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summer_in_TX
summer_in_TX's Journal
summer_in_TX's Journal
March 10, 2026
Wagner has a list of some people who ought to be featured on the shows, those whose actions can and do inspire people:
• Susan Bolle and Cecilia Minalga, co-founders of the Bay Area Coalition (responsible to a large extent for the success of Prop 50)
• Jody Kass who created Deceived Nation, a platform for fighting lies in real time (after running the grassroots campaign that got George Santos expelled from Congress)
• Andrea Miller of Center for Common Ground, whose work for voting rights inspires thousands of black and Hispanic volunteers
For a show on voter registration:
• Jason Berlin of FieldTeam 6 who helps volunteers register voters in person, online, and through postcard reminders
• Laura Brill of the Civic Center who helps get high school seniors registered.
For a segment on immigrant rights:
• Monica Sarmiento of Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights, a multi-racial and multi-ethnic coalition of organizations fighting for the immigrant community
For a program on how to reach rural voters and the issues they care abou:
• Lynlee Thorne of the Rural Ground Game or
• Jess Piper from Blue Missouri
On state legislatures:
Melissa Walker from The States Project to speak about the thousands of Giving Circles now financing the candidacy of state legislators throughout the country.
To understand the priorities of Spanish-speaking voters:
• Katharine Pichardo-Erskine from Latino Victory
Want to feature ceative approaches to political commentary? "There are groups out on the street in costume, with clever signs and lyrics. The grassroots movement brings together all ages. Ask a Raging Granny about joy and laughter and love of country."
If you agree and know anyone connected with such shows, Wagner asks for help getting this message to them. I wish I knew someone personally to contact, but I don't.
Who would you add to her list?
I'd add Christopher Armitage, a U.S. Air Force veteran, journalist, and founder of the fast-growing Substack The Existentialist Republic, who advocates for resisting authoritarianism and protecting democracy through localism and community-based action. He is an outspoken proponent of "soft secession" — building parallel local structures and asserting state sovereignty as a response to creeping authoritarianism at the federal level. He is rapidly building a community and they are writing model legislation for state legislatures.
Are our favorite news pundits and podcasters undermining hope or boosting our resolve?
In Dear Pundits, Susan Wagner with the Substack The Grassroots Connector, has a wake-up call for all the hosts, producers, and staff of her favorite political content. She includes (by name) Nicole Wallace, Tim Miller, Jen Rubin, Jon Favreau, Chris Hayes, Katie Phang – and the rest in that category.
Have we fallen into an echo chamber, where the same few guests are repeatedly on? Where the focus is overwhelming and relentless:
"…Democracy is collapsing. Institutions are failing. Our opponents are ruthless".
They rarely "feature grassroots stories or host activists from organizations that are part of the solution."
But there is only one essential goal for 2026 – to win every possible election and loosen the MAGA grip on this country. To do that, to meet this moment, requires all hands on deck. The overwhelming drumbeat of the negative doesn't leave space for us to hope that our small actions can make a difference. It undermines our determination.
Take sports fans. If they don't believe that their team can win, would they show up at stadiums? Would they take the time, make the effort, spend the money?
…sportscasters are masters of talking up their team’s chances, focusing on strengths, not detailing the dangers ahead. [emphasis added] Your readers and listeners, like sports fans, need the hope that today’s activists bring. This is precisely the attitude needed to stage a decisive win for democracy.
All of us, you included, need to be informed of concrete actions being taken to save our democracy. Grassroots activists recounting small and large examples of organized resistance across the country are missing from your coverage.
All of us, you included, need to be informed of concrete actions being taken to save our democracy. Grassroots activists recounting small and large examples of organized resistance across the country are missing from your coverage.
