Press play to listen to Dan Rather read this essay. Three stories dominated the headlines this past week. They may seem at first glance distinct from each other, but I believe they are intertwined in important and revealing ways: the guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin murder trial, Earth Day accompanied by bold climate announcements from the Biden administration, and the ongoing COVID pandemic.
As has been stated here by many others, Thank You Dan, for your insightful, positive reflection on last week, as well as your offering of the beautiful hope which is still possible if we could but only see it. During the week, I too had been thinking of the possibility that we may finally have arrived at (or at least be quickly heading toward) what you described as a point where
"the pressure is growing that will be too great to be contained."
What a glorious thought this was and is--to feel the tide turning for the better. For I'll admit, at times I get discouraged by the
"headwinds... of these counter-forces [which] center around denial."
But thank the Power of goodness, and the fact that we were able to overcome in the election, and then squelch the insurection, to the point where we can have hope--and perhaps even develop a little faith that we have reached
"a moment when we can remake a lot of our world, for the better."
May you and yours find Peace Always, Dan.
PS: I also wanted to thank everyone for their comments and contributions to the Steady community. I love being here.
We are approaching a seminal moment in our history. One way or another the pandemic will end and we will need to face the global challenges of the economy, climate change, civil unrest, inequality and polarization. We will be facing these challenges in an era of advances in bio medicine, space exploration, technology, and the coming of age of the digital generation.
The age of unreason and rejection of knowledge gave us the dark ages; the 30 years war spawned the age of enlightenment; the black death lead to the renaissance, and the Spanish flu brought us the Roaring 20s. Which path forward do we choose not only for ourselves but for our children and their children and grandchildren?
I broke some bones in my foot on Sunday while gardening so had to wait until just now, sitting with said foot propped up, to listen to this essay. No matter how much despair I feel about humanity (gained from far too many negative experiences in life), you always help me to see beyond it, Mr Rather. I appreciate that. Sometimes, when I am dreading reaching out again to one of my unresponsive, trump supporting Congressional reps (both Senators & my House Rep) and I think “why bother?” I ask myself what your advice would be and I complete my task. I like that you do not sugarcoat anything and yet you still find that sliver of hope that we can turn things around for the better. Thank you.
What a great essay, as usual, but more than usual. I have felt hopeful that we as a society can mend our fabric and carry on. I am watching a lot of us taking this golden opportunity to effect and continue changing in the way we need , and with the people who care. I really feel that we are on the cusp of something great, and that the negative forces are waning. Keep it up, people. I'm also very proud of my state of Minnesota right now for doing the right things.
Well put M Rather, I pray you are here for many more years of reporting to us how the world is in such crisis. I remember being in the Ecology Club in High School in the 70’s, if we only were a much stronger voice, and took a much stronger stance, and had less opposition, and greed in corporations. Who knows what differences could have benefited our environment. We need to give our Grandkids a more secure and clean world for there futures. I’m all in to do my part.
First let me say Thank You Dan for adding the podcast voice over for your written commentary. I have a Cochlear Implant I got not too long before The Pandemic hit and while it is a "Yah Science!" moment for me it takes some time for the mind to understand what it is hearing again. Do you know how hard it is to practice listening when you live alone and are stuck at home? Being able to hear and read the words is golden for this task so I want to say thank you for this.
Second, I agree with you and most of the comments here on this issue. It truly has been wonderful not to have to listen to that wanna-be-statesman tell another lie. (if only going deaf would have kept it from me!) I have gone, in only a few months, from worrying when the Vaccine will be started to fully vaccinated and waiting to hug my family again.
Climate! I have been afraid of what we have been doing on this Earth since the first Earth Day thanks to a wonderful Science Teacher in High School.
On the third and just as important topic, I feel ashamed. I didn't know, I didn't see, I wasn't looking. Now that I know...I have no excuse for letting it continue.
