Has it been six months already? I hadn’t intended to write every day but with so much going on in the world, I had no choice. One of my hopes when I began this newsletter six months ago was that you’d find sustenance here, particularly during these difficult times. The past six months
Why am I here? I've lived in the UK for 24 years now, but I am more politically active than I ever have been in my life. For two simple reasons: I CAN be active, as my children are grown and I do not have to work, and I am inspired to be active, because I must in order to sleep at all at night! I spend much of my time getting out the vote of overseas Americans. There are millions of us but just a fraction of us vote. Yet when we do, we make a difference; we were the margin of victory for President Biden in Arizona and Georgia in 2020, for example, and we could do even more if we ALL voted. I work with a great group of fellow volunteers around the world and we phone bank, write postcards, hold voter registration drives, send out our own on 'Voting Champion' newsletter and more. I grew up when the middle class, civil rights, women's rights and the environmental movement all seemed to be steadily expanding--and then Reagan. It is heartbreaking to think about the losses on all fronts since then. Sometimes it seems hopeless. So I seek inspiration and wisdom wherever I can find it--including in your newsletter. Thank you.
Thank you indeed, Laura. I see some of my own life in yours as, for many years, I routinely served as a poll worker: the person signing voters in on election day and handing out ballots. For me and for many others, the past forty years have been a slow and steady nightmare, one that accelerated alarmingly with the election and administration of the 45th president. As I suggested in my response, we have reached a kind of pivotal moment, a time when we reclaim our legitimate heritage as truth and freedom seeking individuals or hide away and claim "we don't want to hear about it." It is our duty as democrats (small d) to hear about it and that is true whether the news concerns black, brown, and immigrant citizens, those attending events for women's rights and for gun control, or innocent people trying to keep freedom alive in places like Ukraine (and Russia). We need to reject fear-mongering individuals who would paralyze us with our own fear and share what we know and have experienced in life. You have done that from your home in the UK and it is my hope that you will continue to do so and also give a shot in the arm to Brits who can share their perspectives on the present crisis and future crises that challenge freedom.
Thank you and please let anyone you know who is or will be overseas during the elections to go to votefromabroad.org today. The site makes it so easy and has all the answers to FAQs.
It's not work and I don't get paid, at least not in monetary terms. It's just my duty to do right by my country and everyone (I mean everyone) who lives here. I am not president and will never be but in the series on Ukrainian tv, 'The Servant of the People,' the president of the country (who, as fates have it is the current president of the country, Zelenskyy) states that he wants to be able to look into the eyes of his children and know he's done his best. (That was in the series take on the Inaugural Address); he had planned to use LIncoln's Inaugural for his remarks but, instead spoke ad lib and from the heart. I wondered as I watched--and I wonder now--how many of us can look into the eyes of our children or our nation's childhood and know we've done our best? Any politicians? Our former president? Our current president? It may be fiction (or not, seeing as how things went for Zelenskyy) but it is what we should be thinking of, not how we can secure more tax-breaks for the already wealthy or deceive and betray our alliances at home and abroad, or how we can ignore the climate crisis so we can keep our profits up, or how we can cut off the children, seniors, or disabled who depend on us all to live meaningful lives (I fit in the senior group!), or how we can denigrate and demean our candidate for a vacancy on the Supreme Court and others of a different race, background, faith. Not how we can use dishonest media people to represent our views and curry favor with those with no proper education and critical thinking skills. It's not really the Ukrainians who are at the bottom of the barrel as, for the most part, they know who they are. We are the bottom dwellers because we have either forgotten who we really are or (worse) we no longer care.
Laura, I fully understand that you are not being paid and you are “simply” doing what your heart is calling you to do, which as I see it, happens to be noble work. I completely get that. And that is what I am attempting to say that I appreciate. That’s all.
