Are You Feeling Powerless? You're Not!

 

Now that Project 2025 is taking shape in the Federal Register and MAGA holds the reins to the Federal Government, many sane and compassionate people are feeling helpless. Unfortunately, our feeling of helplessness is not a byproduct, this is part of the MAGA plan. They intend to flood the news with the idea that "resistance is futile" and teach America "learned helplessness,” a well-documented psychological condition where people give up hope and accept their helplessness by refusing to resist. It is grounded in the false supposition that feeling helpless is the same as being powerless. Like everything else about Trump and his minions, it is smoke and mirrors. We who stand against all that MAGA represents are not powerless; we have the most powerful weapon on Earth if we are willing to use it. We have the power of human empathy!

 

Therefore, since we are not powerless, we must answer the question: "What do we do during this four-year hiatus from our quest for a just and compassionate America? "We can give voice to the Victims of the MAGA Ideology and let loose the power of empathy to transform our neighbors and ourselves!

 

There is a contemporary word for empathy that has become all the rage in MAGA circles, woke. The leaders of the MAGA movement know that as long people no longer feel the pain of the immigrant, the transperson, the LGTBQ+, young girls, women, the mentally and/or physically challenged, African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Middle Eastern Folks, MAGA will have a free hand to abuse these vulnerable populations at will. They can foster their reign of terror on the weak and vulnerable because the majority will be gaslighted into believing that these victims deserve what they are getting. And if MAGA leaders can distract the rest of us from the pain they’re causing in the real lives of others, we will quiver in our powerlessness, writhing our hands in despair, and ultimately do nothing to stop the abuse. The Anti-woke rhetoric seeks to prevent us from feeling empathy by labeling it as weakness. MAGA leaders use this rhetoric because they know that a woke society will be their downfall. Empathy has the power to heal divisions and make connections between people. MAGAs goal is to divide and conquer, leaving them in complete control of our society.

 

This means that we have a vital role to play in addressing this campaign of terror that our MAGA president and his oligarchical masters are conducting on the American People. We who feel the pain of MAGA’s victims need to help the vulnerable and truly powerless to tell their stories.

 

We need to foster cognitive dissonance in the MAGA allies and help them look past the rhetoric that appeals purely to their biases. We must help them to see with their hearts those who MAGA is abusing with their regressive policies.

 

Here are 10 ways you and I can regain our power and counter the MAGA megaphone that is attempting to shout most Americans into silence.

 

1.     Learned Helplessness—Become aware of the psychological state called "learned helplessness."  When we are overwhelmed by adverse events, we start to believe that we are powerless. We cannot change or influence the events. This leads to depression, anxiety, and resignation from any responsibility for the future. It creates feelings of powerlessness, even when opportunities for change may exist. It leads us to dismiss our real power.

 

2.     Social Media—We need to share and share again the stories of the deportees and the transperson who is denied their true identity. Use FB, Bluesky, and even Truth Social (if it allows you to be on its heavily curated feed). We need to amplify the voices of the poor and the minorities who are being shoved aside to make room for the male, white, rich, and powerful. We need to help the elderly and very young voices to be heard through the raucous crowds declaring that America is back again. We need to ensure that middle America sees the tears of the immigrant child being torn from the arms of their family as they are being shipped back to the conditions that caused them to seek refuge in the “Land of Opportunity.” However, it is imperative that we share authentic, verifiable voices from trusted news sources. I trust only two, Associated Press and  Reuters. All the others have a perceived or real bias that makes their reporting easily dismissible by MAGA, even when the reporting is accurate.

 

3.     Personal Network—Stay in contact with your friends and family who are part of groups being attacked. Listen to their stories. Encourage them to speak up for themselves. If history is accurate (and I believe it is), even if they are not under attack now, they will be sooner or later. Also, if you are sharing their story, be sure to ask permission.

