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Moyers on Democracy podcast, Bill Moyers and Heather Cox Richardson on Her Daily Letters

Bill Moyers and Heather Cox Richardson on Her Daily Letters

ANNOUNCER: Welcome to Moyers on Democracy. In this first of two episodes, Bill talks with historian Heather Cox Richardson about her decision last fall to start writing small essays on the history behind today's politics and posting them on her Facebook page as LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN. She had no idea of the response she might get. But bingo! Today over half a million readers, and counting, wait for her daily dispatches. Her six history books had earned this Boston College professor quite a reputation, and now her classroom spans the Internet. Here's Bill Moyers to talk about LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN – with the American herself.

BILL MOYERS: Heather Cox Richardson, thank you very much for joining me.

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: Oh, it's a pleasure to be here.

BILL MOYERS: Some years ago, I did an interview with Saul Bellow, the novelist. He said, “Moyers, in the future, no one will be heard who doesn't speak in short bursts of truth.” And I think he would applaud the short bursts of truth that we get in your LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN every day. You've attracted a large and faithful following on Facebook and other venues, including BillMoyers.com. I'm among the several hundred thousand people who wake up every morning to find out what you've seen in the news that I need to know and likely missed. How did that come about? And did you anticipate the response that you're getting?

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: The newsletter was completely an accident, and I have my readers to thank for it. I had on Facebook a professional page that I posted on about once a week. And I hadn't written on it in a while in the summer last year because I was actually busy moving. And I was all set to get in the car and drive from my home in Maine to teach in Boston. And I happened to be stung by a yellow-jacket, and I'm allergic to them. And I didn't have my EpiPen nearby. So I didn't dare get on the road until I knew how badly I would react. And I thought, “Well, I haven't written in a while on my Facebook page.” And I know that on Friday, Friday the 13th, September 13th, Adam Schiff wrote a letter to the acting director of national intelligence at the time saying, “We know there's a whistleblower complaint out there. And we know that you have it, and we know that you're supposed to give it to us, and you're not. And that means that we have to assume it's a really big deal. Hand the stupid thing over.” And of course, I paraphrase, but that was the gist of it. And I recognized because I'm a political historian, that this was the first time that a member of Congress had found a specific law that they were accusing a specific member of the executive branch of violating. So I thought, you know, I oughta put that down, 'cause this is a really important moment. If you knew what you were looking for, it was a big moment. So I wrote it down, and then got myself back to Boston and got home and there were a ton of questions about what I'd written. And it was clear that the readers wanted to know more. They seemed to want to know the answers, so I wrote again, I think it was two nights later on the 17th. And I've written every night since because questions just poured in, and people flooded me with questions about what was going on, and who were the players, and how was this going to play out? And what were the laws, and why should I have any hope that this was gonna turn out in a good way? And this was just something that really was sort of reader-driven, not driven by me at all. And I think that's probably why it's had such staying power.

BILL MOYERS: When you write, do you imagine who might be reading? Can you see particular people or individuals that enables you to connect almost personally with them, as if your letter was to me or to someone else who is among those 400- 500,000 people who read you every day?

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: I have always been a letter writer, and I found when my numbers got over half a million, I couldn't think about how many people there were out there. I had to think as if I were writing a letter to my brothers and sisters, to my good friends with whom I have had a correspondence since I could hold a pen. I think if it were truly a private letter, I would, you know, make jokes more, or probably use less formal language in some cases. But I always have to think that I'm writing to my friends, and I think maybe that comes through.

BILL MOYERS: Many of the letters are postmarked after midnight, 1:30, 2:20, 3:10. When we wake up, there you are. What toll does it take to keep writing at that hour night after night?

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: I'm very tired. And it definitely takes a toll. Producing 1,200 words every day, when you're already working a full-time job is a lot. That being said, it feels like this is a crisis moment in America. And I certainly would not have been doing this ten years ago. But you think of all the sacrifices that people have made to keep this country a democracy and to keep it healthy and to try and keep it equal. It seems to me to be a small price for me to pay to take the extraordinary training I've had and all the privilege I've had in my life and, you know, stay up a little bit later than I would like to. So the people who really deserve credits are the people in my family who are really understanding about the fact that every night the minute we finish eating, I usually actually put my head down on the dining room table or on my desk and sleep for an hour or two. And then they've all gone to bed when I pick my head back up and start typing. And they've been really good about it. And I have promised them that it won't go on forever.

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BILL MOYERS: I like this one from the 11th of July, you write, “As you all know, the news dumps in the last couple of days have kept me writing until the sun came up. But while I'm finally going to bed on these late nights, the fishermen's days are just starting.” And you add, “As I was out kayaking on this gorgeous evening after several days of fog, I passed a friend on the shore who called out, ‘We wouldn't mind if you took a day off, you know'?” Did you?

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: I did take that day off. And that helps a lot. The only thing that's really hard for me is when I go to bed after everybody else in my house gets up. And that– you just feel stale. It just feels awful to be still finishing your day when everybody else is starting theirs.

BILL MOYERS: You have what I call that third eye for seemingly invisible threads that connect one moment to another, one event to another event, one person to another person. You were the first I read about how Donald Trump's commutation of Roger Stone's prison sentence, letting him out before he ever went there, pushed out of the headlines the story of Russia paying bounties for dead American soldiers. And I was struck that you said outright, “This is no coincidence.” What was it that sounded the alert?

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: One of the things historians do is we look for patterns. And in many ways, Donald Trump is a very easy read, because he operates in certain ways. And he is the king of distraction. So any time there is a big distraction, especially one like that, every time they do something like that, I'm always looking for what story got buried. And then again, as a historian, you can see what the stories are that are big. And the Russia bounty scandal is a huge story. It's also one that deserves attention. But the fact that there was so much flack around the Russia bounty scandal, and it really has been pushed away from the headline news, says to me, there is an awful lot there. And you can see this happening again and again and again. Like, the Goya beans story. You know, the Goya beans on the Resolute Desk, which was

heartbreaking to so many of us. But it's not gonna be in the history books in 150 years. That doesn't matter. What matters is some of these other stories that get buried. So they're kind of easy to see, in a way, for Donald Trump. That being said, again, one of the things that I think really helps me to write the letters and to understand what's going on today is that, as historians, we are looking for the longer, larger picture. So it's easy for me to see a story and say, “No, that's not important yet. It might be important, but it's not important yet.” So, for example, Kanye West running for president, and people just swamped my email and my direct mentions in Twitter saying, you know, “What is Kanye doing?” And I'm thinkin', it's not a story yet. I mean, it's grabbing the headlines, but he doesn't have a committee. He doesn't appear to be doing anything at this point, other than pushing Kanye West. So I'm not gonna worry about that yet.

BILL MOYERS: What was it about the Goya story and photograph on the Resolute Desk, why were you offended by that story?

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: Well, I take our government extraordinarily seriously. I have lived with American politics really since I was about 21, and maybe earlier because I was really first aware of the world during Watergate. And I care deeply about our traditions, about our heritage, about democracy. I'm happy to criticize it, because I always want it to be better, but I take that stuff really seriously. And the idea that the president was hawking beans at the Resolute desk, it cheapens something that I take so very deeply. I'll tell you, worse for me was when they did the interview at the Lincoln Memorial. Because, again, for people like me who studied the 19th century and are political historians, there is no bigger star in the firmament than Abraham Lincoln. And there has always been an understanding that nobody would cheapen that with politics. That this was about democracy, and it was about our country. And to have the president and the interviewers there in those stools, almost looking like high chairs under Lincoln, that was the hardest moment for me so far in the symbolism that Donald Trump is trying to marshal to support his presidency.

WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 03: President Donald Trump speaks during a Virtual Town Hall inside of the Lincoln Memorial on May 3, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Oliver Contreras-Pool/Getty Images)

BILL MOYERS: The hardest for me to absorb and contemplate was the photograph later during the protests in Washington after George Floyd's death, when on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial were just platoons of armed militia, troops. You couldn't see Lincoln, but you could see face after face, rifle after rifle of the militia. And I thought. is this Donald Trump's vision of America?

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: Well, it's a very dystopian vision. I don't underestimate Donald Trump, because one thing he is really, really good at is, photo ops to his base. He's always been able to read an audience incredibly well. And that picture was absolutely not an accident. It really was calling out the dystopian future. And of course, striking fear into the heart of a lot of Americans, both for and against what he was doing. It was a very, very carefully staged image. And that being said, if he followed, as I say, the fever swamps of the internet where I hang out rather more than I would like to, there were a lotta people saying, well, you know, he had to, because there was vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial. Would you rather have vandals, you know, destroying the Lincoln Memorial? There was a little bit of graffiti on the back of that memorial. And it's a huge memorial, and I'm certainly not defending anybody doing anything to that memorial. But really? That's what we did to take on a graffiti artist on the back of the memorial? It really was a deliberately staged moment.

BILL MOYERS: That was, those steps were the steps where I heard, among others, John Lewis, speak at great Washington March in 1963. It really hit me the contrast between those troops on the Lincoln Memorial and John Lewis and Martin Luther King speaking at that very spot. What does it say to you as a historian, this contribution to instant amnesia of his power as a distractor, to take us away from the Russian bounty story to the Goya beans story, for example? What does it mean to history that we today have such instant amnesia?

