thenation--2020-04-30--Meet the New Flack for Oil and Gas: Michael Moore

For all of you who thought 2020 couldn ’ t get any weirder , here comes Planet of the Humans , the latest film from Michael Moore ( who produced and is doing the bulk of promotion for it ) , directed by Jeff Gibbs .
The film dropped April 21 as a YouTube freebie—presumably as an early gift for Earth Day .
Like many of Moore ’ s fans , I thought , “ Cool , how timely !
” Trump is in the White House ripping every environmental law to shreds , rolling back dozens of environmental rules @ @ @ @ @ @ @ climate change , and opening up millions of acres for fracking .
We need a movie on this complex and dramatic moment .
In the past 10 years , despite Trump ( and the not-so-environmentally-friendly Obama administration ) , the environmental movement has become a formidable , organized , paradigm-shifting game changer .
The achievements have been stunning : The codification and structuring of the Green New Deal , the Fossil Free movement championed by Bill McKibben and Naomi Klein , which has led to universities , pension funds , and foundations to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fossil fuels , huge advances in renewable energy efficiency , the proliferation of 100 percent renewable energy plans put forward by Stanford University Professor Mark Jacobson and others , a burgeoning youth movement inspired by Fridays for Future and Greta Thunberg ; the remarkable successes of the anti-fracking movement—which finally reached the mainstream , espoused by progressives like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez but also by moderates like Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg .
And the incredible civil disobedience uprising at Standing Rock against the Dakota Access Pipeline .
What a decade for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ celebration on film .
But after watching Planet of the Humans for about 10 minutes , I wanted to turn it off .
Instead , I took notes .
Because the film is so dangerous , so wildly off-track and full of misinformation , fossil fuel industry taking points , and unfounded , wacky statements you could be forgiven for thinking it was created by Breitbart News or Steve Bannon and not the erstwhile bastion of progressive bombast that is Michael Moore .
( As if to prove that the world is upside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scientist Michael Mann , Naomi Klein , and I came out with a sign-on letter protesting the film ’ s inaccuracies and falsehoods , Breitbart actually piped up in defense of Michael Moore ! )
What ’ s wrong with Planet of the Humans ?
To begin with , the film utterly ignores the new emboldened environmental movement .
Even more baffling , it totally ignores Trump .
Instead , it directs its attack on renewable energy and on the basic premise of all climate action and modern environmentalism : that humanity must @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The film even attacks and tries to demonize Bill McKibben , one of the most selfless and influential fighters for the climate over three decades .
With his latest film , Michael Moore has become the new darling of Breitbart and the frackers .
Meanwhile , the rest of us find ourselves once again mired in the false debates of a decade ago .
I realize that sounds insane .
Renewable energy—solar and wind , the most important energy innovations of this ( or any ) century , and which represent the only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ big fat sham .
According to Planet of the Humans , renewables are actually worse than fossil fuels .
There is an old saying in politics : “ As soon as you start explaining , you have lost.
” It becomes incredibly difficult to counter misinformation with a point by point rebuttal—even when you are trying to bring science to bear .
Any liar and propagandist knows this .
Even so , I feel obligated to address a few of the film ’ s more glaring falsehoods .
The film starts its descent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ozzie Zehner , who has attacked wind and solar energy and electric cars since the publication of his deeply misguided polemic Green Illusions nearly a decade ago .
( Oddly enough , Zehner is also one of the film ’ s producers . )
“ One of the most dangerous things right now is the illusion that alternative technologies , like wind and solar , are somehow different from fossil fuels.
” Zehner claims , as if he were a spokesperson for Exxon .
When visiting a solar facility , Zehner resorts to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fossil fuels to do this than you ’ re getting benefit from it .
You would have been better off just burning the fossil fuels ” Of course , this is utterly false .
Wind and solar are vastly better when it comes to emissions ( and every other environmental consideration ) .
These charts from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory show how energy coming from wind and solar and other renewables over their life cycle are not even close in emissions to fossil fuels .
The film gallops down a road of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gets worse .
In another scene , a solar panel array in Michigan is shown , and the panels are described as having less than 8 percent efficiency , “ If you happen to be NASA , and you happen to own a rover running around Mars , they have very efficient panels .
But we can ’ t afford those.
” The implication is that solar is wildly inefficient and the whole premise of solar power is a lie .
This interview is presented as being current .
But it isn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ either .
The panels shown are from a generation of solar dating to 2008 , when this site was constructed .
Today ’ s panels are vastly cheaper—and far more efficient .
This is like trotting out a gas-guzzling 1979 T-bird and ridiculing it—while pretending it is a Prius .
It is utter , deceitful nonsense .
It is also , I might add , utter journalistic malpractice .
When these solar panels were made , AOC was an undergraduate at Boston University , George W. Bush was president , and Greta Thunberg @ @ @ @ @ @ @ To show this interview as if it were current is a travesty .
Having misinformed its audience about solar , the film moves on to wind : “ You ’ ve got to have a fossil fuel power plant backing it up and idling 100 percent of the time , ” says an uncredited anti-wind protester .
And here we have the most egregious of the film ’ s false tropes : intermittency .
The fossil fuel industry and its shills loved to trot out this argument ( again , back in 2008–13 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sun doesn ’ t always shine , the wind doesn ’ t always blow , therefore renewable energy will always need a fossil fuel back up .
What about that ?
” Intermittency was a problem renewable energy scientists spent a lot of time figuring out a decade ago .
Thousands of renewable energy scientists , hundreds of peer-reviewed studies , and dozens of 100 percent renewable energy plans have been addressing this for nearly a decade .
But to Planet of the Humans , none of that work ever happened !
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ energy is a sham , it doesn ’ t work , it is a lie and an illusion .
And as if that weren ’ t bad enough , the film then spends the rest of its running time talking about biomass—burning wood , essentially , for energy .
Biomass is bad , bad , bad , it says !
The film goes on for what seems like an eternity “ exposing ” Bill McKibben for supposedly pushing biomass .
But McKibben has been on the record opposing it since at least 2016 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ biomass currently contributes just 1.4 percent of US energy—a small fraction of the amount from other renewable sources .
In the grand scheme of things , as Cornell scientist Tony Ingraffea put it to me , biomass is “ totally inconsequential.
” But here is the problem : Most people don ’ t know these things .
Renewable energy is still so new , so fast-changing that the facts about renewable energy are not universally known .
We still have far to go in teaching people the basics of renewable energy .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in appalling and deceitful ways .
Anyone well-versed in solar and wind or in the Green New Deal knows , within the first few minutes , that this film is false from the get-go .
