In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist; And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist; And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew; And then… they came for me. ..And by that time there was no one left to speak up. –Rev Martin Niemoller, January 1946
In current divisive times, I pray we all appreciate the importance of a free and independent press and the criticality of hearing diverse voices and different perspectives, if we are going to counter man’s inhumanity to man (I use male pronouns deliberately here).
With a degree in Mass Communications from UC San Diego from many moons ago, and a high degree of angst from current conditions from as recently as a few hours ago, I prompt engineered AI about the benefits of a free and independent press, given my frustration with how media voices are being silenced or kept out of the broader community conversation, at our own peril.
This was the unfiltered response:
A free and independent press serves as the “Fourth Estate,” acting as a crucial check on power and a cornerstone of a healthy society. Its benefits reach beyond just delivering news—it fosters accountability, protects human rights, and empowers citizens to participate in self-governance.
1. Holding Power to Account
Watchdog Function: An independent press monitors the actions of government, corporations, and other institutions to expose corruption, fraud, and waste.
Investigating Injustice: Journalists conduct deep research to uncover facts that powerful entities might prefer to keep hidden, such as human rights violations or environmental damage.
Encouraging Transparency: By utilizing public records laws and FOIA requests, the press ensures that official actions are open to public scrutiny.
2. Strengthening Democracy and Civic Engagement
Informed Electorate: A free press provides reliable information that helps citizens make informed decisions at the ballot box, from local school board elections to national leadership.
Platform for Dialogue: It creates a “marketplace of ideas,” fostering public debate and allowing diverse perspectives—especially from marginalized groups—to be heard.
Connecting Communities: Local journalism helps communities “know themselves” by telling their unique stories, which strengthens social bonds and local dialogue.
3. Promoting Public Health and Wellbeing
Addressing Crises: During emergencies like COVID-19, independent reporters provide life-saving information, explain complex risks, and counter disinformation.
Stigma Reduction: A free press can bring awareness to sensitive health issues (such as HIV/AIDS or mental health), driving policy changes and reducing social taboos.
4. Protecting Individual Liberties
Safeguarding Freedom of Expression: Press freedom is inextricably linked to individual rights; it ensures that the government cannot control the mindset of the country by manipulating information.
Empowering the Voiceless: By documenting the stories of those without power, the press acts as an advocate for human rights and personal liberty.
Global Impact
The World Press Freedom Index regularly tracks how these benefits correlate with national stability. Countries with a free press often enjoy higher levels of prosperity and more resilient social structures compared to those under strict state censorship.
What can I do about it? For decades, both personally and professionally, I have been a fan, supporter and endorser of many media channels including local public media -KPBS San Diego and NPR.
Here is a recent endorsement I was able to provide, as KPBS celebrates its 65th birthday that is airing now:
Confront the Brutal Facts but Always Maintain Hope!
Heads Up!
The first part of this week’s missive is political and personal so if you don’t have the stomach for it, I completely understand, just skip to the second part which is a reminder to celebrate the women in our lives.
No bystanding!
Love,
Neville
In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. And then… they came for me… And by that time there was no one left to speak up. –Rev Martin Niemoller, January 1946
As a peaceful warrior, I generally try to model discretion over valor, but this week I am done sitting on the sidelines, and if that means I am “offsides” and “offend” then so be it.
Divisiveness is not my aim, but unless you are a member of the 1st world nations you like me are an immigrant, and we are stronger because of our diversity not because of white supremacy or other narratives that are not reflective of this nation’s history and vibrancy.
Systemic racism, white colonialism and revisionist history will not save this country or planet, no matter how hard to try to hide in its cloaks and daggers.
The greater the hiding, the greater the self-revelation…
If you are torqued by this week’s Soul Food Friday missive, apologies as for more than 15 years, my goal, purpose and aim was to bring some positivity to what seemed like a environment that privileged sensationalism, negativity and polarization, but if I freak you out today, I think it is best that you simply skip, so I don’t trigger you further.
You deserve statis and peace.
