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Singer/songwriter Candace Asher
Presenting 'This Country Tis of Thee'
Jul 23, 2024
As we approach another presidential election, less than 120 days away, uncivil, dysfunctional behaviors continue to divide the nation. Each side blaming the other is never going to unite us.
As the rancor and divide between Americans increases, we need to stop focusing on our differences. The Fulcrum underscores the imperative that we find the common bonds of our humanity — those can, do and must bind us together.
There are many examples in the American Songbook that brought folks together in previous times of great strife and discord, including “Imagine,” “Heal the World,” “Love Can Build a Bridge,” “The Great Divide” and, of course, “We Are the World.”
Presently, as political rhetoric and divisiveness grow worse than ever, The Fulcrum is offering a series featuring songs that we hope will unite us as a nation and remind us that our country stands on the founding premise that “We the People” can rise above divisiveness and gamesmanship. We will be featuring new songs that can inspire each of us to do our part and move our great nation forward, standing united.
The success of democracy rests on our abilities to harness the tensions of the day as we approach our differences as opportunities to learn and discover how to work together. This is the only way Americans will be able to fulfill our Constitution’s promise — namely the inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. For all.
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To kick off the series, we’re featuring a new song in support of democracy by New York/Nashville recording artist/songwriter Candace Asher. It’s called “This Country Tis of Thee.” Asher is internationally and critically acclaimed for several top five hits and airplay in 12 countries during the early 2000s. Then, in 2021, she charted from home mid-pandemic with an independent No. 1 song called “Don’t Lose Heart.”
In support of her self-titled debut CD on Germany’s Taxim Records, Asher’s soulful Americana-pop-country blend took her all across Europe. Now, The Fulcrum is excited to support her artistry here in the United States. We hope you’ll enjoy “This Country Tis of Thee.” David L. Nevins, co-publisher of The Fulcrum, co-wrote the song’s lyrics. Mark Schaffel produced all the tracks and, together with Asher and Nevins, produced the video headed to Youtube.
A consummate survivor, Asher always encourages friends and fans to keep pushing onward through life’s tough times. She describes life as a healing journey. She believes people not only deserve to work hard to make it in life, but that they also deserve to love what they do so they can enjoy their life journey. Not easy.
Nevins was taken by Asher’s voice, lyrics and music in her racial-justice song “Don’t Judge a Heart by its Color,” written about a knifepoint rape that she survived. Before long, Asher and Nevins began co-writing “This Country Tis of Thee” late 2023. Says Asher: “Working on this tune with David meant the world to me. We both wanted to capture the importance of this profound American moment — one that we all must responsibly seize. It’s arguably the presidential election that’ll define this nation’s future.”
Morris Effron and Brian Clancy, co-founders of Citizen Connect (which, like The Fulcrum is a project of the Bridge Alliance), listened to the song. Their reaction:
“‘This Country Tis of Thee’ calls out to every American to express their patriotism through positive action. Don’t sit on the sidelines: Don’t wait to get started. Find what a better American means to you and help make it a reality. This song’s call to action is the reason Citizen Connect exists.”
America has always been an exceptional country — for many reasons. From the outset its citizens saw themselves as participants in an experiment that would have implications for all of humankind. The journey that is the United States of America began 248 years ago with the motto e pluribus unum; out of many, we are one. In order for this motto to remain America’s foundational premise, “We the People” must become actively involved.
The lyrics to “This Country Tis of Thee” are Asher and Nevins’ call to action:
We are a nation trying to heal herself
We’re a nation who is we.
We’re a nation who has to make tough choices now
To remain the land of the free
We all hear the call from sea to signing sea
But leave it up to someone else to lead the way
When in fact it is up to each and one of us.
That’s the real American way
So what will you do? - What will you say ?
What stand will you take -- get started today
In each one of our dreams there is something we are trying to reach.
We must save this Democracy cause this country tis of thee.
Please listen to “This Country Tis of Thee” and let us know your thoughts.
This Country Tis of Theewww.youtube.com
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Thou shalt not lie: Why American history must be taught honestly
Jul 23, 2024
Carlis is the chief learning and impact officer for Acelero, Inc., a national for-profit early learning organization. She is a public voices fellow for racial justice in early childhood with The OpEd Project and The National Black Child Development Institute.
In a brazen assault on the separation of church and state, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) recently mandated the Ten Commandments be displayed in all public school classrooms. Not to be outdone, Oklahoma’s superintendent of schools directed all public schools to begin providing biblical education to students grades five through 12, effective immediately.
