Definitely helpful and I so appreciate it. But, I am still at a point of despair. Not because of the Biden bills not passing, but because I believe that if we don't protect our elections federally, this country will never be the same starting next year after the 2022 elections. I have always been an optimist my entire life, but at the same time, a realist. - This is morbid and I apologize, but I have had a few friends and my father get cancer that evolved to a point that it was clearly unsurvivable. Not one person accepted the tragic truth and was convinced that they were going to beat it... sadly, they didn't. I tried to talk to a few friends who had not done any kind of financial preparation in case the worst happened, but they wouldn't hear it, and one got really angry at me when I suggested life insurance and a trust for her daughter. - My point is, I feel like this country is in stage 4 cancer and instead of seeking treatment (which my friends did) everyone is saying that I am overreacting, that we're not headed towards authoritarianism, that America will always be a liberal democracy. Again, if the Freedom to Vote Act doesn't pass, and I don't think it will, I think we are going to lose our democracy. - Is it possible to be optimistic IF this is the truth? Do we stay in the US and try and fight this or should I try and get out now? I'm a gay woman in Texas and while I'm not worried about my safety, I don't want my tax dollars going towards an authoritarian country. So, while I so appreciate the pep talk about managing expectations, I don't know how to be optimistic about the future of this country... I would LOVE to know your thoughts on this. IF Trump is re-elected (or someone like him) will you stay in the US? What will you do? I'm really curious. I keep asking people this question and I feel like I'm talking to my dying friends who wouldn't face a tragic truth... help!!!
That’s a perfect analogy! We are all watching the republican party bulldoze our future while there appears to be very little action to do something for the 81mil of us who voted for a specific change. I want to see Democrats bulldoze where it is necessary. As far as I know Biden can expand the Supreme Court. Do it! Police don’t want to wear masks? Fire them and never allow them to serve the public. I don’t care if we’re short of police staff. Better that than Fascist police…that’s dangerous!
We do have the numbers to blow the republicans out of the water. We need every voter, not 60%, not 70%…85-90%! The republicans can’t cheat if it’s not close by a landslide. There are far more Democrats.
You're not alone and if it weren't for having two sons here and about to be a grandpa for the first time (and scared for what the future will bring for my grandson) I would be on my way to Canada as well. Not to digress, but watching THE HANDMAID'S TALE is supposed to be an escape from reality, yet it becomes scarier and scarier as fiction seems to begin to mirror reality!!
We have no reason to be optimistic, but we needn't despair, either. We will, as almost every generation has, have to stand up and fight for what is ours. Look to history, and look at other nations. Tyrants are always defeated in the end, and they have only a foothold here. You are not alone. If we stand together, if we stand strongly, and if we stand with the weight of all the good of which our species is capable, we will stand triumphant.
'Standing' is motionless...we can't fight the fascism of Gov't hand-in-hand w/ Corporations. The Corporations own the Politicians. PERIOD. (Except for AOC and her group). I'm thinking it might be better to target the Corporations instead of the Gov't. Workers have been striking and they don't even have a Union...people are sick of being treated like trash by their employers.
I want to run away but sadly I am not wealthy and am too old. We are headed toward an authoritarian regime. It seems too late to stop it. If I was young, I’d leave. New Zealand, Iceland, Ireland…Canada. Also, I think I really hate people.
So when does the time come to take the necessary steps in order to make progress go quicker?? Like eliminating filibusters, ie. And by the time any REAL change comes, like to alternative energy, will the damage already have been done and be irreversible!! Politics will always be politics and has been during my lifetime (I'm 60 yrs old) but when politics continues to stall changes needed for the survival of our planet, then the government is no longer doing what is their primary responsibility - which is taking care of their people. Government hides behind that curtain when it's convenient for them but when it comes to real change for the betterment of society (cleaner environment, gun control) it shrivels up!!
Without any details of what we can do that's effective. Phone banks are not effective (people hate political calls), not sure how effective canvassing is, you can't talk to a trumpy and think you're going to change their mind. I wish there was a super effective democratic messaging machine we could support but messaging is all over the place, not tight and simple and streamlined and inserted cleverly like the fascist messaging appears to be. We need to be much more creative about messaging. We need to know what EFFECTIVE actions are out there that actually work that we can support. Rallies are dangerous these days and not sure they go beyond preaching to the converted. What can the average person do who lives in a democratic state and whose friends are all Democrats do?
After reading through all of these replies to you, I am wondering if you can link what I was trying to tell you in my message about the Medicare For All issue. All of these people show a lack of trust in our past, present and future government. We better get something REALLY BIG in place in order to get the trust in our government to what it once was.
I'm 68 and I remember back to Watergate when Nixon resigned, I was ecstatic! We had kicked him out, I wished he had been sentenced to jail. We got Nixon to add the EPA to his administration. We had all the solutions to contain the pollution and bring the environment back. And then came Raygun and it all ended. I remember the Eve of 1979 and at midnight, I felt the Earth shift into another paradigm and I had chills up and down my spine. It was the Beginning of the End. I'm glad I'm old.
Elsewhere, I’ve prevailed upon all of us to remain hopeful if for no other reason then to stay in the fight. For me, that hope was nurtured this past Thursday when the Progressive House caucus, as pledged, refused to vote on the bipartisan physical infrastructure bill until 50 Senators publicly committed their support to the admittedly whittled down “Build Back Better” Social and Climate Action bill. Personally, I am beholden to these Congressional lawmakers who, despite resistance from leadership, have held the line against pressure to delink these bills, a decoupling that would risk leaving out young people, black and brown people, indigenous people, immigrants, women, and single moms, let alone downplaying the severity of environmental threats. As a final point, I pray we never forget that the bipartisan physical infrastructure bill was negotiated by an all-white conservative group of legislators and was devised largely to help one set of people while leaving out so many others who are integral to that human infrastructure reconciliation piece.
Jackie Spiers (?) Rep. of CA was the only one to mention that of all the jobs supposedly created by the Infrastructure Bill, 91% are for men. So don't tell me there isn't a War Against Women. We're living in the book, 1984...a nightmare. Go watch 'Soylent Green' and 'Network' again...amazing what the writers saw in the future.
enough, May I presume you are aware you just replied to a comment I had posted in late October praising the House Progressive Caucus, which at that point had refused to vote on the narrow Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill until 50 Senators publicly committed their support to the broader “Build Back Better” social and climate action piece of the Biden agenda. Do you have a problem with that?
No, I was in agreement w/ the Progressive Dem Caucus. Sorry I didn't look at the date you posted. This is why I rarely respond or interact online. I seem to always do something wrong. Won't respond further.
I have been feeling just like that, at some point while reading I even felt you might have been spying on me.
