Stay Alert in Moderation

Dear Leading Ladies,

Many of us continue to struggle with how to stay informed without becoming so anxious we can no longer function. It is tempting to completely turn away from the news, but how can we when decisions are being made that might destroy our form of government and harm the lives of millions? Yet, when is it okay to cry uncle and say we have had enough? And, if we want to limit our exposure, what are the best sources of honest reporting?

The organization Indivisible has created a list of member recommendations for accurate and responsible news sources. Below is the condensed version with a few edits of our own. Our recommendation is to start by picking one or two from each category and consult them once over the next two or three weeks to find which you like best. Then set a time limit for input every day (perhaps 60–90 minutes), creating a menu of sources for each day. Just as we limit screen time for ourselves and our children, we suggest that it is healthy to limit exposure to news, both in quality and time, but not to turn away entirely.

Credit: Roman Kraft on Unsplash

1. Independent Writers

2. Podcasts & New Media

3. Traditional & Mainstream News Outlets

4. Fact-Checking & Media-Bias Resources

5. Other Notable Mentions

6. Documentaries:

We keep looking for the right metaphor or analogy, but we’ve come short. Maybe there is none. What we do know from history is that bad things happen when good people don’t pay attention, speak up, or confront others with the truth. Reading the news won’t stop tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods. But enough people understanding the truth about the repercussions of dismantling the Department of Education and firing doctors at VA hospitals may encourage acts of courage by some people with power. Silence and ignorance surely won’t.

Before closing, we’d like to give kudos to a couple of inspiring people who spoke up at considerable risk in the past few days. First is Michael Roth, president of Wesleyan University in Connecticut.  While many presidents and administrators at colleges and universities are staying silent or marching in line behind Trump lest they lose funding, Roth had this to say last week: “This is the greatest pressure put on intellectual life since the McCarthy era. And I think it’ll be seen in the future, as that time was seen, as a time when people either stood up for their values or ran in fear of the federal government.” Roth said he is going public “because it’s a scandal that the federal government is trying to keep people from speaking their minds.”

And then there is Hampton Dellinger, the head of the Office of Special Counsel, an independent watchdog agency tasked with investigating and prosecuting workplace misconduct in the executive branch. Dellinger, after being fired by Trump, sued the government for wrongful termination. Though he dropped his case last week, fearing a long and difficult fight leading to the Supreme Court, Dellinger’s actions, which came at great personal risk, were instrumental in overturning the termination of several thousand working at the US Department of Agriculture.

Mssrs. Roth and Dellinger give us a little hope.

Tell us what gives you hope.

Therese (she/her/hers)

Judy (she/her/hers)

Didi (she/her/hers)

Leading Ladies Executive Team

Leadingladiesvote.org

ladies@leadingladiesvote.org

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