Who Gets To Be the Tyrant?
It turns out that for a lot of Americans, when you ask them to choose between liberty and tyranny, liberty is the second choice.
1. Gratitude
Wednesday night’s show in Philly was tremendous. The podcast version is here and (I think?) we’ll have video on the YouTube channel.
Here’s my pitch to you: If you’re able to make it to one of these shows, do it. It’s an amazing experience. The show itself is fine, but what’s extraordinary is meeting the other people in this community we’ve built together.
After the show I got to hang out with readers I’ve emailed back and forth with for years (hey there, Jeremy and Jason). I also met people I’ve never spoken to at all. And let me tell you: Our people are the best people.
I talked with a lady who’s a nurse at Thomas Jefferson who told me a story about running into Joe Biden on the street in April of 2019. She took a picture with him and asked if he was going to get in the race. Biden winks and whispers to her, “Yeah, I’m going to announce next week.” Absolute legend.
I met a woman who runs a local paper in Vermont and she told me about the non-profit she started to help foster civics in her community. (It’s called GoodCitizenVT.com) This lady doing real work, on the ground, to keep our republic going. God love her.
My old boss from the Philadelphia Inquirer, Chris Satullo—who’s a legendary columnist in his own right—was there. Chris has been a Philly institution for decades and these days he spends his time helping groups with opposing views learn how to talk to each other.
These are our people. These are your people.
The next six months are going to be tense and exhausting. But being around Bulwark people is energizing. It’ll make you believe.
That’s what you guys did for me in Philly and for it, I’m grateful. You helped me refill the well.
My sincere advice: If you can make it to one of these shows in the coming months, do it. You won’t be sorry.1
And to everyone who came out last night: Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
2. Both Sides
If you haven’t, please read Mona’s piece on the Gaza protests. Sometimes she’s so good that I tip over from appreciation into jealousy and this is one of those pieces. I wish I had written it.
There are just two points I want to add.
The first is that we ought to recognize that these protests have become an in-kind contribution to Donald Trump’s campaign.
If you are a privileged Ivy League student, let me promise you that your protests will not save a single life in Gaza. You know what you should do if you want to help? Raise money for Doctors without Borders, which has teams on the ground in Gaza giving medical care. Or give to the group Anera, which is getting food and supplies into Gaza as quickly as possible. Or to our friends at World Central Kitchen.
“Occupying” a university building does nothing but make you feel good about yourself.2 If you want to help real human beings in the real world, raise money and get it to the people who are on the front lines, risking their lives to save others.
Actually, I lied. Occupying buildings does help one real person in the real world.
Want to see what’s happened in the polls over the last two weeks as the college protests have blown up?