Thank you Mr Rather for another beautifully written Sunday essay and the added bonus of you reading it😃 and, of course, the poignancy of the three events being part of the big picture. Your writing “turns the light on” and helps me see the big picture in a way that I’m not sure I could on my own🤪 And, finally, even though this isn’t relevant to today’s essay, I wanted to share with you how much I enjoyed the interviews you did with with our celebrated musicians. How cool is Dan Rather!! Loved the things you were interested in talking with them about. 👍🏻
Thank you for your insights as well as your eloquence in presenting them. I have followed your perspective as well as others as relates to these three headlines. BUT, there are a multitude who do not follow you, who don't follow any of the news and commentary because they just don't have time, or their education level makes it difficult to follow, or they don't speak/read English, or they are more focused on keeping their family together, fed, clothed and sheltered, that the big issues don't penetrate their lives. I make no distinction as to any of their political leanings, only that a large swathe of our population are "uneducated" about the big issues. They are not "willfully ignorant" but rather otherwise occupied. How do we reach these people? How do we get the information into their hands and heads so that they don't just blindly vote R or D? That is what discourages me. And that for the most part much of MSM is preaching to the choir.
Your optimism is a shot in the arm for me on this Sunday morning. Thank you. I hope it "takes" and that I can once again return to my usual more hopeful outlook. The past few years have made me feel as if I were drowning in an ocean of insurmountable challenges.
What a wonderfully insightful synthesis and analysis of where we must go from here. And being able to listen to you while having coffee on the porch was a real treat. Thank you, Mr. Rather. Have a lovely Sunday.
As a white privileged person, I have been "mugged by reality" myself over the last year in particular. Witnessing George Floyd being lynched by a police officer, reading Adam Jentleson's book Kill Switch about the history of the filibuster rule, and following the reporting on the momentous events and processes in the country have made clear to me that white supremacy, a particular heinous version of racism, has been doing a lot of moving and shaking in this country since the beginning.
Black and brown people being treated poorly, disenfranchised as much as possible, and lied about to sustain the Big Lies in our history are behind all the stories you mentioned. Unequal treatment by police is painfully and glaringly obvious now. Climate change and covid have had bigger negative effects on black and brown and native people across the nation.
I am excited and hopeful about the legislation working its way through the process aimed at addressing significant aspects of the issues you have drawn attention to. It appears that the filibuster rule, as it is, is the fulcrum point of whether all that wonderful legislation will be passed and implemented or stalled by white supremacy motivated obstruction.
I long to live in the country I grew up thinking I lived in, where our "melting pot" is a big happy family, where we are all human and protected under the law no matter what color we are, where mutual respect and dignity and civil discourse prevail, and where truth matters. We all do better when we all do better.
As has been stated here by many others, Thank You Dan, for your insightful, positive reflection on last week, as well as your offering of the beautiful hope which is still possible if we could but only see it. During the week, I too had been thinking of the possibility that we may finally have arrived at (or at least be quickly heading toward) what you described as a point where
"the pressure is growing that will be too great to be contained."
What a glorious thought this was and is--to feel the tide turning for the better. For I'll admit, at times I get discouraged by the
"headwinds... of these counter-forces [which] center around denial."
But thank the Power of goodness, and the fact that we were able to overcome in the election, and then squelch the insurection, to the point where we can have hope--and perhaps even develop a little faith that we have reached
"a moment when we can remake a lot of our world, for the better."
May you and yours find Peace Always, Dan.
PS: I also wanted to thank everyone for their comments and contributions to the Steady community. I love being here.
We are approaching a seminal moment in our history. One way or another the pandemic will end and we will need to face the global challenges of the economy, climate change, civil unrest, inequality and polarization. We will be facing these challenges in an era of advances in bio medicine, space exploration, technology, and the coming of age of the digital generation.
The age of unreason and rejection of knowledge gave us the dark ages; the 30 years war spawned the age of enlightenment; the black death lead to the renaissance, and the Spanish flu brought us the Roaring 20s. Which path forward do we choose not only for ourselves but for our children and their children and grandchildren?
I broke some bones in my foot on Sunday while gardening so had to wait until just now, sitting with said foot propped up, to listen to this essay. No matter how much despair I feel about humanity (gained from far too many negative experiences in life), you always help me to see beyond it, Mr Rather. I appreciate that. Sometimes, when I am dreading reaching out again to one of my unresponsive, trump supporting Congressional reps (both Senators & my House Rep) and I think “why bother?” I ask myself what your advice would be and I complete my task. I like that you do not sugarcoat anything and yet you still find that sliver of hope that we can turn things around for the better. Thank you.
What a great essay, as usual, but more than usual. I have felt hopeful that we as a society can mend our fabric and carry on. I am watching a lot of us taking this golden opportunity to effect and continue changing in the way we need , and with the people who care. I really feel that we are on the cusp of something great, and that the negative forces are waning. Keep it up, people. I'm also very proud of my state of Minnesota right now for doing the right things.