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: Donald Trump and his people are masters at that. And it is a deliberate political tactic, you know. It's not just that he's good at reading an audience, and it's not just that he himself might have a short attention span. If you continually change the subject, you continually stay one step ahead of the story, you can do a couple of things. First of all, you can control the narrative, because by the time people have fact-checked you, you're already onto the next story. Wisconsin Senator Joe McCarthy in the 1950s developed that tactic really carefully. Because the media simply couldn't catch up with the stories, by the time you fact-checked 'em, they were fourth-page news. And there was the first-page story of something else outrageous. So it's partly to control the narrative, but it's also something I think more nefarious with this particular president. And that is that, if you, as Steve Bannon said, “flood the zone with expletive–” what you do is, you keep your audience off guard all the time. They never know what the truth is. They never know what's coming next, and they don't know how to answer to any of it. And it's a game of psychological warfare, if you will. But if you keep knocking people around enough, eventually what they will do is simply say, “I don't care. It's too much for me. Everybody's lying. I don't know what's real. Just make it all go away.” And when you do that, the way is pretty clearly open for an autocrat to step in. And it's not just Donald Trump and Steve Bannon who have perfected this nowadays, and other countries as well. This is a tactic that Russian military intelligence uses. But it's a tactic that Eric Hoffer noted in 1951 when he wrote TRUE BELIEVER. That the more you flood the zone, if you will, the more you destabilize a population, and the more they become willing to accept any kind of an autocracy, simply to make it all stop. Which is again, one of the reasons that I'm always trying to be really cautious when I write the letters is because I don't want people to go, “Oh, she just is, you know, extreme as everybody else. I don't trust her.” And I would rather understate a story than overstate a story, so that my readers are always on firm ground.

BILL MOYERS: You were the first commentator, analyst, essayist I read, who saw that the impeachment hearings were a battle between oligarchy and democracy. How did you come to that insight?

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: It's something that's been building I think in the Republican Party for a long time, after it got taken over by movement conservatism in the 1980s and then really got pushed into that with Newt Gingrich in the 1990s. But what I really saw in the present moment were parallels to the 1850s when in fact, you had the big Southern planters taking over American democracy. And doing it with the manipulation of the electorate, but also through the manipulation of narrative. And what was really striking to me about the impeachment hearings is a couple of things. First of all, they didn't play out all that differently than anybody expected. Although I think a lot of us had hopes the Senate might at least hear witnesses. But what really hit me one day as I was listening to them was that, it became very clear that John Ratcliffe and Jim Jordan especially, but others as well—

BILL MOYERS: Members of the House.

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: Yes. Were not trying to learn any truth. They were absolutely not trying to do anything other than create a narrative to be edited. They were looking for sound bites to edit into their own story. And that, the realization, I still remember I was driving my car and listening to it. And all of a sudden, I thought, they're not even trying to participate in this system. You can sort of assume that politicians will skew things in their direction. That's fine. That's the way the system works. But you could tell they didn't care. They didn't care what the truth was. They didn't care about getting to what had happened. All they cared about was getting sound bites so that they could cut them into a video that they could convince people of something that wasn't true. And I found that the most chilling moment of this entire episode of the last four years. The realization that elected representatives weren't even trying to spin things. They were simply trying to write their own reality. And that's not to say I was naive. I certainly knew that the Republicans had been creating their own narrative for a very long time. But the deliberate rejection of reality in favor of constructing a false narrative was, I just remember listening to Jim Jordan's voice and thinking, “Wow, wow.” You know what he sounds like? He sounds like a director, like when you're on a set, and they basically give you the sentence. And I thought, I'm listening to him direct a documentary as he is doing this. So that was one thing. But the other thing that really jumped out at me was just how wonderful Adam Schiff and the managers of impeachment were in the Senate at constructing their own narrative that tied to our American values and American principles. And it's been a long time since we've had leaders come out and say, “This is what we stand for, and it matters.” And I was actually really inspired by that, and it was a lovely thing for a change to hear our leaders say, “We are a democracy, and here's why that matters, and here's what we are defending.” And the contrast, I thought, really spoke back to what showed up on the Lincoln Memorial that we were just talking about. Is our Lincoln Memorial a place of dystopia? Or is it a place of principle, optimism, and hope?

Soldiers guarding Lincoln Memorial on June 2, 2020. (Photo by Martha Raddatz / Twitter)

BILL MOYERS: What was the link, however, to the relationship between oligarchy and democracy as it played out in the impeachment hearings?

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: The central question is, how is a democracy susceptible to falling into the sort of world we have now? And if you look at any kind of chart since 1981, you know that wealth has moved upward extraordinarily, at the same time that people on the right are screaming constantly about socialism and communism. In fact, we do have a dramatic redistribution of wealth in America. It's upward. So the question is, how does that happen? And one of the things that I study is, how politicians can use language to convince people of something that is not true. That is, I don't adhere to that whole idea that people vote against their interests or they have false consciousness, or whatever. But rather, how does the system work in such a way that people who really do think they are protecting American values and doing what's best for themselves and their families, how can they be led to do what they have been led to do in the last, you know, generation? So what I've studied for a long time is the construction of a particular narrative and how that ties into American history. A narrative that suggests that if, in fact, you broaden the duties of government to include regulating business, for example, and providing a basic social safety net, and promoting infrastructure, that how that got linked to the idea of racism and sexism to mean that, in fact, if you do give any benefits to people of color or to women, this is somehow a redistribution of wealth, from white men who pay taxes to poorer people who do not. And so I follow that a lot. To watch those men literally create their own reality. Obviously, we have this during the George W. Bush administration, the journalist Ron Suskind got that wonderful quotation from a member of the George W. Bush administration talking about how journalists like Suskind lived in a reality-based community, and politicians no longer had to do that, because they created their own reality. Well, to watch the degree to which these men were willing to create their own reality for the end that they would be able to continue to stay in power, come hell or high water, was to me a revelatory leap into, we will do anything it takes, anything it takes, to make sure that this government continues to be responsible only to a very, very small elite in society.

BILL MOYERS: Heather Cox Richardson, thank you very much for sharing your time and please accept my best wishes for a lot more sleepless nights.

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: Yes. Well, thank you very much.

Bill Moyers and Heather Cox Richardson on Her Daily Letters Bill|Moyers|y|Heather|Cox|Richardson|sobre|sus|Diarias|Cartas Bill Moyers i Heather Cox Richardson o jej codziennych listach Bill Moyers ve Heather Cox Richardson Günlük Mektupları Üzerine 比尔·莫耶斯和希瑟·考克斯·理查森谈论她的每日信件 Bill Moyers y Heather Cox Richardson sobre sus Cartas Diarias

BILL MOYERS: Some years ago, I did an interview with Saul Bellow, the novelist. factura|Moyers|algunos|años|atrás|yo|hice|una|entrevista|con|Saul|Bellow|el|novelista BILL MOYERS: Hace algunos años, hice una entrevista con Saul Bellow, el novelista. He said, “Moyers, in the future, no one will be heard who doesn't speak in short bursts of truth.” And I think he would applaud the short bursts of truth that we get in your LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN every day. él|dijo|Moyers|en|el|futuro|no|uno|verbo auxiliar futuro|será|escuchado|quien|no|habla|en|cortos|estallidos|de|verdad|y|yo|pienso|él|verbo auxiliar condicional|aplaudiría|los|cortos|estallidos|de|verdad|que|nosotros|obtenemos|en|tus|cartas|de|un|americano|cada|día Он сказал: «Мойерс, в будущем никто не услышит, кто не говорит короткими фразами правды». И я думаю, он будет аплодировать коротким вспышкам правды, которые мы получаем в ваших ПИСЬМАХ ОТ АМЕРИКАНЦА каждый день. Él dijo: “Moyers, en el futuro, nadie será escuchado si no habla en breves estallidos de verdad.” Y creo que él aplaudiría los breves estallidos de verdad que recibimos en tus CARTAS DE UN AMERICANO cada día. You've attracted a large and faithful following on Facebook and other venues, including BillMoyers.com. tú has|atraído|un|grande|y|fiel|seguimiento|en|Facebook|y|otros|lugares|incluyendo|| Has atraído a un gran y fiel seguimiento en Facebook y otros lugares, incluyendo BillMoyers.com. I'm among the several hundred thousand people who wake up every morning to find out what you've seen in the news that I need to know and likely missed. yo soy|entre|los|varios|cientos|miles|personas|que|despiertan|arriba|cada|mañana|para|encontrar|afuera|lo que|tú has|visto|en|las|noticias|que|yo|necesito|a|saber|y|probablemente|perdí Soy parte de los varios cientos de miles de personas que se despiertan cada mañana para descubrir qué has visto en las noticias que necesito saber y que probablemente me perdí. How did that come about? cómo|verbo auxiliar pasado|eso|vino|acerca Как это произошло? ¿Cómo sucedió eso? And did you anticipate the response that you're getting? y|verbo auxiliar pasado|tú|anticipaste|la|respuesta|que|tú estás|recibiendo И ожидали ли вы ответа, который получите? ¿Y anticipaste la respuesta que estás recibiendo?