Yes, we must be resilient, in voting those 147 insurrectionist out of congress, end the filibuster, gain the next elections, there are always elections, expand the SCOTUS, and pass the most urgent legislation, all this under the opposition fire.
The strategy appears to have its foundations in the results of the findings of the 1/6 committee, and all the underlying issues of the previous administration, Trump wrongdoings, Bannon, Bill Bar, and all those that collaborated in his delusional leadership, that brought harm all over, at home and abroad.
Discontentment is the first step to progress, but we can not normalize that feeling, not for too long.
There is always a second opportunity, but it is never good keep losing one opportunity for another.
i did, thank you, i sit outside in busy intersections with a book and a banjo and a yard sign that says 'united we stand', saving my breath and trying to breech the walls
I am older and when I rarely go out, I know that I am being ignored and dismissed. During this pandemic it is difficult to even feel that my life is still valuable.
Oh Ann - your life is def valuable!! I’ve found that doing phone banking for Indivisible and Common Cause and RepresentUs through the app Mobilize helps me feel like I’m doing something to help. Where are you located? If you need a friend, I’m gina@blueworldav.com Virtual Hug!
I'm soon to be 69 and I live in Ohio w/ lots of willfully ignorant people. I try not to go out unless I need milk. I like wearing a mask (and sunglasses) so I can mumble to myself when I encounter some jerk. I can smell the hatred. Ann, your life is more worthy than the 'billies that live around me w/ all of their guns. I can smell their hatred. Please take care.
Taking the long-view and remembering the long arcs of social progress is certainly important, especially to fight the despair that comes from too much day-to-day media nonsense. Still, I can't help but wonder if our anger over the "same old delays and excuses" should push us to adjust our strategies. We are now at the point where our disagreements are not about whether policies should be based on Laffer Curve or trickle down fantasies, but about the literal survival of the species. I think we must be careful at how much we use past precedents of long battles, lest we remain too stuck on infective methods of activism that will not allow us to course correct in time.
For example, I struggle to understand why we spend so much time pressuring politicians when history seems to have made it clear that the more appropriate and impactful efforts would be to pressure the companies funding them and their "ideas." Replace Manchin or Sinema with someone else, and it's more than likely they will take the same supposed stances on issues that their donors demand. In short Robert, I'm with you, but perhaps our anger over inertia and the same old obstacles should force us to reckon with the true forces behind the lack of progress and whether we are responding accordingly.
Yes, always follow the money. We must pressure companies, especially big corporations. (My most recent book used Jamie Dimon and his JPMorgan Chase as a foil for exposing the vicious cycle we're now in -- giant corporations chasing ever higher profits through manipulating politics and public opinion.)
Amen. And that is our challenge...shining a light on the fact that Dimon and his ilk have us stuck on path where they will do anything to be profitable right up to the point where we are nothing at all. A fine epitaph...Humans: We're gone now, but our final quarter results were great!
I think you may be right about pressuring the companies to make changes. Wasn't there an energy company whose shareholders recently voted in an unexpected way? This was a coordinated effort to get carbon emissions reduced? I've been impressed by
Sleeping Giants, which is a social media activism organization aiming to pressure companies into removing advertisements from Alt-right news outlets. I've often wished for a clearinghouse of information about organizations that are working toward social progress, so that I could figure out how to put my limited time and financial resources to best use.
Yes, a lot of positive steps recently in terms of shareholder revolts and campaigns that pressured companies to stop supporting anti-voter/anti-LGBTQ policies. But I feel that we see these things work, but then too often return to our fury over the Senator who said this or the hypocritical Congresswoman who changed her stance. So therein lies the problem: we need to keep our eye on the ball, our energy and attention on the firms and lobbyists behind our challenges. We need to threaten the brands and the profitability of companies that truly drive the supposed "positions" our elected officials take. And we won't be able to stick with this unless we learn to avoid media outlets that have a vested interest in turning our attention to the daily drama of those officials, often causing us to fall back on inadequate methods of influence based on fantasies that we'll force piñata puppet politicians to take stances they are specifically paid to not take.
Maybe getting myself banned from YouTube for trying to counter false narratives was a good thing then if it channels my energy into other better activities. But what are these activities? I work to get voters registered and encourage left-leaning voters to vote. I am very selective in what I buy to avoid financially supporting companies whose policies I disagree with. I know my local organic farmers. I bank at a local credit union and complained when they sent an email to members about the proposed legislation to look at income over $10,000 to try to cut down on fraud. I'm up for suggestions on how to exert real pressure on companies.
Fantastic that you're taking all those steps and we'd be much better off if more people were that committed. As for pressure on companies, I think it needs to be ALL the things. When we learn, whether through reporting or Open Secrets or Sleeping Giants or just observation, which companies or industries are funding the politicians who espouse particular views, we need to strike out in every way possible:
- call and email them and demand they change their stance
- cancel orders
- ask workplaces and other businesses to end partnerships with them
- make sure you're not invested in them and tell them you're selling shares bc of their stance if you are
- go online and write articles/tweet/share everything we can to associate their brand with hurting the environment, supporting treasonous or anti-democratic policies, or saying one thing while doing another
- protest in front of or in their offices
- organize students to show up at their recruiting events on campuses across the country
- create paintings, comics, videos and demonstrations highlighting their hypocrisy or the harm they are doing
- call radio and tv shows and make sure the firm or individual's name becomes associated with their harmful efforts
- encourage everyone we know to do all of this and more
Dorothy and friends were basically exhausted and exploited workers until they got past the distractions and pulled the damn curtain back. Then they got what they wanted after like 5 minutes of pressure on the right target. I think we need to take 90% of our efforts focused on Governor X and Senator Y and direct it toward the real source of our problems.
Here's something to think about. Facebook's name change got more press coverage than anything happening in the world. That just about sums up what's wrong with the media today. That story would have been on page 21 of the B section in the past. Boy, I miss those days.
That’s what I wrote below regarding rt wing media. It seems like so many people don’t even know CNN is ultimately owned by AT&T…ultra conservatives. That’s why some people think the Dems have done nothing. It is not reported!
I have said this since 2004, we’ll never move forward until we address the takeover of media by right wingers.
I agree. We need counters to Sinclair Broadcasting too. I am not a millionaire entrepreneur who can just create a media empire. So what is the practical action that I can take on a daily basis? There are millions of democrats who would work diligently to counter misinformation and positively influence others, if they knew what to do. Is leaving FB like I did for years but returned in 2016 worth more than reporting spam and false information and commenting on the lies proposed there? I am in a state with two Democratic senators and a democratic rep that I will try to make sure is re-elected.
In order to prevent cheating, which the republicans are putting into place and have been, we have to vote so overwhelmingly that the cheating can’t easily override the vote. We need a 90%+ turnout at the polls, push for mail in ballots, drive Democrats to the polls if they can’t get there in their own.