These thinly veiled attempts to impose Christian theology on a diverse student body are not only unconstitutional, they are deeply hypocritical. The same legislators making these demands are simultaneously working to require that teachers whitewash America's history of slavery and Jim Crow. If we are going to prominently display "Thou shalt not lie" in every classroom, shouldn't it apply first and foremost to the curriculum being taught inside those walls?
The hypocrisy of mandating religious displays while simultaneously requiring historical falsehoods is glaring. Apparently, Louisiana lawmakers believe some lies are okay. Untruths that preserve a genteel narrative palatable to white sensibilities are not just permissible, they may be required by law in their state now. History, while complex, need not be a source of shame. By confronting the darker chapters of our past — the brutal reality of slavery, the violence of segregation and the continued struggle for civil rights — we can equip our children with the knowledge to build a more just tomorrow.
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The cornerstone of a robust democracy is an informed citizenry. Yet, in Louisiana and across the country, lawmakers are pushing to sanitize the teaching of American history, particularly regarding America’s history of systemic racism. In its 2023 “State of Black America” report, the National Urban League identified 567 anti-critical-race-theory laws introduced in the United States. As of this year, 18 states have passed bans on teaching CRT and another nine have bills currently going through their legislatures. This misguided effort to shield students — primarily white students — from discomfort is a disservice to all and a danger to our collective future. Ignoring historical truths ensures we're doomed to repeat the mistakes of our past rather than learn from them.
This censorship robs students of the opportunity to understand the full scope of American resilience and progress. The story of America’s history of oppression is also a mosaic of resistance, reform and an ongoing fight for equality, by both white citizens and citizens of color. By obscuring this narrative, we deny students inspirational examples of American trailblazers who fought against injustice and changed the course of history.
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a public bus and catalyzed the Montgomery bus boycott, a spark that ignited the civil rights movement. John Brown, the white abolitionist, led an armed insurrection against slavery, ultimately giving his life for the cause of freedom. To erase their stories is to deprive our children of historical figures who exemplify the power we each have to shape our lives and change our world.
The purpose of education is not to make any one person or group comfortable, but to prepare all students to engage thoughtfully with the world as it is and to imagine what it can be. By teaching history in all its complexity, we give our children the tools to understand the present and shape a better future.
As we approach a critical election year, voters must prioritize educational integrity and vote for truth. We need leaders who understand that confronting our past honestly is not an act of national shame and self-flagellation, but a necessary step toward fulfilling our country's highest ideals of freedom and equality. Acknowledging our flaws doesn't diminish our greatness; it's a prerequisite for achieving it.
We must elect representatives who trust our children to grapple with complex truths and who believe in education’s ability to advance kindness, critical thinking and informed citizenship. Public schools should welcome students from all religious backgrounds (or none) and teach them the fullness of our history to see their promise and potential reflected in our nation’s past, present and future.
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The Supreme Court has put us on a path to ruin, writes Jamison.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Preventing the decline and fall of the American republic
Jul 23, 2024
Jamison is a retired attorney.
The Supreme Court has jettisoned the time-honored principle that no one is above the law. In its recent ruling in Trump v. United States, the court determined that a president of the United States who solicits and receives from a wealthy indicted financier a bribe of $500 million in return for a pardon cannot be criminally prosecuted for bribery. The pardon power, command of the armed forces, and apparently “overseeing international diplomacy” are, according to the court, “core” powers of the president which can be exercised in violation of the criminal laws without fear of criminal liability.
This is a fire alarm ringing in the night. Here’s why.
Nowhere does the Constitution suggest the president is immune from criminal liability. It is to the contrary, the Constitution provides that the president can be impeached and removed from office for “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” Article I, Section 3 provides in the relevant part that “Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.” (My emphasis.)
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In the bribery scenario, the impeached president can be removed from office, but the Supreme Court directly negates the Constitution by declaring he/she is immune from criminal prosecution.
The Constitution also provides that Congress, not the president, has the power to “provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions.” Congress has enacted the Insurrection Act under this authorization. That law allows the president to use the military within the nation under certain specified circumstances. Assume a president violates this act by sending armed “militia” into disfavored states to arrest politically disfavored state leaders, their supporters and other disfavored people. Or, suppose he/she also deliberately gives nation-threatening classified information to an enemy.
The Constitution states in the relevant part, “Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. … The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason.”