Mitzi, I did take your response as you meant it. I think because I know that some of our best and most meaningful "work" is never done for money. And work covers a lot of territory: from my writing campaigns and efforts to reach out to others to my musical activities and study with my teacher. Work can be very rewarding and even fun...sometimes I just keep going to see where it will lead, who I can touch or convince to take another look and seek the truth. We can all have an impact on others and our times but, often, the impact is only felt years later and not in the way we originally intended. That's okay if we can find someone else and enable them to seek the truth and speak from their own knowledge and experience and what they know in their gut to be true. For the past six or seven years, we have heard a lot of talk purporting to be the truth; some of us have taken the talk for the truth without examining and questioning and we have acted upon the lies and deceit to hurt others. Those who are lying and playing fast and loose with the facts have been in the driver's seat for far too long, steering the narrative and distorting the record. Dismissing and inslting others who are fully qualified for the assignment before them. In the face of so much deception, many of us have chosen to withdraw, to self-censor, to hide and hope it goes away. What this kind of reaction translates into is more lies and, ultimately, someone is going to get hurt. I figure it's better to go with what I have learned in life, my own experience and my education, and occasionally come up short or take something the wrong way or fail all on my own, than to pass on involvement and because of my own neglect, cause injury to others. We live in a world of hurt, with people afraid to do anything for fear it may be wrong. It's a little like failing to play a piece of music properly, making a grievous error before an audience, when it really counted. You may think the audience will pan you completely and declare you an irredeemable failure--and there are those in the audience who will take that view. But, if you get right back up on the next stage and try again after learning what you didn't know or perfect the first time, the lovers of music will forgive you and proclaim you a great player...that's the truth of it. We all fail; Biden, Zelenskyy, YO-Yo Ma, Itrzhak Perlman, or whoever. What we do is dust ourselves off, work harder, and seek the truth (what the situation really is on the battlefield, who we are defending, or what you have put into your work and effort (and fight). That's the truth as I see it on a SUnday morn, another day without rain in a parched California.
You're like a wave of cool dry air after a hot sweltering day in the world of politics. You explain everything so nicely and plain. I love and trust your honesty. Rarer than hen's teeth in our world. Thanks for caring enough to shine the light into the dark, dank basement of democracy.
The people who need this course the most are the people in the basement: those include the wedge voters who are unaware they are supporting the oligarch political agenda.
Robert Reich, the "tunnel rat", is the voice of reason in American politics & political economy. Consistent with his reasoning is the work of Obery Hendricks from Union Theological Seminary, one of the top seminaries in America today. I encourage all subscribers to read his new book, "Christians Against Christianity". As many of you know, the base of the GOP is largely White, conservative evangelicals & conservative "Catholics".
Hi I’m an 71 year old Asian-American and some of the people I admire are Ralph Nader and Malcom X. I grew up in South Central Los Angeles and have known the worst and the best of all races- humankind. I volunteer at my Humane Society and have volunteered at an assisted living facility. I’m an artist and a survivor. Thanks for letting me be a part of a community where we can converse intelligently. Sincerely- Nick
Robert, you are a breath of fresh air in the midst of a putrid, decaying right wing cult spewing lies 24/7. I long for more Roberts, who are committed to spreading the truth. I grew up in a time where your word was your bond. tRump made a mockery of the truth, and his sycophants are continuing to carry water for him. You bring light to a country who is struggling under the weight of darkness. You bring enlightenment through education, where there is a world descending into myth and conspiracy theories. The public longs for leaders like you, who can address the inequities in society by informing the public. Your expertise in government is invaluable. On a personal note, I would like to know more about what citizens of good will can do to address the glaring falsehoods in the media being promoted by Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon and their ilk. We are engaged in a second civil war, and the future is in our hands.
I’m an American who married a Dane, and I’ve lived in Denmark for 62 years. Reading your messages reassure me that there are still well informed people in America who hopefully will eventually make it less likely for losers like Trump and Putin to be ruining our beautiful planet.
Hi Judith! I hope you vote from abroad! The easiest way to make sure you're registered and will get ballots this year is to go to votefromabroad.org, fill out and send in the registration/request form, and ask for your ballots to be sent by email so they'll arrive faster. Check for your ballots 45 days before each election and send them back ASAP. Many states will even allow electronic ballot return too! All voters should have these options. Thanks.
JUdith...Some magical computer translated my message in Danish to English and the result was not exactly what I wrote or what I intended. However, I am appreciative of your response and glad to know you support the cause of truth as do the Danes, I am sure.
Mange tak for din besked fra Danmark. Jeg boede i Danmark i fire aar, i Norge i et aar, og laerte usigeligt meget om Danmark og Norge OG om mit eget land. Det er en rigtig lettelse at laere at saa mange amerikaner bryder sig om det der sker i USA og i verden. Som den norske forfatter Arne Garborg skrev for laenge siden: Sandheden, altid sandheden, om det skal foere til helvete!
