#acquiescence — Public Fediverse posts

A quotation from Henry Commager

It is easier to say what loyalty is not than to say what it is. It is not conformity. It is not passive acquiescence in the status quo. It is not preference for everything American over everything foreign. It is not an ostrich-like ignorance of other countries and other institutions. It is not the indulgence in ceremony — a flag salute, an oath of allegiance, a fervid verbal declaration. It is not a particular creed, a particular version of history, a particular body of economic practices, a particular philosophy.

Henry Steele Commager (1902-1998) American historian, writer, activist
Essay (1947-07), “Who Is Loyal to America?” sec. 4, Harper’s Magazine, Vol. 195, No. 1168

More about this quote: wist.info/commager-henry-steel…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #henrycommager #acquiescence #ceremony #conformity #flag #ignorance #loyalty #loyaltyoath #nationalism #patriotism #statusquo #xenophobia

A quotation from Henry Commager

A nation which, in the name of loyalty or of patriotism or of a sincere and high-sounding idea, discourages criticism and dissent, and puts a premium on acquiescence and conformity, is headed for disaster.

Henry Steele Commager (1902-1998) American historian, writer, activist
Essay (1949-11-05), “What Ideas Are Safe?” Saturday Review

More about this quote: wist.info/commager-henry-steel…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #commager #henrycommager #acquiescence #conformity #control #dissent #freespeech #freedomofspeech #freedomofthought #heterodoxy #intolerance #loyalty #orthodoxy #patriotism #security #intellectualfreedom

A quotation from Henry Commager

We do not need to fear ideas, but the censorship of ideas. We do not need to fear criticism, but the silencing of criticism. We do not need to fear excitement or agitation in the academic community, but timidity and apathy. We do not need to fear resistance to political leaders, but unquestioning acquiescence in whatever policies those leaders adopt.

Henry Steele Commager (1902-1998) American historian, writer, activist
Essay (1965-12-18), “The Problem of Dissent,” Saturday Review

More about this quote: wist.info/commager-henry-steel…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #commager #henrycommager #acquiescence #agitation #apathy #censorship #criticism #dissent #intellectualfreedom #resistance #silencing #timidity #academicfreedom

A quotation from Eric Hoffer

When cowardice is made respectable, its followers are without number both from among the weak and the strong; it easily becomes a fashion.

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 203 (1955)

More about this quote: wist.info/hoffer-eric/81117/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #erichoffer #acceptability #acquiescence #cowardice #cowardliness #fashion #fear #respectability #socialcontract #socialill #timidity #weakness

A quotation from Orwell

I believe that it is better even from the point of view of survival to fight and be conquered than to surrender without fighting.

George Orwell (1903-1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1942-08), “Looking Back on the Spanish War, ch. 6, Such, Such Were the Joys, essay 8 (1953)

More about this quote: wist.info/orwell-george/81016/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #georgeorwell #orwell #spanishcivilwar #acquiescence #fighting #resistance #struggling #surrender #survival #acceptance

A quotation from Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Liberty is often a heavy burden on a man. It involves that necessity for perpetual choice which is the kind of labor men have always dreaded. In common life we shirk it by forming habits, which take the place of self-determination. In politics party-organization saves us the pains of much thinking before deciding how to cast our vote. In religious matters there are great multitudes watching us perpetually, each propagandist ready with his bundle of finalities, which having accepted we may be at peace. The more absolute the submission demanded, the stronger the temptation becomes to those who have been long tossed among doubts and conflicts.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809-1894) American poet, essayist, scholar
Article (1860-09), “The Professor’s Story [Elsie Venner],” ch. 18, Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 6, No. 35

More info about this quote: wist.info/holmes-sr-oliver-wen…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #acquiescence #burden #choice #decisionmaking #doubt #duty #following #freedom #habit #liberty #obedience #orthodoxy #politicalparties #selfconflict #submission #surrender #compliance

A quotation from Eleanor Roosevelt

I know that we will be the sufferers if we let great wrongs occur without exerting ourselves to correct them.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) First Lady of the US (1933-45), politician, diplomat, activist
Column (1943-08-13), “My Day”

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/roosevelt-eleanor/27…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #eleanorroosevelt #bystander #disinterest #evil #injustice #karma #neutrality #passivity #standingby #uninvolvement #wrongdoing #complicity #acquiescence

A quotation from Cicero

He won over the ignorant masses with shows, building projects, largesses, and banquets. His followers he bound to him by rewards, his opponents by an apparent clemency. In short, he succeeded in bringing a free country, partly because of its fear, partly because of its passivity, to an acceptance of servitude.
 
