Ms. Harris, I am a big supporter of FAIR and like what you wrote except that I was disappointed in the tired, old, baseless claim that the foundation of our nation "was intended to favor only wealthy white men". The Founders and the foundation were hardly perfect, but to think the Founders did not want the new nation to benefit their own wives and daughters, as well as free blacks and those who were not "wealthy" is anti-historical. FAIR has always stood up to such race-baiting, gender-baiting, anti-American rhetoric. I hope it plans to continue to do so.
Thank you for your comment, Donald. Your point is well taken. I could have clarified my statement with deeper historical context, but did not due to the brevity of my message.
Although voting rights were determined by the individual colonies, in the 18th century these rights were generally restricted to males and based on property ownership. Estimates of the percentage of voting-eligible men vary widely, but the consensus among historians is that early on that number did not exceed 20%. Of course, by the 19th century these restrictions eased considerably.
“Wealthy” was perhaps a poor choice of words, and for that I apologize. I chose that word because land ownership was, at least initially, not widely available to all colonists. My statement was a historical generalization, and I will be careful not to do this in the future.
Please understand that the spirit of my statement arose from a deep belief that regardless of how limited voting rights and other liberties may have been when our country was founded, they have expanded exponentially and made it the inclusive and vibrant nation that it is today. I also hope you appreciate the larger point of my message: despite whatever flaws our county has (and to be clear, every country is flawed), the beauty of the American experiment is worth defending. I’m committed to FAIR because the work we do supports that effort.
Thank you again, Donald. And thanks to the other posters who raised this issue.
«an experiment that was intended to favor only wealthy white men would end up benefiting people that its founders never intended.»
I would love to see a decent substantiation of the “wealthy white men” portion of this. Otherwise perhaps an apology for the misstep is probably in order.
Ms. Harris...your January 19, 2024, opening commentary is exactly right on all points...both in terms of the 'crisis' we are in, and yet the fact that hope is not lost. Thank you so much for articulating so well what many of us believe to be true. To answer your final question, "What drives you?", I would simply, and humbly say, exactly what you said...for me, and others of FAIR. Thank you again.
"...something unexpected happened: an experiment that was intended to favor only wealthy white men would end up benefiting people that its founders never intended."
That's funny. FAIR's chief advisor on religion, Robert P. George, is a Catholic who is considered the nation's leading Christian conservative thinker. He is also an effective and experienced right-wing activist who was deeply involved at a leadership and ideological level in the fight against same-sex marriage.
Only recently, FAIR featured Professor George in one of its monthly updates on the occasion of his receipt of a religious freedom award. In his acceptance speech, which was accessible via FAIR's update, Professor George wholeheartedly endorsed a particularly intolerant, right wing type of religion that views many of the hard-won rights of gay and lesbian Americans as an infringements on believers' religious freedom.
According to Professor George, gays' and lesbians' rights to access public accommodations without being discriminated against sometimes constitutes and infringement of his and his co-religionists' religious freedom. Their freedom of religion requires that gays and lesbians be treated as second-class citizens if, for example, they want a baker to make a wedding cake or wish to hire a web site designer to create a site for their wedding and both refuse because their religion opposes same-sex marriage.
That is not a left-leaning position. FAIR denies that it is taking a position, but when its principal religious advisor is engaged in waging a right-wing Christian culture war against gay people, it's difficult for FAIR to make a principled case for neutrality.
Thank you for this ray of hope. I admit to some class resentment at the FIRE focus on higher ed while in the trenches of K-12 public schools teachers are forced to follow state DEI directives and impressionable children's worldviews are being indelibly molded into white colonizers versus the poc oppressed, the so called "Anti-racist" lens. Not all families can afford alternatives, so the truckers' kids, the cops' kids, the veterans' kids get subjected to this woke brainwashing on their moderate or conservative parents own tax dimes. It's undemocratic and literally anti-American. Please focus on solutions for K-12!
I really felt every part of what you were saying about your reasons. There are so many of us. I hope we continue to find one another. Thank you for sharing.
