Whether I agree or disagree with all of your points, Charles, I appreciate that you continue to speak out. Naïve or not, we need alternatives to the predictable, entrenched narratives that propel us along road to disaster.
For what it’s worth, here’s a true story:
Once upon a time, while hitchhiking, I found myself lying underneath a large man with a knife to my throat. He was unresponsive to reason. I was terrified, and if could have gotten my hand on a gun, I probably would have done my best to kill him. But that wasn’t an option, and my perspective shifted:
There are two people here, and one of them is really in trouble. I reached my arms around him and gently patted his shoulder:
Hey it’s going to be OK.
It’s gonna be OK.
He got quiet, blinked a few times, and then poured out a story of years as a POW in Vietnam. Later he continued the story over dinner in a truck stop restaurant. He drove on, and I became a trauma therapist.
I’m not so naïve to think that this one event automatically translates to international politics.
But I believe Love wins in the long run- with no guarantees that things won’t be disastrously messy in the meantime.
I have a different yet similar story. Appealing to my would-be attacker as a human being under serious duress flipped the outcome in the moment. I never forgot that.
I found this an incredible and very moving story that reveals the power of compassion better than any philosophical argument could. Thank you for sharing it with us Kate.
What a way to get your point across, thanks for sharing.
A friend in NYC had a similar situation. She got out of her shower and found a man in her bedroom, who had made his way in through a window from the fire escape ladders. He also had a knife to her throat. She asked him if he was ok, in the calmest manner she could manage and they started a dialogue. Eventually he walked out through her door. Love wins.
This is a beautiful story, thank you. I have one similiar. Im not seeing (yet,?) how to apply it to Trump, or Putin. Open to influence (anyone?), watchful for choosing at a minimum the path of least harm as part of the actions towards more good.
I am tired of hating. When I remember that the most violent of people are suffering from their own pain, regardless of who they are, my judgment, softens and compassion is there seemingly of its own accord. The more I do this, the quicker I feel compassion. It feels way better than anger, judgement or hopelessness 🙏🏽🔥💗
Joe, real question: Im fully with you, on a person to person level.. I 'taught' peer mediation in some very violent Philly schools and this truth was revealed every day. The amazing kids got this fully. Important -it did not at all mean that there were not consequences to actions, that any meaness or brutality was okay if the perpetrator was suffering. It meant that person was owed compassion -and was most likely to change in light of it. In same way, TRump and Putin can be well seen in light of compassion. And , not enabled to do evil- in fact, most lovingly, prevented from that.
It’s my desire to first get to loving compassion before I take any action, particularly preventative action. Otherwise, my words and actions will be from reaction, judgment, righteousness and will only add fuel to the fire. In my 20s, I volunteered at a domestic violence/sexual assault center in Washington state. They asked me to counsel the male batterers. I was horrified, I wanted to help the victims, not the perpetrators. They reminded me that 98% of men who beat were beaten. And that these men were ordered by the court to get counseling, and they couldn’t find counselors who would work with them, and the men as a result would end up going to jail. The first male batterer i counseled (all were over the phone, program policy) was in total denial of his behavior, it was all about the woman. I was judging the crap out of him, thinking i was wasting my time. Something clicked, (grace), and I realize that I had to have compassion for this individual, otherwise there was no possibility of progress of any kind. I got quiet and dropped into my heart, knowing that this man had likely been beaten as a child. In that moment his energy completely shifted, he started questioning and taking ownership of his behavior. I have since had many similar experiences of shifting from judgment to compassion and seeing outer conflict dissipate. Hence my desire to let love inspire any action, particularly if its preventative action. I much prefer to go with inspired action, in the direction of what is desired, particularly a world that works for everyone ❤️🌏❤️🙏🏽🥰
"love inspire any action," -Yes. The only way to transformation. Im so grateful for these personal stories that bring that principle to such vivid life ! Im seeking still how to enact that in terms of , say, Trump, Putin. Maybe, it is to access the Love, prior to any choice made; even when my choices do not *directly * affect them, Im certain that in a field way , they do. I do believe that this doesnt argue with, for example, any action by me empowering a firm No to one of them continuing dangerous and cruel acts (anymore than your holding the men you spoke with in open heart, was a vote for any continued abuse) THank you, again, for your beautiful and apt story.,
I totally believe and feel in my bones and skin, that our every choice for love adds to the whole. I love imagining its our inevitable destiny to live in a world that works for everyone, and our every loving inspired action brings that world closer every day. Great conversation, thank you Anna! ❤️😍🙏🏽🌏
Love your post, Kate. I had a similar experience. I found myself pressed against a wall with the nozzle of a gun up my nose and the guy telling me he was going to blow my brains out. I don't know where my equanimity and wherewithal came from but I engaged the three teenaged boys in talking and I just "hung out" with them, like I was one of them, although I was a decade older. After taking my three dollars they wanted me to go somewhere with them but the one with the gun said, "let him go," and I walked way.
