Social Distancing Can’t Stop Solidarity

Social Distancing Can’t Stop Solidarity

Social Distancing Can’t Stop Solidarity

We can pull through only if we all work together.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: The Nation believes that helping readers stay informed about the impact of the coronavirus crisis is a form of public service. For that reason, this article, and all of our coronavirus coverage, is now free. Please subscribe to support our writers and staff, and stay healthy.

Dear Readers,

Normally the neighborhood around The Nation’s office—on Eighth Avenue, in the heart of New York’s Garment District—is one of the busiest, most crowded places on earth. But like so many other publications, we are now conducting all of our operations remotely. It is distressing to picture the bustling streets eerily quiet and our office vacant, but we are living in unprecedented times. We extend solidarity to the many businesses and workers—in particular, frontline care workers—who do not have the option to work remotely and who face either an uncertain financial future or unimaginable conditions as they labor to mitigate this crisis.

For many of our editors and writers, working remotely is a familiar experience. But the isolation and loneliness of social distancing affects all of us, and spending more of our lives online will not, I fear, be an adequate substitute for the stimulation and solidarity of working together face-to-face. Yet like the rest of you, The Nation will carry on—reporting the truth, analyzing our circumstances, campaigning for justice, and bringing you in-depth commentary and coverage not just of the coronavirus crisis but of the state of our politics, our democracy, and the health of our planet.

Because while the dangers are real—and made far worse by an administration in Washington whose general incompetence has been compounded by its hostility to science—so is the need for bold solutions. We’ll continue lifting up those solutions here at The Nation and continue calling for courage, solidarity, and compassion. But we can’t do that without your support. If you’re a regular reader, please consider stepping up and subscribing. Or making a donation. We’ll get through this—together.

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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