The Dark Side of the Moon

The Dark Side of the Moon

Well, I don’t have much to add to all the frenetic speculation and schaundenfraude following word that Eliot Spitzer has been linked to a prostitution ring. But the whole sordid mess reminded me of this Mark Twain quote:

Every one is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows anybody.

Te-Ping and I were just discussing this, and wondering whether it’s the case a)that success in electoral politics requires a degree of hubris and ego-mania that also leads high-profile politicians to transgress and believe they won’t be caught or b) any random sampling of people subjected to the scrutiny of elected officials would yield a roughly similar amount of improprieties, and sins.

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Well, I don’t have much to add to all the frenetic speculation and schaundenfraude following word that Eliot Spitzer has been linked to a prostitution ring. But the whole sordid mess reminded me of this Mark Twain quote:

Every one is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows anybody.

Te-Ping and I were just discussing this, and wondering whether it’s the case a)that success in electoral politics requires a degree of hubris and ego-mania that also leads high-profile politicians to transgress and believe they won’t be caught or b) any random sampling of people subjected to the scrutiny of elected officials would yield a roughly similar amount of improprieties, and sins.

We cannot back down

We now confront a second Trump presidency.

There’s not a moment to lose. We must harness our fears, our grief, and yes, our anger, to resist the dangerous policies Donald Trump will unleash on our country. We rededicate ourselves to our role as journalists and writers of principle and conscience.

Today, we also steel ourselves for the fight ahead. It will demand a fearless spirit, an informed mind, wise analysis, and humane resistance. We face the enactment of Project 2025, a far-right supreme court, political authoritarianism, increasing inequality and record homelessness, a looming climate crisis, and conflicts abroad. The Nation will expose and propose, nurture investigative reporting, and stand together as a community to keep hope and possibility alive. The Nation’s work will continue—as it has in good and not-so-good times—to develop alternative ideas and visions, to deepen our mission of truth-telling and deep reporting, and to further solidarity in a nation divided.

Armed with a remarkable 160 years of bold, independent journalism, our mandate today remains the same as when abolitionists first founded The Nation—to uphold the principles of democracy and freedom, serve as a beacon through the darkest days of resistance, and to envision and struggle for a brighter future.

The day is dark, the forces arrayed are tenacious, but as the late Nation editorial board member Toni Morrison wrote “No! This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.”

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Onwards,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editorial Director and Publisher, The Nation

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