I asked you, the readers of American Crisis, about your Big Hairy Audacious Goals — your BHAGs — to get America on the road to recovery after this destructive and distressing decade.
Hundreds of you responded with enthusiasm and eloquence (both in the comments, on social media and even in person, on a tennis court!). You offered important ideas that mostly fall into a few categories. I’ll hit some of the high points here, and then ask you another question that is equally important.
Get big money out of politics. Here’s a comment from paid subscriber LiverpoolFCfan:
“Goal number one (and it’s huge): Pass a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United. Only after we the people kick the oligarchs out of our politics will we be able to have a sane government that SERVES its citizens, not its campaign donors and lobbyists.”
On a tennis court over the weekend, Kathaleen Burke, a retired public-school science teacher in the Buffalo area, told me her most important goal is to restore respect for expertise and science in our society.
Gene Bensinger, a subscriber, wrote this on Bluesky:
“We probably need a national Truth and Reconciliation Commission, tasked with inventorying the wide ranging damage, identifying who/what caused it, and recommending fixes. Otherwise we’re rebuilding on a structurally compromised foundation. But all things come back to keeping $ out of politics.” (Here’s an article from The Hill that details the chapter in South African history from which this arises.)
And many of you wrote about the importance of public education, including civics education.
“I want to get an educated population,” wrote Jelly8Bean. “End school vouchers, develop public schools. Teach history and civics in grade school on up. Eliminate standard tests and get kids reading again….”
And here’s a worthy contender from yesbut: “Eliminate the Electoral College or at least base the number of participants on each state’s population, not the number of its Congressional representatives.”
And at the top of the comments section from that post, see Al Bellenchia’s five priorities: Equal rights for all, private money out of politics, tax wealth, universal health care, universal education.
There were many more worthy ideas. Some were about teaching media literacy and others about the importance of journalism in our democracy, including this one from Mirko Petricevic, who is active in the grassroots advocacy group Ink-Stained Wretches. “Build a culture of appreciation for quality journalism.” I’m certainly all for that.
Now the next question, as promised. How do we get there from here? It’s crucial to have goals, to know what we want and need for a truly democratic and decent nation. But we also need to know the pathway to get there.
The word that comes to mind for me is leadership. Visionary and determined and practical leadership. Elected leadership, especially that of a democracy-minded and reform-minded president. Wishful thinking? Maybe so. But it seems like an absolutely necessary element to me.
But not just the presidency. Congress. And just a reminder — the midterm elections, which have the potential to restrain this out-of-control administration — are just a few months away. It would be a start, and this is far from impossible though no certainty.
Please tell me, in the comments, your best ideas for how to begin enacting all these good ideas. What will it take? How can it begin? Thank you for your idealism, your optimism, or at least your hope. I still would love to change the name of this newsletter from American Crisis to American Comeback. Thank you so much for your thoughts and your interest.
Separately, I know that if I were still the New York Times public editor, I’d be looking at a current controversy there. This one is about a guest interview in the Times opinion section, in which a non-Times interviewer talks to Kathy Ruemmler, a former Goldman Sachs lawyer and former White House counsel with troubling ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Readers and some Times journalists objected to the opinion-section arrangement because they saw it as a way to give Ruemmler soft treatment when she had dodged tougher scrutiny from the news side. The headline (gift link here) gives you a sense of it: “She Was One of Obama’s Top Lawyers. How Did She Get Tangled Up With Epstein?”
As one reader said in the comments: “I don’t get the point of this interview. Why do we need to hear Kathy Ruemmler’s side of the story?” And another: “I would love to know how this apologia came to be published in the NYT.” And another: “This puff piece is laugh-out-loud funny.”
The Times prides itself on the virtual wall between the newsroom and the opinion section. But that very arrangement can create problems. This interview presents its subject in a sympathetic light, probably much more favorable than an interview on the news side by the Times reporters who have been doing vital and hard-nosed work on the Epstein story.
“Multiple staffers told Status they worry some public figures could begin viewing the opinion section as a way to ‘end run’ tougher scrutiny from Times reporters and secure a more favorable hearing,” wrote Natalie Korach in Status. Just so.
Some new practices may need to be instituted to prevent this kind of thing. Surely, opinion-side editors could check with their news-side colleagues to see if a proposed opinion piece has the potential to undermine their reporting work? It doesn’t have to mean that the separation of church and state needs to be dissolved, since it’s a wise policy overall, but it might mean that subjects can’t interview-shop within the Times.
Finally, welcome to quite a few new subscribers. I’m very glad to have you here, as we try to move the American crisis to an American comeback. Thank you for your support, your interest — and for those who are able — your paid subscriptions. I deeply appreciate you all.
My background: I am a Lackawanna, NY native who started my career as a summer intern at the Buffalo News, my hometown daily. After years as a reporter and editor, I was named the paper’s first woman editor in chief in 1999, and ran the 200-person newsroom for almost 13 years. Starting in 2012, I served as the first woman “public editor” of the New York Times — an internal media critic and reader representative — and later was the media columnist for the Washington Post. These days, I write here on Substack, as well as for the Guardian US. I’ve also written two books, taught journalism ethics, and won a few awards, including three for defending First Amendment principles.
The purpose of ‘American Crisis’: My aim is to use this newsletter (it started as a podcast in 2023) to push for the kind of journalism we need for our democracy to function — journalism that is accurate, fair, mission-driven and public-spirited. That means that I point out the media’s flaws and failures when necessary.
What I ask of you: Shortly after Trump’s election in November of 2024, I removed the paywall so that everyone could read and comment. I thought it was important in this dire moment and might be helpful. If you are able to subscribe at $50 a year or $8 a month, or upgrade your unpaid subscription, that will help to support this venture — and keep it going for all. Thank you!
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