I am a fan of historian Heather Cox Richardson, whose Letters From an American newsletter invariably helps put the events we’re living through in historical context.
Richardson wrote to her subscribers on March 4 that she encourages people who feel helpless to change the direction of our future that we can do so by “changing the way people think, and that we change the way people think by changing the way we talk about things. To that end, I have encouraged people to speak up about what they think is important, to take up oxygen that otherwise feeds the hatred and division that have had far too much influence in our country of late.”
As evidence that our efforts have mattered, she says she was invited to talk with President Biden in a conversation “to share with you all.”
That conversation, “...about American democracy and the struggles we face,” took place on February 25, an “amazing time to be able to talk to the President.”
Putin had just attacked Ukraine, it was just before the State of the Union address, and the President had just announced that Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was his historic nominee for the Supreme Court.
Richardson said she didn’t want to talk about anything she could learn from publicly available sources.
“I wanted to hear from a historic figure in a historic time about how he thinks about America in this pivotal moment, to put the specifics of what he does in a larger context.”
If you link to this issue of her newsletter, you’ll see more fully how she views our times in the cycles our nation has experienced in the 1850s, 1890s, 1920s, and now.
At each juncture, she wrote, “the American people turned to leaders who helped them reclaim democracy.”
“So do your voices matter? He wouldn’t have taken the time in the midst of such an important day in America to talk to you if they didn’t.”
Please watch their wide-ranging discussion of topics affecting us–preferably in its entirety. At this critical point, I feel both Richardson’s questions and comments and President Biden’s answers are well worth our time.
The video isn’t short, so I hope you’ll view it when you can relax and see it all.
Annie
annieasksyou... 
Thank you for sharing this interview. Richardson didn’t explain anything she let the President talk.
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Hi, and thanks for your comment. So glad you watched the video. Though Richardson didn’t say much, I liked the way she positioned Biden in history. If you haven’t yet read the newsletter issue in which she talks about the interview, I recommend it. (Link provided in my post.) She succinctly draws a line from past to present.
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Annie, thanks for sharing. This is an important topic. My next to last post was an editorial written by a moderate Republican forwarded to me by a moderate Democrat. It is about using the Ukraine invasion as an example that we must protect our democracy. I will add a PS with a link. The writer notes the US is considered a “threatened democracy” by a global organization. Keith
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PS – Here is the link: https://musingsofanoldfart.wordpress.com/2022/03/04/ukraine-invasion-raises-questions-about-democracy-an-editorial-worth-the-read/
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I read that and thought I had liked it, Keith. Yes, I’ve been aware of our threatened democracy status for some time—tfg gets “credit” for that.
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Thanks Annie. You had. My bad for not remembering that.
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No worries, Keith.
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Thanks for this, Annie. I’m going to make a cup of coffee, settle down, and listen. I’m no stranger to her work, though. She’s a great resource. Thanks for reminding me to listen in!
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Glad to, Denise!
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Annie Thank you . That interview was excellent . Susie
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So glad you watched it, Susie!
Thanks for letting me know.
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Really thoughtful discussion. I particularly enjoyed ‘I think you’re giving me more credit than I maybe deserve’. I can’t imagine anything like that passing his predecessor’s lips! 😂
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So glad you watched, Matthew.
I continue to believe that Joe Biden is woefully underrated.
We’re lucky to have him now.
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