Koan: What is the true word?
It’s like asking what the true sunset is.
We’ve seen a few together—
all peach, a gathering of golds. Or geese
gliding down from three directions,
first above the dimming branches,
then mirrored in water,
as if to make themselves truer—
and we, having found each other
among the myriad things,
point at the details as if they’re strokes
of a pictograph—
the mercurial shore,
the lone duck,
the little houses across the reservoir
not yet lit
save one or two porch lights,
and the bright hole the sun bores in the far trees,
in the unending time
where we find ourselves,
and the truth we try to tell.
Become a Sustaining Donor This September
Between the reemergence of right-wing red-baiting and Donald Trump’s use of the chilling National Security Presidential Memorandum–7 to criminalize left political organizing, we’re seeing McCarthyism reborn before our eyes.
This assault on democracy cannot be ignored or wished away. Resisting it requires bravery in the face of threats and repression, a steadfast commitment to the truth, and the unwavering belief that we can—and will—overcome this darkness.
We must have an independent media that sets the record straight, unearths corruption and abuses of power, and advances a politics of justice and dignity for all if we’re to win this fight.
That’s why I’m writing to you today. This September, The Nation needs to add 100 monthly donors to sustain our progressive journalism. Your contribution makes the next investigative report, the next truth-speaking column, and the next pathbreaking essay all possible.
I hope you’ll support our work with a recurring donation today. If you donate $10 or more a month, we’ll send you a brand new “Hands Off the Free Press!” sticker to recognise your commitment to our cause. Please, donate today.
Onward,
Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editor and Publisher, The Nation
