“The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.” —Howard Zinn*
It was on my mind all week. I must write about the country I chose very deliberately and love very deeply.
July Fourth: The Budget Reconciliation Bill passed by Congress and signed into law by the President pulls the healthcare safety net from the most needy. It reduces investments in clean energy.
The ground has been yanked from under you—what you know—that new immigrants have helped this land thrive, that we are a society based on laws, a nation aspiring to equal justice for all.
$170 billion has been earmarked for the Wall, for detention facilities, for ICE enforcement and deportation. The existing annual budget for ICE was $8 billion. If past months have given us a preview, masked men will be snatching people from their homes and neighborhoods, workplace and school. We will be seeing a replica of what we’ve been seeing but hugely multiplied.
Who are we now?
I am comforted by those informing the rest of us about what is happening, putting events in historical context, bringing on legal challenges, using our right to protest—Americans of good will standing up for decency.
![Book open on a display counter. Image of man outlined in black ink the words "You have not converted a man because you have silenced him.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7kJP!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8ce5e5cf-54da-41a8-8097-2aafec0b0f0c_4198x3944.heic "Book open on a display counter. Image of man outlined in black ink the words "You have not converted a man because you have silenced him.")
This past Saturday, I visited the Jewish Museum on Fifth and East 92 Street to view a retrospective of Ben Shahn’s work: paintings, ink drawings, woodcuts, photography, book and magazine covers. I was awed by the beauty and drama of his work, and by his intense focus on the public good. He took on politicians of his time, amplified the anti-nuclear movement of the 1960s, the Civil Rights struggle, McCarthyism, and many other issues. Ben Shahn was an immigrant, arrived in the United States with his family in 1906 when he was eight.
What will I do?
Friends, old and new, let me know what you are thinking. Clicking on the heart encourages others to read this post.
*Howard Zinn (1922-2010) was an American historian and playwright and a veteran of World War II. He wrote more than 20 books, among them the best selling, A People's History of the United States, published in 1980 that focused on the experiences of working class people and other marginalized groups.
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