In January 2003, my husband and I gathered with 3,000 people in the Washington National Cathedral to protest the imminent invasion of Iraq. We planned to gird ourselves with prayer, word and music and march to the White House where, in an act of nonviolent civil disobedience, hundreds would kneel in prayer and, when asked to leave, would refuse and get arrested.
Keynote preacher the Rev. Raphael Warnock riveted us with words that reflected our horror that we were about to go to war based on a lie. Warnock did what powerful orators do, poetically, and emphatically, using the same phrase again and again. “Soul’s in danger!”
He was talking about America’s soul and he was right. As I sat there I thought about a friend, Ray McGovern. Before retiring from the CIA, he was responsible for preparing Presidential Daily Briefs. He and his cohorts had compellingly debunked the weapons of mass destruction lies. McGovern confronted Donald Rumsfeld about those lies on CNN, and despite eviscerating Rumsfeld, the march to war continued. So, there we were.
After the Rev. Warnock’s call to action, we walked from the Cathedral to the White House. Light snow had started to fall, the stars shining above, and I truly felt like we were marching in the light of God. At the White House there were speeches and prayers and then those who had planned civil disobedience moved into position. The police confronted them and they peacefully allowed themselves to be arrested. It was all very decent and orderly, which my Presbyterian friend Diana, who was arrested that night, appreciated.
Despite massive peaceful protests and clear evidence that the Bush administration was lying, we went to war. Years later we know how many dead and wounded paid for that lie. And years later, the Rev. Warnock’s words still ring true, our American soul, democracy, is in danger. The lies still run faster than the truth can get its shoes on and violence follows. At the Redwood City Library, late last year, protesters accused drag queens of sexualizing children. That night, a Colorado gunman killed five people at a gay bar hours before a family drag brunch. This week, a SWAT team arrested a Republican candidate in New Mexico for shooting up the homes of Democrats whom he blamed for his lost election, claiming the election was stolen. Election workers across the country have resigned because of vile threats against their lives based on the “stop the steal” lie.
Let’s be clear. The 2020 election was free, fair and Biden won. The 2022 election was free and fair and Kari Lake lost. COVID vaccines work. Climate change is real. You can’t teach people to be queer. You can teach people to hate, or love.
But we do know some conspiracy theories are true. Our government did purposely infect Black Americans with syphilis, did slip LSD into people’s drinks at bars, did fake the Gulf of Tonkin attack and did lie about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. So, we have to give each other a break when someone believes something ridiculous, because it might be true.
How do we proceed, though, when two thirds of Americans believe that democracy is in peril and we can’t agree on what’s true and what’s not? How do we save the soul of our nation that we all agree is in danger? Of course these questions are more profound than an 800-word column can tackle but let me, bereft of the oratory skills of a Rafael Warnock, try.
Consider truths that in my core I believe and have shared before. Most people are good, decent and want what’s best for themselves, their families and our country. Don’t defame people. Bearing false witness is truly a sin. Don’t accuse others of trying to destroy America. Remember that someone you think of as a villain is a hero in their own story. Never has there been a more diverse gathering of people, cultures, histories, experiences, religions, education and viewpoints than here in America. We are a unique and messy experiment. With our unprecedented diversity comes great strength and great conflicts. Conflicting ideas are good. Violence is bad. The rule of law is critical. Break laws? Accept the consequences. Disagree with them? Change them! Don’t boo, vote!
My friend Diana who got arrested in January 2003 sums it up best in her standard benediction. “Go out in peace. Have faith. Hold fast to what is good. Render to no one evil for evil. Strengthen the faint-hearted. Support the weak. Honor all people.” And when it comes to our favorite news sources, I’ll add Ronald Reagan’s advice to “trust but verify.” I believe that if each of us, despite our wildly divergent views, follows that call, our nation’s soul will be in much less danger.
Craig Wiesner is the co-owner of Reach And Teach, a book, toy and cultural gift shop on San Carlos Avenue in San Carlos.
(13) comments
Mr. Wiesner, make no mistake. There are plenty of folks who know 2020 election was stolen by Biden. The 2022 election was stolen from Kari Lake. COVID vaccines do not work, as evidenced by millions of breakthrough infections. Climate change, man-made, is not real. Perhaps you can’t teach people to be queer, but if appears some people are attempting to do so. You can teach people to hate, or love, just as you can teach them to not hate and not love.
