Category: Weekly post

Current affairs have necessarily focused on death and destruction and the threat of more violence. So, it was incredibly inspiring and affirming to focus on the sanctity of human life. That is what happened with our second BellRinger ride on Friday and Saturday.

Sequels are not guaranteed hits. But we had another BellRinger blockbuster this past weekend. The energy was palpable on Friday night, Saturday morning and throughout the day. The event was nearly seamless, attesting to the professionalism and dedication of our BellRinger team and our army of volunteers. The quality of the event was first-class all the way. The 25-mile route was fabulous — a lovely ride that was not too strenuous. I hear that the 50-mile route was very challenging due to the wind and a few tough hills near the end. Can’t do much about the weather …

I heard so much praise about the event from people at the 25- and 50-100-mile finishes. This event is worthy of our patients and families, and of Georgetown and Medstar Health. And I loved those cowbells to welcome the riders at the finish lines!

The event was so much fun, but let’s not forget that the funds that were raised support our high-impact research. The more we raise, the more we can do.

We almost broke the thousand-rider mark this year. None of this happens without the incredibly hard work of so many people, but I particularly want to thank Chris Timko, Jonathan Thomas and Kate Colgan for leading the charge. They are absolutely awesome.

Building a brand is hard. So is curing cancer. But we are on our way, and the world is better for it.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to make a difference while having some fun. And, as I write this blog on Sunday afternoon, I am not even all that sore after my ride. If I can ride 25 miles, so can you. So, get ready for next year!

Stay safe, and be well.

Lou

 

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The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.

It’s hard to write about work at this moment. I have so many conflicting feelings that I hardly knew what to write this week. As the son of a Holocaust survivor, I imagine that I am more sensitized than many to the horrors of antisemitic violence, and am deeply troubled when I detect indifference or worse in the wake of such horrors.

The inconceivably barbaric assault by Hamas last weekend has been met by widespread condemnation. Polls suggest that the American public generally supports a strong response by Israel to protect itself and its citizens. But I am disquieted by the emerging narrative that focuses less on the innocent victims of terrorist atrocities than on the impact of the Israeli response in Gaza. The two are causally linked, but they are not morally equivalent. Irrespective of the status of Israeli-Palestinian relations, Hamas chose to brutally kill, maim and hold hostages, without direct provocation. They are solely responsible for this crisis.

During the week, I was thinking about an alternate scenario, in which violent extremists from a historically aggrieved group with legitimate complaints set out to kill as many residents of Washington, DC, as they could so they could claim the city as their own. They planned extensively, and on a quiet weekend morning embarked on a lethal rampage in a nice section of town, killing more than 1,000 innocent people, including children and the elderly, taking hostages back to their secure enclave and threatening to broadcast executions of the hostages if they don’t get their way. How would you feel? How would you want our government to respond? Throw up its hands? Do nothing? Give in to the terrorists? I don’t think so.

Yet that is what some, including students at elite universities, seem to desire. It is not my nature to be on the lookout for antisemitism, but I can’t help feeling that the vehement anti-Israel sentiments floating around since the Hamas attack echo hateful ancient tropes. Universities should be homes for vigorous, open-minded and respectful debate, and everyone ¾ everyone ¾ should feel cared about and welcome. No scapegoats. I fervently hope that the Georgetown community embraces these ideas at this unprecedented, trying time.

As I mentioned in my blog last week, there is an essential difference between terrorism and the complex, confusing issues that have bedeviled the Middle East for a very long time. Violence is not the answer. Murdering babies in front of their parents solves nothing. Eliminating terrorism is necessary if there is to be justice for everyone in the Middle East.

I stand for the end of terrorism and for continued work toward justice. I hope you do too.

Stay safe and be well.

Lou

 

 

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The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.

I write this on Sunday night, having taken a blog breather last week. We still await word on the results of our CCSG Site Visit, and I am finally recovering from my lingering non-COVID upper respiratory infection. The Phillies are in the playoffs and doing very well so far, and the Eagles remain undefeated. We will have seen all our kids and grandkids over the long weekend and had a chance to catch up with some dear “lifer” friends too. But it’s hard to feel good about anything today.

Our government is in turmoil, and it’s hard to see how we’ll end up with a budget or anything resembling rational governance given the chaos in the House of Representatives. Political rivals have become bitter enemies, and we all suffer as a result.