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: The newsletter was completely an accident, and I have my readers to thank for it. HEATHER|COX|RICHARDSON|el|boletín|fue|completamente|un|accidente|y|yo|tengo|mis|lectores|a|agradecer|por|ello HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: El boletín fue completamente un accidente, y tengo que agradecer a mis lectores por ello. I had on Facebook a professional page that I posted on about once a week. yo|tenía|en|Facebook|una|profesional|página|que|yo|publiqué|en|aproximadamente|una|la|semana Tenía en Facebook una página profesional en la que publicaba aproximadamente una vez a la semana. And I hadn't written on it in a while in the summer last year because I was actually busy moving. y|yo|no había|escrito|en|ella|en|un|rato|en|el|verano|pasado|año|porque|yo|estaba|realmente|ocupado|mudándome И летом прошлого года я не писал об этом какое-то время, потому что был занят переездом. Y no había escrito en ella durante un tiempo en el verano del año pasado porque en realidad estaba ocupada mudándome. And I was all set to get in the car and drive from my home in Maine to teach in Boston. y|yo|estaba|todo|listo|para|entrar|en|el|carro|y|manejar|de|mi|casa|en|Maine|a|enseñar|en|Boston Y estaba lista para subirme al coche y conducir desde mi casa en Maine para enseñar en Boston. And I happened to be stung by a yellow-jacket, and I'm allergic to them. y|yo|sucedió|a|ser|picado|por|un|||y|estoy|alérgico|a|ellos А меня ужалила желтая куртка, и у меня на них аллергия. Y me picó una avispa amarilla, y soy alérgico a ellas. And I didn't have my EpiPen nearby. y|yo|no|tenía|mi|EpiPen|cerca Y no tenía mi EpiPen cerca. So I didn't dare get on the road until I knew how badly I would react. así que|yo|no|me atreví|subir|a|la|carretera|hasta que|yo|supe|qué|tan mal|yo|verbo auxiliar condicional|reaccionaría Así que no me atreví a salir a la carretera hasta que supiera cuán mal reaccionaría. And I thought, “Well, I haven't written in a while on my Facebook page.” And I know that on Friday, Friday the 13th, September 13th, Adam Schiff wrote a letter to the acting director of national intelligence at the time saying, “We know there's a whistleblower complaint out there. y|yo|pensé|bueno|yo|no he|escrito|en|un|tiempo|en|mi|Facebook|página|y|yo|sé|que|en|viernes|viernes|el|13|septiembre|13|Adam|Schiff|escribió|una|carta|a|el|interino|director|de|||en|el|tiempo|diciendo|nosotros|sabemos|hay|una|denunciante|queja|afuera|allí Y pensé, “Bueno, no he escrito en mi página de Facebook desde hace un tiempo.” Y sé que el viernes, viernes 13, 13 de septiembre, Adam Schiff escribió una carta al director interino de inteligencia nacional en ese momento diciendo, “Sabemos que hay una denuncia de un informante por ahí. And we know that you have it, and we know that you're supposed to give it to us, and you're not. y|nosotros|sabemos|que|tú|tienes|eso|y|nosotros|sabemos|que|tú eres|supuesto|a|dar|eso|a|nosotros|y|tú|no Y sabemos que lo tienes, y sabemos que se supone que debes dárnoslo, y no lo estás haciendo. And that means that we have to assume it's a really big deal. y|eso|significa|que|nosotros|tenemos|que|asumir|es|un|realmente|gran|asunto Y eso significa que tenemos que asumir que es un asunto realmente importante. Hand the stupid thing over.” And of course, I paraphrase, but that was the gist of it. entrega|el|estúpido|cosa|sobre|y|de|curso|yo|parafraseo|pero|eso|fue|la|esencia|de|eso Entreguen la cosa estúpida.” Y, por supuesto, estoy parafraseando, pero esa era la esencia. And I recognized because I'm a political historian, that this was the first time that a member of Congress had found a specific law that they were accusing a specific member of the executive branch of violating. y|yo|reconocí|porque|yo soy|un|político|historiador|que|esto|fue|la|primera|vez|que|un|miembro|de|el Congreso|había|encontrado|una|específica|ley|que|ellos|estaban|acusando|un|específico|miembro|de|la|rama ejecutiva|rama|de|violando Y reconocí, porque soy un historiador político, que esta era la primera vez que un miembro del Congreso había encontrado una ley específica que acusaba a un miembro específico del poder ejecutivo de violar. So I thought, you know, I oughta put that down, 'cause this is a really important moment. así|yo|pensé|tú|sabes|yo|debería|poner|eso|abajo|porque|este|es|un|realmente|importante|momento Así que pensé, ya sabes, debería anotarlo, porque este es un momento realmente importante. If you knew what you were looking for, it was a big moment. si|tú|supieras|lo que|tú|estabas|buscando|por|eso|fue|un|gran|momento Si supieras lo que estabas buscando, era un gran momento. So I wrote it down, and then got myself back to Boston and got home and there were a ton of questions about what I'd written. así|yo|escribí|eso|abajo|y|luego|regresé|a mí mismo|de vuelta|a|Boston|y|llegué|a casa|y|allí|había|una|tonelada|de|preguntas|sobre|lo que|yo había|escrito Así que lo escribí, y luego regresé a Boston y llegué a casa y había un montón de preguntas sobre lo que había escrito. And it was clear that the readers wanted to know more. y|eso|fue|claro|que|los|lectores|querían|a|saber|más Y estaba claro que los lectores querían saber más. They seemed to want to know the answers, so I wrote again, I think it was two nights later on the 17th. Ellos|parecían|a|querer|a|saber|los|respuestas|así que|yo|escribí|otra vez|yo|pienso|eso|fue|dos|noches|después|en|el|17 Parecían querer conocer las respuestas, así que escribí de nuevo, creo que fue dos noches después, el 17. And I've written every night since because questions just poured in, and people flooded me with questions about what was going on, and who were the players, and how was this going to play out? y|he|escrito|cada|noche|desde entonces|porque|preguntas|simplemente|fluyeron|adentro|y|la gente|inundaron|me|con|preguntas|sobre|lo que|estaba|iba|a|y|quiénes|eran|los|jugadores|y|cómo|iba|esto|iba|a|jugar|afuera Y he escrito cada noche desde entonces porque las preguntas simplemente llovieron, y la gente me inundó con preguntas sobre lo que estaba sucediendo, quiénes eran los protagonistas y cómo iba a desarrollarse esto. And what were the laws, and why should I have any hope that this was gonna turn out in a good way? y|qué|eran|las|leyes|y|por qué|debería|yo|tener|alguna|esperanza|que|esto|iba|iba a|dar|resultado|en|una|buena|manera Y cuáles eran las leyes, y por qué debería tener alguna esperanza de que esto iba a resultar de una buena manera? And this was just something that really was sort of reader-driven, not driven by me at all. y|esto|fue|solo|algo|que|realmente|estaba|tipo|de||impulsado|||por|mí|en|todo И это было то, что действительно было ориентировано на читателей, а не на меня. Y esto era algo que realmente estaba impulsado por los lectores, no por mí en absoluto. And I think that's probably why it's had such staying power. Y creo que probablemente esa es la razón por la que ha tenido tanto poder de permanencia.

BILL MOYERS: When you write, do you imagine who might be reading? BILL MOYERS: Cuando escribes, ¿imaginas quién podría estar leyendo? Can you see particular people or individuals that enables you to connect almost personally with them, as if your letter was to me or to someone else who is among those 400- 500,000 people who read you every day? ¿Puedes ver a personas o individuos en particular que te permiten conectarte casi personalmente con ellos, como si tu carta fuera para mí o para alguien más que está entre esas 400-500,000 personas que te leen todos los días?

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: I have always been a letter writer, and I found when my numbers got over half a million, I couldn't think about how many people there were out there. HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: Siempre he sido una escritora de cartas, y descubrí que cuando mis números superaron el medio millón, no podía pensar en cuántas personas había allá afuera. I had to think as if I were writing a letter to my brothers and sisters, to my good friends with whom I have had a correspondence since I could hold a pen. yo|tuve|que|pensar|como|si|yo|estuviera|escribiendo|una|carta|a|mis|hermanos|y|hermanas|a|mis|buenos|amigos|con|quienes|yo|he|tenido|una|correspondencia|desde|yo|podía|sostener|un|bolígrafo Tuve que pensar como si estuviera escribiendo una carta a mis hermanos y hermanas, a mis buenos amigos con quienes he tenido correspondencia desde que pude sostener un bolígrafo. I think if it were truly a private letter, I would, you know, make jokes more, or probably use less formal language in some cases. yo|pienso|si|eso|fuera|verdaderamente|una|privada|carta|yo|verbo auxiliar condicional|tú|sabes|haría|chistes|más|o|probablemente|usaría|menos|formal|lenguaje|en|algunos|casos Creo que si realmente fuera una carta privada, haría más bromas, o probablemente usaría un lenguaje menos formal en algunos casos. But I always have to think that I'm writing to my friends, and I think maybe that comes through. pero|yo|siempre|tengo|que|pensar|que|estoy|escribiendo|a|mis|amigos|y|yo|pienso|tal vez|eso|viene|a través Pero siempre tengo que pensar que estoy escribiendo a mis amigos, y creo que tal vez eso se nota.