Volunteer as a poll worker checking people in etc.
re-Tweet important news, volunteer at Democratic campaign offices.
When Occupy Wall Street was going on, there were ways for people to buy a pizza and have it sent (although this overwhelmed some pizza joints). I ordered mittens and blankets because the protesters were forced to endure cold weather. You don’t have to do all of that..just order one pair of mittens, for example. Many people were sending items and it adds up fast.
Get friends to listen to real news…Free Speech tv (also on youtube)..Amy Goodman, Thom Hartmann, Stephanie Miller are just a few good news sources, sign up for Judd Legum. There’s a small subscription fee but worth because if all the investigating he does. He tells us which companies are the biggest violators of supporting rt wing when they imply they don’t. Obviously, you found Robert Reich. I first got familiar with Robert’s trove of great information on a show called, Adam Ruins Everything…on cable network…see if you can look that up, even re-runs are good to watch. (Maybe Tru-tv)
Just talk to one or two friends…they’ll talk to one or two people and it can grow quite a bit.
There is a reason the Democrats scream about voting turn-out. I’m as disgusted as everyone else and tired of not seeing more action that we voted for and more accountability for Deadly Coup Inciter and Master Criminal, Trump et all. Overwhelming the vote will make it very difficult to finagle the numbers.
Thanks for the concrete suggestions. That helps me to focus. We are in the midst of a non-partisan redistricting process in MI, and some of us are closely watching the republicans' attempt to subvert the process and working to counter it.
Please watch/listen to The Thom Hartman Show...it has made my life better. I wish I could go live in his basement. He's 70 and he's been thru everything and lived where it was happening. Tell all of your friends and acquaintances who want THE TRUTH to watch (I watch on Dish on the Free Speech Channel noon to 3:00 pm EDT M-F) or go online. And donate monthly to Free Speech so they can stay on the air.
Hi Robert. Always a positive outlook and just what I needed.
Two things (might be more, but we will see)
I believe the Democrats need to take a look at messaging. I'm not sure who is in charge anymore, and it seems like the elected congress doesn't know either. There should be a strong message about the benefits of the BBB plan. Crickets don't work, and everyone I speak to seems to be confused about how it works, who gets taxed, how the upgrades will be implemented, what happens if the Dems lose power and the work is not executed, will the GQP continue to implement the necessary infrastructure upgrades and address climate change? We know what happens when the GQP are in power, don't we? Climate change is a hoax; infrastructure is just fine, working stiffs are getting too many benefits, blah, blah, blah.
Think about how this could have played out if the Dems had delivered a graphic message about the changes and what would happen if the infrastructure didn't get the needed upgrade. Americans have a hard time with words. Pictures work.
My huge concern is if we lose the majority in the midterms, not to mention the multitude of governors' races, the GQP distraction and deflection could end up in another conflict. And trillions will get funneled into another lengthy war! This happens every time, and then blame the Dems for not addressing the potential conflict during their tenure.
I know the media will ignore things that don't sell advertising or newspapers, but there must be a more significant push by the Dems to tout the successes and not the infighting happening right now. That distraction is pushing voters away, and they may not vote at all in the midterms. We CANNOT keep going on and on about Trump unless he goes to jail. The message has to change.
You are so correct. No lengthy details from the Dems. Short numbered points, pictures, graphs. Get these multi millionaires and billionaires who lean left to sponsor electric billboards, then get it on tv. Sponsor television ads! However, sometimes stations won’t run ads. That’s why I always circle back to media ownership in hands of the liars.
You are right, Dr. Reich. Change is slow and painful. Here in Colorado, we tried for years to pass a Police Accountability Law and this year we did it!!! If took the death of Elijah McClain to move the legislature to do it, but now we have a law that should serve as a model for the rest of the country. President Biden has learned to suffer disappointment and not give up. The rest of us must follow suit.
One of the better things about our outrageous past 5-6 years is that you end up talking to other people who are like minded and have great ideas, suggestions and unwillingness to allow this right wing cancer to take our country.
Several people mention messaging, but the reality is right wing corporate media doesn’t put out what the progressives say. They constantly focus on the acts of the deluded Trump Tribe.
We need to focus on how we get someone to get wide reaching media to present the left side of what we’re attempting to do and what we have accomplished.
Too many people are piling on Biden. The republicans never punish their leaders for not doing something. We’re going to have to fight them back in a similar manner. If we can get most of the package through, IF we win more seats, we can do the rest after that! Biden has THE most diverse admin in our history! He’s reversed numerous Trump exec orders, turned pharmacies into Covid vaccine sites, sent out $160mil stimulus payments (GQP didn’t support anything FOR people), signed $1.9T covid relief bill etc.
Start researching people… this won’t be in the news which is ALL owned by the ultra conservative super-wealthy!
Biden is one man. He can put out an agenda but has to have votes. We need to vett every Dem candidate. We need a system change to prevent Sinema etc from blocking what 81 million people voted for. But learn to give credit where it is due!
I totally agree. The GQP is very disciplined about what they say regarding other republicans. It is a tight ship even if it wants to sink the US. I certainly do not want to adopt their mindset or messaging, but we must be more vocal.
As you say, Biden can only do so much, and with the pushback from his party, it must be even more disheartening for him than for us.
I believe that there should be a ban on mergers and purchases between Media. There is no way to get honest reporting if a paper is owned by a far-right radio or television station. I thought there was a law against that. Did telecoms get omitted from that law?
You’ll have to double check me on this but I think it was the Clinton admin who did away with some of the media regulations. Reagan too was a poison-pill for media fairness. Republicans have mastered distracting everyone while putting their authoritarian style gov’t in place right under the Dems’ noses.
Too much compromising to the GQP has done so much damage to us all.
I do remember that. There used to be an FTC "law" preventing horizontal mergers and ownership of more than 35%. That changed and now we see these things run amok. The latest was the Sinclair group gobbling up all the small media outlets and pushing right-wing propaganda.
It is so worrisome that the GQP gets away with this without even a top storyline or front page banner.
While I understand all of this, our public education system is going to collapse if something is not done sooner rather than later. I appreciate historical trends, but in the meantime, you have "essential" workers, including teachers, simply being told to be resilient as we have to assume more and more risks with not real supports, attacked on all sides, sometimes physically. We focus on the students learning & mental health mental health (rightfully so), but any concerns for our mental health (the buried CDC study from May show significant increases in depression,anxiety & substance use higher than other groups) are brief mentions in editorials and articles.
Resilience only goes so far. Because with it, essential workers are merely expendable workers.