[Muneribus, monumentis, congiariis, epulis multitudinem imperitam delenierat; suos praemiis, adversarios clementiae specie devinxerat. Quid multa? Attulerat iam liberae civitati partim metu partim patientia consuetudinem serviendi.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
Philippics [Philippicae; Antonian Orations], No. 2, ch. 45 / sec. 116 (2.45/2.116) (44-10-24 BC) [tr. Berry (2006)]

Sourcing, notes, other translations: wist.info/cicero-marcus-tulliu…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #cicero #juliuscaesar #acquiescence #breadandcircuses #freedom #masses #passivity #politicalpower #populace #power #rewards #servitude

A quotation from John Adams

We see, by the Sketches I have given you, that all the great Kingdoms of Europe have once been free. But that they have lost their Liberties, by the Ignorance, the Weakness, the Inconstancy, and Disunion of the People. Let Us guard against these dangers, let us be firm and stable, as wise as Serpents and as harmless as Doves, but as daring and intrepid as Heroes.

John Adams (1735-1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797-1801)
Diary (1772, Spring), “Notes for a Oration at Braintree”

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/adams-john/77514/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #johnadams #acquiescence #disunity #freedom #ignorance #liberty #thepeople #tyranny #wethepeople #weakness

The University of Pennsylvania has agreed to #ban #transgender women from its women’s sports teams to settle a #Trump lawsuit that alleged the school violated the rights of female athletes.

#acquiescence #appeasement #law #fascism
https://apnews.com/article/upenn-lia-thomas-swimmer-transgender-athletes-trump-71720ecbeb8493ddbed539dd61995076?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=2025-07-01-Breaking+News

A quotation from Molly Ivins

Whatever you do, don’t give up. Because all you can do once you’ve given up is bitch.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (1973-01), “Pitfalls of Reporting in the Lone Star State,” Houston Journalism Review

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/ivins-molly/76698/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #mollyivins #acquiescence #bitching #complain #giveup #struggle #surrender

“…The #acquiescence of our most prominent civic leaders sends a profoundly #demoralizing message to society. It tells Americans that #democracy is not worth defending — or that resistance is futile. If America’s most privileged individuals & organizations are unwilling or unable to defend democracy, what are ordinary citizens supposed to do?”

#Trump #AmericanAutocracy

The U.S. Senate is really ready to be giving up all their power? Can we not rely on them to be a little greedy for their own power? Acquiescing to the President can make them just a rubber stamp, like the russian duma, and effectively powerless.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/11/gop-trump-republicans-senate-gaetz-rfk-scary.html

#senate #senators #confirmations #nominees #acquiescence #surrender #political #power #politics #USpol #government #governance #polisci

#GiftArticle

In a #WashingtonPost OpEd, Jeff #Bezos spins some #bullshit in an attempt to excuse his #acquiescence to #Trump’s threats to perceived enemies & a #FreePress.

#billionaire #SelfInterest #WaPo #FourthEstate #democracy #fascism #tyranny
https://wapo.st/3NKRzHc

…The businesses #Bezos founded, including #Amazon & #BlueOrigin, his aerospace company, still compete regularly for lucrative government contracts. Blue Origin executives met w/ #Trump on Friday, & the company has a $3.4 billion #contract w/ #NASA to build a lunar lander.

#CorporateGreed #billionaire #SelfInterest #democracy #journalism #media #FourthEstate #acquiescence

During their visit — which included a working lunch at #Bezos’ sprawling home on an exclusive island in Biscayne Bay & dinner at a nearby restaurant — #DavidShipley, The #WashingtonPost’s #opinion #editor, & #WillLewis, #WaPo’s chief executive & publisher, discussed plans for the future of the newspaper’s opinion section. The #election, less than 45 days away, loomed large.

#democracy #journalism #media #FourthEstate #acquiescence

Inside #WaPo’s Decision to Stop Presidential Endorsements
#Bezos ended the decades-long practice, weeks after a discussion at a meeting in Miami. The move has drawn criticism in & outside the newsroom.
A tropical storm was heading toward Florida’s Gulf Coast in late Sept when snr #news & #opinion leaders of The #WashingtonPost flew into Miami for a periodic meeting w/ #JeffBezos, the newspaper’s #billionaire owner.
#democracy #journalism #media #FourthEstate #acquiescence
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/27/business/media/washington-post-president-endorsement.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

@w7voa

Ann Telnaes titled the editorial cartoon “Democracy Dies In Darkness”

#democracy #FourthEstate #journalism #media #acquiescence #WashingtonPost #WaPo
#HarrisWalz2024

Legendary journalists #BobWoodward & #CarlBernstein slammed The #WashingtonPost Friday night in a joint statement over the newspaper’s decision not to endorse a White House candidate in 2024.