Wagner has a list of some people who ought to be featured on the shows, those whose actions can and do inspire people:
• Susan Bolle and Cecilia Minalga, co-founders of the Bay Area Coalition (responsible to a large extent for the success of Prop 50)
• Jody Kass who created Deceived Nation, a platform for fighting lies in real time (after running the grassroots campaign that got George Santos expelled from Congress)
• Andrea Miller of Center for Common Ground, whose work for voting rights inspires thousands of black and Hispanic volunteers
For a show on voter registration:
• Jason Berlin of FieldTeam 6 who helps volunteers register voters in person, online, and through postcard reminders
• Laura Brill of the Civic Center who helps get high school seniors registered.
For a segment on immigrant rights:
• Monica Sarmiento of Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights, a multi-racial and multi-ethnic coalition of organizations fighting for the immigrant community
For a program on how to reach rural voters and the issues they care abou:
• Lynlee Thorne of the Rural Ground Game or
• Jess Piper from Blue Missouri
On state legislatures:
Melissa Walker from The States Project to speak about the thousands of Giving Circles now financing the candidacy of state legislators throughout the country.
To understand the priorities of Spanish-speaking voters:
• Katharine Pichardo-Erskine from Latino Victory
Want to feature ceative approaches to political commentary? "There are groups out on the street in costume, with clever signs and lyrics. The grassroots movement brings together all ages. Ask a Raging Granny about joy and laughter and love of country."
The Grassroots Connector can help. We, along with the organizers of Markers for Democracy, Downtown Nasty Women Social Group, Network NOVA’s Friday Power Lunch, and Swing Blue Alliance know the people who are actually doing the work. The guests we showcase have expertise on a variety of topics. They are not pontificating from behind microphones or computers, nor do they provide the same analysis day after day. You owe it to your followers and this country to present real stories from real people doing real work.
If you agree and know anyone connected with such shows, Wagner asks for help getting this message to them. I wish I knew someone personally to contact, but I don't.
Who would you add to her list?
I'd add Christopher Armitage, a U.S. Air Force veteran, journalist, and founder of the fast-growing Substack The Existentialist Republic, who advocates for resisting authoritarianism and protecting democracy through localism and community-based action. He is an outspoken proponent of "soft secession" — building parallel local structures and asserting state sovereignty as a response to creeping authoritarianism at the federal level. He is rapidly building a community and they are writing model legislation for state legislatures.
February 28, 2026
Worth reading this entire brilliant piece! how to use frames to reset the agenda of the election debate Donald Trump and Republicans are trying to set on their own terms. For instance, the word "hurdles" rather than obstacles or barriers helps hearers envision jumping over them rather than being blocked.
Every time we try to make the case that Trump and Republicans are lying about election fraud, our arguments just trigger more concern about election fraud and questions about whether fraud is happening. But this? What new questions are raised by asking why Trump is so desperate to keep from voting? Here are a few examples (of many more):
How do we turn the tables on Republican efforts to deprive us of our vote? This holds the key. And it's true. Trump and Republicans are desperate to keep us from voting.
Why is Trump so Desperate to Keep Us From Voting?
https://open.substack.com/pub/reframingamerica/p/hurdlesOur mission is to make the election debate about the Epstein files, and make American citizens so angry about Trump’s placing hurdles in between them and their ballot box that they will march through hell or high water to vote.
Our Narrative
Trump is terrified of losing the protection of Republicans in Congress because he thinks he will be impeached and that the Epstein files are going to land him in jail. He is doing everything in his power to prevent voting (put obstacles/hurdles in voters’ paths) because it is nearly impossible to steal enough votes after they have been cast, and if you try, you will get caught – which he ought to know, because he tried and got caught!
Our Narrative
Trump is terrified of losing the protection of Republicans in Congress because he thinks he will be impeached and that the Epstein files are going to land him in jail. He is doing everything in his power to prevent voting (put obstacles/hurdles in voters’ paths) because it is nearly impossible to steal enough votes after they have been cast, and if you try, you will get caught – which he ought to know, because he tried and got caught!
