#Banned Books       #On Censorship      #Celebrations      #Right to Read Day

Endnotes:

[1] Eugenios, Jillian. “The next chapter in record U.S. book bans? ‘Soft censorship.’” NBC News. September 27, 2024. https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/soft-book-bans-censorship-lgbtq-race-rcna172855

T
he Bluest Eye, written by Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison, was inspired by a conversation with a childhood friend just as the two young Black girls were entering elementary school. With sorrow in her voice, Morrison’s friend wished to have blue eyes rather than the brown ones she was born with.[1]

Morrison came to realize that “implicit in her [friend’s] desire was racial self-loathing.”[2] And, as she explicitly states in the book’s forward, the focus of The Bluest Eye is:

How something as grotesque as the demonization of an entire race could take root inside the most delicate member of society: a child; the most vulnerable member: a female.[3]

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The Bluest Eye is a veritable case study in why books about diverse characters (like those that continue to be targeted for banning) are so important. And, why making sure they remain available is vital to a healthy society.

During her speech at the Nobel Banquet, Morrison spoke of future laureates. And how their “voices bespeak civilizations gone and yet to be; the precipice from which their imaginations gaze will rivet us; they do not blink nor turn away.”[4]

Morrison doesn’t blink or turn away either in her examination of the potentially disabling effects that result from racial self-loathing, from “accepting rejection as legitimate, as self-evident.”[5]

In exploring the social and domestic aggression that could destroy a child psychologically, Morrison formulated a series of rejections – some routine, some exceptional, and some downright monstrous.[6]

And, it’s these scenarios, and the language Morrison uses to communicate how damaging internalized racism can be that are cited as reasons for the book’s frequent bannings.[7]

In an effort to dramatize the devastation that even casual racial contempt can cause, Morrison chose a unique and extreme situation rather than a representative one.

Despite the singular nature of Pecola’s life, however, Morrison considered aspects of her “woundability” to be lodged in all young girls.[8]

As Morrison also notes, centering the novel on such a vulnerable and fragile character as Pecola required a delicate balance. Otherwise, readers would be led into “the comfort of pitying her, rather than into an interrogation of themselves” regarding the racial climate and demonization that ultimately crushes her.[9]

The first words uttered by Morrison’s narrator Claudia MacTeer in her telling of Pecola’s story are, “quiet as it’s kept, there were no marigolds in the fall of 1941.” This opening statement is significant because marigolds are associated with optimism, joy, and good luck. They often appear in literature as symbols of “growth, resilience, and the ability to thrive in adversity.”[10]

At first, Claudia and her sister Freida thought their seeds were the only ones that didn’t sprout. Planting them was their attempt at a form of “magic,” in the hope of manifesting a positive outcome for the circumstances Pecola found herself in as a result of the abusive and unnatural nature of her situation.[11]

Claudia blamed herself for the seeds’ failure to grow. Like Frieda said, she must have planted them too deep. But such was not the case – nobody’s seeds germinated. As Claudia also notes, it never occurred to them “that the earth itself might have been unyielding.”[12] 

It speaks volumes that The Bluest Eye’s main character is named for the daughter in the film Imitation of Life, a film that addresses the cultural bias of whiteness as the standard for beauty and acceptability.

Significantly, the origin of Pecola’s name is brought to the reader’s attention by Maureen Peal, a light-skinned classmate – one Claudia describes as “a high-yellow dream child.”[14]

Maureen embodies the colorism that occurs within the Black community, the result of a prevalent “whiter is better” cultural bias.

She enchanted the entire school. When teachers called on her, they smiled encouragingly. Black boys didn’t trip her in the halls; white boys didn’t stone her, white girls didn’t suck their teeth when she was assigned to be their work partners; black girls stepped aside when she wanted to use the sink in the girls’ toilet, and their eyes genuflected under sliding lids.[15]

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And Maureen was aware that she was at the privileged end of this artificial beauty spectrum. When Claudia confronts her with the phrase, “you think you so cute” during a clash revolving around stereotypes of blackness and acceptability, Maureen responds with:

I am cute!

And you ugly! Black and ugly black e mos. I am cute! [16]

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Claudia describes the effect such colorism has on a young psyche:

We were sinking under the wisdom, accuracy, and relevance of Maureen’s last words. If she was cute—and if anything could be believed, she was—then we were not. And what did that mean? We were lesser. Nicer, brighter, but still lesser.[17]

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Lesser…  like the dandelions that lined Garden Avenue on Pecola’s way to the grocery store. She recognized the beauty in their bright yellow heads, however, wondering why people call them weeds, and see them as something to be eradicated from a “nice” yard.

There’s science confirming the negative psychological effects on Black children when “society says it is better to be white,” as Dr. Kenneth B. Clark put it. It’s a form of minority stress, psycho-social stress caused by chronic exposure to the social stresses minority individuals face due to their stigmatized status. Minority stress differs from general stress – the kind all of us may experience – because it is born of stigma and prejudice.[18] Those like the emotions Claudia endures, embodied in her experience with Maureen.

In the 1930’s, social and developmental psychologists Dr. Clark and his wife Mamie Phipps Clark conducted a series of techniques designed to “investigate the development of racial identification and preference” in African-American children.[19] Among them, was the iconic “Doll Study,” which was cited in the Supreme Court’s decision to end school segregation.[20]

As the Clarks’ published study indicates, 253 African-American children between the ages of three and seven were:

presented with four dolls identical in every respect save skin color. Two of these dolls were brown with black hair and two were white with yellow hair. In the experimental situation these dolls were unclothed except for white diapers. The position of the head, hands, and legs on all the dolls was the same. [21]

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The children were asked to respond to a series of questions by choosing one of the dolls and giving it to the experimenter. Approximately two-thirds of the children indicated they liked the white doll “best,” or that they would prefer to play with the white doll. And that the white doll is a “nice doll.”[22]

The other side of the proverbial coin reveals an accompanying negative attitude toward the brown doll. Less than forty percent of the children thought the brown doll had a “nice color.” With a significant majority indicating that the brown doll “looks bad.”[23]

Claudia’s observation about her Christmas gift is clearly an allusion to the Clarks’ Doll Study, remarking that “adults, older girls, shops, magazines, newspapers, window signs—all the world had agreed that a blue-eyed, yellow-haired, pink-skinned doll was what every girl child treasured.”[24]

In addition to the doll technique, the children in the Clarks’s study were given a Coloring test. Each child was given a sheet of paper with the “outline drawings of a leaf, an apple, an orange, a mouse, a boy, and a girl.”[25]  They also received a box of crayons containing the usual assortment, which included “brown, black, white, and tan.”[26]

To establish that there was a stable concept of the relationship of color to object, the children were first asked to color the objects and the mouse. If the child passed this portion of the test, they were directed to color the figure of the child the same gender as were, the one that represented them. And, they should color the figure the same color they were.

The children were then asked to color the remaining figure the color that they like little boys (or girls) to be.

Like the Doll Study, this test revealed patterns indicating the racial preferences and identification of these children. In the main, responses fell into three categories: “reality responses, phantasy responses, and irrelevant or escape responses.”[27]

Reality responses are precisely what it sounds like. These children colored the outline figure of a child with a color very similar to their own. Phantasy responses were those where the child colored their representation in a color significantly different from their own skin color.

Then there’s the irrelevant or escape responses. These occurred when a child (who had colored the leaf, apple, orange, and mouse in realistic colors) colored their own representation or preference “in a bizarre fashion” – purple, green, or red, for example.[28]

And, unlike the children in the realistic and phantasy categories who colored themselves with painstaking care, those with escape responses engaged in “marked random scribbling” when asked to color themselves.[29]

Pecola’s “madness” at the end of the book, her belief that she had attained blue eyes is  obviously an escape response of the utmost degree.[30]

Though Pecola’s situation was intentionally extreme, as Morrison states in the book’s forward, she didn’t want to “dehumanize the characters who trashed Pecola and contributed to her collapse.”[31] Bearing this in mind, The Bluest Eye is clearly more than a story of how internalized racism affected a single child. It’s a study of the damaging effects internalized racism has on entire communities.

We’ve already met Maureen— who is light-skinned, and as such, benefits from the “whiteness is better” system.

Then there are people like Geraldine, “thin brown girls who have looked long at hollyhocks in the backyards… and like hollyhocks they are narrow, tall, and still.”[32]

It’s significant to note that hollyhocks represent ambition, fertility, and abundance.[33] And, unlike the marigolds, they are blooming.

The defining characteristic of such girls is their careful efforts to, as Morrison puts it:

Get rid of the funkiness. The dreadful funkiness of passion, the funkiness of nature, the funkiness of the wide range of human emotions. Wherever it erupts, this Funk, they wipe it away; where it crusts, they dissolve it; wherever it drips, flowers, or clings, they find it and fight it until it dies. They fight this battle all the way to the grave. The laugh that is a little too loud; the enunciation a little too round; the gesture a little too generous. They hold their behind in for fear of a sway too free; when they wear lipstick, they never cover the entire mouth for fear of lips too thick, and they worry, worry, worry about the edges of their [straightened] hair.[34]

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This response to internalized racism is what Dr. Ibram X Kendi refers to as Assimilation –Black individuals (in this case) who strive to keep their blackness in check and conform to white society’s notion of beauty and acceptability.

This “dueling consciousness” may seem to nourish Black pride by demonstrating that Black people are capable of achieving this standard. But, it also cultivates a shame with its implication that there is something behaviorally wrong with Black people… at lease those other Black people.[35]

Such denial of one’s body and culture, attempting to modify nature and one’s heritage, results in Geraldine’s vicious son Junior. He has grown up absorbing his mother’s white upper-middle-class values.[36]

This includes the distinction we continue to hear regarding the difference between “colored people” and “n—-rs.”[37] Morrison undoubtedly chose both words carefully and  intentionally, to make a point about the negative effects of racism.

Geraldine made it clear to Junior in no uncertain terms that he “belonged to the former group.” And by implication, his superiority to and therefore right to bully, the latter group – those she deemed “dirty and loud.”[38]

Morrison describes the Breedloves’ poverty as “traditional and stultifying,” though not unique.[39] Their inability to break out of their situation, however, was ultimately a result of their unshakable belief that they were “relentlessly and aggressively ugly.”[40] In other words, they had completely internalized the anti-Black bias prevalent in society, and accepted the rejection as legitimate, resulting in a powerful sense of self-loathing.

It was as though some mysterious all-knowing master had given each one a cloak of ugliness to wear, and they had each accepted it without question. The master had said, “You are ugly people.” They had looked about themselves and saw nothing to contradict the statement; saw, in fact, support for it leaning at them from every billboard, every movie, every glance. “Yes,” they had said. “You are right.” And they took the ugliness in their hands, threw it as a mantle over them, and went about the world with it. Dealing with it each according to his way.[41]

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Mrs. Breedlove’s internalized ugliness and self-loathing played a fundamental role in her sense of martyrdom. She held her husband Cholly as a model of failure and sin – endured him “like a crown of thorns, and her children like a cross.”[42]

Like a lot of victims of self-loathing, Cholly was violent, and dangerous. His ugliness manifested in behavior, violence directed toward petty things and weak people. As well as a self-indulgence and depravity that “surprised himself – but only himself.”[43]

Pauline was one of the few things abhorrent to Cholly that he could actually touch, and therefore hurt. So, he poured out all his inarticulate rage and thwarted desires on her. By hating Pauline, he could leave himself intact.[44]

Pauline and Cholly started out as a young, loving couple. And, Cholly seemed to relish her company.  They were full of energy when they agreed to marry and go “‘way up north, where Cholly said steel mills were begging for workers.”[45]

As Pauline explains, after they landed in Lorain, Ohio:

Me and Cholly was getting along good then. We come up north; supposed to be more jobs and all. We moved into two rooms up over a furniture store, and I set about housekeeping. Cholly was working at the steel plant, and everything was looking good. I don’t know what all happened. Everything changed. [46]

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But, Pauline’s happiness started to fade as she began to feel lonely and trapped in their two-room apartment. Not only had she lost contact with her roots, she wasn’t used to having so many white people around. And, she goes on to say:

Colored folks few and far between. Northern colored folk was different too. Dicty-like.  No better than whites for meanness. They could make you feel just as no-count, ’cept I didn’t expect it from them. That was the lonesomest time of my life. I ’member looking out them front windows just waiting for Cholly to come home at three o’clock.[47]

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Cholly began to resent her complete dependence on him. They began quarreling about money, and Cholly started to drink:

Cholly commenced to getting meaner and meaner and wanted to fight me all of the time. I give him as good as I got.[48]

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During this period, the only time Pauline was happy was when she was at the movies. But one day as she took a bite of candy from the concession stand, she pulled out a front tooth. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back, as the expression goes, and Pauline Breedlove “settled down to just being ugly” – metaphorically as well as literally.[49] And, the meanness got worse.

Cholly Breedlove:

Unlike Pauline, Cholly had never experienced, or learned to develop, meaningful and healthy relationships. At four days old, his mother abandoned him in a junk heap. And when Cholly was old enough to seek out his father, the rejection came instantly and in no uncertain terms.[50]

His life was shaped by genuine suffering. The result of a myriad of defeats, emasculations, and humiliations like the one exemplified by the white men who forced him to perform sexually for their amusement – during his first teenage sexual experience, no less.[51]

Cholly embodies the sense of anger and reckless abandon that emerges when someone is unable to love or experience dignity. He does whatever makes him feel alive, including sexually abusing his own daughter. This state of mind never ends well, and leaves nothing but devastation in its wake. Though unfortunate, it’s no surprise that Cholly died alone in a workhouse.[52]

He didn’t know how to respond to Pauline’s loneliness. And her complete dependence on him pushed him over the proverbial edge, ever-further into the “model of sin” that facilitated her identity as martyr. This untenable dichotomy resulted in the brutal, physical fights that became the center of their relationship, a pattern of abuse that spilled over onto their children.

Pauline and Cholly Breedlove were among the roughly 8 million African Americans who migrated from the rural South to the urban North and West between the years of approximately 1910 and 1980 in what has come to be known as The Great Migration.

Those who migrated, as Pauline and Cholly had hoped, experienced notable economic benefits. Even after accounting for the higher cost of living in the north, migrators typically increased their earnings by 56% moving Northward. [53]

According to a recent study, however, migrators’ health outcomes typically followed a very different trajectory. Especially concerning mental health disorders, including anxiety, mood, and substance abuse disorders. A recent study indicates that approximately 35% of those who migrated to the North had a lifetime mental health disorder.[54]

Not surprisingly, one explanation for worsened mental health outcomes is a mismatch between the expectations of those who migrated and the reality of living in the North. [55]

The deterioration of the Breedlove’s relationship certainly reflects this scenario.

Pauline is not only uncomfortable being around so many white people, “northern colored folk” were different from the Black people she grew up in the South. They made her feel “no-count” as much as white people did. But, what made it even worse was that she didn’t expect such treatment from other Black people.

Though Pauline and Cholly experienced racism in the South, as indicated above, in the North they faced it pervasively. Not only from the white people she was seeing in overwhelming numbers, but from Black people like Geraldine as well.

Relocating across great distances ruptures the social support systems that were the moderating forces in their lives (although it’s safe to say that Cholly never had much of a support system).

Such a breach also contributes to deteriorating mental health.[56] Pauline was never the gregarious sort. And, due to a deformity in her foot – the result of a rusty nail “that punched clear through” it when she was two years old – she had been insulated in a “cocoon of her family’s spinning.”[57]

When she was old enough, Pauline took over the care of her family’s house. Not only was she good at housekeeping, she enjoyed it. The cleaning and daily chores provided a rhythm to her life and gave it purpose, simultaneously calming and energizing her.[58]

But in the North, when their two-room apartment wasn’t enough to feel like she was making a home, and she began feeling out of place and “no count,” Pauline no longer had the support system she did before.

Pauline describes this period as the “lonesomest” time of her life, without even a cat to talk to. All too often, she found herself sitting in front of the windows just waiting for Cholly to come home from work.[59] And, her dependence on Cholly became too much for him.

We aren’t told how Cholly died in the workhouse. But, studies have also revealed that there was a 62% increase in the rate of cirrhosis among men who relocated to the North during The Great Migration.[60] Bearing this statistic in mind, it’s very likely that cirrhosis was the cause of Cholly’s death.  It’s certainly consistent with his abuse of alcohol – which began as he felt the pressure of Pauline’s dependence, and continued to spiral out of control.

As noted above, The Bluest Eye isn’t simply the story of how internalized racism affected a single child. But, it’s also more than a study of the damaging effects internalized racism has on entire communities.

