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Dear Progressive Reader,

The current global pandemic has highlighted something that many have long known: we live in a fundamentally unequal world where access to resources and wealth is controlled by a small minority. Today an international group of scholars and activists launched ([link removed][UNIQID]) a manifesto to create a people-based response to the underlying causes that have fueled this inequity. “In a world where the gap between rich and poor is obscene, with the world’s richest 1% having more than twice the wealth of 6.9 billion people,” they proclaim, “a fundamental redistribution of wealth and power globally and within nations is imperative.” This is echoed in an op-ed this week by Calvin Gladney, who points out ([link removed][UNIQID]) that the “U.S. economy needs to reset, not restart” in order to avoid “deepen[ing] these disparities.” These sorts of bold initiatives,
combined with small, local stories of sharing and cooperation like the publicly owned rose garden described ([link removed][UNIQID]) this week by Sarah Lahm, give some signs of hope in very difficult times.

Meanwhile, in Washington, DC, Donald Trump continues his crusade against science and to “re-open America.” Bill Lueders, in his Comment for the forthcoming June/July issue of The Progressive, calls this ([link removed][UNIQID]) a “pandemic of ignorance.” Lueders also provides a clear timeline ([link removed][UNIQID]) of all the ways the crisis in the United States has been amplified due to Trump’s missteps and denial. And Ruth Conniff looks at the impact on the state of Wisconsin as the “bullies” are put in charge of the re-opening. “Public safety and common sense be damned,” she writes ([link removed][UNIQID]) . “The Republicans are catering to the worst impulses of the GOP base.”

Other news this week includes the release of a new documentary ([link removed][UNIQID]) on the Peace Corps, and another film ([link removed][UNIQID]) about Eric Garner, who died while in a prohibited choke-hold by a New York City police officer in 2014. Both are reviewed by Ed Rampell, and both, in very different ways, remind us of a time when COVID-19 and social distancing were not the main topics of every newscast. Similarly, Eleanor Bader reports ([link removed][UNIQID]) this week about the efforts of reproductive justice advocates to remind viewers of the importance of the issue of reproductive rights through a series of online live theater performances. And, an excerpt of a new book titled The Green New Deal and Beyond by Stan Cox will be included in the next issue of The Progressive (now at the
printer) but you can read it here ([link removed][UNIQID]) today.

Keep reading, and we will keep bringing you important articles on these and other issues of our time.

Sincerely,
Norman Stockwell
Publisher

P.S. – We need you now more than ever. Please take a moment to support hard-hitting, independent reporting on issues that matter to you. Your donation today will keep us on solid ground and will help us continue to grow in the coming years. You can use the wallet envelope in the current issue of the magazine, or click on the “Donate” button below to join your fellow progressives in sustaining The Progressive as a voice for peace, social justice, and the common good.

P.P.S. – We have been gathering all of our coverage of COVID-19 under one tab ([link removed][UNIQID]) on our website for quick access. If you know someone who you think would enjoy receiving this weekly email newsletter, please share this link ([link removed][UNIQID]) with them to subscribe—[link removed]—it is free, and I enjoy writing it every Saturday morning.
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