I began this post on May 19th. It started with my morning coffee and the news, as most my posts do. Only now, in June, have I finally clarified what I’ve been trying to say. Initially, I delved into the history and statistics of the 80+ years of this conflict. I tallied the rights and wrongs of both sides. I weighed the historic injustices visited on the Jews. I considered the Christian West’s debt for almost two thousand years of hate and prejudice.
I also considered the suffering of the Palestinian People. They love their land as much as the Jews love Israel. It seems to me that the Palestinians and Jews share similar natures. That is why I hold both accountable. In the last 80 years, Israel has inflicted their own trauma on the Palestinians. Loss of homeland, dislocation, exile, oppression, and slaughter. Since the recent fighting began, the Palestinians have been wandering. They move back and forth in the desert wilderness created from their homes.
And I sit in my comfortable home watching the tragedy grind on. I’ve become traumatized. I have become numb. I have allowed myself to become powerless.
Now, I’m trying to connect with the fear and pain the children feel. I look back into my own life for times I experienced fear and loss. And when I touch those nerves I project their feelings on to what I am seeing or reading.
I am scrambling to reconnect with my empathy. And in turn, reconnect with my humanity. My life has anxiety, fear, uncertainty and physical pain. Naturally, this focuses my attention on myself. I push aside other’s needs.
This is the result of the conscience intentions of Trump, Musk, and the other powerful folks in our society. It is found in China, Iran, North Korea and Russia. It is the dehumanization of humanity. It opens the doors to even greater depravity.
Today, with my coffee, I push myself to feel my own pain. I attach it to all those haunted faces in GAZA and Palestine, Ukraine, Sudan, and here in the US.
Historical facts are plentiful. Statistics can quantify the scope of the horror. But without feelings they are dry and easy to dismiss. I need to feel the emotions. It will strengthen me and focus my resolve to fight back as best as I can.
This morning I went to my coffee shop for my Friday coffee and conversation. The weather was balmy and my friends welcoming. As always the coffee was dark roast and perfect. It was a time to drop my worries.
This was the 4th beautiful day in a row. We relished it. This weekend is busy.
Saturday is the Minnesota Fishing Opener and Sunday Mothers Day. Tomorrow 500,000 pilgrims spread out across the state; about 26% of Minnesotans, 16 years and older, are licensed fisher folk. Processions of pickups towing fleets of boats go in all directions towards our 10,000 lakes. It is an ancient ritual. Winter weary fisher folk burst like tulip blossoms greeting the sun. They celebrate the Spring harvest; Crappies (pronounced Craw-peas), Walleye, Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass and Sunfish (Bluegill).
Spring is the time for fresh life. Life has been quietly growing underground. It has gathered strength to rise like a Phoenix from sterile Winter’s frozen earth.
Democracy Is Blooming
Across the U.S. and the World people are shaking off the ashes of dismay. We are mobilizing. Fresh ideas, new organizations, and renewed purpose bloom everywhere. The Spirit of Life crackles with vigor. It is the time to do.
What Pisses Me Off
What I’ve realized is that Trump, his cowardly enablers, and MAGA faithful, are intellectually lazy. They are morally lazy. Rather than have a reasoned, morally coherent, solution for genuine problems, they always opt for quick, short sighted brutality. Making everyone else a scapegoat for their failures. They find hating is easier than understanding. They embrace lies and deceit because truth and honesty demand self knowledge and courage. They refuse to take responsibility for the consequences of their actions.
Democracy Is Not Easy
Democracy is the hardest form of government. If we chose, each of us has a voice to contribute to solving our problems. To be effective, each of us must take the time and energy to stay informed. We must be willing to question and decide for ourselves what is right and wrong.
For democracy to work requires people to exercise their minds and ethics. It’s not easy to be honest with ourselves, holding ourselves responsible for our thoughts and feelings. Democracy means that we listen to each other. We listen and work to understand our various points of view. All this takes time. There are no quick fixes. There is no room for impatience. There is plenty of room for civil engagement.
Lastly, Democracy is about Us and not a We and Them. The goal is to create a society that recognizes our uniqueness. And yet, provides the opportunities and resources for a full life. Not happiness but something more significant. The feeling of belonging and being respected for what we uniquely contribute; Meaning.
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Today, I enjoyed the sunny morning and freshly brewed coffee. I decided to quickly write a post about Trump being the catalyst of some positive things. He’s still a mentally ill old man, vindictive, sadistic, and nihilistic. He is the last person who should be near the reigns of power.
