Food For Thought

Food For Thought

Well, after two straight weeks of gorging on politics, I feel a bit nauseous and spent. I found both the DNC and RNC dizzying and exhausting (for different reasons), and throw on top of that the fact that the Cubs have lost seven of eight, and I’m just barely hanging onto my sanity. Which brings me to this thought-provoking column from my friend David Sirota about how manifestly bizarre and disassociated the campaign has become, and how easy it is to get caught up in the minutiae and trivinalia of the news cycle.

I feel torn about the election. At one level the amount of enthusiasm and attention its garnered seems to be a sign of a healthy democracy, on the other, the actual coverage, the paegantry, the degree to which the election really does feel like a big reality TV show is deeply disconcerting.

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Well, after two straight weeks of gorging on politics, I feel a bit nauseous and spent. I found both the DNC and RNC dizzying and exhausting (for different reasons), and throw on top of that the fact that the Cubs have lost seven of eight, and I’m just barely hanging onto my sanity. Which brings me to this thought-provoking column from my friend David Sirota about how manifestly bizarre and disassociated the campaign has become, and how easy it is to get caught up in the minutiae and trivinalia of the news cycle.

I feel torn about the election. At one level the amount of enthusiasm and attention its garnered seems to be a sign of a healthy democracy, on the other, the actual coverage, the paegantry, the degree to which the election really does feel like a big reality TV show is deeply disconcerting.

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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