Not only does renewable energy work , it is working like gangbusters .
Renewable energy has experienced exponential growth ; New York and California have rapidly expanding 100 percent renewable energy programs , and the wind and the sun are providing ever increasing amounts of power nationally and around the world .
The Green New Deal lays out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ transformation away from fossil fuels but a host of important transformations .
It outlines the retraining of fossil fuel workers , the creation of 20 million new jobs , delivering environmental justice and healing to frontline communities , and holding the fossil fuel industry accountable for the damage it has caused .
It is an intersectional call to justice .
Moore ’ s film ignores all of this and backs itself into a nihilistic , apocalyptic corner .
Then comes its most immoral and damning gambit : the claim that reducing the population @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We see old white male after old white male declaring there is no solution to climate change except reducing the population .
( With this many white guys , we can only guess which groups of people are supposed to stop reproducing . )
We are told to face up to our own apocalypse—that humans should “ know when it ’ s their time to go.
” The claim that it is all those overpopulated countries that are causing the problem ( especially coming from a boomer white guy in Michigan ) would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” times .
But in the middle of a global pandemic that is killing a disproportionate number of black and brown people , it is more than just racist .
It can be seen as an incitement to eco-fascist population controls .
We shouldn ’ t be surprised to see the pushers of population control and the oil industry on the same side .
But even this hides a much darker truth : The fossil fuel industry is already engaged in a form of population control—the murderous kind .
Air pollution from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million people a year .
Every year .
Jacobson and a team at The Solutions Project have conducted a worldwide study to measure the health effects of pollution .
They concluded that if the world moved to renewable energy the planet would collectively save $ 30 trillion in health care costs—and more than 5 million lives .
The fossil fuel industry is a global pandemic .
Pollution caused by the fossil fuels are also an inherent part of that other pandemic , the coronavirus .
From cancer alley in Louisiana to Queens , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country have far higher death rates from Covid-19 .
Lung disease and heart disease are at the top of the list of co-factors in coronavirus deaths—and these conditions are often related to pollution from fossil fuels .
Releasing this on the eve of Earth Day ’ s 50th anniversary is like Bernie Sanders endorsing Donald Trump while chugging hydroxychloroquine .
Planet of the Humans delivers all of the fossil fuel industry ’ s misinformation points tied up in a bow , sold to us by one of the progressive left ’ s loudest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ used by pro-fracking groups to attack renewable energy and environmentalists .
And there is one other beneficiary : Michael Moore .
Mike has had a lot of time to respond to these criticisms .
Instead , he ’ s chosen to stick cotton in his ears and continue to promote his campaign of falsehood and smears .
Advocating population control when poor people are dying in droves from the fossil fuel industry and the coronavirus is so insensitive it ’ s almost impossible to fathom .
It ’ s actually worse than the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Because we actually have a cure for the fossil fuel pandemic—the Green New Deal and renewable energy .
But instead of advocating this cure , Michael Moore wants you to join the doomsday death cult and drink the fracked Kool-Aid of the fossil fuel industry .
Please , Mike : Start listening to science , to reason , to the movement—and retract and apologize for this film .
To everyone else , don ’ t despair !
We have a future if we want one .
No amount of attention-grabbing bloviation from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stop the sun from shining , the wind from blowing—or the truth from coming to light .

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article has been updated to include additional links.
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For all of you who thought 2020 couldn’t get any weirder, here comes Planet of the Humans, the latest film from Michael Moore (who produced and is doing the bulk of promotion for it), directed by Jeff Gibbs. The film dropped April 21 as a YouTube freebie—presumably as an early gift for Earth Day.
Like many of Moore’s fans, I thought, “Cool, how timely!” Trump is in the White House ripping every environmental law to shreds, rolling back dozens of environmental rules, trashing the Paris Agreement, denying climate change, and opening up millions of acres for fracking. We need a movie on this complex and dramatic moment.
In the past 10 years, despite Trump (and the not-so-environmentally-friendly Obama administration), the environmental movement has become a formidable, organized, paradigm-shifting game changer. The achievements have been stunning: The codification and structuring of the Green New Deal, the Fossil Free movement championed by Bill McKibben and Naomi Klein, which has led to universities, pension funds, and foundations to commit to divesting trillions of dollars from fossil fuels, huge advances in renewable energy efficiency, the proliferation of 100 percent renewable energy plans put forward by Stanford University Professor Mark Jacobson and others, a burgeoning youth movement inspired by Fridays for Future and Greta Thunberg; the remarkable successes of the anti-fracking movement—which finally reached the mainstream, espoused by progressives like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez but also by moderates like Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg. And the incredible civil disobedience uprising at Standing Rock against the Dakota Access Pipeline. What a decade for the environmental movement! Those achievements deserve celebration on film.
But after watching Planet of the Humans for about 10 minutes, I wanted to turn it off. Instead, I took notes. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
Because the film is so dangerous, so wildly off-track and full of misinformation, fossil fuel industry taking points, and unfounded, wacky statements you could be forgiven for thinking it was created by Breitbart News or Steve Bannon and not the erstwhile bastion of progressive bombast that is Michael Moore. (As if to prove that the world is upside down, when world-renowned author and climate scientist Michael Mann, Naomi Klein, and I came out with a sign-on letter protesting the film’s inaccuracies and falsehoods, Breitbart actually piped up in defense of Michael Moore!) What’s wrong with Planet of the Humans? To begin with, the film utterly ignores the new emboldened environmental movement. Even more baffling, it totally ignores Trump.
Instead, it directs its attack on renewable energy and on the basic premise of all climate action and modern environmentalism: that humanity must end our addiction to fossil fuels. The film even attacks and tries to demonize Bill McKibben, one of the most selfless and influential fighters for the climate over three decades.
With his latest film, Michael Moore has become the new darling of Breitbart and the frackers. Meanwhile, the rest of us find ourselves once again mired in the false debates of a decade ago. Current Issue View our current issue
Planet of the Humans repeats a simple contrarian—and nonsensical—premise: Renewable energy doesn’t work.
I realize that sounds insane. Renewable energy—solar and wind, the most important energy innovations of this (or any) century, and which represent the only way civilization can possibly decarbonize—is just a big fat sham. According to Planet of the Humans, renewables are actually worse than fossil fuels.
There is an old saying in politics: “As soon as you start explaining, you have lost.” It becomes incredibly difficult to counter misinformation with a point by point rebuttal—even when you are trying to bring science to bear. Any liar and propagandist knows this.
