“There are persons, too, who see not the full extent of the evil which threatens them; they solace themselves with hopes that the enemy, if he succeed, will be merciful. It is the madness of folly, to expect mercy from those who have refused to do justice.”
~~~ Thomas Paine, closing lines of American Crisis, 1776
This sobering 1+ liner comes to you as part of Linda’s One-Liner Wednesday series. Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2025/03/05/one-liner-wednesday-bad-suggestions/
“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered.”
~~~ Thomas Paine, opening lines of American Crisis, 1776
This sobering 1+ liner comes to you as part of Linda’s One-Liner Wednesday series. Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2025/02/26/one-liner-wednesday-useless-superpowers/
Slava Ukraini!
This message of support for Ukraine’s sovereignty from me, one among millions of like-minded Americans, is brought to you by Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays. Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2025/02/19/one-liner-wednesday-if-i-didnt-laugh-id-cry/
Last Sunday, I shared Rattle Poets Respond offering “The Skaters” by Dante Di Stefano.
This Sunday, editor Timothy Green has chosen “Two-Hour Delay” by Abby E. Murray, which, to me, expresses perfectly the state of mind of these harrowing times in the US. (Link will open in a new tab, so you can read it right now or listen to the audio clip of Abby reading it. Make sure to also read Abby’s note that accompanies the poem.)
The opening lines are:
It’s February and already
I’ve overspent my budgeted bewildermentfor the year, most of it on deep & constant
sorrow…
It’s true.
Interestingly, both Abby’s poem this Sunday and Dante’s poem last Sunday feature the counterpoint of a young daughter, enjoying the wonderment of winter, playing against the hard reality of current events.
It is my privilege to know both Abby and Dante, who each earned PhDs from Binghamton University. When I first joined the Binghamton Poetry Project, a community outreach program founded by Nicole Santalucia, Abby was our director. I was honored when Abby agreed to write a blurb for my chapbook, Hearts. It is so beautiful that I still tear up when I read it.
Mid-poem, Abby writes:
Belief is the new disbelief. Grief, not shock,
is this year’s renewable resource, and baby,
the harvest looks plentiful.
I’m really feeling it.
Thank you, Abby, for giving voice to what it is to be dealing with our present times.
Vote for Democracy #26
Last night, US President Joe Biden delivered a farewell speech from the Oval Office. Among other things, it warns against the increasingly powerful tech oligarchy that threatens our democracy. You can read the address here.
The penultimate paragraph is:
My eternal thanks to you, the American people. After 50 years of public service, I give you my word, I still believe in the idea for which this nation stands — a nation where the strength of our institutions and the character of our people matter and must endure. Now it’s your turn to stand guard. May you all be the keeper of the flame. May you keep the faith. I love America. You love it, too.
Yes.
I, along with millions and millions of others, will heed the call. Each of us doing the work that is ours to do will keep our democracy intact.
Some will have a bigger, public role and others will be working in a much smaller sphere of influence, but all of us can participate.
It’s what democracy means.
*****
Join us for Linda’s Just Jot It January! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2025/01/16/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-12th-2025-2/
“…and this was said to me by a cryptologist: If you think technology is going to solve your problems, you don’t understand technology and you don’t understand your problems.”
~~~ Laurie Anderson
Join us for Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays and/or Just Jot It January! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2025/01/15/one-liner-wednesday-jusjojan25-the-15th-be-colourful/
It’s important to emphasize that hope is only a beginning; it’s not a substitute for action, only a basis for it.
~~~ Rebecca Solnit
Join us for Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2024/12/04/one-liner-wednesday-why/
In a democracy it is the duty of every citizen to think.
~~~ James Russell Lowell in the first presidential endorsement in The Atlantic in 1860 when the new magazine endorsed Abraham Lincoln; this year, in only their fifth endorsement in their long, storied history, they endorsed Kamala Harris.
This timely reminder is brought to you as part of Linda’s One-Liner Wednesday. Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2024/10/30/one-liner-wednesday-getting-ready/
(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash)
Retired US Marine general and longest serving chief of staff to Donald Trump when he was president “said that, in his opinion, Mr. Trump met the definition of a fascist, would govern like a dictator if allowed, and had no understanding of the Constitution or the concept of rule of law.” Source: New York Times (gift link to article) which backs up my recent post on this subject
This timely warning comes to you as part of Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays, which is usually much lighter or inspiring than this. To join us, visit here: https://lindaghill.com/2024/10/23/one-liner-wednesday-no-better-time/
NETWORK, a social justice lobbying organization founded over fifty years ago by a group of Catholic sisters, is currently embarked on their Nuns on the bus & Friends tour in the run-up to the November election.
They have provided a non-partisan tool to use during the September 10th presidential debate to keep track of which issues are mentioned during the debate. It’s a bingo card!
The page above puts it this way:
The 2024 election poses a critical choice to our country: will we choose a future where everyone thrives? You can use the bingo card to help you track what the candidates have to say on the issues, and discern how your vote will protect and expand a flourishing, multiracial, multi-faith democracy for all.
I know that many of us, whether or not we follow a faith tradition, want to see everyone thrive. Please feel free to use and share this bingo card and NETWORK’s Equally Sacred Multi-Issue Voter Checklist to help guide deliberations in choosing for whom to vote at all levels of government.
Joanne Corey 