If a sufficient number of members of Congress support removal, Congress may remove the president for treason in levying war against certain states or for aiding an enemy, but the Supreme Court says the president is immune from the crime of treason despite the Constitution’s express statement that Congress determines the punishment for treason. If the president has a sufficient number of supporters in Congress who will block removal, there is no restraint at all on what this president might do.
In that event, under their oath to defend the Constitution, military leaders might step in to protect the Constitution, but the Supreme Court has declared in essence that the president’s criminal conduct is constitutional.
It was always understood that “no man is above the law.” The Supreme Court has trashed this once sacred principle and violated express provisions of the Constitution. The court’s reasoning seems obviously flawed. Criminal laws apply generally, are not aimed at the executive and act on the criminal act, not on constitutional authority. For example, the pardon is not the crime, the bribe is.
In obliterating the time-honored principle that no one is above the law, the court enables a despot. Unless reversed, the decision marks the beginning of the decline of the American republic toward its ultimate fall. History is instructive. Sulla’s violation in 88 BCE of the centuries-honored rule that the army could not enter the city of Rome marked the beginning of the abandonment of the Roman republic’s constitutional safeguards against tyranny, culminating with Julius Caesar’s dictatorship in 47 BCE.
The American people can protect their Constitution from a rogue Supreme Court and a rogue president. They must overwhelmingly vote for responsible House members and Senators in numbers sufficient to override presidential vetoes in both chambers of Congress, override or suitably modify the filibuster in the Senate, and, above all, to remove a dictator-president. Congress would also then be able to repeal or modify the Insurrection Act as might be needed pending or short of this president’s removal.
If a president who respects American law is elected, Congress would be able to add at least four new responsible justices to the Supreme Court, enlarging it from nine to 13. This hopefully would put a new majority of justices in position to overrule the recent decision.
Voters must answer the bell.
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Cindy Phillips stands by a shelf filled with family photos and Mexican-themed dolls. "Its a daily reminder of my heritage for me and my daughter," she said.
Lawrence Brooks IV/KCUR 89.3
After becoming an American citizen, this Kansas Citian is eager to vote in the 2024 election
Jul 23, 2024
Brooks is a race and culture reporter for KCUR.
Cindy Phillips, originally from Mexico City, became a U.S. citizen in December and registered to vote the very same day. She said systemic corruption in Mexican politics, including the murders of candidates and voters, make it dangerous to participate in democracy there.
“This sounds very stereotypical, But there are cartels taking over the country, and the government is not taking the right measures to control that,” Phillips said.
Escaping that situation is part of why she immigrated to the U.S. almost eight years ago. The other reason was to be with the man who is now her husband. What she’s learned since about the electoral impacts of immigrants like herself makes her feel American democracy is more open and transparent than back in Mexico.
“I’ve read that younger voters have had a huge impact on the election results,” she said. “So in my case, as a millennial, if I vote, I know my vote is going to count.”
Philips, who’s 35, represents a rapidly growing sector of the American electorate: immigrants who are newly naturalized citizens.
An estimated 3.5 million voting age adults have been naturalized in the U.S. since the 2020 election, according to the U.S. Immigration Policy Center at the University of California San Diego and the National Partnership for New Americans. And the number of immigrants who are eligible to vote has increased by 93% since 2000, according to a 2020 Pew Research Center study.
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Though the same Pew study points out new citizens tend to vote less than American-born citizens by around 8%, the number of new naturalized citizens in some swing states has surpassed the voting margin of recent election results.
In Arizona, where the 2020 presidential election was decided by 10,000 votes, more than 62,000 people became naturalized citizens between 2016 and 2020.
Phillips said the significance those voters have energizes her as she prepares to cast her first vote in the U.S.
“Voting is a right that we have. It wasn’t too long ago they made this a constitutional amendment so women and other minorities were able to vote,” said Phillips, who has lived in Kearney, Missouri, since 2021.
“So it’s something we should remember,” she said. “This is a symbol of our freedom.”
The senior editor for Hallmark Cards has worked mostly from home since the COVID pandemic, and it is partly how she’s adjusted to living in rural Missouri.
She says anti-immigrant rhetoric she’s encountered in her small community has been a culture shock, compared to more diverse cities she previously lived in, like Independence and Olathe.
“They can make some racist comments that I don’t agree with most of the time. I don’t want to mention anything because I don’t want to get in trouble or get into some controversy,” Phillips said of living in Kearney. “I just got tired of trying to educate people when they don’t understand some of the aspects, to be different in this country.”