Worth reading this entire brilliant piece! how to use frames to reset the agenda of the election debate Donald Trump and Republicans are trying to set on their own terms. For instance, the word "hurdles" rather than obstacles or barriers helps hearers envision jumping over them rather than being blocked.
Every time we try to make the case that Trump and Republicans are lying about election fraud, our arguments just trigger more concern about election fraud and questions about whether fraud is happening. But this? What new questions are raised by asking why Trump is so desperate to keep from voting? Here are a few examples (of many more):
Does Trump not want people to vote?
Is he afraid Republicans are going to lose?
Are Republicans protecting him?
Will Trump be impeached if the Republicans lose control of Congress? (He thinks he will be.)
Is he afraid of being held responsible for whatever he is hiding in the Epstein files?
Is he afraid Republicans are going to lose?
Are Republicans protecting him?
Will Trump be impeached if the Republicans lose control of Congress? (He thinks he will be.)
Is he afraid of being held responsible for whatever he is hiding in the Epstein files?
How do we turn the tables on Republican efforts to deprive us of our vote? This holds the key. And it's true. Trump and Republicans are desperate to keep us from voting.
February 3, 2026
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/elections-house-senate-congress-midterms-trump-387549d4d5e682cf8ce8205d96d07ca7
While money isn't everything, it is a huge factor in the ability to get your message to voters and mount an effective campaign.
I confess, my husband and I haven't opened my wallet much this election cycle. Frustration with the infighting in D.C. and not perceiving many electeds in national office as stepping up sufficiently to defend democracy has been a huge factor in my holding off. I've given to pro-democracy organizations but relatively little to campaigns and none to party organizations. A lot less than last year. Now I'm kicking myself.
It wouldn't surprise me to learn that's affected Democratic giving everywhere.
Fundraising hauls show RNC vastly outpacing Democrats ahead of midterm elections
According to the Associated Press and other news sources, Republicans have an almost $100 million edge over Dems as of the end of 2025.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican National Committee has vastly outpaced Democrats in the crush for cash ahead of the midterm elections, holding a nearly $100 million advantage at the close of 2025, according to year-end filings to the Federal Election Commission.
As Democrats have struggled in the Trump era, the RNC tallied $172 million raised in 2025, with $95 million cash on hand at year’s end. In contrast, the Democratic National Committee posted $145 million for the year, with $14 million on hand — and $17 million in debt, to start the new year underwater.
It’s all pointing to a turbulent election cycle ahead as President Donald Trump fights political headwinds that tend to brush back the party in power, in this case Republican control of the White House and both chambers of Congress, and reward challengers during the midterms.
In the campaigns for control of Congress, the total hauls are less stark. House Republicans posted one of their stronger years, raising $13 million in the last month of the year, to close with more than $117 million for the National Republican Congressional Committee, the main campaign arm. House Democrats trailed slightly at $115 million.
As Democrats have struggled in the Trump era, the RNC tallied $172 million raised in 2025, with $95 million cash on hand at year’s end. In contrast, the Democratic National Committee posted $145 million for the year, with $14 million on hand — and $17 million in debt, to start the new year underwater.
It’s all pointing to a turbulent election cycle ahead as President Donald Trump fights political headwinds that tend to brush back the party in power, in this case Republican control of the White House and both chambers of Congress, and reward challengers during the midterms.
In the campaigns for control of Congress, the total hauls are less stark. House Republicans posted one of their stronger years, raising $13 million in the last month of the year, to close with more than $117 million for the National Republican Congressional Committee, the main campaign arm. House Democrats trailed slightly at $115 million.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/elections-house-senate-congress-midterms-trump-387549d4d5e682cf8ce8205d96d07ca7
While money isn't everything, it is a huge factor in the ability to get your message to voters and mount an effective campaign.