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: I'm very tired. HEATHER|COX|RICHARDSON|yo estoy|muy|cansado HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: Estoy muy cansada. And it definitely takes a toll. y|eso|definitivamente|toma|un|costo Y definitivamente tiene un costo. Producing 1,200 words every day, when you're already working a full-time job is a lot. produciendo|palabras|cada|día|cuando|tú estás|ya|trabajando|un|||trabajo|es|un|mucho Producir 1,200 palabras todos los días, cuando ya estás trabajando a tiempo completo, es mucho. That being said, it feels like this is a crisis moment in America. eso|siendo|dicho|eso|se siente|como|esto|es|un|crisis|momento|en|América Dicho esto, parece que este es un momento de crisis en América. And I certainly would not have been doing this ten years ago. y|yo|ciertamente|habría|no|habría|estado|haciendo|esto|diez|años|atrás Y ciertamente no habría estado haciendo esto hace diez años. But you think of all the sacrifices that people have made to keep this country a democracy and to keep it healthy and to try and keep it equal. pero|tú|piensas|de|todos|los|sacrificios|que|la gente|han|hecho|para|mantener|este|país|una|democracia|y|para|mantener|eso|saludable|y|para|tratar|y|mantener|eso|igual Pero piensas en todos los sacrificios que la gente ha hecho para mantener este país como una democracia, para mantenerlo saludable y para intentar mantenerlo igual. It seems to me to be a small price for me to pay to take the extraordinary training I've had and all the privilege I've had in my life and, you know, stay up a little bit later than I would like to. eso|parece|a|mí|a|ser|un|pequeño|precio|para|mí|a|pagar|para|tomar|el|extraordinario|entrenamiento|que he|tenido|y|todos|los|privilegios|que he|tenido|en|mi|vida|y|tú|sabes|quedarme|despierto|un|poco|más|tarde|que|yo|gustaría|gustar|a Me parece que es un pequeño precio que debo pagar para aprovechar la extraordinaria formación que he tenido y todos los privilegios que he tenido en mi vida y, ya sabes, quedarme despierto un poco más tarde de lo que me gustaría. So the people who really deserve credits are the people in my family who are really understanding about the fact that every night the minute we finish eating, I usually actually put my head down on the dining room table or on my desk and sleep for an hour or two. así que|las|personas|que|realmente|merecen|créditos|son|las|personas|en|mi|familia|que|son|realmente|comprensivos|sobre|el|hecho|que|cada|noche|el|minuto|nosotros|terminamos|de comer|yo|usualmente|de hecho|pongo|mi|cabeza|abajo|en|la|comedor|sala|mesa|o|en|mi|escritorio|y|duermo|por|una|hora|o|dos Итак, люди, которые действительно заслуживают похвалы, - это люди в моей семье, которые действительно понимают тот факт, что каждую ночь, когда мы заканчиваем есть, я обычно кладу голову на обеденный стол или на свой стол и сплю час. или два. Así que las personas que realmente merecen créditos son las personas de mi familia que son realmente comprensivas sobre el hecho de que cada noche, en el momento en que terminamos de cenar, yo generalmente pongo mi cabeza sobre la mesa del comedor o en mi escritorio y duermo durante una o dos horas. And then they've all gone to bed when I pick my head back up and start typing. y|entonces|ellos han|todos|ido|a|cama|cuando|yo|levanto|mi|cabeza|de nuevo|arriba|y|empiezo|a escribir Y ya se han ido a la cama cuando yo levanto la cabeza y empiezo a escribir. And they've been really good about it. y|ellos han|estado|realmente|buenos|sobre|eso Y han sido realmente buenos al respecto. And I have promised them that it won't go on forever. Y les he prometido que no durará para siempre.

RELATED: Moyers on Democracy RELACIONADO: Moyers sobre la Democracia

BILL MOYERS: I like this one from the 11th of July, you write, “As you all know, the news dumps in the last couple of days have kept me writing until the sun came up. БИЛЛ МОЙЕРС: Мне нравится этот от 11 июля, вы пишете: «Как вы все знаете, свалки новостей за последние пару дней заставляли меня писать, пока не взошло солнце. BILL MOYERS: Me gusta este del 11 de julio, escribes: “Como todos saben, las noticias de los últimos días me han mantenido escribiendo hasta que salió el sol. But while I'm finally going to bed on these late nights, the fishermen's days are just starting.” And you add, “As I was out kayaking on this gorgeous evening after several days of fog, I passed a friend on the shore who called out, ‘We wouldn't mind if you took a day off, you know'?” Did you? Pero mientras finalmente me voy a la cama en estas noches tardías, los días de los pescadores apenas están comenzando.” Y añades: “Mientras estaba en kayak en esta hermosa noche después de varios días de niebla, pasé junto a un amigo en la orilla que gritó: ‘No nos importaría si te tomas un día libre, ¿sabes?’ ¿Lo hiciste?

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: One of the things historians do is we look for patterns. HEATHER|COX|RICHARDSON|uno|de|los|cosas|historiadores|hacen|es|nosotros|miramos|por|patrones ХИТЕР КОКС РИЧАРДСОН: Историки ищут закономерности. HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: Una de las cosas que hacen los historiadores es buscar patrones. And in many ways, Donald Trump is a very easy read, because he operates in certain ways. y|en|muchas|formas|Donald|Trump|es|un|muy|fácil|lectura|porque|él|opera|en|ciertas|maneras И во многих отношениях Дональда Трампа очень легко читать, потому что он действует определенным образом. Y de muchas maneras, Donald Trump es muy fácil de leer, porque opera de ciertas maneras. And he is the king of distraction. y|él|es|el|rey|de|distracción И он король отвлечения. Y él es el rey de la distracción. So any time there is a big distraction, especially one like that, every time they do something like that, I'm always looking for what story got buried. así que|cualquier|vez|allí|hay|una|gran|distracción|especialmente|una|como|esa|cada|vez|ellos|hacen|algo|como|eso|yo estoy|siempre|buscando|por|qué|historia|fue|enterrada Así que cada vez que hay una gran distracción, especialmente una como esa, cada vez que hacen algo así, siempre estoy buscando qué historia fue enterrada. And then again, as a historian, you can see what the stories are that are big. y|entonces|otra vez|como|un|historiador|tú|puedes|ver|qué|las|historias|son|que|están|grandes Y luego, como historiador, puedes ver cuáles son las historias que son grandes. And the Russia bounty scandal is a huge story. y|el|Rusia|recompensa|escándalo|es|una|enorme|historia Y el escándalo de la recompensa de Rusia es una gran historia. It's also one that deserves attention. es|también|una|que|merece|atención También es una que merece atención. But the fact that there was so much flack around the Russia bounty scandal, and it really has been pushed away from the headline news, says to me, there is an awful lot there. pero|el|hecho|que|allí|hubo|tanto|mucho|crítica|alrededor|el|Rusia|recompensa|escándalo|y|eso|realmente|ha|sido|empujado|lejos|de|las|titulares|noticias|dice|a|mí|allí|hay|una|horrible|cantidad|allí Но тот факт, что вокруг скандала с баунти в России было так много шумихи, и его действительно оттолкнули от заголовков новостей, говорит мне, что здесь очень много всего. Pero el hecho de que hubo tanta controversia en torno al escándalo de la recompensa de Rusia, y que realmente ha sido desplazado de las noticias principales, me dice que hay mucho ahí. And you can see this happening again and again and again. y|tú|puedes|ver|esto|sucediendo|otra vez|y|otra vez|y|otra vez Y puedes ver esto sucediendo una y otra vez. Like, the Goya beans story. como|los|Goya|frijoles|historia Например, история с бобами Гойя. Como, la historia de los frijoles Goya. You know, the Goya beans on the Resolute Desk, which was tú|sabes|los|Goya|frijoles|en|el|Resolute|escritorio|que|fue Sabes, los frijoles Goya en el Escritorio Resoluto, lo cual fue