As far as point by point scientific rebuttals of Planet of the Humans, here is a good one, and here is a virtual compendium of them. Still, I feel personally obligated to address a few of the film’s more glaring falsehoods. The film starts its descent into madness when producer/director Jeff Gibbs interviews Ozzie Zehner, who has attacked wind and solar energy and electric cars since the publication of his deeply misguided polemic Green Illusions nearly a decade ago. (Oddly enough, Zehner is also one of the film’s producers.)
“One of the most dangerous things right now is the illusion that alternative technologies, like wind and solar, are somehow different from fossil fuels.” Zehner claims, as if he were a spokesperson for Exxon. When visiting a solar facility, Zehner resorts to direct misinformation: “You use more fossil fuels to do this than you’re getting benefit from it. You would have been better off just burning the fossil fuels”
Of course, this is utterly false. Wind and solar are vastly better when it comes to emissions (and every other environmental consideration). These charts from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory show how energy coming from wind and solar and other renewables over their life cycle are not even close in emissions to fossil fuels. The film gallops down a road of lies and misinformation. And it only gets worse.
In another scene, a solar panel array in Michigan is shown, and the panels are described as having less than 8 percent efficiency, “If you happen to be NASA, and you happen to own a rover running around Mars, they have very efficient panels. But we can’t afford those.” The implication is that solar is wildly inefficient and the whole premise of solar power is a lie.
This interview is presented as being current. But it isn’t—and the solar panels aren’t either. The panels shown are from a generation of solar dating to 2008, when this site was constructed. Today’s panels are vastly cheaper—and far more efficient. This is like trotting out a gas-guzzling 1979 T-bird and ridiculing it—while pretending it is a Prius. It is utter, deceitful nonsense.
It is also, I might add, utter journalistic malpractice. When these solar panels were made, AOC was an undergraduate at Boston University, George W. Bush was president, and Greta Thunberg hadn’t even entered kindergarten. To show this interview as if it were current is a travesty.
Having misinformed its audience about solar, the film moves on to wind: “You’ve got to have a fossil fuel power plant backing it up
and idling 100 percent of the time,” says an uncredited anti-wind protester.
And here we have the most egregious of the film’s false tropes: intermittency. The fossil fuel industry and its shills loved to trot out this argument (again, back in 2008–13) saying, “Well, the sun doesn’t always shine, the wind doesn’t always blow, therefore renewable energy will always need a fossil fuel back up. What about that?”
Intermittency was a problem renewable energy scientists spent a lot of time figuring out a decade ago. Thousands of renewable energy scientists, hundreds of peer-reviewed studies, and dozens of 100 percent renewable energy plans have been addressing this for nearly a decade. But to Planet of the Humans, none of that work ever happened!
The film’s overwhelming message: Renewable energy is a sham, it doesn’t work, it is a lie and an illusion.
And as if that weren’t bad enough, the film then spends the rest of its running time talking about biomass—burning wood, essentially, for energy. Biomass is bad, bad, bad, it says!
The film goes on for what seems like an eternity “exposing” Bill McKibben for supposedly pushing biomass. But McKibben has been on the record opposing it since at least 2016. Also, for the record, biomass currently contributes just 1.4 percent of US energy—a small fraction of the amount from other renewable sources. In the grand scheme of things, as Cornell scientist Tony Ingraffea put it to me, biomass is “totally inconsequential.”
But here is the problem: Most people don’t know these things. Renewable energy is still so new, so fast-changing that the facts about renewable energy are not universally known. We still have far to go in teaching people the basics of renewable energy. And the film trades on this widespread ignorance in appalling and deceitful ways.
Anyone well-versed in solar and wind or in the Green New Deal knows, within the first few minutes, that this film is false from the get-go. Not only does renewable energy work, it is working like gangbusters. Renewable energy has experienced exponential growth; New York and California have rapidly expanding 100 percent renewable energy programs, and the wind and the sun are providing ever increasing amounts of power nationally and around the world.
The Green New Deal lays out not only the route to a rapid transformation away from fossil fuels but a host of important transformations. It outlines the retraining of fossil fuel workers, the creation of 20 million new jobs, delivering environmental justice and healing to frontline communities, and holding the fossil fuel industry accountable for the damage it has caused. It is an intersectional call to justice.
Moore’s film ignores all of this and backs itself into a nihilistic, apocalyptic corner. Then comes its most immoral and damning gambit: the claim that reducing the population is among the only effective remedies.
We see old white male after old white male declaring there is no solution to climate change except reducing the population. (With this many white guys, we can only guess which groups of people are supposed to stop reproducing.) We are told to face up to our own apocalypse—that humans should “know when it’s their time to go.”
The claim that it is all those overpopulated countries that are causing the problem (especially coming from a boomer white guy in Michigan) would be deeply problematic even in “normal” times. But in the middle of a global pandemic that is killing a disproportionate number of black and brown people, it is more than just racist. It can be seen as an incitement to eco-fascist population controls.
We shouldn’t be surprised to see the pushers of population control and the oil industry on the same side. But even this hides a much darker truth: The fossil fuel industry is already engaged in a form of population control—the murderous kind. Air pollution from the fossil fuel industry kills a staggering 5-7 million people a year. Every year. Jacobson and a team at The Solutions Project have conducted a worldwide study to measure the health effects of pollution. They concluded that if the world moved to renewable energy the planet would collectively save $30 trillion in health care costs—and more than 5 million lives.
The fossil fuel industry is a global pandemic. Pollution caused by the fossil fuels are also an inherent part of that other pandemic, the coronavirus. From cancer alley in Louisiana to Queens, New York—the most polluted areas in the country have far higher death rates from Covid-19. Lung disease and heart disease are at the top of the list of co-factors in coronavirus deaths—and these conditions are often related to pollution from fossil fuels.
Releasing this on the eve of Earth Day’s 50th anniversary is like Bernie Sanders endorsing Donald Trump while chugging hydroxychloroquine. Planet of the Humans delivers all of the fossil fuel industry’s misinformation points tied up in a bow, sold to us by one of the progressive left’s loudest voices.
Who benefits?
The film is already being used by pro-fracking groups to attack renewable energy and environmentalists. And there is one other beneficiary: Michael Moore.
Mike has had a lot of time to respond to these criticisms. Instead, he’s chosen to stick cotton in his ears and continue to promote his campaign of falsehood and smears.
Advocating population control when poor people are dying in droves from the fossil fuel industry and the coronavirus is so insensitive it’s almost impossible to fathom. It’s actually worse than the snake oil Donald Trump peddles about Covid-19. Because we actually have a cure for the fossil fuel pandemic—the Green New Deal and renewable energy. But instead of advocating this cure, Michael Moore wants you to join the doomsday death cult and drink the fracked Kool-Aid of the fossil fuel industry.