It’s important to realize that Morrison’s work also documents Claudia’s effective resistance to the racism surrounding her. As well as the development of her understanding of the forces that have destroyed Pecola .[61]

Pecola’s story, and the previously examined scenarios embodied by Pauline, Cholly, and Geraldine are merely the first stage in a framework of progression, of consciousness development. One that echoes the model envisaged by Frantz Fanon that dominated communities undergo in their relationship to the dominant culture.[62]

In the initial stage, as addressed above, the dominated community (in this case Black people) experiences a period of imitating the dominant (in this case white) culture and internalizing its views on social roles and societal standards.[63]

The second phase in this progression occurs when the minority community comes to value the unique characteristics of their identity. And, they protest the societal standards and views that have been imposed upon them by the dominant culture.[64]

Claudia’s reaction to receiving a blue-eyed Baby Doll as a gift for Christmas was a desire “to dismember it.”[65] Her visceral response is clearly a protest against the “whiteness is better” bias that has been imposed upon the Black community.

I could not love it. But I could examine it to see what it was that all the world said was lovable. Break off the tiny fingers, bend the flat feet, loosen the hair, twist the head around, and the thing made one sound—a sound they said was the sweet and plaintive cry “Mama,” but which sounded to me like the bleat of a dying lamb, or, more precisely, our icebox door opening on rusty hinges in July. Remove the cold and stupid eyeball, it would bleat still, “Ahhhhhh,” take off the head, shake out the sawdust, crack the back against the brass bed rail, it would bleat still. The gauze back would split, and I could see the disk with six holes, the secret of the sound. A mere metal roundness.[66]
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What Claudia actually wanted for Christmas wasn’t a tangible item at all. She wished for an experience, one steeped in her heritage and its traditions, a desire consistent with this stage of progression:

‘I want to sit on the low stool in Big Mama’s kitchen with my lap full of lilacs [a symbol of renewal] and listen to Big Papa play his violin for me alone.’ The lowness of the stool made for my body, the security and warmth of Big Mama’s kitchen, the smell of the lilacs, the sound of the music, and, since it would be good to have all of my senses engaged, the taste of a peach, perhaps, afterward.[67]

The final stage in this evolution is one of freedom from internalized racism. It’s grounded in self-discovery, and accompanied by a critical analysis of the dominated community’s own culture.[68]

And the closing pages of The Bluest Eye are precisely that, the now-adult Claudia’s critical analysis of the forces that destroyed Pecola – including the role that the Black community played in that destruction.

Claudia begins this self-reflection by acknowledging that she and Frieda had failed Pecola. And, by recognizing the fact that what they, and the larger Black community generally, had done was to make Pecola their scape goat:

All of our waste which we dumped on her and which she absorbed. And all of our beauty, which was hers first and which she gave to us. All of us—all who knew her—felt so wholesome after we cleaned ourselves on her. We were so beautiful when we stood astride her ugliness. Her simplicity decorated us, her guilt sanctified us, her pain made us glow with health, her awkwardness made us think we had a sense of humor. Her inarticulateness made us believe we were eloquent. Her poverty kept us generous. Even her waking dreams we used—to silence our own nightmares. And she let us, and thereby deserved our contempt. We honed our egos on her, padded our characters with her frailty, and yawned in the fantasy of our strength.[69]
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She came to understand that scapegoating isn’t the answer. It didn’t change the fact that internalized racism was still at work within the psyches of the Black community:

And fantasy it was, for we were not strong, only aggressive; we were not free, merely licensed; we were not compassionate, we were polite; not good, but well behaved. We courted death in order to call ourselves brave, and hid like thieves from life. We substituted good grammar for intellect; we switched habits to simulate maturity; we rearranged lies and called it truth.[70]
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Claudia points out that the proverbial soil had indeed been unyielding, and finally understands that the typical response has been to “acquiesce and say the victim had no right to live.” And, that this is the wrong response.

Her most significant revelation, however, is that Pecola had possessed a beauty of her own all along. But, it was “assassinated” by internalized racism, Pecola’s own as well as that of the larger Black community.[71]

The proverbial light bulb began to flicker. And she seemed to ask herself, as Morrison had done during the 1960s’ reclamation of racial beauty, “why shouldn’t this beauty be taken for granted within the Black community, despite being reviled by others?”[72]

Claudia came to understand that this self-affirming racial beauty is what should be internalized rather than the racism that continues to oppress the Black community. And that is the most productive form of protest and resistance.

As Morrison asserted, this novel sets out to hit the raw nerve of racial contempt. Expose it. Then soothe it, with language that denotes agency.

And, her work does precisely that. As mentioned above, Morrison doesn’t blink or turn away in her examination of the potentially disabling effects that result from racial self-loathing.

The fact that a young girl like Pecola is the victim of this self-loathing, who bears deep psychological scars from the severe nature of her victimization, hits a very raw nerve indeed.

The back-stories Morrison provides for those most responsible for Pecola’s destruction exposes and addresses just how insidious racial contempt and self-loathing is. Not to mention how destructive it is to the larger Black community.

Claudia’s critical analysis of the forces that destroyed Pecola ultimately acts as a balm to soothe the raw nerve of racial contempt and self-loathing. Because in doing so, she discovers a sense of agency.

She realizes that the best form of protest and resistance to a “whiteness is better” culture is to internalize a sense of racial beauty, rather than the self-loathing that has been drilled into the Black community’s heads by a dominating white culture.

Just as Pecola recognizes the beauty in dandelions despite some people seeing them as weeds to be eradicated from “nice” yards.

Beauty, however, as Morrison points out is not simply something to behold; it is something one can do. The Bluest Eye is her effort toward that end, to dispel assumptions of immutable inferiority. But, beauty as an action is something we can all do.

It begins by understanding that the world is a heterogeneous place. Seeing the humanity and beauty in people of all heritages, ethnicities and traditions. And, realizing how destructive it is for the whole of society when one culture establishes itself as the standard for beauty and acceptability.

That’s why The Bluest Eye is such an important and consequential book. Reading it makes us aware of the insidious nature of racial self-loathing. Morrison’s work helps us understand the devastating consequences of homogenous, racially exclusivist representation in our culture. And, it calls upon all of us to self-reflect.

In doing so, Morrison makes it exceedingly clear why books about diverse characters, like the ones that continue to be targeted for banning, are so important. And, why making sure they remain available is vital to a healthy society.

That’s my take on The Bluest Eye, what’s yours?
Check out this Discussion Guide to get you started!
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Pair this with: 
The Picture of Dorian Gray: The Story of a Closeted Psyche.

Endnotes:

[1] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg XI

[2] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg XI

[3] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg XI.

[4] Toni Morrison. Nobel Prize Banquet Speech. December 10, 1993.
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1993/morrison/speech/

[5] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg X

[6] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg XII

[7]  “Banned: The Bluest Eye.” American Experience. PBS.org
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/banned-bluest-eye/

[8] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg XII

[9] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg XII

[10] Gaumond, Andrew. “Marigold Flower Meaning, Symbolism, and Folklore.”  Petal Republic. September 11, 2024.
https://www.petalrepublic.com/marigold-flower-meaning/

[11] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 5

[12] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 6.

[13] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 3-4.

[14] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 62.

[15] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 62.

[16] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 73.

[17] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 74.

[18] “Black is Beautiful: The Doll Study and Racial Preferences and Perceptions.” The Legacy of Dr. Kenneth B. Clark. CUNY Academic Commons. https://kennethclark.commons.gc.cuny.edu/the-doll-study/

“Minority stress.” APA Dictionary of Psychology. American Psychology Association.

[19] Kenneth B. Clark and Mamie P. Clark. “Emotional Factors in Racial Identification and Preference in Negro Children.” The Journal of Negro Education. Volume 19, Number 3 (Summer, 1950), Pg 341.

“Kenneth and Mamie Clark Doll.” Brown v Board of Education. National Historical Park Kansas.
https://www.nps.gov/brvb/learn/historyculture/clarkdoll.htm

[20] “Kenneth Bancroft Clark.” Library of Congress.
https://guides.loc.gov/african-american-innovation/kenneth-bancroft-clark

“Black is Beautiful: The Doll Study and Racial Preferences and Perceptions.” The Legacy of Dr. Kenneth B. Clark. City University of New York Academic Commons. https://kennethclark.commons.gc.cuny.edu/the-doll-study/

[21] Kenneth B. Clark and Mamie P. Clark. “Racial Identification and Preference in Negro Children.” Readings in Social Psychology. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. Edited by E. L. Hartley.

[22] Kenneth B. Clark and Mamie P. Clark. “Racial Identification and Preference in Negro Children.” Readings in Social Psychology. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. Edited by E. L. Hartley. Pg 169.

[23] Kenneth B. Clark and Mamie P. Clark. “Racial Identification and Preference in Negro Children.” Readings in Social Psychology. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. Edited by E. L. Hartley. Pg 175.

[24] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 19-20

[25] Kenneth B. Clark and Mamie P. Clark. “Emotional Factors in Racial Identification and Preference in Negro Children.” The Journal of Negro Education Volume 19, Number 3. Pg 342.

[26] Kenneth B. Clark and Mamie P. Clark. “Emotional Factors in Racial Identification and Preference in Negro Children.” The Journal of Negro Education Volume 19, Number 3. Pg 342.

[27] Kenneth B. Clark and Mamie P. Clark. “Emotional Factors in Racial Identification and Preference in Negro Children.” The Journal of Negro Education Volume 19, Number 3. Pg 342.

[28] Kenneth B. Clark and Mamie P. Clark. “Emotional Factors in Racial Identification and Preference in Negro Children.” The Journal of Negro Education Volume 19, Number 3. Pg 342.

[29] Kenneth B. Clark and Mamie P. Clark. “Emotional Factors in Racial Identification and Preference in Negro Children.” The Journal of Negro Education Volume 19, Number 3. Pg 343.

[30] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 206.

[31] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg XI.

[32] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 82.

[33] Gaumond, Andrew. “The Story of Hollyhock Flowers: Symbolism and Folklore.” Petal Republic.
https://www.petalrepublic.com/hollyhock-flower-meaning/

[34] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 83.

[35] Kendi, Ibram X. How to be an Antiracist. New York: One World, 2003. Pg 37.

[36] Nardi,, Paola A. “’They Lived There because They Were Poor and Black’: Spatial Injustice in Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye.” Journal of African American Studies. Published online November 4, 2022. Pg 409.

[37] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 87.

[38] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 87.

[39] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 38.

[40] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 39.

[41] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 39.

[42] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 127.

[43] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 38, 42.

[44] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 42.

[45] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 116.

[46] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 117.

[47] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 117.

[48] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 117.

[49] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 123.

[50] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 157.

[51]  Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 42.

[52] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 205.

[53] Ecilia Vu, et al. “The mental health toll of the Great Migration: a comparison of mental health outcomes among descendants of African American migrators.” Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. Volume 59 (2024), Pg 1497.

[54] Ecilia Vu, et al. “The mental health toll of the Great Migration: a comparison of mental health outcomes among descendants of African American migrators.” Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. Volume 59 (2024), Pg 1500.

[55] Ecilia Vu, et al. “The mental health toll of the Great Migration: a comparison of mental health outcomes among descendants of African American migrators.” Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. Volume 59 (2024), Pg 1502

[56] Ecilia Vu, et al. “The mental health toll of the Great Migration: a comparison of mental health outcomes among descendants of African American migrators.” Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. Volume 59 (2024), Pg 1502.

Dan A. Black, et al. “The Impact of the Great Migration on Mortality of African Americans: Evidence from the Deep South.” American Economic Review.

[57] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 111

[58] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 112

[59] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 117

[60] “Dan A. Black, et al. “The Impact of the Great Migration on Mortality of African Americans: Evidence from the Deep South.” American Economic Review.

[61] “White Oppression and Black Resistance in Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye.” International Journal of English and Cultural Studies
Vol. 2, No. 1; May 2019. Pg 23.

[62] White Oppression and Black Resistance in Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye.” International Journal of English and Cultural Studies
Vol. 2, No. 1; May 2019. Pg 21.

Fanon, Frantz. The Wretched of the Earth. Translated from the French by Richard Philcox. New York: Grove Press, 1967.
https://dn790007.ca.archive.org/0/items/the-wretched-of-the-earth/The%20Wretched%20Of%20The%20Earth.pdf

[63] Showalter, Elaine. “The Female Tradition.” A Literature of Their Own: British Women Novelists from Bronte to Lessing. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1977. Pg 13

[64] Showalter, Elaine. “The Female Tradition.” A Literature of Their Own: British Women Novelists from Bronte to Lessing. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1977. Pg 13

[65] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 20.

[66] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 21.

[67] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 22.

“Lilac Flower – meaning, Symbolism, and colors.” Flower Meanings.
https://flowermeanings.org/lilac/

[68] Showalter, Elaine. “The Female Tradition.” A Literature of Their Own: British Women Novelists from Bronte to Lessing. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1977. Pg 13

[69] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 205.

[70] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 205.

[71] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg 206.

[72] Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Random House, 1970. Pg XI.

Images:

The Bluest Eye cover.

Pecola’s woundability is lodged in all young girls: Photo by Melanie Wasser on Unsplash

There were no marigolds in the fall of 1941: Photo by Nadiia Shuran on Unsplash

Why is the earth unyielding: The Ultimate Dick and Jane Storybook collection. Chicago: Scott, Foresman, 1940-1956. Pg 318-319.

The significance of Pecola ‘s name: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025301/mediaviewer/rm1077772290/

The Doll Study:  Parks, Gordon. Dr. Clark observing child with black and white dolls. (Courtesy of the Library Congress)
https://kennethclark.commons.gc.cuny.edu/the-doll-study/

The Coloring Test: Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

So as not to dehumanize the characters who contributed to Pecola’s collapse: “Late 1930s dresses.” 1930s Black Fashion, African American Clothing Photos. Vintage Dancer. https://vintagedancer.com/1930s/1930s-black-fashion-african-american-clothing-photos/

The biggest culprits are Pecola’s family: Photo by Savannah B. on Unsplash

But it wasn’t always that way: “How the Great Migration Changed American History.” Vermont Humanities.

Statistics on mental health issues and the great migration: “The Great Migration.” The African American Midwest. https://africanamericanmidwest.com/history-migrations/the-great-migration/

Claudia, the embodiment of protest: Photo by Aimee Vogelsang on Unsplash

Self-Reflection and Critical Analysis: Photo by Randy Jacob on Unsplash

In Conclusion: Photo by Mieke Campbell on Unsplash

W
e spend a lot of time here at This Book is Banned talking about reading deeply. And that begins with reading works in their entirety – rather than what has become the common educational practice of reading abridged versions or a handful of selections from a given work.[1]

Reading texts completely is especially important when it comes to sources pertaining to historical events that have shaped our country. Having knowledge about the historic moment that produced a given work or document is equally critical. And, The Declaration of Independence is a more-relevant-than-ever example of why it’s downright consequential to do so.

When we’re familiar with the entire Declaration in the historical context it emerged from, we realize that it’s more than simply a documentation of past events. We see that it also contains guidelines for what we should be on the alert for if we want to continue living in a democratic society.

We all learned about The Declaration of Independence in school. And, what’s the first thing that comes to mind about this consequential document? “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness,” right?

What else were we taught? That it was written to notify King George of the colonies’ intention to sever political ties with England.

Why were we fed up with being under England’s thumb? — “taxation without representation.”

And who was The Declaration’s intended audience? King George, of course.

While these take-aways are technically accurate, this abbreviated understanding of The Declaration limits its future significance to that of an aspirational document suggesting what our country should strive to be.

That’s clearly important. But reading the entire Declaration of Independence (especially in the context of the historical moment that produced it) gives us a more complete understanding of what this document was meant to be, what it was intended to accomplish. And this understanding is immensely relevant to our current political moment.

A fundamental misconception defining the typical understanding of The Declaration of Independence is that it was intended for King George’s eyes alone. But that wasn’t exactly the case.

After being at war with Britain for more than a year, the Continental Congress voted to declare independence on July 2, 1776. And, The Declaration of Independence (dated two days later to allow for the ratification of its text) serves as the formal explanation for that vote – to the colonists the Congress represented, as well as King George.

The founding fathers immediately disseminated about 200 copies of The Declaration (known as the Dunlop Broadsides after the printer who set The Declaration in type and printed them).

As a result, The Declaration of Independence was published in newspapers, delivered via horseback and ship, read aloud to troops in the Continental Army, and spread by word of mouth. And, one copy was sent to King George, reaching him several months later. [2]

Though The Declaration of Independence opens with the aspirational language we know so well, it’s largely a list of grievances. This catalog of 27 injustices was designed to mount a cast iron indictment of King George, proving he was a tyrant.

It was circulated around the colonies, in an effort to motivate colonists to stand up to this tyrant and rally around the idea of establishing a new nation. And during the time it took for King George’s copy to make its way across the Atlantic, The Declaration did just that.

A revolutionary war and two hundred & forty-nine years later, a surprising number of these grievances apply to Donald Trump. Take a look at how he compares to Mad King George.

But before we even get to the specific grievances listed within The Declaration of Independence…   it’s clear that Trump’s actions fly in the face of the fundamental principle upon which this document, and therefore America itself, is founded.