I appreciate being able to listen to the essay. Thank you!
Well put M Rather, I pray you are here for many more years of reporting to us how the world is in such crisis. I remember being in the Ecology Club in High School in the 70’s, if we only were a much stronger voice, and took a much stronger stance, and had less opposition, and greed in corporations. Who knows what differences could have benefited our environment. We need to give our Grandkids a more secure and clean world for there futures. I’m all in to do my part.
It’s totally amazing that what is right for the country the republicans are against keep being steady and keep telling it like it is
Just excellent. A great read.
First let me say Thank You Dan for adding the podcast voice over for your written commentary. I have a Cochlear Implant I got not too long before The Pandemic hit and while it is a "Yah Science!" moment for me it takes some time for the mind to understand what it is hearing again. Do you know how hard it is to practice listening when you live alone and are stuck at home? Being able to hear and read the words is golden for this task so I want to say thank you for this.
Second, I agree with you and most of the comments here on this issue. It truly has been wonderful not to have to listen to that wanna-be-statesman tell another lie. (if only going deaf would have kept it from me!) I have gone, in only a few months, from worrying when the Vaccine will be started to fully vaccinated and waiting to hug my family again.
Climate! I have been afraid of what we have been doing on this Earth since the first Earth Day thanks to a wonderful Science Teacher in High School.
On the third and just as important topic, I feel ashamed. I didn't know, I didn't see, I wasn't looking. Now that I know...I have no excuse for letting it continue.
Thank you Mr Rather for another beautifully written Sunday essay and the added bonus of you reading it😃 and, of course, the poignancy of the three events being part of the big picture. Your writing “turns the light on” and helps me see the big picture in a way that I’m not sure I could on my own🤪 And, finally, even though this isn’t relevant to today’s essay, I wanted to share with you how much I enjoyed the interviews you did with with our celebrated musicians. How cool is Dan Rather!! Loved the things you were interested in talking with them about. 👍🏻
Thank you for your insights as well as your eloquence in presenting them. I have followed your perspective as well as others as relates to these three headlines. BUT, there are a multitude who do not follow you, who don't follow any of the news and commentary because they just don't have time, or their education level makes it difficult to follow, or they don't speak/read English, or they are more focused on keeping their family together, fed, clothed and sheltered, that the big issues don't penetrate their lives. I make no distinction as to any of their political leanings, only that a large swathe of our population are "uneducated" about the big issues. They are not "willfully ignorant" but rather otherwise occupied. How do we reach these people? How do we get the information into their hands and heads so that they don't just blindly vote R or D? That is what discourages me. And that for the most part much of MSM is preaching to the choir.
Your optimism is a shot in the arm for me on this Sunday morning. Thank you. I hope it "takes" and that I can once again return to my usual more hopeful outlook. The past few years have made me feel as if I were drowning in an ocean of insurmountable challenges.
Thoughtful and compelling, Dan. Thank you for this on a rainy New England day when I truly could “dig in” and contemplate and think it through.
What a wonderfully insightful synthesis and analysis of where we must go from here. And being able to listen to you while having coffee on the porch was a real treat. Thank you, Mr. Rather. Have a lovely Sunday.
As a white privileged person, I have been "mugged by reality" myself over the last year in particular. Witnessing George Floyd being lynched by a police officer, reading Adam Jentleson's book Kill Switch about the history of the filibuster rule, and following the reporting on the momentous events and processes in the country have made clear to me that white supremacy, a particular heinous version of racism, has been doing a lot of moving and shaking in this country since the beginning.
Black and brown people being treated poorly, disenfranchised as much as possible, and lied about to sustain the Big Lies in our history are behind all the stories you mentioned. Unequal treatment by police is painfully and glaringly obvious now. Climate change and covid have had bigger negative effects on black and brown and native people across the nation.
I am excited and hopeful about the legislation working its way through the process aimed at addressing significant aspects of the issues you have drawn attention to. It appears that the filibuster rule, as it is, is the fulcrum point of whether all that wonderful legislation will be passed and implemented or stalled by white supremacy motivated obstruction.
I long to live in the country I grew up thinking I lived in, where our "melting pot" is a big happy family, where we are all human and protected under the law no matter what color we are, where mutual respect and dignity and civil discourse prevail, and where truth matters. We all do better when we all do better.
Thank you Dan, it is good to hear your voice. Also, thank you for being one of the sane voices in our society.