Letters From the September 24-October 1, 2018, Issue

Letters From the September 24-October 1, 2018, Issue

Letters From the September 24-October 1, 2018, Issue

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

‘68 Letdown

What a gigantic disappointment the special 1968 issue, “Year of Global Insurrection” [Aug. 27/Sept. 3], must be for anyone who was actually alive and aware in ‘68 and expected a comprehensive and progressive history of that year—a year to be remembered not only for the male-founded-and-operated Students for a Democratic Society, the male-dominated anti–Vietnam War movement, the protests in Paris and Mexico, and the trial of eight radical men in Chicago. So much more was happening that year.

In 1968, the Jeannette Rankin Brigade, the Miss America protest, and other female-organized actions demonstrated that feminism had taken a bold new turn. Feminist leaders were on the cover of every magazine; women’s consciousness-raising groups were meeting in living rooms around the country; and, two years later, 50,000 women would march down Fifth Avenue, spearheading a movement that fought for the rights of half the population and would eventually affect the entire world for the better. At the same time, the civil-rights, gay-rights, and environmental movements were coming into full maturity. Stonewall happened the following year and Earth Day the year after that.

Do those defining social movements not deserve historical coverage, even a sidebar? And what about the art for the issue? Flip through the photos and you’ll find a total of 46 men and seven women. The ratio in the leadership photos is even worse.

“Global Insurrection,” indeed. Perhaps a sequel is in order.

Mark Dowie
point reyes station, calif.

A Hopeful Issue

I often don’t read The Nation because political bad news increases my deep mourning for our nation and the world, not to mention my skepticism about possible remedies. The August 13/20 issue, however, has two articles that stand out to me for their positivity. I am talking about Michael Massing’s “Journalism in the Age of Trump,” which displayed courage in calling out the media for disparaging those who voted for the current president, thereby emphasizing that the country is splitting up into factions and excusing themselves “from the hard work of analyzing and explaining the…nature of Trump’s populism.” And I am talking about Sasha Abramksy’s “A Green New Deal in the Evergreen State,” which demonstrated hope in describing the plan developed in Washington State to use funds from polluters to help those who are poor and who often suffer most from the pollution. Brilliant. I deeply appreciate these articles.
Anne Hanson
florida, n.y.

The Bankruptcy of Tax Cuts

Nice piece by Bryce Covert [“Red-State Rumblings,” July 30/Aug. 6] on the failure of conservative tax cuts to produce the results promised by supply-side economist Arthur Laffer, the Koch brothers, and the American Legislative Exchange Council. They have done us a favor by proving the bankruptcy of their simplistic economic propaganda.
Wendell Fitzgerald
ashland, ore.

Hold the powerful to account by supporting The Nation

The chaos and cruelty of the Trump administration reaches new lows each week.

Trump’s catastrophic “Liberation Day” has wreaked havoc on the world economy and set up yet another constitutional crisis at home. Plainclothes officers continue to abduct university students off the streets. So-called “enemy aliens” are flown abroad to a mega prison against the orders of the courts. And Signalgate promises to be the first of many incompetence scandals that expose the brutal violence at the core of the American empire.

At a time when elite universities, powerful law firms, and influential media outlets are capitulating to Trump’s intimidation, The Nation is more determined than ever before to hold the powerful to account.

In just the last month, we’ve published reporting on how Trump outsources his mass deportation agenda to other countries, exposed the administration’s appeal to obscure laws to carry out its repressive agenda, and amplified the voices of brave student activists targeted by universities.

We also continue to tell the stories of those who fight back against Trump and Musk, whether on the streets in growing protest movements, in town halls across the country, or in critical state elections—like Wisconsin’s recent state Supreme Court race—that provide a model for resisting Trumpism and prove that Musk can’t buy our democracy.

This is the journalism that matters in 2025. But we can’t do this without you. As a reader-supported publication, we rely on the support of generous donors. Please, help make our essential independent journalism possible with a donation today.

In solidarity,

The Editors

The Nation

Ad Policy
x