Roger Simon has been a political writer for four decades. He is now retiring, in part because his wife wants to travel and see the world, and he agrees.
His final column, written for Politico, is titled A majority of one walks away from his keyboard and is something you must read.
He derived his title from the words of Henry David Thoreau.
I am going to push fair use by quoting a bit more than three paragraphs to provide the context in which those words appear:
We live at a pivotal time because Donald Trump and his thugs have done us a favor. They have shown us that democracy is not inevitable. They have shown us it can fail.
In just a matter of days, they have shown us how democracy can be transformed into something evil. And we can imagine a future of jackboots crashing through our doors at 2 a.m., trucks in the streets to take people to the internment camps, bright lights and barking dogs — and worse.
Does this make me sound hysterical? Maybe. But this is my last chance to be. In its first week, the Trump administration demonstrated its contempt for Mexicans, for Muslims and for Jews. I imagine the true list is longer. Much longer.
Should we keep quiet as we watch this? Is this why America was created?
If, for amusement, you wish to pay attention to the opinion polls, do so. (Jimmy Kimmel said: “Hillary underperformed with women, African-Americans, Latinos and young people. The only group she did well with was pollsters.”)
But the most important poll was created by Henry David Thoreau when he wrote, “any man more right than his neighbors constitutes a majority of one … ”
You are a majority of one. You have a duty to act like it. You have a duty to do something to preserve democracy. Something nonviolent, I hope, but something.
That will give you a sense of this column, and why I think it should not only be read by those of us here, but passed on widely.
I met Roger Simon once, and had a brief conversation with him. I found him to be thoughtful, committed to making the political processes understandable to ordinary folks. I did not always agree with what he wrote, but I respected how he wrote.
My respect has, as a result of this column, gone up.
Do yourself a favor.
Go read it.
Peace.