Phillips also worries that the lack of diversity in Kearney’s schools and businesses may negatively affect her 4-year-old daughter, who was born in Merriam, Kansas.
“I’m trying to teach her about other minorities by reading her some books and teaching her that everybody looks different,” she said.
She admitted it can feel defeating at times, but Phillips isn’t dissuaded from talking with other immigrants about the significance of voting.
“It’s our responsibility to exercise this right and to make it count for us, because we matter,” she said. “Now we’re citizens, so we need to teach younger generations that this is very important, and it’s essential for our country.”
Pushback to progress
Immigrant voting rights have again become a hot button issue this election season, and American Civil Liberties Union’s Kansas Chapter leader Micah Kubic thinks Americans need to modernize their thinking about what voter disenfranchisement looks like.
“It’s not all Bull Connor and police dogs,” he said, referring to the infamous segregationist commissioner of Birmingham, Alabama, who ordered violent attacks against Martin Luther King Jr. and protesters in 1963. “Voter suppression is when we refuse to make materials available in languages other than English, when we know that it will boost voter turnout.”
Kubic also includes the fact that former President Donald Trump and others have since at least 2016 spread debunked theories about the number of noncitizens voting in American elections.
“The attacks that you see on democracy, especially these completely false, twisted ‘big lie’ attacks that tie immigration to it, are so, so harmful,” he said. “In addition to being factually wrong, they try to discourage people from participating by creating an environment of fear, harassment and intimidation.”
Still, Kubic said it’s common in his experience for the naturalized community to be politically active, since it takes an average of seven years to complete the citizenship process, depending on birth country.
“To do that you have to be super engaged. You have to be really aware of what’s going on in the world,” Kubic said. “And all of that leads, in general, to higher levels of civic engagement, including voting.”
According to a 2020 report from the National Partnership for New Americans, more than 5 million voting age immigrants became citizens between 2014 and 2020. And the Pew Research Center says 10%, or 23.2 million, of the eligible voters in the 2020 presidential election were naturalized citizens, a record high.
The path forward
In her suburban Kearney neighborhood, cut out of acres of fertile farmland, Phillips often reflects on the challenges of navigating the administrative pathway to citizenship.
She remembers living with the constant worry that sudden policy changes in Washington or Jefferson City or Topeka might make obtaining citizenship harder, or that simple legal issues like a traffic ticket could be considered crimes or a lack of moral standing by a court.
“Having that concern that at any given time they can just take your residency away because it’s subject to some conditions,” she said, “that was very stressful to me. So I wanted to do this for me, but mainly for my family, just to provide some security.”
Phillips is especially grateful for her legal status because she knows other immigrants may never get the opportunity to take the citizenship test, let alone pass it.
“It takes a lot of sacrifices and money and it’s a huge investment just to become an American citizen,” she said. “Once the ceremony was over, I felt very proud of myself.”
Phillips’ husband, who is a natural-born citizen, doesn’t share her passion for voting. She said he sometimes complains about issues like taxes and inflation, but doesn’t feel compelled to vote.
His attitude reinforces her ideas about Americans taking privileges like voting for granted. Still, it doesn’t affect her enthusiasm for making her voice heard.
“I just let it go because, I mean, you just pick your battles, right?” she said. “But I hope he votes in the upcoming elections.”
Phillips said she still doesn’t know who she’ll choose for president in November, but issues like education, health care and public safety will be top of mind when she goes to the polls.
“I’m excited because it will give me the opportunity to preserve the democracy of this country,” she said.
Cover Photo: Cindy Phillips stands by a shelf filled with family photos and Mexican-themed dolls she brings back to Kearney, Missouri, when she travels back to Mexico. “Its a daily reminder of my heritage for me and my daughter,” she said. (Lawrence Brooks IV/KCUR 89.3)
This article was first published on KCUR 89.3 and republished with permission.
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Vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance, standing next to former President Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention, said President Biden's campaign rhetoric "led directly to President Trump's attempted assassination."
Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Assassination attempt will fuel political extremism
Jul 22, 2024
Khalid is a physician, geostrategic analyst and freelance writer.
President Joe Biden’s initial response to the attack on Donald Trump, calling it “sick” and reaching out to his stricken adversary to express support, was commendable. Statements from other prominent Democrats, including former President Barack Obama and Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as notable Republicans like former President George W. Bush and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, echoed this sentiment of unity and concern.
In contrast, the response from some on the right — engaging in finger-pointing and blaming Democrats for their heated rhetoric — proved less productive. Vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance, for instance, asserted that Biden's campaign rhetoric "led directly to President Trump's attempted assassination," seemingly in reaction to recent comments from Biden suggesting, "It’s time to put Trump in a bullseye." This divisive rhetoric only exacerbates the political tension that already grips the nation. Instead of fostering unity, such accusations deepen the partisan divide.
Many hoped that Trump and his followers wouldn’t exploit this assassination attempt to blame Democrats for political violence in America, but social media is already aflame with such memes. Republican efforts now seem directed at getting the media to condemn Democrats whenever they highlight the GOP's association with violence.
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From Jan. 6 to Trump's jokes about the hammer attack on Paul Pelosi to his "very fine people" comment in Charlottesville, the pattern is clear. Having secured the fervent support of the GOP base in the wake of this attempt on his life, his new aim might be to attract swing voters by sounding reasonable. Such a strategy could also aid the GOP in countering Biden's critiques of Trump’s decade-long promotion of violence.
However, the question remains: Will the media join in condemning Democrats for normal campaign rhetoric while normalizing Trump's violent past? And will Biden and his campaign, along with progressive media, be silenced by the GOP's phony calls to "tone down the rhetoric"? The stakes in this political theater are high, and the fallout will shape the nation’s discourse.
The challenge lies in whether Biden and progressive media will bow to GOP pressure to temper their campaign rhetoric while Trump’s own history of incendiary language is normalized. The ongoing focus on Trump, with all its implications, highlights his extremism, legal issues and the far-right agenda outlined in Project 2025, a policy blueprint he has struggled to distance himself from. Democrats hope that this scrutiny might sway swing voters away from him.
The attempt on Trump's life reinforces his self-portrayal as a victim, a narrative he has cultivated since his 2020 re-election loss. He has consistently framed his legal battles as partisan attacks and even suggested that the 2022 FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago was a covert assassination attempt.
Trump’s base remains fiercely reactive to any perceived threats against him. Following his May conviction on felony charges in New York, his supporters called for violence against jurors and judges, and even riots. Similarly, at a recent rally, journalists reported aggressive behavior from Trump’s supporters, including threats, taunts and attempts to breach the media area. This volatile reaction underscores the dangerous climate surrounding Trump, where every incident is amplified into a political weapon, further fueling divisions in American politics.
Trump's reliance on conspiracy theories and divisive rhetoric has been a hallmark of his political strategy. However, in the wake of the recent shooting, it remains uncertain whether he will deter his base from such inflammatory tactics. This incident presents Trump with a crucial opportunity to prioritize national peace and security over personal ambition. A near-death experience might compel a shift in his approach, urging him to foster a more measured tone.
The potential consequences of Trump's response are significant. If he continues to incite his supporters, the nation could face increasingly dangerous repercussions. We've already witnessed the destructive impact of his rhetoric, as seen with the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot driven by fabricated claims of victimization. The recent shooting could herald a period of heightened peril if Trump does not moderate his influence. His reaction will be pivotal in determining whether this troubling trend towards political violence will escalate further or be curtailed.
The proliferation of conspiracy theories and apocalyptic rhetoric on the right has significantly contributed to the rise in violent acts. The attempted assassination could further inflame the radicalism that has been brewing. Saturday’s shooting was a close call with tragedy, narrowly avoiding what could have been one of the darkest days in American history. This incident marks a critical inflection point in the presidential race and the broader political climate.
It is highly likely that Trump will seize the recent assassination attempt as a prime political opportunity rather than a moment for genuine reflection. Instead of introspection, Trump will likely indulge his deep-seated self-image, turning to his own brand of heroism rather than any spiritual or moral reconsideration. Rather than seeking solace in religious texts, he may instead look to his persona as a larger-than-life figure, impervious to bullets and criticism alike.
Trump’s response is expected to exacerbate his existing rhetoric, doubling down on divisive narratives and conspiracies. By pandering to his evangelical base, he is poised to frame the attack as a testament to his divine protection, portraying himself as a heroic savior against alleged Democratic enemies. This manipulation of religious symbolism to bolster his position will only deepen the polarization within American politics.
His supporters will rally around this constructed martyrdom, elevating him to a mythic status that aligns with his grandiose self-image, while his advisors work to fine-tune this narrative to maximize political gain. This approach highlights a troubling trend of exploiting personal crises for political leverage.
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