You are the calm voice in the storm. I bet it doesn’t feel that way but for me, someone who was born in Wales and got the chance to get out of poverty through the EU, Brexit, Trumpism, Modi, Putin, climate change sometimes feels like the world is trying to push me back to poverty or even that the world is about to end. Then you write a column about reasons to be optimistic and it helps so much to pick myself up and get back to campaigning for a better future. We need more people who are as worldly wise as you and truthful. Thank you for all you do!
Would the struggle to reduce the power that comes from the accumulation of excessive wealth be as effective today as it was under TR? There is such a strong feeling against meaningful increases in taxes of the wealthy by the middle class. It feels that some people still believe that they two might be able to own a 700 foot yacht or a home overlooking the Pacific.I fear that only another Great Depression and/or a war will shake off the love of wealth. It seems part of our DNA and certainly national culture. We admire movie stars, CEOs, and love to watch stories of ´Cinderella’s.
There are times we forget that because people are famous, they still need our support, reassurance and positivity. My dear Robert Reich, you have all my support and I’d like you to know that when I get your positive email it is like a stone in a pond. The first ripple from your message reminds me to be positive and pass the positive message on. And I do. And I know people who follow me do. And this is how we win. We are not insignificant, we see and understand the truth. And this is what you have started. I am proud of you, I hope many others are too
I know just what you mean about the EU's positive impact in Wales, Sue.
My small hometown in North Wales benefitted enormously from EU Social Fund projects, over decades, and was one of the few constituencies that kept faith with Brussels and voted to Remain.
Seeing so many of our compatriots falling hook, line and sinker for Westminster's twisted rhetoric hurt me to the core.
And me. Couldn’t believe they rejected the people who had helped over the last 40 years for the people who failed them for hundreds of years before. Very hard to accept
Thank you, Robert Reich (and Co.). Your regular presence in my life via this newsletter really helps orient me in this frightening and confusing time. Thank you for your generous, thoughtful service and leadership in the classroom and in the government. I met you one day- probably 1990 or so. You were touring the campus of the NYC social services place in which I taught (East Harlem Council for Community Improvement). Thanks again. It help me feel grounded to know there are some (a few!) grownups out there being good. Gina Gold🌺
Thank you Professor Reich (and your team) for your newsletter; I look forward to reading it every morning. I am here to see the raw truth in the News, and your many readers input. It is so refreshing to see like-minded individuals (and those who are at the other end of the spectrum) share a bit of their stories. You have enlightened so many - Looking forward to the next six months! 🌻
Anne, you stopped my breath writing "looking forward to the next six months". I mean - I'm pretty low at the moment - but that serves nothing, so THANK YOU. And of course so grateful for our friend, and guide, our host. Onward dears - with (human) arms locked!
I'm a British (well, Welsh) woman in my 40s, with a lifelong passion for learning and for social justice. Notoriously Left-leaning in my family of die-hard Conservatives, I was regularly teased for wearing my 'bleeding heart' on my sleeve and being the 'Red sheep of the family'. *eye-roll*
If anything, I'm even more vocal and more engaged in activism now than I was as a teenager.
I was first drawn to your work, Prof. Reich, by a video I stumbled across on social media - 7 Signs Of Tyranny - and have been a keen fan ever since. The unpatronising yet accessible clarity of your explanations has demystified a lot of the US political system for me.
Just knowing there are still smart, passionate people 'fighting the good fight' to save America's political soul was an unimaginable comfort during the darkest days of the previous administration.
Now, with a change of leadership, I watch on from across the Atlantic, praying fervently for better days for your beloved country and my many dear friends over there.
Hi there, I can send you some cards to hand out to any US citizens you run across, as well as posters! My group doesn't have many contacts in Wales, but I know there are some Americans around there. You can email me at votefromabroaduk@gmail.com if interested.
Dear Babbit! Thank you for responding from Wales. I was initially disheartened to learn of the Conservative presence in your corner of the world. However, on reflection, it is not Conservatives which we in America have cause to fear. A legitimate Conservative Party (old-style Republican Party) with a dedication to the rule of law, the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and the traditions and values that guided such a party would be welcome in any normal Congress. What we have ended up with--as I am sure you are well-aware--is a cult devoted to a single, very flawed and dishonest, shyster-individual. That cult-leader has brought us to our present state. However, we are emerging and as long as we stay engaged and keen on learning the truth, we will mark some progress in returning to a better government and society for us all. Some folks in older and well-established democracies probably lament our backslide into autocracy and oligarchy; however, we are still at work building our democracy and experience missteps all along the way. I hope our current reassertion of rights and freedoms takes us and the world to a better place. But, in the meanwhile, thanks for your support.