Regardless, at least you will know where I stand at this generational crisis which will inevitably have long term implications for those that follow including your kids and grandkids.
More likes are definitely not my metric of success.
While tough to swallow, I am totally cool with being unliked if I am doing the right thing in support and service of others that can’t always be at the table for themselves. Being liked is a social crutch I would prefer to set aside and walk or hobble on my own two feet.
Likes and FOMO have completely messed up the entire “anxious generation” as we post all our bull$#!+ pics of our best selves, living our fabricated and often phony best lives -sometimes with the help of a professional photographer capturing the best shots of an idealized experience that simply does not exist- once we step into your living room and watch you interact with your friends and family.
Alternatively, if you are pumped, jacked, mobilized, emboldened, want to act but don’t know what to do, care deeply but are concerned about downstream consequences and threats, please don’t waste this crisis and let’s make sure your voice is heard.
Do hold space and grace by serving as an ally- no bystanding- human up!- for those who can’t raise their voices for fear of retaliation, targeting, or suffering indignities on top of immense suffering on an unlevel playing field, where social mobility is no longer available to all, and where purported “leaders” would rather kiss Nero’s ring than fess up to the reality that the US is burning and good people stand idly by while the rule of law is threatened, separation of powers is sidelined, the rich get richer on the backs of the poor and middle class, and power corrupts, while absolute power corrupts absolutely!.
Enough is enough…
Can you feel it?
My soul is stirred and meeting the moment this week means speaking truth to power, justice and mercy to cruelty, sanity to inanity, and being present with what is bereft due to social hypnosis, perseverating on risk of loss, or other rationalizations that keep us on the sideline while democracy devolves in front of our eyes.
But that is being nice…
It is time for ME to take a stand. (how about you?)
I know that some of my relatives, friends, neighbors, co-workers, associates, and fellow Americans may unfriend me and that would be unfortunate, but I can’t stay quiet!
It is too important.
This is where I stand.
The 47th President, his power-hungry cronies taking positions of authority in his Cabinet and administration, and the majority of Republicans in Congress are a real and active threat to me, my way of life, and all or most of the people I love.
Some people are saying that we should give Trump a chance, that we should “work together” with him because he won the election, and he is “everyone’s president.”
This is my response:
•I will not forget how badly he and so many others treated former President Barack Obama for 8 years…Lies about his legitimacy and hatred for his principles and his attempts to work within the system.
•I will not “work together” to privatize Medicare, cut Social Security and Medicaid.
•I will not “work together” to subvert the Constitution by illegitimately pushing unfit Cabinet nominees through on recess appointments without the advice and consent of the Senate.
•I will not “work together” to build a wall.
•I will not “work together” to persecute Muslims.
•I will not “work together” to shut out refugees from other countries.
•I will not “work together” to lower taxes on the 1% and increase taxes on the middle class and poor.
•I will not “work together” to help Trump use the Presidency to line his pockets and those of his family and cronies.
•I will not “work together” to weaken and demolish environmental protection.
•I will not “work together” to sell American lands, especially National Parks, to companies which then despoil those lands.
•I will not “work together” to enable the killing of whole species of animals just because they are predators, or inconvenient for a few, or because some people want to get their thrills killing them.
•I will not “work together” to remove civil rights from anyone.
•I will not “work together” to alienate countries that have been our allies for as long as I have been alive.
•I will not “work together” to slash funding for education.
•I will not “work together” to take basic assistance from people who are at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder.
•I will not “work together” to get rid of common-sense regulations on guns.
•I will not “work together” to eliminate the minimum wage.
•I will not “work together” to support so-called “Right To Work” laws, or undermine, weaken or destroy Unions in any way.
•I will not “work together” to suppress scientific research, be it on climate change, fracking, or any other issue where a majority of scientists agree that Trump and his supporters are wrong on the facts.
•I will not “work together” to criminalize abortion or restrict health care for women.
•I will not “work together” to increase the number of nations that have nuclear weapons.