Trump’s despicable behavior has opened the door to an unexpected blast of fresh air. His crusade for the stale old ways has been a catalyst for change. I think his ham-fisted approach has awakened the US. to the fog of outdated assumptions and mistaken perspectives he represent.
I Love The USA …
I love the United States. It’s my home. I’ve followed my dreams. Truthfully though, the USA is not perfect. It’s a work in progress. Some of what we’ve accomplished since our ancestors arrived in the Americas has been good, even noble. But our behavior over the centuries towards people we did not understand or respect has been appalling, genocidal. And today it’s becoming glaringly clear us.
Today Trump works to divide and control us. He is trying to white-wash our history. He is removing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives from our government. He is also eliminating them in our schools, businesses, and private lives. He attacks our knowledge which is our valuable public wealth.
History is a our public memory. Built over centuries through the efforts of devoted Americans by both private efforts and educational organizations. They have spent their lives collecting an invaluable common wealth. It is the essence of who we are. It is our collected conscience. Now, by attacking our memory Trump commits a form of genocide. He is attempting to erase the histories of millions of people who’ve built and are building our nation. He assaults the Spirit of America.
Let’s Be Real
The United States is like every other nation and society. We tell myths about ourselves. We spin fantasies about who we want to be. We ignore the cold realities of what we have done. But we are not our myths. We are not a special nation or guided by some divine power. We are humans trying to follow a noble path. And we stumble along the path that human history has created over thousands of years.
History Shows The Past Doesn’t Need To Be The Future
All of us are ensnared in our history. Acknowledging this is part of maturing. The Americas are a land of changing futures. The Americas can also be a land of healing futures. The past doesn’t need to repeat if we are aware of it.
We are a young nation. Most of us are new comers; immigrants and their descendants. Also we are descendants of the original peoples, explorers who arrived at least 20,000 years ago. We new comers were and are fleeing failure. We’ve been driven from our homes, or brought here unwillingly. We new comers, came searching for a better life. Sadly, we forced others to join our dreams for our brighter future. in the process we destroyed their dreams. The first people and enslaved lost theirs while we built ours. during this time, we new comers lost our noble dreams. We have become something that is not a thing to be proud of. But that can change. Our destinies are in our hands.
The Time’s Are A Changing
We need to appreciate our history and learn from the truly great ideals and actions we have done. We also need to take an honest look at the terrible decisions we have made. We must learn from the tragedies we’ve created. Introspection is necessary for growing wiser and maturing. It’s time for us to grow up.
Maturing is a process. It takes time and effort. It begins as honest introspection. We remember our past and consider our interactions and our impact on others. We try to see ourselves as other people have experienced us. What gives us joy, love, pleasure, pain, misery, anger. We try to experience ourselves as they experienced. We learn to empathize, increasing our understanding. With practice we become more empathetic. We see others more and more as fellow human beings. It is “Do To Others As You Want Done To You”. This is respect, which leads to maturity.
Our Times Need Maturity
The problems we face need empathetic leadership. It begins with each of us. Waiting for our elected leaders to act responsibly won’t solve our problems. Our leaders need our guidance. Rather than being lead, we must lead.
Our problems are far greater than than any elite group can handle. Solving our complicated troubles need:
Voices of all members of our society.
Creative thinking by all members of our American family.
Participation, freely without fear of ridicule and intimidation.
Open Mindedness where coercion is not accepted.
Consensus built from respect and trust.
Removal of barriers to knowledge, free speech and inquiry, and ending censorship.
Equity in Law, Health, Finances, and Opportunities for personal advancement.
To Share, not Horde.
The Powerful And Privileged Are Struggling
Trump and his Oligarchs are attempting to bring back dangerous old ideas. These authoritarian doctrines involve enforcing division, establishing fear, creating scarcity in and knowledge, secrecy, and ignorance. They want to impose empowered elites and dictate our actions.
It’s a rear guard action intended to protect the failed past. The time for these concepts is over. Trump, Putin, Xi and the rest are a dying breed. I believe that people around the world are seeing this. There are protests all over the planet demanding greater freedoms and the solutions for:
Hunger and Water
Poverty and Want
Illness and Suffering
Environmental Collapse
Oppression and War
The time is now. The people of the United States and the world know this and are letting the dictators and privileged know this. There are more of us than them.
Updates
04/15/2025 – Corrected illustration.
04/17/2025 – Re-write for clarify and correct grammar and punctuation.
Let’s Get Moving! Action Relieves Stress and Depression First World War poster edited for today’s times.
It Started Over Coffee
I’ve just completed my 78th orbit around the Sun. I never thought I’d live this long. I continue my journey through this unexplored territory. A week ago I was sitting in my favorite cafe. I felt good, Sitting at my favorite table with good friends. We were celebrating a beautiful Spring day.
