A few trendlines have collided recently that got me thinking of a former vice president, Al Gore. Remember him? For one, there is the existential threat of our climate crisis. It's been 16 years since Gore's Academy Award-winning documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" debuted. During that time, the truth he warned about — our planet's spiral toward a new climate reality, fueled by human activity and significantly less hospitable to human existence — has become only more inconvenient, urgent, and dire. Drought in the western U.S. Severe heat waves across Europe. Unusually heavy flooding in Kentucky and elsewhere. Scientists say these kinds of dramatic weather patterns will become more frequent as climate change progresses. We hear about 100-year storms or even 1,000-year floods, terms that are meant to indicate rarity. But it is increasingly clear such events are no longer anomalous. A horrific tragedy is currently playing out in Pakistan, where immense flooding is causing widespread destruction and mass death. The warming climate, as Gore warned us, will result in greater hardship and instability. It is a cruel injustice that the countries that contributed the least to greenhouse gas proliferation tend to be the poorest and will suffer the most. On a more optimistic note, the recent climate bill passed by Congress represents exactly the kind of concrete action for which Gore has long advocated. Start somewhere. In the case of this legislation, that "somewhere" is quite significant, according to climate experts. Once you've started, keep going. Change the direction. Chart a new path forward toward carbon neutrality. The climate is a grave and unending concern. It should dictate our policy choices and define our national security. Gore saw this clearly. His warnings will cry out from the history books to future generations. "Why were they not heeded?" they will ask in disbelief. But it wasn't only the climate that has had me thinking of Gore. There is also the matter of the clear and present dangers our institutions and democratic order are facing. Donald Trump is still at it about the 2020 election (here in August 2022). He just issued a statement saying he was the "rightful winner" and at a minimum, someone (not exactly sure who) should "declare the 2020 Election irreparably compromised and have a new Election, immediately!" Of course the former president is now under a serious investigation into his retention of highly classified documents (and what he might have done with them). One would have hoped that this grave matter would have Republican elected officials waiting at least to hear about findings before escalating divisive partisanship. But there was Trump's one-time critic and current sycophant Senator Lindsay Graham, alluding to violence. "If there is a prosecution of Donald Trump for mishandling classified information after the Clinton debacle, there will be riots in the streets," he said. This is completely irresponsible and dangerous. Against this backdrop, let us remember Al Gore and the 2000 presidential election. Gore won the popular vote, but of course that's not how we choose our presidents. As for the Electoral College, it all came down to Florida, as anyone of memory age at the time certainly recalls. There was a lot of weirdness in that state — "butterfly ballots" and "hanging chads." To make a long and sordid story short, ultimately the U.S. Supreme Court intervened. A majority of justices, all appointed by Republicans, stopped the vote count and effectively handed the election to George W. Bush. It is hard to overstate how big an inflection point that was in American history. Unlike in 2020, when Trump lost decisively, Gore had legitimate claims. And also unlike 2020 (through today) when Trump is eager to blow up American democracy and even spark violence with his lies and refusal to act responsibly, Gore chose a path of reconciliation. His concession speech is one that should be studied for its graciousness and straightforward eloquence.  I have pulled some excerpts to provide examples of Gore's words. Recognize how difficult they must have been for a man who had long harbored dreams of the presidency — and knew he might very well have earned it. Gore addressed the finality of the rule of law:
He called for common ground:
He argued for country over party:
He ended with a recognition that our country must be bigger than our politics and any single individual:
Contrast this humility with the last president, who will never relinquish the spotlight. Contrast the passionate pleas for unity with January 6. Contrast Gore's appeal to the sanctity of our institutions with the election lies sweeping Republican politics. Contrast how he led in a moment of potential crisis with the enablers and toadies who appease Trump's destructive behavior. Contrast the appeal to reason with Sen. Graham's wink at violence. Contrast how he tried to tamp down passion with those who use their perches in right-wing media to spew divisive hatred. The Republicans rail against their political rivals for being out of control, violent, subverters of democracy. It is, in poker terms, the ultimate tell. What they complain the loudest about is often what they themselves are pushing. I have said it before: There are so many projectionists among the GOP that they might as well open a chain of movie theaters. Looking back at what lawyers call the "fact pattern" of the 2000 election, we can see one that had all the hallmarks of bringing American democracy to its brink. But at that moment, Al Gore made the determination that to wreck our constitutional order by undermining the results of a very flawed process was not what leadership demanded. He stood there, surely believing in his mind that he should have been president. He knew that a majority of American voters had agreed. Imagining "what could have been" must have been intensely difficult. Looking back at what happened in the presidency of George W. Bush, we can see how fateful that election was. But Al Gore knew that to preserve our constitutional system, there really was no other option. He accepted his fate, and so did his party. As Trump still rages after an election that was not nearly as close, after he lost in the courts, after he spurred a violent insurrection, Gore's example is all the more striking. The Republican officials who are playing along with this attack on American democracy are old enough to remember 2000. And they're old enough to know better. Note: If you are not already a subscriber to our Steady newsletter, please consider doing so. And we always appreciate you sharing our content with others and leaving your thoughts in the comments. Thanks for subscribing to Steady. This post is public, so please feel free to share it. © 2022 Dan Rather |
Wednesday, August 31, 2022
Dan Rather: Remember Al Gore?
