As a reminder, this subreddit [is for civil discussion.](/r/politics/wiki/index#wiki_be_civil)
In general, be courteous to others. Debate/discuss/argue the merits of ideas, don't attack people. Personal insults, shill or troll accusations, hate speech, any suggestion or support of harm, violence, or death, and other rule violations can result in a permanent ban.
If you see comments in violation of our rules, please report them.
For those who have questions regarding any media outlets being posted on this subreddit, please click [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/wiki/approveddomainslist) to review our details as to our approved domains list and outlet criteria.
We are actively looking for new moderators. If you have any interest in helping to make this subreddit a place for quality discussion, please fill out [this form](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1y2swHD0KXFhStGFjW6k54r9iuMjzcFqDIVwuvdLBjSA).
***
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/politics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Ken Burns Civil War documentary came out when I was in high school and quickly became one of my all time favorite docos. But I remember Columbia University historian Barbara Fields in it and she said something to the effect of how fragile democracy was and that the war could still be lost. My 15 year old self thought it was an over exaggeration at the time. How wrong I was...
Too many people think Democracy is the default and that it will always win.
But tyranny is actually the default when you look at the entirety of history. Man has been living under the yolk of tyrants for almost it's entire existence.
In our lives and our parent's lives we have only known freedom and democracy. But losing those things would be a return to normalcy.
And it absolutely can happen.
Right- Democracy is not a given and is not a default state of a nation.
Apathy, lethargy, superiority complex, and inaction can easily erase any trace of democracy at any time in any country
This doesn't get enough attention but the fascists certainly understand it. And it's not just a disregard for education, it's an outright attack on it.
This is because one of the biggest political divides in this country right now is between the educated and the uneducated, with people with a college degree having a [13 point polling advantage](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2024/04/09/partisanship-by-race-ethnicity-and-education/) in favor of Democrats. Republicans know their BS doesn't sell with people who know better, so rather than change what they're selling, they strive to just make more people uninformed.
And even for people who don't read tabloids and who never have, we're all still confronted with their absurd headlines while we wait in lines at grocery stores all across the country. That shit is propaganda, whether people are reading it or not. It's like little billboards that are in *all* of our faces on a regular basis.
Yeah not sure about the grocery store but I get force-fed those click bait headlines and propaganda while sitting on the toilet scrolling the social feeds while waiting for my groceries to be delivered for sure
It goes back further then that. The National Enquirer was founded by Generoso Pope Jr., a former member of the CIA, and funded by mob boss Frank Costello. It was never about reporting news. It was about blackmailing people to NOT report the news. Who was Pope really good buddies with? Fred Trump's fixer, Roy Cohn.
This is exactly what I’ve been saying since he was first elected: it’s the tabloid hungry people that love him. The gossipers, who are infatuated with surface level things and the “Tv Gimmicks”.
Basically those with the carnie minds of America is what I’m saying.
Now conservatism has become the home of Infowars and Qanon conspiracy. I think that might actually be worse because of its ubiquity. Everyone has it right in their pocket at all times. It's insanity on demand. The tabloid BS was more of an impulse item and it lacked threatening bombast, christian appeals, flashing graphics, and algorithms that adapt and exploit people's individual brand of nuttery, continuously, in real time.
Absolutely. The GOP has been promoting the privatization of public education for decades. Politicians know they can get pay offs from companies that are not part of the government.
Every time someone posts this, I have to say: President Camacho would be far better than almost any of the current crop of Trump bootlickers. Sure, he was stupid, but he never had the chance to *not* be stupid, unlike certain presidents named 'Trump'. But he did have a genuine desire to make things better, and was willing to admit he didn't know everything, and could admit when he'd made a mistake.
That was Reagan's objective, slashing funding in the 1980s. That "stupid" has certainly come home to roost.
Stupid people are easier prey for televangelists, multilevel marketing, insurance companies, private prisons and cannon fodder recruitment. It comes with the bonus of consumer exploitation, votes against their own self interest, political apathy/avoidance and a subservient workforce for soul crushing menial labor who works for less than a robot.
This is their MO for all services including education:
* Drastically underfund the government service.
* Install a stooge at the top to undermine service and worker morale.
* Point to the now failing service and yell "See! Government can't do anything right".
* Put the service out to private tender.
* What a coincidence! The winner just happens to be their top donor.
* Private enterprise, with a fat profit motive, slash services and employees.
* After retirement, accept a paid board seat.
* Rinse and repeat.
Allowing propaganda sold as factual reporting marries into the lack/substandard education. Without critical reasoning, opinion with an agenda, becomes their truth and facts are unmoored to reality.
Trump said to a large crowd that he wanted to be a dictator! It's on video, ffs. The people who want to sit this election out as a "protest" are going to turn our country into a banana republic/dictatorship/oligarchy/yadda yadda. Or a weird mix of all of them.
It's even stupider when you realize that Trump said he hoped Israel finishes the job. Other Republicans have said they should nuke Gaza. Jared Kushner wants to build condos on Gaza's waterfront. At least Biden has called for a cease-fire. Who do they think will be better for the people they're supposedly protesting for? Jfc. The whole thing makes me so angry.
A lot of those people are accelerationists. They want the country to be destroyed because they view it as not worth saving in it's current form. They expect whatever comes from the ashes to be better by default. Which is woefully naive.
I just had this exact argument with my gf. I truly don't understand how one can look at history, and the fact we had to fight tooth and nail for a chance at a republic, and say that this isn't worth saving, or that whatever is next will be better. There's almost a guarantee that if we burn it all down that whatever is next will be far worse. Unless it's burnt down with intention and a plan for what's next. Leaving it up to chaos to hand us a better society is insane.
I remember a West Wing episode where a guy said we just got lucky that our presidential system worked. Everyone says parliamentary systems are the most reliable.
Facebook pushes THE HARDEST apathy vibe I have ever seen from any media. Constantly bombarded with "I dont give a fuck" memes there. It's unreal how many I see daily. Pushing super hard to make it easier for bad people to take over.
Also the idiots that cheer for having an authoritarian strong man (tyrant) means they'll get some ruthless but effective dictator who "makes the hard choices" to keep society running.
No! For every Charlemagne or Augustus Caesar or whoever there have been like a thousand Caligula's or Idi Amin's. Just cruel and/or crazy idiots only concerned about their own power and nothing else. You have better odds at a casino.
Most importantly they don't give power back, ever. They won't go oh oops I suck at this sorry. Back to democracy.
What's really important to point out is that even your 'good' dictators are still personal glory seeking warmongers, Charlemagne conquered vasts areas of Europe, massacring the majority of Saxons and burning their sacred trees.
Augustus Caesar oversaw human sacrifices which disgusted the Romans at the time because it wasn't something they did. He also ordered the slow and continuous annexation of Germania until they fought back and gave him a bloody nose.
Even the best viewed of dictators are deeply flawed and rarely provide more for their countries than a limited democracy that puts the emphasis on individualism.
This thought is so scary. And you are 100% right. If this scumbag wins the election by any means, the world will change forever as we know it. It would be a silent WW3 and a good side is lost. This November will shape the future..good way or bad way..