Please, Mike: Start listening to science, to reason, to the movement—and retract and apologize for this film.
To everyone else, don’t despair! We have a future if we want one. No amount of attention-grabbing bloviation from Trump, Breitbart, or Moore will stop the sun from shining, the wind from blowing—or the truth from coming to light.


thenation--2020-04-30--If Woody Guthrie Were Singing Now About the Postal Service

Looks like we ’ re on the cusp of another Great Depression , and we ’ ve got a president who is worse than Herbert Hoover .
But we still have our troubadours , just as struggling Americans did 80 years ago .
And some of them recognize that Woody Guthrie was right when he said , “ It ’ s a folk singer ’ s job to comfort disturbed people and to disturb the comfortable.
” That ’ s what Joe Troop does in a new song that speaks to the moment .
It ’ s topical and specific @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and his compatriots in the 1930s and 1940s .
The title : “ A Plea to the US Government to Fully Fund the Postal Service.
” Congress Desperately Needs to Call Out Trump ’ s Authoritarianism The comfortable have long been scheming to dismantle the United States Postal Service , and they see an opening in the coronavirus pandemic that has wrecked havoc on the country .
The Washington Post reported last week that the Trump administration has considered “ leveraging ” a $ 10 billion emergency loan to USPS to force radical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s a power grab to destroy the public Postal Service , ” warns American Postal Workers Union President Mark Dimondstein , who says , “ The Post ’ s reporting confirms what our union has long known : This Administration is committed to fulfilling the decades-long pursuit by some to sacrifice our public Postal Service at the altar of private profit.
” The hope for stopping the cuts and saving the USPS rests with Congress .
There are plenty of House Democrats who are ready to act , along with senators such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t happen unless a few Republican senators decide to break with Trump and do the right thing .
For that to happen , voters in red states—especially rural voters—must make themselves heard .
Enter RuralOrganizing.org , the remarkable campaign to mobilize progressives in farm country and small-town America .
The group has been all in for saving the postal service because , as Executive Director Matthew Hildreth says , “ Especially in rural areas , people use the mail .
They value postal workers .
People are locked in their homes and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the only person they see is their letter carrier.
” RuralOrganizing.org ’ s campaign to “ Fully Fund the United States Postal Service ” has , says Hildreth , turned into “ by far the biggest thing we ’ ve done.
” As of Thursday , 370,000 people have signed the group ’ s petition to President Trump , Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell , and members of Congress .
Thirty thousand rural activists have agreed to send handwritten letters with “ Save the Postal Service ” messages .
All the campaign needed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out to Troop , a fiddler and banjo player with Che Apalache , a boundary-breaking multinational group that recently earned a Grammy nomination for its vibrant mix of bluegrass , folk , Latin music , and politics .
Troop explained the group ’ s vision in a brilliant essay he wrote last year for No Depression : The overarching mission of Che Apalache is to imagine new spaces for unity and to challenge false narratives .
We reject the notion that white Southerners and Latin Americans can ’ t inhabit the same spaces @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fallen into the clutches of this narrative , hence the splattering of Confederate flags at many festivals .
When even musical gatherings become a safe space for white nationalism , division-based politics have achieved their goals .
But when two Argentinians , a Mexican , and a North Carolinian sing four-part a cappella gospel against the border wall , or when we cultivate an empathetic view of a DACA Dreamer through bluegrass , we like to think we ’ re dismantling this narrative .
The day of the 2017 Unite the Right Rally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fields Jr. murdered Heather Heyer as he drove a car into a crowd of peaceful protesters—Che Apalache was at the Old Fiddler ’ s Convention in Galax .
The band competition was that evening , and we decided to perform our song “ The Wall.
” There aren ’ t many young bluegrass groups that sing four-part gospel these days , and there are even fewer , if any , bluegrass gospel songs that denounce white nationalism .
As soon as we launched into the song , we could sense the crowd ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ style of singing immediately resonates with people .
But the content of our lyrics challenged the area ’ s pervasive status quo .
When we got to the part about tearing down the wall , many people cheered in support , while a few got up in arms , but many others just kept listening attentively , figuratively scratching their heads .
Music disrupts expectations .
Hilldreth thought Troop could pen the right song about saving the postal service .
Congress Must Stand Up to the White House and Deliver Relief to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Holed up in his native North Carolina , he wrote about all the people waiting on checks in the mail and about the rural letter carriers who deliver it : “ So many men and women out risking their poor lives / Delivering goods to our front doors despite these troubled times / They make the rounds to bring us mail , they work come rain or shine / and now it seems the government is leaving them behind.
” Troop even raised the issue of how the postal service is essential to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ democracy : I too have lost my livelihood , I ’ m struggling day by day Ole Uncle Sam won ’ t bail me out , while corporate crooks are saved In times like these it ’ s fair to say we ’ ll need new ways to vote But if the Postal Service dies , my friends , that ’ s all she wrote They ’ re well aware of what ’ s to come and chose to do us wrong If the US Postal Service dies , our right to vote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for us to make demands , before it is too late So , fully fund the US Postal Service for God ’ s sake !
Troop ’ s video of the tune closes with an appeal to North Carolina ’ s senators to honor postal workers by saving the USPS .
“ Hey , y ’ all , I ’ m here in North Carolina , and mostly staying inside , not seeing too many people , ” he says .
“ But you know who I see every day is the person @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are out there on the front lines , courageously providing us a lifeline .
And , despite what Donald Trump says , that ’ s no laughing matter .
It ’ s deadly serious.
” If you are inclined to heed the call , check the bottom of the drawer .
Maybe you ’ ve still got a couple of the stamps the USPS issued in 1998 to honor Woody Guthrie—the great champion of workers who wrote a song titled “ Mailman , ” and another titled “ Mail Myself to You.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a letter demanding that senators “ Fully Fund the United States Postal Service .
”

Looks like we’re on the cusp of another Great Depression, and we’ve got a president who is worse than Herbert Hoover.
So things aren’t looking good.
But we still have our troubadours, just as struggling Americans did 80 years ago. And some of them recognize that Woody Guthrie was right when he said, “It’s a folk singer’s job to comfort disturbed people and to disturb the comfortable.”