I love how you use your very high intelligence to make the complex simple. I almost always find a new understanding after I listen to your explanations.
Thank you Robert Reich et al. I enjoy getting the truth from your straight talk. I am a 79 year old retired physician very involved with the fight for single payer health care with PNHP on the Board if the New York Métro Chapter. I would like you to be a bit more specific in the”what can we do about it” part. Keep it coming.
Yes Robert, we all enjoy ur newsletters & learn much about our economy from them! I especially enjoy the Friday class & the caption contest & I share ur information with all my friends, many of whom are still Republicans, which I find disturbing & unbelievable! Keep on educating us Baby Boomers as I don’t believe enough Gen X & Millennials will be stepping up to take our places in the World of activism!! I hear many excuses from them already about their lack of interest & time! I will still keep on sharing the truth with them!
The dude abides! Someone said that once. Hmm. Sorry to call you dude, but I know you have a sense of humor. You have to, in order to deal with all the chaos and confusion they keep ginning up, to gunk up the visions. I first became a fan of your thinking while watching you dominate panels of other great thinkers at the Kennedy School in the '80s. Read some of your books, and when you became Labor, I sent some ideas about employing homeless to build geodesic shelters for the coming vicissitudes, thus gaining a home, a job, while doing good bla bla bla. And you kindly wrote back, and I still have the letters. I could always count on you to find the central meaning in things, without being dazzled by side shows. Glad you're here. Peace.
David, are you a fellow "Little Lebowski Urban Achiever"‽ The Dude Abides Forever! *or you can call him His Dudeness, or El Duderino - if you're not into the whole brevity thing. 🤣
Why am I here? I've lived in the UK for 24 years now, but I am more politically active than I ever have been in my life. For two simple reasons: I CAN be active, as my children are grown and I do not have to work, and I am inspired to be active, because I must in order to sleep at all at night! I spend much of my time getting out the vote of overseas Americans. There are millions of us but just a fraction of us vote. Yet when we do, we make a difference; we were the margin of victory for President Biden in Arizona and Georgia in 2020, for example, and we could do even more if we ALL voted. I work with a great group of fellow volunteers around the world and we phone bank, write postcards, hold voter registration drives, send out our own on 'Voting Champion' newsletter and more. I grew up when the middle class, civil rights, women's rights and the environmental movement all seemed to be steadily expanding--and then Reagan. It is heartbreaking to think about the losses on all fronts since then. Sometimes it seems hopeless. So I seek inspiration and wisdom wherever I can find it--including in your newsletter. Thank you.
I so agree, we must ALL vote. I write hundreds of letters for Vote Forward and they say it helps.
Thank YOU, Laura.
I clicked on "Give Gift" and was offered the opportunity of giving you a subscription to your own newsletter! Have I entered the "Twilight Zone"?
Thank you indeed, Laura. I see some of my own life in yours as, for many years, I routinely served as a poll worker: the person signing voters in on election day and handing out ballots. For me and for many others, the past forty years have been a slow and steady nightmare, one that accelerated alarmingly with the election and administration of the 45th president. As I suggested in my response, we have reached a kind of pivotal moment, a time when we reclaim our legitimate heritage as truth and freedom seeking individuals or hide away and claim "we don't want to hear about it." It is our duty as democrats (small d) to hear about it and that is true whether the news concerns black, brown, and immigrant citizens, those attending events for women's rights and for gun control, or innocent people trying to keep freedom alive in places like Ukraine (and Russia). We need to reject fear-mongering individuals who would paralyze us with our own fear and share what we know and have experienced in life. You have done that from your home in the UK and it is my hope that you will continue to do so and also give a shot in the arm to Brits who can share their perspectives on the present crisis and future crises that challenge freedom.
Laura, I am so appreciative of the work you are doing. I just wanted to tell you that.
Thank you and please let anyone you know who is or will be overseas during the elections to go to votefromabroad.org today. The site makes it so easy and has all the answers to FAQs.
Thank you for all the work you do, Laura!!