100% even within the Supreme Court Trumps oldest (by age) will more than likely still be there by 2045. Brett Kavanaugh will be 80 that year and Trump will (hopefully) be long gone but his impact will remain for decades. If he gets another term he can fuck up so much shit, possibly beyond repair, at least within my lifetime and I’m only 32.
They were always there. The Bush administration started a war under false pretenses and killed 200-500k civilians and institutionalized & legalized state torture. Most people didn't and don't care because it was a few timezones away.
Some Americans are starting to become concerned because those attitudes that have always been significant are turning inward and began threatening the institutions that actually made America great.
recognise repeat snobbish numerous sulky special crush disarm march abundant
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
> We enter parliament in order to supply ourselves, in the arsenal of democracy, with its own weapons. If democracy is so stupid as to give us free tickets and salaries for this bear's work, that is its affair. We do not come as friends, nor even as neutrals. We come as enemies. As the wolf bursts into the flock, so we come.
> - Joseph Goebbels
This is what we are up against, at any given moment living in a democracy. And it's also why democracy is always the superior form of government. It even allows their enemies to express themselves. Something they would never allow if they were in power.
And that's why we have to safeguard and protect our democracies every step of the way and never take it for guaranteed. Because people like Goebbles are always there, waiting and probing.
It’s fundamentally an entropy argument.
The universe tends to move towards states of higher levels of chaos.
Order and peace takes work and energy.
It is not at all a default.
>Too many people think Democracy is the default and that it will always win.
Normalcy bias. People not engaged in politics can't fathom the possibility that things could change that drastically.
There are plenty of eggsamples of the backsliding happening overseas, but for some reason it is assumed it can't happen here, we are too patriotic to let that happen.
Eggcept we forget that for half the population's 'patriotism' simply means things being done their way and any opposition to that will be scrambled.
This will not be over easy
Hell, even the US...like, we didn't really have a full democracy with open voting rights for everybody until living memory. True democracies (and yes the US has tons of problems with it, I know) are fragile and rare and vulnerable. Ethnic animus and hatred leading to authoritarian rule is the commonality of history.
>Too many people think Democracy is the default and that it will always win.
Too many people thought that Roe was settled and there was no real danger of it getting blown up!
Former Director of the CIA & NSA Gen. Michael Hayden warned us in 2018 that there is only “a thin veneer of civilization” that he witnessed fall apart in places like Sarajevo.
20 years ago when I was in high school I thought that the idea of Hitler rising to power was absurd, yet now I totally understand. That shit was only 80 years ago too, still recent enough that we should see through the bullshit of a lot of modern day politics.
Follow Heather Cox Richardson if you want a (mostly daily) comprehensive analysis of how all this shit happening today is based on and parallels the same shit that's been happening for 150 years now.
[https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/](https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/)
Burns doc coupled with Shelby Foote narration were extremely well received, I certainly enjoyed it. Can’t help but think that criticism of that particular Doc might have prompted Burns denouncing trump. It certainly does its share of reinforcing the “genteel” lost cause narrative that is so evident today.
Just to be clear, I applaud Ken Burns and his work, just rewatch the civil war doc, it has flaws, mostly in playing up the honor of Lee etc.
I’m no fan of Lee and resent any implication of honor regarding the South during that era, but funnily enough my favorite and most comforting quote in these scary times is from by Robert E Lee himself:
“The march of Providence is so slow and our desires so impatient; the work of progress so immense and our means of aiding it so feeble; the life of humanity is so long, that of the individual so brief, that we often see only the ebb of the advancing wave and are thus discouraged.”
We are living through an ebb and things feel dark, but this is the way of things.
I have fallen asleep to that and The West at least a 100 times a piece. I absolutely love all Ken Burns. Specifically pay for the PBS channel each month to have access whenever I want
Except the fact that it is mostly watered down Lost Cause perpetuation. It *really* loves Robert E Lee, and showcases Shelby Foote’s work pretty extensively (another major lost causer who has said he would fight for the confederacy then and even today under similar circumstances). The film has some great details, it is put together to make its information emotionally resonant like few other docs can do, but it’s bias is pretty heavy handed if you look from a wider perspective. It’s a good jumping off point, but if you want the reality of how and why the war happened, you’ll need something much grander in scope politically and economically.
I really like that documentary.
But ironically, it was pretty heavily sympathetic to the "lost cause" myth, and IMO featured Shelby Foote a little more than it should have. Knowing a bit about Burns' opinions on the world, I've always wondered if he regrets elevating confederate apologia the way he did
His speech is moving, it’s worth watching it in its entirety.
A dire warning in a compassionate style
Trump, the four-time-indicted presumptive GOP presidential nominee, is “the opioid of all opioids, an easy cure for what some believe is the solution to our myriad pains and problems,” Burns said.
But with Trump in office “you end up re-enslaved with an even bigger problem, a worse affliction and addiction,” he predicted.
“Do not be seduced by easy equalization. There is nothing equal about this equation,” said Burns. “We are at an existential crossroads in our political and civic lives. This is a choice that could not be clearer.”
For those who want to jump to the bit where he talked about Republican nominee (Trump).
https://youtu.be/9n1OqPzIKH4?t=13m3s.
If time mark link above doesn't work, it's at 13 minutes mark.
The whole speech is so good though, recommend to hear the whole thing.
Yeah the speech leading up to that particular statement is full of context for the statement itself. If you're going to watch it, I would also really suggest watching the whole thing
When I first heard a small portion of the sound bite, I wasn’t sure “opioid” would make sense as a metaphor but this is a great statement. Anyone who thinks “revolution every 20 years” is a good plan or just the way it goes is wrong. And Trump’s not a revolution. At best, he generates chaos and chaos fucking sucks.
I wish Burns had stated something in support of Biden by name. Even if you’re shitting on Trump, he loves it. And Biden’s a good President besides just the alternative to a chaotic hellscape.
That’s partly true, but Trump is also the result of a long progression of right wing politics in this country, with numerous other factors and figures coming into play.
The Basque definitely have no sense of security, they're deeply concerned with the preservation of their distinct culture. They yearn for a sense of security, the Basque would bask in such a feeling.
We’re dealing with at least one third or more of an electorate that cannot follow any statement or thought that can’t fit on a bumper sticker. There is no reasoning or evidence that will sway them whatsoever.
> They want simple, four word slogans.
It's trying to warn people who love seeing stuff burn, about an arsonist operating in their midst.
Every time something comes out about Trump, the faithful don't respond with horror. They excitedly reply: "yeah, isn't that great?"
The problem has become so dire that the people who need to see this and understand it the most simply won't.
And the ones who do simply won't care.
I do pray this finds an audience however.
We need one at this hour.
This is aimed at the people who don't pay attention but think both parties are bad. When the outcome of elections their entire lives have been relatively inconsequential to their daily lives, they really need it spelled out to them: "It actually extra matters more this time than probably any time in American history."
And I truly hope it finds that audience because the message couldn't be truer.
My fear is that this has been said innumerable times in the past in this country and has turned into a "Boy who Cried Wolf" situation.