I confess, my husband and I haven't opened my wallet much this election cycle. Frustration with the infighting in D.C. and not perceiving many electeds in national office as stepping up sufficiently to defend democracy has been a huge factor in my holding off. I've given to pro-democracy organizations but relatively little to campaigns and none to party organizations. A lot less than last year. Now I'm kicking myself.
It wouldn't surprise me to learn that's affected Democratic giving everywhere.
January 9, 2026
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Fv9AEPWb7/
The full Heather Cox Richardson January 7, 2026 Letters from an American: https://open.substack.com/pub/heathercoxrichardson/p/january-7-2026
The PBS Newshour for Jan. 7 is here: ?si=XlWFRAmt2Qw-gJx4
The segment on the proceeds of Venezuelan oil seizures going into private banks rather than the U.S. treasury that HCR refers to can be found at 19:39-20:13.
V-e-r-y sketchy behavior to keep the proceeds from the Venezuelan banks in banks outside of America. We taxpayers paid for the Trump administration's adventurism in Venezuela. Though such proceeds are ill-gotten, shouldn't that money come here? What could possibly be the reason for caching the money in off-shore accounts???
Trump admin plans to deposit proceeds from Venezuelan oil sales in global banks not the US Treasury!
Heather Cox Richardson posted a quick note late Wednesday pointing about her full newsletter dated January 7, 2026. Normally she just publishes one bigger article about 2am each day but she added this extra one to call our attention to a specific part of the regular one that was coming out later.
“Today has been bonkers, and tonight's letter will reflect that. But while we are copyediting that letter, I want to call out something in it, toward the end, that I don't want to have overawed by everything else that's happened today. It's this:
"Today, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told an audience at a Goldman Sachs energy industry event in Miami, Florida, that the United States will take control of all oil from Venezuela for the foreseeable future. Lisa Desjardins and Nick Schifrin of PBS Newshour reported this afternoon that Trump administration officials have told lawmakers that they plan to put the money raised from their seizure of Venezuelan oil into bank accounts outside the U.S. Treasury. Desjardins clarified that '[s]ources said they understood these as similar [to] or decidedly "off-shore" accounts.'
Yesterday, Trump announced that, as president of the United States, he would control the money from the sale of Venezuelan oil."
[snip…]
This note is not tonight's letter, which should be forthcoming before midnight (I hope!). But this information— which sure looks like Trump just announced he was planning to take control of Venezuela's oil personally and is planning to stash the cash in off-shore accounts— jumped out at me, and I wanted to make sure people didn't lose it in under the weight of today's other crushing news.”
"Today, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told an audience at a Goldman Sachs energy industry event in Miami, Florida, that the United States will take control of all oil from Venezuela for the foreseeable future. Lisa Desjardins and Nick Schifrin of PBS Newshour reported this afternoon that Trump administration officials have told lawmakers that they plan to put the money raised from their seizure of Venezuelan oil into bank accounts outside the U.S. Treasury. Desjardins clarified that '[s]ources said they understood these as similar [to] or decidedly "off-shore" accounts.'
Yesterday, Trump announced that, as president of the United States, he would control the money from the sale of Venezuelan oil."
[snip…]
This note is not tonight's letter, which should be forthcoming before midnight (I hope!). But this information— which sure looks like Trump just announced he was planning to take control of Venezuela's oil personally and is planning to stash the cash in off-shore accounts— jumped out at me, and I wanted to make sure people didn't lose it in under the weight of today's other crushing news.”
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Fv9AEPWb7/
The full Heather Cox Richardson January 7, 2026 Letters from an American: https://open.substack.com/pub/heathercoxrichardson/p/january-7-2026
The PBS Newshour for Jan. 7 is here: ?si=XlWFRAmt2Qw-gJx4
The segment on the proceeds of Venezuelan oil seizures going into private banks rather than the U.S. treasury that HCR refers to can be found at 19:39-20:13.
