Dear friend of People For the American Way,
I’m old enough to remember our country’s bicentennial, and this month I’m celebrating my own personal centennial. Sad to say, I think I’m in better shape than the country right now. Let’s do something about that, shall we?
The 2016 election of former President Donald Trump has led to the outcome we most feared: a Supreme Court firmly in the grip of the Far Right.
We are all experiencing just how devastating that can be, with recent rulings abolishing the right to reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy, dismantling separation of church and state, undermining voting rights, and making it harder for public officials to tackle the climate crisis and gun violence.
As discouraging as this moment may be, let us remember that this is not the first time the Supreme Court has been an instrument of injustice. Earlier generations of Americans strategized and organized to make our courts and our country more just, and this is our time to do the same.
Turning 100 with my health and wits mostly intact is a privilege. I chalk my good fortune up to the fact that I have always had people around me to love and laugh with—and that for many years I have been energized by being part of the community of shared values and purpose that is People For the American Way.
It is a glorious feeling when we can come together to celebrate our victories – whether it’s winning confirmation of judges who believe in justice for all – like our new Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson – or using new technologies to help Black voters overcome voter suppression tactics and exercise their right to vote, as People For does with its Defend the Black Vote program.
But it is even more important to come together in the face of our defeats. So our work is especially important right now, when our larger shared project – the American democratic experiment – is looking a bit wobbly.
Back when I gathered civic, religious, business, and civil rights leaders to join me in creating People For the American Way, I wanted to demonstrate that love of country belonged to no one political party, that people who disagreed on one political position or another could find common ground in our commitment to our First Amendment freedoms and the constitutional principle of equality under law for all Americans.
Watching the Jan. 6 hearings, I found myself getting a bit teary at the courage and patriotism of the conservative Republican lawyers and White House staff who saved our democracy by refusing to go along with Donald Trump’s bullying and his illegal attempts to overturn the election.
They have given me hope that we can find unexpected partners in the urgent work of resisting the rise of authoritarianism in our country.
Now, as white supremacists and Christian nationalists aggressively try to make the country their own—and tell the rest of us that we aren’t real Americans and don’t deserve the same rights and freedoms – the stakes could not be higher.
I admit it is hard to see us sliding backward as I complete my first century as an American. But I will never stop loving this country. And I will never stop fighting for the ideals that inspire that love.
Please join me in the effort with an urgent donation now >>
We have done so much good work together. And we have so much more to do. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. Action is an antidote to despair.
Let’s take strength from one another and find the determination to keep going. We need each other. And our country needs us.
Thank you for everything,
Norman Lear
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Do not reply directly to this e-mail. Please use [email protected]. Trouble viewing the email? THANK YOU for your support of People For the American Way! 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>> Radical Right extremists are trying to turn back the clock on a century of advances in civil rights, women’s rights, workers’ rights, the social safety net and more… they’re waging an all-out assault on the fundamental pillars of our country – democracy, checks and balances, a fair and independent judicial branch, and core values like fairness, equality, and justice for all. People For is fighting back every day with: ✔ Grassroots organizing But we can’t do this vital work without the robust grassroots financial support of our members and activists.
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