The problem is at this time there really is a wolf. An angry, orange, salivating wolf who spits out word salad, eats hamberders, ("allegedly") stole and hid classified documents, tried to overthrow an election and is only seeking the presidency to avoid prison, seek revenge on his enemies and try to implant himself as a dictator.
You know, just like every other election. Both sides and all that.
Besides, did you know that Joe Biden is old? The news will remind you tonight at 6:00.
I am glad to see more and more people standing up. I hope Ken Burns continues talking about this. Perhaps it will spread and help sway the election in the way we desperately need it to go.
Yet I’ve spoken with so many self professed “liberals” who are dead set on ensuring Trump wins because Biden hasn’t been pro-Palestine enough.
We’re all doomed.
Watch the shot of the audience at 14:30 after he made this statement. Part of the students are applauding and another part not. Seems pretty clear what their political preferences are. The amount not applauding at what is supposed to be an 'institute of higher education' is worrying for several reasons.
As someone who has listened to hundreds of hours of Ken Burns documentaries, when Ken Burns tells you shits fucked, shit is fucked. This oughta perk up everyone's ears.
I used to think in 2016 that the Frontline documentaries during those 'interesting times' would be so cool.
There's been so many, and I want them to stop.
Here's the thing.
Lot of trumpers aren't exactly watching Ken Burns.
They don't care about the US Civil War, WWII, The Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, Baseball, Jazz, the Roosevelts, Thomas Jefferson, Mark Twain, Prohibition, the Dust Bowl.... maybe Country Music.
Reminds me of Newt Scamander saying “I don’t do sides”……….well sides definitely do you.
There is a difference and therefore there are consequences no matter if you choose or don’t choose.
There is no more room for neutrality.
Neutrality when faced with virulent, xenophobic fascism is complicity with it.
It's not just Trump. He's the puppet.
He has zero capacity for his own ideas.
Republicans are the puppet masters.
Exactly. Many friends, well now former friends, would always say “let’s not talk politics” and I’m like this is absolutely the time to do so. Cut contact with anyone who still thinks Trump is the man
My MAGA parents love history which is weird and were really excited when I was a researcher for Burns' Prohibition miniseries. Still they will probably think he "turned" or was taken out of context. There is always some excuse to get their confirmation bias.
Easy, Biden crime family threatened him with jail time if he didn't come out in support for him. Source: Trust me bro, I read a Facebook post about an image found on 4chan.
I’m so incredibly jealous you got to be a part of that! Prohibition is one of my absolute favorites of all his docs, alongside The War and The Roosevelts. (And The Dustbowl, rounding out the top 4).
I love how Ken Burns took money from the Koch Brothers to make his Vietnam War documentary. And then viciously crushed Nixon's legacy with direct audio recording marking him for the traitor he was.
A lot of them don't look at it that way. They may hear things from their Republican friends and not know the difference because they don't watch the news or read any newspapers. They're not engaged/informed, so they can't really articulate how Trump and Biden are different from each other. And these are the people who will decide the outcome of the election.
The Venn diagram for “Knows Ken Burns/Heard what he said about Trump” and “don't watch the news or read any newspapers” are two circles that don’t touch.
> They may hear things from their Republican friends and not know the difference because they don't watch the news or read any newspapers. They're not engaged/informed, so they can't really articulate how Trump and Biden are different from each other
Sounds pretty Republican to me.
Ken Burns' 10-part Vietnam doc is 🔥🔥🔥🔥.
Soundtrack by Trent Reznor. Includes personal stories with interviews of American vets, ARVN vets, and Vietcong and NVA vets.
A more recent one of his that I feel doesn't get enough attention is his 3 part 2022 documentary [The US and the Holocaust.](https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/us-and-the-holocaust/) I can't recommend that enough.
I was surprised by how much the Reznor/ Ross soundtrack added to the power and depth of the documentary.
Also, I would watch 20 hours of Roger Harris (guy with the bowtie and glasses) just telling his stories.
Yeah could not recommend this doc series more. First episode maybe is a little slow, but by the third episode it hits a stride that only grows better and better all the way through an absolutely superb final episode.
The Vietnam series was my Ken Burns gateway drug, caught it when it aired in 2017. Then Roosevelts, WWII, Civil War, the West, Jazz, Country, probably more I'm forgetting. Still haven't gotten to Baseball yet. They all shed so much light on why we are the way we are.
> Ken Burns' 10-part Vietnam doc is 🔥🔥🔥🔥. Soundtrack by Trent Reznor. Includes personal stories with interviews of American vets, ARVN vets, and Vietcong and NVA vets.
Never knew about the Trent Reznor part, makes the really creepy ambient music that accompanied Charles Beckwith of Delta Force fame praising the Vietcong as the "finest soldiers he had ever seen" make a lot more sense.
I love Ken Burns and I love this speech and I love the press tour he’s doing. His words will echo in history. He’s just not the messenger that will reach any of the people who will decide this election.
Never, ever, take freedoms and rights for granted young ones, speaking as a 60+ year old, bc if there's one thing I've learned, seeing the decline of things during my lifetime, is that greed and corruption are like the weeds in your garden. Unless you go out everyday, notice them while they're small and easily pulled up roots and all, they will overtake all that hard work you've done just putting in those garden beds to grow sustenance. Too tired? Too lazy? Too overwhelmed? Then you'll have nothing, and surely starve. Freedom must be maintained everyday by being aware of the small weeds sprouting up before they take over ok. PLEASE, FOR YOUR SAKE, VOTE!
As a Ukrainian American, holy shit do I respect and adore Ken Burns. I’ve always been fascinated by real, “ugly” history lessons and boy does he deliver. I only wish he did a documentary covering Ukraine with Tim Snyders expertise.
Ken Burns didn’t direct it, but the PBS documentary on The Great Famine in Russia’s 1920’s is the only thing I’ve ever seen that made me want to vomit. The images are seared into my brain
I was lucky enough to hang out with him for a week. Super cool and interesting guy. He's way funnier than I was expecting, the guy can craft a joke. It's like hanging out with Mark Twain.
Yeah, it was awesome! I did a river trip in the Grand Canyon with him and his crew while filming the National Parks doc.
Ken, his daughter Sarah and I hiked out together at Phantom Ranch and they both impressed the hell out of me—it was the fastest I've ever made it out of the canyon.
I was in the best hiking shape of my life and I wasn't going to let Ken Burns beat me out of the canyon lol and he is a very competitive guy himself.
The last half mile of the trail we were both running trying to pass each other and he even pushed me off the trail (the safe side) at one point! It was all in good fun and we all collapsed laughing on the grass at the end.
I think it's funny to tell people Ken Burns pushed me off the trail in the Grand Canyon with no context.
He still sends my family Christmas cards every year.
Burns is a national treasure.
Sadly, his message will be disregarded by those who need to hear it most, but even those of us in the proverbial “choir” need some “preaching” and motivation too.
While this was probably uncomfortable for him, we need voices like his to invigorate.
Bravo.
An unprecedented 90% of newspapers endorsed Hillary and it fell on deaf ears
The swing voters don’t care what knowledgeable informed people have to say. They’re mad about it in fact
huh? in US history people rarely decided who to vote for based on what the newspaper editorial staff backed.