V-e-r-y sketchy behavior to keep the proceeds from the Venezuelan banks in banks outside of America. We taxpayers paid for the Trump administration's adventurism in Venezuela. Though such proceeds are ill-gotten, shouldn't that money come here? What could possibly be the reason for caching the money in off-shore accounts???
December 10, 2025
and
Interesting article and makes sense. That leaning forward posture of Trump's is highly indicative of Frontotemporal Dementia.
Read more here: https://frankgeorge8675309.substack.com/p/dammit-its-not-alzheimers-heres-why-c9f
"DAMMIT It's Not Alzheimer's! Here's Why It's A Far Worse Nightmare Scenario"
Frank George, a former Senior Fellow at the NIH who taught university-level courses on topics like on narcissism, mental health disorders, neuroscience and addictions, now writes a newsletter on Substack called The Gaslight Report. He ended up there after Trump's budget bs got him and his course on Pathological Narcissism dumped, according to the article.
George planned a different post, until someone with a far bigger platform posted an article that's gone viral that he strongly objects to caused his writing plans to change.
Because someone with a big audience pushed a post claiming Trump is on an Alzheimer’s-specific infusion drug, linking it to everything from bruises to sleepiness to “confusion.” Sadly, the post is spreading.
Well, circumstantial click bait evidence doesn’t hold up in court.
Well, circumstantial click bait evidence doesn’t hold up in court.
and
A serious symptom analysis quickly debunks Alzheimer’s.
Trump’s symptoms are consistent with another, less common but more disruptive and, in his case horrific, disorder — Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), especially the behavioral variant (bvFTD). This is the variant characterized most strongly by severe changes in personality and behavior.
✅ A HUGE and Critical Distinction
This isn’t guesswork pulled from thin air. This is the conclusion drawn from analysies by hundreds of clinical and research experts in mental health.
Trump’s symptoms are consistent with another, less common but more disruptive and, in his case horrific, disorder — Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), especially the behavioral variant (bvFTD). This is the variant characterized most strongly by severe changes in personality and behavior.
✅ A HUGE and Critical Distinction
This isn’t guesswork pulled from thin air. This is the conclusion drawn from analysies by hundreds of clinical and research experts in mental health.
Interesting article and makes sense. That leaning forward posture of Trump's is highly indicative of Frontotemporal Dementia.
Read more here: https://frankgeorge8675309.substack.com/p/dammit-its-not-alzheimers-heres-why-c9f
November 23, 2025
Trump's EPA works to gut the Endangered Species Act
while Americans are least likely to be paying attention.🚨🚨🚨
The EPA proposed rulemaking in five major areas was released on Wednesday while all eyes were focused on the consequences of the the House vote to release the Epstein files followed late Tuesday by the US Senate voting likewise.
The rulemaking essentially overturns any implementation of the Endangered Species Act as intended.
Even when courts ruled against the Trump administration‘s attempt to do similar stuff during the first administration, it took the remainder of Trump’s first term and all four years of Biden’s presidency to roll them back. Essentially a six year period.
The article below has links for every piece of the remaking and where it could be commented on in the Federal Register.
https://open.substack.com/pub/morethanjustparks/p/trump-administration-decides-endangered
October 26, 2025
The author of a most concerning (long and detailed too) post on Facebook, Tonoccus McClain, was a former correspondent on Channel One for three years. He's had a Substack, but hasn't posted there since July. This was on Facebook Oct. 22 and he says FB had removed the same post several times before, but that it keeps getting reposted, sometimes by others claiming they wrote it, other times by people giving him credit. This was still up as of today..
All that is to say I don't know all I would like to about this source before I share it, but what he posted is written with a strong case made that is seriously concerning.
Since his post, a House Democrat is making the same point.