heartbreaking to so many of us. desgarrador|a|tantos|muchos|de|nosotros desgarrador para muchos de nosotros. But it's not gonna be in the history books in 150 years. pero|no va a estar|no|va a|estar|en|los|historia|libros|en|años Но через 150 лет этого не будет в учебниках истории. Pero no va a estar en los libros de historia en 150 años. That doesn't matter. eso|no|importa Eso no importa. What matters is some of these other stories that get buried. lo que|importa|es|algunas|de|estas|otras|historias|que|se|entierran Lo que importa son algunas de estas otras historias que quedan enterradas. So they're kind of easy to see, in a way, for Donald Trump. así|ellos son|tipo|de|fácil|de|ver|en|una|manera|para|Donald|Trump Así que son un poco fáciles de ver, de alguna manera, para Donald Trump. That being said, again, one of the things that I think really helps me to write the letters and to understand what's going on today is that, as historians, we are looking for the longer, larger picture. eso|siendo|dicho|otra vez|uno|de|las|cosas|que|yo|pienso|realmente|ayuda|me|a|escribir|las|cartas|y|a|entender|lo que|está|sucediendo|hoy|es|que|como|historiadores|nosotros|estamos|buscando|por|la|más largo|grande|imagen Dicho esto, nuevamente, una de las cosas que creo que realmente me ayuda a escribir las cartas y a entender lo que está sucediendo hoy es que, como historiadores, estamos buscando la imagen más amplia y a largo plazo. So it's easy for me to see a story and say, “No, that's not important yet. así que|es|fácil|para|mí|a|ver|una|historia|y|decir|no|eso es|no|importante|aún Así que es fácil para mí ver una historia y decir: “No, eso aún no es importante. It might be important, but it's not important yet.” So, for example, Kanye West running for president, and people just swamped my email and my direct mentions in Twitter saying, you know, “What is Kanye doing?” And I'm thinkin', it's not a story yet. eso|podría|ser|importante|pero|es|no|importante|aún|así|para|ejemplo|Kanye|West|corriendo|para|presidente|y|la gente|solo|inundaron|mi|correo|y|mis|directas|menciones|en|Twitter|diciendo|tú|sabes|qué|está|Kanye|haciendo|y|yo estoy|pensando|es|no|una|historia|aún Puede que sea importante, pero aún no es importante.” Así que, por ejemplo, Kanye West postulándose para presidente, y la gente inundó mi correo electrónico y mis menciones directas en Twitter diciendo, ya saben, “¿Qué está haciendo Kanye?” Y estoy pensando, no es una historia aún. I mean, it's grabbing the headlines, but he doesn't have a committee. yo|quiero decir|es|capturando|los|titulares|pero|él|no|tiene|un|comité Я имею в виду, что это хватается за заголовки, но у него нет комитета. Quiero decir, está acaparando los titulares, pero no tiene un comité. He doesn't appear to be doing anything at this point, other than pushing Kanye West. él|no|parece|a|estar|haciendo|nada|en|este|momento|otro|que|empujando|Kanye|West No parece estar haciendo nada en este momento, aparte de empujar a Kanye West. So I'm not gonna worry about that yet. así|yo|no|voy a|preocupar|sobre|eso|aún Así que no me voy a preocupar por eso todavía.

BILL MOYERS: What was it about the Goya story and photograph on the Resolute Desk, why were you offended by that story? BILL|MOYERS|qué|fue|eso|sobre|la|Goya|historia|y|fotografía|en|el|Resolute|escritorio|por qué|fueron|tú|ofendido|por|esa|historia BILL MOYERS: ¿Qué fue lo que te ofendió de la historia de Goya y la fotografía en el Escritorio Resoluto?

WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 03: President Donald Trump speaks during a Virtual Town Hall inside of the Lincoln Memorial on May 3, 2020 in Washington, DC. WASHINGTON|DC|MAYO|presidente|Donald|Trump|habla|durante|un|Virtual|Town|Hall|dentro|de|el|Lincoln|Memorial|el|mayo|en|Washington|DC WASHINGTON, DC – 03 DE MAYO: El presidente Donald Trump habla durante un Ayuntamiento Virtual dentro del Monumento a Lincoln el 3 de mayo de 2020 en Washington, DC. (Photo by Oliver Contreras-Pool/Getty Images) foto|por|Oliver|||Getty|Images (Foto de Oliver Contreras-Pool/Getty Images)

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: Well, it's a very dystopian vision. HEATHER|COX|RICHARDSON|bueno|es|una|muy|distópica|visión HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: Bueno, es una visión muy distópica. I don't underestimate Donald Trump, because one thing he is really, really good at is, photo ops to his base. yo|no|subestimo|Donald|Trump|porque|una|cosa|él|es|realmente||bueno|en|es|fotos|oportunidades|para|su|base Я не недооцениваю Дональда Трампа, потому что одна вещь, в которой он действительно хорош, - это фотооперации на своей базе. No subestimo a Donald Trump, porque una cosa en la que es realmente, realmente bueno es en las oportunidades fotográficas para su base. He's always been able to read an audience incredibly well. él ha|siempre|estado|capaz|de|leer|una|audiencia|increíblemente|bien Он всегда умел невероятно хорошо читать публику. Siempre ha sido capaz de leer a su audiencia increíblemente bien. And that picture was absolutely not an accident. y|esa|imagen|fue|absolutamente|no|un|accidente Y esa imagen absolutamente no fue un accidente. It really was calling out the dystopian future. eso|realmente|fue|llamando|afuera|el|distópico|futuro Realmente estaba señalando el futuro distópico. And of course, striking fear into the heart of a lot of Americans, both for and against what he was doing. y|de|curso|causando|miedo|en|el|corazón|de|un|mucho|de|americanos|tanto|a|y|en contra|lo que|él|estaba|haciendo Y, por supuesto, infundiendo miedo en el corazón de muchos estadounidenses, tanto a favor como en contra de lo que estaba haciendo. It was a very, very carefully staged image. eso|fue|una|muy|muy|cuidadosamente|montada|imagen Era una imagen muy, muy cuidadosamente montada. And that being said, if he followed, as I say, the fever swamps of the internet where I hang out rather more than I would like to, there were a lotta people saying, well, you know, he had to, because there was vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial. y|eso|siendo|dicho|si|él|seguía|como|yo|digo|los|fiebre|pantanos|de|la|internet|donde|yo|paso|tiempo|más|más|que|yo|gustaría|gustar|a|allí|había|un|mucha|gente|diciendo|bien|tú|sabes|él|tuvo|que|porque|allí|hubo|vandalismo|en|el|Lincoln|Memorial Dicho esto, si él seguía, como digo, los pantanos de fiebre de internet donde frecuento más de lo que me gustaría, había mucha gente diciendo, bueno, ya sabes, tenía que hacerlo, porque hubo vandalismo en el Memorial de Lincoln. Would you rather have vandals, you know, destroying the Lincoln Memorial? verbo auxiliar condicional|tú|preferirías|tener|vándalos|tú|sabes|destruyendo|el|Lincoln|Memorial Вы бы предпочли, чтобы вандалы разрушили Мемориал Линкольна? ¿Preferirías tener vándalos, ya sabes, destruyendo el Memorial de Lincoln? There was a little bit of graffiti on the back of that memorial. Allí|había|un|poco|poco|de|graffiti|en|la|parte|de|ese|memorial На обратной стороне мемориала было немного граффити. Había un poco de graffiti en la parte de atrás de ese memorial. And it's a huge memorial, and I'm certainly not defending anybody doing anything to that memorial. y|es|un|enorme|memorial|y|yo|ciertamente|no|defendiendo|a nadie|haciendo|algo|a|ese|memorial И это огромный мемориал, и я, конечно же, никого не защищаю, делая что-либо с этим мемориалом. Y es un enorme memorial, y ciertamente no estoy defendiendo a nadie que haga algo a ese memorial. But really? pero|realmente ¿Pero en serio? That's what we did to take on a graffiti artist on the back of the memorial? eso es|lo que|nosotros|hicimos|para|enfrentar|a|un|graffiti|artista|en|la|parte|de|ese|memorial Вот что мы сделали, чтобы нарисовать художника-граффити на обратной стороне мемориала? ¿Eso es lo que hicimos para enfrentarnos a un artista de graffiti en la parte de atrás del memorial? It really was a deliberately staged moment. Realmente fue un momento deliberadamente escenificado.

BILL MOYERS: That was, those steps were the steps where I heard, among others, John Lewis, speak at great Washington March in 1963. BILL MOYERS: Esos pasos fueron los pasos donde escuché, entre otros, a John Lewis, hablar en la gran marcha de Washington en 1963. It really hit me the contrast between those troops on the Lincoln Memorial and John Lewis and Martin Luther King speaking at that very spot. Realmente me impactó el contraste entre esas tropas en el Monumento a Lincoln y John Lewis y Martin Luther King hablando en ese mismo lugar. What does it say to you as a historian, this contribution to instant amnesia of his power as a distractor, to take us away from the Russian bounty story to the Goya beans story, for example? ¿Qué te dice esto como historiador, esta contribución a la amnesia instantánea de su poder como distractor, para alejarnos de la historia de la recompensa rusa a la historia de los frijoles Goya, por ejemplo? What does it mean to history that we today have such instant amnesia? qué|hace|eso|significa|a|la historia|que|nosotros|hoy|tenemos|tal|instantánea|amnesia ¿Qué significa para la historia que hoy tengamos una amnesia tan instantánea?