•I will not “work together” to put even more “big money” into politics.
•I will not “work together” to violate the Geneva Convention.
•I will not “work together” to give the Ku Klux Klan, the Nazi Party and white supremacists a seat at the table, or to normalize their hatred.
•I will not “work together” to deny health care to people who need it.
•I will not “work together” to deny medical coverage to people on the basis of a “pre-existing condition.”
•I will not “work together” to increase voter suppression.
•I will not “work together” to normalize tyranny.
•I will not “work together” to eliminate or reduce ethical oversight at any level of government.
•I will not “work together” with anyone who is, or admires, tyrants and dictators.
•I will not support anyone that thinks it’s OK to put a pipeline to transport oil on Sacred Ground for Native Americans. And, it would run under the Missouri River, which provides drinking water for millions of people. An accident waiting to happen.
•I will not “work together” to legitimize racism, sexism, and authoritarianism.
This is my line, and I am drawing it.
•I WILL stand for honesty, love, respect for all living beings, and for the beating heart that is the center of Life itself.
•I WILL use my voice and my hands, to reach out to the uninformed, and to anyone who will LISTEN:
That “winning”, “being great again”, “rich” or even “beautiful” is nothing… When others are sacrificed to glorify its existence.
I am joining my fellow Americans in this noble and honorable expression of conscience, conviction, justice, morality, faith, commitment, democracy, and informed patriotism.
Zero pressure, but if you agree, it is your turn.
Copy, paste into your email and/or preferred social media platform, add your name to the top and launch a chain.
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor” – Archbishop Desmond Tutu:
“Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow.
The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” ~ Abraham Lincoln
The Entire World Is Pissed at Trump-and It May Cost the U.S. Big Time Donald Trump’s tariffs aren’t the only thing that will wreck the U.S. economy.
Trump’s regime is fated to collapse: Despite its chest-beating rhetoric, the Trump regime is actually brittle and fated to ineffectiveness, collapse or both.
It’s Time to Ditch the Term DEI We can’t debate its merits when we don’t agree on what it means. On President Donald Trump’s first day back in the White House, he issued an executive order ending diversity, equity, and inclusion in the federal government. Its sweeping language forbids DEI “mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities,” and orders the termination of all DEI positions—hundreds if not thousands of roles.
Trump’s FBI Moves to Criminally Charge Major Climate Groups The Trump administration is targeting climate organizations that received a Biden-era grant.
Trump cuts to NOAA already felt in San Diego Cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration affect research and sea monitoring partnerships between NOAA and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Banned Articles? Did you know that NOAA recently released a new Climate Literacy Guide? This incredible resource aims to help communicators and decision-makers develop their understanding of climate change—but it was recently scrubbed from their website, severely minimizing its impact and reach. You can at least learn about it here.
Trump’s Assault on Universities Is a Wake-Up Call American higher education would be in a much stronger position today if it had made a proactive case to the public for its own importance—and taken steps to address its very real shortcomings.
Chaos on campuses as schools warn Trump cuts could harm US ‘for decades’ President’s slashes to higher education institutions and research funding threaten US public health
Education Department to slash half its workforce “Employees will not be permitted in any ED facility on Wednesday, March 12th, for any reason,” a message to agency staff Tuesday stated.
“Science is under attack”: Hundreds rally at UC San Diego to protest DOGE cuts From Social Security to the IRS, federal budget cuts under the Trump administration are being felt everywhere. On Friday, the focus turned to science—nationwide and at UC San Diego.