That’s what Joe Troop does in a new song that speaks to the moment. It’s topical and specific, like the best songs by Guthrie and his compatriots in the 1930s and 1940s. The title: “A Plea to the US Government to Fully Fund the Postal Service.” More From John Nichols A GOP Debate Without Trump Is the Definition of Pointlessness August 11, 2023 A Win for Abortion Rights, a Win for Democracy: Ohio Voters Reject Issue 1 August 9, 2023 The Biggest Threat to Donald Trump Could Be the Constitution Itself August 4, 2023
The comfortable have long been scheming to dismantle the United States Postal Service, and they see an opening in the coronavirus pandemic that has wrecked havoc on the country. The Washington Post reported last week that the Trump administration has considered “leveraging” a $10 billion emergency loan to USPS to force radical restructuring and devastating cuts.
“It’s a power grab to destroy the public Postal Service,” warns American Postal Workers Union President Mark Dimondstein, who says, “The Post’s reporting confirms what our union has long known: This Administration is committed to fulfilling the decades-long pursuit by some to sacrifice our public Postal Service at the altar of private profit.”
The hope for stopping the cuts and saving the USPS rests with Congress. There are plenty of House Democrats who are ready to act, along with senators such as Bernie Sanders. But this won’t happen unless a few Republican senators decide to break with Trump and do the right thing. For that to happen, voters in red states—especially rural voters—must make themselves heard. Current Issue View our current issue
Enter RuralOrganizing.org, the remarkable campaign to mobilize progressives in farm country and small-town America. The group has been all in for saving the postal service because, as Executive Director Matthew Hildreth says, “Especially in rural areas, people use the mail. They value postal workers. People are locked in their homes and, for a lot of people, the only person they see is their letter carrier.” Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
RuralOrganizing.org’s campaign to “Fully Fund the United States Postal Service” has, says Hildreth, turned into “by far the biggest thing we’ve done.” As of Thursday, 370,000 people have signed the group’s petition to President Trump, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, and members of Congress. Thirty thousand rural activists have agreed to send handwritten letters with “Save the Postal Service” messages. All the campaign needed was a song, so Hildreth reached out to Troop, a fiddler and banjo player with Che Apalache, a boundary-breaking multinational group that recently earned a Grammy nomination for its vibrant mix of bluegrass, folk, Latin music, and politics.
Troop explained the group’s vision in a brilliant essay he wrote last year for No Depression:
The overarching mission of Che Apalache is to imagine new spaces for unity and to challenge false narratives. We reject the notion that white Southerners and Latin Americans can’t inhabit the same spaces. Bluegrass as a genre has partly fallen into the clutches of this narrative, hence the splattering of Confederate flags at many festivals. When even musical gatherings become a safe space for white nationalism, division-based politics have achieved their goals. But when two Argentinians, a Mexican, and a North Carolinian sing four-part a cappella gospel against the border wall, or when we cultivate an empathetic view of a DACA Dreamer through bluegrass, we like to think we’re dismantling this narrative. The day of the 2017 Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia—the day James Alex Fields Jr. murdered Heather Heyer as he drove a car into a crowd of peaceful protesters—Che Apalache was at the Old Fiddler’s Convention in Galax. The band competition was that evening, and we decided to perform our song “The Wall.” There aren’t many young bluegrass groups that sing four-part gospel these days, and there are even fewer, if any, bluegrass gospel songs that denounce white nationalism. As soon as we launched into the song, we could sense the crowd’s enthusiasm. In Southwestern Virginia that style of singing immediately resonates with people. But the content of our lyrics challenged the area’s pervasive status quo. When we got to the part about tearing down the wall, many people cheered in support, while a few got up in arms, but many others just kept listening attentively, figuratively scratching their heads. Music disrupts expectations.
Hilldreth thought Troop could pen the right song about saving the postal service. Postal Service Congress Must Stand Up to the White House and Deliver Relief to the Postal Service Katrina vanden Heuvel
Troop did just that. Holed up in his native North Carolina, he wrote about all the people waiting on checks in the mail and about the rural letter carriers who deliver it: “So many men and women out risking their poor lives / Delivering goods to our front doors despite these troubled times / They make the rounds to bring us mail, they work come rain or shine / and now it seems the government is leaving them behind.”
Troop even raised the issue of how the postal service is essential to establishing the vote-by-mail structures that can sustain democracy:
I too have lost my livelihood, I’m struggling day by day Ole Uncle Sam won’t bail me out, while corporate crooks are saved
In times like these it’s fair to say we’ll need new ways to vote
But if the Postal Service dies, my friends, that’s all she wrote They’re well aware of what’s to come and chose to do us wrong
If the US Postal Service dies, our right to vote is gone. It’s time for us to make demands, before it is too late
So, fully fund the US Postal Service for God’s sake!
Troop’s video of the tune closes with an appeal to North Carolina’s senators to honor postal workers by saving the USPS. “Hey, y’all, I’m here in North Carolina, and mostly staying inside, not seeing too many people,” he says. “But you know who I see every day is the person who delivers my mail. Postal workers are out there on the front lines, courageously providing us a lifeline. And, despite what Donald Trump says, that’s no laughing matter. It’s deadly serious.”
If you are inclined to heed the call, check the bottom of the drawer. Maybe you’ve still got a couple of the stamps the USPS issued in 1998 to honor Woody Guthrie—the great champion of workers who wrote a song titled “Mailman,” and another titled “Mail Myself to You.” They’d sure look nice on a letter demanding that senators “Fully Fund the United States Postal Service.”


thenation--2020-04-30--Where I Live, the Pandemic Can Feel Remote

Here in my village in rural New York state , it ’ s sometimes hard to remember that we are living through a pandemic .
If only six cars an hour pass my house near the village center rather than the usual 12 , there ’ s not enough of a difference to notice .
If the best the biweekly local paper can do by way of coronavirus news is to report on the death of a woman who grew up here that may have been caused by the virus , that ’ s a pretty good indication that Covid-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Yes , there is higher unemployment here , as everywhere , but in an area where many people work at the local ski resorts in the winter and in lawn care or construction in the summer , layoffs are a fact of life .
And yes , working parents ’ lives may have become harder than usual , but the small number of ads for babysitters on our community bulletin board suggests that , with the help of extended families ( which are the norm here ) , most of them are coping @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the sense that nothing much has changed : Instead of moving on to spring , we ’ re still experiencing frequent dustings of snow .
The red buds on the maple tree outside my office window look exactly as they did a month ago , and if it weren ’ t for the sight of so many robins , I could easily imagine that we were in early March rather than at the end of April .
I mention all of this because I ’ ve been thinking a lot lately about the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rural America are experiencing Covid-19 .
For the most part , it seems to me , it ’ s a reflection of the number of serious cases .
To date , only five people in our county of about 50,000 have died of the virus , and the hospital that serves us and one other county has just laid off 125 employees because there ’ s not enough for them to do .
