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on democracy and Alabama

#5SmartReads - August 13, 2025

Aug 20

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#5SmartReads is a Webby-honored weekly news digest that amplifies underreported news and underrepresented perspectives. My goal is to help you stay informed without being overwhelmed, and to embrace nuance and reflection over picking a side.

August 17, 2025 (Letters from an American)

“Trump has misunderstood the nature of power in a democracy at home, too. Rather than building domestic coalitions to support the government, he is overseeing the takeover of the government by a radical minority that seems to think the way to build power is for the government to attack its own people.”
“But they badly misunderstand the nature of power. If they succeed, they will control a badly diminished United States of America, one that has fallen to the level of a country like Russia, far from the powerhouse it was when we recognized that the extraordinary strength of our nation always came not from force, but from alliances.”

For too long, we’ve been told that power is finite and precious. Those who have it tend to hoard it first (gerontocracy is very much a bipartisan problem), and wield it second.

I have a different view. I believe power is like love. It doesn’t divide when someone new enters your life—it expands and strengthens everyone.

The proof is in the health of other established nations’ societies (Canada, western European countries, and Scandinavian countries).

Heather Cox Richardson never fails to connect the lessons from history with our present, and Sunday’s letter is one superb example. Watching Governor Newsom’s fighting-fire-with-fire offensive (both online and in his own gerrymandering initiative) and European leaders’ attendance with President Zelenskyy shows the weakness of this administration’s power grab. ...