Robert you are a very intelligent and an empathetic person. Your comments today are easily accepted as we all clamor for hope. I am so much in agreement with so many thoughtful comments in this group. My frustration is what can we do that has real impact on protecting what we care about so dearly. Vote of course. Send donations to support our causes of course. Educate ourselves about what is really happening in our country politics, society, religions, and economics of course. Participate in group protests organized in our communities of course. Engage with Indivisible, Move on, send letters of course. These and other actions can help us feel we are contributing to the cause of protecting our democracy which we value greatly. However it does not seem enough to fight the opposition which clearly wants to undermine our democracy, has no empathy for the majority of our citizens, and wants to take us into an autocratic government. I feel like our weapons are air guns vs our competition’s cannons. They have very well executed the science of gerrymandering, they have stacked the courts, they have reduced taxes on the wealthy class so they can gain more power, they have given free license to news outlets like Fox to disseminate lies under the protection of free press, they have given corporations the power of citizenry, they are suppressing access to voting, their powerful hedge funds are buying up our local newspapers a foundation of democracy and destroying them, they have supported the coal and gas industry with no consideration of our environment, they have distorted the power of religion to wreak havoc on the minds of so many eager to follow. Yes we have the power to vote in a functional democracy that is becoming less functional. Majority does not rule in America. We have airguns they have powerful cannons. Can someone tell us how to fight back with equal or stronger ballistics. Staying vigilant, resilient, and hopeful somehow just does not seem enough.
An excellent column, as always, but for a moment let's take a more expansive look.
First of all, no one - not Biden, not the Progressives of whom I am one, and certainly not the media - knew the full extent of the damage caused by Trump and his lackeys or the numerous ways in which he manipulated the Constitution and long-standing but unwritten codes of acceptable conduct in government.
I don't blame the Founders for anything but lack of imagination. The document they produced after some years of difficult negotiations is and was the wonder of the world, but it is replete with generalities and the absence of specific penalties for violation of its tenets, thus allowing a wannabe dictator like Trump to get away with so many egregious violations of the spirit of the document.
As a result, the damage to our national and local governments, our environment, economy, systems of laws and general wellbeing was and is vast. Many of us wondered if any new President, so inclined, would be able to fix all the problems created by Trump and his crooked finaglers in just one four-year Presidential term.
Biden had some idea what he was getting into, but he's saddled with the filibuster, a 48-50 split in the Senate (I leave out our two egregious conservative Democrats) and a Senate minority leader who has sworn to block every positive action by the President and liberal Democrats working for the wellbeing of all Americans.
Secondly, we are in a war on terrorism, not the radical Muslim kind but the home-grown American "militia" kind, headed by a disaffected and mentally unstable (too kind a description, I know) former President who will stop at nothing to regain power and the status of the Presidency.
Thirdly, the political party ostensibly in power lacks the feral instincts of the Republican fascists, allied with the big corporations and their monetary resources, and has little understanding of how to manage and direct public opinion.
In other words, Biden and the rest of us are in a pickle larger than most Presidents and well-meaning Americans have often faced. Or perhaps that's incorrect: FDR faced a drought and economic depression that required heroic actions to overcome, as well as the rising tide of Fascism not only in Europe but in our own country as well. Lincoln faced the dissolution of the Union and through courage and tenacity saw the Union reunited, only to have his policies turned on their head after his assassination. And others of foresight and courage have faced down major and minor crises during their terms, but probably none faced the panoply of awfulness that Biden finds in front of him.
If Biden succeeds in healing the damage of the last four years and minimizing the threat of armed rebellion and a Trumpist coup d'erat, he may yet bring us out of this mess. It will not be easy. He will face many crises not of his making, make many mistakes in healing our nation, yet I trust him and feel he's the right person for the times. I sincerely hope that I'm right.
I see what you’re saying, Dr. Reich. I was on an academic path of a high achiever until it was dashed away with the Great Recession. I’ve struggled with the failure of not finishing my PhD in Experimental Psychology for the past 14 years, but through that struggle, I still achieved. I have a wonderful family that I doubt I would have had if I had continued in academia.
This wacked-out capitalist society would deem me a failure for having crushing student debt and a job that barely cracks $30K/year and doesn’t make use of my expensive grad school training, but I found my success within, far away from Wall Street, Washington DC, etc..
This is a lovely message, and I agree with 99% of it. I agree wholeheartedly that we all must continue the push towards justice and prosperity for all; we must continue to empathize with others and extend a helping hand to lift them up as we are able. I do not think an individual can be self aware and not aspire to these behaviors.
The 1% i disagree with is the intimation that democracy isn't actually failing. Im watching Trump loyalists getting installed in positions that could overturn election results time and again- and the DOJ/Congress show no appetite to protect us from this. Short of a miracle, American democracy will fail in 2024.
I agree. This is the time for us to make sure we have the numbers to elect local reps in our cities, counties as well as at state level. These elected leaders came from somewhere ....
I appreciate you, Robert, for doing your part to help drown out the noise of mainstream media. I don’t comment often, but I read your newsletter daily and am challenged to think outside the box and analyze from different angles every day. Not just by your words, but by the words of the other commenters. Thank you, all.
Can you imagine a positive message like this appearing on any cable news show or internet news site? For them, its always "Democrat good, Republican bad", or "Republican good, Democrat bad" controversies. They may be interesting in the short run, but in the long run they become totally unimportant.
Wise and comforting words, as well as encouraging. The illusion that the American people are powerless serves the exploiters as well as providing scapegoats to misdirect their outrage. That such a relatively small portion of eligible voters do vote regularly is a measure of the success of the disempowerment campaign. The relevant rallying cry should be: "The people united can never be defeated!" Use your vote before you lose it!
It is indeed a campaign of disempowerment. The moneyed interests (along with the most vicious of the Trumpers) want the rest of us to feel disempowered and give up. That's the easiest strategy for them to win.
So, how do we realign the politics of this group of people with what is needed for their own best interests? Clearly, Hilary Clinton's "basketful of deplorables" remark alienated many of the folks needed to turn things around. The Dems and Progressives have to break through the wall and give them the tools they need to understand the system they're in, and align it with their own true interests. Turning down the rhetorical heat would help, but can it succeed if only done on one side? Seems like only losing power will pry the Republicans loose from their current fealty to big business and militancy.
Several of you tell me you've found these words helpful today. I'm glad. If you're so moved, please share.
