As is often the case in your articles, there is much to ponder think, and act on. I have often wondered what I can do at my age, to beging to heal this deeply wounded democracy that I grew up in and in someways took for granted that we would heal our mistakes. This is the sentence that stands out to me as a call to action, "A polis where EVERY person really matters building a society TOGETHER NO MATTER WHAT." I have been taking some medical tests -outpatient- lately inside a hospital with strict mask protocols. One day, I decided I would smile and say hello to others waiting or just walking down the hall employees. It was an amazing experience for me. I got responses I think from everyone. But, I noticed especially older people sitting alone , hunched over waiting for their turn to be spoken to by me. What a fun connection making time! It may be a small thing, but it is a start toward healing my soul and perhaps others. I have done it again in various ways both at clinic and elsewhere. "One small step"/voice for humankind. Thank you again for giving me framework and thought provoking material.
Your piece is a valid expression of how so many feel about our nervous democracy. I hope the confirmation of republican guilt vis a vis Jan. 6th can finally awaken more folks.
Thank you for this well-thought and well-worded essay. When I reflect back, I grew up in the 60s and 70s and my strongest perception was that the system was severely tested during Watergate but the system worked - Support for Nixon eroded and he resigned in disgrace. There was also the general feeling that protest could influence the system for good, both with civil rights and the anti-Vietnam-war movement. In contrast, I no longer have faith that the system is working. I may live the remainder of my life in the backlash phase. Those in power are no longer held accountable as Nixon was. The Jan. 6th House committee and various prosecutors may yet prove me wrong and lift my spirits, but I worry that democracy is not as healthy now as it once was.
Diana. You are a bright star in the firmament!! Much of what you say (from here in Oz) I immediately see applied to that other ‘project’ the church. The future of that organisation is equally not certain.
My 44th wedding anniversary was New Year's Eve and husband's birthday on Jan 5. We've always celebrated on Jan 5, to avoid the "crazies" on New Year's Eve. But last year and this year, our celebrations felt so small compared with the weight of what we witnessed in 2021. That day, we watched slack-jawed as the crazies waved Jesus Saves flags alongside Confederate flags. That day, we couldn't stomach even a toast to our long union as the Union teetered on the Hill that the mob overran. That day, I decided to no longer say I'm Christian. Instead, I tell people I follow Jesus.
And like many of our generation, I followed JFK's advice to be physically fit, not because it was easy, but because it was hard. I clung to MLK's dream; grew my hair long, stopped seeing human diversity through my greenish, WASPy eyes. The backlash is brutal and should motivate all of us who care to get up off our sofas and advocate for democracy. Like my long marriage, it won't be easy. But if our democracy is to survive, we will need all Jesus' words to love one another to make it so. I will stand for democracy not because it is easy but because it is hard. And worth it.
The first time I REALLY HEARD the meaning of the word democracy was watching the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy. I was 17. I'd just graduated from high school the previous June. I'd just started a job and wasn't sure what lay ahead for me. The "ask not" phrase, in his address, caught fire. It was powerful; it was moving -- and my response was to say, "I want to become an American citizen." A year later, I stood in a federal courtroom in Chicago to take the oath of citizenship and to dissolve my fealty to the Queen of England pledging my allegiance to the ideal that is America. American democracy was such a powerful pull on my heart (and still is) that I was willing to set aside my Scottish heritage and jump into the water of democracy. I have never wavered from that commitment until January 6, 2021. I've struggled this past year to understand what is happening to my country. My struggle is still alive, but each minute of each day I grow more confident in the ideal of democracy. I think everyone, no exceptions, should be asked to raise their right hand to claim the ideal of democracy as their own. It's an ideal worth fighting for. It's not perfect, but it's being perfected one person at a time.
Thank you, Diana. This is a beautifully, wonderfully written piece and every bit of it true. I offer that as a retired pastor and former history teacher. It is an encouragement to read your words, to know there is a “community” that “follows” you, and to know we are not alone.
Thank you. Although I read you’re column every week I have not responded previously. It is the best I’ve read on 1/6 and I have read many, perhaps too many.You have so perfectly expressed the heartbreak of it all.
Excellent piece-as a lifelong Republican and former Social Studies teacher the sorrows of our system today are worrisome. The system is broken and fragile and needs attention. The Republican party seems to me to mirror the Democratic party of the post civil war Reconstruction. The evangelical leaders who support and uphold Trump remind me of the "palace prophets" of the Old Testament. We as a country, as citizens need to mend American Democracy. Our country right or wrong-when right to be celebrated, when wrong to be made right to paraphrase Senator Carl Schurz a senator in the Civil War era.
From a life lived over many years, the conclusion that I have reached is that ideals that have a positive impact upon the world must be formed first and maintained from a vertical alignment. By this means alone can the human society script and manifest a sustainable future. With differing political parties that breed conflict, our only common ground is that we are created in the image and likeness of God- all of us. When we act like that which we truly are, democracy is a natural secondary outcome.
Excellent and moving piece that blends the joys and sorrows of our public life with the personal. As we remember, we grieve, grow, and commit to become our better selves.
Beautifully written. I sorely needed to hear, again, that democracy requires participation by all of us.
