Category: Political

Posted in Political

Political Soteriology: The Desperate Search for a Political Messiah

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Soteriology is the study of salvation, traditionally rooted in religious contexts. Political soteriology shifts this concept from spiritual change to public action by relocating salvation from the inner life to the public square; to a leader, a movement, or a state treated as the saving agent, a political messiah. An agent not for peace, care, and order, but a means of deliverance: win power, cleanse the enemy, restore our world.

Political soteriology comes with a familiar liturgy. True believers begin with diagnosis: we are oppressed, humiliated, betrayed. Then blame is assigned, and vilification begins: they did this to us, the elites, outsiders, immigrants, or those who are just different; pick your villain. Next comes self-identity: we are the chosen people, the rightful heirs, those whose voices have been stolen. And then the yearning for, seeking, and anointing the savior. The political messiah: the only one who can restore what was taken, punish what was done, and reverse the shame. After the savior is anointed, purification follows. The system must be “cleansed.” Norms and laws become nuisances to be ignored. Anything can be justified if it’s done in the name of the lost cause. Victory is described in pseudo-religious terms: once we win, order, justice, and our greatness return.

This type of soteriology provides what ordinary politics cannot. It gives meaning: your pain has a cause. It offers immediate hope: you can finally do something—vote, march, expose, punish, purge—making you feel empowered and motivated to act. Through this association, it creates the delusion that something can be done about the perceived injustice and plight, even if that entails retribution and purification. The ‘believers’ are normal people convinced they are suffering a chronic threat to culture, morality, demographics, and becoming irrelevant. But they are your neighbors and family members, desperately grasping for someone to defend them because they feel helplessly inept in the current ‘corrupt’ system; they are us, and we are them.

Spiritual salvation is slow, demanding, esoteric, nebulous, and often ambiguous. Political salvation feels immediate and muscular. It doesn’t ask for patience; it demands loyalty. It doesn’t promise transformation; it espouses reversal. In that climate, religion itself can be conscripted—its language, symbols, and institutions repurposed as fuel for political deliverance.

The result is moral nearsightedness: salvation now, consequences later. This isn’t a new choice. A similar one occurred when the mob chose Barabbas, changing the course of history. A choice for the man of action, the insurrectionist and murderer, over the one offering a different kind of eternal kingdom. When a society chooses the “rescuer” who breaks rules to save “us,” it quietly trains everyone that law is optional and freedom is whatever our side declares it to be.

So, who will we choose? Who will you stand behind and support? A liberator who will reclaim what we believe we’ve lost, by any means necessary; or one who refuses the easy thrill of vengeance for the more complex work of long-term good? If political soteriology is chosen, what exactly is being saved? Is it our country, or an appetite for conquest and control dressed up as freedom? NeverFearTheDream   simplebender.com

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Posted in Current Events, Political

American Hypocrisy: Twisted Doctrine

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The Monroe Doctrine was meant to be a shield for a fledgling country: no European empires in the Americas, no more carving up this hemisphere by outside powers. It sounded like a defense of sovereignty and self-determination. Two centuries later, that shield has been reforged into something else—a license to police the hemisphere and enforce an American Hemispheric Order on our terms.

We claim to oppose foreign domination, yet we have become the dominant foreign power in other sovereign countries. When a government in the region dares to stray from our economic dogma or security script, we don’t send in Redcoats—we threaten and impose sanctions. Loans are conditioned. Sanctions are tightened. Diplomats whisper, intelligence agencies “assist,” and suddenly regime change appears not as an invasion but as a “restoration of democracy.” The vocabulary is polite; the outcome is familiar. Governments that cooperate survive. Governments that don’t are labeled unstable, extreme, or illegitimate. It isn’t about drugs, oil, or national security—it is about ego, power, and distraction from domestic failures and salacious files.

