2026

I heard the carols again, and wondered

Another Advent and Christmas. Another season of carols and promises, of declarations and pronouncements, of anticipation of the coming of an era of peace and justice. And another internal debate about how this transformation is intended to occur, what agency will bring it to pass.

Having the lesson in the life of the prophet from Nazareth, is this enough for us who believe and follow to initiate the beginning of an end to oppression and deception and aggression and manipulation and cruelty and abuse and greed and domination and hunger and isolation and suffering? Is the lesson itself enough to inspire reconciliation and peaceful coexistence? Or do we need another agent, a divine cosmic intervention to make this change in the deficiency of human nature?

Before at some times in these seasons that have come and gone for me over the past 80 years I have felt that the lesson was sufficient, that if we prevailed and persisted and acknowledged our weaknesses yet continued in faith that this was the answer to the difficulties that disrupt relationship across the earth; that if we maintained the attitude displayed in the life of Jesus it would bring about the profound change—evil would be overcome by good, persons would be persuaded to follow the truth of what is right and good that resides in the wisdom of the human conscience, and appealing to some higher intervention was an equivocation of our responsibility, a failure to embrace our calling to live out with courage the message of Jesus.

Now after what I have seen and where I have been I am persuaded that being human is not enough, that embodying the example of Jesus is not in itself sufficient to prompt the good that resides in everyone and to prevent the evil that human nature is capable of enacting. I have seen persons with passion live out the selfless pursuit of justice, to courageously call out abuse and offense against others, to witness for those oppressed and assaulted by persons with power who accomplish objectives that serve only a select group of people. I have been where individuals suffer because of the selfish use of resources that isolates those less positioned, where persons at the boundary of survival are denied even the most basic provisions for themselves and their families. And no amount of mercy and respect and compassion and companioning by those seeking to nurture and care for them has been able to stop this cruel agenda. The fortunes of persons with power who promote these sectarian objectives and the misery that this self-serving industry produces for masses of people seem only to increase.

No, we cannot do it ourselves alone. We cannot bring justice to those abused by powerful systems. We cannot end the suffering of those denied resources they need to survive. We cannot release those captive to oppressive domination. We cannot heal those with broken hearts and shattered lives. We need another presence, a presence unlike us. We need a presence not limited by human nature. We need an eternal manifestation who has the capacity to renew the human heart, to recreate in the human being a spirit of goodness and a zeal for promoting what is right in relationship and attitude.

When I hear in the carols the promise for one who is coming to establish a kingdom of justice and righteousness I say, “Yes, there is one following me who will make it happen. I will live in anticipation of it and as much as within me I will embody the pattern of living that I expect to be the normal then.”

We cannot make it right, …but we can make it better.

The Republican Degeneration Odyssey

The republican political party in the United States has shown itself to be a destructive, dangerous, divergent, decisive, disgusting disaster for the American experiment. The persons who participate in this outrageous ideology share a common distinction—they all are essentially juvenile characters, a self-indulgent, self-serving, self-obsessive group who think only of their personal welfare and see others as competitors not worthy to share life and resources in the earth.

Motivated by the fear that one day they may be the minority who will receive the same treatment they themselves have dished out to other minorities in the past—groupings of persons of color, of different cultures, of different expressions, of different orientations, of different religious persuasions. Because of their internal fantasy that they are more important than the others, those claiming republican identity have demanded preference, privilege, entitlement not extended to others outside their group. And their appeals to religious rituals and worship observances are utterly blasphemy because these persons can easily be judged by the evil behaviors they employ.

The American enterprise intended to display and celebrate the equity in human embodiment. The American enterprise intended to promote community—the concept that everyone who is alive in the earth has a right to share in its provisions not only because of their presence but also because of their individual capacity to contribute to the common good. The American enterprise promoted trust and sharing and established laws that would protect those vulnerable because of differences in physical statute and economic positioning and power differentials—whether they be from education, innate abilities, or distinguished capabilities.

The republican political party has attacked every one of these elements intended to describe the nature of the United States of America. The republican political party has undermined the historical efforts to develop an inclusive respectful community of persons who practice relationship built on compassion and tolerance. And those they have stationed to determine the pursuit of national and international interests have effectively reflected their own callous and prideful spirit.

Yet now the republican political party composes a minority of persons living in the United States. The republican political party can be discarded and replaced by a democratic government of the people, by the people, for the people, just as the Constitution declares. It is not too late to rescue the country from this degenerate party intent on destroying the American experiment.

Never give up; never concede; never be silent; …always vote.