Definitely helpful and I so appreciate it. But, I am still at a point of despair. Not because of the Biden bills not passing, but because I believe that if we don't protect our elections federally, this country will never be the same starting next year after the 2022 elections. I have always been an optimist my entire life, but at the same time, a realist. - This is morbid and I apologize, but I have had a few friends and my father get cancer that evolved to a point that it was clearly unsurvivable. Not one person accepted the tragic truth and was convinced that they were going to beat it... sadly, they didn't. I tried to talk to a few friends who had not done any kind of financial preparation in case the worst happened, but they wouldn't hear it, and one got really angry at me when I suggested life insurance and a trust for her daughter. - My point is, I feel like this country is in stage 4 cancer and instead of seeking treatment (which my friends did) everyone is saying that I am overreacting, that we're not headed towards authoritarianism, that America will always be a liberal democracy. Again, if the Freedom to Vote Act doesn't pass, and I don't think it will, I think we are going to lose our democracy. - Is it possible to be optimistic IF this is the truth? Do we stay in the US and try and fight this or should I try and get out now? I'm a gay woman in Texas and while I'm not worried about my safety, I don't want my tax dollars going towards an authoritarian country. So, while I so appreciate the pep talk about managing expectations, I don't know how to be optimistic about the future of this country... I would LOVE to know your thoughts on this. IF Trump is re-elected (or someone like him) will you stay in the US? What will you do? I'm really curious. I keep asking people this question and I feel like I'm talking to my dying friends who wouldn't face a tragic truth... help!!!
That’s a perfect analogy! We are all watching the republican party bulldoze our future while there appears to be very little action to do something for the 81mil of us who voted for a specific change. I want to see Democrats bulldoze where it is necessary. As far as I know Biden can expand the Supreme Court. Do it! Police don’t want to wear masks? Fire them and never allow them to serve the public. I don’t care if we’re short of police staff. Better that than Fascist police…that’s dangerous!
We do have the numbers to blow the republicans out of the water. We need every voter, not 60%, not 70%…85-90%! The republicans can’t cheat if it’s not close by a landslide. There are far more Democrats.
I so agree with you.
You're not alone and if it weren't for having two sons here and about to be a grandpa for the first time (and scared for what the future will bring for my grandson) I would be on my way to Canada as well. Not to digress, but watching THE HANDMAID'S TALE is supposed to be an escape from reality, yet it becomes scarier and scarier as fiction seems to begin to mirror reality!!
I read the book back in the '80's and I prayed that it would never become a movie or TV show. Gives the misogynist ideas...and voila.
So much of what you say hits home for me. It becomes increasingly difficult to be hopeful.
Texas. Such a hard place for a gay woman to be optimistic. I would say move to Vermont, but we need you where you are.
We have no reason to be optimistic, but we needn't despair, either. We will, as almost every generation has, have to stand up and fight for what is ours. Look to history, and look at other nations. Tyrants are always defeated in the end, and they have only a foothold here. You are not alone. If we stand together, if we stand strongly, and if we stand with the weight of all the good of which our species is capable, we will stand triumphant.
'Standing' is motionless...we can't fight the fascism of Gov't hand-in-hand w/ Corporations. The Corporations own the Politicians. PERIOD. (Except for AOC and her group). I'm thinking it might be better to target the Corporations instead of the Gov't. Workers have been striking and they don't even have a Union...people are sick of being treated like trash by their employers.
I want to run away but sadly I am not wealthy and am too old. We are headed toward an authoritarian regime. It seems too late to stop it. If I was young, I’d leave. New Zealand, Iceland, Ireland…Canada. Also, I think I really hate people.
Same for me
So when does the time come to take the necessary steps in order to make progress go quicker?? Like eliminating filibusters, ie. And by the time any REAL change comes, like to alternative energy, will the damage already have been done and be irreversible!! Politics will always be politics and has been during my lifetime (I'm 60 yrs old) but when politics continues to stall changes needed for the survival of our planet, then the government is no longer doing what is their primary responsibility - which is taking care of their people. Government hides behind that curtain when it's convenient for them but when it comes to real change for the betterment of society (cleaner environment, gun control) it shrivels up!!
But government shouldn’t be “them.” It’s us. And we must keep fighting to make it so.
People keep saying we must "fight"..
Without any details of what we can do that's effective. Phone banks are not effective (people hate political calls), not sure how effective canvassing is, you can't talk to a trumpy and think you're going to change their mind. I wish there was a super effective democratic messaging machine we could support but messaging is all over the place, not tight and simple and streamlined and inserted cleverly like the fascist messaging appears to be. We need to be much more creative about messaging. We need to know what EFFECTIVE actions are out there that actually work that we can support. Rallies are dangerous these days and not sure they go beyond preaching to the converted. What can the average person do who lives in a democratic state and whose friends are all Democrats do?
After reading through all of these replies to you, I am wondering if you can link what I was trying to tell you in my message about the Medicare For All issue. All of these people show a lack of trust in our past, present and future government. We better get something REALLY BIG in place in order to get the trust in our government to what it once was.
I'm 68 and I remember back to Watergate when Nixon resigned, I was ecstatic! We had kicked him out, I wished he had been sentenced to jail. We got Nixon to add the EPA to his administration. We had all the solutions to contain the pollution and bring the environment back. And then came Raygun and it all ended. I remember the Eve of 1979 and at midnight, I felt the Earth shift into another paradigm and I had chills up and down my spine. It was the Beginning of the End. I'm glad I'm old.
Elsewhere, I’ve prevailed upon all of us to remain hopeful if for no other reason then to stay in the fight. For me, that hope was nurtured this past Thursday when the Progressive House caucus, as pledged, refused to vote on the bipartisan physical infrastructure bill until 50 Senators publicly committed their support to the admittedly whittled down “Build Back Better” Social and Climate Action bill. Personally, I am beholden to these Congressional lawmakers who, despite resistance from leadership, have held the line against pressure to delink these bills, a decoupling that would risk leaving out young people, black and brown people, indigenous people, immigrants, women, and single moms, let alone downplaying the severity of environmental threats. As a final point, I pray we never forget that the bipartisan physical infrastructure bill was negotiated by an all-white conservative group of legislators and was devised largely to help one set of people while leaving out so many others who are integral to that human infrastructure reconciliation piece.
Jackie Spiers (?) Rep. of CA was the only one to mention that of all the jobs supposedly created by the Infrastructure Bill, 91% are for men. So don't tell me there isn't a War Against Women. We're living in the book, 1984...a nightmare. Go watch 'Soylent Green' and 'Network' again...amazing what the writers saw in the future.
enough, May I presume you are aware you just replied to a comment I had posted in late October praising the House Progressive Caucus, which at that point had refused to vote on the narrow Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill until 50 Senators publicly committed their support to the broader “Build Back Better” social and climate action piece of the Biden agenda. Do you have a problem with that?
No, I was in agreement w/ the Progressive Dem Caucus. Sorry I didn't look at the date you posted. This is why I rarely respond or interact online. I seem to always do something wrong. Won't respond further.
Robert Reich Im impressed with your ability to stay on point and express it understandably. Bravo!
I have been feeling just like that, at some point while reading I even felt you might have been spying on me.
Yes, we must be resilient, in voting those 147 insurrectionist out of congress, end the filibuster, gain the next elections, there are always elections, expand the SCOTUS, and pass the most urgent legislation, all this under the opposition fire.
