A Real King, and a Pretend One

A Real King, and a Pretend One

Ten thousand people mourned Corretta Scott King at her funeral yesterday. President Bush was also in attendance. The stark contrast between the life of Mrs. King, and the Man Who Would be King, is hard to miss.

In 2003, Mrs. King noted, ”A war with Iraq will increase anti-American sentiment, create more terrorists, and drain as much as 200 billion taxpayer dollars, which should be invested in human development here in America.”

King George, on the other hand, has pursued a win-at-any-cost of lives and dollars war in Iraq, while slashing already meager funds aimed at alleviating growing poverty.

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Ten thousand people mourned Corretta Scott King at her funeral yesterday. President Bush was also in attendance. The stark contrast between the life of Mrs. King, and the Man Who Would be King, is hard to miss.

In 2003, Mrs. King noted, ”A war with Iraq will increase anti-American sentiment, create more terrorists, and drain as much as 200 billion taxpayer dollars, which should be invested in human development here in America.”

King George, on the other hand, has pursued a win-at-any-cost of lives and dollars war in Iraq, while slashing already meager funds aimed at alleviating growing poverty.

The disconnect between the real King and the pretend one wasn’t lost on Mrs. King’s friends. Rev. Joseph Lowery noted in his eulogy– that literally made George Bush squirm, “We know now there were no weapons of mass destruction over there. But Coretta knew… that there are weapons of misdirection right down here. Millions without health insurance. Poverty abounds. For war billions more but no more for the poor.”

Yesterday, Mrs. King’s friends paid tribute to her, and let it be known that the struggle continues. No matter how much that makes the pretend king squirm.

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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