First of all, Vanessa, thanks for sharing your "origin story." It's a powerful one. We tend not to do that often enough, so when people are vulnerable it makes a positive impact. There is so much truth, so much prescience in what you write. If we could just take the country by the "shoulders," shake it and scream, Wake up! Maybe we could get people out of their complacency. It's a scary world out there. Retreating into our corners makes us feel "safe." But that is false safety, at best, if we don't figure out how to take on--and take out--the demons that plague our society and our country. Perhaps that's why the story of the Ukrainians resonates: they have a tangible and definable enemy that threatens their very existence (and ours!). We, on the other hand, have a murky enemy from within. If we open our eyes, though (as you did those many years ago), we can see that enemy is every bit as tangible and definable as the Russians are for the Ukrainians. We must figure out how to connect the dots for the many Americans who think they are immune to the existential threats that we face. Nothing less than our democracy--and our way of life--depends on it. So again, thank you for illuminating how you got to where you are--and pointing us all in the direction of where we need to go.
Evelyn, as usual your commentary is so priceless. Thank you for all of that. I do want to shake the country by its shoulders. Totally. I think you're right that part of the challenge in doing that is the murkier enemy from within... which is so mixed in with who we are. I do hope we can help connect at least the dots... and catalyze some action. As the wise ones would say, "We'll see."
There's also a push to default on the USD and take down our currency. The people pushing this idea are powerful, Elon Musk, Peter Theil, and others. Do you think they care what happens to the United States?
Yikes. I suppose the oligarchs only care about the country in as far as they want to keep it intact so their wealth still means something, and so that they can make more. Seems like several of them are pushing toward something more like the Russian oligarchy / crime state for the US. Seems like the US currency is a reference for the world - wouldn't taking it out cause worldwide economic chaos? -Vanessa
First of all, Vanessa, thanks for sharing your "origin story." It's a powerful one. We tend not to do that often enough, so when people are vulnerable it makes a positive impact. There is so much truth, so much prescience in what you write. If we could just take the country by the "shoulders," shake it and scream, Wake up! Maybe we could get people out of their complacency. It's a scary world out there. Retreating into our corners makes us feel "safe." But that is false safety, at best, if we don't figure out how to take on--and take out--the demons that plague our society and our country. Perhaps that's why the story of the Ukrainians resonates: they have a tangible and definable enemy that threatens their very existence (and ours!). We, on the other hand, have a murky enemy from within. If we open our eyes, though (as you did those many years ago), we can see that enemy is every bit as tangible and definable as the Russians are for the Ukrainians. We must figure out how to connect the dots for the many Americans who think they are immune to the existential threats that we face. Nothing less than our democracy--and our way of life--depends on it. So again, thank you for illuminating how you got to where you are--and pointing us all in the direction of where we need to go.
Evelyn, as usual your commentary is so priceless. Thank you for all of that. I do want to shake the country by its shoulders. Totally. I think you're right that part of the challenge in doing that is the murkier enemy from within... which is so mixed in with who we are. I do hope we can help connect at least the dots... and catalyze some action. As the wise ones would say, "We'll see."
There's also a push to default on the USD and take down our currency. The people pushing this idea are powerful, Elon Musk, Peter Theil, and others. Do you think they care what happens to the United States?
Yikes. I suppose the oligarchs only care about the country in as far as they want to keep it intact so their wealth still means something, and so that they can make more. Seems like several of them are pushing toward something more like the Russian oligarchy / crime state for the US. Seems like the US currency is a reference for the world - wouldn't taking it out cause worldwide economic chaos? -Vanessa