Last year, I re-launched a forgotten tradition that was first founded over a century ago by another Nick Butler — Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler, no relation, 1862-1947 — whose annual holiday greeting to the nation was published by the New York Times every Christmas.
Dr. Butler was a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, the longest serving president of Columbia University, and the Republican Party’s eleventh-hour replacement nominee for vice president in 1912. He was also, unfortunately, rather mute when it came to the atrocities of the Nazi regime in Germany, and welcomed a Nazi delegation to Columbia University after the book-burnings.
This year, I renew my commitment to this holiday tradition, and reiterate to the reader my strong commitment to the work being done here at Sometimes Weekly.
Luckily, in our time, there’s no longer a need to rely on the New York Times to publish an annual holiday greeting to the nation, despite my repeated and unsolicited calls and emails. Instead, this greeting can be published independently, without establishment-elite neoliberal editorial review, which in-turn guarantees the truly independent nature of the underlying work. This, dear reader, is a blessing.
And with that,
A Christmas Greeting to the Nation
Sufficiently shaken, our institutions remain under attack. How we respond to this threat determines, in-part, our status as Traitors or Patriots, enablers or troublemakers. With this in mind, I invite all true American Patriots — those of us who still believe in the Democracy — to join the active fight, this eternal battle, and seek to undermine, wherever possible, the destructive designs of the incoming regime. The tools and tactics will differ, depending on our specific context and ability, but certainly every contribution counts. It remains true, then, as it always has: active, engaged, and educated Citizens are the only defense against the abyss of authoritarianism. And so, together, let us fight. Together, let us defend the Democracy.
With Christmas and New Year’s greetings,
Dr. Nicholas S. Butler
Albany, NY
December 25, 2024