As noted above, it’s the first thing, that comes to mind when we think about The Declaration, the “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”[3]

The importance of familiarizing ourselves with the historical and culture context that works emerge from is something we talk about often. It’s particularly important here, and it has to do with what is meant by “Happiness.”

In the eighteenth century when The Declaration was written, this term conveyed the concept of human flourishing rather than the shallow “you do you” idea of happiness we have today.  More importantly, it was understood not only as a private right, but as a public duty to ensure that all members of society are able to thrive.[4]

One of Donald Trump’s first actions upon his return to the White House was to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. Diversity, equity and inclusion is a conceptual framework that promotes full participation and fair treatment of all people. This includes populations that have historically been underrepresented, or have been the subject of discrimination due to their background, identity, disability, etc.[5]

Such programs are clearly a practical fulfillment of the “pursuit of Happiness” that the signers of The Declaration set forth as one of our unalienable Rights. But Trump decried DEI programs as “woke,” and wielded the power of the Oval Office to squash them.

And he didn’t stop at programs within the federal government. Trump also threatened to withhold billions of dollars in grants and federal funding from universities across the nation unless they come to heel.[6]

Taking matters even further, references to women, people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community have been scrubbed from government agency websites.

Doing so erases acknowledgement of the contributions these groups have made to our country. But more importantly, it disregards the fact that they are citizens with as much right to the flourishing The Declaration considers just that… a Right, as anyone else in the United States of America.[7]

The Declaration of Independence contains 27 grievances against King George III. We’ll go grievance by grievance in this indictment of “Mad” King George and call out how many of these injustices also apply to Donald Trump. Grab a cool drink, find a comfortable chair and settle in, it’s going to be a long ride.

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1) He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

Assent is to express acceptance, as of a proposal – or in this case, a law. Trump consistently exhibits disregard for existing laws.

For example, DOGE’s (Department of Government Efficiency) plundering of citizen’s personal information by private-sector employees violates a number of laws governing privacy and data.[9]

Trump threatened the Governor of Maine, stating he would withhold federal funds from her state if it did not ban transgender girls from participating in women’s sports. As Governor Janet Mills pointed out, this would mean violating existing state law.[10]

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2) He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He wasn’t event in office yet, when during the 2024 campaign Trump strong-armed Republican members of congress into rejecting a bi-partisan immigration bill, while he used immigration as a campaign issue. The thwarted deal would have addressed structural change necessary to our decades-old immigration system.[11]

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3) He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

Trump threatened to deny disaster relief to California unless it abandoned its legislative independence and changed its water policies to suit him. 

He also threatened to cut off federal funding to New York City if Democrat Zohran Mamdani were to win the city’s mayoral race and enact policies or laws Trump opposes.[12]

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4) He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

Part of DOGE’s plan to slash spending and shrink the government’s workforce is to “boost attrition by depressing morale.” They’re accomplishing that by relocating agencies and making civil servants’ commutes so long, and the buildings “so crappy that people will leave.”[13]

.
5) He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

Though Trump hasn’t made active moves to dissolve any local governments, his threat to New York City about cutting off federal funding if Zohran Mamdani wins and enacts policies or laws he doesn’t like comes pretty darn close.

Not to mention Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s statement that the purpose of sending Marines and National Guard troops to Los Angeles was to “liberate this city” from its duly elected mayor and governor.[14]

.
6) He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

This grievance builds upon the previous one. Sometimes royal governors would suspend the legislature in an effort to force them into compliance, since no internal governing could be carried out while the legislature was suspended.[15]

So far, so good on this one. Trump hasn’t tried to cancel elections – yet.

.
7) He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

Donald Trump has definitely obstructed the laws for naturalization. Immigrants across the country have been arrested by masked ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents while attending routine immigration check-ins.[16]

Immigrants who have already received a letter of approval for green cards have been detained at their interviews and taken to detention centers.[17] These were all people who were lawfully in the immigration system. And ICE arrested them at their citizenship appointments. These arrests are a direct obstruction of this nation’s established immigration system and naturalization process.

And then there’s his executive order upending the birthright citizenship explicitly enshrined in The Constitution.

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8) He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

Special counsel Robert Mueller produced a 187-page volume delineating Trump’s efforts to obstruct justice during the Russia investigation.[18]

When Attorney General Sessions carried out his legal duty to recuse himself from the Russia investigation, Trump demanded his resignation for failure to contain the investigation before ultimately dismissing it. To say nothing of dictating a false account for a key witness in the investigation.[19]

Trump’s “Hidden Documents Case” is another example. It’s the case about him unlawfully retaining documents after leaving the White House following his first term. Not only did Trump have 30 of the 64 boxes hidden from his own lawyer. With full knowledge, he allowed his lawyers to submit a false certification to the FBI and grand jury stating that “any and all responsive documents” had been found and returned to federal officials, when they hadn’t been.[20]

There are more instances of Trump obstructing the laws he is sworn to uphold, but this is enough to fulfill the parallel to “tyrant” King George.

The second part of this grievance is continued in the next one. So, we’ll address it there as well.

.
9) He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan followed the letter of the law, and refused to let ICE agents arrest a defendant appearing in her courtroom. Now, Trump has fired 17 immigration judges from ten different states.

Not only that, Judge Dugan has herself been arrested.[21]

And, it’s clear that those who serve Trump’s will are more likely be nominated to the federal bench. Case in point… Emil Bove’s nomination to the lifetime seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Granted, any president is more likely to nominate someone to the federal bench whose views align with their won. It’s the personal relationship between Trump and Bove that makes this nomination something different. Bove was Trump’s defense attorney, most significantly for the election obstruction case. You know, the one about the January 6^th assault on the U.S. Capitol.

And, though this grievance has to do with judges, consider the fact that under Trump’s hiring process, new questions have been added to federal job vacancy announcements at GS5 or higher, queries that constitute a loyalty test. [22]

Candidates for top U.S. national security and law enforcement positions are specifically being asked, for example, whether the 2020 election was stolen. Applicants whose answer was not a resounding “yes” were passed over for the position.[23]

Just as a reminder…  oaths for all of these government positions are to “defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic,” not have loyalty to a President or his policies.

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10) He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

Trump’s implementation of DOGE clearly fits this description. And, their plundering of citizens’ personal information by private-sector employees is nothing short of eating out our substance.

Then there’s the fact that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has been turbo-charged if you will, in other words, militarized. Agents are now masked and wear tactical gear as they roll up in unmarked SUVs, literally snatching people off the streets and disappearing them.[24]

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11) He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

Trump sent Marines and National Guard troops into Los Angeles – when there was no insurrection or war – without the consent of the legislature, and over the objection of the Governor.[25]

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12) He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

Trump hasn’t removed the military from civilian and congressional oversight… yet. But he’s spoken openly about invoking The Insurrection Act since his campaign.

This 1792 law was written at a time when there was little if any local law enforcement. It would give him power to use the military for domestic policing –with him at the helm, rather than law enforcement being answerable to oversight boards established by the localities they serve.[26]

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13) He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving
his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation.

On February 15, 2025 Trump posted on Truth Social that “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.” This post makes it pretty clear that he’s putting his authority above that or the Constitution. And White House staff joined with him by sharing the statement from its official X account. [27]

Trump has deported people to a mega-prison in El Salvador, then claimed they were under the jurisdiction of El Salvador when pressured to effectuate their return.

As noted above, many of these deportees were within the immigration system and arrested at routine court check-ins. (One of the deportees, however, was eventually returned after consistent public pressure to do so.)[28]

These folks are not only being sent to El Salvador. Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, South Sudan, Eswatini, Uzbekistan have all received deportation flights.[29]

That’s a lot of jurisdictions foreign to our own constitution.

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14) For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us.

Here’s another one where we can say “so far, so good.”

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15) For protecting them [aforementioned armed troops], by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States.

Thankfully, we aren’t at the point where trials for the murder of American citizens by armed troops have become necessary. But statements like the one Trump made during his first term put us frighteningly close.

During his first term, when protests over the death of George Floyd escalated, Trump posted a Tweet that closed with “when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!”[30]

Within hours of returning to the White House for his second term, Trump pardoned, commuted the prison sentences, or vowed to dismiss the cases of the more than 1,500 people charged with crimes in the U.S. Capitol riot that occurred on January 6, 2021.[31]

Approximately 140 members of law enforcement were assaulted on that day. This figure includes 80 from the U.S. Capitol Police, and 60 from the D.C. Metropolitan Police officers. There was one death – that of Brian Sicknick – who died the following day as a result of the chemical substance he was sprayed with during the assault.[32]

Granted, this is not an “apples to apples” example, as the saying goes. But, it’s definitely an analogous situation.

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16) For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world.

Trump has proposed heavy-handed global tariffs, sending letters to over 27 world leaders informing them of the tariff rates he plans to impose on their countries’ goods. In many cases this would bring trade to a halt, including with some of our largest trading partners.[33]

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17) For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent.

Tariffs are a tax. They’re a tax on imports. These taxes are paid by importers, in this case American companies who use or sell these imported goods. And here’s the thing… these companies almost universally pass their higher costs on to their customers. So yeah, tariffs are ultimately a tax on the American people.

Under the Constitution, it’s Congress who has “the power to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations” – that is, impose tariffs.[34] And if that were the case here, our consent would have been given via our duly-elected members of Congress.

But, that isn’t the case. Congress didn’t vote to for these tariffs. Trump issued them unilaterally. All while trying to gaslight us into believing that we won’t ultimately be paying these import taxes.

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18) For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury.

Trump has been rushing people onto planes headed to third party prisons without due process. And there are a couple of previously noted problems with this turn of events. One of which is the fact that many of these individuals were detained when appearing for routine immigration appointments.[35]

So far, people in these circumstances have been immigrants. But the constitution doesn’t limit due process to citizens. The sixth amendment states “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial…  ”[36]

However, as a result of this disregard for due process, American citizens are also being scooped up in ICE raids. You heard that right… American citizens.[37]

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19) For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended off.

As noted in a related grievance, Trump has transported people to other countries without due process. And they don’t receive trials – not even for trumped–up, pretend offenses. Deportees sent to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison are but one example.[38]

Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, South Sudan, Eswatini, Uzbekistan have all received deportation flights.[39]

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20) For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and

enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies.

This grievance was a reference to the Quebec Act of 1774, which extended Quebec’s border southward into territory claimed by American colonies. It also established an appointed council rather than an elected body to govern Quebec. This tactic freaked out colonists, because they saw it as a prelude to King George imposing the same form of government on the colonies.[40]

Trump has made a similar move regarding Canada. He has stated that he doesn’t recognize the US–Canada border, and has threatened to use “economic force” to annex and abolish the free system of laws in our neighboring country.[41]

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21) For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments.

Trump severely watered down the Americans with Disabilities Act, to say nothing of his attempts to nullify the Affordable Care Act.[42] He’s decimated the Civil Rights Act that’s been in place since 1964, and undercut the Voting Rights Act.[43]

Trump also gutted the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act that have protected public health and the environment for decades.[44]

He has undermined the independence of the Justice Department, as well as attacked the courts.[45] And, Trump has threatened and bullied one political party to the point that the legislative branch has effectively been neutered.

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22) For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

Trump has not suspended Congress – at least not yet. He hasn’t needed to… see above.

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23) He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

Trump has abdicated his responsibility to protect the American people by denying disaster relief in several states. These states include: Oregon (Severe Storms, Flooding), Tennessee (Severe Storms), Hawaii (Severe Storms and Flooding), Kentucky (Severe Winter Storm), Washington (Severe Storms, Flooding),
California (Wildfires).[46]

When it comes to “declaring us out of his Protection,” it’s especially important to note that Trump refused to give California aid following a wildfire until one of his told him how many people there voted for him.[47]

Regarding waging war, as mentioned above Trump’s Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem threatened to use federal troops to take over the city of Los Angeles. To say nothing of ICE agents terrorizing communities across the nation.

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24) He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

This may not be what Thomas Jefferson had in mind, but the modern version of this grievance would be Trump’s repeals of climate change laws and regulations. These reversals will lead to rising seas, erosion of our coasts, not to mention more wildfires. All of which will clearly threaten the lives of American people.[48]

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25) He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

So far so good on this one. However…  Trump has indicated that he “wouldn’t be opposed” to the idea of using private military forces for his mass-deportation crusade.[49]

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26) He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

Trump is all clear on this one.

.
27) He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

Journalist David Corn has a point, the second part of this grievance sounds like something Trump might post on social media.[50]

But the first part…  that’s something Trump actually did – on January 6, 2021. And, them he pardoned the insurrectionists.

In one form or another, Donald Trump has committed 22 of the 27 grievances listed in the Declaration of Independence, injustices that defined King George as a tyrant.

What was it Benjamin Franklin said when Elizabeth Willing Powel inquired about the new government the Founding Fathers had created?

A republic, if you can keep it.[51]

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Given the number of tyrant-defining injustices Trump has committed, we’re definitely at an “if you can keep it” moment. But if you don’t understand the Declaration’s entire purpose, you may not realize it.

And then there’s Trump’s threats to terminate the Constitution. As Fox News journalist Howard Kurtz noted:

Trump didn’t fudge or imply; he explicitly said, ‘termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.’

This is not a leak from a meeting or liberals saying the ex-president has no respect for the Constitution. These are Trump’s own words.[52]

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Moments like these are why it’s important to understand texts in their entirety. And, why being “woke” in its original, unadulterated sense of the term (which is to say politically conscious and aware) is crucial.

Because if you’re not, it’s easy to be fooled by the divisive rhetoric that’s designed to keep us distracted and fighting each other rather than working together to keep our democracy strong, and tyrants at bay.

When it comes to America’s “if we can keep it” moments, more than a cursory understanding of world history is also essential. Because world history is more than who won which battles, and what new weapons were introduced in which wars.

For example, those who were aware that Mussolini’s pet slogan was “make Italy great again” understood that Trump’s “make America great again” is a direct lift.[53] And they could see the red flags a mile away. But most of us were taught history in the victories and weapons method mentioned above… so an awful lot of us missed those warning signs.

Being knowledgeable about Hitler’s use of language like “vermin” to describe a particular group of people would have given more of us pause when we heard Trump use it in the same fashion – even those concerned about our immigration system.[54] Because we would remember the horror and the atrocities that resulted from such language. And, from sentiments like immigrants “poisoning the blood of our country” – not all that long ago, either. [55]

But way too many of us have only been taught the zero sum, shoot ‘em up version of history, so that dangerous language failed to ring alarm bells.

And if more Americans knew that Hitler took control of Germany’s cultural institutions and turned them into propaganda centers, Trump’s take-over of the Kennedy Center and edict to purge the Smithsonian Institute of what he deems “improper ideology” would be met with more than silence. Not to mention the fact that references to Trump’s two impeachments were removed from an exhibit on impeachment at the Smithsonian – he’s literally erasing history.[56]

More importantly, a nuanced understanding of world history enables us to see through the slight-of-hand tactics being used to fool us, gin up hatred, and keep us pitted against each other. And ultimately, disrupt the community of common interest necessary for us to “keep” the democratic republic our Founding Fathers created.

As indicated by the number of tyrant-defining grievances Trump fulfills, as well as the language and branding-related red flags mentioned above, we’re clearly in an “if you can keep it” moment. But, what can we do about it?

The last thing we want to do is succumb to the devices intended to overload our nervous systems with chaos, and desensitize us to the point of inaction.[57] As Margaret Atwood put it in The Handmaid’s Tale, “don’t let the bastards grind you down.” [58] Because complacency has proven to be the greatest danger for the survival of government by the people.[59]

The most patriotic thing we can do right now, as Senator Tammy Duckworth recently pointed out, is to speak our minds, exercise our First Amendment rights, and call out the tyranny for what it is.[60]

Bruce Springsteen has been doing just that during his recent European tour, launching it with a statement that addresses our current political moment:

The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock ‘n’ roll in dangerous times.

In my home, the America I love, the America I’ve written about, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration.[61]

.
We can’t all be Bruce Springsteen, but we can heed his reminder about what the Founding Fathers intended us to be. Which is…

The last check on power, after the checks and balances of government have failed, are the people, you and me. It’s in the union of people around a common set of values. Now that’s all that stands between democracy and authoritarianism.[62]

This photo of The Liberty Bell is a perfect metaphor for Springsteen’s reminder of what we can be, and how to proceed in this political moment. Because this image is comprised of 25,000 people standing together to form a fundamental symbol of American democracy.[63] And, so must we stand united — around the unalienable rights and values that allow all people within our borders to thrive and flourish.