Then, there is Israel. An unprovoked brutal assault by Hamas, seemingly with Iran, has wreaked unprecedented carnage amongst innocent civilians, with whole families wiped out, not as a byproduct of war, but as the purpose of the assault. More carnage is inevitable, and Israel no doubt will respond in kind, and then some, aiming to preserve the nation and its future. As for Iran, Hezbollah, other countries in the region, who knows? All I do know is that too many ordinary people, in Israel, Gaza, and elsewhere, trying to live their lives, love their families, do their work and continue the human experiment will have their hopes, dreams and very existences shattered or exterminated.

I am well aware of the many grievances held by both Palestinians and Israelis. Many of them are legitimate and merit continued efforts toward a workable and equitable solution. On the other hand, Hamas has only one objective, the destruction of Israel, and this weekend’s actions reinforce that assessment. Maya Angelou famously noted that when somebody tells you who they are, believe them the first time.

The violence of the coming days may well be painfully necessary, but it will be unbearable for those of us who treasure the sanctity of life. It’s hard to be hopeful at this time, but perhaps this will prove to be a reckoning that ultimately promotes progress. May the painful coming days be followed by an enduring, equitable peace.

Stay safe and be well.

Lou

 

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The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.

I have been taking off time since the site visit on September 12. I do not expect to get our preliminary results before the possible government shutdown, which would occur on October 1, so we may have to wait a while longer.

We headed to the beach last week, intending to come back today before Yom Kippur this evening. However, our plans were altered because of Tropical Storm Ophelia, which was more or less barreling towards the Delaware coast, with projected torrential rains and high winds on Friday night and Saturday morning. We decided to return home on Friday, and I promptly developed an upper respiratory virus infection, non-COVID division. I am not very ill, though I now have a nagging cough. The beach house appears to have survived.

Hopefully, I will recover in time for Tuesday evening’s Kovach Lecture, to be held in the Copley Formal Lounge at 4 p.m. The lecture focuses on cura personalis and is named in honor of one of John Marshall’s former patients. This year’s speaker is U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, congressman from Maryland, who undoubtedly is known to you. Rep. Raskin is a Georgetown Lombardi patient and is now a two-time cancer survivor. As is customary at these events, the lecture is actually a conversation, which this year will be led by me (cough permitting), with participation by Rep. Raskin and his primary hematologist/oncologist, Dr. Joe Roswarski.

I had the privilege of reading Rep. Raskin’s wonderful book, “Unthinkable,” in preparation for this event. Written before his most recent cancer diagnosis, the book chronicles his son Tommy’s suicide, just one week before the tumultuous events of January 6, 2021, and then the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump. Raskin tells a story of amazing personal resilience and fortitude in the midst of nightmarish tragedy. Little did he know that, shortly after finishing his book, another existential challenge was looming.

I have so many questions, and very much look forward to the conversation.

Stay safe and be well.

Lou

 

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The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.

Greetings on an absolutely gorgeous late summer/early autumn weekend. I am fully in relaxation and recovery mode for the next week or so, but I am thinking back to a most eventful week for me and for Georgetown Lombardi.

We had our CCSG site visit on Tuesday, September 12, the culmination of several years of intensifying preparations. On the night before the site visit, I sent the following message to everyone who was involved.

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Colleagues,

The moment we have worked so hard for is upon us — finally! As we head into tomorrow’s CCSG Site Visit, I am humbled and awed by the progress we have made — together — in the service of our shared mission and vision.

Many of us have been through this before. But I think we can all agree that Lombardi has retained its special character, yet is barely recognizable — in the best possible way — compared with our earlier selves, doing work with high impact that will change lives for the better.

I am so proud to have the privilege to work with you and know that we have every reason to approach tomorrow with confidence and excitement as we strut our stuff for the site visitors. This is no time for complacency, but it is certainly no time for fear, either. You, and we, should enjoy the opportunity to tell our story and share our vision for a better future.

Be sure to get some rest tonight! I’ll see you tomorrow.

With profound gratitude,

Lou

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The Site Visit was incredibly rigorous, focusing on our processes, SOPs, and how we are organized. Our presenters were incredibly well-prepared, and by and large we answered their barrage of questions well. It is impossible to know what the Site Visitors felt, but I do know that we were our best selves. That evening, I sent the following message.

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All,

I just want to take a moment to thank each and every one of you. Our Site Visit is done, and together we showed the world (or at least NCI) the best versions of ourselves. Now we wait. But I will do so with enormous appreciation for your dedication and contributions.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Lou

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Then, on Wednesday morning I headed over to the National Press Club for the announcement of this year’s AACR Annual Cancer Report, which included an announcement of the formation of the AACR Cancer Center Alliance. This first-ever association of the nation’s cancer centers will provide us with new venues for working together. Below is the text of the note sent to the cancer center directors on Wednesday.

