to sustain me until we begin to get some meaningful results. I hope to be able to go to bed after Georgia and North Carolina come in for Harris.
Keeping the faith! Easier to do, now. Thanks, Margaret, for your excellent work. Citizens must be better informed! Must learn to think critically! I recommend an article in The Atlantic by Adam Serwer.
Hi, Margaret--I'm writing this after the election, but I hope you see it! How the media will respond to Trump is an urgent question. Rachel Maddow jumped on that one right away by saying that the MSM should band together and publicly announce their opposition to the erosion of press freedoms. Agreed, but they need to do more than that. Two things come to mind: 1. Begin to create space for more civic-minded and explanatory journalism. 2. For MSNBC and CNN (probably to a lesser extent), become the seat of civil society's civil disobedience and resistance to Trump, as situations arise.
On the first point, it was appalling to me to see how little voting information about our rights and responsibilities was published prior to Election Day. Instead of helping voters do their civic duty, a lot of media were consumed with last-minute polls and mind-numbing speculation. How pointless and worthless! Maybe now some will recognize the importance of educating a low-information public on things like, what a tariff is or the history of fascism in this country. People crave a sense of coherence, and yet the media frequently fail to provide a sense of our ongoing story as Americans.
On the second point, my hope is that cable news will make room for actual reporting on grassroots resistance to Trump, and how the public can get more engaged in civil society. Rarely, if ever, have I heard a TV host talk directly to us. We're usually referred to in the third person as, "the American people," "the audience," or "the public." Hey, folks, you know we can hear and see you, right? Things would go a lot better if you really took that seriously and let us all in to work together to oppose what may be coming. I bet it would be a huge relief for cable news producers and hosts to have something else to focus on besides bashing Trump and scolding Republicans.
Anyway, thanks for remaining in the fight, Margaret, and for creating a space where a more public journalism can be discussed and imagined. The times may force journalists to adopt the reforms they've been resisting for way too long. It can't happen soon enough, and all my best as the fight continues!
I intentionally chose today to fly back to DC from AZ, where I spent the last 7 weeks with my new grandbaby, so that I could easily avoid election news for most of the day. I have now landed at DCA, but fortunately there is wine at home!
Nope, not fretting at all. Cannot remember ever feeling so peaceful on Election Day. We were forced to face what has been a simmering problem. Do we really believe our country should continue to be a democracy, or be taken over by authoritarians? We will choose the former because we have a leader who has been fighting for Justice for most of her adulthood. Even she, however, cannot do it without our votes. We will accomplish this task.
IMHO, A lot of what is tearing this country asunder has its root in slavery. Those myths of the nation's founding are lovely, but the darkness they cover up.....
Oh that we still had your Dad’s gentle guidance and faith!
Thanks, he is missed
Hydrate, take regular walks outdoors, hug your loved ones, breathe, stretch, put on your favorite music, avoid Verdi’s Dies Irae, listen to the Sanctus, and keep the faith
Margaret, I laughed out loud when I read "a number of friends who’ve told me that they intend to start “self-medicating” early today in order to deal with the angst of Election Day." Very, very understandable action to take! I am taking the other path of GOTV activities, at least until later today when I'll join fellow Democratic club members at an Election Watch party. No doubt, we'll sufficiently"self-medicate" together.
Thank you for the film suggestion. I expect a long, whiskey fueled night and I need something to sustain me until we begin to get some meaningful results. I hope to be able to go to bed after Georgia and North Carolina come in for Harris.
Keeping the faith! Easier to do, now. Thanks, Margaret, for your excellent work. Citizens must be better informed! Must learn to think critically! I recommend an article in The Atlantic by Adam Serwer.
Thanks for the link to the Meacham article, it's excellent. Heavy turnout means back to work at the polls.
Hi, Margaret--I'm writing this after the election, but I hope you see it! How the media will respond to Trump is an urgent question. Rachel Maddow jumped on that one right away by saying that the MSM should band together and publicly announce their opposition to the erosion of press freedoms. Agreed, but they need to do more than that. Two things come to mind: 1. Begin to create space for more civic-minded and explanatory journalism. 2. For MSNBC and CNN (probably to a lesser extent), become the seat of civil society's civil disobedience and resistance to Trump, as situations arise.
On the first point, it was appalling to me to see how little voting information about our rights and responsibilities was published prior to Election Day. Instead of helping voters do their civic duty, a lot of media were consumed with last-minute polls and mind-numbing speculation. How pointless and worthless! Maybe now some will recognize the importance of educating a low-information public on things like, what a tariff is or the history of fascism in this country. People crave a sense of coherence, and yet the media frequently fail to provide a sense of our ongoing story as Americans.
On the second point, my hope is that cable news will make room for actual reporting on grassroots resistance to Trump, and how the public can get more engaged in civil society. Rarely, if ever, have I heard a TV host talk directly to us. We're usually referred to in the third person as, "the American people," "the audience," or "the public." Hey, folks, you know we can hear and see you, right? Things would go a lot better if you really took that seriously and let us all in to work together to oppose what may be coming. I bet it would be a huge relief for cable news producers and hosts to have something else to focus on besides bashing Trump and scolding Republicans.
Anyway, thanks for remaining in the fight, Margaret, and for creating a space where a more public journalism can be discussed and imagined. The times may force journalists to adopt the reforms they've been resisting for way too long. It can't happen soon enough, and all my best as the fight continues!
Marla
I intentionally chose today to fly back to DC from AZ, where I spent the last 7 weeks with my new grandbaby, so that I could easily avoid election news for most of the day. I have now landed at DCA, but fortunately there is wine at home!
Nope, not fretting at all. Cannot remember ever feeling so peaceful on Election Day. We were forced to face what has been a simmering problem. Do we really believe our country should continue to be a democracy, or be taken over by authoritarians? We will choose the former because we have a leader who has been fighting for Justice for most of her adulthood. Even she, however, cannot do it without our votes. We will accomplish this task.