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I know I'm preaching to the choir but...

Having just heard 2 hours of Sondheim--full of ups & downs & hope & despair & humor & anger & rueful self-mockery & beauty & music & wordplay--I feel the need to say:

THIS is what the humanities give you.

Humanity.

#Sondheim90Concert
It stirs your soul.
It's a reminder that you have a soul.
It links you to everyone else w/a soul.
It shows you (for the most part) humankind has a soul.

It's the meaning & movement of life.
It gives blood & flesh to facts & data.

The humanities matter because humanity matters.
And now I'll stop.

Like the kids say:
all the feels.
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More from @jbf1755 see all

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Joanne Freeman
@jbf1755
1/ This is a great quote -- but it's important to understand it in context.

It's not a declaration of states' rights.

It was written to encourage the passage of a new, more powerful national government -- the Constitution.
2/ What he's saying is: the American people have such deep loyalties to their states that it's ridiculous to imagine the national government could threaten them in any way.

To get its meaning, you have to think about the TIMING & PURPOSE of this statement.
3/ Hamilton was trying to encourage people to ratify a new government that was more powerful than the one that came before.

People were nervous about assigning power.

This was an attempt to calm fears. AND...
Read 9 tweets
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Joanne Freeman
@jbf1755
1/ Okay folks.

A quick-and-dirty thread on behaving badly in Congress.

<clears throat>

The outrage at the Ripping Episode at the end of the #SOTU last night is something to see.

Yes. It had power.
Yes. It sent a message that is sure to inflame some and delight others.
2/ But to claim that the Ripping Episode is THE WORST THING EVER TO HAPPEN IN CONGRESS?
.
.

.
.
Take a little walk with me.

(I just noticed that I'm wearing two pairs of glasses)
3/ Members of Congress have been smacking at each other since the dawn of the republic. For example, in 1798, two congressmen (Roger Griswold and Matthew Lyon) went at each other with a cane and fireplace tongs.

They were political opponents. The spat was partisan & political.
Read 13 tweets
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Joanne Freeman
@jbf1755
1/ Yesterday, I had a brief exchange with someone about the need for presidential press briefings, and it got me thinking.

So...a thread on political ceremonies, rituals, and performances, and their importance.
2/ It's tempting to point to the current administration's (former) press briefings and declare them needless, because they were packed with lies.

And yes, they couldn't be trusted.

But they still had -- have -- a purpose.
3/ They demonstrate some of the core ideals of democratic governance.

They publicly show that the government is accountable to the American people.

They show that the public has a right to know what their government is doing.

They show the role of a free press in that process.
Read 11 tweets

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