The strategy appears to have its foundations in the results of the findings of the 1/6 committee, and all the underlying issues of the previous administration, Trump wrongdoings, Bannon, Bill Bar, and all those that collaborated in his delusional leadership, that brought harm all over, at home and abroad.
Discontentment is the first step to progress, but we can not normalize that feeling, not for too long.
There is always a second opportunity, but it is never good keep losing one opportunity for another.
And how can all those good willed strategies work, when our own party is divided and can't get full cooperation among themselves??!!
i did, thank you, i sit outside in busy intersections with a book and a banjo and a yard sign that says 'united we stand', saving my breath and trying to breech the walls
I am older and when I rarely go out, I know that I am being ignored and dismissed. During this pandemic it is difficult to even feel that my life is still valuable.
Oh Ann - your life is def valuable!! I’ve found that doing phone banking for Indivisible and Common Cause and RepresentUs through the app Mobilize helps me feel like I’m doing something to help. Where are you located? If you need a friend, I’m gina@blueworldav.com Virtual Hug!
I'm soon to be 69 and I live in Ohio w/ lots of willfully ignorant people. I try not to go out unless I need milk. I like wearing a mask (and sunglasses) so I can mumble to myself when I encounter some jerk. I can smell the hatred. Ann, your life is more worthy than the 'billies that live around me w/ all of their guns. I can smell their hatred. Please take care.
Well said and so true!
Taking the long-view and remembering the long arcs of social progress is certainly important, especially to fight the despair that comes from too much day-to-day media nonsense. Still, I can't help but wonder if our anger over the "same old delays and excuses" should push us to adjust our strategies. We are now at the point where our disagreements are not about whether policies should be based on Laffer Curve or trickle down fantasies, but about the literal survival of the species. I think we must be careful at how much we use past precedents of long battles, lest we remain too stuck on infective methods of activism that will not allow us to course correct in time.
For example, I struggle to understand why we spend so much time pressuring politicians when history seems to have made it clear that the more appropriate and impactful efforts would be to pressure the companies funding them and their "ideas." Replace Manchin or Sinema with someone else, and it's more than likely they will take the same supposed stances on issues that their donors demand. In short Robert, I'm with you, but perhaps our anger over inertia and the same old obstacles should force us to reckon with the true forces behind the lack of progress and whether we are responding accordingly.
Yes, always follow the money. We must pressure companies, especially big corporations. (My most recent book used Jamie Dimon and his JPMorgan Chase as a foil for exposing the vicious cycle we're now in -- giant corporations chasing ever higher profits through manipulating politics and public opinion.)
Amen. And that is our challenge...shining a light on the fact that Dimon and his ilk have us stuck on path where they will do anything to be profitable right up to the point where we are nothing at all. A fine epitaph...Humans: We're gone now, but our final quarter results were great!
Humans, we're gone now and we took everything else with us...
Ian—I easily could imagine your “epitaph” as a cartoon caption.
LOL! Love your epitaph!!
I think you may be right about pressuring the companies to make changes. Wasn't there an energy company whose shareholders recently voted in an unexpected way? This was a coordinated effort to get carbon emissions reduced? I've been impressed by
Sleeping Giants, which is a social media activism organization aiming to pressure companies into removing advertisements from Alt-right news outlets. I've often wished for a clearinghouse of information about organizations that are working toward social progress, so that I could figure out how to put my limited time and financial resources to best use.
Yes, a lot of positive steps recently in terms of shareholder revolts and campaigns that pressured companies to stop supporting anti-voter/anti-LGBTQ policies. But I feel that we see these things work, but then too often return to our fury over the Senator who said this or the hypocritical Congresswoman who changed her stance. So therein lies the problem: we need to keep our eye on the ball, our energy and attention on the firms and lobbyists behind our challenges. We need to threaten the brands and the profitability of companies that truly drive the supposed "positions" our elected officials take. And we won't be able to stick with this unless we learn to avoid media outlets that have a vested interest in turning our attention to the daily drama of those officials, often causing us to fall back on inadequate methods of influence based on fantasies that we'll force piñata puppet politicians to take stances they are specifically paid to not take.
Maybe getting myself banned from YouTube for trying to counter false narratives was a good thing then if it channels my energy into other better activities. But what are these activities? I work to get voters registered and encourage left-leaning voters to vote. I am very selective in what I buy to avoid financially supporting companies whose policies I disagree with. I know my local organic farmers. I bank at a local credit union and complained when they sent an email to members about the proposed legislation to look at income over $10,000 to try to cut down on fraud. I'm up for suggestions on how to exert real pressure on companies.
Fantastic that you're taking all those steps and we'd be much better off if more people were that committed. As for pressure on companies, I think it needs to be ALL the things. When we learn, whether through reporting or Open Secrets or Sleeping Giants or just observation, which companies or industries are funding the politicians who espouse particular views, we need to strike out in every way possible:
- call and email them and demand they change their stance
- cancel orders
- ask workplaces and other businesses to end partnerships with them
- make sure you're not invested in them and tell them you're selling shares bc of their stance if you are
- go online and write articles/tweet/share everything we can to associate their brand with hurting the environment, supporting treasonous or anti-democratic policies, or saying one thing while doing another
- protest in front of or in their offices
- organize students to show up at their recruiting events on campuses across the country
- create paintings, comics, videos and demonstrations highlighting their hypocrisy or the harm they are doing
- call radio and tv shows and make sure the firm or individual's name becomes associated with their harmful efforts
- encourage everyone we know to do all of this and more
Dorothy and friends were basically exhausted and exploited workers until they got past the distractions and pulled the damn curtain back. Then they got what they wanted after like 5 minutes of pressure on the right target. I think we need to take 90% of our efforts focused on Governor X and Senator Y and direct it toward the real source of our problems.
Here's something to think about. Facebook's name change got more press coverage than anything happening in the world. That just about sums up what's wrong with the media today. That story would have been on page 21 of the B section in the past. Boy, I miss those days.
That’s what I wrote below regarding rt wing media. It seems like so many people don’t even know CNN is ultimately owned by AT&T…ultra conservatives. That’s why some people think the Dems have done nothing. It is not reported!
I have said this since 2004, we’ll never move forward until we address the takeover of media by right wingers.
I agree. We need counters to Sinclair Broadcasting too. I am not a millionaire entrepreneur who can just create a media empire. So what is the practical action that I can take on a daily basis? There are millions of democrats who would work diligently to counter misinformation and positively influence others, if they knew what to do. Is leaving FB like I did for years but returned in 2016 worth more than reporting spam and false information and commenting on the lies proposed there? I am in a state with two Democratic senators and a democratic rep that I will try to make sure is re-elected.
In order to prevent cheating, which the republicans are putting into place and have been, we have to vote so overwhelmingly that the cheating can’t easily override the vote. We need a 90%+ turnout at the polls, push for mail in ballots, drive Democrats to the polls if they can’t get there in their own.
