Having grown up in the imploding Soviet Union and moved countries eight times, I presently live in the US. “Unprecedented” describes most days in today’s America, but this morning has stunned me. Left me speechless. Which is exactly why I am trying to find some words for all who follow Changemakers’ Substack across 20+ countries.
NOTE: This is a PURELY AUDIO post. If you are not able to listen, please refer to the transcript.
In the middle of the night, a shooter went to the homes of two lawmakers in Minnesota and shot four people, killing a state representative with an astounding history of 20+ years in public service Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband and gravely injuring a state senator Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, who, we hope, pull through. It appears that the two lawmakers were on a “kill list” of politically motivated targets. For more, look up their names and/or visit New York Times coverage.
For many people, I’m the only person they know who has lived in a regime enabled by its intimidation of its people. Many of you have asked me to talk and write more about this as such regimes take hold all over the world. In fact, I dedicated this morning to just such a post, looking at the compounding evidence across the US and intent on threading the needle outside of partisan politics. Rather, through history of political regimes. Through social psychology. Through my lived experience as it happens to apply to this country as well as many if not most around the world today.
Then, these fatal shootings happened.
Here is my reflection on what is going on, how it fits into the historic and current political context, and what it means for those of us who value freedom.
Please let me know what resonates and what you’d like me to explore more in future posts. Thank you!
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