Flip that. Imagine a coalition of Latin American nations deciding that our politics are too corrupt, our inequality too obscene, and our elections too tainted by money. Imagine they declare an “Inter-American Responsibility Doctrine” and openly call for regime change in Washington to protect “hemispheric stability.” Picture them funding opposition groups, manipulating our media, freezing our assets, and threatening intervention—“for the sake of democracy,” of course. We would be apoplectic. We would call it aggression, pure and simple.

The hypocrisy deepens when you look at security. We pressure neighbors to crack down on crime, migration, and drugs, as if their failures are the source of our problems. Yes, trafficking networks and corrupt officials exist everywhere. But the demand, the guns, and much of the money flow from our side of the border. Rather than confront the discomfort of our own consumption, our own political greed-induced paralysis, and our own profit structures, we cast the neighbors as the problem and ourselves as the savior sheriff.

We insist on the right to shape their regimes while insisting no one has the right to shape ours. We dress intervention in the language of freedom while guarding our own system—flawed, gridlocked, and heavily purchased—as untouchable. It’s a double standard that everyone can see, whether we admit it or not. So here’s the uncomfortable mirror: if the rest of the hemisphere treated us exactly as we treat them—economically, politically, and rhetorically—would we still call it “promoting stability,” or would we finally call it what it feels like to them: unwelcome domination dressed as doctrine for ego and power?   NeverFearTheDream   simplebender.com

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Posted in Current Events, Political

Protection of Dissent

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Decent people support dissent NeverFearTheDream simplebender.com

Democracies don’t die when people stop agreeing; they die when people stop dissenting. The loud, awkward, sometimes offensive voices are not a nuisance in a free society—they’re proof the system is still breathing.

We like to think “decency” means keeping things calm and polite. But genuine decency involves the courage to say, “This is wrong,” when power would rather you stay silent. The “decent” citizen who never questions authority isn’t truly decent; they’re just obedient.

That’s why dissent is always the first target of any controlling system. Not murderers. Not fraudsters. Not the genuinely dangerous. No, the temptation is to start with the inconvenient. Today, that often means immigrants, students, and visa holders. ICE and DHS don’t just police borders; they’re increasingly policing opinions—trawling social media, flagging protest, and turning lawful speech into a quiet risk factor for deportation.

On paper, the First Amendment belongs to “the people,” not just citizens. In practice, the easiest place to test new forms of control is with those who have the weakest political footing. If you can punish an international student for a tweet, you’ve just built a working model of speech control that can be scaled later. The laboratory is immigration; the product can be rolled out to everyone else.

That’s where the “protection of dissent” comes in. If decent people, like us, sit this out because they dislike the protesters’ slogans or hashtags, they’re missing the plot. The issue isn’t whether we agree with the content of dissent. The issue is whether the government can quietly attach a price and a punishment to dissent, leaving only the reckless or the desperate willing to speak.

History is blunt: once it becomes dangerous to disagree, it eventually becomes dangerous to be different.

The accurate measure of our decency is whether we will stand up for the right to dissent for those we disagree with, before the machinery to silence them turns on us. NeverFearTheDream   simplebender.com

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Posted in Political

Parable: When King’s Divide—People Unite

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Chairs of absent kings trying to divide while the people join hands and unite NeverFearTheDream simplebender.com

In weary corners of the world, three elder kings sat in their gilded castles, polishing medals they’d never earned. Their peasants staggered through hunger, cheap drugs, and endless funerals, but the kings were busy with more important matters—like drawing new lines on old maps and wallowing in opulence.

One dark, cold winter, the kings gathered at a marble table and decided that ruling their own crumbling kingdoms wasn’t enough. They would divide the whole world into “areas of influence,” like carving a roast they hadn’t paid for. Each slice came with rights: to plunder, to threaten, to “stabilize” by force. Responsibilities, however, were deemed inefficient. One would gain the Orient, one would be allowed, unfettered, to restore their former Empire, and the last would gain a vast Western Hemisphere. They embraced, shook hands, winked, made the deal, and secretly crossed their fingers behind their backs.