Whereas just a month ago the hospital was planning to increase bed capacity by 65 percent to help deal with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ waiting to be told it can resume elective procedures .
The Coronavirus Strike Wave Could Shift Power to Workers—for Good What the Pandemic Looks Like in Rural New York More in this series The differences between city and country life during the pandemic extend to government as well .
I watch Governor Andrew Cuomo ’ s coronavirus briefing almost every day and hear him talk about the need for more testing and more equipment , and about the meetings he ’ s convening to coordinate business-reopening strategies .
These are weighty matters involving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the state .
In contrast , I listened to a call-in town board meeting a few nights ago during which there was hardly a mention of the coronavirus .
Instead , there was a lengthy debate about how many parking places a new small business should be required to supply , along with the usual reports by the roads crew and the police department .
One member of the all-Republican board proposed some sort of regular e-mail to residents to let them know how the virus was affecting the town , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and left it to her to try to implement her idea .
So far , everyone around here seems to be accepting pretty much everything that the state has mandated : school closings , social distancing , and a shutdown of all but essential businesses .
In large part , I think , that ’ s because Cuomo , who in his 2018 reelection bid got only half as many votes in this county as his Republican opponent , has proven so effective in convincing people that we have no other choice .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ what will happen if this goes on for another few weeks .
Will there be an upsurge in the currently small number of local Facebook posts objecting to the state ’ s mandates ?
Will more and more people start ignoring those directives on the grounds that they don ’ t really apply to us ?
Even if Trump continues to bumble the federal government ’ s response to the crisis , could that mean increased support for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden , or might it further convince my neighbors that government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out of touch ?
It ’ s too soon to make predictions about anything having to do with the virus .
I ’ m keeping my fingers crossed that rural areas like mine don ’ t suddenly see a jump in infections , and that in the longer-term issues like the need for better rural broadband—which would mean that all kids could participate in online schooling—will finally get the attention they deserve .
For the time being , though , it feels like we ’ re just bit players , milling around offstage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forward .

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Nation believes that helping readers stay informed about the impact of the coronavirus crisis is a form of public service. For that reason, this article, and all of our coronavirus coverage, is now free. Please subscribe to support our writers and staff, and stay healthy.
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Here in my village in rural New York state, it’s sometimes hard to remember that we are living through a pandemic. If only six cars an hour pass my house near the village center rather than the usual 12, there’s not enough of a difference to notice. If the best the biweekly local paper can do by way of coronavirus news is to report on the death of a woman who grew up here that may have been caused by the virus, that’s a pretty good indication that Covid-19 isn’t exactly running rampant.
Yes, there is higher unemployment here, as everywhere, but in an area where many people work at the local ski resorts in the winter and in lawn care or construction in the summer, layoffs are a fact of life. And yes, working parents’ lives may have become harder than usual, but the small number of ads for babysitters on our community bulletin board suggests that, with the help of extended families (which are the norm here), most of them are coping.
Even the weather seems to reflect the sense that nothing much has changed: Instead of moving on to spring, we’re still experiencing frequent dustings of snow. The red buds on the maple tree outside my office window look exactly as they did a month ago, and if it weren’t for the sight of so many robins, I could easily imagine that we were in early March rather than at the end of April.
I mention all of this because I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the very different ways in which urban and rural America are experiencing Covid-19. For the most part, it seems to me, it’s a reflection of the number of serious cases. To date, only five people in our county of about 50,000 have died of the virus, and the hospital that serves us and one other county has just laid off 125 employees because there’s not enough for them to do. Whereas just a month ago the hospital was planning to increase bed capacity by 65 percent to help deal with the crisis, now it’s waiting to be told it can resume elective procedures. All Politics Is Local My Neighbors Certainly Didn’t Celebrate Biden’s Win, but They Also Didn’t Publicly Mourn Trump’s Loss Karen Rothmyer Trump’s Response to Losing the Vote Calvin Trillin One Black Lives Matter Protest in Rural New York Opens the Door to Change Karen Rothmyer
The differences between city and country life during the pandemic extend to government as well. I watch Governor Andrew Cuomo’s coronavirus briefing almost every day and hear him talk about the need for more testing and more equipment, and about the meetings he’s convening to coordinate business-reopening strategies. These are weighty matters involving the most knowledgeable scientists and statistical experts in the state.
In contrast, I listened to a call-in town board meeting a few nights ago during which there was hardly a mention of the coronavirus. Instead, there was a lengthy debate about how many parking places a new small business should be required to supply, along with the usual reports by the roads crew and the police department. One member of the all-Republican board proposed some sort of regular e-mail to residents to let them know how the virus was affecting the town, but the other members showed only half-hearted interest and left it to her to try to implement her idea.
So far, everyone around here seems to be accepting pretty much everything that the state has mandated: school closings, social distancing, and a shutdown of all but essential businesses. In large part, I think, that’s because Cuomo, who in his 2018 reelection bid got only half as many votes in this county as his Republican opponent, has proven so effective in convincing people that we have no other choice. Current Issue View our current issue
But it’s hard to know what will happen if this goes on for another few weeks. Will there be an upsurge in the currently small number of local Facebook posts objecting to the state’s mandates? Will more and more people start ignoring those directives on the grounds that they don’t really apply to us? Even if Trump continues to bumble the federal government’s response to the crisis, could that mean increased support for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, or might it further convince my neighbors that government at every level is hopelessly incompetent and out of touch?
It’s too soon to make predictions about anything having to do with the virus. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that rural areas like mine don’t suddenly see a jump in infections, and that in the longer-term issues like the need for better rural broadband—which would mean that all kids could participate in online schooling—will finally get the attention they deserve.
For the time being, though, it feels like we’re just bit players, milling around offstage while the main actors push the drama forward.


thenation--2020-04-30--The Men Pushing to Open the Economy Clearly Don’t Need Child Care

I don ’ t need the Waffle House reopened .
I ’ m comfortable enough in my own body that I don ’ t need to go to the barber shop , or the gym .
I don ’ t need to go to the movies , because I live in the future and have subscriptions to approximately 18,000 streaming services .
What I need is for somebody to come take my children .
A school bus .
A babysitter .
A freaking traveling circus .
It doesn ’ t really matter .
My economy can not “ reopen , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ normal ” for me , until fully functional child care comes back on line .
I ’ m not the only one , but if you listen to various state governors or the president of the United States , you ’ d think that the only parts of the country that need to be reopened are businesses and churches .
Politicians want people to get back to work as soon as possible , but they seem to have no idea that without child care , a huge swath of the workforce will remain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this writing , 43 states have closed schools through the end of the academic year .
