Politics

  • Quite Passive, Not Thinking

    What do you suppose Christopher Isherwood meant when he wrote these words? “I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking.” The beginning is easy enough to understand, and it is the part most often remembered. I am a camera. Isherwood was a writer observing the world around him, recording the…

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  • Democratic Socialism vs. Social Democracy

    You know I believe in research. You know I believe in not jumping to conclusions. And you know I believe that in order to understand our country, we need to educate ourselves about it. Right now, America is having an argument about socialism when much of what we’re actually arguing about is social democracy. And…

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  • The Mourning After

    The Mourning After

    Today is the first day of Pride Month, and I have complicated feelings about it. The truth is, I wish we did not need it. I wish we had reached the point where nobody cared who someone loved. I wish we had reached the point where a month dedicated to Pride was no longer necessary…

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  • Nuclear War?

    Nuclear War?

    These past few weeks have started to feel a lot like growing up all over again. That quiet rhythm of war in the background, the constant awareness that something bigger could happen, the thought of nuclear war just sitting there while we go about our daily lives. It gets into your head if you let…

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  • Neighbors, Not Enemies

    Neighbors, Not Enemies

    You know what has been bothering me lately about the state of things in the United States? How much of what we are living through feels rooted in hating your neighbor. Not debating policy. Not wrestling with ideas. Not even arguing about the direction of the country. It feels personal now. It feels aimed at…

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  • We the People?

    We the People?

    I keep thinking about how different things might feel if we actually lived in a country of ideas. A place where “We the People” meant everyone. Not some of us. Not the protected. Not the powerful. Just all of us. But we never have. And that truth stings more than I want to admit. What…

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  • A Calm Blueprint for Uncertain Times

    These are unsettled times. That does not mean panic. It means paying attention. When the information environment is noisy and trust is thin, the most responsible thing people can do is quietly steady their footing. Preparedness is not fear driven. It is how adults reduce stress, protect their families, and keep options open when uncertainty…

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  • Lower-Risk Engagement

    Lower-Risk Engagement

    Things are unsettled right now. That is not a political statement. It is an observable reality. Situations escalate faster than they used to. Authority is exercised unevenly. Explanations often come later, if they come at all. That reality changes how responsible people need to think about engagement in everyday life. This is not about telling…

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  • Standing Witness

    I need to say this from a personal place. I am a writer, and with that comes a responsibility to share things in the most straightforward way possible. Writers are the recorders of history. I would much rather be sharing thoughts on the paranormal than writing this. Yesterday, when I watched that man die, killed…

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  • Preparing without Panic

    Preparing without Panic

    There has been a lot of talk lately about the possible use of extraordinary federal powers. The Insurrection Act is being mentioned more frequently, and that language understandably unsettles people. There are courts that are already preparing to challenge any misuse of it, and those legal fights matter. At the same time, people living in…

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