The chair George Washington sat in while presiding over the 1787 Constitutional Convention has come to be known as The Rising Sun Armchair. The name refers to a sentiment expressed by Benjamin Franklin at the close of the constitutional convention, which was written into the federal record by James Madison:

I have said he, often and often in the course of the Session, and the vicissitudes of my hopes and fears as to its issue, looked at that behind the President without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting: But now at length I have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting Sun.[64]

.
Let’s do everything we can to ensure that our current “if we can keep it” moment doesn’t turn it into a setting Sun. The first of which is to remain hopeful. As James Baldwin pointed out:

There may not be as much humanity in the world as one would like to see. But there is some. There’s more than one would think.[65]

.
Then, we must stand together, stay engaged, and continue to strive toward living up to the aspirational language immortalized in The Declaration of Independence.

.
Pair this with:
Leaves of Grass: A celebration of American democracy,
and What does democracy look like?

#Fascist Buster                 #The American Experience

Endnotes:

[1] Horowitz, Rose. “The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books.” The Atlantic, October 1, 2024. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/11/the-elite-college-students-who-cant-read-books/679945/

[2] “The Declaration of Independence: How did it happen?” National Archive. https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration/how-did-it-happen

[3] The Declaration of Independence.

[4] Conklin, Carli N. “The Origins of the Pursuit of Happiness.” Washington University Jurisprudence Review. Volume 7, Issue 2, 2015.
Available at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_jurisprudence/vol7/iss2/6

[5] Schneid, Rebecca. “What is DEI and What Challenges Does It Face Amid Trump’s Executive Orders?” Time.com  https://time.com/7210039/what-is-dei-trump-executive-order-companies-diversity-efforts/

DEI: Dictionary.com  https://www.dictionary.com/browse/dei

[6] Hutchinson, Bill. “Trump’s war on ‘woke’: Both sides say the issue is further dividing the country.” ABCnews.com   https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trumps-war-woke-sides-issue-dividing-country/story?id=121125797

[7] Huo JIngnan, Quil Lawrence. “Here are all the ways people are disappearing from government websites.” NPR.org. March 19, 2025. https://www.npr.org/2025/03/19/nx-s1-5317567/federal-websites-lgbtq-diversity-erased

[8] Montanaro, Domenico. “What does the ‘woke’ really mean, and where does it come from?” NPR.org. July 19, 2023. https://www.npr.org/2023/07/19/1188543449/what-does-the-word-woke-really-mean-and-where-does-it-come-from

[9] David Corn and Tim Murphy. “Here are the Declaration of Independence’s Grievances Against King George III. Many Apply to Trump.” Mother Jones, July 3, 2025.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/07/declaration-of-independences-grievances-against-king-george-iii-many-apply-to-trump/

[10] Michelle L. Price and Patrick Whittle. “Trump threatens to withhold  federal funding from Maine after governor vows state will ‘follow the law’ on transgender athletes.” Fortune.com  February 21, 2025. https://fortune.com/2025/02/21/trump-threatens-to-withhold-federal-funding-from-maine-governor-law-transgender-athletes-state/

[11] Sahil Kapur and Frank Thorp V. “Republicans kill border bill in a sign of Trump’s strength and McConnell’s waning influence.” NBCnews.com  Feb 27, 2024. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/republicans-kill-border-bill-sign-trumps-strength-mcconnells-waning-in-rcna137477

[12] David Corn and Tim Murphy. “Here are the Declaration of Independence’s Grievances Against King George III. Many apply to Trump.” Mother Jones.com  https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/07/declaration-of-independences-grievances-against-king-george-iii-many-apply-to-trump/

[13] Ma, Jason. “DOGE looks to shrink the federal workforce by making buildings and commutes ‘so crappy’ that employes will quit, report says.”  Fortune.com February 9, 2025. https://fortune.com/2025/02/09/doge-elon-musk-federal-workforce-cuts-gsa-buildings-commutes-rto-mandate/

[14] Kristi Noem: We are staying in L.A. to ‘Liberate the city from  the socialist and the burdensome leadership’ of Mayor Bass and Gov. Newsom.” Grabienews  Jun 12, 2025. https://news.grabien.com/story/kristi-noem-we-are-staying-in-la-to-liberate-the-city-from-the-sociali

[15] Ranger Val and Ranger Bill. “The Declaration of Independence: What Were They Thinking?” National Park Service. June 30, 2021. https://www.nps.gov/fost/blogs/the-declaration-of-independence-what-were-they-thinking.htm

[16] Baio, Ariana. “ICE agents are arresting migrants showing up for their immigration hearings and readying them for deportation.” Independent  February 18, 2025.  https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/ice-arrest-immigration-hearings-court-b2700382.html

[17] Porter, Regan. “ICE detains mother at citizenship appointment in Kansas City, family says.” FOX4kc.com
https://fox4kc.com/news/ice-detains-mother-at-citizenship-appointment-in-kansas-city-family-says/

[18] Rahn, Will. “10 times Trump may have obstructed justice, according to Mueller.” CBSnews.com July 23, 2019.

[19] Berke, Barry H. “Presidential obstruction of justice: The case of Donald J. Trump. 2^nd edition.”  Brookings.edu  August 22, 2018.  https://www.brookings.edu/articles/presidential-obstruction-of-justice-the-case-of-donald-j-trump-2nd-edition/

[20] Hansen, Claire. “Classified Documents and Obstruction of Justice: Inside the 37 Felony Counts Against Trump.” U.S.News.com   June 9, 2023. https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2023-06-09/trump-indicted-on-37-felony-counts-over-retention-of-classified-documents-obstruction

[21] Sobieski, Mitchell A. “Ice’s Fake Warrant: Why Judge Hannah Dugan’s arrest is a political stunt for Trump’s autocratic agenda.” Milwaukee Independent. April 26, 2025. https://www.milwaukeeindependent.com/articles/ices-fake-warrant-judge-hannah-dugans-arrest-political-stunt-trumps-autocratic-agenda/

Santana, Rebecca. “Trump administration fires 17 immigration court judges across ten states, union says.” Apnews.com  July 15, 2025. https://apnews.com/article/immigration-court-judges-trump-ice-229830c0779857164a832793c2a8f3e4

[22] “Upcoming Questions on Federal Job Applications Decried as Trump Loyalty Test.” FedWeek. June 3, 2025. https://www.fedweek.com/fedweek/upcoming-questions-on-federal-job-applications-decried-as-trump-loyalty-test/

[23] Ellen Nakashima, Warren Strobel. “U.S. intelligence, law enforcement candidates face Trump loyalty test.” msn.com (picked up from The Washington Post) https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/us-intelligence-law-enforcement-candidates-face-trump-loyalty-test/ar-AA1yFJ9I

[24] Lewis, Matt K. “Behind the  mask: What are ICE agents hiding?” TheHill.com   June 25, 2025. https://thehill.com/opinion/immigration/5366944-behind-the-mask-what-are-ice-agents-hiding/

[25] David Corn and Tim Murphy. “Here are the Declaration of Independence’s Grievances Against King George III. Many apply to Trump.” Mother Jones.com  https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/07/declaration-of-independences-grievances-against-king-george-iii-many-apply-to-trump/

[26] Fields, Gary. “Trump hints at expanded role for the military within the US. A legacy law gives him few guardrails.” APnews.com  November 26, 2023.  https://apnews.com/article/trump-military-insurrection-act-2024-election-03858b6291e4721991b5a18c2dfb3c36

[27] Rascouet-Paz, Anna.   “Trump repeats alleged Napoleon quote: “he who saves his Country does not violate any Law.’” Snopes.com  February 17, 2025. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-quotes-napoleon/

Hutzler, Alexandra. “Trump stokes alarm about vie of presidential power with apparent Napoleon reference.” February 17, 2025.ABCnews.com  https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-stokes-alarm-view-presidential-power-apparent-napoleon/story?id=118898574

[28] David Corn and Tim Murphy. “Here are the Declaration of Independence’s Grievances Against King George III. Many apply to Trump.” Mother Jones.com  https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/07/declaration-of-independences-grievances-against-king-george-iii-many-apply-to-trump/

[29] Roy, Diana. “Here’s Where Trump’s Deportations Are Sending Migrants.” Council on Foreign Relations July 1, 2025. https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/heres-where-trumps-deportations-are-sending-migrants

Gooding, Dan. “Map Shows Third Countries Where Migrants Are Being Deported.” Newsweek.com  July 16, 2025. https://www.newsweek.com/trump-administration-third-country-removals-immigrants-map-2099910

[30] Wilson, Christopher. “Twitter flags Trump tweet on Minneapolis protests for ‘glorifying violence’.” Yahoo!news. May 29, 2020. https://www.yahoo.com/news/twitter-flags-trump-tweet-glorifiying-violence-minneapolis-looting-shooting-114334538.html

[31] Alanna Durkin Richer and Michael Kunzelman. “Trump grants sweeping pardon of Jan. 6 defendants, including rioters who violently attacked police.” APnews.com January 21, 2025.  https://apnews.com/article/capitol-jan-6-pardons-trump-justice-department-8ce8b2a8f8cb602d5eaf85ac7b969606

[32] Claire Hymes, Robert Legare, Eleanor Watson. “A year after January 6 Capitol riot, hundreds face charges but questions remain.” January 5, 2022. CBSnews.com   https://www.cbsnews.com/news/january-6-capitol-riot-year-later-hundreds-face-charges-questions-remain/

[33] Kurzleben, Danielle. “Here’s a list of Trump’s tariff letters so far and the rates they threaten.” NPR.org. July 15, 2025. https://www.npr.org/2025/07/12/nx-s1-5463818/trump-tariff-rate-letters

David Corn and Tim Murphy. “Here are the Declaration of Independence’s Grievances Against King George III. Many apply to Trump.” Mother Jones.com  https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/07/declaration-of-independences-grievances-against-king-george-iii-many-apply-to-trump/

[34] “The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription.” National Archives. https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript

[35] Iorfida, Chris.  “Where in the world is the U.S. trying to deport 3^rd-country migrants?” CBCnews. May 14, 2025. https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/us-deportations-country-agreements-1.7530868

Reichlin-Melnick, Aaron. “these Men Were Deported to El Salvador With No Due Process. Their Stories Show Why an Investigation Is Necessary.” American Immigration Council. April 3, 2025. https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/men-deported-el-salvador-stories-investigation/

[36] “The United States Constitution.” National Constitution Center. https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/full-text

[37] Danner, Chas. “All the U.S. Citizens Who’ve Been Caught Up in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown.” Intelligencer. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/tracking-us-citizens-children-detained-deported-ice-trump-updates.html

Rodriguez, Olga R. “Army veteran and US citizen arrested in California immigration raid warns it could happen to anyone.” APnews.com July 17, 2025. https://apnews.com/article/us-army-veteran-immigration-raid-53cb22251a01599a0c4d1a8d5650d050

Suzanne Gamboa and Nicole Acevedo. “Trump immigration raids snag U.S. citizens, including Native Americans, raising racial profiling fears.” NBCnews.com January 28, 2025. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/trump-immigration-raids-citizens-profiling-accusations-native-american-rcna189203

[38] David Corn and Tim Murphy. “Here are the Declaration of Independence’s Grievances Against King George III. Many Apply to Trump.” Mother Jones, July 3, 2025.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/07/declaration-of-independences-grievances-against-king-george-iii-many-apply-to-trump/

[39] Roy, Diana. “Here’s Where Trump’s Deportations Are Sending Migrants.” Council on Foreign Relations July 1, 2025. https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/heres-where-trumps-deportations-are-sending-migrants

Gooding, Dan. “Map Shows Third Countries Where Migrants Are Being Deported.” Newsweek.com  July 16, 2025. https://www.newsweek.com/trump-administration-third-country-removals-immigrants-map-2099910

[40] David Corn and Tim Murphy. “Here are the Declaration of Independence’s Grievances Against King George III. Many Apply to Trump.” Mother Jones, July 3, 2025.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/07/declaration-of-independences-grievances-against-king-george-iii-many-apply-to-trump/

[41] Sutherland, Callum. “Does Trump Still Plan to Annex Canada and Make It the 51^st State? Here’s What to Know.” Time.com June 29, 2025. https://time.com/7297490/trump-plan-to-annex-canada-51st-state-mark-carney/

Vialko, Daryna. “Trump wants to renegotiate US-Canada border agreement-NYT. MSN.com https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/trump-wants-to-renegotiate-us-canada-border-agreement-nyt/ar-AA1AtdeQ

[42] Hunter, Kenya. “The Trump administration withdrew 11 pieces of ADA guidance. How will it affect compliance?” APnews.com April 8, 2025. https://apnews.com/article/ada-guidance-disabilities-trump-ed2214921ac719b72b81d76c03e330c4

[43] Silverstein, Thomas. “Trump Just Issued an Executive Order Aimed at Decimating the Civil Rights Act of 1964.” Slate.com may 4, 2025. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/05/trump-executive-order-civil-rights-act-lbj.html

Hasen, Richard L. “Two Supreme Court Justices Invited an All-Out Assault on the Voting Rights Act. Now It’s Here.” Slate.com May 14, 2025. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/05/supreme-court-justices-neil-gorsuch-clarence-thomas-voting-rights.html

[44] Fitzgerald, Erin. “Trump Halts Clean Air Laws For Most of the Country.” Earthjustice.com. July 18, 2025. https://earthjustice.org/press/2025/trump-halts-clean-air-laws-for-most-of-the-country

“Trump rolls back decades of Clean Water Act protections.” BBC. December 11, 2018. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46526776

[45] Jurecic, Quinta. “Trump’s Attacks on Justice Department Independence, Then and Now.” Lawfare. March 27, 2025. https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/trump-s-attacks-on-justice-department-independence–then-and-now

Zirin, James D. “Trump’s latest attack on the courts: suing the judges themselves.” The Hill.com July 1, 2025. https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/5377904-trumps-latest-attack-on-the-courts-suing-the-judges-themselves/

[46] Stancil, Kenny. “Map: Trump Has Often Delayed or Denied Disaster Aid.” Revolving Door Project. July2, 2025. https://therevolvingdoorproject.org/trump-disaster-policy-tracker-map/

[47] Scott Walman and Thomas Frank. “Trump refused to give California wildfire aid until told how many people there voted for him, ex-aide says.” Politico.com October 3, 2024. https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/03/helene-trump-politics-natural-disaster-00182419

[48] David Corn and Tim Murphy. “Here are the Declaration of Independence’s Grievances Against King George III. Many Apply to Trump.” Mother Jones, July 3, 2025.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/07/declaration-of-independences-grievances-against-king-george-iii-many-apply-to-trump/

[49] Ward, Myah. “Trump appears open to using private forces to help deport millions of undocumented immigrants.” Politico.com February 27, 2025. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/27/trump-private-forces-immigration-00206560

[50] David Corn and Tim Murphy. “Here are the Declaration of Independence’s Grievances Against King George III. Many Apply to Trump.” Mother Jones, July 3, 2025.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/07/declaration-of-independences-grievances-against-king-george-iii-many-apply-to-trump/

[51] “September 17, 1787: A Republic, If You Can Keep It.” Independence National Historical Park. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/constitutionalconvention-september17.htm

[52] Kurtz, Howard. “Why Trump’s ‘termination’ of Constitution, demanding reinstatement or do-over, has set off alarms.” Fox News. December 6, 2022. https://www.foxnews.com/shows/media-buzz/why-trumps-termination-constitution-demanding-reinstatement-over-has-set-off-alarms

[53] Sharpe, Matthew. “Make Italy great again: Mussolini’s rise and fall shows how democracy dies by a thousand cuts.” The Conversation. May 5, 2025. https://scroll.in/article/1081753/make-italy-great-again-mussolinis-rise-and-fall-shows-how-democracy-dies-by-a-thousand-cuts

[54] Georgantopoulos, mary Ann. “Trump Referred To Immigrants As Vermin, Saying They Will ‘Infest Our Country’” BuzzFeedNews.com  June 19, 2018.  https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/maryanngeorgantopoulos/trump-immigrants-vermin-infest

[55] Layne, Nathan. “Trump repeats ‘poisoning the blood’ anti-immigrant remark.” Reuters.com December 16, 2023. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-repeats-poisoning-blood-anti-immigrant-remark-2023-12-16/

[56]  Venator, Melissa. “Modern Art in Nazi Germany.” St. Louis Art Museum lecture. July 18, 2025.

Executive order. Whitehouse.gov   March 27, 2025.

The Washington Post. August 1, 2025.

[57] Last, Jonathan V. “Biology Explains Why People Normalize Trump: How authoritarians hack our nervous systems to desensitize us to their assaults on democracy.” TheBulwark.com October 9, 2024. https://www.thebulwark.com/p/biology-explains-why-people-normalize

[58] Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale.  New York: Vintage Books, 1998. Pg 225

[59]Qvortrup, Matt. Death by a thousand cuts: the slow demise of democracy. Berlin  : DeGruyter, 2019.