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: Donald Trump and his people are masters at that. HEATHER|COX|RICHARDSON|Donald|Trump|y|su|gente|son|maestros|en|eso HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: Donald Trump y su gente son maestros en eso. And it is a deliberate political tactic, you know. y|eso|es|una|deliberada|política|táctica|tú|sabes Y es una táctica política deliberada, ya sabes. It's not just that he's good at reading an audience, and it's not just that he himself might have a short attention span. es|no|solo|que||bueno|en|leer|una|audiencia|y|es|no|solo|que|él|él mismo|podría|tener|un|corto|atención|span No es solo que él sea bueno leyendo a la audiencia, y no es solo que él mismo pueda tener un corto período de atención. If you continually change the subject, you continually stay one step ahead of the story, you can do a couple of things. si|tú|continuamente|cambias|el|tema|tú|continuamente|te mantienes|un|paso|adelante|de|la|historia|tú|puedes|hacer|un|par|de|cosas Si cambias continuamente de tema, te mantienes un paso por delante de la historia, puedes hacer un par de cosas. First of all, you can control the narrative, because by the time people have fact-checked you, you're already onto the next story. primero|de|todo|tú|puedes|controlar|la|narrativa|porque|por|el|tiempo|las personas|han|||a ti|tú estás|ya|en|la|siguiente|historia En primer lugar, puedes controlar la narrativa, porque para cuando la gente te haya verificado, ya estás en la siguiente historia. Wisconsin Senator Joe McCarthy in the 1950s developed that tactic really carefully. Wisconsin|senador|Joe|McCarthy|en|los|años 50|desarrolló|esa|táctica|realmente|cuidadosamente El senador de Wisconsin Joe McCarthy en la década de 1950 desarrolló esa táctica con mucho cuidado. Because the media simply couldn't catch up with the stories, by the time you fact-checked 'em, they were fourth-page news. porque|los|medios|simplemente|no pudieron|alcanzar|arriba|con|las|historias|por|el|tiempo|tú|||ellos|ellos|estaban|||noticias Поскольку средства массовой информации просто не могли догнать эти истории, к тому времени, когда вы их проверили, они уже занимали четвертую страницу. Porque los medios simplemente no podían ponerse al día con las historias, para cuando las verificabas, ya eran noticias de cuarta página. And there was the first-page story of something else outrageous. y|allí|estaba|la|||historia|de|algo|más|escandaloso Y allí estaba la historia de primera página de algo más escandaloso. So it's partly to control the narrative, but it's also something I think more nefarious with this particular president. así|es|parcialmente|para|controlar|la|narrativa|pero|es|también|algo|yo|pienso|más|nefasto|con|este|particular|presidente Так что это отчасти для того, чтобы контролировать повествование, но я также считаю, что это что-то более гнусное в отношении этого конкретного президента. Así que es en parte para controlar la narrativa, pero también es algo que creo que es más nefasto con este presidente en particular. And that is that, if you, as Steve Bannon said, “flood the zone with expletive–” what you do is, you keep your audience off guard all the time. y|eso|es|que|si|tú|como|Steve|Bannon|dijo|inunda|la|zona|con|expletivos|lo que|tú|haces|es|tú|mantienes|tu|audiencia|fuera|de guardia|todo|el|tiempo И это то, что если вы, как сказал Стив Бэннон, «наводняете зону ругательством…», вы все время держите свою аудиторию врасплох. Y eso es que, si tú, como dijo Steve Bannon, “inundas la zona con expletivos–” lo que haces es mantener a tu audiencia en guardia todo el tiempo. They never know what the truth is. ellos|nunca|saben|qué|la|verdad|es Nunca saben cuál es la verdad. They never know what's coming next, and they don't know how to answer to any of it. ellos|nunca|saben|lo que|viene|siguiente|y|ellos|no|saben|cómo|a|responder|a|ninguno|de|eso Nunca saben qué viene a continuación, y no saben cómo responder a nada de eso. And it's a game of psychological warfare, if you will. y|es|un|juego|de|psicológico|guerra|si|tú|quieres Y es un juego de guerra psicológica, si se quiere. But if you keep knocking people around enough, eventually what they will do is simply say, “I don't care. pero|si|tú|sigues|golpeando|a las personas|alrededor|lo suficiente|eventualmente|lo que|ellos|verbo auxiliar futuro|harán|es|simplemente|decir|yo|no|me importa Pero si sigues golpeando a la gente lo suficiente, eventualmente lo que harán es simplemente decir: “No me importa. It's too much for me. es|demasiado|mucho|para|mí Es demasiado para mí. Everybody's lying. todos|mienten Todo el mundo está mintiendo. I don't know what's real. yo|no|sé|qué es|real No sé qué es real. Just make it all go away.” And when you do that, the way is pretty clearly open for an autocrat to step in. solo|haz|eso|todo|vaya|lejos||||||||||||||||| Simplemente haz que todo desaparezca.” Y cuando haces eso, el camino está bastante claramente abierto para que un autócrata intervenga. And it's not just Donald Trump and Steve Bannon who have perfected this nowadays, and other countries as well. y|eso es|no|solo|Donald|Trump|y|Steve|Bannon|quienes|han|perfeccionado|esto|hoy en día|y|otros|países|así|también Y no son solo Donald Trump y Steve Bannon quienes han perfeccionado esto hoy en día, sino también otros países. This is a tactic that Russian military intelligence uses. esto|es|una|táctica|que|ruso|militar|inteligencia|usa Esta es una táctica que utiliza la inteligencia militar rusa. But it's a tactic that Eric Hoffer noted in 1951 when he wrote TRUE BELIEVER. pero|es|una|táctica|que|Eric|Hoffer|notó|en|cuando|él|escribió|VERDADERO|CREYENTE Pero es una táctica que Eric Hoffer señaló en 1951 cuando escribió CREYENTE VERDADERO. That the more you flood the zone, if you will, the more you destabilize a population, and the more they become willing to accept any kind of an autocracy, simply to make it all stop. que|la|más|tú|inunda|la|zona|si|tú|quieres|la|más|tú|desestabilizas|una|población|y|más|más|ellos|se vuelven|dispuestos|a|aceptar|cualquier|tipo|de|una|autocracia|simplemente|para|hacer|eso|todo|parar Que cuanto más inundas la zona, si se quiere, más desestabilizas a una población, y más dispuestos se vuelven a aceptar cualquier tipo de autocracia, simplemente para que todo se detenga. Which is again, one of the reasons that I'm always trying to be really cautious when I write the letters is because I don't want people to go, “Oh, she just is, you know, extreme as everybody else. lo cual|es|otra vez|una|de|las|razones|que|yo estoy|siempre|tratando|de|ser|realmente|cauteloso|cuando|yo|escribo|las|cartas|es|porque|yo|no|quiero|la gente|a|ir|oh|ella|solo|es|tú|sabes|extrema|como|todos|los demás И это опять же, одна из причин, по которой я всегда стараюсь быть очень осторожным, когда пишу письма, заключается в том, что я не хочу, чтобы люди говорили: «О, она просто, вы знаете, такая же крайняя, как и все остальные. Que es, de nuevo, una de las razones por las que siempre trato de ser muy cautelosa cuando escribo las cartas, porque no quiero que la gente diga: “Oh, ella es tan extrema como los demás. I don't trust her.” And I would rather understate a story than overstate a story, so that my readers are always on firm ground. yo|no|confío|en ella|y|yo|verbo auxiliar condicional|preferiría|subestimar|una|historia|que|exagerar|una|historia|así|que|mis|lectores|están|siempre|en|firme|terreno Я ей не доверяю. И я бы предпочел преуменьшить историю, чем переоценить ее, чтобы мои читатели всегда были на твердой почве. No confío en ella.” Y prefiero subestimar una historia que exagerarla, para que mis lectores siempre estén en terreno firme.

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: It's something that's been building I think in the Republican Party for a long time, after it got taken over by movement conservatism in the 1980s and then really got pushed into that with Newt Gingrich in the 1990s. Heather|Cox|Richardson|es|algo|que ha|estado|construyendo|yo|pienso|en|el|Republicano|Partido|por|un|largo|tiempo|después de que|este|fue|tomado|sobre|por|movimiento|conservadurismo|en|los|años 80|y|luego|realmente|se|empujó|en|eso|con|Newt|Gingrich|en|los|años 90 ХИТЕР КОКС РИЧАРДСОН: Я думаю, что это то, что создавалось в Республиканской партии в течение долгого времени, после того, как в 1980-х ее сменил консерватизм движения, а затем действительно подтолкнули к этому с Ньютом Гингричем в 1990-х. HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: Es algo que ha estado construyéndose, creo, en el Partido Republicano durante mucho tiempo, después de que fue tomado por el conservadurismo de movimiento en los años 80 y luego realmente fue empujado hacia eso con Newt Gingrich en los años 90. But what I really saw in the present moment were parallels to the 1850s when in fact, you had the big Southern planters taking over American democracy. pero|lo que|yo|realmente|vi|en|el|presente|momento|fueron|paralelos|a|los|1850|cuando|en|hecho|tú|tenías|los|grandes|sureños|plantadores|tomando|control|americana|democracia Pero lo que realmente vi en el momento presente fueron paralelismos con la década de 1850, cuando de hecho, los grandes plantadores del sur estaban apoderándose de la democracia americana. And doing it with the manipulation of the electorate, but also through the manipulation of narrative. y|haciendo|eso|con|la|manipulación|de|la|electorado|pero|también|a través|la|manipulación|de|narrativa Y lo hacían con la manipulación del electorado, pero también a través de la manipulación de la narrativa. And what was really striking to me about the impeachment hearings is a couple of things. y|lo que|fue|realmente|impactante|a|mí|sobre|las|juicio político|audiencias|es|un|par|de|cosas Y lo que realmente me llamó la atención sobre las audiencias de impeachment son un par de cosas. First of all, they didn't play out all that differently than anybody expected. primero|de|todo|ellos|no|jugar|afuera|todo|eso|diferente|de lo que|nadie|esperaba Primero que nada, no se desarrollaron de manera tan diferente a lo que cualquiera esperaba. Although I think a lot of us had hopes the Senate might at least hear witnesses. aunque|yo|pienso|un|mucho|de|nosotros|teníamos|esperanzas|el|Senado|podría|por|lo menos|escuchar|testigos Aunque creo que muchos de nosotros teníamos la esperanza de que el Senado al menos escuchara a los testigos. But what really hit me one day as I was listening to them was that, it became very clear that John Ratcliffe and Jim Jordan especially, but others as well— pero|lo que|realmente|impactó|a mí|un|día|como|yo|estaba|escuchando|a|ellos|fue|eso|eso|se volvió|muy|claro|que|John|Ratcliffe|y|Jim|Jordan|especialmente|sino|otros|también|bien Но что меня действительно поразило однажды, когда я их слушал, так это то, что стало очень ясно, что Джон Рэтклифф и Джим Джордан особенно, но и другие тоже ... Pero lo que realmente me impactó un día mientras los escuchaba fue que, se volvió muy claro que John Ratcliffe y Jim Jordan especialmente, pero otros también—

