Tag: Heather Cox Richardson

history law pragmatic historian

Revisiting a Foundational Document: The Magna Carta

By Mary | by Mary

The rule of law is undergoing serious strain in the United States for [waves hands all around] … reasons. In a democracy, laws are complex because we’re trying to fairly balance the rights and freedoms of all citizens in their wonderful diversity, along with those of businesses and nonprofit organizations. The government (federal, state, local), through its structures and laws, is meant to uphold the rights and freedoms of all, not tilt the scales of…

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Resources for the Resistance

By Mary | by Mary

Wow, it’s been a helluva six weeks, hasn’t it? Elon Musk and Donald Trump, along with their enablers, are shredding U.S. democracy and the federal government at a pace so rapid it makes my head spin. I thought there were more safeguards in place, what with the whole three-branches-of-government-separation-of-powers thing. But, the Framers of the Constitution apparently didn’t foresee one political party acting in bad faith (gerrymandering, preventing people from voting, stacking the Supreme Court,…

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Defenders of Democracy

By Mary | by Mary

Do not capitulate to the authoritarian in advance. I have heard this advice from pro-democracy experts numerous times over the past few months. It’s critical advice when faced with an incoming President who promises to be a vindictive dictator from Day One. In the United States, all of us hold the freedom of speech dear, especially the freedom to criticize our government officials, and this is one area, among many, where we should not capitulate.…

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