A Person of the Year: Jamie Raskin

How one politician devoted his fight for democracy to his lost son.

By David Remnick
New Yorker

The congressman seems worthy of special note because of the unforgettable and tragic circumstances in which he has fought for individual and collective liberty.

Ninety-four years ago, the editors of Time magazine declared the transatlantic aviator and anti-Semite Charles Lindbergh their first-ever Man of the Year. This editorial gambit proved a winner on the newsstand, and a parade of Presidents, Prime Ministers, and other worthies followed. There have been a few odd choices along the way. In 1941, the editors tapped Dumbo, the Disney elephant, as Mammal of the Year. Alas, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, rudely relegating the animated pachyderm to the inside pages of the magazine. F.D.R. seized Time’s cover and the annual laurel in Dumbo’s stead.

This year, the wealthiest individual in the world, Elon Musk, was Time’s choice for Person of the Year. I speak for no one except myself, but is this the moment to valorize a supposed man of science who cast early doubt on the covid vaccines and told the world that “kids are essentially immune”? Might as well give the accolade to Eric Clapton. Others on Time’s list of “most influential people” for 2021 are distinctly more inspiring­­­–Stacey Abrams, for example, who is leading the fight against voter suppression in the U.S., or the Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who is languishing in a prison camp at the order of Vladimir Putin.

And yet one person of the year, an individual who embodies both the tragedy and resilience of our time, was missing: Jamie Raskin.'>>>

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