Their longtime allies—small kingdoms that had stood by them through storms and wars—were called into the throne rooms and, in ungracious tones, scolded; they were now “on their own.” It was dressed up as tough love, of course. “You must learn to defend yourselves. You must be strong, not weak,” the kings said, while quietly moving their troops, their money, and their promises elsewhere.

The peasants, meanwhile, noticed something awkward: the kings always seemed richest after a war, and safest after a crisis. So the villages began whispering across borders. Farmers traded grain instead of insults. Healers crossed checkpoints to treat strangers. Workers in different lands realized they were all being squeezed by the same velvet-gloved hands.

Soon, small alliances of towns and regions formed—not to conquer, but to refuse. They refused to buy the king’s fear, refused to send their sons and daughters to die for “influence,” and declined to hate people who were just as tired and broke as they were.

When the three kings tried to enforce their New World Order, they found something inconvenient: the world had quietly ordered itself, not into empires, but into bonds of mutual survival. They found that the sovereigns they had harassed and attacked, out of vanity and spite, had aligned against them. The small sovereignties had forged strength by joining together. The weakened kings found that by trying to be dominant, they had become feeble and irrelevant. And then, to their horror, each discovered the other king had made secret trade deals and alliances outside their spheres. Each cheated on the other because they thought they could get away with it.

It turns out, when rulers isolate and divide, the people eventually learn the oldest truth of all: if we don’t lift each other, no one is coming to save us. It turns out that failing, deceptive, greedy kings cannot divvy up the world and forge a lasting new world order. They lie, cheat, and steal for their own prosperity, not the betterment of the people, and the people finally know the truth. NeverFearTheDream simplebender.com

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Posted in Current Events, Political

Our Future or Present: Authoritarianism and Transactional Leadership: Reprinted…..for a Reason

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No Kings, slash through blood dripping crown

This was first published 8/29/22; yes 2022. It seems unfortunately appropriate that I republish it recognizing the events in which we currently find ourselves and the world

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Our grand experiment of Democracy is dramatically different than every social norm, every other system of leadership, governance, and social fabric with which we live. It’s little wonder our system is always under attack and slowly yielding to authoritarianism. We must stay committed to our representative republic and the triad balance of power. If not, we too will slip into a transactional authoritarian government.

Social norms in our family, religion, business, and most world governments, have a strong bias toward authoritarianism. This is what we grew up with. A family structure which requires the adult(s) to be responsible and accountable. Youth are rewarded for following instructions and guidelines. In world religions, there is the priest, pastor, imam, grandmaster, or lama. Each controlling the message. All imposing authority over their flock. Grooming them for the future of the leader, ‘church’, or cult. At its worst this level of uncontrolled authority leads to mass suicides and child abuse. In business, unless you are self-employed, we all have supervisors. Authorities giving us assignments, judging our performance, and controlling our wages. This is when we truly begin to feel the influence and practice of transactional leadership. When decisions are made, not necessarily on the merits of the problem but on how the results can affect individuals and organizations. Globally, very few countries have histories other than dictator, monarchy, warlord, or czar. Their culture and history are rooted in non-democratic leadership. The plague of transactional leadership is the most dangerous in governments. Casting long term policy aside for near term benefit of themselves, their cronies, and minions. To be clear, there is a difference between transactions for self interest and those for policy advancement.

Fledgling democracies of the former Soviet Union and the countries which blossomed during the Arab Spring have fallen back to authoritarian governments where transactions are key to survival. Russia and China have changed their constitutions allowing Putin and Xi to be leaders for life, returning to the time of Stalin and Mao. Are we on the same precipice? We’ve seen the original basis of triad balance of power eroded as the executive branch has usurped congressional powers. Methodically, creating a ‘strong’ executive branch and thereby a weak, neutered, dysfunctional legislature. Boisterous, self-absorbed, ‘leaders’ don’t really care about your cause, only your money and your vote. In exchange, they will act as your advocate and protector. Disparage, insult, and harass those whom you believe are a threat, especially minorities, in exchange for your support. They will play the victim, if they think they can tug at your heart so you will tug at your wallet. Candidates pandering for their endorsement want it only to gain your support. They fear the zealous wrath at the polls so, as chameleons, will enthusiastically espouse whatever the loudest want to hear. Everything is a transaction. More ‘perfect’ phone calls. No long-term policy and direction considered. It boils down to: Put me in power today, keep me in power tomorrow and I’ll do your bidding, to hell with what’s right.

