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As we each find our own way of moving through the world right now, I’m checking in to see if you want to keep receiving these political emails from me.
If you do, click here to opt - in, and get an email from me every Monday morning (every other Monday if I can't get it together to write something).
If you don’t, you don’t need to do anything, and this will be the last Gather To Talk email you receive from me.
In terms of that, I haven’t felt pulled to organize an “in-person event” for this group in awhile because of all that is already going on in our community, but if that changes, you will be the first to know.
So, in terms of the world we are moving through right now:
I got this email from one of you last week, which I appreciated, very much.
It was in response to the Table of Contents List, from the On Tyranny book by Timothy Snyder, that I shared with you last week:
1. Do not obey In advance.
2. Defend Institutions.
3. Beware the one-party state.
4. Take responsibility for the face of the world.
5. Remember professional ethics.
6. Be wary of paramilitaries.
7. Be reflective if you must be armed.
8. Stand out.
9. Be kind to our language.
10. Believe in truth.
11. Investigate.
12. Make eye contact and small talk.
13. Practice corporeal politics.
14. Establish a private life.
15. Contribute to good causes.
16. Learn from peers in other countries.
17. Listen for dangerous words.
18. Be calm when the unthinkable arrives.
19. Be a patriot.
20. Be as courageous as you can.
Here’s what Steve, a subscriber to this newsletter, said in response to that list:
“I have some STRONG disagreements with that Timothy Snyder list:
#1. I'm not sure one should EVER obey.
#2. Many institutions--the CIA, American exceptionalism, Institutional racism, the advertising industry--I could go on and on-- need to be dissolved, not defended.
#6. One should be wary of ALL militaries, not just paramilitaries.
#7. No one "must be armed."
#12. Small talk is often a way of avoiding Big talk. I much prefer Big talk.
#19. This one is the worst. I think patriotism, like other fundamentalist religions, is the cause of enormous suffering in this world. Actually I agree with Samuel Johnson on this: "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.”
Thanks for this Steve Wangh.
If you have thoughts about this — the original table of contents list or Steve’s response to it — I’d love to hear.
Moving on:
1.
You know this one — call your congress people and ask them to support Senate Bill 3036, The Keep Families Together Act.
Senator Michael Bennet 303-455-7600
Senator Cory Gardner 303-391-5777
Congressman Ed Perlmutter 303-274-7944
Congressman Jared Polis 303-484-9596
If you can, do it every day until this is resolved.
One of you said, in an email to me recently, that contacting Cory Garner was a waste of time, since he won’t budge on any of his positions.
That may be true, but I also think that continually contacting him, and getting him to slow down and think a little, doesn’t hurt — especially if a wave of us keeps calling, keeps emailing, and keeps showing up at his office as much as possible.
2.
This horrific and brilliant article by Jessica Winter, in a recent edition of The New Yorker:
The Language of the Trump Administration Is the Language of Domestic Violence.
Thank you Lisa Birman for sharing this link with me.
3.
North Korea: this video.
Very hard to watch, and absolutely a must watch when #45 says:
"When Kim Jung Un speaks, his people sit up and listen. I want my people to do that when I speak".
As you know, there is so much more going on that I am not addressing in this email to you, but that is just as important, urgent, and essential.
Knowing that, let's keep doing what we are doing, in anyway we can.
“Each time (someone) stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, (they) send forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” — Robert Kennedy
Thanks all, and make sure to opt - in if you want to keep getting this newsletter from me.
Click here to do it.
With Warmth,
Joanna