 

4.     Share your own Story—Do not hesitate to let others know about your personal pain. If you are a victim, speak up in as safe a way as possible. If you are a victim’s ally, you have a story to tell as well. Be willing to share your pain alongside your friend or family member.

 

5.     Be an Advocate in your personal relationships and conversations. Call out racism, sexism, gender bias, and classism in conversations. But do so by directing the conversation back to the victims. Avoid focusing on the abuser. Instead, allow them to see the victims of their rhetoric. Help them experience their victim's pain. At first, they will be very resistant and may never be able to get past their excuses and rationalizations. But keep at it in later conversations. This is a long strategy. Be patient with them.

 

6.     Defend DEI Policies in the Workplace and Businesses – Do not be shy in telling stores and other businesses why you are not doing business with them. If your employer is turning their back on DEI policies, speak up. The business community also needs to be held accountable for their choices.

 

7.     Contribute to Food Banks, Refugee Organizations, Homeless Shelters, and other relief organizations. Avoid Fundamentalist Church-run agencies since many of these have signed on as active or tacit supporters of the MAGA movement. Check out any organization you may be considering. Do not hesitate to call or write to ask for information on their policies and practices. If it has even the aroma of MAGA, send your money and time elsewhere.

 

8.     Use your Phone Camera to document abuses when you see them and, if possible, share those images on social media with permission from the victim. Please focus on the expressions of the victim's pain and make its reality undeniable.

 

9.     Watch as much news as you feel appropriate, but avoid sources more interested in propaganda regardless of their biases. Avoid confirmation bias in your thinking as rigorously as you avoid the MAGA propaganda. Allow yourself to feel empathy for the victims. Then, find others with whom you can process those feelings. Do not try to carry them all by yourself.

 

10.  Stay centered on your own values. Be aware of the subtle changes that can creep in when we are being gaslighted or subjected to other abuse. Regularly return to your source of ethics and worldview. Read your sacred scriptures. Read the philosophers and theologians that speak to your soul. Go back and read the works of fiction that help you see the world in healthy, life-giving circumstances. If you are not a reader, subscribe to a streaming service and search out the movies and TV series that remind you about the best of life. Stay centered and focused.

 

11.  Lastly, when it gets to be too much, take a break, but set a date when you will get back into the fray. This challenge is too important to allow “I’ll get around to it when I can” or “When I feel like it” to paralyze your taking action in the future. Your voice matters. You have power. Do not let either be silenced or wasted.

 

We cannot change their hearts or minds. But those who have allied themselves with MAGA can and will if they can see and feel the pain of the victims of MAGA’s cruelty. We have the power to hold up a mirror in their lives so that they can see for themselves the pain they are inflicting by their support of MAGA in our culture. We are not powerless. Our feeling of helplessness is being manufactured in the MAGA troll farms and by the talking heads on the news outlets that have aligned themselves with their ideas. Reclaim your power and do as many of these 10 things as possible. You can make a difference in the lives of people suffering real pain in these chaotic times.

 

The choice is simple, and paraphrasing Jimmy Carter, choose to do all you can, for as many people as you can, as often as you can, and you will make a difference. Resistance is not futile if you understand and rely on the power of empathy to guide your hands and heart.

 

Bob

 

By the way, if you need an ear to help you process all of this, please feel free to add a comment or send me an email. We are in this together.

Finding a Different Way Home

Mount Rushmore in 2016

 A friend shared a story about the words, "and they returned in a different way." The words struck him while reading the story of the Sages as they returned home from visiting the manger and the infant Jesus. The words began to echo in my mind and soul. It is time for the United States to find a different way back to who we want to be. It has always been aspirational rather than actual. However, even the aspiration has become lost in the mythology of America, and if we are to find our way back to the ideals of the late 1700s, we will need to find a different path. It is time to abandon the path we have been following since 1789 by adopting a constitution where we began to ignore that American promise.

