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“Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.”—Rep. John Lewis speaking atop the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, on March 1, 2020
Against all hope, we hoped.
I was in London yesterday for a Byline Times event, and as I was collecting my thoughts, I found myself wandering along the Thames, looking at tomato plants thriving on a floating home. I paused at a skatepark and watched a 60-year-old man glide smoothly on a half pipe.
I thought of the passing of time.
Could this decade of pain be washed away by the longed-for tidal wave of justice... something happened on Tuesday that felt like the longed-for today wave of justice.
I share with you once again a poem that Marty once shared with me by Seamus Heaney:
“History says, Don’t hope
On this side of the grave,
But then, once in a lifetime
The longed-for tidal wave
Of justice can rise up
And hope and history rhyme.
So hope for a great sea-change
On the far side of revenge.
Believe that the farther shore
Is reachable from here.
Believe in miracles
And cures and healing wells.”
When I was asked last night at the Byline event how I was feeling, I said: “Weepy.”
I have been weepy.
America broke my heart on 5 November 2024.
I have the PTSD to prove it.
So this week, I am weepy, because America showed up for itself and the world.
I have always said that diversity is America’s superpower, and if it took high gas prices to get there, so be it.
Beautiful things are happening, so Trump will continue to be Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, mugging for the cameras to remain on him. He needs his closeup like oxygen.
“Look at me,” he will say. “I am doing evil things! I am saying shocking things! Keep the cameras on me!”
But instead, look to Mississippi.
Look to Georgia.
I know, I know, we will be forced to look at the White House, as Trump appointed an evil twerp to be his chief of staff.
These are dangerous days, of course. But decency is under restoration.
Good trouble is being made.
We can at least strive to force fascism into remission, as Marci Shore has taught me.
So please join me on Thursday, 11 am Pacific, for a special post-Midterms “Good Trouble” event with our group of global thinkers.
And do please enjoy John Lewis getting Happy.
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Hope to see many of you in the squares and grateful as always for the support of paid subscribers who continue to keep this project afloat.
To register for our Happy Hour, keep scrolling to the bottom of the post. xo
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I expose the corruption of billionaire fascists, while relying on memberships for support.
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More info about Bette Dangerous - This magazine is written by Heidi Siegmund Cuda, an Emmy-award winning investigative reporter/producer, author, and veteran music and nightlife columnist. She is the cohost of RADICALIZED Truth Survives, an investigative show about disinformation and is part of the Byline Media team. Her Hot Type column appears in Byline Supplement. Thank you for your support of independent investigative journalism.
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Begin each day with a grateful heart.
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