Deja vu, Again
Jan. 6th 2024— the date of my last blog. It seems fitting to post my first blog of 2025 on Jan. 6th, an unforgettable anniversary in American history. Today’s blog contains much the same message posted over a year ago. I committed then to writing more, and more often, about the things I cared about. At the time, I intended to write about whatever interested me, not just politics. My files include unpublished blogs about sneakers (yeah, go figure that one out) and Thomas Paine. But most blogs focused on my feelings about the upcoming presidential election. In those files is also the finished first draft of my second novel, 20/20. But the blogs and the book’s very political themes ran into my anxiety about exposing myself to the virulent, divisive political and social climate in the United States. My writing sat abandoned for most of the year. I don’t want the same outcome in 2025.
My resolutions and goals have foundered in the past, undermined by my lack of confidence, or the vicissitudes of life, or just plain procrastination often fueled by the two other excuses. 2024 was no different. By the post-Nov. 5 shock, my silence slid into isolation, walled off from the public, depressed by the election’s outcome, and puzzled by why people voted the way they did. But in my deep personal angst, I was mostly disappointed in myself that I had remained silent throughout the year; yes, there is hubris in that assessment. After all, who am I and why would my voice matter? Even though my fiction writing is one of the most important things in my life today, I let 20/20 languish too.
My underlying anxiety hasn’t disappeared, but the lingering internal turmoil has slowly morphed into a realization that artists and journalists need to find their voice in times of stress and discord. Now is the time. My internal struggles won’t magically disappear nor will the anxiety over inserting myself into the public debate. I can’t be sure on this morning in early 2025 that I will be able to surmount the obstacles that thwart me.
I’m not going to make any promises either. But I know where to start. Later this week, I will reprint my speech to my Class of ’74 reunion at Harvard College last May. I was one of about 10 people speaking to the theme, “I Still Have Something to Say.” The title of my speech was “From Newsman to Novelist.” After that, I hope to keep a bi-monthly schedule. And, at some point this year, I will publish 20/20.
Now is the time for all good people to speak up. We may each be a voice in the wilderness but a thousand voices might be heard amidst the din of falsehoods and disinformation. I hope my message won’t be shouting and arguing, nor the responses either. But it’s time to restore essential components of a functioning democracy — debate and compromise. I also plan to speak to one of the topics I know well: Mexico, especially its culture.
GORDON MOTT 
Slogging towards Hope from the slough of despond…. I keep a little file of quotes about Hope near to hand and I found one that resonates with me today, after exactly two months of not watching a single newscast, quite an admission from a former broadcast journalist with a daily newspaper-reading habit since grade school. Here’s the quote, from Napoleon, no less: “Courage is like love, it must have hope for nourishment.”
So, Gordie, I relate very much to what you’ve written and am trying to muster hope and courage for what lies ahead, an unprecedented assault on every iota of progress that’s been made towards a more just, equitable, and environmentally sustainable future.
I did not believe for one second that Kamala Harris would defeat Trump. The high ground may win in military battles but not necessarily in political ones in these Un-United States of America. But then, who would have thought Mexico would elect a woman President.
For the sake of my sanity and self-respect, I am taking to heart the old adage that all politics is local. With the help and support of my faith community, I will focus on what I/we can do right here in our town. We collect banned books, especially books by Black and minority history and books by Black and minority authors, and give them away to the public at MLK Day celebrations and on Juneteenth. We are hoping to establish a Banned Book Sanctuary, open to all truth seekers and true students of whole history and full-spectrum culture. We are also working on becoming a more anti-racist body, creating workshops where WOKE and EVEN MORE WOKE are the goals.
As writers and reporters, we must use our skills at telling stories to make sure all stories are told. We know that stories are how values and culture are transmitted.
May we find the words that will illuminate the darkness ahead and lead us a place that holds hope and promise for every human being.
Good luck with your book….. Kathy (Hersh)
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