The term "American Promise" broadly refers to the ideals and aspirations that are foundational to the minds of those who began the conversation about a United States of America in the 1750’s. These include the principles of democracy, freedom, equality, and opportunity for all individuals. The notion is rooted in the writings of the Enlightenment and incorporated into the Declaration of Independence of 1776, which emphasized individual rights, communal responsibilities, and a shared pursuit of happiness for all.

 

The American promise suggests that every person should have the opportunity to achieve their dreams through hard work and determination, regardless of their background. It embodies the belief in upward mobility and a society where effort is rewarded. While these elements are remembered, much of the rest has been left behind. We have forgotten the commitment to universal civil rights, economic opportunity for all, and social justice. We aspire to the parts that serve our present desires and ignore key components that have become less popular. In doing so, we have emptied the promise of any real meaning and impact on our national life.

 

This process of eroding the power of the promise began when the Constitutional Convention convened. The enslaved were only given 3/5s the status of white men. People without property and women were denied the right to vote. Low population states had greater representation through an equal number of Senators with more populous states. The aristocracy appointed these Senators in the legislatures. Over time, power began to consolidate into the hands of this aristocratic, capitalist class. Their greed hoarded capital, which led to an economic collapse. And, after each market crash, wealth was redistributed more fairly. Soon, however, the political system controlled by the capitalists allowed the capital to re-accumulate into their hands, which led to another crash, and another, and another. Teddy Roosevelt broke up the trusts (19^th-century capitalist cabals), which led to general prosperity until the capitalists resumed their assault on the American promise after World War I, leading to the Great Depression.

 

Since then, the capitalists have gone to even greater lengths, linking their economic desires to the more popular regressive positions on civil rights to continue their erosion of the promise. The “Southern Strategy” led to our present state where the capitalists, now better understood as oligarchs, have seized control of the US Government and are working to enact sweeping laws to ensure their majority for the foreseeable future. They believe that the way back to their version of American greatness (MAGA) is the old familiar path that got us here: unregulated capitalism. In the last 250 years, this has resulted in repeated economic disasters. It may be time we tried a different path back to the promise so that we can claim the unrealized hopes it embodies. This video hints at a first step on this new path by refusing to embrace these old mythologies promoted by our capitalist/oligarchs and their minions.

 

Please take the time to watch this video done by an American Ex Pat named Miguel at @TripBitten.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYv3P159NAo

 

Is there life beyond a mythological America?

 

Each of these myths supports the idea of American Exceptionalism. They describe a self-understanding that helps us believe we are an exception to world history. It leads us to believe that we are immune to the diseases of fascism and other forms of totalitarian domination. It helps us believe that we are truly exceptional! Not only are these myths historically unjustified, but they are also very dangerous to our future as a nation. We have replaced the promise with these myths and entrusted our future to them. Unfortunately, they are rooted in the shifting sands of the human imagination and cannot withstand the coming storms in our political life. If we are to find our way back to the promise, we will need to find a different path. Here are a few thoughts as we ponder this different path to living into the promise that captured our founding generation’s devotion.

 

First, we need to admit, accept, and act like we are one among many nations, not the first among equals. We neither have nor deserve a privileged place in history or contemporary international relationships. Like all nations, our social and political life reflects our humanity with all its flaws and opportunities. We have not transcended greed nor a lust for power that has destroyed every culture since the dawn of time. We are neither more angelic nor more demonic. We reflect the internal struggles of every human being in our social life. We are afraid of those we do not understand. We are eager to hide our shortcomings behind our bluster and over-compensating mythologies. We are selfishly arrogant because of our ignorance of others and their experiences. We are quick to proclaim our victories and equally quick to deny our responsibility when our plans go awry. We refuse to admit that we are the same as every country that has yet to grow into the full maturity of its statehood. We are one among many nations and not a very grown-up one, at that.