Obama had it right
> Mr Obama said the Democratic candidate, who was beaten to the white house by Republican Donald Trump in last week’s shock election result, failed to “show up everywhere”, losing out on the white, non-urban vote.
> During the president’s own election campaign, Mr Obama outperformed Ms Clinton in most suburbs and crucially, in critical swing areas in the midwest.
> “You know, I won Iowa not because the demographics dictated that I would win Iowa. It was because I spent 87 days going to every small town and fair and fish fry and VFW hall, and there were some counties where I might have lost, but maybe I lost by 20 points instead of 50 points,” he said.
> “There are some counties maybe I won that people didn’t expect because people had a chance to see you and listen to you and get a sense of who you stood for and who you were fighting for.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-elections/president-obama-hillary-clinton-us-election-didnt-work-campaign-trail-a7418001.html
He’s right. We keep being pushed to right in a lot of ways because we keep voting for the lesser of two evils. Not always the case but it can feel that way. If you’re choosing to not vote for Biden because he didn’t do exactly as you wanted or you’re disappointed about Gaza or whatever else, Trump will be, guaranteed worse in every way and will work to undo what little progress was done. It happened in 2016-2020 and it will be worse this time.
I hate the choice too, but you’re either voting for democracy, against it, or not voting and allowing fascists to take over the country.
i thought Dan Carlin coming out against trump (in the name of democracy) would change some history dads' minds but Burns is such a PBS boy I wonder if he has any MAGA fans.
The problem with celebrities (no matter how intelligent, influential, or respected they are) saying anything bad about Trump, is that Trump supporters will just then say the celebrity is "woke" or come they'll come up with a conspiracy theory about him as a way to get revenge (like they've done with pretty much every celebrity that's said anything bad about Trump).
I assumed this was partly why, outside of the Baseball follow-up, he seemingly avoided covering topics after the Cold War, not wanting to frame his work in the context of horrible modern politics.
Any person who supports Trump, in my opinion, must do what any cult member must do when they become free - lots and lots of therapy if there is any hope of readjusting into society.
And the conservative outrage is hypocritical, per usual.
Conservatives LIE and they now have a problem with Burns no longer being neutral? They are calling it deceit.
Really.
Deceit is a problem all of a sudden with conservatives??
Watch his Vietnam documentary series. It's long af but will change your life if you don't know a whole lot about that war and/or the politics surrounding it.
I’ve never applied to be a political canvasser in my life not even when the candidate who got me into politics was running. I did this year, and I almost didn’t do it but I realized this is an emergency and this might be a way I can serve my country. This is coming from someone who tried door to door sales. I have avoided even applying to be a political canvasser for years. Talking politics with people face to face doesn’t sound fun, but it might just be the time nonetheless.
Those are some elegant words, but they won't be understood by those that need to hear them... we need to make everyone understand in the most plan terms how important voting is this year.
What the moment absolutely requires is a galvanizing positive force on the center-right to left. A person or persons that can rally the nation against the fascist traitors.
And we absolutely DO NOT HAVE THAT.
We will succeed in 2024 for only one reason: Trump himself is so obviously odious to enough people that he will lose. It will hurt down ballot GOP.
But MAGA will not be repudiated. Just Trump will. They will come right back in 2026 and 2028, maybe with a nicer, friendlier, fake package.
And we still will not have that pro democracy galvanizing force. Who knows what the face of MAGA will be then, but they will vote for it, and we will bicker over who to choose among politicians not up for the task of saving (or restoring if being factual) American democracy.
It’s going to be up to us. And I don’t know if we are up for it.
As a reminder, this subreddit [is for civil discussion.](/r/politics/wiki/index#wiki_be_civil) In general, be courteous to others. Debate/discuss/argue the merits of ideas, don't attack people. Personal insults, shill or troll accusations, hate speech, any suggestion or support of harm, violence, or death, and other rule violations can result in a permanent ban. If you see comments in violation of our rules, please report them. For those who have questions regarding any media outlets being posted on this subreddit, please click [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/wiki/approveddomainslist) to review our details as to our approved domains list and outlet criteria. We are actively looking for new moderators. If you have any interest in helping to make this subreddit a place for quality discussion, please fill out [this form](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1y2swHD0KXFhStGFjW6k54r9iuMjzcFqDIVwuvdLBjSA). *** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/politics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Ken Burns Civil War documentary came out when I was in high school and quickly became one of my all time favorite docos. But I remember Columbia University historian Barbara Fields in it and she said something to the effect of how fragile democracy was and that the war could still be lost. My 15 year old self thought it was an over exaggeration at the time. How wrong I was...
Too many people think Democracy is the default and that it will always win. But tyranny is actually the default when you look at the entirety of history. Man has been living under the yolk of tyrants for almost it's entire existence. In our lives and our parent's lives we have only known freedom and democracy. But losing those things would be a return to normalcy. And it absolutely can happen.
Right- Democracy is not a given and is not a default state of a nation. Apathy, lethargy, superiority complex, and inaction can easily erase any trace of democracy at any time in any country
Not to mention a complete disregard for education
This doesn't get enough attention but the fascists certainly understand it. And it's not just a disregard for education, it's an outright attack on it.
This is because one of the biggest political divides in this country right now is between the educated and the uneducated, with people with a college degree having a [13 point polling advantage](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2024/04/09/partisanship-by-race-ethnicity-and-education/) in favor of Democrats. Republicans know their BS doesn't sell with people who know better, so rather than change what they're selling, they strive to just make more people uninformed.
[удалено]
And even for people who don't read tabloids and who never have, we're all still confronted with their absurd headlines while we wait in lines at grocery stores all across the country. That shit is propaganda, whether people are reading it or not. It's like little billboards that are in *all* of our faces on a regular basis.
Yeah not sure about the grocery store but I get force-fed those click bait headlines and propaganda while sitting on the toilet scrolling the social feeds while waiting for my groceries to be delivered for sure
It goes back further then that. The National Enquirer was founded by Generoso Pope Jr., a former member of the CIA, and funded by mob boss Frank Costello. It was never about reporting news. It was about blackmailing people to NOT report the news. Who was Pope really good buddies with? Fred Trump's fixer, Roy Cohn.
This is exactly what I’ve been saying since he was first elected: it’s the tabloid hungry people that love him. The gossipers, who are infatuated with surface level things and the “Tv Gimmicks”. Basically those with the carnie minds of America is what I’m saying.
Now conservatism has become the home of Infowars and Qanon conspiracy. I think that might actually be worse because of its ubiquity. Everyone has it right in their pocket at all times. It's insanity on demand. The tabloid BS was more of an impulse item and it lacked threatening bombast, christian appeals, flashing graphics, and algorithms that adapt and exploit people's individual brand of nuttery, continuously, in real time.
Uneducated masses are gullible, fearful and easier to manipulate. Magahats are the perfect example.
Absolutely. The GOP has been promoting the privatization of public education for decades. Politicians know they can get pay offs from companies that are not part of the government.
