America First is America Alone

We are desensitized to killing. Leadership no longer recognizes nor respects international law or the norms of human decency. The United States / Israeli partnership continues the genocide of Palestinians. Turning our backs on this slaughter has empowered it. We have forsaken the independence of Ukraine and the slaughter in Sudan. The United States Christmas bombing in Nigeria was useless propaganda that harmed innocent civilians. We’re still unclear about the nearly one hundred sailors and fishermen blown up in the Caribbean. And as we learn of eighty civilians and soldiers and thirty-two Cubans killed by our bombs in Venezuela, we are distracted by the desire to take over Greenland. No time to mourn. Threats of militarization and regime change have been made regarding Mexico, Iran, Columbia, Cuba and continue in Venezuela.

America first is now America alone. Might is right has replaced our humanity. And who will stop the United States military, led by ruthless capitalists stealing land and oil and protecting their ultra rich crony pedophiles?

A senseless murder in Minneapolis at the hands of ICE brings the ruthlessness back home. The lies and propaganda still work on a handful, but the streets are and will continue to be lined with human beings saying “No More”. No more disappearing our neighbors and friends. No more theft of our souls.

Project 2025, the authoritarian playbook disguised as a manual for the creation of a Christian nation, is afoot, and the ignorant are all for it.

If you’re still supporting this madness, it’s doubtful these words will touch you. I write for those who see the calamity before us and to encourage the silent fringe to wake up, that we may remove the bullies we have empowered and allow the possibility of peace to reign.

Reclaiming our humanity with courage and dignity will stop this death march.

In our human belonging, we are never alone.

Vigil for Renee Good, brutally murdered by ICE in Minneapolis, 1/7/26

Warriors of Love

Take time for the stillness in your heart. As we emerge from a year of brutal cruelty, we must take stock of our strengths. This battle is not over. Our humanity is not lost. We have been silent for too long, complicit with a status quo that never cherished our individuality, never championed our gifts. This is a time to draw upon the wisdom born of compassion and empathy. It’s not a time to cower in fear. This is our moment to rediscover the gratitude for the life we have been given; and to hone the courage needed to repel the ignorance devouring us.

Doubt is not our friend. As we engage in a world corrupted by greed and poisoned with artificial truths, we must shake off indifference. We must become Warriors of Love.

In honor of those who came before us, with all of their hopes and dreams for our better world and for those who will come after us, we must fight.

Fight using the weapons we already hold: clarity, discernment, choice. History has repeated itself, because we have allowed it. But in that history, there has been a singular vision that has triumphed again and again. That vision is the possibility of peace. Not a ‘pie in the sky’ peace. It is a fundamental part of who we are and have always been. More of us are needed to cherish and cultivate it.

The ignorant laugh, but in truth the external power used to curtail us is nothing compared to what we carry – when we choose to deploy.

Deploy love and kindness. Help one another. We’ve got this.

WELCOME 2026!

Watch You Are In Charge – with the encouraging words of Prem Rawat

What Matters Most

The house of cards is crumbling. And for many, the overwhelm is taking its toll. We’re being forced to admit that our racist and murderous history is not simply in our past, but is and has been ever present. We have a choice. Those who cheered on this grotesque turn, are either in continued support of it, or are in full blown regret. Some are paralyzed by the fear of what we’re witnessing and now reckon with their participation in creating it.

Those who rejected and continue to resist the ICE raids on families, the disappearance of children, the murder of fisherman and the dismantling of our government’s checks and balances also have choices. Paralysis is not a choice. It’s capitulation. We can give up, assuming it’s too late and too hard to change – or we can continue to resist.

And this is the tricky part; how do we resist?

Knowing what matters most to us as individuals and collectively is our way out. Respecting ourselves and each other, caring for and listening to each other and acting with the confidence of people who know that the power we inherently carry will triumph.

The sun always dispels darkness. We have power that we have yet to tap. Not the power of conquistadors, but the power of seeds yet to be planted and harvested. We have all allowed this ignorance to reign and now it is our time to choose differently. We can discover and nurture our strengths. There’s great power in resilience, in clarity, in the ability to circumvent doubt. There is worthy power in aligning with compassion and empathy. And there are powers no one will ever dominate: our ability to love and to feel gratitude. These are the seeds of our becoming.