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: Yes. HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: Sí. Were not trying to learn any truth. estaban|no|tratando|de|aprender|alguna|verdad No estamos tratando de aprender ninguna verdad. They were absolutely not trying to do anything other than create a narrative to be edited. ellos|estaban|absolutamente|no|tratando|de|hacer|nada|otro|que|crear|una|narrativa|que|sea|editada Они абсолютно не пытались делать ничего, кроме создания повествования для редактирования. Absolutamente no estaban tratando de hacer nada más que crear una narrativa para ser editada. They were looking for sound bites to edit into their own story. ellos|estaban|buscando|por|sonido|fragmentos|para|editar|en|su|propia|historia Они искали звуковые фрагменты, чтобы отредактировать их собственную историю. Estaban buscando fragmentos de sonido para editar en su propia historia. And that, the realization, I still remember I was driving my car and listening to it. y|eso|la|realización|yo|todavía|recuerdo|yo|estaba|manejando|mi|carro|y|escuchando|a|eso Y eso, la realización, todavía recuerdo que estaba conduciendo mi coche y escuchándolo. And all of a sudden, I thought, they're not even trying to participate in this system. y|todo|de|una|súbito|yo|pensé|ellos son|no|siquiera|tratando|de|participar|en|este|sistema Y de repente, pensé, ni siquiera están tratando de participar en este sistema. You can sort of assume that politicians will skew things in their direction. tú|puedes|algo|de|asumir|que|los políticos|verbo auxiliar futuro|sesgarán|las cosas|en|su|dirección Puedes suponer que los políticos distorsionarán las cosas a su favor. That's fine. eso es|bien Está bien. That's the way the system works. eso es|el|manera|el|sistema|funciona Así es como funciona el sistema. But you could tell they didn't care. pero|tú|podrías|decir|ellos|no|importaba Pero podías decir que no les importaba. They didn't care what the truth was. ellos|no|importaba|lo que|la|verdad|era No les importaba cuál era la verdad. They didn't care about getting to what had happened. ellos|no|importaban|sobre|llegar|a|lo que|había|sucedido No les importaba llegar a lo que había sucedido. All they cared about was getting sound bites so that they could cut them into a video that they could convince people of something that wasn't true. todo|ellos|les importaba|sobre|fue|conseguir|sonido|fragmentos|para que|eso|ellos|podrían|cortar|ellos|en|un|video|que|ellos|podrían|convencer|a las personas|de|algo|que|no|verdadero Todo lo que les importaba era obtener fragmentos de sonido para que pudieran cortarlos en un video que pudiera convencer a la gente de algo que no era cierto. And I found that the most chilling moment of this entire episode of the last four years. y|yo|encontré|que|el|más|escalofriante|momento|de|este|entero|episodio|de|los|últimos|cuatro|años Y encontré que el momento más escalofriante de todo este episodio de los últimos cuatro años. The realization that elected representatives weren't even trying to spin things. la|realización|que|elegidos|representantes|no estaban|siquiera|tratando|de|girar|las cosas La realización de que los representantes electos ni siquiera estaban tratando de darle un giro a las cosas. They were simply trying to write their own reality. ellos|estaban|simplemente|tratando|de|escribir|su|propia|realidad Simplemente estaban tratando de escribir su propia realidad. And that's not to say I was naive. y|eso es|no|para|decir|yo|estaba|ingenuo Y eso no quiere decir que fuera ingenuo. I certainly knew that the Republicans had been creating their own narrative for a very long time. yo|ciertamente|sabía|que|los|republicanos|habían|estado|creando|su|propio|narrativa|por|un|muy|largo|tiempo Ciertamente sabía que los republicanos habían estado creando su propia narrativa durante mucho tiempo. But the deliberate rejection of reality in favor of constructing a false narrative was, I just remember listening to Jim Jordan's voice and thinking, “Wow, wow.” You know what he sounds like? pero|la|deliberada|rechazo|de|realidad|en|favor|de|construir|una|falsa|narrativa|fue|yo|solo|recuerdo|escuchando|a|Jim|Jordan|voz|y|pensando|wow|wow|tú|sabes|lo que|él|suena|como Pero el rechazo deliberado de la realidad a favor de construir una narrativa falsa fue, solo recuerdo escuchar la voz de Jim Jordan y pensar, “Vaya, vaya.” ¿Sabes cómo suena? He sounds like a director, like when you're on a set, and they basically give you the sentence. ||como|un|||||||set|y|ellos|básicamente|dan|te|la|oración Suena como un director, como cuando estás en un set, y básicamente te dan la frase. And I thought, I'm listening to him direct a documentary as he is doing this. y|yo|pensé|estoy|escuchando|a|él|dirigir|un|documental|mientras|él|está|haciendo|esto И я подумал, что слушаю, как он снимает документальный фильм, пока он это делает. Y pensé, estoy escuchándolo dirigir un documental mientras hace esto. So that was one thing. así|eso|fue|una|cosa Así que esa fue una cosa. But the other thing that really jumped out at me was just how wonderful Adam Schiff and the managers of impeachment were in the Senate at constructing their own narrative that tied to our American values and American principles. pero|la|otra|cosa|que|realmente|saltó|fuera|a|mí|fue|solo|qué|maravilloso|Adam|Schiff|y|los|gerentes|de|juicio político|estuvieron|en|el|Senado|en|construyendo|su|propia|narrativa|que|se unió|a|nuestros|valores|valores|y|principios|principios Pero la otra cosa que realmente me llamó la atención fue lo maravillosos que fueron Adam Schiff y los gerentes del juicio político en el Senado al construir su propia narrativa que se relacionaba con nuestros valores y principios americanos. And it's been a long time since we've had leaders come out and say, “This is what we stand for, and it matters.” And I was actually really inspired by that, and it was a lovely thing for a change to hear our leaders say, “We are a democracy, and here's why that matters, and here's what we are defending.” And the contrast, I thought, really spoke back to what showed up on the Lincoln Memorial that we were just talking about. y|es|ha sido|un|largo|tiempo|desde que|hemos|tenido|líderes|salir|afuera|y|decir|esto|es|lo que|nosotros|nos mantenemos|por|y|eso|importa|y|yo|estaba|realmente|muy|inspirado|por|eso|y|fue||un|hermoso|cosa|por|un|cambio|a|escuchar|nuestros|líderes|decir|nosotros|somos|una|democracia|y|aquí está|por qué|eso|importa|y|aquí está|lo que|nosotros|estamos|defendiendo|y|el|contraste|yo|pensé|realmente|habló|de regreso|a|lo que|mostró|arriba|en|el|Lincoln|Memorial|que|nosotros|estábamos|solo|hablando|de И прошло много времени с тех пор, как лидеры выходили и говорили: «Это то, что мы отстаиваем, и это важно». И меня это действительно вдохновило, и для перемен было приятно услышать, как наши лидеры говорят: «Мы - демократия, и вот почему это имеет значение, и вот то, что мы защищаем». И этот контраст, как я думал, действительно говорит о том, что проявилось на Мемориале Линкольна, о котором мы только что говорили. Y ha pasado mucho tiempo desde que tuvimos líderes que salieron y dijeron: “Esto es lo que defendemos, y es importante.” Y de hecho, me sentí realmente inspirado por eso, y fue algo encantador por un cambio escuchar a nuestros líderes decir: “Somos una democracia, y aquí está por qué eso importa, y aquí está lo que estamos defendiendo.” Y el contraste, pensé, realmente respondía a lo que apareció en el Monumento a Lincoln de lo que acabamos de hablar. Is our Lincoln Memorial a place of dystopia? es|nuestro|Lincoln|Memorial|un|lugar|de|distopía ¿Es nuestro Monumento a Lincoln un lugar de distopía? Or is it a place of principle, optimism, and hope? o|es|eso|un|lugar|de|principio|optimismo|y|esperanza ¿O es un lugar de principios, optimismo y esperanza?