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To All Cancer Center Directors,

In a series of historic meetings with more than 90 cancer center directors over the past year, there has been overwhelming enthusiasm for a set of shared strategic initiatives that will facilitate robust coordination among institutions and the AACR. With great excitement, we are pleased to announce the formation of the AACR Cancer Centers Alliance to further foster collaboration and innovation among the nation’s cancer centers to advance lifesaving scientific discoveries. Whether you have been involved with the formation of this novel Alliance or are just hearing about it for the first time, we are formally inviting you and your cancer center to join the Alliance that will help accelerate the pace of discovery by providing an ongoing mechanism for transferring new knowledge, sharing resources, developing national demonstration projects, and driving innovation that impacts cancer science, cancer care delivery, and science and health policy.

The cancer center directors involved in these meetings have prioritized four areas for collaboration: basic and translational cancer research; clinical research, clinical trials, and regulatory science and policy; education, training, professional advancement, and diversity, equity, and inclusion; and speaking with a unified voice. To help manage and guide these initiatives, an Alliance Steering Committee was formed; the following are the Chair and subgroup chairs:

• • David A. Tuveson, MD, PhD, FAACR, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cancer Center (Steering Committee Chair)
  • Carlos L. Arteaga, MD, FAACR, UT Southwestern Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center (Subgroup Co-Chair: Clinical Research, Clinical Trials, and Regulatory Science and Policy)
  • John L. Cleveland, PhD, Moffitt Cancer Center (Subgroup Chair: Basic and Translational Research)
  • Ruben A. Mesa, MD, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center (Subgroup Chair: Education, Training, Professional Advancement, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion)
  • Louis M. Weiner, MD, Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center (Subgroup Co-Chair: Clinical Research, Clinical Trials, and Regulatory Science and Policy)
  • Cheryl L. Willman, MD, Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center (Subgroup Chair: Speaking with a Unified Voice)

An article outlining the Alliance’s initial plans in more detail was published today in Cancer Discovery and is available here.

The formation of this innovative initiative is a watershed moment in cancer research and patient care. The scope and impact of our nation’s cancer centers will be significantly amplified as a result of this collaboration. The AACR is thrilled to serve as the convener for the AACR Cancer Centers Alliance and is honored to be working so closely with the amazing leaders of cancer centers across the country to speed the pace of progress and save more lives from cancer.

We hope you will join this vital Alliance and look forward to collaborating as one. To officially sign up your cancer center as a member of the AACR Cancer Centers Alliance, please click the link (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9NQFBTJ) and include your name, title, and cancer center’s full name. If you have any questions or need more information, please contact us.

Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

Marge Foti

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Cheryl Willman and I represented the cancer center directors at the press conference, and AACR has received enthusiastic endorsements of the initiative from many potential stakeholders, including the NCI.

We had our family in to celebrate Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) this weekend, and everyone has now left. So now it is time for me to take a bit of a break.

Have a great week, and stay safe and be well.

Lou

 

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The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.

Just over two weeks to go. We are finalizing our CCSG Site Visit preparations and are in good shape. Our second External Advisory Committee rehearsal is this Friday. I am so proud of what we have accomplished. I have been walking around saying that we’ve cleared all the hurdles and now just have to run through the tape.

Quick fact: from 2014-2018 we had six total training-type grants at the cancer center. Since 2019: 22 grants, including two new T32 grants. This kind of stuff does not happen by accident. Kudos to Dr. Becca Riggins for her inspired leadership and to our great students and mentors.

I was delighted to learn that the first patient enrolled onto our Phase II clinical trial of BXCL701 plus pembrolizumab in pancreatic cancer just received a pretreatment biopsy. This study, led by Dr. Ben Weinberg, is based on work done in my lab. I cannot tell you how incredibly rewarding it is to witness the birth of an idea that was conceived of and gestated in my laboratory. I am so excited to learn if the treatment can help people.

Effective treatment for this dreadful disease cannot come soon enough. Just three weeks ago, a member of our extended family living in Boston, about my age — I’ll call him “A” — developed abdominal pain, leading to a CT scan demonstrating widely metastatic pancreatic cancer. I arranged for him to be seen by a leading oncologist there, but on the morning of his scheduled appointment, “A” experienced a stroke. The stroke was caused by blood clots on his heart valves — a condition called marantic endocarditis, almost certainly a consequence of hypercoagulability related to his malignancy. Because of this, “A” has not been able to get therapy for his cancer, and likely is headed to hospice. Pancreatic cancer remains a disease that gives cancer a bad name.