Nurture what matters most.

The Evin Prisons Bakers’ Club, Surviving Iran’s Most Notorious Prisons in 16 Recipes by Sepideh Gholian is a hard hitting look at the life of women political prisoners in Iran – their courage, sorrows, joys and triumphs told by one who has survived and thrives.

This Changing the Narrative podcast is translated by Fatemeh Jamalpour. Reading the book and engaging in this conversation with Sepideh has deepened my humanity and encouraged my resistance. Take time with this.

The Evin Prisons Baker’s Club with author Sepideh Gholian

Dismantling the Master’s House

When Audre Lorde wrote, “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house,” the door opened again to the dismantling of the systems that oppress us – if we let them.

And just what is the master’s house? The patriarchy that continues to subjugate women the world over are the pillars. In the walls are hidden the abuse of women and children and the inhumane secrets of generations. The floors are made of capitalism dependent on extreme extractions of the earth and of human blood, sweat and tears. And religions, that abandon simple truths in order to align with power, are the roof of the master’s house. The master’s house is a tight little package that we have accepted and we continue to support – until we don’t.

And what are the tools that we should not use to dismantle this prison? The lies of scarcity, that there is not enough; that life is about ‘dog eat dog’ and ‘might is right’. That heaven can only be found in dying and life is about sacrifice and pain and that we are separate from one another and all Creation. These are the tools the master has used to build his house.

What then are the tools to dismantle this prison? Knowing who you are is key. Recognizing the preciousness of life and the connection we all carry to our Creator and to one another sweeten the effort of dismantling. Love and compassion are our strengths. Courage and clarity are essential. And the hope that is born on this effort is never forsaken. It carries on.

“Nobody’s free until everybody’s free”. Let us join the host of human beings who have traversed this course. Enough of inhumanity. It’s time we depart the master’s prison and bring the willing home.

For inspiration, courage and clarity:

Fannie Lou Hamer – “Until I am Free You are Not Free Either”

Angelou “No One of Us is Free until Everybody’s Free“

Dignity and Grace

Don’t Let Them Bury My Story is the book by the oldest living survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre. Viola Ford Fletcher passed from this life on November 24th. She was 111. Her story will not be buried.

If you know of the Tulsa Race Massacre, it’s likely because of the lifelong effort of Mother Fletcher and others who suffered the haunting memories of White hate. It’s said ‘history is written by the victors’, but those who survived the two-day massacre in 1921, are proving that wrong.

Mother Fletcher was seven years old when the White mob began the massacre that slaughtered at least 300 Black people and burned down the affluent Black Community of Greenwood.

None of the White mob were ever convicted of the killings, lootings and torching of businesses and homes. Authorities deputized lynch mobs and harassment by Whites continued. Viola’s family escaped with only the clothes they wore. Many of the homeless families spent the winter in tents. Human perseverance and advocacy refuse to allow the erasure of truth.

Mother Fletcher’s lifelong quest for reparations was never fulfilled, but her words continue to echo giving way to truth telling and the possibility of healing. Her life and legacy is one of hope and much more than survival.

On May 19, 2021, she testified before Congress, “I will never forget the violence of the White mob…I still see Black men being shot, Black bodies lying in the street. I still smell smoke and see fire. I still see Black businesses being burned. I still hear airplanes flying overhead. I hear the screams.”

The first Black mayor of Tulsa, Monroe Nichols, has proposed June 1, 2026 as a Day of Observance with a plan to raise $105 million for reparations. This hope for healing will include releasing documents related to the massacre.

Viola Ford Fletcher’s Foundation will continue to “operate for the Good of humanity, believing we are stronger together.”

May dignity and grace continue to lead.

Viola’s Vision for Leadership

-from the Viola Ford Fletcher Foundation: To humanity’s leaders:

Fundamentally people are the same. We need clean water, air, quality food, safe spaces free of violence to rest our heads, raise children, learn; love, be loved, and respected. We want to belong to our communities because they allow and support us to explore our best. When our basic needs are met, we become freer to dream and learn… to read more of Viola’s principles

photo of Viola Ford Fletcher is from her foundation.