Unusually, we talked about current events. Typically we avoid the topic as a courtesy to my conservative friends. But that day the topic of politics came up. I heard one of them say, “I don’t worry about what’s going on. We don’t have any control over anything. Why get upset?” I hear this from many people. I just nodded and went along.
But, I kept mulling it over. During the last few weeks I’ve struggled to write something worthwhile. I’ve written daily and at length, but it was hollow. I kept focusing on my past. Sometimes it was interesting, sometimes insightful and heartfelt. But not on point. I drifted, trying to justify my effort.
What my friend had said, “We don’t have any control over anything. Why get upset?” gnawed at me. I understood his meaning. Why do anything? We are helpless. We should focus on ourselves. We need to get along and not rock the boat. And I’d chosen not to disagree. I felt hollow.
This triggered determination I hadn’t felt in the last weeks. After my friends left the cafe, I got another coffee. Then, I pulled out my tattered copy of Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search For Meaning. I like to read a few pages at a time and then spend time thinking about it. I see if it applies to what I’m experiencing. And, it did.
Prison America
We live in an America that is becoming a nation-wide prison camp. Trump is busy fencing in our bodies and minds. Fences keep people out but they also keep us in. Trump, Oligarchs, and MAGA lie to our faces, hide information. They deprive us the ability to understand our situation. They are stringing barbed wire fences around our minds. They are stealing our free will and ability to decide for ourselves. They are stealing our ability to act and build a meaningful future.
Sipping my coffee, I read Fankl’s observations. He noted the forces in a concentration camp destroy a person’s will to act on their own behalf. These forces eventually destroy a person’s will to live.
The prisoner loses his hold on his inner-self, which is the ability to imagine a meaningful future. We decide to flee into the past. It is a free decision brought about by depression, uncertainty and hopelessness. This is a primary tool of oppression. It is an attack on all of us, including MAGA supporters. A prisoner in a prison camp has no idea when or if they will ever be free again. This proceeds to fearing for their existence. This is amplified as the chaos continues.
Frankl calls this a Provisional Existence. A period when planning for today is not possible because of the intentional chaos. Without a stable Now, we seek comfort by turning to tour Past. We want to escape our painful now. Without our now, our future ceases to exist. We are powerless. We can only focus on ourselves. There is no future nor reason to continue.
This intensifies the spiral towards our enslavement. Without being aware of our painful now, we blind ourselves to the opportunities that exist. These are opportunities to create meaning from our trauma. We lose our chance to build a meaningful existence in the now. This opens paths for planning a meaningful Future.
Problems Today Are Built From Lost Futures
I think that many of our problems today are based on lost futures. Many Americans live in a provisional existence. We can’t plan our futures because our lives are chaotic, under physical and psychological threat. Racism, sexism, bigotry and the such crush our now and destroy hope for the future. There is just more of the same old, same old.
Now and the Future
What keeps us alive and moving ahead? We live in a continuous state of expectation. What’s next? We live in the Now but look towards the Future. This can be simple. What’s to eat? When do I take the kids for a walk? When do we go on vacation? There are complex futures. How can I buy a house, pay for my education, make certain my family has health care? How and when can I retire? Planning for the future pulls us forward through life.
Frankl pointed out that the surviving concentration camp prisoners had turned their trauma on its head. The horrors they experienced were deeply personal challenges. They realized that their pain was an “opportunity to grow spiritually beyond themselves.” It was a test of their inner strength, their spirit. The prisoners chose to accept the challenges of the Nazis to keep their humanity. Every act maintaining their self-respect was a victory. Every act of respect and empathy towards others were victories. Each victory built a meaningful now and resurrected a future to move towards.
To be clear, these are spiritual victories, where we transcend our old selves. They build our resilience and determination in the face of seemingly unending abuse. We chose to make the current real. This choice enables us to act as we think is right. We become agents of our destinies in a powerful, moral way.
What’s A Body To Do?
We don’t live in a prison camp yet. But its psychology is being used against us. We can act on the behalf of ourselves and others. We have a challenging now that requires our attention and engagement. And, we have a future worth planning for and living.
