Our country has reached a critical juncture. The “current events” of the just the last 30 days present a case few could argue with.
Actually, it is more a precipice than a juncture that our country is now facing. A few more steps in the direction we are going and we may lose our footing forever. It’s a scary time to be old, it’s a scary time to be young. I suspect that it’s a scary time to be either a Democrat or a Republican, and probably not much more comforting to claim no side in this “struggle.”
Overt hatred has been unleashed in our country.
Never in my six decades have I felt so alarmed or repulsed at the open expression and apparent acceptance of outright racism, misogyny, and corruption in the national dialogue. Acceptance that has not only reared its ugly head from the usual cracks and sewers of the American public, not just rumbled around in the dark corners of this administration, but is literally being encouraged, practiced and modeled by the current CIC — and winked at by an entire American political party. A supposedly “Grand Old Party” that a few people I know still somehow support.
I can’t make sense of this. I know we have faced problems before as a country, but I have never felt so strongly that we were going B A C K W A R D S. And at a time that is so critical to our planet! To our health, the actual future. I sometimes feel like I’m living in the South before the Civil War. I just want to shout, “Wake up! Can’t you see that this is not sustainable? There is going to be a terrible price to pay!”
Never before have I felt that I can no longer endure being in relationships with these once “normal” people. (My hairdresser for the last 35 years. My grandson’s father, whom I love.) I simply cannot accept that they accept this for our country, the land of the free and the brave — with “liberty and justice for all.”
But this is not the first time our country has been in a fight for its very life.
There have been many uncertain, even harrowing, times in our past — and somehow the right people showed up in the right place at those times. (Well, most of those times.)
If you think back on the last 250 years, what would you say were the absolutely critical “moments” in American history? Would your list include any of the following?
Crisis List
- Conquest of the Native Americans
- American Revolution
- Founding of a democracy
- Civil War
- WWI
- The Great Depression
- WWII
- The Cold War
- The Civil Rights Movement
- The Anti-War Movement
- 9/11 and the Iraq War
- 2016 Financial Crisis
- 2019 The Trump Attack on every ethical premise of our Constitution
Now go back and ask yourself if there happened to be a particular person (or maybe a few) in the right place at the right time — brave enough to do the right thing. Someone who stepped up to keep this nation from going over the edge. A captain, as Walt said, who steadied the ship, brought it through the storm and led the country into safer waters.
Or not. ;(
Or not yet ;)
In 2012 Time Magazine ran an article ranking the most influential Americans of all time:
The 20 Most Influential Americans of All Time: The trailblazers, visionaries and cultural ambassadors who defined a nation. (Listed chronologically)
- George Washington
- Thomas Jefferson
- Sacagawea, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark
- Abraham Lincoln
- Sitting Bull
- Alexander G. Bell
- Thomas Edison
- Henry Ford
- Wright Brothers
- Margaret Sanger
- Albert Einstein
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Louis Armstrong
- James Watson
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Muhammad Ali
- Steve Jobs
Actually, fairy remarkable. 18 men. 2 women. 3 African-Americans. 2 Native Americans. Five years later a similar list appeared.
The Atlantic Monthly ran a piece in December of 2017, claiming 10 men, 9 white and 1 black, were the most influential people in American history:
“With apologies to currently influential people, time is the best judge of long-term impact, and each of these individuals has met that test. “ Hmm. They were:
- Abraham Lincoln
- George Washington
- Thomas Jefferson
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- Alexander Hamilton
- Benjamin Franklin
- John Marshall
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Thomas Edison
- Woodrow Wilson
People who changed the United States:
- Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
- Thomas Paine (1737-1809)
- Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
- George Washington (1732–1799)
- Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804)
- James Madison (1751-1836)
- Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882)
- Margaret Fuller (1810 – 1850)
- Susan B Anthony (1820 – 1906)
- Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811 – 1896)
- Walt Whitman (1819 – 1892)
- Harriet Tubman (1822 – 1913)
- Emily Dickinson (1830 – 1886)
- Booker T. Washington (1856 – 1915)
- Thomas Edison (1847 – 1931)
- Woodrow Wilson (1856 – 1924)
- Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882 – 1945)
- Henry Ford (1863 – 1947)
- John Steinbeck (1902 – 1968)
- Rosa Parks (1913 – 2005)
- Billy Graham (1918 – 2018)
- Martin Luther King (1929 – 1968)
- John F. Kennedy (1917 – 1963)
- Malcolm X (1925 – 1965)
- Lyndon Johnson (1908 – 1973)
- Ronald Reagan (1911 – 2004)
- Bill Clinton (1946 – )
- George W Bush Jr (1946 – )
- Barack Obama (1961- )
- Donald Trump (1946 – )
From these lists we can determine a number of Americans who were, in fact, absolutely critical in meeting and rising to the immediate challenge of their times, affecting the outcome in a positive way.