Dignity: Tap Into It

Dignity. The word has been with us in Latin and French since the 13th century. It was used to exalt human characteristics of moral and ethical uprightness. We’ve celebrated our dignitaries and, as we have the tendency to do, emulated the trappings of those we believed qualified to carry the term. We acknowledged status, but this is a far more superficial understanding of what it means to hold dignity, or to be a dignified human being.

The Enlightenment brought the understanding of treating human beings with respect and recognized dignity to be an inalienable right. In 1948, the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed that ‘All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.’ And while this marked a major milestone in human evolutionary thought, little has changed in the ways we’ve treated one another or have allowed others of us to be treated.

In fact, when you dive into the word (as Frederick Douglas did) it becomes apparent that political, legal and scientific scholars are ambiguous about the term. Dignity is largely left undefined.

But this is when the true meaning of dignity can emerge; when people cannot agree to a definition because the term cannot be encapsulated. Dignity cannot be caught in the trappings of language, and not in the mindset of intellectualism.

Dignity must be felt. Each of us has the right to claim and manifest the inherent dignity that lies within – which no one can take away and no law can circumvent.

It is our right and duty to manifest dignity. But first we must tap into it. Be courageous. Be human.

The photo is of my Diné friend and mentor who lived “Walk in Beauty”

“The soul that is within me no man can degrade.” Frederick Douglas

“No power on this earth can destroy the thirst for human dignity.” Nelson Mandela

Prem Rawat on Realizing Your Potential as a Human Being

Recognize One Another and Carry On

In case you are living in a bubble or deliberately choosing to avoid all of the indications of societal decay, please let me remind you, no one is an island. What happens to one, happens to all.

There is no talking our way out. There is no hero coming to save the day. This, what remains of “us”, is begging for accountability. We have used up all of the false hopes allotted. And we are bankrupt when it comes to saviors.

That’s not to say hope does not exist, but it is to ask, where are we placing that precious gift called hope? Hope without accountable action is a false narrative, the lullaby of fools.

Safety nets are being ripped away with far too many of us falling. We are soon to be left with the only choice that has never left us: to help one another. If you are unfamiliar with the concept of mutual aid, it’s as old as “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”.

Restoring human dignity is our most urgent need. Why is this most urgent? If we do not know our worth as human beings, if we do not see the value of each individual life, including our own, we will have forsaken the most significant weapon in our arsenal.

And in this battle over ignorance, restoring human dignity and seeking the company of those willing to do the same is imperative. There is power in this. There is unity regardless of differences. Where ever you are called to help: in stopping the inhumanity of ICE, in proclaiming Palestinian, Ukrainian and Others their freedom, in ensuring your neighbors have food and shelter – your courage and compassion are needed now. Recognize one another and carry on.

And in the meantime as the historic East Wing of the White House is destroyed making way for a ballroom, the military has conducted what appears to be illegal assassinations of sailors on the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean with no proven evidence of drug smuggling…and as the US military escalates its might over Venezuela.

Being Human is a Practice

John Trudell was a Native American poet, activist, and as his biography states, a survivor of government repression and tragedy. Both he and Grace Lee Boggs, the Asian American activist, author and philosopher passed in 2015, but not before they left us with prophetic words and wisdom to help navigate this time.

It’s easy to become disillusioned and numb. It takes courage and conviction in humanity to traverse these times. In this past week, people used social media to call forth the Rapture. I call that taking the easy way out. The quest for the pearly gates at the cost of the destruction of the earth and disregard of human beings is symptomatic. It means you’re unwilling to take responsibility for living. It means you have lost your dignity and the creative force needed to transcend this moment.

We have adopted corrupt systems that are failing us and either we can accept that and fight to change course – or we will go down in flames dreaming of the pearly gates.

John Trudell told us to “Protect your spirit, because you are in the place where spirits get eaten.” He urged us to clear thinking and to discover our humanity. Grace Lee Boggs warned us not to struggle against existing institutions, but to “make a philosophical, spiritual leap to become more “human” human beings. I encourage everyone to become familiar with their works and those of other human beings that chose wisdom over ignorance and humanity over division.

