Remember Andrew Hacker’s 1992 book Two Nations: Black and White, Separate, Hostile, Unequal? Twenty-three years later, it seems that we are indeed two Americas. One that believes that black lives do indeed matter, and one that believes that white lives should be privileged. One that believes that women’s rights should be respected, and one that believes that women’s bodies should be regulated. One that believes in reasonable gun control, and one that believes that the Second Amendment is more important than the lives of little kids.
The radical and reactionary side of America has a voice. Several voices, in fact–all of them irrational and intolerant, as Chris Hayes noted earlier this week:
We at the Washington Monthly are proud to stand up for the America that believes in tolerance, in racial, gender, religious and economic justice, in education and enlightenment, in effective and efficient government, in a politics that recognizes tomorrow’s potential. We have fought for progress every day since 1969…and we’re not done fighting yet.
However, in order to win the fight for progress, to win the fight for a better, healthier and more just and stable future, we need your help. We can’t do it alone. The forces of unreason seem to be gathering strength every day…and as those forces get stronger, the security of America’s most vulnerable citizens becomes weaker.
At the 2016 election approaches, it is of the utmost importance that the voices of rational America speak louder than the voices of irrational America. If logic and facts do not emerge victorious on the American cultural battlefield, what will happen to this country?
The Washington Monthly has long provided a microphone to the voices of rationality and reason. Without your help and support, that microphone will be muted…and the bizarre and bigoted braying of the radical right will be the only sound you hear.
Please consider making a tax-deductible recurring or one-time contribution today, so that the voices of optimism and hope can be heard far and wide. Thank you.
