Katrina vanden Heuvel: Real Change Must Come From Real People

Katrina vanden Heuvel: Real Change Must Come From Real People

Katrina vanden Heuvel: Real Change Must Come From Real People

The Occupy movement has called for the dismantling and rebuiliding of a corrupt system. What elements are necessary to effect such change?

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In this appearance on CUNY TV’s Eldridge & Co.The Nation‘s Katrina vanden Heuvel discusses how movements such as the Occupy movement have transformed American discourse—and even politics, or aspects of it—in a relatively short period of time. But those in Occupy, pushing for the dismantling of what they consider an illegitmate system corrupted by money, will have to follow models of previously successful grassroots efforts, such as the civil rights movement, she argues. Ordinary citizens are crucial to effecting change, but so are principled politicians who can fight for change within the system. Watch more to learn how these ideas play out in the age of Obama.

—Elizabeth Whitman

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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