Thanks for the reminder about Marshall and Nonviolent Communication. He came out to our Navajo school in the 90s, and we were inspired by his story of speaking in a mosque as an American Jew, being called a murderer and ending up invited home for dinner. Stories have impact.
Hi Charles, I don’t know much about your newsletter and I don’t even remember when I subscribed to it, but today morning I got it in my email and I thought of reading it.
The first line was enough to hook me in. I have been a follower of Gandhi and I went on an 1800 km walk across India when India was burning in the fumes of nationalism and religious divide. What I realised was exactly what you talked about. There is no good or bad and there is good and bad in both sides. What I do know now is peace is the only way forward. I don’t pick sides instead I meet people as people. I reason with them armoured with love and believe it or not the hate subsides.
In the current context I have met Israeli friends who started off with hatred but as we spoke more the hate subsided and similarly I met Muslim friends who hated the Israelis but soon their hatred diminished too.
The fortress can be breached.
The ammunition is love. 🕊️
Thanks for writing this man. I look forward to reading more from you.
I love you Charles, but I find it amazing and disheartening the one-sided picture you paint. On the one hand you constantly urge us to go beyond othering and demonizing and the war mentality of US vs THEM, and then on the other hand, your political in-group associations have led you to plant your flag next to the absolute KING OF OTHERING, DEHUMANIZING, TRIBALIST DIVISION OF HUMANITY, NONSTOP INCITEMENT FOR RELIGIOUS-NATIONALIST HATRED AND ORGANIZED-MURDER, GENOCIDE, NONSTOP DEMONIZING, US vs THEM, TRILLIONS OF OUR MONEY TO HIS WAR PROFITEERING BILLIONAIRE PALS, TO BIG PHARMA CAPITALISTS, TO HIS WALL ST BUDDIES, NONSTOP SECTARIANISM, THRIVING ON DIVISION FEAR AND HATRED. You constantly admonish us for our supposed othering and never say a word about what the absolute master of othering is doing nonstop...(in a few moments i will give the facts about his crimes against the people and life)
I went to a trump rally in June. Precisely becasue of what you said here. I wanted to hear directly what he talks about and feel the man out through first hand experience. Literally the entirety of trump's long diatribe during the rally was nonstop OTHERING, dehumanizing and demonizing others. He was doing the very thing that you constantly claim that he's a victim of. All he talked about was how evil "they" are and how good "we" are. The good guys vs the bad guys. US vs THEM, US vs the evil enemy. That was literally the entire shtick of this psychologically-stunted bully. I was witnessing the absolute LOWEST LEVEL OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT. The lowest of the low!! He didn't say a single word about any policy not even once (becasue if his followers actually knew what this pro-billionaire pro-Wall St pro-M.I.C pro-Genocide pro-NeoCon pro-war pro-Big Pharma pro-Big Agri mass murdering billionaire did as president then the entire MAGA deception that paints him as 'anti-elite rebel' would collapse). His entire talk - and what he clearly thrives on - was riding on the energy of OTHERING, dividing, hating "them", the evil ones, demonizing, constantly inciting tribalist (religious or nationalist) hatred of the 'evil other'.
Everything that you constantly tell us that we are doing to trump, this infantile psychologically-undeveloped emotionally-stunted bully narcissist was actually doing to others!! Constant OTHERING, demonizing and dividing!!
You repeatedly admonish us, Charles, for supposedly demonizing trump and that having compassion for the bully oppressor is the way for true healing. I fully agree with you on that and love you for that, but please don't forget that there is also another half for this equation. It's not all about just compassion for the bully, the bully also needs to learn how to stop demonizing, othering, dehumanizing, abusing, inciting division hatred and genocide along tribalistic (religious-nationalist) lines..
Another thing Charles, if I may. It seems to me that you're severly misrepresenting the reasons for why people are opposed to (and are disgusted by) mass-murdering pro-empire Godless ConMan trump. You repeatedly misrepresent it as if we opppse this anti-life bully becasue of the idiotic propaganda on CNN/MSNBC (that presents him as caricaturishly evil). No, Charles. One doesn't have to buy into the stupid CNN/WashPost deceptive propaganda in order to see from his own actions that trump is actually a common murderous american president (like the ones before and after him), by the billionaires for the billionaires, who is here to enrich the ultra-rich, to cement the global control of the american billionaire's militarized empire over the planet, and to ensure that our desire for change is hijacked and neutralized and doesn't amount to any real change. Precisely what he did as president..