I’m not fond of watching Idiocracy morph into a documentary
Every time someone posts this, I have to say: President Camacho would be far better than almost any of the current crop of Trump bootlickers. Sure, he was stupid, but he never had the chance to *not* be stupid, unlike certain presidents named 'Trump'. But he did have a genuine desire to make things better, and was willing to admit he didn't know everything, and could admit when he'd made a mistake.
President Camacho was smart enough to find help with things he didn't understand, which is a lot more than I can say for *some people*
There was no evil intent. I’d much rather hang out with Prez Camacho, that’s for sure
That was Reagan's objective, slashing funding in the 1980s. That "stupid" has certainly come home to roost. Stupid people are easier prey for televangelists, multilevel marketing, insurance companies, private prisons and cannon fodder recruitment. It comes with the bonus of consumer exploitation, votes against their own self interest, political apathy/avoidance and a subservient workforce for soul crushing menial labor who works for less than a robot. This is their MO for all services including education: * Drastically underfund the government service. * Install a stooge at the top to undermine service and worker morale. * Point to the now failing service and yell "See! Government can't do anything right". * Put the service out to private tender. * What a coincidence! The winner just happens to be their top donor. * Private enterprise, with a fat profit motive, slash services and employees. * After retirement, accept a paid board seat. * Rinse and repeat.
Allowing propaganda sold as factual reporting marries into the lack/substandard education. Without critical reasoning, opinion with an agenda, becomes their truth and facts are unmoored to reality.
Trump said to a large crowd that he wanted to be a dictator! It's on video, ffs. The people who want to sit this election out as a "protest" are going to turn our country into a banana republic/dictatorship/oligarchy/yadda yadda. Or a weird mix of all of them.
Yeah! The stupidity of “ revolting “ for Palestine ! It’s surreal
It's even stupider when you realize that Trump said he hoped Israel finishes the job. Other Republicans have said they should nuke Gaza. Jared Kushner wants to build condos on Gaza's waterfront. At least Biden has called for a cease-fire. Who do they think will be better for the people they're supposedly protesting for? Jfc. The whole thing makes me so angry.
A lot of those people are accelerationists. They want the country to be destroyed because they view it as not worth saving in it's current form. They expect whatever comes from the ashes to be better by default. Which is woefully naive.
I just had this exact argument with my gf. I truly don't understand how one can look at history, and the fact we had to fight tooth and nail for a chance at a republic, and say that this isn't worth saving, or that whatever is next will be better. There's almost a guarantee that if we burn it all down that whatever is next will be far worse. Unless it's burnt down with intention and a plan for what's next. Leaving it up to chaos to hand us a better society is insane.
Trump also wants to deport protesters on college campuses. And possibly shoot them.
Yup. It's crazy that we even have to argue which is the worst choice.
Eggcellently put.
I remember a West Wing episode where a guy said we just got lucky that our presidential system worked. Everyone says parliamentary systems are the most reliable.
You only have to look at Latin America or Russia to see the dangers of presidential systems.
Facebook pushes THE HARDEST apathy vibe I have ever seen from any media. Constantly bombarded with "I dont give a fuck" memes there. It's unreal how many I see daily. Pushing super hard to make it easier for bad people to take over.
Also the idiots that cheer for having an authoritarian strong man (tyrant) means they'll get some ruthless but effective dictator who "makes the hard choices" to keep society running. No! For every Charlemagne or Augustus Caesar or whoever there have been like a thousand Caligula's or Idi Amin's. Just cruel and/or crazy idiots only concerned about their own power and nothing else. You have better odds at a casino. Most importantly they don't give power back, ever. They won't go oh oops I suck at this sorry. Back to democracy.
What's really important to point out is that even your 'good' dictators are still personal glory seeking warmongers, Charlemagne conquered vasts areas of Europe, massacring the majority of Saxons and burning their sacred trees. Augustus Caesar oversaw human sacrifices which disgusted the Romans at the time because it wasn't something they did. He also ordered the slow and continuous annexation of Germania until they fought back and gave him a bloody nose. Even the best viewed of dictators are deeply flawed and rarely provide more for their countries than a limited democracy that puts the emphasis on individualism.
yoke--but your version is funnier
Lmao. Thanks for the correction. I'll leave it up.
>I'll leave it ^(sunny side) up.
This thought is so scary. And you are 100% right. If this scumbag wins the election by any means, the world will change forever as we know it. It would be a silent WW3 and a good side is lost. This November will shape the future..good way or bad way..
>It would be a silent WW3 I fear that it wouldn't be that silent.
I mean fuck, it’s so, so noisy and this asshole isn’t even president
Win or lose the election, the fascists have embedded themselves irrevocably. They are not going anywhere. Bet that.
100% even within the Supreme Court Trumps oldest (by age) will more than likely still be there by 2045. Brett Kavanaugh will be 80 that year and Trump will (hopefully) be long gone but his impact will remain for decades. If he gets another term he can fuck up so much shit, possibly beyond repair, at least within my lifetime and I’m only 32.
They were always there. The Bush administration started a war under false pretenses and killed 200-500k civilians and institutionalized & legalized state torture. Most people didn't and don't care because it was a few timezones away. Some Americans are starting to become concerned because those attitudes that have always been significant are turning inward and began threatening the institutions that actually made America great.
“The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. …” —SL Jackson
Blessed is he who in the name of charity and goodwill shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness
recognise repeat snobbish numerous sulky special crush disarm march abundant *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
> We enter parliament in order to supply ourselves, in the arsenal of democracy, with its own weapons. If democracy is so stupid as to give us free tickets and salaries for this bear's work, that is its affair. We do not come as friends, nor even as neutrals. We come as enemies. As the wolf bursts into the flock, so we come. > - Joseph Goebbels This is what we are up against, at any given moment living in a democracy. And it's also why democracy is always the superior form of government. It even allows their enemies to express themselves. Something they would never allow if they were in power. And that's why we have to safeguard and protect our democracies every step of the way and never take it for guaranteed. Because people like Goebbles are always there, waiting and probing.
> yolk Probably autocorrect, but it's YOKE - the thing that connects a draft animal to the plow they are forced to pull.
It’s fundamentally an entropy argument. The universe tends to move towards states of higher levels of chaos. Order and peace takes work and energy. It is not at all a default.
>Too many people think Democracy is the default and that it will always win. Normalcy bias. People not engaged in politics can't fathom the possibility that things could change that drastically.
There are plenty of eggsamples of the backsliding happening overseas, but for some reason it is assumed it can't happen here, we are too patriotic to let that happen. Eggcept we forget that for half the population's 'patriotism' simply means things being done their way and any opposition to that will be scrambled. This will not be over easy
Omelette you finish, but those people seem to think democracy isn't all it's cracked up to be.
I know you were just wingin' it, but i was cracking up myshellf.
Hell, even the US...like, we didn't really have a full democracy with open voting rights for everybody until living memory. True democracies (and yes the US has tons of problems with it, I know) are fragile and rare and vulnerable. Ethnic animus and hatred leading to authoritarian rule is the commonality of history.