[60] Tammy Duckworth. “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. https://www.facebook.com/reel/2281477962281717

[61] Springsteen, Bruce. “Land of Hope and Dreams.” Brucespringsteen.net   May 14, 2025. https://brucespringsteen.net/news/2025/land-of-hope-and-dreams/

[62] Springsteen, Bruce. “Land of Hope and Dreams.” Brucespringsteen.net   May 14, 2025. https://brucespringsteen.net/news/2025/land-of-hope-and-dreams/

[63] Mole and Thomas photographer. The Human Liberty Bell; 25000 officers and men at Camp Dix, New Jersey; General Hugh L. Scott, commander. 1918. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

[64] “The Rising Sun Armchair (George Washington’s Chair).” UShistory.org https://www.ushistory.org/more/sun.htm

[65] James Baldwin quotes. Goodreads.com https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/11764275-there-may-not-be-as-much-humanity-in-the-world

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Images:

The Declaration of Independence.

What did we learn about The Declaration in school:  Photo by Belinda Fewings on Unsplash

A fundamental misconception: Trumbull, John. Declaration of Independence. 1819. (Public Domain).

The Declaration of Independence is more relevant than ever: nokings.org

On the subject of being “woke”:  Photo by Danny Burke on Unsplash

The Declaration’s list of grievances: Boston Public Library Tichnor Brothers collection (Public Domain).

So, what’s the score and what does that mean: National Constitution Center (Public Domain)

More than a “victories and weapons” understanding of world history is also essential: Photo by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash

The most patriotic thing we can do: Photo by benjamin lehman on Unsplash

Human Liberty Bell: Mole & Thomas, 915 Medinah Blvd., Chicago, Ill.  Library of Congress

George Washington’s Rising Sun Armchair: National Park Services.

W
alt Whitman is known as “the world’s poet of democracy.” And, images from “No Kings” protests taking place across the nation confirm that reputation. How so? Because they depict the literal embodiment of Whitman’s foundational metaphor for democracy – leaves of grass.

Why is that significant?  It’s a prime example of the purpose literature serves within society, as well as its ongoing relevance. Literature isn’t just entertaining poems and stories. It reflects our culture, and gives us insight into events taking place in our society.

Each blade in Whitman’s leaves of grass metaphor represents an individual within our larger democracy. And no two are alike…  just like the array of signs on display in the “No Kings” protests and the individuals who created them.

Together however, the individual leaves/blades of grass create a lush, verdant quilt that covers the ground. And, when you stand back far enough, you don’t see individual leaves/blades at all, but an organic unity.

Just like in these images of “No Kings” protests. They don’t call citizen activity like this grassroots movements for nothing. And, yes… this is what democracy looks like.

Whitman knew that a functioning democracy takes effort to maintain.  Demonstrations like these are a vital part of the work required to ensure that this country remains a democratic nation.

The “No Kings” protest in July was a response to Donald Trump’s military parade – the one that “just happened” to align with his birthday. Whitman also had a thing or two to say about these types of events.

He reminds us to keep in mind what the American Revolution was all about. What the revolutionaries were fighting for. And, more importantly, what they were fighting against.

Clearly, the folks who demonstrate in these protests have not lost sight of what the American revolution was about. Or the fact that we were fighting against an actual monarch then and demonstrating against a wanna-be king today.

Whitman doesn’t just talk about democracy. He calls upon us to carry the democracy that his leaves of grass metaphor symbolizes forward. And, he understood the significant role literature plays in developing and maintaining a democratic society. So, whether you have participated in a “No Kings” protest or not, bear in mind that reading is also a significant form of resistance.

There’s a reason why books are being banned in schools and libraries at greater numbers than ever. Because reading teaches us to think for ourselves and lets us see what wanna-be kings are up to. It reveals how they try to keep us divided.

Reading diverse books allows us to become acquainted with people whose lives are different from our own. To see them as our brothers and sisters rather than villains and enemies — a point Whitman also makes in his ode to democracy Leaves of Grass.

Whitman set out to create a style that would serve as a democratic model for society. His Leaves of Grass offers a tool for developing a democratic identity. No wonder it’s on so many banned lists.

Pair this piece with Leaves of Grass: a celebration of American Democracy to learn more about why Walt Whitman is described as “the world’s poet of democracy.”  And, why Leaves of Grass is more relevant than ever.

Images:

This is what Democracy looks like:  Photo by Joseph Chan on Unsplash

Individual blades of grass:  This Book is Banned Staff

Together, however:
“We don’t do kings here: Photos from Philadelphia’s ‘No Kings’ protest.”
Marty Joe Murray Jr. (78^th District Rep to Missouri Legislature) Facebook. June 14, 2025.
Jeff McDonald and Tammy Murga. San Diego Union-Tribune. June 14, 2025.

No Kings: nokings.org

Trump:  Burman, Theo. “White House Shares Photo of Donald Trump Dressed as a King.” Feb 20, 2025. Newsweek.

Reading is a form of resistance: This Book is Banned staff.

J
une is Pride Month! Books by and about the LGBTQ+ community are the most frequent targets of bans at public schools and libraries across the country. (Right up there with books about race, racism, or those with characters of color.)[1] And these challenges explicitly state that young people shouldn’t be exposed to LGBTQ+ material.[2]

An extension of this thinking is evident in attempts by policymakers nationwide to prohibit drag shows and banning gender-affirming care. They’re also pushing to allow the deadnaming of transgender students or adults in the workplace, as well as other measures that target LGBTQ+ people.[3] Which is why it’s essential to fight against book banning.

Because books have the ability to give us a glimpse into lives and experiences other than our own. And as a result, see those whose life experience is different from ours as fellow human beings rather than a frightening Other. Maia Kobabe’s graphic memoir Gender Queer is a perfect example. Unfortunately, according to the American Library Association (ALA) Gender Queer continues to be at the top of the banned book list.[4]

Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, started writing this memoir as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual. But Gender Queer turned out to be more than a personal story. It’s a touching, insightful and useful guide on gender identity for friends, advocates, and humans everywhere.[5]

Many other books are facing similar trials, including George M. Johnson’s All Boys Aren’t Blue, Mike Curato’s Flamer, Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower, John Green’s Looking for Alaska, Jonathan Evison’s Lawn Boy and Juno Dawson’s This Book Is Gay.[6]

So, read a book from the ALA’s rainbow list in support of Pride Month. Or choose from books, like Gender Queer, that have received the Stonewall Book Award for exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience. But don’t limit choices from these lists to the month of June, show support for Pride year round.

#ALA Rainbow List       #Celebrations       #LGBTQ+ authors          #Pride Month

Endnotes:

[1] Kasey Meehan, Jonathan Friedman. “Banned in the USA: State Laws Supercharge Book Suppression in Schools.” April 20, 2023. PEN America.https://pen.org/report/banned-in-the-usa-state-laws-supercharge-book-suppression-in-schools/

[2] Hillel Italie. “’Gender Queer’ tops library group’s list of challenged books.” AP News. https://apnews.com/article/most-challenged-books-2022-list-c39af4320afb16525cb0fd911c9ffed4

[3] Scott McFetridge, Anthony Izagirre and Sara Cline. “School library book bans are seen as targeting LGBTQ content.” March 20, 2023.  AP News. https://apnews.com/article/lgbtq-book-bans-91b2d4c086eb082cbecfdda2800ef29a

[4] Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2023. American Library Association. https://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10 

[5] Simon and Schuster.com  https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Gender-Queer-A-Memoir/Maia-Kobabe/9781549304002

[6] Hillel Italie. “’Gender Queer’ tops library group’s list of challenged books.” AP News. https://apnews.com/article/most-challenged-books-2022-list-c39af4320afb16525cb0fd911c9ffed4

Images:

[1] Pride Flag. Image by rawpixel.com on Freepik.

[2] Gender Queer Cover. Kobabe, Maia. Gender Queer. Portland, Oregon: Oni Press, Deluxe edition (July 5, 2022).

L
uck of the Irish. We hear this expression most often around St. Patrick’s Day. And, it’s usually associated with leprechauns – the magical, smiling kind, like the one on boxes of Lucky Charms cereal.

So, when someone is said to have the Luck of the Irish, it’s understood to mean they have an unnatural tendency toward good fortune. However…  like a lot of other sayings, its original use tells a very different tale.

For starters, the leprechauns of Irish folklore are tricksy, mischievous little buggers (unlike the “wee person” represented by the General Mills company). According to Irish lore, they do indeed know the whereabouts of hidden treasure, but they can also be “bitterly malicious.”[1] So, even successful encounters with these supernatural beings are nothing short of treacherous.

Our “Lucky Charms” view of leprechauns is void of history and genuine Irish culture. Which is also the case with our current understanding of the expression “Luck of the Irish.”

A Decidedly Unlucky History.

As Irish satirist Jonathan Swift is credited with pointing out, historically speaking the luck of the Irish people has been positively abysmal.[2] Ireland was subordinated to English control beginning with Henry VIII, a conquest that began with a Norman invasion and was finally completed during the reigns of Elizabeth 1 and James 1.

Laws designed to fragment the estates of Irish landowners were put in place. And, like every successful colonizer, crown authorities employed brutal methods to squash resistance and exploit Ireland’s resources.[3]

An Gorta Mór

After centuries of such oppression, Ireland experienced an Gorta Mór  “The Great Hunger,” known to most of us as the “potato famine.”[4] A mid-famine sentiment regarding this devastating calamity is that “God sent the blight, but the English made the famine.”[5]

More than one historian has characterized Britain’s handling of the situation as a convenient opportunity to finally crush Irish refusal to toe the British line, which famously included an attachment to Catholicism.[6]

Whether exacerbated by socio-political motives or not, in a country of eight million, the famine resulted in the death of more than one million people.[7] And nearly two million departed Ireland, as emigration became the last refuge of a desperate people who saw it as their only hope of survival.[8]

A significant proportion of those emigrating made their way to the United States. And the trip across the Atlantic was no picnic. For many, the journey took place on what came to be known as “coffin ships,” so-titled because the mortality rate on these overcrowded ships was 30% or higher on some ships. This catastrophic mortality rate was caused by overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, malnutrition, and disease, a combination that ensured death was a constant presence.[9]

No Irish Need Apply

And when they got to America, the Irish refugees who survived their traumatic journey were frequently met with job listings and signs in places of business indicating “No Irish need apply.”[10] This attitude was fueled by images in media characterizing the Irish as uncivilized, depicting them with simian or pig-like features.[11]

What’s a recently landed son of Erin to do? Well…  the famine that drove so many Irish people from the nation of their birth happened to coincide with the California Gold Rush. Opportunity finally seemed to be knocking.

But availing themselves to this fortuitous prospect would entail another difficult journey for Irish immigrants, one that would require them to sail around the tip of South America, and would take four or five months to complete. If they could scrape together the funds for passage, that is.

An alternative to this lengthy sojourn was to take a shorter voyage to Panama, trek for a week through malarial territory using canoes and mules (risking not only malaria but cholera as well), then take another ship from the west coast of Panama to California.

Or they could travel over land, by way of the harsh western deserts and mountains, through (often hostile) Native American territory.[12]

Irish Gold Miners

However they got to California, these Irish gold miners clearly had a will to succeed and a drive to never give up. And that’s exactly what you need if you’re going to be digging and panning for gold.

This is not to say that other immigrants who made the same journey lacked a similar work ethic. But, the timing of the famine drove enough Irish immigrants to the gold rush that an inordinately high percentage of miners were Irish.

So, it only makes sense that a significant number of successful miners would be Irish. And, that’s precisely what happened. The most famous and successful miners were indeed of Irish descent.[13]

That’s the context the expression “Luck of the Irish” emerged from.

But as historian Edward T. O’Donnell points out, the phrase “carried with it a tone of derision as if to say, only by sheer luck, as opposed to brains, could these fools succeed.”[14] Which is nothing less than absurd given the work ethic required to be a successful gold miner, to say nothing of the grit and determination it took for these Irish immigrants to make it to California to begin with.

In Conclusion

Historically speaking the Irish were anything but lucky. What kind of luck gives rise to roughly centuries of invasion, colonization, exploitation, starvation and mass emigration?  Certainly not the kind we associate with the phrase “Luck of the Irish” on St. Patrick’s Day.

Not to mention the fact that the expression was originally intended as mockery, born of a certain jealousy, a sense of victimhood based in a lack of regard for Irish immigrants and what they had endured to make their way to America and become successful.

If you’ve ever had your hard work or years of preparation dismissed out of hand, then you have the Luck of the Irish as the expression was originally intended. If you, or someone you know has left their home country due to dire circumstances there, only to be despised and derided in the country they emigrate to in the hopes of a better life, they have the Luck of the Irish too.

Hopefully, knowing the original intent of this expression will give us pause as we throw it around next St. Patrick’s Day. Hopefully, knowing its original intent will remind us to acknowledge the hard work of those around us. And, hopefully… just maybe, it’ll help us recognize that others (especially those newly-arrived to the United  States) might have overcome tremendous adversity in order to achieve even a modicum of success.

#Luck of the Irish      #Aphorisms Unplugged     #The American Experience

Endnotes:

[1] Lady Wilde. Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland. Vol. 1. Boston: Tickner & Co., 1887.Pg 103.

[2] Lee, Peter. “Fancy some Irish luck? These Irish sayings about luck are for you.” Irish Central. https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/craic/fancy-some-irish-luck-these-irish-sayings-about-luck-are-for-you

[3] Miller, Kerby A. Emigrants and Exiles: Ireland and the Irish Exodus to North America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1985. Pp 16-25.

Lennon, Colm. Sixteenth Century Ireland – The Incomplete Conquest. Dublin: St. Martin’s Press,1995.

Canny, Nicholas P. The Elizabethan Conquest of Ireland: A Pattern Established, 1565–76. Sussex: Harvester Press Ltd, 1976.

[4] O’Neill, Joseph. The Irish Potato Famine. Edina, Minn.: ABDO Publishing Co., 2009. Pg 7.

[5] Bloy, Marjie. “The Irish Famine: 1845-9.” The Victorian Web. https://victorianweb.org/history/famine.html

[6] Coogan, Tim Pat. The Famine Plot: England’s  Role in Ireland’s Greatest Tragedy. New York: Palgrave McMillan, 2012.

Kinealy, Christine. This Great Calamity: The Irish Famine 1845-52. Boulder, Colorado: Roberts Rinehart Publishers, 1995.

O’Dowd, Niall. “Was the Irish Famine genocide by the British?” IrishCentral.com  Aug 20, 2018. https://www.irishcentral.com/news/irish-famine-genocide-british

[7] Kinealy, Christine. This Great Calamity: The Irish Famine 1845-52. Boulder, Colorado: Roberts Rinehart Publishers, 1995. Pg 251.

[8] Kinealy, Christine. This Great Calamity: The Irish Famine 1845-52. Boulder, Colorado: Roberts Rinehart Publishers, 1995. Pg 299.

O’Leary, Rachel. “Coffin Ships.” Irish Famine Exhibition. Dublin Museum. January 22, 2025.

[9] O’Leary, Rachel. “Coffin Ships.” Irish Famine Exhibition. Dublin Museum. January 22, 2025.

“Coffin ships: death and pestilence on the Atlantic.”  Irish Genealogy Toolkit. https://www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/coffin-ships.html

[10] Bulik, Mark. “1854: No Irish Need Apply.” September 8, 2015. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/08/insider/1854-no-irish-need-apply.html

[11] Forker, Martin. “The use of the ‘cartoonist’s armoury’ in manipulating public opinion: anti-Irish imagery in 19^th century British and American periodicals.” Journal of Irish Studies, 2012. Vol. 27 (2012) Pg. 59.

[12] Nolan, Philip. “How the Irish mined the gold rush.” Irish Daily Mail. August 10, 2019. https://www.pressreader.com/ireland/irish-daily-mail/20190810/282183652681471

[13] O’Donnell, Edward T. 1001 things everyone should know about Irish-American history. New York: Grammercy Books, 2002. Pg 226.

[14] O’Donnell, Edward T. 1001 things everyone should know about Irish-American history. New York: Grammercy Books, 2002. Pg 226.

Images:

Irish Clover:  Photo by Frames For Your Heart on Unsplash

Portrait of Jonathan  Swift: Charles Jervas (1718), National Gallery of Ireland. Public Domain.

An Gorta Mór : “Bridget O’Donnell.” Illustrated London News, December 22, 1849 – public domain.

No Irish Need Apply:  Bulik, Mark. “1854: No Irish Need Apply.” September 8, 2015. The New York Times.

Irish Gold Miner: ‘Ireland at the Diggings’: The Irish of the California Gold Rush Celebrate Home, 1853.” Irish in the American Civil War.

Celtic Knot: The Irish Road Trip.com

W
alt Whitman (or Uncle Walt as Robin Williams referred to him in the film Dead Poet’s Society) has been described as “the world’s poet of democracy.”[1] And, Leaves of Grass is his visionary collection of poetry celebrating his belief in democracy and the individual’s place in it.

Leaves of Grass was published little more than 60 years after the United States constitution was ratified. And, Whitman considered this recently established democratic governance to be an inevitable evolutionary force in human history.