Monday, August 29, 2022
Dan Rather: Dear Teachers
One of the great sadnesses of our current age is how politics has polluted so much of our public discourse and spread into realms that once seemed free of partisanship. That this occurs at a time when much of the Republican Party has adopted the posture of a bully and is gripped by extremist ideology and attacks on truth and justice makes it all the more dangerous and dispiriting. Perhaps nowhere is this more true than in the battlegrounds that our schools have become. We are living in an age when the number of books being banned is on the rise and the willingness to confront America's complicated history is on the decline. We see intolerance worn as a badge of toughness, while inclusion, the great promise of what public education can be, is treated as weakness. We see a concerted effort to take over school boards, especially in deeply conservative areas, with true believers in the culture wars eager to inflict their small-mindedness, bias, and mean-spirited ideology on shaping how young minds are taught. Teaching, already an underappreciated profession in this country, is becoming an even less appealing line of work. We have educators who have spent decades in the classroom now forced to look over their shoulders, wondering whether the books on their shelves or their carefully honed lesson plans will run afoul of the new draconian mandates. And we have young idealists with freshly minted teaching certificates wondering whether they can impart their excitement and new ideas into the students before them. Some of these concerns are not new. When I was a student, for example, racial injustice in the form of legally segregated schools was a hallmark of public education. Schools have always been shaped by the larger societal forces that whip around them. Public education is, after all, about molding the minds and the mores of future citizens. Few institutions have more power in determining what this country will become than our schools. But there have been decades of progress on what and how our children are taught, and today that wave of advancement is retreating in many parts of America. Sadly, there are so many examples of far-right ideology shaping curricula, on issues ranging from race to LGBTQ rights to science, that to call them all out individually is an impossible task. This is a broad movement not confined by school or district; much of the effort is being directed at the state level. Republican politicians have learned that they can rally their base through bad-faith misrepresentations of school culture, which they depict as out of control with so-called "woke" ideology (which we wrote about in Steady here) and the bogeyman of "critical race theory," which they totally mischaracterize — and which is taught in almost none of the schools where they have made it an issue. Nearly every parent wants good schools for their children, and Republicans are playing to fears they have carefully fanned to lure in voters even beyond their base. This was notably true in the last gubernatorial election in Virginia. Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has cultivated his political reputation (and a likely presidential run) by attacking professional educators — and indeed the very idea that schools should be welcoming, tolerant learning environments. The elections that lie ahead — not only the big, marquee ones, but more importantly, those for school boards and other local offices — will do a lot to shape what will happen in our schools in the years to come. But there is another force that is even more powerful, and as we mark the beginning of a new school year, let us recognize it: teachers. While we should grapple with the political context laid out above, let us shift the tone of this piece now to one of celebration. Writing about teachers, singing their praises, honoring them as American heroes has long been one of my favorite activities. It never gets old, and it never gets less important. I would like to use whatever platform I have to shine a spotlight of deep respect on these invaluable public servants. And I am pleased that if you search for quotes from me online, one of the most popular is this: "The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called 'truth.'" I believe every word of it. These aren't empty sentiments. They come from my lived history. A while back here on Steady, I shared my own experiences as a student of public schools, including an emotional return to my elementary school in Houston. For all the challenges our schools face, right now millions of children are learning about the world and themselves thanks to dedicated teachers. Teachers are going the extra mile, reaching out to kids in need, tweaking lesson plans to include new insights, passing their own inspirations to the young people before them. The work is not easy — far from it. And it can be an incredible grind, especially when it seems that society doesn't value it or is even outright hostile to teachers. With this as a backdrop, it is understandable that many are choosing to leave the profession. This is not a reflection on them, but rather on the nation that is allowing it to happen. Teachers, you are our inspiration and our hope. You nurture the flames of our democracy. You literally save lives. You work miracles every day. Your resourcefulness, resilience, and creativity are boundless. We saw it during