How do we proceed? Agreed that most people are good, decent and want what’s best for themselves, their families and our country. Unfortunately, we have a number of people who are not. You say the rule of law is critical, but what happens when you have a stolen-election President, supported by complicit Democrats, that are ignoring our laws, as in the illegal invasion from the South? When you have local and state “authorities” early releasing thousands of convicted felons back into the wild? Why should we accept the consequences of their ruinous and disastrous policies on the “most people” that are good, decent and want what’s best for themselves, their families and our country? Accept the consequences? Well, we’re living with them, and gone are the days of America First policies as reality has shown. Voting? Agreed, but how do you enforce free and fair elections? Stolen elections have consequences, and again, we’re living with them, to the detriment of the American people.
As for following Ronald Reagan’s advice to “trust but verify” what happens when people willfully ignore the information they’ve verified?
Terence - I believe that Mr. Wiesner means well. He is certainly a wise contributor to this forum. Like most of us, he is not always perfect and you identified the areas in which he should not have digressed in my opinion. His column would have been more powerful and untainted.
I was also surprised to see his mention of a Rev. Warnock. Is he the same sleazy character who managed to become a Senator for Georgia or does he share the same unfortunate name?
Good observations, Dirk. Mr. Wiesner may mean well but the issue with his digressions is that they distract from any message he may have. It may be easier to discount any message rather than separate the wheat from the chaff because even then, one can’t be sure Mr. Wiesner is sincere.
TY - 99% - 100% article authenticity from Mr. Wiesner's article would probably not be good enough for you. Me thinks something else about Craig's frequent appearances here bugs the heck out of you.
There is zero proof, under all circumstances, that the election was stolen.
Terence,
With my apologies to Ray Fowler, Terence, SS,DD! At least any new readers of the DJ will see how far off the deep end you really are. BTW, I wish you would give us your final report on your bamboo fibers. It has been over two years of waiting.
As for your last line with Ronald Reagan, you will have to ask yourself that question. You are the one that doesn't believe verified facts.
TY seems to be lost in the Trump-fog forever, with no sign of common sense, logic, or simple facts. How can anyone in his right mind still believe that elections were rigged, just because a Republican lost, even with flying colors? And for the 2020 election, wasn’t it embarrassing enough for the country that some 74 million still voted for a loser like Trump, who had already done so much damage, incompetent as he was, and totally uneducated for the job? This kind of undying support Trump is proud of, someone who follows him blindly, without thinking, accepting a rigged election as established fact if he says so, without a fiber of evidence.
TY: I don’t think you even understand why Trump is highly suspected of receiving foreign help both in 2016 and 2020! And why not? Any adversary of us would certainly prefer Trump in the WH, someone so easily fooled and manipulated, one who melts in your hand for the slightest little compliment, no matter how false and unsubstantiated. He is so insecure that he has to brag about himself, even for something as silly as being able to remember 5 simple little words, - which he has bragged about internationally! And that’s supposed to be our leader, although the majority was smart enough to vote against him!
Jorgh - can you please knock it off? Your diatribes are incessantly idiotic and without any merit. It is as if you secretly admire him. Why not just admit it and get over it?
Dirkh: Me an admirer of such a low life as Trump? Yeah, sure. It sounds like you and TY are, for some mysterious reason. Why don’t you instead tell TY to knock off his nonsense?
You and he don’t even seem to grasp that Trump’s mismanagement is responsible for 25% of the national debt, even worse than the previous Republican, Bush. Instead, you blame President Biden for the mess he inherited after his incompetent predecessor.
Dirk, we should be thankful Jorg’s only valid points are his exclamation points. If Jorg actually had other valid points, we may have to spend more than a few minutes to refute his dreck. Jorg’s “orange man bad” diatribes remind us he’s still irrelevant.
Hilarious! Mr. Wiesner, you’ve got a tall job in front of you to change hearts and minds. As long as folks continue willfully ignoring the present, our nation’s soul will remain in, if not be in more, danger. To wit, here we have three folks, Taffy, Jorg, and JustMike650, who are happier to defame people, bear false witness, and accuse others of trying to destroy America rather than face the here and now. We have Taffy, someone who believes there was a Republican to Democrat party switcheroo in America’s past, a hoax thoroughly debunked, multiple times and who continually begs for help with his panda diet study. We have Jorg of the TDS-fueled “orange man bad” diatribes in combination with IBS (Ignore Biden Syndrome). And we have JustMike650, known for puppy-dogging Mr. Conway, with nothing to add to the conversation. And you wonder why two thirds of Americans believe democracy is in peril.
TY: Your silly joke is getting tiring. I’ll challenge anyone on this site to come out in your defense! The way you toss out stupidities, without a fiber of evidence to support any of it, while the opposite has already been verified, shows how bewildered you must be.
Jorg, your tendency to dance instead of living in the present isn’t getting tiring, it’s already there. I challenge anyone on this site to come out in your defense! The way you toss out stupidities, without a fiber of evidence to support any of it, while the opposite has already been verified, shows how bewildered you must be. Regards, ChatBotTY
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