We Must Have Courage...

 

When fascism came to America it came clutching a bible and waving the flag.  On January 20, 2025.

All worldly pursuits have but one unavoidable and inevitable end, which is sorrow; acquisitions end in dispersion; buildings in destruction; meetings in separation; births in death. Knowing this, one should, from the very first, renounce acquisitions and storing-up, and building, and meeting; and, faithful to the commands of an eminent Guru, set about realizing the Truth. That alone is the best of religious observances. Milarepa

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there. Rumi

Grief can be the garden of compassion. If you keep your heart open through everything, your pain can become your greatest ally in your life's search for love and wisdom. Rumi

Because of lack of moral principle, human life becomes worthless. Moral principle, truthfulness, is a key factor. If we lose that, then there is no future. Dalai Lama

Our nation is experiencing confusion, stress, dissatisfaction, and suffering. It is eating away at the heart and soul of the nation.

The self serving quest for power and control is dividing the people of the nation along political and ideological lines of demarcation.

The unwillingness of primarily the authoritarian Republican conservative fascist Trump administration, Project 2025, and Christian Nationalists to recognize, or even care a whit about the suffering the policies the Trump administration is  subjecting and will subject millions of its citizens to is unforgivable.

As President Lincoln once said, a nation divided against itself cannot stand. Today, we are once again approaching that critical mass, Spurred on by President Trump, Project 2025, and the Evangelical Christian Nationalists and Trump's self serving narcissistic personality.

And now, an excerpt from the magazine Lion's Roar. A Buddhist perspective on the present state of American politics, government, and culture.

Anchoring in the Good

I recently learned how to darn socks and other wool clothing that has worn so thin that there’s a hole. You take thread and anchor it in the good, whole part of the cloth on the bottom and then cross it over the hole to anchor again in the solid fabric on the top. First, you sew back and forth vertically, and then you work horizontally, weaving each thread over and under the vertical threads until you’ve basically woven a patch. 

Well, the fabric of our nation has worn thin, and in some places, it’s worn out. How can we repair the threadbare holes that authoritarianism is creating? How do we anchor in the good, solid, beautiful aspects of our culture and in what is honorable and deserves protecting in our country’s history and peoples? And how do we do this over and over until new cultural traditions and ways of living together arise to replace and repair what’s being destroyed?

When I look back to see what’s good in our country, I recall the genius of George Washington Carver, who was born into slavery and yet became a brilliant scientist, educator, and humanitarian. Guided by deep religious faith and love for others, he revolutionized agricultural science and helped improve the quality of life for impoverished farmers. After successfully developing hundreds of plant-based products, Carver received an invitation from Thomas Edison to work with him in New Jersey. Edison offered Carver a salary that would be worth nearly one million dollars per year today. However, Carver declined, choosing instead to stay at Tuskegee to support Southern farmers.

I also anchor in the good in our country when I reflect on the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African American aviators in the U.S. Army Air Corps, and the thousands of servicewomen and men who supported them. They were the first African American military aviators in the United States Armed Forces, overcoming racial segregation and discrimination—both within and outside the military—to serve with distinction during World War II. Their exceptional performance directly influenced President Harry S. Truman’s decision to desegregate the U.S. military. Their legacy became a powerful symbol of African American resilience and excellence, inspiring the broader civil rights movement.

These reflections are anchoring in the intact cloth of our nation. All of us can reflect on what’s good about democracy and the rule of law to inspire ourselves and others to lift up and keep alive what we want to preserve in our culture and history. 

On a day in 1965 that’s known as “Bloody Sunday,” young and old marched for civil rights in Selma, Alabama. When they attempted to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge, they were brutally beaten and tear-gassed. Flossie Menifee, now in her eighties, marched as a high schooler. As she said in an interview, it was a day she’ll never forget.

I was in the front of the line and I got a lot of tear gas, and I had to go to the hospital that day.… My cousin was an orderly at the hospital that morning. He came down and he found me lying in the hallway. He went and got my sister-in-law.… She said, “You don’t have any insurance, so you really shouldn’t be here. Your mom doesn’t have any money to pay for this. So, we’re gonna take care of this and nobody will ever know you been here.” She gave me a basin, and she gave me some chalk to drink. She said, “I want you to throw it up until this tear gas is out of you.” When I was done, a guy came and took me back to the church where we originally started out. I went home and that night [came back for a] mass meeting. My mom didn’t want me to march anymore, but it was too late. I was hooked.

 Menifee’s high school threatened to expel her for her activism and not let her graduate,

 but so many students joined the march that they couldn’t expel them all, so they ended

 up letting them graduate. It was the same with the teachers in her high school. One was

 threatened with firing, but so many teachers were won over by their students’

 determination to achieve equality that they too joined the demonstrations. The school

 didn’t fire anyone, because it would have been too disruptive to fire them all. 

As Menifee’s example shows, if we resist together, we can accomplish much. This is a moment to engage, not to keep our heads down and go with the flow, but to build community and engage locally. 

Authoritarianism is about oppression and control from the top down. Claiming and strengthening our horizontal power—in which everyone has a say in the decisions affecting the collective, and everyone is valued and respected—is needed now.

As Menifee’s example shows, if we resist together, we can accomplish much. This is a moment to engage, not to keep our heads down and go with the flow, but to build community and engage locally.

For the full article please continue via THIS LINK