It's not work and I don't get paid, at least not in monetary terms. It's just my duty to do right by my country and everyone (I mean everyone) who lives here. I am not president and will never be but in the series on Ukrainian tv, 'The Servant of the People,' the president of the country (who, as fates have it is the current president of the country, Zelenskyy) states that he wants to be able to look into the eyes of his children and know he's done his best. (That was in the series take on the Inaugural Address); he had planned to use LIncoln's Inaugural for his remarks but, instead spoke ad lib and from the heart. I wondered as I watched--and I wonder now--how many of us can look into the eyes of our children or our nation's childhood and know we've done our best? Any politicians? Our former president? Our current president? It may be fiction (or not, seeing as how things went for Zelenskyy) but it is what we should be thinking of, not how we can secure more tax-breaks for the already wealthy or deceive and betray our alliances at home and abroad, or how we can ignore the climate crisis so we can keep our profits up, or how we can cut off the children, seniors, or disabled who depend on us all to live meaningful lives (I fit in the senior group!), or how we can denigrate and demean our candidate for a vacancy on the Supreme Court and others of a different race, background, faith. Not how we can use dishonest media people to represent our views and curry favor with those with no proper education and critical thinking skills. It's not really the Ukrainians who are at the bottom of the barrel as, for the most part, they know who they are. We are the bottom dwellers because we have either forgotten who we really are or (worse) we no longer care.
Laura, I fully understand that you are not being paid and you are “simply” doing what your heart is calling you to do, which as I see it, happens to be noble work. I completely get that. And that is what I am attempting to say that I appreciate. That’s all.
Mitzi, I did take your response as you meant it. I think because I know that some of our best and most meaningful "work" is never done for money. And work covers a lot of territory: from my writing campaigns and efforts to reach out to others to my musical activities and study with my teacher. Work can be very rewarding and even fun...sometimes I just keep going to see where it will lead, who I can touch or convince to take another look and seek the truth. We can all have an impact on others and our times but, often, the impact is only felt years later and not in the way we originally intended. That's okay if we can find someone else and enable them to seek the truth and speak from their own knowledge and experience and what they know in their gut to be true. For the past six or seven years, we have heard a lot of talk purporting to be the truth; some of us have taken the talk for the truth without examining and questioning and we have acted upon the lies and deceit to hurt others. Those who are lying and playing fast and loose with the facts have been in the driver's seat for far too long, steering the narrative and distorting the record. Dismissing and inslting others who are fully qualified for the assignment before them. In the face of so much deception, many of us have chosen to withdraw, to self-censor, to hide and hope it goes away. What this kind of reaction translates into is more lies and, ultimately, someone is going to get hurt. I figure it's better to go with what I have learned in life, my own experience and my education, and occasionally come up short or take something the wrong way or fail all on my own, than to pass on involvement and because of my own neglect, cause injury to others. We live in a world of hurt, with people afraid to do anything for fear it may be wrong. It's a little like failing to play a piece of music properly, making a grievous error before an audience, when it really counted. You may think the audience will pan you completely and declare you an irredeemable failure--and there are those in the audience who will take that view. But, if you get right back up on the next stage and try again after learning what you didn't know or perfect the first time, the lovers of music will forgive you and proclaim you a great player...that's the truth of it. We all fail; Biden, Zelenskyy, YO-Yo Ma, Itrzhak Perlman, or whoever. What we do is dust ourselves off, work harder, and seek the truth (what the situation really is on the battlefield, who we are defending, or what you have put into your work and effort (and fight). That's the truth as I see it on a SUnday morn, another day without rain in a parched California.
You're like a wave of cool dry air after a hot sweltering day in the world of politics. You explain everything so nicely and plain. I love and trust your honesty. Rarer than hen's teeth in our world. Thanks for caring enough to shine the light into the dark, dank basement of democracy.
The people who need this course the most are the people in the basement: those include the wedge voters who are unaware they are supporting the oligarch political agenda.
@Daniel, indeed.
Robert Reich, the "tunnel rat", is the voice of reason in American politics & political economy. Consistent with his reasoning is the work of Obery Hendricks from Union Theological Seminary, one of the top seminaries in America today. I encourage all subscribers to read his new book, "Christians Against Christianity". As many of you know, the base of the GOP is largely White, conservative evangelicals & conservative "Catholics".
Thank You!!
Hi I’m an 71 year old Asian-American and some of the people I admire are Ralph Nader and Malcom X. I grew up in South Central Los Angeles and have known the worst and the best of all races- humankind. I volunteer at my Humane Society and have volunteered at an assisted living facility. I’m an artist and a survivor. Thanks for letting me be a part of a community where we can converse intelligently. Sincerely- Nick
Thank you for adding your intelligent voice here, Nick.