How do we arrest the accelerating demise of our democracy? We should re-establish the balance of power. The triad must be equal and accountable to each other. Executive orders should have sunsets and if not codified by Congress should expire. Restore and strengthen Congressional subpoena power. Reign in Executive Privilege; it’s a shield for deceit. Institute term limits on Supreme Court Justices and require the Senate to act immediately on nominations. Institute Congressional term limits and dismantle the seniority power structure. The Electoral College process should be updated, ensuring the count based on the people’s vote not the State’s politicized legislature.

Our democracy has matured over time, and we must be wary of the pendulum swing toward authoritarian transactional leadership. Once there, the fight to climb back up the moral pedestal will be very hard. We don’t need protectors. We need calm, stable, policy driven leadership. We need to declare allegiance to the Constitution not any party or person. #NeverFeartheDream

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Posted in Political

Rabbits’ Revenge: A Fable of Hidden Strength

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Protesting 'Rabbits' Ain't No Fun When the Rabbit's Got the Gun

King Wannabe stood before the crowd of people, his back hunched, too feeble to be erect, his greying, bushy eyebrows raised, his face twisted in contempt. The people would not chant his name nor bow to his image. “Rabbits,” he scoffed. “Nothing but rabbits. They eat, they breed, they exist for my pleasure. Especially the young ones—for my pleasure. Everyone must love Wannabe, everyone, especially these rabbits.” His entourage knelt in obedience, fearful of his rage.

One brave advisor dared to whisper, “But sir, no one is loved by everyone, and they are more than rabbits. They are people, with minds, with hopes and dreams.” In a buffoonish manner, Wannabe waved the thought aside, clutching a handful of pamphlets. “Look at these. Lies! All lies! Their words are filth. Take their paper and their pens. Silence them, cancel their culture.” He signed an Order, and the dutiful minions obeyed, seizing what they could.

Yet the words did not stop. Thought traveled without ink. Discontent spread without parchment. And so Wannabe tightened his grip. In a tyrannical rage, he yelled, “We will control the news. We will make them pay to speak. We will force them to listen. We will tell them what books to read. We will be their favorite, the one they love; they will love Wannabe.” Again, with trepidation, the advisor leaned close: “But sir, even without paper, they have found their voices. They still have minds. And even rabbits, when cornered, will bite. Not today, perhaps—but one day the rabbits will bite. Remember this if you remember nothing at all. And heed the hunter’s satire.” The Wannabe dismissed him with a bitter laugh and a sneer. “Nonsense. They are only rabbits. They are for my pleasure; their only care is to eat and breed.” He arrogantly sneered. “And as to the satirical, I hate comics: ‘ain’t no fun when the rabbit’s got the gun’ is just silly. It’s for the weak and timid; not for Wannabe because Wannabe controls all and fears nothing.” He laughed, but his laugh was uneasy, and the silence from his minions was unmistakable and deafening.

Seasons passed. The whisper and wisdom of the sage advisor lingered. The people—mocked as useless, underestimated lagomorphs—grew weary of abuse and felt more cornered yet bolder. The self-serving advisors, sensing doom, scurried away with whatever spoils they could steal. At last, Wannabe stood alone, his armies and decrees powerless against a multitude no longer afraid, but resolute and united.

And from the crowd, like sparks catching fire, came the clamorous chants:

“Today the rabbits bite.”
“Ain’t no fun when the rabbit’s got the gun.”

