That question followed me all day. My mind kept wandering back to it as I tried to make sense of everything unraveling in the United States. And every time I sat down to write, the weight of it all pressed down on me. Not just the headlines or the noise, but the deeper ache beneath it. Being an American, and what that truly means, is not an easy question to answer. It never has been.
Frederick Douglass asked it when he stood before a nation celebrating liberty while it kept millions in chains. “What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July?” he demanded. “A day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim.” Japanese Americans asked it as they were forced into internment camps, surrounded by barbed wire in the name of national security, while their homes and dignity were stolen from them. Families blacklisted during McCarthyism asked it as neighbors turned against neighbors, pointing fingers in the name of patriotism, sending innocent people into exile for simply thinking differently or refusing to betray others...
I'm with you Heather, including the tiredness . . . it's a burden that just seems to get heavier for all of us - sometimes it feels like "Frodo carrying the Ring."
But you continue each night, creating a truthful clarity that we all know needs to be written - your words matter --- so thank you for your persistent resistance . . . and someday we will cast that ring into the fires of Mt. Doom, and the evil that grasps our country like a slimy hand will disappear in cloud of vapor.
We are a deeply flawed country, always fighting our original contradiction; a country founded on the idea of liberty but built on stolen land and on the backs of slave labor. With Trump and MAGA, our forces of darkness have taken control and it has all come roaring back to the fore. Racism, misogyny, greed and corruption uninhibited, at a scale we still can't fathom. It is maddening, and it is a part of our heritage that won't go quietly. So we fight on, waiting for the pendulum to once again swing back toward equality, diversity and fairness with a hope it will be permanent. Heather, your voice is an important one in our fight! Thank you for your daily writing, it means a lot to me and many who rely on you.
Thank you Barry, for your reply… there is a truth in the old adage “misery loves company” and here, and at No Kings demonstration, I find company and what hope I got
Like you Heather, I feel wrung out with the gravity of our beloved country’s current situation. But also like you, I cling to hope and the power of we the people - ALL the people. Thank you for your daily encouragement.
Hope dies last. And I agree with you, while handing on by a thread, that thread is getting stronger, not weaker. Thank you for your continuing inspiration!
Thank you for the sincerity and depth of this, Heather. Your ability to connect the heavy historical burdens of the past with the sharp, immediate anxieties of the present is rare, as it is to find work that captures the exhaustion of this time while still maintaining a clear, persistent heartbeat of hope.
I was particularly struck by your observations of neighbours helping one another in the shadows. It highlights a vital point: while those in power may dismantle the "idea" of the country, the actual practice of being American seems to live on in these quiet, stubborn acts of care. It is a wearying time to keep watch, especially when the news feels designed to overwhelm us, but your reflection reminds me that the identity of a place isn’t just found in its leaders, but is held together by the people who refuse to look away.
Heather although I am fascinated by your really well written articles, I’m beginning to read them and can’t help getting more depressed. I’m from the UK and it’s hard to believe the mighty USA, one I have been to many times, can’t sort this problem out once and for all. So I won’t be reading the articles daily anymore. Keep up the good fight. xx
I'm with you Heather, including the tiredness . . . it's a burden that just seems to get heavier for all of us - sometimes it feels like "Frodo carrying the Ring."
But you continue each night, creating a truthful clarity that we all know needs to be written - your words matter --- so thank you for your persistent resistance . . . and someday we will cast that ring into the fires of Mt. Doom, and the evil that grasps our country like a slimy hand will disappear in cloud of vapor.
As always, Heather, a post that shines in the darkness like a brilliant candle. Thank you; you have mirrored and reinforced my own struggling hope.
We are a deeply flawed country, always fighting our original contradiction; a country founded on the idea of liberty but built on stolen land and on the backs of slave labor. With Trump and MAGA, our forces of darkness have taken control and it has all come roaring back to the fore. Racism, misogyny, greed and corruption uninhibited, at a scale we still can't fathom. It is maddening, and it is a part of our heritage that won't go quietly. So we fight on, waiting for the pendulum to once again swing back toward equality, diversity and fairness with a hope it will be permanent. Heather, your voice is an important one in our fight! Thank you for your daily writing, it means a lot to me and many who rely on you.
Thank you Barry, for your reply… there is a truth in the old adage “misery loves company” and here, and at No Kings demonstration, I find company and what hope I got
Hear hear! It will be so if we keep fighting the good fight.
Todd Blanche was Trump’s defence lawyer.
Todd Blanche was promoted by Trump into his present position.
Todd Blanche interviewed Maxwell in prison with no witnesses.
Todd Blanche arranged for the transfer of Maxwell to the holiday prison.
There is no doubt in my mind that Todd Blanche advised Maxwell exactly how to behave.
Corrupt or what?
Like you Heather, I feel wrung out with the gravity of our beloved country’s current situation. But also like you, I cling to hope and the power of we the people - ALL the people. Thank you for your daily encouragement.
Thank you, Heather. We needed that.
Hope dies last. And I agree with you, while handing on by a thread, that thread is getting stronger, not weaker. Thank you for your continuing inspiration!
Thank you for stating so intelligently. Im with you!
Thank you for the sincerity and depth of this, Heather. Your ability to connect the heavy historical burdens of the past with the sharp, immediate anxieties of the present is rare, as it is to find work that captures the exhaustion of this time while still maintaining a clear, persistent heartbeat of hope.
I was particularly struck by your observations of neighbours helping one another in the shadows. It highlights a vital point: while those in power may dismantle the "idea" of the country, the actual practice of being American seems to live on in these quiet, stubborn acts of care. It is a wearying time to keep watch, especially when the news feels designed to overwhelm us, but your reflection reminds me that the identity of a place isn’t just found in its leaders, but is held together by the people who refuse to look away.
Heather although I am fascinated by your really well written articles, I’m beginning to read them and can’t help getting more depressed. I’m from the UK and it’s hard to believe the mighty USA, one I have been to many times, can’t sort this problem out once and for all. So I won’t be reading the articles daily anymore. Keep up the good fight. xx