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To Everything, Turn, Turn …

When the time comes, be brave

Douglas Giles, PhD
3 min readJul 22, 2024
Facing the sunset as things turn (Source: Midjourney)

Last night, European time, my spouse received two e-mails of news within 10 minutes. One was that President Biden had finally made way for someone else. The other was that a close and dear relative had died.

We experience life in those two overlapping layers — the grand scale and the deeply personal. Two elderly men each had their suffering ended. Each great man faced their fate bravely. Each of those two events yesterday will affect my spouse and me. Life is lived on those two levels. Everything turns, and often for the better, as in these two cases. It is our responsibility to adjust to change.

On July 9th, I called on Biden to give way to Kamala Harris. Of course, Biden wasn’t listening to me, but he ended up taking my sound advice.

Not that I was in any way exceptional in my argument, though I was ahead of the general curve in timing. A shout out to Cornel West for his correct prediction eight months ago.

I take no joy in Biden’s decision. He has my sympathy. He has my respect for having the courage to put his ego aside and do what is best for everyone. Putting ego aside to do what’s best — that’s something a certain other candidate would never do.

Joe Biden made the correct decision. Now the election can be about Donald Trump, the worst president in history, and stopping those who would concentrate power in themselves if he gets elected. Now we turn to stopping the corporatist, reactionary agenda of Project 2025.

The Democratic Party grandees — Schumer, Pelosi, Obama, and others — are withholding their public endorsements of Harris, as is appropriate. There is no reason to doubt that Harris will be the nominee. Some will bemoan the lack of an open…

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Douglas Giles, PhD
Douglas Giles, PhD

Written by Douglas Giles, PhD

Philosopher by trade & temperament, professor for 21 years, bringing philosophy out of its ivory tower and into everyday life. https://dgilesauthor.com/

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