Robert, you are a breath of fresh air in the midst of a putrid, decaying right wing cult spewing lies 24/7. I long for more Roberts, who are committed to spreading the truth. I grew up in a time where your word was your bond. tRump made a mockery of the truth, and his sycophants are continuing to carry water for him. You bring light to a country who is struggling under the weight of darkness. You bring enlightenment through education, where there is a world descending into myth and conspiracy theories. The public longs for leaders like you, who can address the inequities in society by informing the public. Your expertise in government is invaluable. On a personal note, I would like to know more about what citizens of good will can do to address the glaring falsehoods in the media being promoted by Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon and their ilk. We are engaged in a second civil war, and the future is in our hands.
People who need this course the most are wedge voters who are unaware they are supporting the oligarch political agenda.
Excellent ty
I’m an American who married a Dane, and I’ve lived in Denmark for 62 years. Reading your messages reassure me that there are still well informed people in America who hopefully will eventually make it less likely for losers like Trump and Putin to be ruining our beautiful planet.
Hi Judith! I hope you vote from abroad! The easiest way to make sure you're registered and will get ballots this year is to go to votefromabroad.org, fill out and send in the registration/request form, and ask for your ballots to be sent by email so they'll arrive faster. Check for your ballots 45 days before each election and send them back ASAP. Many states will even allow electronic ballot return too! All voters should have these options. Thanks.
I share your hope, Judith.
JUdith...Some magical computer translated my message in Danish to English and the result was not exactly what I wrote or what I intended. However, I am appreciative of your response and glad to know you support the cause of truth as do the Danes, I am sure.
Mange tak for din besked fra Danmark. Jeg boede i Danmark i fire aar, i Norge i et aar, og laerte usigeligt meget om Danmark og Norge OG om mit eget land. Det er en rigtig lettelse at laere at saa mange amerikaner bryder sig om det der sker i USA og i verden. Som den norske forfatter Arne Garborg skrev for laenge siden: Sandheden, altid sandheden, om det skal foere til helvete!
You are the calm voice in the storm. I bet it doesn’t feel that way but for me, someone who was born in Wales and got the chance to get out of poverty through the EU, Brexit, Trumpism, Modi, Putin, climate change sometimes feels like the world is trying to push me back to poverty or even that the world is about to end. Then you write a column about reasons to be optimistic and it helps so much to pick myself up and get back to campaigning for a better future. We need more people who are as worldly wise as you and truthful. Thank you for all you do!
I’m struggling to remain optimistic, and will continue to do what I can. Thanks.
Would the struggle to reduce the power that comes from the accumulation of excessive wealth be as effective today as it was under TR? There is such a strong feeling against meaningful increases in taxes of the wealthy by the middle class. It feels that some people still believe that they two might be able to own a 700 foot yacht or a home overlooking the Pacific.I fear that only another Great Depression and/or a war will shake off the love of wealth. It seems part of our DNA and certainly national culture. We admire movie stars, CEOs, and love to watch stories of ´Cinderella’s.
There are times we forget that because people are famous, they still need our support, reassurance and positivity. My dear Robert Reich, you have all my support and I’d like you to know that when I get your positive email it is like a stone in a pond. The first ripple from your message reminds me to be positive and pass the positive message on. And I do. And I know people who follow me do. And this is how we win. We are not insignificant, we see and understand the truth. And this is what you have started. I am proud of you, I hope many others are too
I know just what you mean about the EU's positive impact in Wales, Sue.
My small hometown in North Wales benefitted enormously from EU Social Fund projects, over decades, and was one of the few constituencies that kept faith with Brussels and voted to Remain.
Seeing so many of our compatriots falling hook, line and sinker for Westminster's twisted rhetoric hurt me to the core.
Shumai.
And me. Couldn’t believe they rejected the people who had helped over the last 40 years for the people who failed them for hundreds of years before. Very hard to accept
Thank you, Robert Reich (and Co.). Your regular presence in my life via this newsletter really helps orient me in this frightening and confusing time. Thank you for your generous, thoughtful service and leadership in the classroom and in the government. I met you one day- probably 1990 or so. You were touring the campus of the NYC social services place in which I taught (East Harlem Council for Community Improvement). Thanks again. It help me feel grounded to know there are some (a few!) grownups out there being good. Gina Gold🌺
Thank you Professor Reich (and your team) for your newsletter; I look forward to reading it every morning. I am here to see the raw truth in the News, and your many readers input. It is so refreshing to see like-minded individuals (and those who are at the other end of the spectrum) share a bit of their stories. You have enlightened so many - Looking forward to the next six months! 🌻
Anne, you stopped my breath writing "looking forward to the next six months". I mean - I'm pretty low at the moment - but that serves nothing, so THANK YOU. And of course so grateful for our friend, and guide, our host. Onward dears - with (human) arms locked!