Protesting against authoritarianism

The chants rolled through the streets, half warning, half laughter, but all serious. It was no threat of violence, but a proverb of irony. These people, these ‘rabbits’, had never needed literal guns because they had found something much more lethal—strength in their numbers, in their unified ideas, in their memory, dreams, and words, and now in their collective refusal to bow. The chant was their laughter, their truth, their declaration that the world had turned and change was in the offing. And the wise sage smiled a subtle, small, sly smile, always knowing and anticipating the power of their unity.

Civil society thrives only when none are treated as beasts, but as human beings with voices, hopes, and dreams. Wise leaders understand that thought is stronger than chains and the pen is stronger than the sword. The silencing of truth and thought control is always temporary; revolt begins the moment words are stifled, and action follows when endurance breaks.

If you have a gun—put it down, and put it away, we rabbits don’t need them.

Instead, pick up your pen and write your thoughts and dreams. Raise your voice and speak your mind. Open your ears and listen to others. Kings, Emperors, and wannabes are mortal. But thoughts endure. Words endure. And yours are essential. #NeverFearTheDream #Ain’tNoFun #RabbitsBite

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Posted in Current Events, Political

Guardrails Against the Authoritarianism Storm

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Columns supporting our Constitutional Liberties

Article first published in the Bend Bulletin 9/27/25

The Bill of Rights was not a mere document, but a product of the founders’ deep suspicion of concentrated power. They had witnessed the crushing of liberties under a monarchy and feared that even a republican government might someday drift toward authoritarianism. The First Amendment enshrines freedoms of mind and voice; the Second Amendment ensures the citizenry will never be entirely powerless should those freedoms come under assault. This foresight of the founders enlightens us about the historical context of the Bill of Rights, giving us a deeper understanding of our constitutional rights.

History was their teacher. British suppression of colonial assemblies, censorship of dissenting press, and the Intolerable Acts were enforced not with argument but with troops. The Revolution began not at a printing press, but when local militias clashed with regular soldiers at Lexington and Concord (1775) to resist the seizure of their weapons. It was this combination—ideas in pamphlets like Common Sense (1776) and the willingness to defend them—that secured independence.

James Madison (Federalist 46) envisioned an armed citizenry as the ultimate check on federal overreach, noting that “the advantage of being armed” would deter encroachments on liberty. Alexander Hamilton (Federalist 29), though skeptical of full-time militias, conceded that a people capable of bearing arms would make any tyranny costly. Later commentators, such as St. George Tucker (1803), referred to the Second Amendment as the “true palladium of liberty,” a final barrier against usurpation (Tucker, Blackstone’s Commentaries).

The framers did not celebrate rebellion, and neither should we. They built a republic designed to settle disputes through institutions—legislatures, courts, and elections—not through insurrection. The Second Amendment was less an invitation to revolt than a final constitutional guardrail, a reminder to government that the people remain sovereign. It was meant to make authoritarian control—whether through censorship, suppression of dissent, or militarized governance—impractical.

“The Second defends the First,” captures part of this truth but misses the deeper genius of the American design. Our first line of defense for free expression is institutional: the separation of powers, judicial independence, and a free press that is able to hold the government accountable. An armed citizenry is the last resort, the failsafe that ensures no regime can permanently silence the governed, providing a sense of security about our rights.

Even in polarized times, the resilience of this framework is remarkable. Courts still strike down attempts at censorship, legislators still debate fiercely, and citizens continue to speak, publish, assemble, and worship according to their conscience. With some legislators seeming to yield to the mob or bend a knee for their own political survival, our Constitution has withstood civil war, economic depression, McCarthyism, and demagoguery precisely because its protections are layered—legal, institutional, and cultural. The greatest defense of liberty is not fear of armed resistance but the enduring resolve of citizens who insist on their right to speak and be heard. When we do not defend the first, we risk the second, the fourteenth, the fifteenth, and the nineteenth. When we defend free speech, preserve checks and balances, and reject authoritarian shortcuts and fragile egos—whether from the left or the right—we prove that the American experiment remains not only viable but vital. This reiteration of the importance of defending free speech should empower you and make you feel responsible for upholding your rights, instilling a sense of duty and empowerment in you. # NeverFearTheDream # Stand for Truth # Stand with Pride # Stand with Spine

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Posted in Political

Update: Corroborating News–Extortion: Foreign and Domestic

Posted on by simplebender

9/25: Disney/ABC/Nexstar choose profit over principle. By silencing a comedian, they protected the impending merger of Nexstar and Tenga, which requires FCC approval. They are bending to the FCC’s threats to withhold merger approval and review of their broadcast license.

