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Democracy
America America
My granddaughter barely speaks. Her name is Effie, which in Greek means “well-spoken.” Maybe in Greece she would be. Names aren’t expected to match the person. If they were, we’d be named upon our death, when someone would have a stab in the dark at getting it right.
November 2021Sunbeams
November 2021Democracy disciplined and enlightened is the finest thing in the world. A democracy prejudiced, ignorant, superstitious will land itself in chaos and may be self-destroyed.
Defending The Roof Of The World
Jamyang Norbu’s Lifelong Quest For Tibetan Independence
The Chinese empire is fragile, because it is built upon oppression. . . . If the oppression is too great, it may all come apart. If the empire were to break up, I think democracy might be possible in the smaller entities that would remain. . . . This is where Tibetans must keep up the fight and prepare for the long haul. We can prevail if we are able to keep our culture intact.
May 2021Prayer For A Divided Nation
Prayers for the listeners of NPR and the listeners of Fox News, / For the followers of Rachel Maddow and the followers of Rush Limbaugh. / May they open their hearts, may they open their minds, / May they find ways to be in community and to repair the nation.
May 2021Many Voices
Cristina Beltrán On What Unites And Divides Latinos
I wish the Democratic Party would put more resources into these communities instead of waiting until shortly before an election and parachuting in a few campaign workers to do some half-assed Latino-turnout work. Latinos are not automatically the firewall for the Democratic Party.
September 2020Sunbeams
September 2020There’s not a thing wrong with the ideals and mechanisms outlined and the liberties set forth in the Constitution of the United States. The only problem was the founders left a lot of people out of the Constitution. They left out poor people and Black people and female people. It is possible to read the history of this country as one long struggle to extend the liberties established in our Constitution to everyone in America. And it still goes on today.
Future Generations Will Thank Me
My Campaign (Sort Of) For President
The virus is revealing new facts about the U.S. Who would have guessed that People Who Resent Science Because It’s Too Darn Complicated would become a major political force?
August 2020An Imperfect Union
Astra Taylor On The Inherent Conflict Between Capitalism And Democracy
I resist seeing Trump as just a fluke or an aberration, because it’s too flattering to ourselves. When people say, “Trump’s not us,” I think, Maybe we need to see how he is us, so we can prevent this from happening again.
November 2019