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Central American refugees seeking asylum under federal statute and international protocols are turned away from ports of entry, channeled toward life-threatening desert crossings, told to wait months or more likely years in Mexico. (Photo: David McNew/Getty Images)
The Meaner Trump Gets, the More Kindness We Feel
"When someone stands up to violence a force for change is released. Every action for peace requires someone to exhibit the courage to challenge violence and inspire love."
-- Thich Nhat Hanh
Dec 22, 2018
"When someone stands up to violence a force for change is released. Every action for peace requires someone to exhibit the courage to challenge violence and inspire love."
-- Thich Nhat Hanh
In this difficult and traumatic holiday season it struck me tonight that a remarkable phenomenon is occurring. With desperate migrants on the move around much of the planet and authoritarian forces frantically erecting barricades, both literal and figurative, to turn them back, this country has shown it is not immune to the global dynamic. But the meaner Donald Trump gets, the more kindness the evolved among us seem to feel.
In our household we're getting Christmas cards from unexpected sources, such as my 7-year-old grandson in Colorado, and a dear friend who turned a photograph of us into a greeting card of thank you and remembrance. Houses in southern New Mexico's Mesilla Valley are aglow with extraordinary displays of welcoming lights. Cash-challenged charitable organizations are working overtime to remember those in need. A former president dons Christmas garb to distribute gifts to children.
Outside a cold full moon rises beside a stationary lenticular cloud that glows with eerie luminescence like an inscrutable mother ship. One can't help speculating about some kind of confluence, though tonight it remains as Churchill would have said, a riddle wrapped in an enigma.
The government is in partial shutdown again, with 750,000 workers furloughed or expected to work without scheduled pay, just in time for the holidays. The president is going off the rails over funding for his "border wall," while a senator noted dryly the only wall he'll get is the one closing in on him from Robert Mueller. After a phone call with Turkey's authoritarian, Trump summarily yanked 2,000 troops out of Syria, abandoning Kurdish allies and thus precipitating the resignation under protest of his Defense secretary. He is increasingly isolated in his own White House, making decisions that grow more impulsive and dangerous by the day. In banishing those who would disagree with him he now truly keeps his own demented counsel.
Meanwhile, Central American refugees seeking asylum under federal statute and international protocols are turned away from ports of entry, channeled toward life-threatening desert crossings, told to wait months or more likely years in Mexico. Acts of racism, anti-Semitism, hate crimes and mass shootings are on the upswing, in some cases exponentially.
Yet the midterm elections showed we also have an awakening populace, as women and minorities ran for and won elective races in record numbers, despite criminal voter suppression and outrageous gerrymandering. People are organizing on grassroots levels to foster change and accomplish it--in sustainable farming, maker spaces, arts and crafts cooperatives, intentional communities and centers of culture and learning. Creative expression is finally becoming acknowledged as a force for change.
In the vacuum created by the shameless example of the most powerful human in the free world--while he demonstrates daily that he is also the smallest, weakest, most petty and insecure--others are rediscovering their own humanity. In stark contrast to the example of Trump's utter narcissism, we recently grieved the loss of a very human and dedicated public servant, George H. W. Bush, even as many of us acknowledged our deep disagreements over policy. A couple of years ago some of us might not have been quite so moved at his passing, or that of John McCain, but now we mourn them as an all-but-vanished breed.
As we sit under that cold moon tonight, there is no telling if the goodness in human hearts will triumph over the fear, anger and violence in those who refuse to relinquish so much as a thread of the gilded garments in which they cloak themselves, though they may sing seasonal songs of peace on earth and goodwill toward men as they do every year around this time. In their very unChristlike behavior they reek of hypocrisy, but they are armed and they are desperate. It will take all the good within us to subdue them or, better yet, awaken them.
We need to do it together, with love.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
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Steve Klinger
Steve Klinger is a veteran community journalist/editor/satirist and college English instructor based in southern New Mexico.
"When someone stands up to violence a force for change is released. Every action for peace requires someone to exhibit the courage to challenge violence and inspire love."
-- Thich Nhat Hanh
In this difficult and traumatic holiday season it struck me tonight that a remarkable phenomenon is occurring. With desperate migrants on the move around much of the planet and authoritarian forces frantically erecting barricades, both literal and figurative, to turn them back, this country has shown it is not immune to the global dynamic. But the meaner Donald Trump gets, the more kindness the evolved among us seem to feel.
In our household we're getting Christmas cards from unexpected sources, such as my 7-year-old grandson in Colorado, and a dear friend who turned a photograph of us into a greeting card of thank you and remembrance. Houses in southern New Mexico's Mesilla Valley are aglow with extraordinary displays of welcoming lights. Cash-challenged charitable organizations are working overtime to remember those in need. A former president dons Christmas garb to distribute gifts to children.
Outside a cold full moon rises beside a stationary lenticular cloud that glows with eerie luminescence like an inscrutable mother ship. One can't help speculating about some kind of confluence, though tonight it remains as Churchill would have said, a riddle wrapped in an enigma.
The government is in partial shutdown again, with 750,000 workers furloughed or expected to work without scheduled pay, just in time for the holidays. The president is going off the rails over funding for his "border wall," while a senator noted dryly the only wall he'll get is the one closing in on him from Robert Mueller. After a phone call with Turkey's authoritarian, Trump summarily yanked 2,000 troops out of Syria, abandoning Kurdish allies and thus precipitating the resignation under protest of his Defense secretary. He is increasingly isolated in his own White House, making decisions that grow more impulsive and dangerous by the day. In banishing those who would disagree with him he now truly keeps his own demented counsel.
