In September 2001 I owned a small market radio station in rural Middle Georgia. The majority of what we broadcast was through an ABC radio satellite service I subscribed to. On weekday mornings we got off the satellite feed and did our own programming.
Not too long after it was clear what had happened in New York, at the Pentagon, and in the Pennsylvania countryside, ABC messaged all affiliates and told us we shouldn’t play “Imagine” by John Lennon. I told the people I worked with that we could and should play “Imagine” and anything else we thought was appropriate during and after this horrific tragedy and attack on our country.
When George W Bush launched us into a foolish war with Iraq, the [Dixie] Chicks drew the ire of radio stations, politicians, and music purchasers when Natalie Maines criticized the President during a concert. As it turned out, most of the world criticized W Bush for that war, but it was and is awfully easy to ostracize a woman for not shouting or screaming her opinion, but simply stating it. The Chicks received death threats as a result of having opinions and sharing them.
So where are we now? If you are on Substack reading Heather Cox Richardson, Joyce Vance, or any number of other skilled writers who believe the truth matters, who are willing to do the research, and share what informs their thinking by providing links to the sources they use, this is when you skip two lattes in a coffee shop next week so you can spend less than $10 a month to support their work (maybe they will need security details if they don’t have that already. Ask Joyce Vance, her father-in-law was a judge who was murdered).
Pay attention. Confirm what you think is true before you repeat it. Most importantly, don’t sit in silence.