Democracy

Democracy

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(A Patriotic Hymn for Republicans)

Despite the fact that incidents of in-person voter fraud in
the United States are exceedingly rare, the GOP has used
the issue to tighten election laws around the country.
                                                            —News reports


American children are all taught in school
That voting’s democracy’s most vital tool.
But in the wrong hands all that voting can bring
A little too much of a very good thing.
Yes, too many voters of darker complexion
Can cause the wrong person to win an election.
And college kids mostly are just in a phase
That makes them left wing and supportive of gays.
To us, each of them is a dangerous blighter
Whose voting should wait till he’s older and whiter.
So we put in laws we have reason to think
Will mean that the strength of these voters will shrink.
We shorten the hours, and ask for a lot
Of picture IDs—more than anyone’s got.
Their votes aren’t the votes that the framers intended.
We only regret that the poll tax has ended.
The voting we need in this land of the free
Is voting by people with whom we agree.

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.”

I urge you to stand with The Nation and donate today.

Onwards,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editorial Director and Publisher, The Nation

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