That said, he was in no way under the illusion that a functioning democratic society would either come easily or emerge quickly in the still-young nation of his day.

He also believed that democracy would fail if it was strictly legislative and legalistic. And, contended that a democratic literature was the most essential factor in urging this evolution along. Because:

That which really balances and conserves the social and political world is not so much legislation, police, treaties, and dread of punishment, as the latent eternal intuitional sense, in humanity, of fairness, manliness, decorum, &c. Indeed, the perennial regulation, control and oversight, by self-suppliance, is sine qua non to Democracy; and a highest, widest aim of Democratic literature may well be to bring forth, cultivate, brace and strengthen this sense in individuals and society.[2]

.
As long as the country’s imagination remained fueled by literature modeled on works produced under the “opposite influences” of aristocracy and hierarchical, authoritarian structures, Whitman maintained, democracy would never flourish.[3]

When Whitman began writing, American poetry sounded pretty much like its British counterpart. Popular poets of the day, like John Greenleaf Whittier and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, wrote in a manner reminiscent of the Victorian style prevalent in England. Their style revolved around the special, the elect, the few.

So, for reasons pointed out above, Whitman wanted to create an original, distinctly American form and style. One that shifted the focus away from the rich & powerful, and stratified social structures. One that championed the everyday people who make up the heart of democracy. One that quells potential animosity between these everyday people by nurturing understanding and cultivating camaraderie.[4]

Whitman’s primary interest was in the way a democratic self would act rather than the way  democratic society would function. And, he knew that defining this revolutionary new self would require a more equalizing connection between reader and author.[5]

The style Whitman set out to create would be as open, and nondiscriminatory as he imagined an ideal democracy to be. It would reflect the broad spectrum of American experience. And, most importantly, it would be a democratic voice that would serve as a model for society.[6]

And, he did exactly that. Rejecting traditional poetic conventions, Walt Whitman is widely considered to be the “Father of free verse.”[7] This new form of poetry is a loose, informal style, with no rhyme, or no meter. As such, it better captures the natural rhythms of speech.

He constructed a poetry that breaks down the barriers of bias and convention, requiring acts of imaginative absorption on the part of the reader. Whitman’s poetry directly addresses the reader and challenges him to action. All of which results in an enlarging of the self.

Rather than proposing a particular persona, however, Whitman’s Leaves of Grass offers a tool for discovering his own innate wisdom in developing a democratic identity.[8]

The question for Whitman was always one of the “democratic individual” within an “aggregated, inseparable… democratic nationality.”[9]  Which makes Leaves of Grass more than simply the title of a collection of poetry – it’s Whitman’s foundational metaphor for democracy itself.

As Alexis de Tocqueville pointed out in 1835, America has a tendency to think as a country of “I’s,” rather a nation of “us.”[10] But, Whitman expresses unlimited optimism on this issue, one that tormented America’s founders… the fear that individualism would deter the public virtue of aligning our individual self-interest with that of the republic’s.[11] 

In Whitman’s metaphor, the American people are like grass. No two leaves/blades are alike. Each has a certain kind of individuality. Step back, however, and you’ll see that the leaves/blades are more alike than they are different. Americans can be ourselves to the utmost while also sharing deep kinship with our neighbors.

Who are our neighbors?[12]  All the other leaves/blades of grass around us:

Sprouting alike in broad zones and narrow zones,
Growing among black folks as among white,
Kanuck, Tuckahoe, Congressmen, Cuff, I give them the same, I receive them the same.[13]

.
Together, the individual leaves/blades of grass create a lush, verdant quilt that covers the ground. And, when you stand back far enough, you don’t see individual leaves/blades at all, but an organic unity.[14]

It’s a visual representation of what Whitman expresses in the line, “what I assume you shall assume”— that is, assume that our common interest in our own freedom is what, above all else, unites us as Americans.[15]

The individual leaves/blades haven’t disappeared, however. A closer looks lets us know  they’re still there, unique and vibrant, no two alike. Whitman’s leaves of grass metaphor is an exquisite example of e pluribus unum, from many one.[16]

Song of Myself was given priority as the first poem of the collection Leaves of Grass. And rightly so, because it represents the essence of Whitman’s poetic vision.[17]

Consistent with his grass metaphor for democracy, Whitman’s narrator, the “I” who’s celebrating himself, functions in a dual capacity. He isn’t simply speaking as an individual, but as the voice of an aggregated democratic whole. And, this concept is reiterated throughout the work:

For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. (Section 1)

In all people I see myself, none more and not one a barleycorn less,
and the good or bad I say of myself I say of them. (Section 20) 

I am large. I contain multitudes. (Section 51)[18]

.
Whitman’s narrator, the “self” in Song of Myself, is clearly speaking as the voice of a equitable collective.

As noted above, Whitman considered his poem to be, at least in some measure, and American epic. Unlike the epic poetry of Homer, Virgil, or Dante, however, the “self” in Song of Myself isn’t an archetypal hero.

In the Iliad, Homer catalogues the Greek ships, organized according to the importance of the chieftains and warriors they carried. In Paradise Lost, Milton catalogues the major demons who have been cast into hell.

Song of Myself also includes a catalogue. Significantly, the dual capacity on which Whitman’s grass metaphor functions signifies equality within democratic America as well as unity.

So, in keeping with his grass metaphor, Whitman’s catalogue is comprised of everyday American men and women, all one, and all equal.[19] Here is a mere segment:

The conductor beats time for the band and all the performers follow him,
The child is baptized – the convert is making the first professions,
The regatta is spread on the bay… how the white sails sparkle!
The drover watches his drove, he sings out to them that would stray,
The pedlar sweats with his pack on his back – the purchaser higgles about the odd cent,
The camera and plate are prepared, the lady must sit for her daguerreotype,
The bride unrumples her white dress, the minute hand of the clock moves slowly,
The opium eater reclines with rigid head and just-opened lips,
The prostitute draggles her shawl, her bonnet bobs on her tipsy and pimpled neck,
The crowd laugh at her blackguard oaths, the men jeer and wink to each other,
(Miserable! I do not laugh at your oaths nor jeer you,)
The President holds a cabinet council, he is surrounded by the great secretaries, [20]

.
Whitman closes his vast list of fellow Americans with the declaration:

By God! I will accept nothing which all cannot have their counterpart of on the same terms.[21]

.
Understanding that we’re all equal is significant. And, what Whitman is dramatizing with his famous catalogues of everyday people doing everyday things is quite simple. He’s making them manifest in our imaginations, so we come to understand that these are our brothers and sisters.[22]

But that’s simply at the individual level of the grass metaphor. Whitman also urges us to move away from our tendency for rivalrous individuality, to expand our larger self. For, the actual subject of his American epic is the expansion of consciousness and spirit, mind and heart.

At the level of a united whole which this metaphor also functions on – that is, when we leave hierarchical thinking behind, stop looking up at those who are purportedly superior to us, and down at those who seem less than us – we’re free from false constraints and can live joyously as part of a community of equals.[23]

As noted above, the free verse Walt Whitman is credited with inventing better captures the natural rhythms of speech. This observation is especially important given that Song of Myself appears to be a dialogue between Whitman and the reader rather than a literary performance.

Significantly, this conversational dynamic is consistent with Whitman’s grass metaphor, in that it culminates in a comradeship between poet and reader – a merger of equals.[24]

Even more conducive to creating the impression of conversation than the absence of rhyme or meter is Whitman’s practice of posing questions directly to the reader.[25] For example:

Have you reckoned a thousand acres much ? Have you reckoned the earth much?
Have you practiced so long to learn to read ?
Have you felt so proud to get at the meaning of poems? [26]

.
The passage above appears at the beginning of the work, and Whitman follows it with a declaration:

Stop this day and night with me and you shall possess the origin of all  poems,
You shall possess the good of the earth and sun… there are millions of suns left,
You shall no longer take things at second or third hand… nor look through the
eyes of the dead… nor feed on the spectres in books,
You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me,
You shall listen to all sides and filter them from yourself.[27]

.
At this point, speaker and reader are two separate individuals, with the poet as teacher. By the end of the passage, however, the poet makes it clear that the reader will eventually no longer be a student, that they will ultimately become equals.

By the middle of Song of Myself, Whitman indicates to the reader that they now play a larger role than merely processing the words on the page:

Listener up there! what have you to confide to me?
Look in my face while I snuff the sidle of evening,
Talk honestly, no one else hears you, and I stay only a minute longer.[28]

.
Obviously, it isn’t possible for the poet to actually listen to what the reader may have to say. This exchange is meant to set the reader’s emotional and intellectual wheels in motion, as the saying goes. It’s intended to engage the reader in a way beyond that of simply ingesting what Whitman tells them. The reader is no longer taking things at second or third hand… or from the poet for that matter.

In the final segments of the poem Whitman returns to his foundational metaphor:

I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love,
If you want me again look for me under your bootsoles.

You will hardly know who I am or what I mean,
But I shall be good health to you nevertheless,
And filter and fibre your blood. [29]

.
The speaker and reader have now merged, the poet symbolically filtering the reader’s blood, as fibres in their muscles. In true democratic fashion, they function together to nurture the democracy Whitman is celebrating.

In the poem’s concluding stanza, the speaker’s journey is complete:

Failing to fetch me at first keep encouraged,
Missing me one place search another,
I stop some where waiting for you.[30]

.
And now, it’s the reader’s task to carry the democracy that Whitman’s grass symbolizes forward. Fueled by their expanded self, and the democratic spirit conveyed in the poet’s words.

Whitman was no Pollyanna, however – he understood that democracy is ever vulnerable. He realized that the sight of an egalitarian society – with equal people pursuing their goals and desires – can seem chaotic. So, worship of a king – or some form of autocratic leader – is always tempting.

He admonishes us to remember what the revolutionaries fought for. And, just as importantly, what they fought against. When we forget that, Whitman points out, we’re in danger of lapsing back into the way of kings.[31]  The following passage from A Boston Ballad addresses this ever-present concern:

Clear the way there Jonathan!
Way for the President’s marshal! Way for the government cannon!
Way for the federal foot and dragoons… and the phantoms afterward.

I rose this morning early to get betimes in Boston town;
Here’s a good place at the corner… I must stand and see the show.

I love to look on the stars and stripes… I hope the fifes will play Yankee Doodle.

How bright shine the foremost with cutlasses,
Every man holds his revolver… marching stiff through Boston town.[32]

 .
Whitman is describing the type of procession seen in countries like Fascist Italy, Communist China, or North Korea. Where the leader is held supreme, and military might is on full display as a threatening reminder to the world…  as well as their own people.

He’s alerting us to what’s taking place when we start seeing such displays of concentrated, dominating power. When that happens, we’ve lost sight of the fact that the American revolution was all about fighting a tyrant wielding  just this type of power. We might as well:

Dig out King George’s coffin …. unwrap him quick from the graveclothes…
box up his bones for a journey :
Find a swift Yankee clipper …. here is freight for you, blackbellied clipper,
Up with your anchor! shake out your sails!… steer straight toward Boston bay.

Now call the President’s marshal again, and bring out the government cannon,
And fetch home the roarers from Congress and make another procession and guard
it with foot and dragoons. 

Here is a centrepiece for them:
Look! All orderly citizens… look from the windows, women! 

The committee open the box and set up the regal ribs and glue those that will not stay,
And clap the skull on top of the ribs and clap a crown on top of the skull. 

You have got your revenge old buster!… The crown has come to its own and more than its own.[33]

.
How does Whitman advise us to address the fear of chaos, and avoid such a lapse into king-like authoritarian leadership?

By reaffirming the personal bonds of our democracy. By reminding people that we’re involved in what is likely the greatest and most promising social venture of all time…   And most importantly, by emphasizing that this grand American experiment requires hard work and vigilance.[34]

Ultimately, Whitman’s message is one of connectedness, kinship defined by receptivity and responsiveness to others.  If we can move away from our addiction to rivalrous individuality, and our proclivity toward hierarchy and authoritarian systems, we can embrace his democratic trope of the grass.

Whitman has taken us on a tour of democracy. He’s shown us what we might achieve by following his lead on the subject. When we make this metaphoric grass the national flag, so to speak, we learn to love and appreciate the people around us. We become a community of equals, which makes us less susceptible to tyrannical leaders.

Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying, our form of government is a republic…  if we can keep it. As Franklin well knew, maintaining a repudiation of hierarchy and authoritarian systems is not so easy.[35] Whitman’s benefits don’t materialize simply by reading his poem. It takes work – to expand our minds and hearts, to see those around us as our brothers and sisters,  to see ourselves as part of a united democratic whole. Democracy takes effort – every day, and from every one of us.

.
That’s my take on Leaves of Grass — what’s yours?
Check out this Discussion Guide to get you started.

Endnotes:

[1] Betsy Erkkila. In “Walt Whitman: Poet of American Democratic Individualism.” By Walter Donway. Online Library, November 30, 2022
https://oll.libertyfund.org/publications/reading-room/2022-11-30-donway-walt-whitman-poet-american-democratic-individualism

[2] Whitman, Walt. Democratic Vistas. Washington, D.C. 1871. Pp 69-70.

[3] Whitman, Walt. Democratic Vistas.  Washington, D.C., 1871. Pg 5.

Edmundson, Mark. Song of Ourselves: Walt Whitman and the fight for democracy. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2021. Preface.

[4] Edmundson, Mark. Song of Ourselves: Walt Whitman and the fight for democracy. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2021. Preface.

[5] Folsom, Ed. “Democracy.” The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price.

[6] “Walt Whitman at 200.” Poetry Foundation. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/collections/149913/walt-whitman-at-200

Folsom, Ed. “Democracy.” The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price.

[7] Voigt, Benjamin. “Walt Whitman 101.” PoetryFoundation.org  July 1, 2015. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/70243/walt-whitman-101

[8] Hennequet, Claire. “Imagining the Nation. Walt Whitman’s Leaves of grass.”

[9] Whitman, Walt. “Preface, 1872, to As a Strong bird on Pinions Free. (Now, Thou-Mother with thy Equal Brood.)”   Complete Prose Works. Philadelphia: David McKay Publishers, 1892. Pg 279.

[10] De Tocqueville, Alexis. Democracy in America. Book 2 (Influence of Democracy on the feelings of Americans.) Chapter II.

[11] Donway, Walter. “Walt Whitman: Poet of American Democratic Individualism.” Online Library, November 30, 2022
https://oll.libertyfund.org/publications/reading-room/2022-11-30-donway-walt-whitman-poet-american-democratic-individualism

[12] Edmundson, Mark. Song of Ourselves: Walt Whitman and the fight for democracy. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2021. Pg 30.

[13] Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass. Washington D.C., 1855. Pg 16

[14] Edmundson, Mark. Song of Ourselves: Walt Whitman and the fight for democracy. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2021. Pg 30.

[15] Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass. Washington D.C., 1855. Pg 13

[16] Edmundson, Mark. Song of Ourselves: Walt Whitman and the fight for democracy. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2021. Pg 30.

[17] Greenspan, Ezra, ed. Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself”: A Sourcebook and Critical Edition. New York: Routledge, 2005. Pg 3.

[18] Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass. Washington D.C., 1855. Pg 13, 26, 53, 55.

[19] Edmundson, Mark. Song of Ourselves: Walt Whitman and the fight for democracy. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2021. Pg 39.

[20] Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass. Washington D.C., 1855. Pg 22.

[21] Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass. Washington D.C., 1855. Pg 29.

[22] Edmundson, Mark. Song of Ourselves: Walt Whitman and the fight for democracy. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2021. Pg 27.

[23] Edmundson, Mark. Song of Ourselves: Walt Whitman and the fight for democracy. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2021. Pg 21.

[24] Mason, John B. “Questions and Answers in Whitman’s ‘Confab.’” American Literature. Vol. 51, No. 4 (January 1980) Pg 499.

[25] Mason, John B. “Questions and Answers in Whitman’s ‘Confab.’” American Literature. Vol. 51, No. 4 (January 1980) Pg 493.

[26] Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass. Washington D.C., 1855. Pg 14.

[27] Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass. Washington D.C., 1855. Pg 14.

[28] Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass. Washington D.C., 1855. Pg 55.

[29] Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass. Washington D.C., 1855. Pg 56.

[30] Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass. Washington D.C., 1855. Pg 56.

[31] Edmundson, Mark. Song of Ourselves: Walt Whitman and the fight for democracy. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2021. Pg 56.

[32] Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass. Washington D.C., 1855. Pg 89.

[33] Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass. Washington D.C., 1855. Pg 90.

[34] Edmundson, Mark. Song of Ourselves: Walt Whitman and the fight for democracy. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2021. Pg 57.

[35] Edmundson, Mark. Song of Ourselves: Walt Whitman and the fight for democracy. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2021. Pg 32-33.

