A new message from your friends at People For the American Way.
[link removed]
***********************
Friend,
This week, People For the American Way marked the passing of our beloved
founder, Norman Lear. Tributes have been pouring in as so many people
remember the values Norman stood for during his life, so this week, we’re
departing from our normal Trumptastrophe format to recognize Norman’s
fearless advocacy for democracy and freedom of speech, which stands in
such stark contrast to the agenda of Donald Trump.
The contrast between Norman’s vision of America and Trump’s was
emphatically demonstrated over the past week, as Trump and his henchmen
[ [link removed] ]escalated their threats to wage a campaign of revenge against his
political opponents and to abuse the power of the presidency to destroy
media outlets that criticized him. He told us he would govern as a
dictator on day one of his next term as president.
Also this week, Trump enabler and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson
addressed a closed-to-media gathering of Christian nationalist activists,
where he said God has elevated him as the “Moses” to lead America in this
“Red Sea moment”—a speech [ [link removed] ]captured and reported on by People For the
American Way’s Right Wing Watch team, allowing millions of Americans to
hear what Johnson intended to reveal only to his supporters.
Norman was a passionate defender of our First Amendment freedoms. He took
action to create People For the American Way after he began watching
televangelists who were part of the rising religious-right political
movement. He was horrified by what he heard. Prayers for the death of a
Supreme Court justice. Insistence that you could only be a good American
if you were the “right” kind of Christian—and you could only be a good
Christian if you embraced far-right political views.
Norman understood earlier than most that such divisive rhetoric, hitched
to a power-building political movement, was a threat to democratic values.
He traveled the country to recruit other prominent Americans, including
the late Rep. Barbara Jordan, to join him in resisting religious bigotry
and right-wing authoritarianism. They proclaimed that the American Way was
to defend individual freedoms and work to build a country where the
promises of liberty and justice for all were not just an ideal but a
reality.
Trump’s rise was empowered and has been sustained with overwhelming
support from religious-right leaders, many of whom have declared Trump
anointed by God to rule the country. Christian nationalist “prophets” and
political operatives tell followers that they can’t be good Christians
unless they vote for Trump and other far-right candidates. In the words of
People For the American Way’s first television ad, “That’s not the
American Way.”
In recent years, Norman was dismayed by the aggressive Christian
nationalist and white nationalist movements energized by Trump. He was
appalled that Trump’s Supreme Court justices are moving to reverse decades
of hard-won social justice progress. But he had a centenarian’s long view
of the progress made in his lifetime, and he remained optimistic about the
ability of Americans to build a better future. He told us he was inspired
by members of People For the American Way’s Young Elected Officials
network—one of whom, Svante Myrick, now leads the organization as its
president.
Norman never saw People For the American Way as “his” organization. He saw
it as a collective effort. “Pushing back on bigotry, resisting voter
suppression, exposing extremism, making our communities safer—these are
not things I can do effectively on my own,” Norman wrote to People For
members last year. “But through People For the American Way, I partner
with fellow Americans to defend our freedom wherever and whenever it is at
risk.”
In a recent tribute to Norman, Rob Reiner reminded people that Norman
fought fascism during World War II, when he flew on more than 50 bombing
missions. “The idea that we would slip into fascism less than 80 years
later is unfathomable,” Reiner said, calling on Americans to defeat Trump
in 2024 to preserve our democracy.
People For the American Way was proud to be part of the massive effort by
local, state, and national organizations and individual citizens who
defeated Trump in 2020 and we’re gearing up to do the same next year. At
Norman’s request, his family has asked that people honor him with [ [link removed] ]a
contribution to People For the American Way to carry on his work.
You can see People For the American Way’s press release and a sampling of
tributes to Norman [ [link removed] ]on our website.
Thanks – as always – for all that you do, and for helping us strengthen
Norman’s legacy and his vision of the American Way.
– People For the American Way
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ [link removed] ]DONATE NOW
***********************
Do not reply directly to this e-mail. Please use
[email protected].
Trouble viewing the email?
VIEW AS WEB PAGE:
[link removed]
This email was sent to
[email protected]. Reaching you over email
is the best way we have to let you know about the ways you can take
action to fight the Right Wing and defend our constitutional rights
and values. If you have any thoughts, comments, or criticisms, or if
there's a better email address at which to reach you, please
let us know. If you'd like to unsubscribe from our list, you
can do that here:
You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time:
[link removed]
. But know that if you leave, it will be harder for you to stay involved with People For the American Way and continue our
crucial work. PFAW is able to win policy battles and elections, and
counter the Right's extremism and hate, because of dedicated
activists like you, and we're always eager to hear your thoughts.
Thanks for your support.
[link removed]
CONTACT:
[link removed]
PRIVACY POLICY:
[link removed]
FACEBOOK:
[link removed]
TWITTER:
[link removed]
YOUTUBE:
[link removed]
1101 15th Street, NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC xxxxxx-5002,
202-467-4999
You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time:
[link removed]
