Your Independence Day Reading List
Before you head out to your 4th of July cookout here is a round-up of readings, videos, and actions to help you understand the current state of this union and what you can do about it.
Megan Rapinoe is a Patriot
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/07/patriots-us-womens-national-soccer-team/593233/
We’re days a way from the Women’s World Cup Final. Megan “I’m not going to the fucking White House” Rapinoe reminds us that for a true patriot dissent is a responsibility.
Trump’s Fourth of July Military Parade is Out-and-Out Authoritarian Performance Art
Today 45 puts on his best impression of Putin with his very own military parade because authoritarian leaders love grand displays of weaponry. Thankfully NBC, ABC, and CBS have all declined to broadcast.
The Inhumane Conditions at Migrant Detention Centers
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/07/the-inhumane-conditions-at-migrant-detention-camps.html
While 45 is hosting his donors in DC with a military armada, migrant children and families are being held in concentration camps at the border. Is this all starting to sound terrifyingly familiar?
Two Supreme Court decisions with the potential to change the balance of political power:
2020 Census Won’t Have a Citizenship Question
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/02/us/trump-census-citizenship-question.html
Supreme Court Bars Challenges to Gerrymandering
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/27/us/politics/supreme-court-gerrymandering.html
Gerrymandering has long been used as a strategy amongst conservatives to stay in power despite the fact that demographics across the U.S have been changing and becoming more progressive.
TED Talks on democracy in the digital era
Facebooks Role in Brexit- and the threat to Democracy
Journalist Carole Cadwalladr gave this talk at TED 2019 this past April while Facebook execs sat in the front row. Not only did Facebook impact the Brexit vote but Carole explains how it helped foreign powers influence the US 2016 election.
Classic speeches to Read and Re-read:
What to the Slave is the 4th of July?
A classic speech by Frederick Douglas to be read again and again.
The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action
Audre Lorde challenges us to speak truth to power no matter the cost.
Support the Fight for Freedom
Remember when Southern Democratic Doug Jones beat Judge Roy Moore in Alabama? It was because of the work of LaTosha Brown and Black Voters Matter. They’re currently on a bus tour across the south registering Black voters. The south continues to be ground zero in the fight against voter suppression. They’re at the forefront of that fight. Support their work.
Democratic Socialist of America
After the 2016 election the DSA’s membership exploded in since then they’ve been instrumental in electing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and a whole cohort of progressive new voices who are changing the conversation about criminal justice, Medicare for All, climate change, and the inhumane treatment of families at the border. Go to the website, there are tons of ways to get involved and support upcoming elections.
Is providing free legal support to immigrants and refugees at the Texas border. They need our support more than ever right now.
What are you reading this 4th of July? What actions are you taking?