Extortion: Foreign and Domestic

No one can control you if you don’t owe them anything. But more importantly, just because someone owes you doesn’t give you the right to try to control them. This control and unwanted influence is nothing more than extortion. We have seen extortion repeated numerous times in recent weeks and expect to see more. We watch as federal funds are restricted for personal vendettas and agendas. We have seen financial aid used as a tool to coerce and meddle in the policies of other nations, as a superpower attempts to influence a different sovereign’s internal affairs. The idea that if the government gives or grants you aid, you are obligated to do their bidding or succumb to their ideas of moral direction is itself immoral. The tariffs aren’t about trade imbalances. They are examples of abusive dominant position and extortion.

The ability to invoke fear and illicit reactions can be through hard or soft power. Hard power is the use of military or economic coercion, while soft power is the use of cultural or ideological influence. As a superpower and stalworth of freedom of choice and independence, we should stand on higher ground. We should help guide and support rather than threaten financial and social ruin if our direction isn’t followed. We should never judge another sovereign with our isolated provincial views without understanding their cultural underpinnings and environmental conditions. Our greatest strength does not come from fists or extortion but from example. We are a country of plenty, and our moral teachings and practices have been to share. To be witnessed as an example, not demanding compliance or sitting in judgment. The importance of standing on higher ground and maintaining our integrity cannot be overstated. We have just as many faults as those who we are attempting to extort, bully, and bend to our will and ways. The pedestal we once placed ourselves upon is crumbling by the weight of our ego, bigotry, and hypocrisy. Some believe they have found their political messiah, and some have found the courage to cowardly hide behind masks so their identity might not be known, but they cannot conceal their intent.

Greatness is demonstrated in many ways, and extortion isn’t one of them. The consequences of extortion are severe. It leads to distrust, resentment, and, ultimately, isolation. Just know that when you push someone too far, they will eventually turn against you regardless of what they owe you. They will join the others you’ve extorted and bullied. You will stand alone in isolation as your once friends collude and align with your old enemies for your destruction. Your greatness diminished and tarnished as you become the pariah rather than the advisor and steady ally.

We have lived through dark times before, and there will be more. We will get through them by understanding that we exist within a global community, and we don’t control it. The power of the purse has a double edge, and we certainly would object to those we owe telling us what to do. Don’t confuse wealth with worth; we witness the wealthy and powerful transform into worthless bullies, not great leaders. The gravity of these consequences should make us all pause and reflect on the path we are treading. 

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Posted in Current Events, Political

Vilifier to Victim Cycle

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Vilification is not an innocent weapon — it’s a destructive one. It takes little effort to sling insults, caricature opponents, or cast entire groups as villains. But like a boomerang, what you hurl often returns. The sharper the words, the more likely they cut you on the rebound. This cycle of destruction is something we must recognize — and break.

When you vilify, you don’t invite reasoned debate but reactionary hate. Anger rarely absorbs anger; it mirrors it. History shows escalation is almost inevitable: one stone cast is met with another, one torch answered with fire. In that spiral of hostility, the target shifts. Today’s accuser becomes tomorrow’s accused. The vilifier becomes the victim.

History offers painful lessons. Denunciation fueled the French Revolution, each faction outshouting and out-purging the last. Robespierre, once the loudest voice condemning “enemies of the revolution,” soon faced the guillotine he praised. Hate and retribution have no loyalty — they devour their own.

Modern politics echoes the same pattern. Leaders, activists, and media figures who stoke division often find themselves caught in the very fires they lit. Hate has no brake; once unleashed, it runs its own course.