 

Second, it is time we give up the childish self-centeredness and arrogance that grow out of ignorance and declare that we have much to learn. Every nation seeks to protect its own citizens. And we have much to learn from those older nations that have found ways to provide for the common welfare of their people. Nearly every civilized nation on earth views health care as a right for all citizens and does not dole it out according to the person's ability to pay. Most countries work to make it easy for citizens to express their opinions through open and fair elections. Most mature countries see themselves as part of a community of nations and would never try to go it alone on the world stage through military interventionism or imperialistic threats. Most fully mature nations provide a well-regulated life for their citizens through legislation that provides for public safety, the rule of law, protection of basic liberties, safe food and water, well-managed public facilities, universal public education, and a strong national defense. None of these are mysteries to most of the world’s population. They have been doing them for centuries. However, due to our childish belief in exceptionalism, we refuse to learn from their experience. Nor do we learn from our own failed experiments in trying to address these needs. We are like that head-strong child who fails the test repeatedly but refuses to listen to others or study because they already know better. As long as we walk this well-worn path, we will never recover the promise of our forbearers. It is time we started learning from rather than lecturing other nations who have been at this far longer than we have.

 

A final suggestion addresses our addiction to laissez-faire capitalism. It is time to let go of the idea that unregulated capitalism will usher in a new age of freedom and prosperity. Capital accumulation has been necessary to support much of the human progress that we have made in the last 300 years. However, the unregulated acquisition of capital has also been responsible for much of the suffering in the human family during these same 300 years, e.g., enslavement, child labor, destruction of our environment, and accelerated climate change. A capitalist’s concern is for the accumulation of wealth for the shareholders. They, when unregulated, will only provide protection for workers or consumers that will not violate their primary purpose, which is the accumulation of wealth.

 

Without social oversight, the all-too-human failure to distinguish between their wants and needs leads to fewer and fewer regulations and more and more abuses of those who create and use their products and services. Steam engines in the 19^th Century required a "governor" to control the engine's speed. Without regulation, the engine would go out of control and blow up. The cycles of historic financial crashes result from uncontrolled financial engines running amok due to the Reaganesque, across-the-board plea for deregulating our financial markets and business enterprises. They called it "trickle down economics. This lack of regulation temps each generation to the well-worn path of laissez-faire capitalism that has held us away from our pursuit of the promise since the beginning. It is time for us to step back and find a different path if we want to return to the promise of our American experiment.

 

It is time to take a hard look in the mirror, wipe away our pompous piety and self-serving nearsightedness, and find a new way back to the promise of 1776. Until then, the 'oligarchs' supported sham populism grounded in our racism, xenophobia, and fear of cultural change will continue to erode our freedoms. We will continue to be pulled by our out-of-control locomotive through the bust and boon cycles of unregulated capitalism, as we have for the last 250 years.

 

We need to take a different road back to our future as a people of the promise articulated in the 18^th Century Preamble to the Declaration of Independence. It is important to note that these words are not exclusively or originally American words or ideas. They grew out of the trials of Europe as it emerged from the medieval ages and began to explore how to live new lives in a new age. It was called the Enlightenment, and we are indebted to the philosophers, scholars, artists, and cultural leaders who blazed the trail to the promise that became our foundation in 1776.

 

When Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, and Company placed these words before the 13 colonies, they did so to inspire them to take a different path into the future of North America. Unfortunately, within a few years, we started backing away from these ideals, calling them incompatible with our newly minted myth of “Manifest Destiny.” And indeed, they are. We are neither exceptional, mature, nor immune to human greed for power and wealth. Until we find a way to live without the mythology of an exceptional America, we will not find our way back to the promise of our noble experiment found in these words.

 

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,

that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,

that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to

secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving

their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any

Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right

of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new Government,

laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in

such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their safety and

Happiness.”

 

Let us find a different way back to our future as a people who share Abraham Lincoln’s resolve 75 years later, “...that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

 

May we travel well through the last half of our 3^rd Century.

 

Bob