As Others See It:Everyday angels
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Everyday angels
THE great issues are the same as they were when Charles Dickens created the ghost of Jacob Marley, misanthropic man of business.
"Mankind was my business," the spectre cried, the lesson learned too late. "The common welfare was my business." ... This morning I could visit Tavern on the Green, where the Robin Hood Foundation is having its annual breakfast. Founded by three anti-Marleys, Wall Street traders who cleaned up big time in the 1980s and decided to invest in empathy, the foundation gives money to groups that shelter, feed and fight for the city's poor.
They do dazzle, the everyday angels, just as the angel did in the Christmas story, scaring the wits out of the shepherds. But the angel said "Fear not," and that's what I've learned from its contemporary counterparts - the rape counsellors, the good cops, the nuns, the librarians. Life will be hard, politics will be mean, money will be scarce, bluster will be plentiful. Yet somehow good will be done.
The great issues are the same as they were when the 15-year-old Anne Frank, three weeks shy of discovery in her attic hideaway, less than a year from death in Bergen-Belsen, wrote in her shabby plaid diary "In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.'
Anna Quindlen in the `New York Times'
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments