"Two things fill me with constantly increasing admiration and awe, the longer and more carefully I reflect on them: the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me." — Immanuel Kant
In these absolutely absurd times where it feels hopeless it's good to be reminded that not that long ago it was much worse in many ways.
One glimmer of hope today as I read your piece was Hungary's Orban, who had Trump's blessing, and VP Vance campaigning for him with other US aids, was soundly defeated today! So things can turn around, although we've got a lot of turning to return to even the semblance of sanity.
You state so well the question before us: “How far are we willing to go?” The seminal question has been asked a handful of times since our nation’s beginnings. Now, once again, it is for us to decide—to find an answer to that question—“whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.”
That’s where we are. I’ve lived a bit under a third of the time this country has been a nation, and never have I felt so confronted, confused, or filled with heartsick disappointment and revulsion. I realize we’ve survived—stumbling forward, oftentimes “bloodied but unbowed”—within this clumsy yet tenacious democracy. But now it appears we are truly at a fulcrum moment, one that only our Civil War compares to in its darkness.
The idealism we sought at this nation’s founding remains a beacon, even knowing that such idealism is impossible to attain. Yet it points the way, and history has proven—and I still believe—that this country remains worth fighting for, even if it means ballots instead of bullets.
I don't know if this is the best essay you've ever published — there is much competition in that regard — but I think it is my favorite.
I remember July 21, 1969, spending the night at my friend Lorenzo's house, packed in with his family and cousins and the intoxicating smells of his mother's cooking, as we watched Neil Armstrong step off that ladder: one giant leap for mankind. It was, as you say, a wondrous moment, not just for America but for the whole world.
Perhaps that wonder should be a starting point as we face the challenges of our times: wonder at the gift of life and the beauty of the world, at the roar of a rocket leaving the good earth and a baby yawning at its mothers breast; wonder as the potential for greatness in America strengthens our resolve to rescue it from its own decay.
I don't know if you plan to write an essay about our 250th birthday this summer, but you've made a terrific start.
Thank you for reminding us, all is not lost but hope comes with real effort. Make the noise, get out and vote if you love our country.
This may be the finest thing you've ever written. I want to share it with all my readers.
Thanks, Mick. Please do. I’m honored.
Excellent, Jimbo. I thought we would not recover from 1968, but we did. And we will. Keep up the Gospel, Baby.
Thanks for sharing this, Jim Bob.
In these absolutely absurd times where it feels hopeless it's good to be reminded that not that long ago it was much worse in many ways.
One glimmer of hope today as I read your piece was Hungary's Orban, who had Trump's blessing, and VP Vance campaigning for him with other US aids, was soundly defeated today! So things can turn around, although we've got a lot of turning to return to even the semblance of sanity.
You state so well the question before us: “How far are we willing to go?” The seminal question has been asked a handful of times since our nation’s beginnings. Now, once again, it is for us to decide—to find an answer to that question—“whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.”
That’s where we are. I’ve lived a bit under a third of the time this country has been a nation, and never have I felt so confronted, confused, or filled with heartsick disappointment and revulsion. I realize we’ve survived—stumbling forward, oftentimes “bloodied but unbowed”—within this clumsy yet tenacious democracy. But now it appears we are truly at a fulcrum moment, one that only our Civil War compares to in its darkness.
The idealism we sought at this nation’s founding remains a beacon, even knowing that such idealism is impossible to attain. Yet it points the way, and history has proven—and I still believe—that this country remains worth fighting for, even if it means ballots instead of bullets.
I don't know if this is the best essay you've ever published — there is much competition in that regard — but I think it is my favorite.
I remember July 21, 1969, spending the night at my friend Lorenzo's house, packed in with his family and cousins and the intoxicating smells of his mother's cooking, as we watched Neil Armstrong step off that ladder: one giant leap for mankind. It was, as you say, a wondrous moment, not just for America but for the whole world.
Perhaps that wonder should be a starting point as we face the challenges of our times: wonder at the gift of life and the beauty of the world, at the roar of a rocket leaving the good earth and a baby yawning at its mothers breast; wonder as the potential for greatness in America strengthens our resolve to rescue it from its own decay.
I don't know if you plan to write an essay about our 250th birthday this summer, but you've made a terrific start.