The Smallest

The Smallest

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It is in front of the tree.
The houses around the windows are lit
by it, it turns off and goes upon
knees and wherever the bone is almost next
to the skin. It has been defamed.
It will become undernourished.
It is not without end. It is not.
It is not what you can let happen,
or cause to happen, or has anything
at all to do with happening.
It happens as it exists without effect.
It is the pure in pure mathematics.
It is the sully in unsullied rain.
It is the pain in painfully.
It is also the fully. It is
the light in highlight and headlight,
the head in headland, the towering
in towers, trees, the outstretched
in shadows of mountains on plains and lakes.
It is not the water in the lake, however,
it is not cupped.
If it exists, it is unaware of it.
It could name itself however, and does.
It contains alphabets.
It is infinite and therefore the smallest thing.

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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