BILL MOYERS: What was the link, however, to the relationship between oligarchy and democracy as it played out in the impeachment hearings? BILL|MOYERS|qué|fue|el|vínculo|sin embargo|a|la|relación|entre|oligarquía|y|democracia|como|se|desarrolló|fuera|en|los|juicio|audiencias BILL MOYERS: ¿Cuál fue el vínculo, sin embargo, entre la oligarquía y la democracia tal como se desarrolló en las audiencias de impeachment?

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: The central question is, how is a democracy susceptible to falling into the sort of world we have now? HEATHER|COX|RICHARDSON|la|central|pregunta|es|cómo|está|una|democracia|susceptible|a|caer|en|el|tipo|de|mundo|nosotros|tenemos|ahora HEATHER COX RICHARDSON: La pregunta central es, ¿cómo es una democracia susceptible a caer en el tipo de mundo que tenemos ahora? And if you look at any kind of chart since 1981, you know that wealth has moved upward extraordinarily, at the same time that people on the right are screaming constantly about socialism and communism. y|si|tú|miras|a|cualquier|tipo|de|gráfico|desde|tú|sabes|que|la riqueza|ha|movido|hacia arriba|extraordinariamente|al|mismo||tiempo|que|las personas|en|la|derecha|están|gritando|constantemente|sobre|socialismo|y|comunismo И если вы посмотрите на любую диаграмму с 1981 года, вы знаете, что богатство необычайно выросло, в то время как люди справа постоянно кричат о социализме и коммунизме. Y si miras cualquier tipo de gráfico desde 1981, sabes que la riqueza se ha movido hacia arriba de manera extraordinaria, al mismo tiempo que las personas de la derecha gritan constantemente sobre socialismo y comunismo. In fact, we do have a dramatic redistribution of wealth in America. en|hecho|nosotros|sí|tenemos|una|dramática|redistribución|de|riqueza|en|América Фактически, у нас действительно происходит резкое перераспределение богатства в Америке. De hecho, tenemos una redistribución dramática de la riqueza en América. It's upward. es|hacia arriba Es hacia arriba. So the question is, how does that happen? entonces|la|pregunta|es|cómo|hace|eso|sucede Entonces la pregunta es, ¿cómo sucede eso? And one of the things that I study is, how politicians can use language to convince people of something that is not true. y|una|de|las|cosas|que|yo|estudio|es|cómo|los políticos|pueden|usar|el lenguaje|para|convencer|a las personas|de|algo|que|es|no|verdad Y una de las cosas que estudio es cómo los políticos pueden usar el lenguaje para convencer a las personas de algo que no es cierto. That is, I don't adhere to that whole idea that people vote against their interests or they have false consciousness, or whatever. eso|es|yo|no|adhiero|a|esa|toda|idea|que|las personas|votan|en contra de|sus|intereses|o|ellos|tienen|falsa|conciencia|o|lo que sea То есть я не придерживаюсь всей этой идеи, что люди голосуют против своих интересов, или у них ложное сознание, или что-то еще. Es decir, no adhiero a toda esa idea de que las personas votan en contra de sus intereses o tienen una falsa conciencia, o lo que sea. But rather, how does the system work in such a way that people who really do think they are protecting American values and doing what's best for themselves and their families, how can they be led to do what they have been led to do in the last, you know, generation? sino|más bien|cómo|hace|el|sistema|funciona|de|tal|una|manera|que|las personas|que|realmente|sí|piensan|que|están|protegiendo|estadounidenses|valores|y|haciendo|lo que es|mejor|para|ellos mismos|y|sus|familias|cómo|pueden|ellos|ser|llevados|a|hacer|lo que|ellos|han|sido|llevados|a|hacer|en|la|última|tú|sabes|generación Но, скорее, как система работает таким образом, чтобы люди, которые действительно думают, что они защищают американские ценности и делают то, что лучше всего для себя и своих семей, как их можно побудить сделать то, что их заставили делать в прошлом году? Знаешь, поколение? Sino más bien, ¿cómo funciona el sistema de tal manera que las personas que realmente piensan que están protegiendo los valores estadounidenses y haciendo lo mejor para ellos mismos y sus familias, cómo pueden ser llevadas a hacer lo que han sido llevadas a hacer en la última, ya sabes, generación? So what I've studied for a long time is the construction of a particular narrative and how that ties into American history. así|lo que|he|estudiado|por|un|largo|tiempo|es|la|construcción|de|una|particular|narrativa|y|cómo|eso|se conecta|en|americana|historia Así que lo que he estudiado durante mucho tiempo es la construcción de una narrativa particular y cómo eso se relaciona con la historia estadounidense. A narrative that suggests that if, in fact, you broaden the duties of government to include regulating business, for example, and providing a basic social safety net, and promoting infrastructure, that how that got linked to the idea of racism and sexism to mean that, in fact, if you do give any benefits to people of color or to women, this is somehow a redistribution of wealth, from white men who pay taxes to poorer people who do not. una|narrativa|que|sugiere|que|si|en|hecho|tú|amplías|las|responsabilidades|del|gobierno|para|incluir|regulando|negocios|por|ejemplo|y|proporcionando|una|básica|social|seguridad|red|y|promoviendo|infraestructura|eso|cómo|eso|se|vinculó|a|la|idea|de|racismo|y|sexismo|para|significar|que|en|hecho|si|tú|haces|das|algún|beneficios|a|personas|de|color|o|a|mujeres|esto|es|de alguna manera|una|redistribución|de|riqueza|de|blancos|hombres|que|pagan|impuestos|a|más pobres|personas|que|no|no Повествование, которое предполагает, что если на самом деле вы расширите обязанности правительства, включив, например, регулирование бизнеса и обеспечение базовой системы социальной защиты и развитие инфраструктуры, то как это связано с идеей расизма и сексизма, чтобы означать что, на самом деле, если вы действительно даете какие-либо преимущества цветным людям или женщинам, это каким-то образом перераспределение богатства от белых мужчин, которые платят налоги, к более бедным людям, которые этого не делают. Una narrativa que sugiere que si, de hecho, amplías los deberes del gobierno para incluir la regulación de los negocios, por ejemplo, y proporcionar una red de seguridad social básica, y promover la infraestructura, cómo eso se vinculó a la idea de racismo y sexismo para significar que, de hecho, si das algún beneficio a las personas de color o a las mujeres, esto es de alguna manera una redistribución de la riqueza, de hombres blancos que pagan impuestos a personas más pobres que no lo hacen. And so I follow that a lot. y|así|yo|sigo|eso|mucho| Y así, sigo eso mucho. To watch those men literally create their own reality. para|ver|esos|hombres|literalmente|crear|su|propia|realidad Наблюдать, как эти люди буквально создают свою собственную реальность. Para ver a esos hombres literalmente crear su propia realidad. Obviously, we have this during the George W. Bush administration, the journalist Ron Suskind got that wonderful quotation from a member of the George W. Bush administration talking about how journalists like Suskind lived in a reality-based community, and politicians no longer had to do that, because they created their own reality. obviamente|nosotros|tenemos|esto|durante|la|George|W|Bush|administración|el|periodista|Ron|Suskind|obtuvo|esa|maravillosa|cita|de|un|miembro|de|la|George|W|Bush|administración|hablando|sobre|cómo|periodistas|como|Suskind|vivían|en|una|realidad|||||||||||||||| Очевидно, у нас есть это во времена администрации Джорджа Буша, журналист Рон Зюскинд получил эту замечательную цитату от члена администрации Джорджа Буша, рассказывающего о том, как такие журналисты, как Зюскинд, жили в сообществе, основанном на реальности, а политики больше не знали сделать это, потому что они создали свою собственную реальность. Obviamente, tenemos esto durante la administración de George W. Bush, el periodista Ron Suskind obtuvo esa maravillosa cita de un miembro de la administración de George W. Bush hablando sobre cómo periodistas como Suskind vivían en una comunidad basada en la realidad, y los políticos ya no tenían que hacer eso, porque creaban su propia realidad. Well, to watch the degree to which these men were willing to create their own reality for the end that they would be able to continue to stay in power, come hell or high water, was to me a revelatory leap into, we will do anything it takes, anything it takes, to make sure that this government continues to be responsible only to a very, very small elite in society. bueno|para|observar|el|grado|a|el cual|estos|hombres|estaban|dispuestos|a|crear|su|propia|realidad|para|el|fin|que|ellos|podrían|estar|capaces|a|continuar|a|quedarse|en|el poder|venga|infierno|o|alta|agua|fue|a|mí|un|revelador|salto|en|nosotros|verbo auxiliar futuro|haremos|cualquier cosa|eso|toma|cualquier cosa|eso|toma|para|hacer|seguro|que|este|gobierno|continúa|a|ser|responsable|solo|a|una|muy|muy|pequeña|élite|en|sociedad Bueno, observar el grado en que estos hombres estaban dispuestos a crear su propia realidad con el fin de poder continuar en el poder, venga lo que venga, fue para mí un salto revelador hacia, haremos lo que sea necesario, lo que sea necesario, para asegurarnos de que este gobierno continúe siendo responsable solo ante una élite muy, muy pequeña en la sociedad.

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