Images:

Leaves of Grass: 1st edition cover. Public Domain
A distinctly American form and style: Brady, Matthew. Walt Whitman. Public Domain
Whitman’s foundational metaphor: Photo by Fauzan Saari on Unsplash
Song of Myself: Hollyer, Samuel. Steel engraving of a daguerreotype by Gabriel Harrison.  Morgan Library & Museum. Public Domain
The grass metaphor also signifies equality: Photo by Jonny Gios on Unsplash
It’s a conversation: Photo by Matheus camara da silva on unsplash.com
Democracy is ever-vulnerable: Photo by iStrfry , Marcus on Unsplash
In conclusion: Photo by Zacqueline Baldwin on Unsplash

I had thought America was against totalitarianisms. If so, surely it is important for young people to be able to recognize the signs of them. One of those signs is book-banning. Need I say more? ~ Margaret Atwood [1]

F
ollowing the Supreme Court’s recent overturn of Rowe v Wade, Margaret Atwood’s book The Handmaid’s Tale has understandably become the face of activism for reproductive rights. But The Handmaid’s Tale wasn’t intended to be a feminist commentary on the control of women and their reproductive capacities.

Rather, it’s a study in totalitarian systems of government. Atwood’s foundational question?

If you wanted to seize power in the United states, abolish liberal democracy, and set up a dictatorship, how would you go about it? [2]

As Atwood’s quote at the opening of this piece points out, banning books is an early indicator of creeping totalitarianism. And, the number of books being banned in the United States has skyrocketed in the last few years.

Bearing Handmaid’s use as a protest symbol for reproductive rights in mind, it’s easy to overlook the significance that Gilead’s prohibition of women to read plays in establishing and maintaining its totalitarian control.

As one of Gilead’s hardliners put it:

Our big mistake was teaching them to read. We won’t do that again. [3]

The Testaments, Atwood’s follow-up work to The Handmaid’s Tale, reveals how Gilead falls.  And once again, reading and access to information looms large. Atwood’s combined works gives us insight into the role that reading and access to information can play in holding the line against totalitarianism in the good ol’ U.S. of A.

Whoever Controls The Word Maintains Power

Within both novels, Atwood makes it abundantly clear that whoever controls the word maintains power. And what better way to symbolize this reality than to put the headquarters of Gilead’s enforcer unit, The Eyes, in what was once a library? This “former grand library”:

…now shelters no books but their own, the original contents having been either burned or, if valuable, added to the private collections of various sticky-fingered Commanders. [4]

The combined works serve as a reminder that learning to read has been carefully controlled throughout history. Who is allowed to. Who isn’t. And more insidiously, whose stories can and cannot be told. [5]

The narrator of The Handmaid’s Tale tells her story rather than writing it down because, as she notes, she has nothing to write with. And even if she did, writing is forbidden anyway. Gilead enforces its mandate against women reading and writing with a “three strikes” policy. On the third conviction they cut off your hand.

Though no one has suggested lopping off body parts as punishment for reading banned books in the U.S., teachers and librarians have been threatened with time behind bars for providing books like The Catcher in the Rye, The House on Mango Street, and Speak to students.[6]

Controlling whose stories can and cannot be told should sound especially familiar. Because these days, books that tell stories about people of color, those that revolve around LGBTQ+ individuals, or include characters from non-Christian backgrounds are being purged from classroom shelves and school libraries at an alarming rate.

And, when marginalized communities such as these are not represented in the books students read, it’s clear they’re intentionally being made invisible, stripped of their humanity, and therefore rendered powerless. Just like Atwood’s narrator, whose real name we don’t know because using it is forbidden.

We only know her as Offred, a name designed to eliminate her personhood, one composed of the possessive preposition “of” and the first name of the Commander she is currently assigned to. Offred tries to tell herself that this dehumanizing tactic doesn’t matter – like those who dismiss the omission of diverse communities in school curriculums as inconsequential… “but what I tell myself is wrong,” Offred reflects, “it does matter.” [7]

Just like it matters that particular communities within our country are being made invisible. That is also wrong.

Fascism Erases History

One of the most effective ways of controlling the word and consolidating power is to erase history. And, as scholar of totalitarian systems Jason Stanley points out, that’s just what authoritarian regimes do. They find ways of erasing or concealing history, which allows them to misrepresent history as a single story.[8]

Consistent with this observation, Offred talks about book-burnings that took place across Gilead because:

the corrupt and blood-smeared fingerprints of the past must be wiped away to create a clean space for the morally pure generation that is surely about to arrive. [9]

Aunt Lydia is one of the women in charge of what Atwood describes as brainwashing new handmaids in a sort of Red Guard re-education facility known as the Red Center.[10] Lydia refers to the initial group of conscripted handmaids as a “transitional generation.”[11]

And, the reason they’re a transitional generation is that the “training process,” as it were, will be easier for the next cohort of handmaids. Because, as Aunt Lydia notes, they “will accept their duties with willing hearts.”[12] What Aunt Lydia doesn’t say, however, is that the next generation of handmaids will accept their duties willingly “because they will have no memories of any other way.”[13]

When authoritarian regimes set out to erase history, as Stanley further states, they do so through education, by purging certain narratives from school curriculums.[14] Gilead accomplished this by replacing girls’ academic curriculum with “domestic education,” which revolves around subjects like embroidery, elementary gardening, the making of paper flowers, skills deemed suitable hobbies for future Wives of Commanders.[15]

They were also taught “how to judge the quality of the food that was cooked for us and served at our table.”[16] What they weren’t taught, however, is how to read or write.

Reading and writing may not have been expunged from American schools, but as touched upon above, huge swaths of our history have been purged from the school curriculums in a number of states. Not to mention the recent dismantling of The Department of Education.

Educators at all levels are targeted, and any teaching that addresses racial hierarchy, patriarchy, or heteronormativity is being suppressed. Histories of political movements like Black Lives Matter are also being removed from social studies curriculums.

By eliminating the history of uprisings against the status quo, authoritarians give students the idea that the status quo has never been – and can never be – challenged.[17]

Lack Of Information
Is Part Of The Nightmare

It goes without saying that not knowing what happened to her family at the hands of Gilead authorities during their attempted escape into Canada wears on Offred’s psyche. But, it’s significant that she also talks about a sense of deterioration, specifically the diminished skills that result from Gilead’s edict against women reading and writing.

Her Commander begins requesting that she visit him in his office alone. As it turns out, he’s not after kinky sex, but to watch her read books and magazines that he’s appropriated from pre-Gilead times… and to play Scrabble.

In describing these illicit meetings, Offred compares Gilead’s prohibition of reading to the deprivation of food:

On these occasions I read quickly, voraciously, almost skimming, trying to get as much into my head as possible before the next long starvation. If it were eating it would be the gluttony of the famished. [18]

But even worse, as she and the Commander play this quintessential game of words, she notes how her reading and writing skills have deteriorated:

My tongue felt thick with the effort of spelling. It was like using a language I’d once known but had nearly forgotten… It was like trying to walk without crutches, like those phony scenes in old TV movies. You can do it. I know you can. That was the way my mind lurched and stumbled, among the sharp r’s and t’s, sliding over the ovoid vowels as if on pebbles. [19] 

A comparable situation is taking place related to reading achievement in America. Reading scores on the most recent (2024) National Assessment of Education Progress (known as America’s report card) fell two points below 2022’s historic low. “We’re still recovering from the pandemic,” you may say. And, there is truth to that statement.

However, as Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, points out, this concern “cannot be blamed solely on the pandemic.”[20] The fact that math scores have not dropped among 8^th graders, and have actually improved among 4^th graders indicate something else is going on.

Recent studies have found that the surge in book banning has negatively affected reading skills. Yes, we’re still recovering from the pandemic. But educators now have fewer resources at their disposal to aid in this recovery. And the types of books hardest hit by these bans are the ones that have the greatest positive impact on reading achievement.

Results from The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study reveal that “social studies is the only subject with a clear, positive, and statistically significant effect on reading improvement.”[21] Social Studies is defined as:

the study of individuals, communities, systems, and their interactions across time and place that prepares students for local, national, and global civic life. [22]

And it’s precisely these types of books, those about diverse characters and life experiences, as well as books addressing difficult historical truths that are being banned from America’s classrooms and libraries – much to the detriment of students’ reading achievement.

Social And Political Dimensions
Of The Ability To Read

Atwood’s works also speak to the social, and political dimensions of the ability to read. She specifically focuses on oppression enforced by the institutional control of acquiring knowledge and information.

For example. Aunts are allowed to read and write, because they’re in charge of Handmaids’ assignments and maintaining bloodlines. And, Aunt Lydia employs this hierarchical distinction as a show of power, rubbing the handmaids’ proverbial noses in it, frequently making them watch and wait as she reads silently “flaunting her prerogative.” [23]

Commanders’ offices are lined with books. As suggested above, they like to accumulate books, gloat over the collections they’ve compiled, and boast about what they’ve pilfered. [24]

And, the Bible is kept under lock and key. This mandate is significant because Gilead is ostensibly founded on biblical concepts. Commanders can read from the Bible to their primarily female households, but the women are forbidden to read it for themselves. [25]

Needless to say, the Commanders cherry-pick passages and spin them in a way that supports Gilead’s totalitarian agenda. And, given that the source of these passages is denied them, women have no way of refuting these intentional misreadings.

The Power Of Storytelling

The Handmaid’s Tale is undoubtedly about oppression and control. However, it’s also about the power of narrative. Atwood does indeed focus on oppression enforced by institutional control of knowledge and information. But, she also examines the self-liberating capacity of storytelling. [26]

The Aunts at the Red Center did their best to brainwash the woman who would come to narrate The Handmaid’s Tale. They set out to crush her identity and demolish her sense of individuality.  Yet, she manages to record her feelings, experiences, thoughts, and memories.

That’s because, as Jason Stanley observes:

Authoritarians cannot erase people’s lived experiences, and their legacies written into the bones of generations. In this simple fact lies always the possibility of reclaiming lost perspectives. [27]

By telling her own story throughout the novel, Offred reclaims her sense of self and reconstructs the subjectivity they literally tried to beat out of her at The Red Center.  In short, she recovers the voice Gilead has denied her.

In doing so, she recreates erased histories and uncovers versions of events that Gilead had repressed. [28]

Most importantly, by sharing her tale she becomes a social agent – and, as a result of the power of narrative, aids in Gilead’s eventual downfall.

When only 11 people are responsible for 60% of book challenges in the U.S. (as has recently been the case), the vast majority of us are being denied a voice – in this case about which books our kids are allowed to read. [29] To say nothing of the voices within the marginalized communities whose stories are being banned, voices that allow us to understand and relate to those whose lives are different than our own.

Since only a handful of individuals are responsible for over half of the book challenges in this country, they’re the ones determining whose histories are being erased. And, without consulting the rest of us, they’re repressing information about landmark events like the Stonewall uprising, not to mention the institution of slavery and its role in our country.

Reclaim your voice. Make sure stories like these continue to be told. Narrative has the power to break down the “us vs them” environment  authoritarian regimes thrive on. [30]

A Trio Of Narratives

Like The Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood’s follow up work is a meta-narrative about storytelling, one emphasizing the importance of testimony and witnessing. The Testaments is divided into a trio of interwoven narratives: One is Aunt Lydia’s, which is written illegally in blue ink and unironically hidden inside a copy of Cardinal Newman’s Apologia Pro Vita Sua: A Defense of One’s Own Life. 

The second is the recorded testimony of a young woman named Agnes, about growing up in The Republic of Gilead. And third, is the recorded testimony of Daisy, a teenage girl who grew up in Canada, and can’t help but feel that her parents are keeping something from her.

The motif of reading and writing is emphasized toward the end of Atwood’s novel as if to highlight its role in the fall of Gilead.

As noted above, Aunt Lydia is the keeper of Gilead’s bloodlines. She’s also the clandestine chronicler of its “secret histories.”[31] Aunt Lydia is not entirely what she seems. And, she’s well aware that knowledge is power. Especially the aspect Henry Ward Beecher pointed out, that knowledge is “powder also, liable to blow false institutions to atoms.” [32]

Agnes doesn’t learn to read until she commits to becoming an aunt.  And, she chose this path in order to save herself from being married to an old and powerful Commander with a track record of young wives who die from mysterious illnesses. But even then, she continues to accept what she’s been taught about Gilead and her subservient place in it.

The day finally comes, however, when Agnes is granted full access to the Bible.

And, after reading a story she’s been told over-and-over in school for herself, Agnes discovers that she and all the other girls have been lied to about what the passages say. She sees that the meanings of the stories have been twisted to keep women obedient, subservient, and willing to sacrifice themselves to the patriarchy.  Agnes tells us that:

Up until that time I had not seriously doubted the rightness and especially the truthfulness of Gilead’s theology. If I’d failed at perfection, I’d concluded that the fault was mine. But as I discovered what had been changed by Gilead, what had been added, and what had been omitted, I feared I might lose my faith. [33]

Agnes has come to realize “everyone at the top of Gilead has lied to us,” and that, as is typical of authoritarian regimes,:

Bearing false witness was not the exception, it was common. Beneath its outer show of virtue and purity, Gilead was rotting. [34]

Sometime later, Agnes comes face-to-face with another startling revelation. She discovers that her birth mother is a runaway handmaid suspected of working with the resistance in Canada. Consistent with Jordan Stanley’s observation about life experiences being etched in our bones, this information triggers the memory of when Agnes was torn from her mother’s arms as they were running through the forest in an attempt to escape Gilead.

The Gilead wife who raised Agnes transformed this harrowing experience into a nightly fairy tale about how they had been running through the forest after she rescued Agnes from a wicked witch. [35] Agnes puts two-and-two together, as the saying goes. She realizes that, like the Bible passages fed to her on a daily basis, her own story had been twisted for Gilead’s purposes.

The kicker is…   that the document Agnes is now able to read – one that only Aunt Lydia could have slipped onto her desk – reveals that her mother had a second child, one who had been smuggled into Canada as an infant. And, that child is Baby Nicole.

Baby Nicole has become a propaganda tool for the people of Gilead to rally around:

Baby Nicole, whom we prayed for on every solemn occasion at Ardua Hall [where Aunts are trained]. Baby Nicole, whose sunny cherubic face appeared on Gilead television so often as a symbol of the unfairness being shown to Gilead on the international stage. Baby Nicole, who was practically a saint and martyr, and was certainly an icon. [36] 

When Agnes discovers that Baby Nicole is her sister, the proverbial lightbulb flickers on, and she begins to comprehend “the deplorable degree of corruption” within the totalitarian regime that has taken over the United States of America. [37] Any blind obedience she may have felt to The Republic of Gilead is stripped away. She comes to understand that, if the country she loves is to be saved, action must be taken to bring Gilead in line with what it purports to stand for.

At this point, it should be apparent that the source of the third testimony, the Canadian teenager named Daisy, is none other than Baby Nicole. Significantly, Atwood chose the name Nicole because it means “Victory of the people.” [38] And she is, indeed, the lynchpin in events that lead to Gilead’s fall.

The Testaments Is Defined By Action

While The Handmaid’s Tale is about Offred’s powerlessness and passivity, The Testaments revolves around action. As established above, this action is born of the ability to read and have access to information. And, it’s prompted by revealed deceptions and restored history.

It should come as no surprise that this regime-ending action revolves around Aunt Lydia, Agnes, and Daisy/Baby Nicole. Or that, as in many other works about the fall of totalitarian regimes, resistance organizations, undercover operatives, and the exposure of sensitive secrets are all involved.

Needless to say, Henry Ward Beecher was right, knowledge is explosive – when information about the multitude of crimes among Gilead’s top brass was released, this authoritarian regime begins to crumble. In true totalitarian fashion, what was left of Gilead still tried to control the word. They insisted that the repressed information Aunt Lydia had been compiling which was being released by Canadian media, was all “fake news.” [39]

Despite Aunt Lydia’s role in perpetuating Gilead’s abuse – or perhaps because of it – there’s a lesson we can learn from her. At the close of her hand-written manuscript, she addresses a future reader, acknowledging the possibilities for what will become of the pages she’s written.

The prospects are consistent with the way we currently treat works of literature. We’ll either view them as a treasure, “to be opened with utmost care.”  Or we’ll tear them apart, maybe burn them, as Lydia notes,  “that often happens to words.” [40]

This future reader may also read Aunt Lydia’s testimony, wondering how she could have “behaved so badly, so cruelly, so stupidly,” and she wouldn’t be astonished if that is the case. [41] What Aunt Lydia hopes, however, is that the future reader will be a student of history, and:

Make something useful of [Aunt Lydia]: a warts-and-all portrait, a definitive account of [her] life and times, suitably footnoted. [42]

Aunt Lydia’s lesson is that she advocates for a complete and accurate history to be told about Gilead, even though it comes at her expense. Regrettably, book banners in the U.S. restrict information about the hard truths in American history rather than make something useful of them.

