Isn’t it interesting that we have the words, And the home of the brave, in our national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner? There are bombs bursting in air, there is a perilous fight, even rockets red glare, with the common ending of the anthem so many seem to love living in the United States, enjoying the freedoms “guaranteed” in the Constitution.
And yet, and yet, every day we hear of people in positions of power not being brave. The non-brave include politicians, museum leads, major news organizations, universities, and even multi-billion dollar companies and their CEOs who are bending the knee. Cowards, the whole lot of them!
When they bend the knee, there seems to be a false hope the Fascists will leave them alone. If they give just the right amount of money the Fascists will leave them alone. If they give the right amount of free propaganda to the masses the Fascists will leave them alone. If they just use the right wording or leave historical language out the Fascists will leave them alone. If they just, fill in the blank, the Fascists will leave them alone.
This thinking is like someone being abused who believes either this will be the last time after being hit a hundred times before, or people/companies who have become so accustomed to being able to pay a large sum of money for a problem to go away. Or maybe, like some who are abused, they feel they deserve the abuse they are receiving. These people, organizations, and companies, even seeing how the entity was treated before they became the target has been treated, they still seem to think it will be different this time. Which, of course, it won’t.
Most of the targeted have deep pockets, billions of dollars in reserve or at their disposal, or powerful platforms to spotlight what is being done to them. They have the power to stop it all, to pull the wool from eyes, to expose what is occurring, and to fight back. Many are not even fighting back though if they did, they are sure to win, such as when freedom of speech—First Amendment Rights—are on their side.
Each and every one of them should be called out for how they are behaving, as cowards. In every newsroom that has not bent the knee and folded should call them out as cowards. In very independent media outlet newsroom, they should be called out as cowards. Every Tik-Tok, Substack, tweet, blog, social media post, television interview or panel, and anything else possible, they should be called out as cowards.
These cowards should also face consequences for their actions. Boycotts, letters to editors, loss of clients, loss of reputation, should all be part of the pushback for their actions. Don’t let these cowards off the hook.
Each of us should strive to not be Paramount, CBS, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Marco Rubio, Ron DeSantis, Columbia University, the Smithsonian, the Paul Weiss’ or Skadden’s, PepsiCo, Target, Goldman Sachs, Google, Amazon, McDonald’s, WalMart, Ford, Lowe’s, Harley-Davidson, Jack Daniels, John Deere, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Jake Tapper, ABC, Greg Abbott, Brown University, University of Pennsylvania, and far too many other powerful people, companies, and organizations. These organizations seem to have decided profit is more important than democracy.
What I don’t understand is these are supposedly smart people and supposedly smart companies and entities led by supposedly smart people. All of them, I’m confident in saying, know the value of reputation. They all have to know how long it can take to build a reputation that is respected. All of them also have to know it only takes one incident, such as bending the knee to a Fascist, to ruin a reputation built over decades, even centuries.
It is my hope that Harvard will remember the harm to its reputation will be far greater than the attempt a capitulation $500 million fig leaf will be. It has built a reputation over centuries that will go down the drain the minute it signs any deal. The minute it bends the knee is the day the value of its diploma, research, and intellectual property will most likely be bargain basement territory.
It is also my hope that more people, companies, and organizations take a stand like CostCo, Levi Strauss, Apple shareholders (but remember Tim Cook donated funds to the Trump Inauguration), Delta Air Lines, Francesca’s, JPMorgan Chase, Lush, Patagonia, Coca-Cola, Kroger, Ben & Jerry’s, Old Navy, TJ Maxx, Ulta, Sephora, Macy’s, AOC, Jasmine Crockett, Eric Swalwell, Gavin Newsom, Janet Mills, David Pepper, the Medias brothers, Democracy Docket, the Mueller Report, Politics Girl, and many others see the value of standing up to Fascists and the value of democracy.
For those of us with far less influence or money, but still have a lot of power of voice and votes, I invite you to be a CostCo not Target, Coco-Cola not PepsiCo, AOC not Lauren Boebert, Ketanji Brown Jackson not John Roberts, MeidasTouch News not Fox News. We can, and will, prevail if we all do the right thing to protect our rights, the Constitution, and democracy.
Together all things are possible.
I’ve often said we all need to be involved in saving democracy in the ways which fit our lives and our comfort levels. These can be blogging, reposting on social media, calling your elected officials, letters to the editor, donating to organizations, and/or marching in the streets. Nothing is too little or too much. Here are some ways to get involved whether from the comfort of your own homes, or on the streets, over the next few weeks:
Call your U.S. Senator to demand they fight the Republican administration’s defiance of the court in following laws and the Constitution. The switchboard number is 202-224-3121. They will connect you with the correct senators. If you get their voicemail, which I do often, make sure to leave your name and address for your call to be registered as received.
Continue to boycott companies who have bent the knee or no longer believe in equality. Don’t buy from national chains or companies, such as Target, Amazon, Tesla, Walmart and any others who are bending the knee and capitulating to authoritarianism and the billionaire class.
Write letters to your local papers expressing your disappointment and tell your stories of how the Republican administration is harming our families.
Please say thank you in some way to the universities, law firms, companies, and organizations not bending the knee and capitulating to the fascist-acting Republican Administration.
Watch for and attend the next big nationwide protest when announced.
This is my story as I move through my life as a husband, father, grandfather, brother, son, uncle, educator, photographer and so on. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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