This is a post July 4th 2025 message. There’s a lot of them out there, and I’m going to try not to repeat what all the pundits are saying. We need to stand up to the theft of democracy, equality, justice. And we need to stand up to the criminal, that we all know is a criminal, and to the men in the shadows. This is taking us apart, division, confusion, adrenaline of anger, cynicism, fatalism.

The passage of this bill is going to be a seismic destructive force. History will be measured as before and after. How do I deal with my own feelings of loss and maintain a decency in the face of such a disaster? Some self-care – everything from simply taking deep breaths to remembering gratitude for my privilege to be alive and thinking helps. But I don’t need to share what works for me, you can Google a multitude of advice givers. Take care of yourself, good idea.

Creativity is called for. There’s a lot of work to do, legally, socially, globally, interpersonally, and compassionately, to save this world. Anger may have its place, and perhaps now is a time for some, but as they say, taking poison and expecting someone else to die has been proven not to work.

We need to practice a language of peace, to find words that are not divisive. Does that work? At some point, I’m going to admit, maybe it doesn’t. Not to the liars with criminal intent who have been at this for their careers, but to the good folks who have been fooled by the lies, addicted to some immediate gratification, frightened into defense and denial, it may just work.

I found myself in a conversation on July 4th with a small Asian lady, English definitely her second language, in the process of returning something at a big store. She’s happy enough to take my case and asks the question I get all the time, “How tall are you?”

I sometimes say, “Oh, this is the first time I’ve been on this subject today.” But before I can ask “In inches or meters,” she makes a guess, “Six foot five?” Well, that’s right. “And a half,” I add. I find myself saying under 6 foot 6 and I was draft worthy and in the Army. That brings us to her son is a Marine, and tall, but not as tall as I still am.

“Still big for my age” I say. She laughs at my well used joke. “I’m so small” she says, I’m ready with, “But your aura is big, and your spirit is indominable.” I think she knows that word, she smiles anyway. So, she voted for Trump but is afraid he’s going to send her son to fight a war. I say that I hope he doesn’t send him to capture immigrants off the streets. She nods, well good. I add, “So, today Trump is celebrating that his big bill passed in Congress. She looks confused, “What bill?”

She doesn’t know - she doesn’t know! She just voted probably for the one candidate she’d heard of and is she not even aware what he’s done. “Well, the bill is taking away health care from millions of people and giving money to millionaires” I say. She kind of shrugs, “The one percent.” Well, she knows that phrase. I add that I’m a real environment activist and he’s doing things that will be very bad for the environment. “Oh,” she says, “We have to take care of nature.”

Well, a little common ground. I say we need laws to protect the Earth, and I have to let it go, for her to get on to another customer, before I can ask her how could she vote for such a criminal, who rapes women, lies about everything, doesn’t pay his debts, and avoided the military draft at the same time it came for guys like me? But I’m working on my responses, I’ll be more prepared for that situation next time, with a smile.

My point is, I think I made her feel better, we were smiling, and just maybe she heard some words from a person she found decent and trustworthy. If we dare, we can be ready to defend the truth wherever we can – and make some peace. Here’s a song for all that. (The song starts at the 5 minute mark in the video. And sheet music is available to paid subscribers in the Library)

There's a Way