"House Democrat Declares, ‘Mike Johnson Has Effectively Dissolved the United States House of Representatives"
https://www.mediaite.com/media/tv/house-democrat-declares-mike-johnson-has-effectively-dissolved-the-united-states-house-of-representatives
Will the U.S. House ever be called back into session? At least one person makes the case it may not.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19u8SLpN9B/?mibextid=wwXIfrThe author of a most concerning (long and detailed too) post on Facebook, Tonoccus McClain, was a former correspondent on Channel One for three years. He's had a Substack, but hasn't posted there since July. This was on Facebook Oct. 22 and he says FB had removed the same post several times before, but that it keeps getting reposted, sometimes by others claiming they wrote it, other times by people giving him credit. This was still up as of today..
All that is to say I don't know all I would like to about this source before I share it, but what he posted is written with a strong case made that is seriously concerning.
No Speaker of the House who seriously wants to end this government shutdown would disband Congress with no firm date to return. Period.
It is simply impossible to navigate negotiations of any kind and also not be at work. In fact, not only do the actions of the Speaker more closely align with those of a person not planning to reopen the federal government anytime soon, his actions suggest he isn’t planning to reopen it at all.
[snip]
By failing to publish a calendar or set a date of return, the Speaker of the House caused the House of Representatives to cease to exist as an active governing body… and nobody noticed.
[snip]
This is why the calendar is not a bureaucratic formality; it is the heartbeat of constitutional oversight. The genius and danger of this maneuver is that it leaves no clear act to challenge. Johnson doesn’t have to suspend Congress formally (which would be unconstitutional); he only has to never reconvene it. As long as the Speaker’s chair remains vacant, so does the House itself.
It is simply impossible to navigate negotiations of any kind and also not be at work. In fact, not only do the actions of the Speaker more closely align with those of a person not planning to reopen the federal government anytime soon, his actions suggest he isn’t planning to reopen it at all.
[snip]
By failing to publish a calendar or set a date of return, the Speaker of the House caused the House of Representatives to cease to exist as an active governing body… and nobody noticed.
[snip]
This is why the calendar is not a bureaucratic formality; it is the heartbeat of constitutional oversight. The genius and danger of this maneuver is that it leaves no clear act to challenge. Johnson doesn’t have to suspend Congress formally (which would be unconstitutional); he only has to never reconvene it. As long as the Speaker’s chair remains vacant, so does the House itself.
Since his post, a House Democrat is making the same point.
"House Democrat Declares, ‘Mike Johnson Has Effectively Dissolved the United States House of Representatives"
https://www.mediaite.com/media/tv/house-democrat-declares-mike-johnson-has-effectively-dissolved-the-united-states-house-of-representatives
September 20, 2025
snip…
snip…
You don't need a Facebook account to see the full post if you click on the link. It is really worth reading the whole thing.
I copied the entire post to use it to explain it to my kids.
What's happening now in the US is not "cancel culture." It's abuse of power.
Carrick Ryan is a former federal agent of Australia, a blogger and political commentator who has a BA in media and a masters degree in international relations. This was posted on his Facebook page. It's one of the better explanations I've seen of what happened to Jimmy Kimmel (and Stephen Colbert etc.) and why.
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1342305460643064&set=a.588252606048357
“It's really important everyone understands why what's happening in the US right now isn't the same "cancel culture" merely turned against progressives. This is far more alarming.
This isn't angry social media users demanding celebrities get fired... this the President of the USA abusing the powers of the state to eliminate criticism of him from the media.
This isn't angry social media users demanding celebrities get fired... this the President of the USA abusing the powers of the state to eliminate criticism of him from the media.
snip…
There is no definitive evidence that The Late Show was cancelled to appease Trump, but it was only three days after making this joke that the show was unexpectedly cancelled. Paramount's merger, which had been under consideration by the FCC for more than a year, was suddenly approved nine days later.
snip…
Trump immediately shared a gloating post on Truth Social saying with his usual grace: “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired”, and added at the end of the long rambling diatribe: “I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next.”
snip…
Trump immediately shared a gloating post on Truth Social saying with his usual grace: “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired”, and added at the end of the long rambling diatribe: “I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next.”
snip…
Everything he is doing is designed to intimidate the media into self-censorship... and the terrifying part... it seems to be working.”
