Thanks, Judith. You said, "I want to embody my professed core values when I’m challenged." You did so by talking us through your day. Love you so much!
So much this, Judith! I have *some* privilege (white, straight, cisgender), but I don't feel safe in this current political climate, nor do I feel safe for any of my friends or family. I hope we can all remain true to ourselves and those values we cherish. That we even need these conversations saddens me deeply.
Today, I got to see the Upper Valley's own Mohsen Mahdawi released from detention in Burlington, (for now, anyway). It heartened me about the work of protesting and calling and litigating. And reinforced for me that we must do so much more, and more comprehensively. We need a new coalition, a braver, bolder, more national, yet more local, more variegated, more dynamic group than the last one. Thank you for speaking in your inimitable way on behalf of this!
So many of us are hungry for a coalition and leadership that align with both our values and urgency. Momentum seems to be gaining, but it feels painfully slow.
I meant to add: I have a big pack of these cards. The idea is to leave them on public bulletin boards and bathrooms wherever you go. Judith, I have heaps, I'll bring you some. I got them on Etsy.
I don't think you have to regret this impulse: "Still, I’m not proud that my first response to our friends’ story was to ask: How can I protect my loved ones? How can I keep them from danger?"
I think this is fundamentally hard-wired in all of us, you know? I think that the trick is we to reframe it. The answer to that question is, "by making everyone more safe" and "by making communities that are safe and supportive of everyone."
The idea that isolationism will protect us is ludicrous. It's why the construct of the tariffs is, in its current iteration, nonsense. There is no such thing as isolationism; we inhabit a shared earth. The idea always makes me think of the early 80s when there was a non smoking and a smoking section in every restaurant, as if we weren't all breathing the same air. Oligarchs can build bunkers underground, sure, but to what end? What is a life spent living underground when the rest of the world is destroyed? There is no end logic here.
We help ourselves when we help others and we help others when we help ourselves. The myth of American individualism is absolute bollocks. No American did anything by themselves - not the revolutionaries, not the pioneers, not the suffragettes, not the abolitionists, not the civil rights movement, and definitely not the oligarchs. No one is "self-made." We all benefit from the work and ingenuity and help of others.
So I think of course we start with protecting our family, knowing that the best thing we can do for them is to protect our street, and then our village, and then our state, and then our country, and then our world. And it's not even linear like this formulation implies. It's all the things, day by day, each one adding up to more than the whole.
Thanks, Judith. You said, "I want to embody my professed core values when I’m challenged." You did so by talking us through your day. Love you so much!
That’s really kind of you to say. Like most people I know, I’m struggling to understand whether I’m adequately engaged. :(
So much this, Judith! I have *some* privilege (white, straight, cisgender), but I don't feel safe in this current political climate, nor do I feel safe for any of my friends or family. I hope we can all remain true to ourselves and those values we cherish. That we even need these conversations saddens me deeply.
It’s not a proud moment for our country, but we have always had work to do. If enough of us speak out, more people will be protected.
Dear Judith, thank you for this, all of it. You are lifting your light above the golden door! Much love from down south.
Love to you and Sonja, Mary!!
Today, I got to see the Upper Valley's own Mohsen Mahdawi released from detention in Burlington, (for now, anyway). It heartened me about the work of protesting and calling and litigating. And reinforced for me that we must do so much more, and more comprehensively. We need a new coalition, a braver, bolder, more national, yet more local, more variegated, more dynamic group than the last one. Thank you for speaking in your inimitable way on behalf of this!
So many of us are hungry for a coalition and leadership that align with both our values and urgency. Momentum seems to be gaining, but it feels painfully slow.
I meant to add: I have a big pack of these cards. The idea is to leave them on public bulletin boards and bathrooms wherever you go. Judith, I have heaps, I'll bring you some. I got them on Etsy.
I can’t see the card but I bet it’s the one about knowing your rights? Would love some!!
Will bring some to you!
Here's a link to the "know your rights" cards: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1877146343/red-card-5pcs-know-your-rights-cards
There are lots of outlets for them!
I don't think you have to regret this impulse: "Still, I’m not proud that my first response to our friends’ story was to ask: How can I protect my loved ones? How can I keep them from danger?"
I think this is fundamentally hard-wired in all of us, you know? I think that the trick is we to reframe it. The answer to that question is, "by making everyone more safe" and "by making communities that are safe and supportive of everyone."
The idea that isolationism will protect us is ludicrous. It's why the construct of the tariffs is, in its current iteration, nonsense. There is no such thing as isolationism; we inhabit a shared earth. The idea always makes me think of the early 80s when there was a non smoking and a smoking section in every restaurant, as if we weren't all breathing the same air. Oligarchs can build bunkers underground, sure, but to what end? What is a life spent living underground when the rest of the world is destroyed? There is no end logic here.
We help ourselves when we help others and we help others when we help ourselves. The myth of American individualism is absolute bollocks. No American did anything by themselves - not the revolutionaries, not the pioneers, not the suffragettes, not the abolitionists, not the civil rights movement, and definitely not the oligarchs. No one is "self-made." We all benefit from the work and ingenuity and help of others.
So I think of course we start with protecting our family, knowing that the best thing we can do for them is to protect our street, and then our village, and then our state, and then our country, and then our world. And it's not even linear like this formulation implies. It's all the things, day by day, each one adding up to more than the whole.
This. This, this, this.