Sometimes, on this page or on Substack, we get a question. ‘Why are you beating a dead horse? Why do you keep posting about the awful things happening in our country? About Trump and Trumpism? We all know how bad it is.’

The answer is, because it is true. And it is important to tell the truth. For if it is not told—and yes, repeated—it may not exist. As more and more people, and powerful institutions, shrink from saying the truth, it is more important than ever to say it. As more and more people are frightened, or terminated or fired or worse, for daring to say the truth, it is more important than ever to say it. For if it is not said, it may cease to exist in any meaningful way.

For some of us, it is not hard to see the truth—to see things as they are. For others, it seems excruciatingly difficult. For some it is easy to tell the difference between diving into clear deep waters and swimming in a cesspool. For others, not so. So, we keep trying to point out the difference—not only for those who need to know, but just as much for those who understand but sometimes need reinforcement or reassurance, to know that they are not crazy or alone. For when the truth has been successfully vanquished, all that is left is the lie. The cesspool. No other choices remain.

In our Northwoods lake the waters are clear (although there are very real threats to that as well.) We can dive in as we please. We can still listen to the gentle white-throats and hear their simple purity. On this page I can count on one hand—actually on zero hands—the times we have knowingly told or spread a lie. It has not happened and will not happen. In all humility that puts us light years beyond today’s White House (or a great many media outlets) in terms of veracity. Simple honesty. Of course we are comparatively small, with a limited voice.

But so are the white-throats. And it is still very important to hear them sing. In fact it is vital. At least to me. It is the sound of beauty, and of truth. Sometimes here we share the beauty that we find in the world. Sometimes we just try to tell the truth. To ‘beat the dead horse.’ Over and over. The white-throats, by the way, sing hundreds of times in a day. They are singing now.