Want to Help Fight ICE Raids? There’s a Map for That. This group has developed a new app to help keep everyone one step ahead of Donald Trump’s deportation schemes
Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Lose Especially when you’re running a country Paul Krugman Mar 12 A note to subscribers: I’ve taken my weekend primer on Social Security out from behind the paywall, partly in response to popular demand but also because it’s relevant to today’s post. This will, I hope, be a fairly short post. That’s partly because my schedule is really tight at the moment and I don’t have time for detailed analysis. But it’s also because I don’t want too much analysis to clutter up a very simple point: The two most powerful men in America have gone stark raving mad. I don’t say this because I disagree with their ideologies or believe that they have very bad policy ideas. That’s been true for quite a few politicians over the years. But while I’ve always considered, say, Mitch McConnell a malign influence on America, while I described Paul Ryan as a flimflam man, I never questioned their sanity. And yes, I’m well aware of the dangers involved in questioning people’s mental stability from afar, especially in a political context. I personally have been the target of that sort of thing, back when people accused me of being unhinged for suggesting that the Bush administration was taking us to war on false pretenses. But I don’t see how you can look at recent statements by Donald Trump and Elon Musk without concluding that both men have lost their grip on reality. News reports still tend to sanewash what our leaders have been saying, and even selected quotations often make them sound more rational than they are. Fortunately, both are addicted to posting on social media, and you really have to read some of their posts to get a full sense of the madness. So here’s Trump, ranting against Canada: Leave aside the nonsensical claims that Canada is a high-tariff nation subsidized by the United States. When Trump first began talking about turning Canada into the 51st state, many people treated it as a joke. But Trump doesn’t appear to be in on the joke. He just keeps doubling down, even as the people of Canada grow ever more outraged. No sane leader would imagine that it’s a good idea to threaten a heretofore friendly but proudly patriotic neighbor and ally with annexation. But a sane leader is exactly what we don’t have. Then there’s Elon Musk. Surely almost everyone except Trump realizes that DOGE has been a bust; despite unprecedented and often illegal access to government agencies, it has yet to come up with any credible major examples of waste or fraud. Even Musk, I suspect, knows at some level that he’s failing. But like Trump on Canada, he just keeps doubling down. Consider Musk’s quickly and easily refuted claim that tens of millions of dead people are receiving Social Security checks. This was a deeply embarrassing error, one that would have killed most people’s political careers. Still, Musk might have been able to ride it out by admitting that his minions had failed to understand the Social Security Administration’s databases. But no. Musk has reiterated his claim that we’re making huge payments to dead people, and is now insisting that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme, showing that he hasn’t made any effort to understand how the bedrock of American retirement works. Musk’s obsession with supposed fraud in Social Security is looking a lot like Trump’s obsession with annexing Canada; apparently he simply can’t admit error, even to himself, and change course. And then there’s this: Of course, illegal immigrants don’t receive Social Security benefits, because they don’t have valid Social Security numbers. But that’s almost trivial compared with Musk’s open endorsement of the Great Replacement conspiracy theory, according to which liberals are deliberately luring nonwhite immigrants to America to tilt the electorate in their favor. This is the conspiracy theory that inspired torch-carrying marchers in Charlottesville to chant “Jews will not replace us.” And look beyond what Trump and Musk have said to the actions of the people they’ve chosen to oversee key public agencies. Robert F. Kennedy, the secretary of health and human services, refuses to respond to a measles outbreak with a clear call for vaccinations, instead suggesting that people take cod liver oil. The secretary of agriculture has suggested that Americans respond to high egg prices by raising their own chickens. How did the highest levels of U.S. government become infected by madness? Well, this is what you get when you give flawed people — people prone to grandiosity, vindictiveness and paranoia — so much power that nobody dares tell them when they’re going too far. Cowed Republicans and timid Democrats have effectively given Trump and Musk the freedom to become the worst versions of themselves. And the whole world will pay the price.
Happy International Women’s Day. Here are the best female composers of all time Our guide to the best female composers from history, many of whom have historically been wrongly excluded from the canon. Let’s put that right – get to know their music now!
Let’s meet the moment, to our own selves be true, and be active agents of democracy and uplifting humanity, not passive victims of a system that serves the few on the backs of many.
It is time to show up. NOW!
Thanks this week to Ken D for the spark, Chris B for some links, Charles B for reminding me its ok to be disliked and you for speaking truth to power!
Love,
Neville
“Remember that all through history, there have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they seem invincible.
Happy Soul Food Friday! 