We all have a choice to make when it comes to book banning and the creeping totalitarianism it indicates. It’s the same choice Offred faced as she contemplated the message carved in the closet by the handmaid assigned to this Commander before her:

I could just sit here, peacefully. I could withdraw. It’s possible to go so far in, so far down and back, they could never get you out.

Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. [Which means don’t let the bastards grind you down.] Fat lot of good it did her.

Why fight? [43]

Offred’s answer after considering the possibility of not fighting…  “That will never do.” [44]

Row! Row For Your Life!

Margaret Atwood used the following quote from Ursula K Le Guin as an epigram for The Testaments. It picks up where Offred’s contemplation above leaves off:

Freedom is a heavy load, a great and strange burden for the spirit to undertake. It is not easy. It is not a gift given, but a choice made, and the choice may be a hard one. [45]

Le Guin’s quote is embodied in the last leg of the clandestine operation that ultimately brings Gilead down. Agnes and Nicole are in a rowboat, struggling to make it to the shore where resistance operators are expecting them. Given that the tide is against them, Agnes is understandably worried that they’re so far out they’ll be swept away.

Their situation functions as a metaphor for a nation being swept away by creeping totalitarianism. And, Nicole’s response to Agnes sums things up perfectly:

No we won’t. Not if you try. Now, go! And, go! That’s it! Go! Go! Go!…  Row! Row for your life! [46]

It goes without saying that the two make it to shore and are scooped up by the resistance agents waiting there. The cache of information they are carrying is successfully delivered. And the rest as they say is history, one that is complete, accurate, and available to learn from.

Atwood’s addition of “Historical Notes” is an optimistic indication that Gilead did indeed fall. But, it’s also a cautionary tale. Because Professor Pieixoto’s misogynistic remarks make it abundantly clear that the seeds of what spawned Gilead are still present, and that the fight to keep it at bay is ongoing and constant.

And, that doesn’t simply apply to women’s issues, or to the fictional Republic of Gilead. It applies to democracy generally. So, don’t let book banning keep you or your student from reading books that help us understand our history, the people in our community, or how our government is intended to work.

Make sure stories like these get told. Knowing our history and understanding those whose lives are different than our own has the power to break down the “us vs them” environment authoritarian regimes thrive on. [47]  And if we know how our government is intended to work, we can see when its institutions are being disregarded or dismantled for authoritarian purposes.

As Senator Cory Booker urges us:

Don’t let your inability to do everything undermine your determination to do something. Progress starts with a single step forward. [48]

So, fire up family reading nights and feature banned books. Visit the public library with your student and check out the books your district has removed from its curriculums or library shelves. Organize a banned book club for your teens.

Heed Nicole’s call to action, “Row. Row for your life!” Which in this case means, Read, Read, Read! As Henry Ward Beecher told us, and Margaret Atwood has shown us, knowledge is power…  to keep freedom alive and our democracy strong, or to blow false, authoritarian regimes to atoms — whichever one is called for.
.

That’s my take on The Handmaid’s Tale — What’s yours?
Check out this Discussion Guide to get you started.

.
And, here are a couple of resources for
learning about American history:

Teaching American History

Bill of Rights Institute

Endnotes:

[1] Taneja, Sehr. “These Were the Most Commonly Banned Books in America in 2021.” Katie Couric Media. August 12, 2022.
https://katiecouric.com/entertainment/book-guide/most-banned-books-america/

[2] Bickford, Donna M. Understanding Margaret Atwood. Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 2023. Pg 24.

[3] Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale.  New York: Vintage Books, 1998. Pg 307.

[4] Atwood, Margaret. The Testaments.  New York: Vintage Books, 2019. Pg 64.

[5] Thomas, P. L. “Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments: Reading and Writing Beyond Gilead.” Radical Scholarship.com https://radicalscholarship.com/2019/10/07/margaret-atwoods-the-testaments-reading-and-writing-beyond-gilead/

[6] Missouri House Bill No. 2044. https://house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills201/hlrbillspdf/4634H.01I.pdf

[7] Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale.  New York: Vintage Books, 1998. Pg 84.

[8] Stanley, Jason. Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future. New York: One Signal Publishers, 2024. Pg xi-xii.

[9] Atwood, Margaret. The Testaments. New York: Vintage Books, 2019. Pg 14.

[10] Renfro, Kim. “Margaret Atwood has a small but violent cameo in ‘the Handmaid’s Tale’ premiere.” Business Insider.  April 27, 2017. https://www.businessinsider.com/handmaids-tale-margaret-atwood-cameo-pilot-2017-4?op=1

[11] Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale.  New York: Vintage Books, 1998. Pg 117.

[12] Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale.  New York: Vintage Books, 1998. Pg 117.

[13] Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale.  New York: Vintage Books, 1998. Pg 117.

[14] Stanley, Jason. Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future. New York: One Signal Publishers, 2024. Pg xii.

[15] Atwood, Margaret. The Testaments.  New York: Vintage Books, 2019. Pg 19, 154.

[16] Atwood, Margaret. The Testaments.  New York: Vintage Books, 2019. Pg 154.

[17] Stanley, Jason. Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future. New York: One Signal Publishers, 2024. Pg xx-xxi.

[18] Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale.  New York: Vintage Books, 1998. Pg 184

[19] Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale.  New York: Vintage Books, 1998. Pg 155-156.

[20] Schwartz, Sarah. Reading Scores Fall to New Low on NAEP, Fueled by Declines for Struggling Students. January 29, 2025. EducationWeek.
https://www.edweek.org/leadership/reading-scores-fall-to-new-low-on-naep-fueled-by-declines-for-struggling-students/2025/01

[21] Adam Tyner and Sarah Kabourek. Social Education 85 (1), pp 32-39.

[22] National Council for the Social Studies. https://www.socialstudies.org/about/definition-social-studies

[23] Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale.  New York: Vintage Books, 1998. Pg 275.

[24] Atwood, Margaret. The Testaments.  New York: Vintage Books, 2019. Pg 282.

[25] Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale.  New York: Vintage Books, 1998. Pg 89.

[26] Bickford, Donna M. Understanding Margaret Atwood. Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 2023. Pg 24.

David S. Hogsette (1997) Margaret Atwood’s Rhetorical Epilogue in The Handmaid’s Tale: The Reader’s Role in Empowering Offred’s Speech Act, Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction, 38:4, 262-278. Pg 263.

[27] Stanley, Jason. Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future. New York: One Signal Publishers, 2024. Pg xii.

[28] Bickford, Donna M. Understanding Margaret Atwood.  Columbia, South Carolina:The University of South Carolina Press, 2023. Pg 25

David S. Hogsette (1997) Margaret Atwood’s Rhetorical Epilogue in The Handmaid’s Tale: The Reader’s Role in Empowering Offred’s Speech Act, Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction, 38:4, 262-278. Pg 264.

[29 ]Natanson, Hannah. “Objections to sexual, LGBT, content propels spike in book challenges.” The Washington Post. June 9, 2023. https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/05/23/lgbtq-book-ban-challengers/

[30] Stanley, Jason. How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them. New York: Random House, 2020.

[31] Atwood, Margaret. The Testaments. New York: Vintage Books, 2019. Pg 39.

[32] Beecher, Henry Ward. “Anti-Slavery Lectures,” The New York Times, January 17, 1855.
https://www.nytimes.com/1855/01/17/archives/antislavery-lectures.html

[33] Atwood, Margaret. The Testaments. New York: Vintage Books, 2019. Pg 272.

[34] Atwood, Margaret. The Testaments. New York: Vintage Books, 2019. Pg 276.

[35] Atwood, Margaret. The Testaments. New York: Vintage Books, 2019. Pg 19.

[36] Atwood, Margaret. The Testaments. New York: Vintage Books, 2019. Pg 295.

[37] Atwood, Margaret. The Testaments. New York: Vintage Books, 2019. Pg 301

[38] Gilbert, Sophie. “The Challenge of Margaret Atwood.” The Atlantic. September 5, 2019.

[39] Atwood, Margaret. The Testaments. New York: Vintage Books, 2019. Pg 349

[40] Atwood, Margaret. The Testaments. New York: Vintage Books, 2019. Pg 355

[41] Atwood, Margaret. The Testaments. New York: Vintage Books, 2019. Pg 355

[42] Atwood, Margaret. The Testaments. New York: Vintage Books, 2019. Pg 355

[43] Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale.  New York: Vintage Books, 1998. Pg 225

[44] Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale.  New York: Vintage Books, 1998. Pg 225

[45] Le Guin, Ursula. In Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments. New York: Vintage Books, 2019. Pg 11.

[46] Atwood, Margaret. The Testaments. New York: Vintage Books, 2019. Pg 340

[47] Stanley, Jason. How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them. New York: Random House, 2020.

[48] Senator Cory Booker. Facebook. October 21, 2020.

Images:

Whoever controls the word maintains power: Photo by Biao Yu on Unsplash

Fascism erases history:  Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

Lack of information is part of the nightmare: Photo by Valentin Fernandez on Unsplash

Social and political dimensions of the ability to read:  Photo by Artem Balashevsky on Unsplash

The power of storytelling: Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

A trio of narratives:  Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash

The Testaments is defined by action: Original photo by unknown author. Reproduction from public documentation/memorial by Lear 21 at English Wikipedia. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license.

In conclusion:  Photo by The New York Public Library on Unsplash

Book Bans Are An Effective Weapon
To Divide & Conquer

Book bans are an effective weapon in the arsenal of those who would benefit from division. Because, as Salman Rushdie observes:

Great writing makes a great noise in the mind, the heart.[3]

Literature gives us insight into people whose lives are different from our own. Books help us understand one another.

In doing so, they have the ability to cultivate a community of common interest.  The result?  We become resistant to the divide and conquer strategy we see so much of these days.

A dearth of understanding, and lack of common community interest, makes it easier for the seeds of division to take root. That’s why books that focus on diversity and inclusion are being targeted. To say nothing of the countless diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) endeavors being purged these days.

When divisive rhetoric is used – like describing a particular group of people as “vermin,” characterizing them as illegitimate, or portraying them as enemies – it’s always important to ask yourself who’s going to benefit from your animosity toward the targeted group.

As Octavia Butler admonishes us in The Parable of the Sower:

Embrace diversity.

Unite —

Or be divided,

robbed,

ruled,

killed.

By those who see you as prey.

Embrace diversity

Or be destroyed.[4]

We aren’t born with prejudices. They’re made for us, manufactured by someone who stands to profit from the division.

In the example above, it was the wealthy plantation owners who prospered. So…  who’s benefiting from our division these days. Someone’s going to get something out of it, and it sure isn’t going to be any of us.

Restricting Information:
Companion of Divide & Conquer

Companion of the tried-and-true divide & conquer strategy is the restriction of  information. And again, we’ve seen this tactic before. As abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher observed, in the antebellum south:

Slaveholders realized that allowing non-slaveholders access to information would disrupt their own fortunes, and thus imposed a strict system of censorship throughout the region.[5]

Beecher put the situation (both then and now) in a nutshell. He pointed out that ignorance (that is, lacking particular knowledge) can become an institution, one that can be legislated. With this in mind, consider the fact that legislation exists censoring K-12 curriculum in Florida, Indiana, South Carolina, Connecticut, and Texas just to name a few.

Fifty educational gag orders have been introduced in 16 different states as of February, 2023. One topic these bills prohibit teachers from addressing is sexual orientation and/or gender. These laws also proscribe teaching about race, racism, and difficult aspects of American history like native American boarding schools.[6]

The impact of legislation like this is that students are ignorant of events that took place in our country. That makes it impossible to know when elected officials (or those campaigning for office) are making distorted claims and re-writing history, spinning it for their gain.

The result of this tactic? We’re rendered docile. Because we don’t have enough information to see through their baloney and challenge it.

Author Margaret Atwood alerts us to the dangers of this scenario:

I had thought America was against totalitarianisms. If so, surely it is important for young people to be able to recognize the signs of them. One of those signs is book-banning. Need I say more?[7]

No. She doesn’t need to say more.

A Sign Of Encroaching Authoritarianism

Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison hit the proverbial nail on the head when she pointed out:

Authoritarian regimes, dictators, despots are often, but not always, fools. But none is foolish enough to give perceptive, dissident writers free range to publish their judgments or follow their creative instincts. [8]

Because doing so would allow authors’ works to nurture the common community interest that would keep such authoritarian regimes from gaining traction.

Morrison went on to say:

The historical suppression of writers is the earliest harbinger of the steady away of additional rights and liberties that will follow. [9]

Bearing the repeal of Row v Wade in mind, and the increase in restrictive voting laws, not to mention the elimination of the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, Morrison’s observation appears to be terrifyingly spot on.[10]

This Machine Kills Fascists

As a reminder of the power that words and music have against political ills, Woody Guthrie (you know, the guy who wrote This Land is Your Land) affixed a message on his guitar during World War II that said, This machine kills fascists.

Guthrie’s guitar was a fascist busting machine because, as Woody points out:

The song I sing will kill some old ideas. [11]

Books are fascist busters too. In an essay addressing the political use of language, George Orwell himself stated:

Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. [12]

And, in response to the question of why he writes, Orwell answered:

I write it because there is some lie that I want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention, and my initial concern is to get a hearing. [13]

And, this is why books are fascist busters. Reading books with diverse characters lets us see through the lies designed to divide us. It enables us to recognize each other as people. It makes us aware that we have more in common than we are different. As a result, reading diverse books goes a long way towards cultivating common community interest.

And when that happens, we become resistant to the divide & conquer strategy typically employed by authoritarian types. But how do we resist when authoritarian tendencies have already gained traction in our society?

As Henry Ward Beecher significantly noted:

…knowledge is not only power… but powder also, liable to blow false institutions to atoms.[14]

And remember this sage advice from famed anthropologist Margaret Mead:

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.[15]

With that pearl of wisdom in mind, here are a few deep dives into books that address this very situation — works that nurture democracy, or show the impact reading and diverse literature can have in deflecting authoritarianism.

Be sure to check out our take on these fascist busting books. Read the works in their entirety. And arm yourself against the divide & conquer strategy so often used by authoritarian types.

The Declaration of Independence

The Handmaid’s Tale

Fahrenheit 451

Leaves of Grass

The Giver

Endnotes:

[1] O’ Tuama, Padraig. Public Lecture. John Danforth Center on Religion and Politics. March 3, 2025.

[2] Morgan, Edmund S. American Slavery, American Freedom: The Ordeal of Colonial Virginia. New York: W. W. Norton & Company Inc, 2005. Pg 327-328.

[3] Rushdie, Salman. “Notes on Writing and the Nation.” Burn This Book. New York: Harper, 2009. Pg 80.

[4] Butler, Octavia. The Parable of the Sower.  London: Headline Publishing Group, 2019.Pg 185.

[5] Beecher, Henry Ward. “Anti-Slavery Lectures,” The New York Times, January 17, 1855.

[6] Jonathan Friedman, Jeffrey Adam Sachs, Jeremy C. Young, Samantha LaFrance. “Educational Censorship Continues: The 2023 Legislative Sessions So Far.” Pen America. https://pen.org/educational-censorship-continues-in-2023/

[7] Taneja, Sehr. “These Were the Most Commonly Banned Books in America in 2021.” Katie Couric Media. August 12, 2022.
https://katiecouric.com/entertainment/book-guide/most-banned-books-america/

[8] Morrison, Toni. “Peril.” Burn This Book. New York: Harper, 2009. Pg 1.

[9] Morrison, Toni. “Peril.” Burn This Book. New York: Harper, 2009. Pg 1.

[10] Dobs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022). National Constitution Center. https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/supreme-court-case-library/dobbs-v-jackson-womens-health-organization

Christina A. Cassidy and Ayanna Alexander. “Supreme Court tossed out heart of Voting Rights Act a decade ago, prompting wave of new voting rules.” Washington News via Associated Press. https://apnews.com/article/voting-rights-act-supreme-court-black-voters-6f840911e360c44fd2e4947cc743baa2

Press Release. “U.S. Department of Education Ends Biden’s Book Ban Hoax.” U.S. Department of Education. January 24, 2025.

[11] Woody Guthrie Center.

[12] Orwell, George. Why I Write. New York: Penguin – Great Ideas, 2005. Cover.

[13] Orwell, George. “Why I Write.” Why I Write. New York: Penguin – Great Ideas, 2005. Pg 8.

[14] Beecher, Henry Ward. “Anti-Slavery Lectures,” The New York Times, January 17, 1855.

[15] National Museum of American History. Smithsonian. https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_1285394

Images:

Fascist Busters:Photo by Priscilla Du Preeze on Unsplash.com

Book Bans are an Effective Weapon: compiled from images by annie-spratt on unsplash.com, and john salvino 0n unsplash.com

Restricting Information: Photo by 2y.kang on Unsplash

A Sign of Encroaching Authoritarianism: Mussolini and fasces symbol

This Machine Kills Fascists: Public Domain. This image is available from the United States Library of Congress‘s Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID cph.3c30859.