Nobody ever deserves a catastrophic end to their lives, but this one hurts. “A” is a good man who we cannot help. A retired rabbi, he has spent the majority of his life in service to others. This is his reward?

Of course, cancer doesn’t know good from bad, or right from wrong. But we do. And what is right and just is that we continue to dedicate our own lives to developing new and better ways to prevent, diagnose, treat and cure cancers of all kinds, in all people. Each of us do it in our own ways. I have the immense privilege of doing it through patient care, translational research and leadership of this great cancer center. No one of us will see this war to its conclusion, but if I can help us make meaningful progress, I will be content. In doing so, I honor the struggles of “A” and so many others, assuring that their lives have not been lost in vain.

Stay safe and be well.

Lou

 

 

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The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.

We had a very encouraging External Advisory Committee meeting on Wednesday, and came away with many useful suggestions as we gear up for our CCSG Site Visit on September 12. Another group of external advisors will hear our revised presentations on September 1.

Many of us see the cancer center as a home for cancer research. It is. Others view it as a home for cancer patient care. Of course, that is true as well. However, I have been and remain convinced that Georgetown Lombardi’s efforts in Community Outreach and Engagement define the range around which our final score will be determined. Moreover, I believe that this is as it should be.

Like the larger society, the impacts of cancer centers are defined by their towering achievements. Their many laudable activities such as outstanding research, cancer research training and excellent patient care make our region and our world better. But, in a very real way, we are all stitched together and, like any piece of cloth, our community is only as strong as its most vulnerable threads. In our catchment area, our impact is ultimately determined by how well we address the cancer needs of our medically underserved neighbors. That is where Community Outreach and Engagement comes in, and we have a great story to tell.

We are so fortunate to have a team, led by Lucile Adams-Campbell, that has been at the forefront of this work, long before COE became a CCSG evaluation component. But until recently, I never considered just how impactful COE has been, and in fact how we at Georgetown Lombardi have contributed to an historic improvement in cancer mortality in the District of Columbia. Lucile and Chiranjeev Dash are no doubt going to fret about the numbers I am providing you, but they tell an important story, even if the narrative might be a bit more nuanced and complex.

This fact is true: cancer mortality rates in D.C. have declined by 61% since 2003, dropping from nearly 300 per 100,000 people to about 140 per 100,000 in 2023. In 2008, when I started at Georgetown, the rate had declined to about 200 per 100,000 (source). This is not just a function of demographic changes, as the most prominent improvements have been in Black males. We cannot and should not claim that we are solely responsible for this drop, but there can be no question that we have contributed our fair share. To begin with, the combined tumor registries of MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and MedStar Washington Hospital Center, our two clinical sites in D.C., contain about 4,700 new analytic cases (cancer surgery specimens) yearly; they are by far the largest hospitals in the District. So, we care for the largest number of cancer patients, we have provided better care over time, and this has contributed to reduced mortality.

Of course, it’s not that simple. Exciting and highly effective new treatments, such as immune checkpoint blocking antibodies, signaling inhibitors and CAR-T cell therapy, have favorably altered the therapeutic landscape, driven by transformative research here and elsewhere. Regrettably, many of these advances have been slow to trickle down to benefit our less-advantaged neighbors, who have more comorbidities, more severe financial challenges, and other social determinants of health that limit their access to life-saving care.

That is where Georgetown Lombardi’s COE comes in and makes its impact. With its focus on underserved minorities, COE has implemented screening and facilitated navigation for underserved people to obtain early detection and care for breast cancer and lung cancer, with expanding capacities for prostate and colorectal cancer screening, thanks in part to our new Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Prevention. COE events have touched the lives of 34,000 — yes, you read that right — 34,000 people over the past five years, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. COE listens to our community, and shares our work with them, sharpening our work and building trust in the process. COE helps our scientists and clinical investigators understand both the perceived needs of our community and the cancer types that disproportionately affect our catchment area.

COE makes our clinical trial enterprise accountable to the needs of our community. For example, Blacks account for 34% of cancers in our catchment area, and for 39% of our accruals to therapeutic clinical trials. This has improved significantly over the past five years. COE co-leads Georgetown Lombardi’s Minority/Underserved National Cancer Institute Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP), which has enrolled hundreds of people onto clinical trials over the past few years. COE addresses social determinants of health as they relate to cancer by supporting the CancerLAW project of Georgetown’s Health Justice Alliance, which has embedded Georgetown Law Center attorneys in the oncology clinics at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, providing legal services to 220 Georgetown Lombardi patients/clients since March 2020, so they can more effectively navigate their cancer patient journeys. Interestingly, 14% of these people have participated in Georgetown Lombardi interventional clinical trials, suggesting that trusting relationships break down barriers to clinical trial participation. That is a big deal.