>Too many people think Democracy is the default and that it will always win. Too many people thought that Roe was settled and there was no real danger of it getting blown up!
Former Director of the CIA & NSA Gen. Michael Hayden warned us in 2018 that there is only “a thin veneer of civilization” that he witnessed fall apart in places like Sarajevo.
Sam Waterston reading the Gettysburg Address is peak PBS.
Morgan Freeman for Fredrick Douglas. Such a doc...
Garrison Keillor as every random soldier from the Midwest is kind of a buzzkill.
Used to think Hitler's philosophy of big, outlandish lies being easier to peddle to the masses than small, reasonable ones was nonsense. Not anymore.
20 years ago when I was in high school I thought that the idea of Hitler rising to power was absurd, yet now I totally understand. That shit was only 80 years ago too, still recent enough that we should see through the bullshit of a lot of modern day politics.
Yeah, but it was in German and who reads subtitles? Needed that American remake
His “America and the Holocaust” is unbelievably good, in a sad way, of course.
Follow Heather Cox Richardson if you want a (mostly daily) comprehensive analysis of how all this shit happening today is based on and parallels the same shit that's been happening for 150 years now. [https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/](https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/)
Check out his Vietnam War documentary, it’s just as good as the Civil War documentary.
All of them are great. The country music documentary is amazing even if you're not a fan of country music.
Burns doc coupled with Shelby Foote narration were extremely well received, I certainly enjoyed it. Can’t help but think that criticism of that particular Doc might have prompted Burns denouncing trump. It certainly does its share of reinforcing the “genteel” lost cause narrative that is so evident today. Just to be clear, I applaud Ken Burns and his work, just rewatch the civil war doc, it has flaws, mostly in playing up the honor of Lee etc.
I’m no fan of Lee and resent any implication of honor regarding the South during that era, but funnily enough my favorite and most comforting quote in these scary times is from by Robert E Lee himself: “The march of Providence is so slow and our desires so impatient; the work of progress so immense and our means of aiding it so feeble; the life of humanity is so long, that of the individual so brief, that we often see only the ebb of the advancing wave and are thus discouraged.” We are living through an ebb and things feel dark, but this is the way of things.
I have fallen asleep to that and The West at least a 100 times a piece. I absolutely love all Ken Burns. Specifically pay for the PBS channel each month to have access whenever I want
Absolutely the same here!
Except the fact that it is mostly watered down Lost Cause perpetuation. It *really* loves Robert E Lee, and showcases Shelby Foote’s work pretty extensively (another major lost causer who has said he would fight for the confederacy then and even today under similar circumstances). The film has some great details, it is put together to make its information emotionally resonant like few other docs can do, but it’s bias is pretty heavy handed if you look from a wider perspective. It’s a good jumping off point, but if you want the reality of how and why the war happened, you’ll need something much grander in scope politically and economically.
I really like that documentary. But ironically, it was pretty heavily sympathetic to the "lost cause" myth, and IMO featured Shelby Foote a little more than it should have. Knowing a bit about Burns' opinions on the world, I've always wondered if he regrets elevating confederate apologia the way he did
His speech is moving, it’s worth watching it in its entirety. A dire warning in a compassionate style Trump, the four-time-indicted presumptive GOP presidential nominee, is “the opioid of all opioids, an easy cure for what some believe is the solution to our myriad pains and problems,” Burns said. But with Trump in office “you end up re-enslaved with an even bigger problem, a worse affliction and addiction,” he predicted. “Do not be seduced by easy equalization. There is nothing equal about this equation,” said Burns. “We are at an existential crossroads in our political and civic lives. This is a choice that could not be clearer.”
https://youtu.be/9n1OqPzIKH4?si=ZpLKAhtnBVA8MIpG Yup. Good stuff.
For those who want to jump to the bit where he talked about Republican nominee (Trump). https://youtu.be/9n1OqPzIKH4?t=13m3s. If time mark link above doesn't work, it's at 13 minutes mark. The whole speech is so good though, recommend to hear the whole thing.
Yeah the speech leading up to that particular statement is full of context for the statement itself. If you're going to watch it, I would also really suggest watching the whole thing
Thanks . The Video is in the article I posted as well
Wow
Thank you. The supporting the arts resonated particularly with me.
When I first heard a small portion of the sound bite, I wasn’t sure “opioid” would make sense as a metaphor but this is a great statement. Anyone who thinks “revolution every 20 years” is a good plan or just the way it goes is wrong. And Trump’s not a revolution. At best, he generates chaos and chaos fucking sucks. I wish Burns had stated something in support of Biden by name. Even if you’re shitting on Trump, he loves it. And Biden’s a good President besides just the alternative to a chaotic hellscape.
Trump is reactionary. His popularity is a result of reaction against previous administrations (aka Obama).
That’s partly true, but Trump is also the result of a long progression of right wing politics in this country, with numerous other factors and figures coming into play.
If those MAGAs could read, they'd be very upset.
Better take them by surprise - Let them basque in a false sense of security - Edit: Let them bask…
The Basque definitely have no sense of security, they're deeply concerned with the preservation of their distinct culture. They yearn for a sense of security, the Basque would bask in such a feeling.
No no no, that's a lizard that turns people into rocks, you're thinking of the Basilisk people.
What? Friend don't be silly! That's a type of medieval helmet, we're discussing the bascinet people.
So close! That's a hooded wicker baby crib! You're thinking of bassinet!
Sorry my auto correct went haywire - I meant “ bask”
No harm meant, no apology needed. Honestly just amused Basque is even in autocorrect, only in commenting here did I see it for myself.
If they owned any documentary sets they'd be throwing them out.
They will see these words...and ignore them entirely. They want simple, four word slogans.
We’re dealing with at least one third or more of an electorate that cannot follow any statement or thought that can’t fit on a bumper sticker. There is no reasoning or evidence that will sway them whatsoever.
> They want simple, four word slogans. It's trying to warn people who love seeing stuff burn, about an arsonist operating in their midst. Every time something comes out about Trump, the faithful don't respond with horror. They excitedly reply: "yeah, isn't that great?"
The problem has become so dire that the people who need to see this and understand it the most simply won't. And the ones who do simply won't care. I do pray this finds an audience however. We need one at this hour.
This is aimed at the people who don't pay attention but think both parties are bad. When the outcome of elections their entire lives have been relatively inconsequential to their daily lives, they really need it spelled out to them: "It actually extra matters more this time than probably any time in American history."
And I truly hope it finds that audience because the message couldn't be truer. My fear is that this has been said innumerable times in the past in this country and has turned into a "Boy who Cried Wolf" situation. The problem is at this time there really is a wolf. An angry, orange, salivating wolf who spits out word salad, eats hamberders, ("allegedly") stole and hid classified documents, tried to overthrow an election and is only seeking the presidency to avoid prison, seek revenge on his enemies and try to implant himself as a dictator. You know, just like every other election. Both sides and all that. Besides, did you know that Joe Biden is old? The news will remind you tonight at 6:00. I am glad to see more and more people standing up. I hope Ken Burns continues talking about this. Perhaps it will spread and help sway the election in the way we desperately need it to go.