- Thomas Jefferson
- Alexander Hamilton
- Harriet Tubman
- Abraham Lincoln
- Susan B. Anthony
- FDR
- Rosa Parks
- JFK
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Barack Obama
I think we can go back to the Crisis List from above and match up these people to their corresponding “crisis.” If you honestly try imagine how differently things might have gone in this country if not for these people being where they were, it’s a bit scary.
Interestingly the invisible “Woman Crisis” has been ongoing, from the country’s inception to this very moment, but right now it feels like all we have is The Women’s March to show for it. And that p*ssy-grabber is still sitting in the Oval, defiling the very air around him. And us. And our loved ones.
And the water. And the Arctic. And the forests. And the national parks. And our moral fabric. And he collective conscience of our nation. He must be stopped.
That is why I support Kamala Harris. Every time I hear her speak, I feel like she speaks for me. Only better. Just a few days ago she was on the Jimmy Kimmel Show and I caught part of it. It starts at 4:00 minutes in, and runs for about 3 minutes, but the whole thing is worth watching.
I know these are early days in this campaign. And yet, the days are passing. The field is thinning. It’s gonna get real serious, real soon.
I’m going all in on Kamala’s campaign now. My first real opportunity to meet her has just come up — she is coming to Colorado in a few weeks. It’s way pricey for me, and a two and a half hour drive each way. It’s so far out of my league, but I’m actually considering it. The invitation arrived in my email on Friday. (It blows my mind that Mr. Rflctammt and I are even thinking of putting up the $$$ to go — that is not how we have ever lived — but this feels like the crisis of our lives and we are determined to do everything we can to help. Is this the right move?)
I just know that as time goes on, more and more people are going to be thinking about who to support for president. It is vital that we can relate to all of them positively. It is important that we begin the conversations early and often with those we know, that we help make it feel safe and worthwhile to discuss the options and issues (even if your preferred candidate is not Kamala!) We’ve all got to get to that finish line together, because once we get there — that finish line will become the next starting line and the real work will begin.
I am SO excited just to be excited. And I am excited about Kamala. I am SO thrilled to feel hopeful. And I do feel hopeful. But more than that...I am just so grateful to know that there is someone who is strong enough, smart enough, brave enough — and is well-prepared enough — to step up at this critical juncture and help us try to save our country! This will not be a lesser of evils primary — we’ve got all good gals and guys.
I’m ready to do everything I can to help make sure Kamala gets there safely, securely, and with a unified party and solid citizen support behind her. And if it’s not her, I will get behind whoever we choose as a party. Because everything meaningful in my life rests on stopping this country from going off that cliff. Kamala Harris for the people!
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Kamala2020 info and links are below!
Newpioneer has rounded up some highlights of her sponsored legislation here.
snowman3 has rounded up some more legislative highlights here.
Want to know more about her positions and plans? Her policy page is Our America.
Or go straight to an issue: quality, affordable health care for all, economic justice,raising teacher pay, combating the climate crisis, criminal justice reform, action on gun violence, a fair and just immigration system, LGBTQ+ equality, government for the people, debt-free college and student debt, gender equality, American leadership at home and abroad, and fighting for racial justice.
Please remember to visit our community group page Kamala2020 and give us a follow! That way all our group efforts will appear in your stream; this makes it easy for everyone to keep up with our latest posts. As always, any who would like to join our group please leave us a comment and we’ll get your invitation right out to you!
If you’d like to volunteer to host one of our Kamala 2020 diaries, please leave your comment in the ”Calling all Volunteers”thread. Guest bloggers are always welcomed!
Please volunteer! Come share your story about why you support Kamala!
This week’s schedule:
Monday, July 22 — rflctammt
Thursday, July 25th — Cecelia S
Saturday, July 27th — Gay CA Democrat
Monday, July 29th —
Thursday, August 1—
Let your voices be heard!
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*Please remember this is a Kamala2020 group effort, & not a Daily Kos sponsored activity or endorsement.
While you’re here, don’t forget to visit Kamala’s Official Campaign Website and her Swag Shop for your favorite campaign gear! 😄
f you’re on Twitter, please follow@KamalaHarris and @SenKamalaHarris
(If you’re not on Twitter, bookmark to ersatz follow)
on Instagram: @kamalaharris
and facebook: KamalaHarris
Group Guidelines
The Kamala2020 community group has been created to positively support Senator Kamala Harris, and not to engage in negativity towards other Democrats running in the 2020 primaries.
All should be made to feel welcomed here. What’s not welcomed here is petty bickering over any of our preferred candidates, or personal attacks on fellow Democrats. We’re not responsible for the actions of others who may offend, insult or attempt to sow discord and disunity — that’s on them.
What we are responsible for are our own words and actions — that’s 100% on us.
I’d like to ask all group members, as well as those dropping by who support or are interested in Kamala’s bid for the nomination, that we not respond to negativity from other campaign’s supporters with even more negativity. Let’s do better than our best and respond with respect, humor or try to hold our peace. Recipes and cat pics work, too 😃
Doing no harm costs us nothing... pie-fights will cost us everything.
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