Vilification is seductive. It feels like strength — drawing bold lines, protecting your tribe, mobilizing energy. But human nature is wired for reciprocity: what we project comes back. To weaponize hate is to release a force you cannot control. Your gender, race, faith, politics, or power won’t shield you — the backlash spares no one — you reap what you sow.

This is not a call for naïve pacifism but for clarity. To vilify is to plant the seed of retribution. To demonize is to risk becoming the demon in another’s story. History is merciless to those who think they can ride the tiger of hate and not be eaten.

When there is no room for counter-opinion, there is no compromise. Without compromise, polarity hardens into conflict. And conflict, left unchecked, leads to violence — and death. But there is hope. We should call for understanding, not for “beating the hell out of” those we oppose. Listening can reveal common ground. Words can wound, but they can also heal. If we speak to persuade rather than to poison, we stand a chance of escaping the boomerang’s return flight. Vilification may win the moment, but it never secures a peaceful future.  #NeverFearTheDream

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If you’re looking for daily thoughts and insights you will want to start the morning with:

For Every Problem...A Solution...
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Joy in Alzheimer’s: My Mom’s Brave Walk into Dementia’s Abyss

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Posted in Political

Deconstructing Democracy by Design

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A ‘what-if’ thought experiment….or is it….

When federal agencies are defunded, are the states prepared to bear the burden? What if they falter, fail, and unravel under the weight? What if the unraveling of local governance isn’t a consequence of poor planning—but a feature of executive design?

Imagine a government waving the banner of “smaller federalism—drain the swamp,” slashing national programs in the name of efficiency and state empowerment. Medicaid becomes a block grant. Public housing and food subsidies are cut. Regulation and environmental oversight rolls back. Disaster relief is “restructured.” Methodically, the burden shifts to state and county governments, which are already stretched thin. Local taxes rise, services crumble, and local bureaucracies balloon in a vain attempt to compensate.

One town staffs its clinics. The next can’t keep its water clean. Some mandate gun control, others abortions, and others endorse sex work and gambling to increase state revenue. Air quality fluctuates by zip code. One region welcomes immigrants, the next sponsors agents for deportation. Resulting in dysfunctionality, geographical injustice, and discontinuity. The news media is mistrusted and declared ‘enemies of the State’. City, County, and State governments begin to crumble and fail under the weight of their new obligations.

Resentment festers—as inconsistency breeds inequity and confusion. Citizens demand relief, but help doesn’t come from local government, only more indecisive directives. Citizen uncertainty, polarization, and outrage against the policy void yield unrest. Not everywhere—but in enough places to make the headlines—just enough to be used as an excuse.

We’re already seeing a preview. Federal troops were deployed to California—not for disaster relief, but to enforce immigration policy, overriding the state’s will. FEMA faces cuts while climate disasters rise. Communities are left broken, ripe for corruption and manipulation.

And as the ground shifts, so do the guardrails. The Department of Justice leans in, and the Court tilts the scales. Recent rulings—many of which were urged by the Executive—have expanded presidential power by disregarding or reinterpreting laws passed by Congress and previous court decisions. Scholars once warned of an “imperial presidency.” It’s no longer theory—it’s precedent. The President need not wait for Congress. The office can act—or undo—with little more than a pen and a thin legal pretext.

And so, the same hand that dropped the burden returns—not as a partner, but as a “protector.” Protests are reframed as threats. Dissent becomes disorder. Disorder becomes insurrection.

Elections are postponed “for public safety.” Ballots are secured behind walls and counted by select administrators. Local authority is preempted. Emergency declarations morph into permanent policy.

Federal power consolidates—not with a coup, but with a shrug, and tacit approval, marked by deafening silence.

This isn’t prophecy—but it’s no longer just a thought experiment. It is no longer just possible it is verging on probable. It’s unfolding. If federal power can be withdrawn at will and restored at gunpoint—backed by a court with no limits—what does democracy even mean?

If this is the road ahead, it’s not the failure of states we should fear most. It’s the success of the plan—and our failure to notice.