All of this represents important progress, and we have good reason to be proud, though much remains to be done. We have contributed our fair share of towering achievements, and certainly have contributed through our science and clinical care. I thank Lucile, Dash, their colleagues in D.C. and New Jersey for doing the work that tends to the neglected threads in the fabric of our community, strengthening everyone in the process.

By the way, as you know, there is an upward tick of COVID, so please take sensible and appropriate precautions.

Stay safe and be well.

Lou

 

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The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.

I hope your summer has been going well. I have been able to steal a few days here and there, but there will be no vacations for me until after the CCSG site visit on September 12. Many of us have been very busy with preparations. When we submitted the competitive renewal, we held a retreat to update our strategic plan and put together our plans for the Site Visit. That was at the end of May.

Since then, we have put together presentations on the Director’s Overview, Six Essential Characteristics, Leadership, Plans to Enhance Diversity; Planning and Evaluation; Developmental Funding; Community Outreach and Engagement; Cancer Research Training and Education; each of our three research programs (Cancer Cell Biology, Cancer Host Interactions, Cancer Prevention and Control); Shared Resources (plus nine Shared Resource posters) and Administration. Everybody — everybody — has done a superlative job. We took the show on the road to New Jersey last week (our first group rehearsal following a series of smaller sessions), and it was just great. This Wednesday, we will welcome some of our External Advisory Committee members to hear our presentations and to give us feedback.

As I have mentioned before, the actual CCSG grant is akin to preparing a brief for the Supreme Court, and the Site Visit is the Oral Argument. However, the Site Visit is also like putting on a Broadway show that will run only one time and must be perfect coming out of the gate. It is daunting, but we are prepared. We have a great “script,” and a wonderful story to tell.

A successful review depends upon persuasive storytelling that describes an upward trajectory, but each assertion has to be supported by the evidence. And our evidence is strong. Since 2018, our grant funding has increased by nearly 70%, our clinical trial accruals have remained stable (a wonderful accomplishment in the post-pandemic era). Our Consortium partnership is strong, and we reach out into our community as never before: More than 34,000 people have participated in our community events. The alignment of our clinical care and clinical research have never been stronger. Our training grants have more than tripled, and multi-PI grants are up by more than 50%. Of our more than 1,000 peer-reviewed publications (not including reviews and chapters), 28% are high-impact (impact factors of at least 10). Each research program has at least 37 members and substantial peer-reviewed funding. We have great examples to share of paradigm-shifting, practice-changing and policy-altering science, supported by our great Shared Resources. This has happened with the deep commitment and strong support of Georgetown University, Hackensack Meridian Health and MedStar Health, and we have access to their continued support moving forward.

I know it can feel that financial pressures, and the pandemic and its aftermath, have held us back. But just re-read the paragraph describing our accomplishments. We have not only persevered, we have thrived. This did not happen by accident; it is the result of incredibly strong work and the passionate dedication of so many people. I could not be prouder to have the privilege of leading this cancer center, and am grateful to so many colleagues.

We are going to be fine.

Stay safe, and be well.

Lou

 

 

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The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.

I swear, I had nothing to do with it! Those of you who read my blog last week may remember I ruminated about the contrasts of the Juneteenth observance with Putin and his complex relationship with the Russian people. Little did I know…

On Saturday, Harriet and I drove up to Philly for a family event, transfixed as we listened to the blow-by-blow accounts coming from Russia. Yevgeny Prigozhin challenged the Russian military’s efficiency in the Ukraine, the rationale for the “Special Operation” in the Ukraine, and posed the first significant challenge to Putin in the past two decades. Before the day was over, his Wagner militia had moved to within 120 miles of Moscow before a brokered deal ended the threat of imminent violence. However, Putin’s veneer of invulnerability has been stripped of its sheen, and the future of his rule is suddenly uncertain.

To be clear, none of key players in this military psychodrama are innocent lambs. They are ruthless, cruel and profoundly greedy creatures of power with no clear evidence of nobility or scruples. Those who root for Prigozhin in his dispute with Putin should be careful of what they wish. Prigozhin is, as far as I can discern, an absolute monster. For all we know, he would prefer that the Russian military be more effective in its malignant quest.

