As we are preparing this last issue of The Progressive for 2022, the results of the crucial midterm elections still hang in the balance, although record numbers of early voters have already turned out, including in Georgia, where a single weekend day of voting saw an increase of 159 percent from the same day four years ago.
At the same time, Paul Pelosi, the husband of Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, is recovering after being brutally attacked by a hammer-wielding MAGA conspiracy theorist who intended to break the Speaker’s kneecaps so that she would have to be “wheeled into Congress,” according to a confession by the forty-two-year-old attacker. Republican politicians and candidates quickly made light of the crime, some even celebrating it. Billionaire Elon Musk, the new owner of Twitter, and Donald Trump Jr. were among those using the occasion to promote more anti-LGBTQ+ conspiracy theories and hate online.
Like the January 6 insurrection, this act of rightwing political violence in the United States only reaffirms that there is no bottom for Republicans, no matter how abhorrent—and criminal—their behavior. Online vitriol stirring this hatred will not disappear, it likely will only get worse. Our media landscape has quickly devolved into two realities: one of nihilistic and sadistic fantasy driven by misinformation, hate, and an incessant need to “own the libs,” and another where people still try to report the truth, because without it, democracy is dead.
If we are to save this country, and our planet, from a demise by our own hands, we must thoughtfully and intentionally multitask. In addition to rescuing democracy from the clutches of fascism, we must also address the other problems, sometimes related, that we face in our communities every day, including the effects of the climate crisis, attacks on public education, relentless poverty, inequity, racism, bigotry, lack of workers’ rights, ongoing wars, and so much more.
These are exactly the things that The Progressive has covered in its six issues during 2022. Looking back at the year’s coverage, some of it seems to foreshadow events yet to come. The February/March issue warned of a “Democracy in Peril” as the extremist rightwing U.S. Supreme Court set the stage for Republicans to steal elections, something they claim the other side is doing. The April/May issue highlighted the steep price humanity will pay for our failure to act on the climate emergency, as well as offering concrete steps we can take today. As then-Editor Bill Lueders noted, “None of this will prevent the pain our inaction has made inevitable . . . . But we must try.”
The June/July issue discussed making voting easier, protecting the LGBTQ+ community from attacks, and another crisis that was catapulted to the forefront of the national conscience: the Constitutional right to obtain an abortion. Reproductive health rights in this country—which were set back by a half-century with the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June—continued to be an important theme in the remaining magazine issues of the year.
The August/September issue addressed the challenges we face in the realm of education, from preschool to college. In October/November, we covered the reemergence of labor organizing, with hundreds of new unions being formed from coast to coast and beyond.
In this issue, we go back to basics to explore how we can work our way out of this mess—together. The simple answer is we must start locally. Jennifer Job and Peter Greene explain how students and parents are letting the air out of the tires of the astroturfing, rightwing group Moms for Liberty and other school board agitators. Christopher Johnson shares the story of the tireless residents of Chicago’s Southeast Side, who stood up to another polluting industry being relocated to their neighborhood. Sharon Johnson highlights the crucial role that community health centers are playing in responding to the pandemic, which has led to new ways of dealing with other public health threats.
Nancy MacLean and Lisa Graves pull back the curtain on billionaire Charles Koch, who is laser-focused on destroying American democracy. And Zach Roberts discusses YouTube’s role in stoking insurrection with actor and documentary filmmaker Alex Winter.
Whether you are relieved or troubled by the results of the midterm elections, remember that we are all in this together, and we all want to make life better for future generations. So go knock on your neighbor’s door and let’s get started.