To stay emotionally alive it is necessary to stay aware of our now. We need to use our empathy to allow ourselves to show our humanity and touch others. This a test that takes us beyond ourselves. We need to retake our power by acting. This requires our extending our hands to others. Some things we can do:
Joining a protest or movement,
Contacting our elected officials; local, state and federal by calling their office, writing letters and sending emails,
Attending public events like governmental board and committee meetings, hearings,
Write our local, state, and national newspapers and magazines. It’s a buzz when you get published,
Write comments on news articles,
Engaging in school meetings,
Voting in local caucuses, special elections and referendums,
Donating to organizations fighting for issues you are passionate about and reading their newsletters,
Talking to family and neighbors,
Our Future Is Still Alive
The more we engage with what is happening, the more we learn. We become more connected with each other. We develop more confidence. We take back our power to act. The positive power of life is bubbling all around us. We can celebrate it and grow beyond ourselves, becoming better versions of ourselves.
We are not powerless. Trump and the Oligarch’s future is not inevitable. Now is the time we can become our better selves.
Resist and Grow
About the Illustration
This is a US Army recruiting poster from 1916. It is the figure of the Spirit of Columbia. Not the country. It was another term for the US, like Uncle Sam. Unfortunately named for Columbus. But, it also represents Democracy and the American Dream. Progress has come slowly, freedom, in a diverse society, with meaningful equality and inclusion is a work in progress. That why I chose this poster. A reminder that we’ve been at this for a long time and will continue into the future. Democracy may be an old idea. But, it is alive and modern as now.
I am fascinated by old posters. They are glimpses of the emotional and artistic environment of the Past. I removed the text and inserted modern values. History informs us.
Mr. President, I’m writing as you speak tonight. I will be listening carefully to every word. Not because you will clear up all questions and provide logical reasons for your appalling decisions.
I understand you just find.
You are a terribly abused child, weathering away in an hateful old man’s body. Your parents raised you with the impossible expectation that you would be important. A successful gangster bullying your way through the world. Unfortunately no one trained you on how to be an effective leader or businessman. Instead, you were trained in lying, bullying, and being untrustworthy. You were trained to be hateful and hated. You are what the really wealthy hate, the crass nouveau riche, lacking class, education or culture. Unlike them, you can’t even be cruel with finesse.
These things may have worked in the 50’s to 2000’s but, our country has passed beyond that. Yes there many Americans who have fallen for your ancient racism and bigotry. Yes you’ve still got some of that tired razz-ma-tazz. But your magic is rapidly evaporating.
Tonight I listen to because it is my duty as an American to listen to your traitorous words. You were trained to be a looser and it is the only thing you have succeeded at.
In the future, you will end up being remembered as a dangerous hateful old man that broke everything you touched.
I have just watched the blackest day for United States credibility and honor in my life, in our history.
The President of the United States, Donald J. Trump showed us what I’ve known for some time. He is a treacherous coward who cares nothing for Americans or our sacred quest for Democracy. His behavior today, towards Ukrainian President Zelenskyy was shameful. It demonstrates how unfit Trump is to have any position of power. He has shown me, our nation and the rest of the World that he is an ignorant bullying, browbeating, blowhard.
No doubt there will be some Americans who celebrate Trump’s chest thumping tirade. This speaks very poorly for them.
But for the rest of us, Trump has opened his Kimono to reveal the rotting flesh of American history. The carcass of racism, slavery, wealth, and privilege.
President Zelenskyy is a genuine Hero. He is placing his life on the line for his people and nation. I have only the greatest respect and admiration for him. At the beginning of the Russian invasion in 2022, the US and the West offered him refuge in another country. He responded, “I need bullets not tickets.” That’s a genuine Hero.
Today, even while Trump and V.P. Vance yelled at him, berating him for not being “thankful” enough. He maintained his dignity as they lost theirs. They also spouted Putin’s talking points. Zelenskyy respectfully and firmly attempted to answer their challenges with truth and factual history.
Trump and Vance became more pitiful as they hysterically responded with more anger and lies.
The American people have clearly witnessed that the President of the United States is not trustworthy and a traitor. He betrays time honored allies and tries to extort our closest neighbors.
Now is the time for Republicans to end their cowardly charade. They must stop saying privately that they are “concerned” by Trump’s behavior. They need to publicly hold Trump and the others that share his beliefs accountable. Regardless of their position, they must be shamed. They should be removed from their positions and office.
The GOP must stand up for the United States, Democracy, and Decency. If they don’t, Americans across the nation, regardless of party, must take action. We must wage recall campaigns to remove these unworthy people from all levels of government, federal to local.
Today, Trump, sided with Putin and Dictatorship. He, by his cowardice and grovelling, has set us on the path to World War 3. Russia, China, North Korea and Iran have seen what our leadership is made of; pitifully little. They have little to respect for the US. Trump as demonstrated how inept he is. Today our enemies saw how craven our leadership is.
If we weren’t alone in the world before now, we are now.