That list does not include New York state , where Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio continue to joust over the issue .
But if you are a tri-state area resident who expects to send your kid to school before the fall , I have a bridge in Brooklyn I ’ d like to sell you .
For most families , there is no child care without school .
In America , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or subsidized child care our government provides .
Without reliable , affordable , and Covid-free child care , going back to work is simply not an option for many parents .
The school closings only deepen a reoccurring problem most parents face : the summer .
In a society that has decided to outsource child care responsibilities to the school system , the fact that this system goes on an annual months-long holiday is already a nightmare for working parents .
Now , the coronavirus pandemic is blowing apart the kinds of summer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Summer school is not happening .
Summer camp is not happening .
Summer youth sports leagues are not happening .
The coronavirus makes it dangerous to dump your little disease vectors with their grandparents .
Where the hell are parents supposed to put their kids during long summer days when they ’ re supposed to go back to work ?
Middle- to upper-income families may be able to find babysitters or nannies once sheltering-in-place orders relax .
But lower-income families—the families who most desperately need as many wage earners as possible in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I ’ ve seen a number of stories explaining how gym owners in Georgia plan to reopen while following social distancing protocols .
But I haven ’ t seen a single day care provider explain—or even be asked to explain—how social distancing is supposed to work with a bunch of 10-year-olds .
That ’ s probably because child care providers still haven ’ t solved the age-old problem of “ Stop touching me !
” As it is , the child care facilities that are still operating are facing immense challenges .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ essential workers are struggling to find cleaning supplies .
And they can ’ t take in children who have any kind of illness , even if it ’ s likely that a child ’ s running nose is just the result of seasonal allergies .
Working parents already hoard their sick days ( if they ’ re lucky enough to have them ) to cover a child ’ s illness instead of their own .
I don ’ t think this country has thought through what would be required to make it feasible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stay home when they ’ re feeling ill .
Businesses might be desperate to resume making profits , but I don ’ t see them clamoring to give out uncapped sick days to their workers .
Rushing to reopen the consumer economy without having a solid plan to reopen , and subsidize , the child care economy is madness .
But it ’ s not entirely surprising when you consider that so much of our society still functions on the presumption of two-parent families in which one parent doesn ’ t have a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we ’ re trapped in a mid–20th century sitcom , where one person is expected to have a job and the other person is expected to be an all-powerful genie with lots of time on her hands .
We ’ ve seen the proof of our anachronistic ideas about child care throughout the pandemic .
The needs of single parents have largely been ignored during “ flatten the curve ” policy-making .
And every day there seems to be a new story about all the ways homeschooling is crushing working parents , because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being any other kind of full-time employee , even if you are working from home .
At least working from home gives parents the opportunity to try to serve two masters .
Going back to in-person work , without access to child care , will force families to make terrible decisions , at a time when nearly everybody feels the threat of layoffs and unemployment breathing down their necks .
If you are lucky enough to still have a job at one of these businesses that is reopening , how can you tell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work to take care of your kids ?
Most people can ’ t bring their children to work , and even if they can , have you ever tried to get a kid to keep a face mask on ?
Most kids can ’ t last through Halloween wearing a mask all night .
The feats of strength and juggling that some states are asking working parents to do as they “ phase in ” reopening simply can ’ t be done if you have a youngster .
I can only assume that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Covid-induced child care crisis has been so nonexistent is because the consequences fall primarily on women .
When the demands of the economy conflict with the needs of our children , women are expected to figure it out .
Women are expected to mental-load the schedules and invent the solutions .
Women are expected to be everywhere at once .
And women are blamed if they miss the meeting—even when the useless business meeting and the useless school assembly meeting are happening at the exact same time .
There ’ s already some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disparity is taking on professional women , and we ’ ve only been without schools for a few weeks .
In academia , we ’ re already seeing that journal submissions authored solely by women are down , while solo-authored male submissions are actually up .
The pandemic exacerbates gender inequalities still too common in domestic life , at the same time as it strips away supports women rely on to manage that unfairness .
If women do most of the cooking , families can no longer supplement that domestic labor with trips @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most of the house cleaning , fortunate families can no longer supplement that work with domestic service providers , and many people have probably noticed that the house gets a lot messier when nobody can ever leave it .
Working parents have more domestic work to do during the crisis , and yet have exactly the same amount of professional work to accomplish .
That burden is falling more heavily on women , and it seems like employers and politicians don ’ t even notice .
The Heartbreaking Choices Faced by Child Care @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Felt Like a ‘ Single ’ Parent .
Then the Coronavirus Hit .
Congratulations , Your Kids Are Now Your Coworkers More in this series The government must put working parents , especially parents in the “ primary caregiver ” seat , in a position to succeed .
These reopening plans fail to show even a cursory appreciation for the practical challenges working parents are facing during the pandemic .
The crisis should be showing us how essential affordable child care is to economic vitality , something other industrialized nations have already figured @ @ @ @ @ @ @ myopically obsessed with putting capitalism back to work without giving parents any backup ( market-based or otherwise ) to balance their jobs and their families .
As a father and husband who works hard to fight gender norms and is committed to coequal parenting , I ’ ve found juggling the dual responsibilities of employment and child care to be challenging since schools closed .
But my wife hasn ’ t slept in five weeks .
Turns out that I ’ m a better father in my own mind than I am in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spends time and effort cutting the sandwiches she provides into little shapes , and that my coddled offspring expect such artistry as an inducement to eat their freaking lunch ?
It is on me to do better and to reduce the gender imbalance in my own home .
But the only meaningful solution has been for me to do less professional work and make more sandwiches .
If the government wants people to get back to work , it ’ s going to have to provide the resources parents need to work .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ open up the schools and it ’ s not reasonable to greenlight summer camp , then it ’ s not reasonable to reopen the hair salon and force some working mother to spend more money on child care than she ’ ll make from her day at work .
The only people I should have to explain this to are childless yuppies who have yet to realize that life is an expanding web of complications and responsibilities , until you are mercifully allowed to die .
I bet if we elected more women @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the economy wouldn ’ t be so ass-backwards .

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Nation believes that helping readers stay informed about the impact of the coronavirus crisis is a form of public service. For that reason, this article, and all of our coronavirus coverage, is now free. Please subscribe to support our writers and staff, and stay healthy.
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I don’t need the Waffle House reopened. I’m comfortable enough in my own body that I don’t need to go to the barbershop or the gym. I don’t need to go to the movies, because I live in the future and have subscriptions to approximately 18,000 streaming services.
