Willing to be a dweeb for democracy

I told Marz I was thinking of posting a quote from FDR in defense of democracy on my Instagram––because at the anniversary of the attack on the US Capitol by some of my fellow citizens, I was thinking how precious and precarious democracy is.

"I'm an old person", I said. "I can honestly say these sincere, old-fashioned things."

"You'll sound like a Karen," she said, but not unapprovingly. "Jimmy Carter said something like that about the attack on the Capitol."*

LOL. Yeah, okay. Though I'd say a dweeb, "a person socially inept or foolish, often on account of being overly studious."
But also, just taking it seriously.

I made this from FDR's "Rendezvous with Destiny" speech--his acceptance of the Democratic Party’s renomination for the 1936 presidential (re)election:

Full speech here.

I added:

Doesn't FDR sound like Gandalf here? Just replace "democracy" with "the shire".
It's like the exchange between Gandalf & Frodo:
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times.
But that is not for them to decide.
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

On the 1-year anniversary of the attack on the US Capitol by Americans, FDR's 1936 "rendezvous with destiny" speech reminds me this sort of threat keeps arising.

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The reason I love George Floyd Square is that the occupation is democratic:
the people who hold the square do so peacefully and representatives seek to negotiate with the city government to meet a list of demands they created with the neighborhood and concerned parties.

photo via


*Jimmy Carter on the anniversary of the insurrection:

"Our great nation now teeters on the brink of a widening abyss. Without immediate action, we are at genuine risk of civil conflict and losing our precious democracy. Americans must set aside differences and work together before it is too late."