‘We Must Save Despair for Better Times’

A Slavic aphorism — a gift from a friend

When my friend Paul was signing off on our phone conversation today, he made sure I was okay.

“We must save despair for better times,” he told me. He was quoting a Slavic aphorism, and it was a gift more valuable to me than diamonds or pearls. It was a gift of sturdy words — words that could sustain me.

I had a blue Monday. After our wonderful ‘Speakeasy’ with Ruth Ben-Ghiat yesterday, I woke up to the usual suspects denigrating my investigative team — I know it’s because we do good work and that makes us dangerous to the fascists, but it’s exhausting having to defend the integrity of soldiers of war.

Nevertheless, she persisted.

But what actually threw me down the rabbit hole was a Bette friend — who knows the Saguaro is my spirit animal — sent me an image of a beloved Saguaro that had dropped dead from the heat. Apparently, that’s a thing in the Southwest right now, with warnings coming out of Arizona. I fell in love with the Saguaro when I was spending time in Tucson over the past four years.

I never loathed that veteran criminal Donald Jessica Trump more than when I found out his stupid f**king wall was causing the destruction of Saguaros — century old cacti that are among the profound blessings of this earth.

Their dignity, their durability, their crowns of blossoms during spring, their holy majesty — their resilience. They can live up to 150 years, but they rely on the monsoons and cooler nights to endure, and neither have been forthcoming.

And because we have been lousy stewards of this planet, they are collpasing, and I refuse to show you a picture because it looks like a crime scene.

Many of you know I got into this fight through environmental justice. I knew how bad the fossil-fuel funded, greed-is-good honkies would be for our earth, and I often quote Stephen Hawking’s warnings that a Trump presidency could mean the end times, literally — you can’t create jobs on a dead planet.

I had worked for Al Jazeera America in 2014 and 2015 producing half-hour specials on environmental issues and climate change and completely changed my life. I try to avoid single use plastics, work from home — the most important thing we all can do for the environment — and make an effort to tread lightly on this earth. Landfills are overflowing with food waste, so not wasting food is an easy ask. The waste rots and produces methane — a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide. Nearly forty percent of food in America is wasted.

We can’t all do everything, but we can each do something.—Anne Nelson

I have written lovingly of the desert — my most recent tribute was this post:

In it, I note that my beloved Joshua Trees — not actually trees, but succulents — are also suffering.

War is terrible for the environment and in my American Monster series, I note that both Roger Stone and Roy Cohn were responsible for depriving the US of environmentally minded presidents — thus, ensuring the oil and war economy could continue to flourish.

I do not like these fascists — I will fight them with everything I have. I will fight for the Saguaros, and the Joshua Trees, and the birds, and all living things.

I will save despair for better times.

Despair is the enemy of action.

Putin’s thieves are couping in Africa, and stealing food and children from Ukraine.

I will fight these fascists.

I will save despair for better times.

Have you seen the moon tonight?

It’s exquisite.

I will save despair for better times.

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Bette Dangerous is a reader-funded magazine. Thank you to all monthly, annual, and founding members. Thank you as well to all those who support my work with your generous coffee tips and who buy my ebooks. Some of you prefer making subsidizing donations via venmo, and it’s always greatly appreciated. If you wish to gift a membership, you can do so by donating to the ko-fi or venmo accounts, and indicate it’s for a gift, or do so here.

Founding Members will be invited to our first monthly Founder’s Day event with ‘Russia’s War on Everybody’ author Keir Giles on August 20. All paid members receive invites to our ‘Speakeasy’ zoom salons, and weekly wellness checkins, Bette’s Happy Hour. Tomorrow’s Happy Hour registration link can be found here.

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We just have to see that the battle for democracy is broader. It's deeper.—David Pepper

I need people to see they're on the frontline. Wherever you live, if you’re doing this work, you are the frontline.—David Pepper

The message should be a fair deal… fairness everywhere.—Martin Sheil

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“I say a silent prayer of thanksgiving as I walk upon the earth.”-Audrey Peterman.

“May the viral hope for truth and humanity wash away the chaos of these years.”-S.C., Bette community member

“Something Sacred never dies in almost all of us, who can hear the invitation of Truth…”-words from a Bette Dangerous community member

“Non-violent protest is a life-affirming activity as it seeks to promote a more humane society.”-Ellen Zucker

“Nothing but blue skies from now on…”-Irving Berlin

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