Susan; Glad I could help, if even for one moment. I hope things get better for you soon. Courage!
😘😘
Keep it coming, we need you now more than ever, the voice of reason.
I'm a British (well, Welsh) woman in my 40s, with a lifelong passion for learning and for social justice. Notoriously Left-leaning in my family of die-hard Conservatives, I was regularly teased for wearing my 'bleeding heart' on my sleeve and being the 'Red sheep of the family'. *eye-roll*
If anything, I'm even more vocal and more engaged in activism now than I was as a teenager.
I was first drawn to your work, Prof. Reich, by a video I stumbled across on social media - 7 Signs Of Tyranny - and have been a keen fan ever since. The unpatronising yet accessible clarity of your explanations has demystified a lot of the US political system for me.
Just knowing there are still smart, passionate people 'fighting the good fight' to save America's political soul was an unimaginable comfort during the darkest days of the previous administration.
Now, with a change of leadership, I watch on from across the Atlantic, praying fervently for better days for your beloved country and my many dear friends over there.
Hi there, I can send you some cards to hand out to any US citizens you run across, as well as posters! My group doesn't have many contacts in Wales, but I know there are some Americans around there. You can email me at votefromabroaduk@gmail.com if interested.
Dear Babbit! Thank you for responding from Wales. I was initially disheartened to learn of the Conservative presence in your corner of the world. However, on reflection, it is not Conservatives which we in America have cause to fear. A legitimate Conservative Party (old-style Republican Party) with a dedication to the rule of law, the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and the traditions and values that guided such a party would be welcome in any normal Congress. What we have ended up with--as I am sure you are well-aware--is a cult devoted to a single, very flawed and dishonest, shyster-individual. That cult-leader has brought us to our present state. However, we are emerging and as long as we stay engaged and keen on learning the truth, we will mark some progress in returning to a better government and society for us all. Some folks in older and well-established democracies probably lament our backslide into autocracy and oligarchy; however, we are still at work building our democracy and experience missteps all along the way. I hope our current reassertion of rights and freedoms takes us and the world to a better place. But, in the meanwhile, thanks for your support.
I love how you use your very high intelligence to make the complex simple. I almost always find a new understanding after I listen to your explanations.
Thank you Robert Reich et al. I enjoy getting the truth from your straight talk. I am a 79 year old retired physician very involved with the fight for single payer health care with PNHP on the Board if the New York Métro Chapter. I would like you to be a bit more specific in the”what can we do about it” part. Keep it coming.
Friday class - and especially the recommended readings - are the best; please keep them coming!
Yes Robert, we all enjoy ur newsletters & learn much about our economy from them! I especially enjoy the Friday class & the caption contest & I share ur information with all my friends, many of whom are still Republicans, which I find disturbing & unbelievable! Keep on educating us Baby Boomers as I don’t believe enough Gen X & Millennials will be stepping up to take our places in the World of activism!! I hear many excuses from them already about their lack of interest & time! I will still keep on sharing the truth with them!
Keep it coming, we need you the voice of reason,
The dude abides! Someone said that once. Hmm. Sorry to call you dude, but I know you have a sense of humor. You have to, in order to deal with all the chaos and confusion they keep ginning up, to gunk up the visions. I first became a fan of your thinking while watching you dominate panels of other great thinkers at the Kennedy School in the '80s. Read some of your books, and when you became Labor, I sent some ideas about employing homeless to build geodesic shelters for the coming vicissitudes, thus gaining a home, a job, while doing good bla bla bla. And you kindly wrote back, and I still have the letters. I could always count on you to find the central meaning in things, without being dazzled by side shows. Glad you're here. Peace.
David, are you a fellow "Little Lebowski Urban Achiever"‽ The Dude Abides Forever! *or you can call him His Dudeness, or El Duderino - if you're not into the whole brevity thing. 🤣
I have abiding respect for both Duderini, so I'll use defer to them on that. It's about time drop in, to what condition their condition is in, though.