You don't need a Facebook account to see the full post if you click on the link. It is really worth reading the whole thing.
I copied the entire post to use it to explain it to my kids.
September 20, 2025
The story of the woman taken in adultery, where the men wanted Jesus to condone their intention to stone her, but Jesus simply wrote in the dirt, then stood up and said "Let you who is without sin throw the first stone," – isn't that another case of Jesus challenging people to look at their own dark side?
It's been awhile since I read Carl Jung so I looked at an AI summary. He had much to say about our shadow side. We all have it, those things we are unconscious of and don't want to see about ourselves, including negative traits like anger, fear, and repressed impulses, and surprisingly als positive potential such as creativity and untapped strength. It's a moral issue for our ego, formed from social conditioning and personal experience. Confronting and integrating the shadow (a process called shadow work) is essential for personal growth, self-knowledge, and wholeness. Unacknowledged or repressed shadow aspects can lead to destructive behavior or projection onto others.
It occurs to me that social groups (like Republicans and Democrats) collectively have our own shadow side. Neither of us is dealing with it either, so we are projecting more and more things on the other side that are traits we don't like about ourselves. Bitter contempt is the result, on both sides.
The Bible is big on repentance and reconciliation. So is the 12-Step Program. Many people recognize, as Jung and other psychologists have, that healing of ourselves and of our relationships with others is key to moving toward wholeness. It occurs to me it's true at a societal level too. Maybe it holds the key to turning things around in our country?
Shadow work individually starts with self-examination of our own behavior and motives. A fearless and searching moral inventory, if you will. Then acknowledging it to ourself and at least one other person. What would happen if we could then see some of the poorer choices we have made with regard to those who don't think like us on a variety of issues? Maybe, just maybe if we begin to recognize them and understand why we did them, and even start to our collective shadow and how it hurts others, maybe we can be part of repairing the breach.
Because we are in a very dark place now. Yes, a great deal of it was done by the Right. But some of it almost certainly was a reaction to stuff enough of us on the Left did and said.
If we demand the Rs take the first steps and abase themselves, we will never get there. We have a lot of stony hearts on both sides of the divide. I can't count the number of times that has been made crystal clear here on DU.
I for one long to come through this bitter hyper partisan divide and find a place of healing, of mutual forgiveness, and reconciliation. We may say it's impossible. But the Iron Curtain fell, without war. And Apartheid ended without violence. Truly a miracle, both of them.
Anyone else longing for the time when Rs and Ds have become reconciled to one another?
In our book club we have just begun reading Richard Rohr's The Tears of Things: Prophetic Wisdom for an Age of Outrage. This week I read a quote that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.
Rohr says "The French anthropologist and literary critic René Girard wrote that the Bible is unique in all world literature in spotting this universal human avoidance of your own dark side." That boggled my mind. Wow.
But isn't that exemplified when Jesus says in Matthew 7:1-5:
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."
The story of the woman taken in adultery, where the men wanted Jesus to condone their intention to stone her, but Jesus simply wrote in the dirt, then stood up and said "Let you who is without sin throw the first stone," – isn't that another case of Jesus challenging people to look at their own dark side?
It's been awhile since I read Carl Jung so I looked at an AI summary. He had much to say about our shadow side. We all have it, those things we are unconscious of and don't want to see about ourselves, including negative traits like anger, fear, and repressed impulses, and surprisingly als positive potential such as creativity and untapped strength. It's a moral issue for our ego, formed from social conditioning and personal experience. Confronting and integrating the shadow (a process called shadow work) is essential for personal growth, self-knowledge, and wholeness. Unacknowledged or repressed shadow aspects can lead to destructive behavior or projection onto others.