the heart of the pandemic. And we see it now. It is all the more reason you should not be taken for granted. Dear readers, how many of you can close your eyes and be transported to a classroom from your past? Do you see a favorite teacher? Hear that word of encouragement or hard truth that shaped the course of your life? Teachers are the winds that propel our children's sails forward. They are the North Stars that help guide us all. I apologize if this reads as a bit trite. I can imagine red ink on the page from some of my previous English teachers marking my excesses. Sadly, those teachers are all now long gone. But in me, as in my classmates, as in all of you, the work of our teachers lives on. We cannot thank our teachers enough. Each day the gifts they have given us are renewed. We should do everything we can to protect them and value them. A lot of this work must be done at the ballot box, but it can also be accomplished through words of encouragement and support. To all the teachers out there: thank you. Note: If you are not already a subscriber to our Steady newsletter, please consider doing so. And we always appreciate you sharing our content with others and leaving your thoughts in the comments. Thanks for subscribing to Steady. This post is public, so please feel free to share it. © 2022 Dan Rather |
Saturday, August 27, 2022
Dan Rather: We Should Not Become Inured to the Shock
The Department of Justice has released the affidavit it used to obtain permission to search Mar-a-Lago and seize files from Donald Trump. The document fills in some details but leaves many questions unanswered, largely because it is heavily redacted — as it should be. The sanctity of the investigation demands it. So does the security of the nation. What we knew before has been further confirmed — Trump absconded with hundreds of classified documents. We now know these were incredibly sensitive and included information on clandestine human sources and secrets not to be shared with foreign governments. We may never know the documents' exact contents — that's how sensitive this material is. What is so striking, as many others have observed, is that as president, Trump was notoriously uninterested in details. He doesn't read. He certainly doesn't pore over policy details. He is famous (or infamous, depending on who is assessing) for "not getting into the weeds." So why these documents? Why did he care so much? What, if anything, do they have in common? Can they point to a motive? We can speculate on what that might be, understanding that he has long ago lost any benefit of the doubt. The government said it gleaned the information it included in the affidavit from "a significant number of civilian witnesses." This detail will undoubtedly fuel Trump's paranoia, but it also suggests just how unsafe these national secrets were at Mar-a-Lago. As we learn more, as we look for clues, as we wonder and question, we should be careful not to lose track of the big picture. At the very minimum, this situation represents a major breach of national security. Do we really believe that any other citizen of this country, which is who post-presidency Trump is, would be walking free if found in possession of these documents? Rather than being persecuted, as Trump self-servingly claims, this affidavit makes it clear that the Department of Justice was extraordinarily patient — possibly to a fault. They gave Trump every opportunity to hand these over. And yet he didn't. Why not? At this moment, around the world, women and men are risking their lives for our country. We have a system of secrecy that protects the most sensitive aspects of our national security. It is in place for a reason. Because the lives of Americans and the future health and safety of the nation depend on it. That this saga has become "partisan" is not a reflection on the seriousness of these documents. Rather, it is a reflection of how unserious the Party of Trump is when it comes to our national wellbeing. As shocking as this episode is, we must not become inured to it. Shock like this should not wear off. It should propel us forward to ensure that justice is served and nothing like this ever happens again. Note: If you are not already a subscriber to our Steady newsletter, please consider doing so. And we always appreciate you sharing our content with others and leaving your thoughts in the comments. Thanks for subscribing to Steady. This post is public, so please feel free to share it. © 2022 Dan Rather |
Wednesday, August 24, 2022
Dan Rather: Blowing the "Anti-Woke" Dog Whistle
Let's get something straight. The weaponization of the term "woke" by the political right is not a joke. Far from it. It provides a window into the low regard (to say the least) these people have for human rights, empathy, and the truth. You can see the self-satisfaction, if not outright glee, as they appropriate a term that began as an aspirational notion of justice for Black activists and their allies into a slur hurled right back at the community from which it came. The fact that "woke" "originated in African American English" (according to Merriam-Webster) only increases the joy of those who spit it out with derision. This is saying, in effect: "Try to come get it and feel your powerlessness." The latest example comes courtesy of the mean-spirited oration of Ron DeSantis, Republican governor of Florida:
 The Hill @thehill August 20th 2022 721 Retweets3,215 LikesIf the sentence constructions sound familiar, you might be remembering the famous World War II speech by Winston Churchill that included these stirring lines:
Texas activist Olivia Julianna recognized the similarities — and the important difference.  Olivia Julianna 🗳 @0liviajulianna August 21st 2022 6,736 Retweets28,056 LikesReturning to the dictionary, it defines "woke" as "aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice)." So, in other words, a positive. But the dictionary also mentions that while the term came to prominence in 2014 with the Black Lives Matter movement, "By the end of that same decade it was also being applied by some as a general pejorative for anyone who is or appears to be politically left-leaning." If you watch Fox News, some has now become many. That imbalance in the two definitions above gets to the heart of the issue. On the one hand, we have a way of thinking, an approach to gaining a better understanding, a grappling with "important facts." To be "woke" is to be aware. On the other hand, to be "woke" is to be a type of person, one to be shunned, stigmatized, and vilified. It makes you wonder, when the crowd cheers DeSantis' incitement, whom they picture in their minds. Is it a Black mother marching in the street for racial justice? I can already hear the hackles of rationalization rising from the "anti-woke" crowd. They will say that they don't demonize all Black people, or gay people, or Jewish people, or librarians. And there are undoubtedly some members of these groups who are themselves fueling this assault on "wokeness." But it is more complex. In the eyes and objective analysis of many people, the political right is using "woke" to attack "the other," or basically anyone who has the temerity to not agree with them. To be sure, there are some examples of actions under the banner of "woke" that in my opinion go too far. Are there excesses on the left? There are excesses in any group on the planet. Does some of it get ridiculous? I think so. You can cherry-pick people, moments, and situations that seem absurd. But doing so does not invalidate the general thrust of what "woke" was originally meant to convey. It is about a core truth: that the U.S. has a long way to go to turn our perception of ourselves as a nation of freedom and justice into reality for all citizens. Americans' life experiences are vastly different. We need to grapple with our history, even when it is ugly. We should not become inured to imbalances of power. We are more resilient when we challenge our own assumptions. The truth can be elusive, but that makes the journey toward it all the more urgent. The rants of DeSantis are thus an assault on the very notion of truth and all who seek it. His behavior cheerleads a malignant ignorance that utterly dismisses the lived experiences and aspirations of large swaths of society. It is an assault on science, on reason, and on the impartial rule of law. Historically, many on this path have followed it to very dark destinations. Thinking of DeSantis and the "anti-woke" crusades, my mind turned to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I had the great fortune of covering Dr. King in the early days of the civil rights movement. But in recent years, I find myself thinking more about the end of his life and how he was viewed at the time of his murder — something we wrote about here in commemoration of his birthday:
With this in mind, I tweeted out the following:  Dan Rather @DanRatherAugust 21st 2022 14,939 Retweets111,055 LikesThe tweet has received over 100k likes, and many agreed, including Dr. King's daughter:  Be A King @BerniceKingDan Rather @DanRather Make no mistake, if Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. were alive today, he would be stigmatized as "woke" and attacked accordingly.August 22nd 2022 1,061 Retweets4,934 LikesFrom musician John Legend:  John Legend @johnlegendDan Rather @DanRather Make no mistake, if Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. were alive today, he would be stigmatized as "woke" and attacked accordingly.August 21st 2022 314 Retweets2,106 LikesBut not surprisingly, the tweet also garnered attention from people with MAGA in their Twitter bios. There was a fair amount of expected derision. But there were also a lot of claims that I had it all wrong, that Dr. King was, in fact, "anti-woke." People selectively quoted his writings and suggested that because Dr. King preached about seeing past racial divisions, that he would oppose the political left today because it promotes mindful recognition of race's role in our society. Some responses went so far as to claim that if Dr. King were alive today, he would vote Republican, as in the party of Donald Trump. The absurdity of this historical revisionism is almost beyond belief. Except I think some people actually do believe this craziness. It's all the more reason we need the history taught in our schools that they would dismiss as "woke." Politicians like DeSantis, however, know better. They take another lesson from the civil rights era, that attacking the "other" can be a path to power. But maybe they also need a refresher course. Time and time again, demagogues have risen up in American history. And time and time again, they have been defeated because America "woke" up. Thanks for subscribing to Steady. This post is public, so please feel free to share it. © 2022 Dan Rather |
