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SAVING OUR DEMOCRACY, PART 2
A friend who’s not all that interested in politics asked me the other day why, if President Biden ran on bipartisanship, everything he’s proposing is now being rejected by the Republicans. I responded that the American Rescue Plan, which will soon pass the Senate and be signed into law, has nationwide bipartisan support: 75% of the public support it, including 60% of Republicans. But the Republicans in both chambers have not been willing to legislate for some time.
Thomas L. Friedman, a New York Times opinion columnist who I find generally hews toward the middle politically, minced no words in a recent essay titled: ”What Trump, San Francisco and the Deer in My Backyard Have in Common.” The subtitle was “Democracy depends on understanding the connection.” (emphases mine throughout)
SAVING OUR DEMOCRACY, PART 1
NOTE: While we are becoming accustomed to the idea of a “normal” president doing presidential work, we must not be complacent. The battle to return the Trumpian Republican Party to power is in full swing–in both the national and state legislatures.
As historian Heather Cox Richardson points out below, this is not–must not be–a partisan issue. I am printing Richardson’s recent column below. I began to emphasize the passages I felt were most important by using the bold font–but found I was bolding just about every paragraph.
“Gumbo Diplomacy”
As we near the end of this year’s commemoration of Black History Month, it seems appropriate to pay tribute to a woman whose life story is that of a Black American girl who rose from humble beginnings in the segregated South to a place of honor and influence in our country.
I hope you’ll spend 10 minutes watching this TedTalk video of Linda Thomas-Greenfield, our newly appointed ambassador to the United Nations, as she describes overcoming adversity and being strengthened by it–with compassion, kindness, and a smile.