As is often the case in your articles, there is much to ponder think, and act on. I have often wondered what I can do at my age, to beging to heal this deeply wounded democracy that I grew up in and in someways took for granted that we would heal our mistakes. This is the sentence that stands out to me as a call to action, "A polis where EVERY person really matters building a society TOGETHER NO MATTER WHAT." I have been taking some medical tests -outpatient- lately inside a hospital with strict mask protocols. One day, I decided I would smile and say hello to others waiting or just walking down the hall employees. It was an amazing experience for me. I got responses I think from everyone. But, I noticed especially older people sitting alone , hunched over waiting for their turn to be spoken to by me. What a fun connection making time! It may be a small thing, but it is a start toward healing my soul and perhaps others. I have done it again in various ways both at clinic and elsewhere. "One small step"/voice for humankind. Thank you again for giving me framework and thought provoking material.
Your piece is a valid expression of how so many feel about our nervous democracy. I hope the confirmation of republican guilt vis a vis Jan. 6th can finally awaken more folks.
Thank you for this well-thought and well-worded essay. When I reflect back, I grew up in the 60s and 70s and my strongest perception was that the system was severely tested during Watergate but the system worked - Support for Nixon eroded and he resigned in disgrace. There was also the general feeling that protest could influence the system for good, both with civil rights and the anti-Vietnam-war movement. In contrast, I no longer have faith that the system is working. I may live the remainder of my life in the backlash phase. Those in power are no longer held accountable as Nixon was. The Jan. 6th House committee and various prosecutors may yet prove me wrong and lift my spirits, but I worry that democracy is not as healthy now as it once was.
Democracy . . . no matter what!
Diana. You are a bright star in the firmament!! Much of what you say (from here in Oz) I immediately see applied to that other ‘project’ the church. The future of that organisation is equally not certain.
Shalom and best wishes for the next 25 years!
My 44th wedding anniversary was New Year's Eve and husband's birthday on Jan 5. We've always celebrated on Jan 5, to avoid the "crazies" on New Year's Eve. But last year and this year, our celebrations felt so small compared with the weight of what we witnessed in 2021. That day, we watched slack-jawed as the crazies waved Jesus Saves flags alongside Confederate flags. That day, we couldn't stomach even a toast to our long union as the Union teetered on the Hill that the mob overran. That day, I decided to no longer say I'm Christian. Instead, I tell people I follow Jesus.
And like many of our generation, I followed JFK's advice to be physically fit, not because it was easy, but because it was hard. I clung to MLK's dream; grew my hair long, stopped seeing human diversity through my greenish, WASPy eyes. The backlash is brutal and should motivate all of us who care to get up off our sofas and advocate for democracy. Like my long marriage, it won't be easy. But if our democracy is to survive, we will need all Jesus' words to love one another to make it so. I will stand for democracy not because it is easy but because it is hard. And worth it.
The first time I REALLY HEARD the meaning of the word democracy was watching the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy. I was 17. I'd just graduated from high school the previous June. I'd just started a job and wasn't sure what lay ahead for me. The "ask not" phrase, in his address, caught fire. It was powerful; it was moving -- and my response was to say, "I want to become an American citizen." A year later, I stood in a federal courtroom in Chicago to take the oath of citizenship and to dissolve my fealty to the Queen of England pledging my allegiance to the ideal that is America. American democracy was such a powerful pull on my heart (and still is) that I was willing to set aside my Scottish heritage and jump into the water of democracy. I have never wavered from that commitment until January 6, 2021. I've struggled this past year to understand what is happening to my country. My struggle is still alive, but each minute of each day I grow more confident in the ideal of democracy. I think everyone, no exceptions, should be asked to raise their right hand to claim the ideal of democracy as their own. It's an ideal worth fighting for. It's not perfect, but it's being perfected one person at a time.
Thank you, Diana. This is a beautifully, wonderfully written piece and every bit of it true. I offer that as a retired pastor and former history teacher. It is an encouragement to read your words, to know there is a “community” that “follows” you, and to know we are not alone.
Thank you. Although I read you’re column every week I have not responded previously. It is the best I’ve read on 1/6 and I have read many, perhaps too many.You have so perfectly expressed the heartbreak of it all.
Excellent piece-as a lifelong Republican and former Social Studies teacher the sorrows of our system today are worrisome. The system is broken and fragile and needs attention. The Republican party seems to me to mirror the Democratic party of the post civil war Reconstruction. The evangelical leaders who support and uphold Trump remind me of the "palace prophets" of the Old Testament. We as a country, as citizens need to mend American Democracy. Our country right or wrong-when right to be celebrated, when wrong to be made right to paraphrase Senator Carl Schurz a senator in the Civil War era.
From a life lived over many years, the conclusion that I have reached is that ideals that have a positive impact upon the world must be formed first and maintained from a vertical alignment. By this means alone can the human society script and manifest a sustainable future. With differing political parties that breed conflict, our only common ground is that we are created in the image and likeness of God- all of us. When we act like that which we truly are, democracy is a natural secondary outcome.
Excellent and moving piece that blends the joys and sorrows of our public life with the personal. As we remember, we grieve, grow, and commit to become our better selves.
Oh, I wish you would send this to every GOP senator. Great essay!
Thank you for this lovely thoughtful challenging essay.
Thank you! I’m reminded and in remembering, I’m heartened, encouraged, strengthened, and wed to Hope for ongoing building work of Democracy.