Meanwhile, Central American refugees seeking asylum under federal statute and international protocols are turned away from ports of entry, channeled toward life-threatening desert crossings, told to wait months or more likely years in Mexico. Acts of racism, anti-Semitism, hate crimes and mass shootings are on the upswing, in some cases exponentially.
Yet the midterm elections showed we also have an awakening populace, as women and minorities ran for and won elective races in record numbers, despite criminal voter suppression and outrageous gerrymandering. People are organizing on grassroots levels to foster change and accomplish it--in sustainable farming, maker spaces, arts and crafts cooperatives, intentional communities and centers of culture and learning. Creative expression is finally becoming acknowledged as a force for change.
In the vacuum created by the shameless example of the most powerful human in the free world--while he demonstrates daily that he is also the smallest, weakest, most petty and insecure--others are rediscovering their own humanity. In stark contrast to the example of Trump's utter narcissism, we recently grieved the loss of a very human and dedicated public servant, George H. W. Bush, even as many of us acknowledged our deep disagreements over policy. A couple of years ago some of us might not have been quite so moved at his passing, or that of John McCain, but now we mourn them as an all-but-vanished breed.
As we sit under that cold moon tonight, there is no telling if the goodness in human hearts will triumph over the fear, anger and violence in those who refuse to relinquish so much as a thread of the gilded garments in which they cloak themselves, though they may sing seasonal songs of peace on earth and goodwill toward men as they do every year around this time. In their very unChristlike behavior they reek of hypocrisy, but they are armed and they are desperate. It will take all the good within us to subdue them or, better yet, awaken them.
We need to do it together, with love.
Steve Klinger
Steve Klinger is a veteran community journalist/editor/satirist and college English instructor based in southern New Mexico.
"When someone stands up to violence a force for change is released. Every action for peace requires someone to exhibit the courage to challenge violence and inspire love."
-- Thich Nhat Hanh
In this difficult and traumatic holiday season it struck me tonight that a remarkable phenomenon is occurring. With desperate migrants on the move around much of the planet and authoritarian forces frantically erecting barricades, both literal and figurative, to turn them back, this country has shown it is not immune to the global dynamic. But the meaner Donald Trump gets, the more kindness the evolved among us seem to feel.
In our household we're getting Christmas cards from unexpected sources, such as my 7-year-old grandson in Colorado, and a dear friend who turned a photograph of us into a greeting card of thank you and remembrance. Houses in southern New Mexico's Mesilla Valley are aglow with extraordinary displays of welcoming lights. Cash-challenged charitable organizations are working overtime to remember those in need. A former president dons Christmas garb to distribute gifts to children.
Outside a cold full moon rises beside a stationary lenticular cloud that glows with eerie luminescence like an inscrutable mother ship. One can't help speculating about some kind of confluence, though tonight it remains as Churchill would have said, a riddle wrapped in an enigma.
The government is in partial shutdown again, with 750,000 workers furloughed or expected to work without scheduled pay, just in time for the holidays. The president is going off the rails over funding for his "border wall," while a senator noted dryly the only wall he'll get is the one closing in on him from Robert Mueller. After a phone call with Turkey's authoritarian, Trump summarily yanked 2,000 troops out of Syria, abandoning Kurdish allies and thus precipitating the resignation under protest of his Defense secretary. He is increasingly isolated in his own White House, making decisions that grow more impulsive and dangerous by the day. In banishing those who would disagree with him he now truly keeps his own demented counsel.
Meanwhile, Central American refugees seeking asylum under federal statute and international protocols are turned away from ports of entry, channeled toward life-threatening desert crossings, told to wait months or more likely years in Mexico. Acts of racism, anti-Semitism, hate crimes and mass shootings are on the upswing, in some cases exponentially.
Yet the midterm elections showed we also have an awakening populace, as women and minorities ran for and won elective races in record numbers, despite criminal voter suppression and outrageous gerrymandering. People are organizing on grassroots levels to foster change and accomplish it--in sustainable farming, maker spaces, arts and crafts cooperatives, intentional communities and centers of culture and learning. Creative expression is finally becoming acknowledged as a force for change.
In the vacuum created by the shameless example of the most powerful human in the free world--while he demonstrates daily that he is also the smallest, weakest, most petty and insecure--others are rediscovering their own humanity. In stark contrast to the example of Trump's utter narcissism, we recently grieved the loss of a very human and dedicated public servant, George H. W. Bush, even as many of us acknowledged our deep disagreements over policy. A couple of years ago some of us might not have been quite so moved at his passing, or that of John McCain, but now we mourn them as an all-but-vanished breed.
As we sit under that cold moon tonight, there is no telling if the goodness in human hearts will triumph over the fear, anger and violence in those who refuse to relinquish so much as a thread of the gilded garments in which they cloak themselves, though they may sing seasonal songs of peace on earth and goodwill toward men as they do every year around this time. In their very unChristlike behavior they reek of hypocrisy, but they are armed and they are desperate. It will take all the good within us to subdue them or, better yet, awaken them.
We need to do it together, with love.
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