Volunteer as a poll worker checking people in etc.
re-Tweet important news, volunteer at Democratic campaign offices.
When Occupy Wall Street was going on, there were ways for people to buy a pizza and have it sent (although this overwhelmed some pizza joints). I ordered mittens and blankets because the protesters were forced to endure cold weather. You don’t have to do all of that..just order one pair of mittens, for example. Many people were sending items and it adds up fast.
Get friends to listen to real news…Free Speech tv (also on youtube)..Amy Goodman, Thom Hartmann, Stephanie Miller are just a few good news sources, sign up for Judd Legum. There’s a small subscription fee but worth because if all the investigating he does. He tells us which companies are the biggest violators of supporting rt wing when they imply they don’t. Obviously, you found Robert Reich. I first got familiar with Robert’s trove of great information on a show called, Adam Ruins Everything…on cable network…see if you can look that up, even re-runs are good to watch. (Maybe Tru-tv)
Just talk to one or two friends…they’ll talk to one or two people and it can grow quite a bit.
There is a reason the Democrats scream about voting turn-out. I’m as disgusted as everyone else and tired of not seeing more action that we voted for and more accountability for Deadly Coup Inciter and Master Criminal, Trump et all. Overwhelming the vote will make it very difficult to finagle the numbers.
Thanks for the concrete suggestions. That helps me to focus. We are in the midst of a non-partisan redistricting process in MI, and some of us are closely watching the republicans' attempt to subvert the process and working to counter it.
It’s really chilling how they subvert democracy right out in the open. No attempt to hide it.
Do you read Heather Cox Richardson? She's here on Substack and amazing. Thanks so much for the tips.
She is required reading daily...... one of the best!
I hadn’t heard of her but I will look her up. Thanks.
Please listen/watch The Thom Hartman Show. You'll feel so much better.
Please watch/listen to The Thom Hartman Show...it has made my life better. I wish I could go live in his basement. He's 70 and he's been thru everything and lived where it was happening. Tell all of your friends and acquaintances who want THE TRUTH to watch (I watch on Dish on the Free Speech Channel noon to 3:00 pm EDT M-F) or go online. And donate monthly to Free Speech so they can stay on the air.
Hi Robert. Always a positive outlook and just what I needed.
Two things (might be more, but we will see)
I believe the Democrats need to take a look at messaging. I'm not sure who is in charge anymore, and it seems like the elected congress doesn't know either. There should be a strong message about the benefits of the BBB plan. Crickets don't work, and everyone I speak to seems to be confused about how it works, who gets taxed, how the upgrades will be implemented, what happens if the Dems lose power and the work is not executed, will the GQP continue to implement the necessary infrastructure upgrades and address climate change? We know what happens when the GQP are in power, don't we? Climate change is a hoax; infrastructure is just fine, working stiffs are getting too many benefits, blah, blah, blah.
Think about how this could have played out if the Dems had delivered a graphic message about the changes and what would happen if the infrastructure didn't get the needed upgrade. Americans have a hard time with words. Pictures work.
My huge concern is if we lose the majority in the midterms, not to mention the multitude of governors' races, the GQP distraction and deflection could end up in another conflict. And trillions will get funneled into another lengthy war! This happens every time, and then blame the Dems for not addressing the potential conflict during their tenure.
I know the media will ignore things that don't sell advertising or newspapers, but there must be a more significant push by the Dems to tout the successes and not the infighting happening right now. That distraction is pushing voters away, and they may not vote at all in the midterms. We CANNOT keep going on and on about Trump unless he goes to jail. The message has to change.
Was that two?
You are so correct. No lengthy details from the Dems. Short numbered points, pictures, graphs. Get these multi millionaires and billionaires who lean left to sponsor electric billboards, then get it on tv. Sponsor television ads! However, sometimes stations won’t run ads. That’s why I always circle back to media ownership in hands of the liars.
Messaging must be improved and creatively channeled.
You are right, Dr. Reich. Change is slow and painful. Here in Colorado, we tried for years to pass a Police Accountability Law and this year we did it!!! If took the death of Elijah McClain to move the legislature to do it, but now we have a law that should serve as a model for the rest of the country. President Biden has learned to suffer disappointment and not give up. The rest of us must follow suit.
One of the better things about our outrageous past 5-6 years is that you end up talking to other people who are like minded and have great ideas, suggestions and unwillingness to allow this right wing cancer to take our country.
Several people mention messaging, but the reality is right wing corporate media doesn’t put out what the progressives say. They constantly focus on the acts of the deluded Trump Tribe.
We need to focus on how we get someone to get wide reaching media to present the left side of what we’re attempting to do and what we have accomplished.
Too many people are piling on Biden. The republicans never punish their leaders for not doing something. We’re going to have to fight them back in a similar manner. If we can get most of the package through, IF we win more seats, we can do the rest after that! Biden has THE most diverse admin in our history! He’s reversed numerous Trump exec orders, turned pharmacies into Covid vaccine sites, sent out $160mil stimulus payments (GQP didn’t support anything FOR people), signed $1.9T covid relief bill etc.
Start researching people… this won’t be in the news which is ALL owned by the ultra conservative super-wealthy!
Biden is one man. He can put out an agenda but has to have votes. We need to vett every Dem candidate. We need a system change to prevent Sinema etc from blocking what 81 million people voted for. But learn to give credit where it is due!
I totally agree. The GQP is very disciplined about what they say regarding other republicans. It is a tight ship even if it wants to sink the US. I certainly do not want to adopt their mindset or messaging, but we must be more vocal.
As you say, Biden can only do so much, and with the pushback from his party, it must be even more disheartening for him than for us.
I believe that there should be a ban on mergers and purchases between Media. There is no way to get honest reporting if a paper is owned by a far-right radio or television station. I thought there was a law against that. Did telecoms get omitted from that law?
You’ll have to double check me on this but I think it was the Clinton admin who did away with some of the media regulations. Reagan too was a poison-pill for media fairness. Republicans have mastered distracting everyone while putting their authoritarian style gov’t in place right under the Dems’ noses.
Too much compromising to the GQP has done so much damage to us all.
I do remember that. There used to be an FTC "law" preventing horizontal mergers and ownership of more than 35%. That changed and now we see these things run amok. The latest was the Sinclair group gobbling up all the small media outlets and pushing right-wing propaganda.
It is so worrisome that the GQP gets away with this without even a top storyline or front page banner.
We must do better.
Thank you for this reminder! My day is brightened, and I will look for opportunities that support a more optimistic stance.