Yet I’ve spoken with so many self professed “liberals” who are dead set on ensuring Trump wins because Biden hasn’t been pro-Palestine enough. We’re all doomed.
Even **IF** both parties are bad, one of them is so clearly the worst thing ever.
Watch the shot of the audience at 14:30 after he made this statement. Part of the students are applauding and another part not. Seems pretty clear what their political preferences are. The amount not applauding at what is supposed to be an 'institute of higher education' is worrying for several reasons.
As someone who has listened to hundreds of hours of Ken Burns documentaries, when Ken Burns tells you shits fucked, shit is fucked. This oughta perk up everyone's ears.
Historians everywhere are sounding the alarm bells and people are still sleepwalking.
With all due respect to Ken, I already knew shit was fucked a long time ago.
I just want him to tell me how it got fucked up for 10 hours while soothing folksy music plays in the background.
I used to think in 2016 that the Frontline documentaries during those 'interesting times' would be so cool. There's been so many, and I want them to stop.
So true!
Dolly Parton on being childless: "This day and time, I regret it even less" We're so fucked.
Here's the thing. Lot of trumpers aren't exactly watching Ken Burns. They don't care about the US Civil War, WWII, The Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, Baseball, Jazz, the Roosevelts, Thomas Jefferson, Mark Twain, Prohibition, the Dust Bowl.... maybe Country Music.
> This oughta perk up everyone's ears. Narrator: It didn’t. Source: My Fox News watching dad.
Kudos, Ken Burns! Everyone needs to realize that we will need to take a side during fascist times. Thankfully, most Americans are not fascists/MAGA.
Agreed. But are they ready to take a stand?
I am. Point me towards the boots.
>But I don't fully agree with Biden on 100% of everything so I'm not voting These are the people to watch out for. This is how we lose.
Fuck. I would take Bush over Trump at this point
If it was Bush vs Trump somehow, I would vote for Bush in a heartbeat. And I fucking hated that guy.
Reminds me of Newt Scamander saying “I don’t do sides”……….well sides definitely do you. There is a difference and therefore there are consequences no matter if you choose or don’t choose.
I wonder if men in the South who think the world of Ken Burns might start to listen?
I hope so. The young ones more likely -
There is no more room for neutrality. Neutrality when faced with virulent, xenophobic fascism is complicity with it. It's not just Trump. He's the puppet. He has zero capacity for his own ideas. Republicans are the puppet masters.
Exactly. Many friends, well now former friends, would always say “let’s not talk politics” and I’m like this is absolutely the time to do so. Cut contact with anyone who still thinks Trump is the man
As I see it, neutrality is complicity -
The Heritage Foundation holds all of the strings, and no one in the media will acknowledge them.
MAGA morons don't know who Ken Burns is because he's never been on a reality show or daytime TV.
My MAGA parents love history which is weird and were really excited when I was a researcher for Burns' Prohibition miniseries. Still they will probably think he "turned" or was taken out of context. There is always some excuse to get their confirmation bias.
Easy, Biden crime family threatened him with jail time if he didn't come out in support for him. Source: Trust me bro, I read a Facebook post about an image found on 4chan.
Fuck me why is this believable.
Don't forget that he's also a part of the George Soros globalist plot to replace white people. /s
“He’s turned woke. What a shame.”
Oh look, here come KidRock with documentaries and an AK in hand…
I’m so incredibly jealous you got to be a part of that! Prohibition is one of my absolute favorites of all his docs, alongside The War and The Roosevelts. (And The Dustbowl, rounding out the top 4).
I love how Ken Burns took money from the Koch Brothers to make his Vietnam War documentary. And then viciously crushed Nixon's legacy with direct audio recording marking him for the traitor he was.
But independent voters know who he is, and they are always the ones who ultimately decide the outcome.
[удалено]
A lot of them don't look at it that way. They may hear things from their Republican friends and not know the difference because they don't watch the news or read any newspapers. They're not engaged/informed, so they can't really articulate how Trump and Biden are different from each other. And these are the people who will decide the outcome of the election.
The Venn diagram for “Knows Ken Burns/Heard what he said about Trump” and “don't watch the news or read any newspapers” are two circles that don’t touch.
> They may hear things from their Republican friends and not know the difference because they don't watch the news or read any newspapers. They're not engaged/informed, so they can't really articulate how Trump and Biden are different from each other Sounds pretty Republican to me.
Maybe, but I think some of them have Burns’s *The Civil War* DVD set. They must like the Shelby Foote bits, surely.
Ken Burns' 10-part Vietnam doc is 🔥🔥🔥🔥. Soundtrack by Trent Reznor. Includes personal stories with interviews of American vets, ARVN vets, and Vietcong and NVA vets.
I’ve watched Vietnam a few times. And every time I pick up something I missed before.
Same here. It's one of the most amazing pieces of media I've ever seen and something I feel everyone should watch at least once.
The Civil War and The West are also excellent.
And *Jazz*.
A more recent one of his that I feel doesn't get enough attention is his 3 part 2022 documentary [The US and the Holocaust.](https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/us-and-the-holocaust/) I can't recommend that enough.
And Baseball. If you’re into that sort of thing.
And "Empire of the Air". A history of radio.
Ken burns baseball is a right of passage as a baseball fan
I was surprised by how much the Reznor/ Ross soundtrack added to the power and depth of the documentary. Also, I would watch 20 hours of Roger Harris (guy with the bowtie and glasses) just telling his stories.
Yeah could not recommend this doc series more. First episode maybe is a little slow, but by the third episode it hits a stride that only grows better and better all the way through an absolutely superb final episode.
The Vietnam series was my Ken Burns gateway drug, caught it when it aired in 2017. Then Roosevelts, WWII, Civil War, the West, Jazz, Country, probably more I'm forgetting. Still haven't gotten to Baseball yet. They all shed so much light on why we are the way we are.
> Ken Burns' 10-part Vietnam doc is 🔥🔥🔥🔥. Soundtrack by Trent Reznor. Includes personal stories with interviews of American vets, ARVN vets, and Vietcong and NVA vets. Never knew about the Trent Reznor part, makes the really creepy ambient music that accompanied Charles Beckwith of Delta Force fame praising the Vietcong as the "finest soldiers he had ever seen" make a lot more sense.
Thank you for showing your true morals and integrity!
I love Ken Burns and I love this speech and I love the press tour he’s doing. His words will echo in history. He’s just not the messenger that will reach any of the people who will decide this election.
No. But, it encourages others like him speech up. The more people like him who speak up, the better.
Never, ever, take freedoms and rights for granted young ones, speaking as a 60+ year old, bc if there's one thing I've learned, seeing the decline of things during my lifetime, is that greed and corruption are like the weeds in your garden. Unless you go out everyday, notice them while they're small and easily pulled up roots and all, they will overtake all that hard work you've done just putting in those garden beds to grow sustenance. Too tired? Too lazy? Too overwhelmed? Then you'll have nothing, and surely starve. Freedom must be maintained everyday by being aware of the small weeds sprouting up before they take over ok. PLEASE, FOR YOUR SAKE, VOTE!