#WoodwardAndBernstein, who broke the #Watergate scandal while reporting for #WaPo issued a statement to CNN’s Brian Stelter Friday.

#democracy #FourthEstate #journalism #media #acquiescence
#HarrisWalz2024

“Under Jeff #Bezos's ownership, the #WashingtonPost's news operation has used its abundant resources to rigorously investigate the danger & damage a second #Trump presidency could cause to the future of American #democracy & that makes this decision even more surprising & disappointing, especially this late in the electoral process."

- #BobWoodward & #CarlBernstein

2/
#WoodwardAndBernstein #journalism #FourthEstate #acquiescence

from #BobWoodward & #CarlBernstein:

“We respect the traditional independence of the #editorial page, but this decision 11 days out from the 2024 presidential #election ignores the #WashingtonPost's own overwhelming reportorial evidence on the threat Donald #Trump poses to #democracy.

1/

#Bezos #democracy #WoodwardAndBernstein #journalism #FourthEstate #acquiescence

“One person familiar w/the figures told Semafor that the decision already seemed to be impacting subscriptions. In the 24hrs ending Friday afternoon, about 2,000 subscribers canceled their subscriptions, an unusually high number, an employee said. Another email that the #WashingtonPost sent out to subscribers on Fri also prompted a flurry of complaints from readers about the paper’s lack of an #endorsement.”

#democracy #FourthEstate #journalism #media #acquiescence #WaPo
https://www.semafor.com/article/10/25/2024/editor-resign-subscribers-cancel-as-washington-post-non-endorsement-prompts-crisis-at-bezos-paper

…”The most serious allegation…is that #SoonShiong & #Bezos are trying to hedge their bets out of fear that their business interests could be harmed during a 2nd #Trump presidency. Soon-Shiong, who made his fortune as a biopharmaceutical innovator, is working on new drugs that would…require #FDA approval. #Amazon faces an #antitrust lawsuit, brought last year by the #Biden admin, that will take yrs to litigate or settle.”
#democracy #FourthEstate #journalism #acquiescence #WashingtonPost #LATimes

CJR: “Ian Bassin, a #democracy expert, calls these moves ‘anticipatory obedience’: fear by owners that if #Trump wins he could take #vengeance on companies that cross him. They noted that the leadership at CNN & the #WashingtonPost changed after the Trump administration tried to block the takeover of CNN’s parent company & tried to deny a cloud computing contract for #Amazon, #Bezos’s company.”

#democracy #FourthEstate #journalism #media #acquiescence #WaPo
https://www.cjr.org/political_press/the-washington-post-opinion-editor-approved-a-harris-endorsement-a-week-later-the-papers-publisher-killed-it.php

Another major editor, Marcus Brauchli – who from 2008 to 2012 preceded Baron as #WashingtonPost‘s executive editor, & edited The WSJ before that – offered his own eviscerating criticism of #Bezos’ decision in a statement to the Beast: “There are perfectly good reasons a newspaper might give for not endorsing a presidential candidate.

“The Post didn’t offer any, & its timing was awful & looks, whatever the reasoning, #gutless or #craven.“

#democracy #FourthEstate #journalism #acquiescence

Maraniss said: “I find this contemptible. #MartyBaron is right. This is an act not of benign neutrality but of #cowardice in the face of the biggest challenge to #democracy in our post-WWII lifetimes.

“#BenBradlee, ten years dead, is mightily p---ed in his grave.”

#democracy #FourthEstate #journalism #media #acquiescence #WaPo #WashingtonPost

Maraniss, who also served as The #WashingtonPost’s lead reporter during Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, has provided an excoriating statement to the Daily Beast after #JeffBezos’ decision was confirmed by #WillLewis, the paper’s disempowered CEO.

Two sources told #WaPo’s reporters that #Bezos personally rejected an #endorsement of #KamalaHarris drafted by the paper’s editorial page staffers.

#democracy #FourthEstate #journalism #media #acquiescence

Top #Editors Eviscerate #JeffBezos’ Decision to Kill #WaPo Endorsement

David Maraniss, an associate editor at The #WashingtonPost – whose coverage of Bill Clinton at the paper won him the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting – has spoken for many in The Post’s newsroom over #Bezos’ decision to kill an #endorsement of #KamalaHarris for president.

#democracy #FourthEstate #journalism #media #acquiescence
https://www.thedailybeast.com/top-editors-eviscerate-jeff-bezos-decision-to-kill-washington-post-kamala-harris-endorsement/

My #WashingtonPost #LetterToTheEditor (pic) regarding their decision to “not endorse” a presidential candidate in #Election2024.

#democracy #FourthEstate #journalism #media #acquiescence #WaPo
https://thewashingtonpost.formstack.com/forms/submit_a_letter_to_the_editor