While I understand all of this, our public education system is going to collapse if something is not done sooner rather than later. I appreciate historical trends, but in the meantime, you have "essential" workers, including teachers, simply being told to be resilient as we have to assume more and more risks with not real supports, attacked on all sides, sometimes physically. We focus on the students learning & mental health mental health (rightfully so), but any concerns for our mental health (the buried CDC study from May show significant increases in depression,anxiety & substance use higher than other groups) are brief mentions in editorials and articles.
Resilience only goes so far. Because with it, essential workers are merely expendable workers.
Robert you are a very intelligent and an empathetic person. Your comments today are easily accepted as we all clamor for hope. I am so much in agreement with so many thoughtful comments in this group. My frustration is what can we do that has real impact on protecting what we care about so dearly. Vote of course. Send donations to support our causes of course. Educate ourselves about what is really happening in our country politics, society, religions, and economics of course. Participate in group protests organized in our communities of course. Engage with Indivisible, Move on, send letters of course. These and other actions can help us feel we are contributing to the cause of protecting our democracy which we value greatly. However it does not seem enough to fight the opposition which clearly wants to undermine our democracy, has no empathy for the majority of our citizens, and wants to take us into an autocratic government. I feel like our weapons are air guns vs our competition’s cannons. They have very well executed the science of gerrymandering, they have stacked the courts, they have reduced taxes on the wealthy class so they can gain more power, they have given free license to news outlets like Fox to disseminate lies under the protection of free press, they have given corporations the power of citizenry, they are suppressing access to voting, their powerful hedge funds are buying up our local newspapers a foundation of democracy and destroying them, they have supported the coal and gas industry with no consideration of our environment, they have distorted the power of religion to wreak havoc on the minds of so many eager to follow. Yes we have the power to vote in a functional democracy that is becoming less functional. Majority does not rule in America. We have airguns they have powerful cannons. Can someone tell us how to fight back with equal or stronger ballistics. Staying vigilant, resilient, and hopeful somehow just does not seem enough.
An excellent column, as always, but for a moment let's take a more expansive look.
First of all, no one - not Biden, not the Progressives of whom I am one, and certainly not the media - knew the full extent of the damage caused by Trump and his lackeys or the numerous ways in which he manipulated the Constitution and long-standing but unwritten codes of acceptable conduct in government.
I don't blame the Founders for anything but lack of imagination. The document they produced after some years of difficult negotiations is and was the wonder of the world, but it is replete with generalities and the absence of specific penalties for violation of its tenets, thus allowing a wannabe dictator like Trump to get away with so many egregious violations of the spirit of the document.
As a result, the damage to our national and local governments, our environment, economy, systems of laws and general wellbeing was and is vast. Many of us wondered if any new President, so inclined, would be able to fix all the problems created by Trump and his crooked finaglers in just one four-year Presidential term.
Biden had some idea what he was getting into, but he's saddled with the filibuster, a 48-50 split in the Senate (I leave out our two egregious conservative Democrats) and a Senate minority leader who has sworn to block every positive action by the President and liberal Democrats working for the wellbeing of all Americans.
Secondly, we are in a war on terrorism, not the radical Muslim kind but the home-grown American "militia" kind, headed by a disaffected and mentally unstable (too kind a description, I know) former President who will stop at nothing to regain power and the status of the Presidency.
Thirdly, the political party ostensibly in power lacks the feral instincts of the Republican fascists, allied with the big corporations and their monetary resources, and has little understanding of how to manage and direct public opinion.
In other words, Biden and the rest of us are in a pickle larger than most Presidents and well-meaning Americans have often faced. Or perhaps that's incorrect: FDR faced a drought and economic depression that required heroic actions to overcome, as well as the rising tide of Fascism not only in Europe but in our own country as well. Lincoln faced the dissolution of the Union and through courage and tenacity saw the Union reunited, only to have his policies turned on their head after his assassination. And others of foresight and courage have faced down major and minor crises during their terms, but probably none faced the panoply of awfulness that Biden finds in front of him.
If Biden succeeds in healing the damage of the last four years and minimizing the threat of armed rebellion and a Trumpist coup d'erat, he may yet bring us out of this mess. It will not be easy. He will face many crises not of his making, make many mistakes in healing our nation, yet I trust him and feel he's the right person for the times. I sincerely hope that I'm right.
I see what you’re saying, Dr. Reich. I was on an academic path of a high achiever until it was dashed away with the Great Recession. I’ve struggled with the failure of not finishing my PhD in Experimental Psychology for the past 14 years, but through that struggle, I still achieved. I have a wonderful family that I doubt I would have had if I had continued in academia.
This wacked-out capitalist society would deem me a failure for having crushing student debt and a job that barely cracks $30K/year and doesn’t make use of my expensive grad school training, but I found my success within, far away from Wall Street, Washington DC, etc..
You found what matters. Stay with it!
This is a lovely message, and I agree with 99% of it. I agree wholeheartedly that we all must continue the push towards justice and prosperity for all; we must continue to empathize with others and extend a helping hand to lift them up as we are able. I do not think an individual can be self aware and not aspire to these behaviors.
The 1% i disagree with is the intimation that democracy isn't actually failing. Im watching Trump loyalists getting installed in positions that could overturn election results time and again- and the DOJ/Congress show no appetite to protect us from this. Short of a miracle, American democracy will fail in 2024.
I agree. This is the time for us to make sure we have the numbers to elect local reps in our cities, counties as well as at state level. These elected leaders came from somewhere ....
I appreciate you, Robert, for doing your part to help drown out the noise of mainstream media. I don’t comment often, but I read your newsletter daily and am challenged to think outside the box and analyze from different angles every day. Not just by your words, but by the words of the other commenters. Thank you, all.
Thank-you, Dr. Reich, I needed that! We ALL needed to hear your positive words of encouragement because it is so easy to fall into despair right now.
Can you imagine a positive message like this appearing on any cable news show or internet news site? For them, its always "Democrat good, Republican bad", or "Republican good, Democrat bad" controversies. They may be interesting in the short run, but in the long run they become totally unimportant.
Wise and comforting words, as well as encouraging. The illusion that the American people are powerless serves the exploiters as well as providing scapegoats to misdirect their outrage. That such a relatively small portion of eligible voters do vote regularly is a measure of the success of the disempowerment campaign. The relevant rallying cry should be: "The people united can never be defeated!" Use your vote before you lose it!
It is indeed a campaign of disempowerment. The moneyed interests (along with the most vicious of the Trumpers) want the rest of us to feel disempowered and give up. That's the easiest strategy for them to win.
So, how do we realign the politics of this group of people with what is needed for their own best interests? Clearly, Hilary Clinton's "basketful of deplorables" remark alienated many of the folks needed to turn things around. The Dems and Progressives have to break through the wall and give them the tools they need to understand the system they're in, and align it with their own true interests. Turning down the rhetorical heat would help, but can it succeed if only done on one side? Seems like only losing power will pry the Republicans loose from their current fealty to big business and militancy.