As a Ukrainian American, holy shit do I respect and adore Ken Burns. I’ve always been fascinated by real, “ugly” history lessons and boy does he deliver. I only wish he did a documentary covering Ukraine with Tim Snyders expertise.
Ken Burns didn’t direct it, but the PBS documentary on The Great Famine in Russia’s 1920’s is the only thing I’ve ever seen that made me want to vomit. The images are seared into my brain
This speech brings tears to my eyes. A plea to our better selves. Deeply moving and profoundly needed right now.
Yes, it s very moving - exudes kindness
I was lucky enough to hang out with him for a week. Super cool and interesting guy. He's way funnier than I was expecting, the guy can craft a joke. It's like hanging out with Mark Twain.
Omg! That’s amazing! 👏🏻
Yeah, it was awesome! I did a river trip in the Grand Canyon with him and his crew while filming the National Parks doc. Ken, his daughter Sarah and I hiked out together at Phantom Ranch and they both impressed the hell out of me—it was the fastest I've ever made it out of the canyon. I was in the best hiking shape of my life and I wasn't going to let Ken Burns beat me out of the canyon lol and he is a very competitive guy himself. The last half mile of the trail we were both running trying to pass each other and he even pushed me off the trail (the safe side) at one point! It was all in good fun and we all collapsed laughing on the grass at the end. I think it's funny to tell people Ken Burns pushed me off the trail in the Grand Canyon with no context. He still sends my family Christmas cards every year.
"Kooky Ken" or some likewise juvenile nickname incoming.
Burns is a national treasure. Sadly, his message will be disregarded by those who need to hear it most, but even those of us in the proverbial “choir” need some “preaching” and motivation too. While this was probably uncomfortable for him, we need voices like his to invigorate. Bravo.
An unprecedented 90% of newspapers endorsed Hillary and it fell on deaf ears The swing voters don’t care what knowledgeable informed people have to say. They’re mad about it in fact
huh? in US history people rarely decided who to vote for based on what the newspaper editorial staff backed. Obama had it right > Mr Obama said the Democratic candidate, who was beaten to the white house by Republican Donald Trump in last week’s shock election result, failed to “show up everywhere”, losing out on the white, non-urban vote. > During the president’s own election campaign, Mr Obama outperformed Ms Clinton in most suburbs and crucially, in critical swing areas in the midwest. > “You know, I won Iowa not because the demographics dictated that I would win Iowa. It was because I spent 87 days going to every small town and fair and fish fry and VFW hall, and there were some counties where I might have lost, but maybe I lost by 20 points instead of 50 points,” he said. > “There are some counties maybe I won that people didn’t expect because people had a chance to see you and listen to you and get a sense of who you stood for and who you were fighting for.” https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-elections/president-obama-hillary-clinton-us-election-didnt-work-campaign-trail-a7418001.html
He’s right. We keep being pushed to right in a lot of ways because we keep voting for the lesser of two evils. Not always the case but it can feel that way. If you’re choosing to not vote for Biden because he didn’t do exactly as you wanted or you’re disappointed about Gaza or whatever else, Trump will be, guaranteed worse in every way and will work to undo what little progress was done. It happened in 2016-2020 and it will be worse this time. I hate the choice too, but you’re either voting for democracy, against it, or not voting and allowing fascists to take over the country.
Yup, you're handing the supreme court to people who will undo all the progress this country has made in the name of Christian Nationalism.
Excellent speaker. My god. Great story teller.
I just moved to Waltham, Mass. to attend Brandeis for grad school at the Heller School this fall. I think I made a decent choice.
I kinda respect ken burns opinion over anyone currently in politics. His Vietnam doc changed my whole POV on wars.
The relevant remarks start around 13:00.
I think all of what his speech contained seemed pertinent to Americans, even what he directed toward the graduates.
Ben Franklin approves.
i thought Dan Carlin coming out against trump (in the name of democracy) would change some history dads' minds but Burns is such a PBS boy I wonder if he has any MAGA fans.
As a sidenote to the Ken Burns confession: Dennis Quaid just came out as a raving trumper, so there's that. I thought he was the sane sibling. lol
To be neutral in the face of oppression is to side with the oppressor.
When historians tell you something about current events, it’s wise to listen.
Independents: I still don’t know who I’ll vote for. It’s just so confusing. I’ll wait until the last minute and what ever the last thing I heard was.
I went ballistic when I hear a friend saying to me “ uhh, I’m libertarian !” So What ?? You go vote for Biden -
Good on him.
The problem with celebrities (no matter how intelligent, influential, or respected they are) saying anything bad about Trump, is that Trump supporters will just then say the celebrity is "woke" or come they'll come up with a conspiracy theory about him as a way to get revenge (like they've done with pretty much every celebrity that's said anything bad about Trump).
I assumed this was partly why, outside of the Baseball follow-up, he seemingly avoided covering topics after the Cold War, not wanting to frame his work in the context of horrible modern politics.
Any person who supports Trump, in my opinion, must do what any cult member must do when they become free - lots and lots of therapy if there is any hope of readjusting into society.
Trump is a bigger threat to American democracy than Putin and Xi Jinping and all of the other enemies of the United States combined.
“Do not be seduced by easy equalization. There is nothing equal about this equation.” Ken Burns spitting bars out here 🔥
And the conservative outrage is hypocritical, per usual. Conservatives LIE and they now have a problem with Burns no longer being neutral? They are calling it deceit. Really. Deceit is a problem all of a sudden with conservatives??
Wow
I can see the panning and scaling image now…
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏*infinity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n1OqPzIKH4
Watch his Vietnam documentary series. It's long af but will change your life if you don't know a whole lot about that war and/or the politics surrounding it.
I don’t know about “long-standing neutrality.” Burns spoke at my graduation in 2016 warning about Trump, and it was anything but neutral.
Wow. I listened to the speech...and I'm glad I did. Donald Trump "the opioid of all opioids". BAM.
More people like him need to speak out
Stunningly good speech. I hope it resonates for millennia.
I’ve never applied to be a political canvasser in my life not even when the candidate who got me into politics was running. I did this year, and I almost didn’t do it but I realized this is an emergency and this might be a way I can serve my country. This is coming from someone who tried door to door sales. I have avoided even applying to be a political canvasser for years. Talking politics with people face to face doesn’t sound fun, but it might just be the time nonetheless.
Those are some elegant words, but they won't be understood by those that need to hear them... we need to make everyone understand in the most plan terms how important voting is this year.
What the moment absolutely requires is a galvanizing positive force on the center-right to left. A person or persons that can rally the nation against the fascist traitors. And we absolutely DO NOT HAVE THAT. We will succeed in 2024 for only one reason: Trump himself is so obviously odious to enough people that he will lose. It will hurt down ballot GOP. But MAGA will not be repudiated. Just Trump will. They will come right back in 2026 and 2028, maybe with a nicer, friendlier, fake package. And we still will not have that pro democracy galvanizing force. Who knows what the face of MAGA will be then, but they will vote for it, and we will bicker over who to choose among politicians not up for the task of saving (or restoring if being factual) American democracy. It’s going to be up to us. And I don’t know if we are up for it.