This all reminds me of malignant evolution in the worst possible way. Under Putin, Russia has been locally invasive (see the Ukraine, Crimea, Georgia), and has somewhat ineffectively tried to metastasize around the world. It has been sustained by the twin nutrients of fossil fuel money and control of information, linked to a permissive environment that sustains the malignant status quo. Putin, the dominant malignant clone, has spawned oligarch and military subclones, which scarf up more than their fair shares of the essential nutrients. No doubt, some of these subclones harbor visions of domination, but have had insufficient essential nutrients to emerge.

By invading the Ukraine, Putin made the grave miscalculation of outgrowing his blood supply, stimulating a powerful and coordinated “immune” response led by the United States and NATO, who remembered the past and were determined to combat this attack on world order and human rights. Under the persistent selection pressure applied by this coalition, the vulnerabilities of Putin — the dominant clone of this malignant politic — have been exposed. So, guess what? Now a heretofore subdominant clone — Prigozhin — has emerged. Hopefully, he enjoys exile in Belarus. But make no mistake, other subdominant clones lie in wait, licking their chops.

Chaos in a nuclear power is nothing to desire, and a weakened Putin might be preferable to an emboldened right-wing lunatic. Perhaps the subdominant clones won’t yield a useful alternative. But, as with effective cancer immunotherapy, perhaps the continuous application of adaptable and sufficient political and economic selection pressure, combined with effective military deterrence, can make Russia’s neighbors and the rest of the world safe and give the Russian people the opportunity to make wise choices regarding their country’s future.

We may not be able to cure this particular cancer, but I certainly hope it can be controlled.

Stay safe and be well.

Lou

 

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The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.

Greetings. I hope you had a restful and meaningful Father’s Day and Juneteenth observance. Beyond the usual work obligations, I was treated by David to a round of golf on Sunday; remarkably, I comfortably broke 100 (which is not such a great score) after not having played a round of golf in 14 months. Dave did better. So, even though golf “won” (as it always does), we had a wonderful time, followed by a family dinner.

I have begun reading the book “Putin vs. The People,” by Samuel Greene and Graeme Robertson. Harriet and I heard Greene speak at a book signing on Thursday evening. I was struck by the surprising (to me) observation that Putin is indeed very popular in Russia (his approval ratings exceed 70%!), and that this popularity rests not only in his authoritarian manipulation of public behavior and internal information, but by his keen understanding and responsiveness to what most Russians want to think about themselves. It is fascinating reading.

One of the real turning points for his regime has been the ability to control information flow, which in the internet age is voluminous and nearly instantaneous. Contrast that with the events of June 19, 1865, 18 months after the Emancipation Proclamation, and more than two months following the surrender of General Lee’s army at Appomattox. Information traveled more slowly in those days, and authoritarian control rested upon keeping enslaved humans illiterate and immobile.

How long might it have taken for word of the Emancipation Proclamation to reach around the globe in the modern era? One day? One hour? One minute? But, how long might it take for such a decree to take root, to come to life, when the intention of the state is not aligned with the will of its citizens? The United States was at war with itself back then, and a simple decree, no matter how noble, meant nothing until a bitter war had been won. The gains, and the intent of the Emancipation Proclamation, then were devitalized by Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and now by the grim reappearance of overt bigotry in public policy, discourse and practice.

So, here we are, 154 years following the original Juneteenth. Once again, we are at war with ourselves, though far less blood has been shed. Once again, the governing consensus that aligned with the way citizens understood their world has been sundered. How long will it take for the real intent of Juneteenth to be realized? I fear that laws and needless bloodshed won’t cause durable change until we can re-establish a shared understanding of what it means to be an American, and to understand that this definition is not bounded by race, religion or personal origin story.

Putin knows the importance of consensus to be true in Russia and has created a shared vision that, in many ways, embraces the opposite of the goals of our 246-year-old American experiment. No Juneteenths in his world…

I hope that we rediscover our founding purpose in the coming years. Until then, let’s commemorate Juneteenth with a solemn purpose to create that more perfect Union, founded on justice and the dignity of all human life. I also hope that the Russian people come to realize that their existing consensus, which aligns with Putin’s worldview and supports a continuation of the abhorrent attempt of Russia to conquer the Ukraine, will lead to changes in the approaches of Putin and his successors.

I have more hope for the United States than I do for Russia. Always had, always will.

Stay safe and be well.

 

Lou

 

 

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The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.