We are up against a tidal wave of lies and beliefs that cut to the core of our humanity. Fighting back demands clarity and a firm grasp of who we are. We are human beings. Not slaves to an economy, not disposable to war, and not shackled to dogmas that do not serve us.

Being human is a daily practice and it is our way out. Find your way to being human.

Take a Universal Stand

In 2009 I wrote a book called The Peace Warrior. I explained that we’re all peace warriors – or at least we have the potential to be. As one friend put it, it was a “call to action”. Another friend told me the two words, peace and warrior, didn’t belong together. I’m still laughing at that. My response continues to be, “it’s not called peace pansy, it’ called peace warrior for a reason.”

Somewhere along the line, peace being equated with passivity became the norm. Or we tied the word “peace” to a belief, or an absence of war. Good luck waiting on that.

No, the kind of peace I was and do refer to is innate and available. And those who embark on a life of peace must have courage. In this outward churning world, it’s easy to forget our true nature. Peace requires a love of self and of humanity above and beyond all the labels we wear or have been put upon us.

It takes recognition of our finite and temporal nature and allows for the intervention and stewardship of that which is Greater by design. Call it what you will. But please do not ask my allegiance to any religion or politic. And allow me to enjoy my heaven now.

If peace is to win out, it will be because we put all that is universal and human first. What is universal? The need for clean water, food, shelter, dignity and connection – a space inside and out to be the unique selves that we are. What is human? We’re on our way to find out.

And the peace warrior must have a good sense of humor. It’s the armor against ignorance. Wake up peace warriors. The game is afoot.

And some words that inform me:

“We have power… Our power isn’t in a political system, or a religious system, or in an economic system, or in a military system; these are authoritarian systems… they have power… but it’s not reality. The power of our intelligence, individually or collectively IS the power; this is the power that any industrial ruling class truly fears: clear coherent human beings.” ~ John Trudell

What is Peace? A seven minute video to make you think from Prem Rawat

Please listen to my conversation with Fatemeh Jamalpour on her new book For the Sun After Long Nights. to witness the beautiful human spirit against all odds – and our need for empathy and taking a universal stand.

When People Care

Regardless of where you sit on the political spectrum, there are signs that life has been drastically altered. The federal financial aid cuts hitting our local counties are shattering lives. Often referred to as “safety nets”, we are beginning to witness the severity of these cuts on our differently abled population, our children and our elderly. Local food pantries have been forced to cut fresh produce and milk and the numbers of people in need keep growing.

To some extent, this had been happening, but the end of aid is now rippling through and the harm is startling. What comes from despair? What comes from hopelessness? As we watch the forced starvation of Palestinian people in a man-made crisis, and people here being rounded up in inhumane ways, it’s apparent humanity must reclaim empathy.

Pointing fingers of blame is senseless when you witness the destruction of lives, near and far. Instead, we need to assess what we have, collectively, that cannot be lost. We need to think anew, creating systems and pathways that allow each individual to thrive. We’re being challenged to become human once more.

There was a time when land was not owned, when people could “make a way out of no way”. But human hands created economic systems that stripped dignity away from simple living, and now those same systems are choking many lives.

The choice before us is to recognize what is worthy of saving and what can be discarded. The effort is to rise in our collective humanity and trust again the earth can feed us – with our care. And to realize that we are worthy.

There are many local organizations and people in government ready and willing to make this turn. It’s up to us to help.

Here are some things that informed me this week. I hope you find inspiration here, to care and to act.

You can find a recording of a recent gathering of caring people at VernonReporter.com The event was billed as a non-partisan, educational, community exchange of information. It is worthy of your time to listen.

You can also listen to my podcast Changing the Narrative with author Elspeth Hays on her new book Feed Us With Trees – an important read on how we can reclaim our relationship with the natural world – and why we – or at least some of us – lost it.

And What’s in Our Future? on Life’s Essentials with Prem Rawat can be heard on Spotify as he reminds us of the power of being human.

And the photo is of Forget Me Nots…from my mother.

Be well, Everyone.

Category: Dignity