It occurs to me that social groups (like Republicans and Democrats) collectively have our own shadow side. Neither of us is dealing with it either, so we are projecting more and more things on the other side that are traits we don't like about ourselves. Bitter contempt is the result, on both sides.
The Bible is big on repentance and reconciliation. So is the 12-Step Program. Many people recognize, as Jung and other psychologists have, that healing of ourselves and of our relationships with others is key to moving toward wholeness. It occurs to me it's true at a societal level too. Maybe it holds the key to turning things around in our country?
Shadow work individually starts with self-examination of our own behavior and motives. A fearless and searching moral inventory, if you will. Then acknowledging it to ourself and at least one other person. What would happen if we could then see some of the poorer choices we have made with regard to those who don't think like us on a variety of issues? Maybe, just maybe if we begin to recognize them and understand why we did them, and even start to our collective shadow and how it hurts others, maybe we can be part of repairing the breach.
Because we are in a very dark place now. Yes, a great deal of it was done by the Right. But some of it almost certainly was a reaction to stuff enough of us on the Left did and said.
If we demand the Rs take the first steps and abase themselves, we will never get there. We have a lot of stony hearts on both sides of the divide. I can't count the number of times that has been made crystal clear here on DU.
I for one long to come through this bitter hyper partisan divide and find a place of healing, of mutual forgiveness, and reconciliation. We may say it's impossible. But the Iron Curtain fell, without war. And Apartheid ended without violence. Truly a miracle, both of them.
September 17, 2025
Lots of great examples plus documentation. Evolutionary biology and human psychology make responding to a pattern of incivility with civility helps them win.
Made me wonder why I haven’t seen viral info on how to contact sponsors of the Brian Kilmeade show and pressure them to drop him.
Maybe it’s out there and I just haven’t seen it.
The Civility Trap: Why Being Nice Makes Things Worse
Chris Armitage was out with a thought-provoking – and well-documented – article on Substack yesterday: “The Civility Trap: Why Being Nice Makes Things Worse” https://open.substack.com/pub/cmarmitage/p/the-civility-trap-why-being-nice
Here's what makes this trap so effective: your neurology is working against you. When you violate social norms, even in response to someone destroying those norms, your anterior cingulate cortex fires the same signals as physical pain. Being rude to someone advocating genocide literally hurts the brain of people who have functioning empathy capabilities.
This isn't a bug; it's an evolutionary feature. For 200,000 years, humans lived in small bands where reputation determined survival. Social violations meant exile, which meant death. We're wired to feel intense discomfort when breaking taboos, even when those taboos no longer serve their purpose.
Modern authoritarians exploit this systematically. They understand that most people would rather lose rights than lose propriety. So they frame every escalation as a test of your civility. Will you be "divisive"? Will you "sink to their level"? Will you be the one who "destroys discourse"?
Notice how the burden always falls on those responding to violations, never on those committing them. Kilmeade suggests murdering the homeless, and the question becomes whether critics are being too harsh. The framework itself is the trap.”
This isn't a bug; it's an evolutionary feature. For 200,000 years, humans lived in small bands where reputation determined survival. Social violations meant exile, which meant death. We're wired to feel intense discomfort when breaking taboos, even when those taboos no longer serve their purpose.
Modern authoritarians exploit this systematically. They understand that most people would rather lose rights than lose propriety. So they frame every escalation as a test of your civility. Will you be "divisive"? Will you "sink to their level"? Will you be the one who "destroys discourse"?
Notice how the burden always falls on those responding to violations, never on those committing them. Kilmeade suggests murdering the homeless, and the question becomes whether critics are being too harsh. The framework itself is the trap.”
Lots of great examples plus documentation. Evolutionary biology and human psychology make responding to a pattern of incivility with civility helps them win.
Made me wonder why I haven’t seen viral info on how to contact sponsors of the Brian Kilmeade show and pressure them to drop him.
Maybe it’s out there and I just haven’t seen it.
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