Apocryphal

Apocryphal

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You made me crude
because you were afraid
and too easily in awe—

but I also loved that
about you, the sincerity
of your love, the centrality

of your worry.
Had I intervened
to privilege one

over the other,
it would have been all
you remembered.

All you thought about,
that entrance.
Even as it was,

you said I visited,
but those divas and reformers
weren’t me—

they spoke for me
only in the literal sense
in which every radius

of a wheel is tempted
to believe that it,
in its rigidity,

alone was chosen
to support the whole
miracle of motion.

In fact, I cast no spells
and called no witnesses.
I let you find your own.

I let you discover that
those growing pains
are the thing you are.

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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