Blind acceptance dulls your mind

 

There was a time when looking for solid advice about what I could do to stand against tyranny in affirmative ways didn't seem all that important. Times have changed. The following is from 20 Lesson For Fighting Tyranny. Historian and Andrew Carnegie Fellow Timothy Snyder suggests ways to defend democracy with individual actions. I've selected four of the 20 ideas that resonate with me. There's a link to all 20 below.

1. Believe in truth. To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights. 
2. The barrage of mis-statements and lies can seem overwhelming. It's deliberate.  He wants us to cave.
3. Do not obey in advance. Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.
4. Practice corporeal politics. Power wants your body softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating on the screen. Get outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people. Make new friends and march with them.
5. Five million protesters is a gaudy number, but not nearly the numbers needed to create a lasting change.  It's only a beginning. Small groups working together will make a difference. This requires we make it our intention to stay informed. 
6. Investigate. Figure things out for yourself. Spend more time with long articles. Subsidize investigative journalism by subscribing to print media. Realize that some of what is on the Internet is there to harm you. Learn about sites that investigate propaganda campaigns (some of which come from abroad). Take responsibility for what you communicate to others.

1. https://www.carnegie.org/our-work/article/twenty-lessons-fighting-tyranny/

Public Broadcasting's Future

Uncertainty

The future of public broadcasting is in doubt. Trump wants to zero out current funding. He can do that by asking Congress for a recission. 

This not about saving federal dollars. CPB's federal appropriation is modest: roughly one one-hundredth of a percent (0.01%) of the federal budget. CPB is distinct from NPR and PBS and does not produce programming or own, operate, or manage any public media stations. -opb.org. 

This is about retribution. "President Trump is looking to go after PBS and NPR to settle political scores and muzzle the free press, while undermining foreign assistance programs that push back on China's malign influence, save lives, and address other bipartisan priorities," (-Sen. Schumer) Foreign aid is part of this order for recission by Trump.

Will he get his way?

 I remember observing focus groups for Audience 88 and Audience 98. One of the questions asked about the importance of public radio. What would you do if public radio were to disappear? We were asking our audience why they found public radio important in a crowded media environment. It is now up to Congress to decide if Trump can pull all funding for NPR and PBS. It's called a recission of funding. Most Republicans say they support this idea. If public media is important to you, speak up now! You will get talking points back, but it is sheer numbers that will impress Congress.

And what did we discover about our listeners? They considered themselves to be citizens of the world. They appreciated how we were able to put stories a broader context, and they understood the interconnectedness of our shared experience.  

Contact Congress

U.S. House of Representatives:
* Telephone:  202-225-3121
* Website:  http://www.house.gov/ 

U.S. Senate:
* Telephone:  202-224-3121
* Website:  http://www.senate.gov/

Find your member of Congress and contact him or her:
Contact your Representative
Contact your Senator

Insights into Action

These four passages offer insights into my core values and beliefs. All of these inspire. All of these shout, "Take action, don't remain silent. There's always more to be done." Being informed and digging deeper is a really important catalyst for motivation.

I invite you to immerse yourself and find the truth.

Good news is not the spiritual and intellectual property of males only or of a particular religion. And true discipleship or learning involves dialogue, mutuality, and humility.

Inspired by Acts 16: 9-15

As we strive for a vision of a peaceful earth, may we recognize that true nonviolence is not weakness but a sacred trust in humanity’s God-given capacity to grow, to change, and to choose the plowshare over the sword.

Inspired by Isaiah

May the Lord torment you. May the Lord disturb you. May the Lord keep before you the faces of the despised, rejected, lonely and oppressed. May the Lord give you strength and courage and compassion to make this a better world. And may you do your very best to make this a better city, a better state, a better world. And after you have done your best, may the Lord grant you peace. Amen.

UMC Bishop White

It is estimated that at least 300,000 individuals, mostly children, have died because of the slash in funding for USAID. That's according to NPR, PBS, The Times, ProPublica, and the NYTimes. The journalists reporting on this issue have sourced everything in their reporting. Of course, Marco Rubio denies this, but offers no sources that back his assertions. His denials will not make this go away.

The Hollow Men

The administration thinks mercy, empathy, and generosity are signs of weakness. His spiritual advisors proclaim empathy is a sin. They are bereft of any compassion.

I first became aquatinted with the concept of the hollow man in the 60's. The counter culture thought the establishment were the plastic people. They told us their conformity got us through the Great Depression and World War II. We rebelled against that conformity. But it wasn't conformity that got us through the 30's and first half of the 40's, it was unity. It was disparate communities coming together that got us through perilous times. We both had it wrong. 

Then later, a song by Sam Philips broadened my awareness about what TS Elliott was writing about in The Hollow Men.

        You try to tell the world how it should spin

        But you live in terror with the hollow men

        Who stun you with their lies

        With fever in their eyes as they drown you

        From "Baby, I Can't Please You."

The current administration is the essence of the Hollow Men. TS Elliott's poem depicts a world populated by "hollow men," who are spiritually and morally bankrupt, lacking purpose and meaning in their lives. The poem uses imagery and allusions to convey this sense of decay and despair.

“This is the way the world ends.

This is the way the world ends.

This is the way the world ends.

Not with a bang but a whimper.”

― T.S. Eliot, The Hollow Men

Not if we unify against the hollow men. Unity is a concept of oneness where individuals join together by finding common ground. When I searched for a better definition, I came up with a couple of things. Notice there is not a duality, instead there is inclusiveness.

The concept of oneness is a multifaceted idea, generally referring to a sense of unity, interconnectedness, and a transcendence of boundaries or separations. It can be understood as a state of being whole, complete, and harmonized, with different interpretations arising in spiritual, philosophical, and psychological contexts.

Divine Essence

In the spiritual context there is divine essence. Many spiritual traditions believe that a divine force or energy permeates all of existence, and that individuals are part of this same essence.

Embrace the diversity. Find value in each of us. It is a force that is much stronger than fascism.