Ms. Harris, I am a big supporter of FAIR and like what you wrote except that I was disappointed in the tired, old, baseless claim that the foundation of our nation "was intended to favor only wealthy white men". The Founders and the foundation were hardly perfect, but to think the Founders did not want the new nation to benefit their own wives and daughters, as well as free blacks and those who were not "wealthy" is anti-historical. FAIR has always stood up to such race-baiting, gender-baiting, anti-American rhetoric. I hope it plans to continue to do so.
Thank you for your comment, Donald. Your point is well taken. I could have clarified my statement with deeper historical context, but did not due to the brevity of my message.
Although voting rights were determined by the individual colonies, in the 18th century these rights were generally restricted to males and based on property ownership. Estimates of the percentage of voting-eligible men vary widely, but the consensus among historians is that early on that number did not exceed 20%. Of course, by the 19th century these restrictions eased considerably.
“Wealthy” was perhaps a poor choice of words, and for that I apologize. I chose that word because land ownership was, at least initially, not widely available to all colonists. My statement was a historical generalization, and I will be careful not to do this in the future.
Please understand that the spirit of my statement arose from a deep belief that regardless of how limited voting rights and other liberties may have been when our country was founded, they have expanded exponentially and made it the inclusive and vibrant nation that it is today. I also hope you appreciate the larger point of my message: despite whatever flaws our county has (and to be clear, every country is flawed), the beauty of the American experiment is worth defending. I’m committed to FAIR because the work we do supports that effort.
Thank you again, Donald. And thanks to the other posters who raised this issue.
Thank you for your thoughtful response!
«an experiment that was intended to favor only wealthy white men would end up benefiting people that its founders never intended.»
I would love to see a decent substantiation of the “wealthy white men” portion of this. Otherwise perhaps an apology for the misstep is probably in order.
Ms. Harris...your January 19, 2024, opening commentary is exactly right on all points...both in terms of the 'crisis' we are in, and yet the fact that hope is not lost. Thank you so much for articulating so well what many of us believe to be true. To answer your final question, "What drives you?", I would simply, and humbly say, exactly what you said...for me, and others of FAIR. Thank you again.
"...something unexpected happened: an experiment that was intended to favor only wealthy white men would end up benefiting people that its founders never intended."
Complete bullshit. Woke virtue signaling. Intellectually vapid.
FAIR is, as I predicted, moving left at a rapid pace, and why I won't donate in the future.
That's funny. FAIR's chief advisor on religion, Robert P. George, is a Catholic who is considered the nation's leading Christian conservative thinker. He is also an effective and experienced right-wing activist who was deeply involved at a leadership and ideological level in the fight against same-sex marriage.
Only recently, FAIR featured Professor George in one of its monthly updates on the occasion of his receipt of a religious freedom award. In his acceptance speech, which was accessible via FAIR's update, Professor George wholeheartedly endorsed a particularly intolerant, right wing type of religion that views many of the hard-won rights of gay and lesbian Americans as an infringements on believers' religious freedom.
According to Professor George, gays' and lesbians' rights to access public accommodations without being discriminated against sometimes constitutes and infringement of his and his co-religionists' religious freedom. Their freedom of religion requires that gays and lesbians be treated as second-class citizens if, for example, they want a baker to make a wedding cake or wish to hire a web site designer to create a site for their wedding and both refuse because their religion opposes same-sex marriage.
That is not a left-leaning position. FAIR denies that it is taking a position, but when its principal religious advisor is engaged in waging a right-wing Christian culture war against gay people, it's difficult for FAIR to make a principled case for neutrality.
non-sequitur
Thank you for this ray of hope. I admit to some class resentment at the FIRE focus on higher ed while in the trenches of K-12 public schools teachers are forced to follow state DEI directives and impressionable children's worldviews are being indelibly molded into white colonizers versus the poc oppressed, the so called "Anti-racist" lens. Not all families can afford alternatives, so the truckers' kids, the cops' kids, the veterans' kids get subjected to this woke brainwashing on their moderate or conservative parents own tax dimes. It's undemocratic and literally anti-American. Please focus on solutions for K-12!
I really felt every part of what you were saying about your reasons. There are so many of us. I hope we continue to find one another. Thank you for sharing.