What I need is for somebody to come take my children. A school bus. A babysitter. A freaking traveling circus. It doesn’t really matter. My economy cannot “reopen,” life cannot return to “normal” for me, until fully functional child care comes back on line.
I’m not the only one, but if you listen to various governors or the president of the United States, you’d think that the only parts of the country that need to be reopened are businesses and churches. Politicians want people to get back to work as soon as possible, but they seem to have no idea that without child care, a huge swath of the workforce will remain tied to their homes.
As of this writing, 43 states have closed schools through the end of the academic year. That list does not include New York, where Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio continue to joust over the issue. But if you are a tristate area resident who expects to send your kid to school before the fall, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I’d like to sell you.
For most families, there is no child care without school. In America, school is pretty much the only free or subsidized child care our government provides. Without reliable, affordable, and coronavirus-free child care, going back to work is simply not an option for many parents.
The school closings only deepen a reoccurring problem most parents face: the summer. In a society that has decided to outsource child care responsibilities to the school system, the fact that this system goes on an annual months-long holiday is already a nightmare for working parents.
Now the Covid-19 pandemic is blowing apart the kinds of summer child care relief that parents rely on. Summer school is not happening. Summer camp is not happening. Summer youth sports leagues are not happening. The coronavirus makes it dangerous to dump your little disease vectors with their grandparents. Where the hell are parents supposed to put their kids during long summer days when they’re supposed to go back to work? Current Issue View our current issue
Middle- to upper-income families may be able to find babysitters or nannies after sheltering-in-place orders relax. But lower-income families—the families that most desperately need as many wage earners as possible in the household—are going to be entirely screwed. I’ve seen a number of stories explaining how gym owners in Georgia plan to reopen while following social distancing protocols. But I haven’t seen a single day care provider explain—or even be asked to explain—how social distancing is supposed to work with a bunch of 10-year-olds. That’s probably because child care providers still haven’t solved the age-old problem of “Stop touching me!” Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
As it is, the child care facilities that are still operating face immense challenges. In California, day care providers for essential workers are struggling to find cleaning supplies. And they can’t take in children who have any kind of illness symptoms, even if it’s likely that a child’s runny nose is just the result of seasonal allergies. Working parents already hoard their sick days (if they’re lucky enough to have them) to cover a child’s illness instead of their own. I don’t think this country has thought through what would be required to make it feasible for every person or child to stay home when they’re feeling ill. Businesses might be desperate to resume making profits, but I don’t see them clamoring to give out uncapped sick days to their workers.
Rushing to reopen the consumer economy without having a solid plan to reopen—and subsidize—the child care economy is madness. But it’s not entirely surprising when you consider that so much of our society still functions on the presumption of two-parent families in which one parent doesn’t have a full-time job. It’s as if we’re trapped in a mid-20th-century sitcom in which one person is expected to have a job and the other person is expected to be an all-powerful genie with lots of time on her hands.
We’ve seen the proof of our anachronistic ideas about child care throughout the pandemic. The needs of single parents have largely been ignored during flatten-the-curve policy-making. And every day there seems to be a new story about all the ways homeschooling is crushing working parents, because being a full-time teacher is incompatible with being any other kind of full-time employee, even if you are working from home.
At least working from home gives parents the chance to try to serve two masters. Going back to in-person work, without access to child care, will force families to make terrible decisions, at a time when nearly everybody feels the threat of layoffs and unemployment breathing down their necks. If you are lucky enough to still have a job at one of these reopening businesses, how can you tell that job that you have to miss work to take care of your kids? Most people can’t take their children to work, and even if they can, have you ever tried to get a kid to keep a face mask on? Most kids can’t last through Halloween wearing a mask all night. The feats of strength and juggling that some states are asking working parents to do as they phase in reopening simply can’t be done if you have a youngster.
I can only assume that the reason our public response to the Covid-induced child care crisis has been nonexistent is that the consequences fall primarily on women. When the demands of the economy conflict with the needs of our children, women are expected to figure it out. Women are expected to mental-load the schedules and devise the solutions. Women are expected to be everywhere at once. And women are blamed if they miss the meeting—even when the useless business meeting and the useless school assembly meeting are happening at the same time.
There’s already some statistical evidence of the toll this gender disparity is taking on professional women, and we’ve been without schools for only a few weeks. In academia, we’re already seeing that journal submissions authored solely by women are down, while solo-authored male submissions are up.
The pandemic exacerbates gender inequalities still too common in domestic life as it strips away supports women rely on to manage that unfairness. If women do most of the cooking, families can no longer supplement that domestic labor with trips out to eat. If women do most of the house cleaning, fortunate families can no longer supplement that work with domestic service providers, and many people have probably noticed that the house gets a lot messier when nobody can leave it. Working parents have more domestic work to do during the crisis and yet have exactly the same amount of professional work to accomplish. That burden is falling more heavily on women, and it seems employers and politicians don’t even notice. Coronavirus The Heartbreaking Choices Faced by Child Care Providers on the Front Lines Bryce Covert I Never Felt Like a ‘Single’ Parent. Then the Coronavirus Hit. Dani McClain Congratulations, Your Kids Are Now Your Coworkers Elie Mystal
The government must put working parents, especially parents in the primary caregiver seat, in a position to succeed. These reopening plans fail to show even a cursory appreciation for the practical challenges working parents face during the pandemic. The crisis should be showing us how essential affordable child care is to economic vitality, something other industrialized nations have already figured out. Instead, our country seems myopically obsessed with putting capitalism back to work without giving parents any backup (market-based or otherwise) to balance their jobs and their families.
As a father and husband who works hard to fight gender norms and is committed to coequal parenting, I’ve found juggling the dual responsibilities of employment and child care to be challenging since schools closed. But my wife hasn’t slept in five weeks. Turns out that I’m a better father in my mind than I am in practice. Who knew that my wife spends time and effort cutting the sandwiches she provides into little shapes and that my coddled offspring expect such artistry as an inducement to eat their freaking lunch?
It is on me to do better and to reduce the gender imbalance in my home. But the only meaningful solution has been for me to do less professional work and make more sandwiches. If the government wants people to get back to work, it’s going to have to provide the resources parents need to work. If it’s not reasonable to open up the schools and it’s not reasonable to greenlight summer camp, then it’s not reasonable to reopen the hair salon and force some working mother to spend more money on child care than she’ll make from her day at work. The only people I should have to explain this to are childless yuppies who have yet to realize that life is an expanding web of complications and responsibilities until you are mercifully allowed to die.
I bet if we elected more women, the order of operations for reopening the economy wouldn’t be so ass-backward.