One can reject the propaganda on CNN/NYTIMES etc and clearly see that ConMan trump is just as pro-billionaire pro-empire and criminal as the ones before and after him. No worse but definitely no better than the life-destroying american presidents before and after him. BOTH the CNN fairytales AND the MAGA failrytales about him are false..
FALSE MESSIAH trump who transferred during his presidency trillions upon triliions of our money to his 1% billionaire pals (for example in his 5.9 trillion dollar corona giveaway to Big Pharma capitalists and to his ultra-wealthy Wall St billionaires, our abusers and predators, and for example in his annual gigantic military spending - spending which SKYROCKETED under trump - to give away trillions of our money to his war-profiteering anti-life zionist-conservative pals).
Mass-murderer anti-life God-ignorant ConMan Trump was already president once, remember? Need I remind us that he and his Zionist PR team of deceivers already sold us the exact same deceptive Qanon/MAGA narrative they are selling us now (as if he's an anti-elite-rebel man-of-the-people who came to fight the deep state for the little guy), and need i remind us that once in the white house he promptly spat in the face of all the gullible propagandized people who believed him and his team of deceivers, and proceeded to fill up his administration to the brim with deep-state swamp creatures from Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Eric Prince's BlackWater merceneries, JP Morgan and the rest of Wall St and the war profiteering industry filled up to the brim every single position in his cabinet of anti-life deep-state billionaire shark predators. In addition, he handed over half his admin to deep-state NeoCon zionist operatives in the form of compulsive-liar CIA chief Pompeo, Chabad devotee and Mossad man Kushner, ultra-zionist mass-murderer Bolton, NeoCon zionist lunatic ("starve them to death") Abrams etc. etc. Besides them, the State Dept. was literally full of and run by NeoCon israelis during trump's presidency, america's global policy was literally run by israeli supremacists during trump's presidency!!
What on earth makes any of us think that he will act any differently this time? Because the Mossad-created Qanon/MAGA narrative says so? (echoed by large portions of the so-called 'alternative conservative media')
All ConMan trump did during his presidency was transfer trillions of our money to his buddies the ultra-wealthy war profiteers and Big Pharma capitalists, filled his admin to the brim with deep-state swamp creatures, gave tax breaks to the ultra-rich ; EXPANDED the mass-murdering billionaires' global militarized capitalist empire (of nearly 900 military bases encircling the entire globe, dozens of warships colonizing every sea on the planet, and at least 13 extra-judicial torture camps where kidnapped human beings are held in captivity for years without trial and tortured by hypnotized conservatives because.."patriotism" and "god" and "jesus" and "christian moral values") with his RECORD HIGH military spending to enrich his war-profiteering capitalist billionaire pals; Created a welfare state for billionaires (with his government's coercive force used to lavish his right-wing billionaire scum with public funding, funneling trillions of our money to his zionist-conservative billionaire backers, who of course privatize the profits and give nothing back to the public that funds them) and crumbs for the rest of us..
I hope you are aware Charles that your ideas can (and likely will) be used cynically and deceptively, as feel good slogans (like unity and rise above division) by the most murderous pro-ruling class tribalistic anti-wholism anti-egalitarian hierarchical God-ignorant political manipulators (like trump and his PR team of deceivers) who act in POLAR OPPOSITE ways to the slogans that they'll borrow from you in order to deceive and gain support from the people..
Charles, it seems to me that the basic assumption from which you have been writing you last few pieces, this assumption would have been true in 2016 when many (propagandized) americans really believed that trump is exceptionally evil and dnc are the benevolent force for good. Hardly anyone belives this anymore but exactly the opposite is the case now, by far most (propagandized) americans now believe the opposite fairytale, that the dnc is the establishmemt force of evil and that trump is an "anti-establishment rebel"
Both these fairytales are profoundly false..
Trump is anti-life poison NOT becasue of what the corporate-capitalist manipulators on CNN/MSNBC/WashPost say about him but precisely because he is like every other pro-billionaire life-destroying mass-murdering right-wing american president (conservative or liberal)
And here https://johnspritzler.substack.com/p/the-billionaire-class-is-no-more (recommend also the rest of this wise substack which will not only show you the ruling class' deception through their FALSE MESSIAH trump, but also how we can unseat our billionaire abusers from power and have real freedom)
PS. I'll preempt any mocking belittling reply telling me to be "realistic" and make a compromise and choose one of the two puppets that the global billionaire's empire gives us to choose from and that there's no other alternative. So here's a sane rational very practical alternative to the billionaire empire's oligarchy (the domination of the few ultra-rich over the many). Here are a couple of example of what actually can be done (first why and then how) and why funneling people to mass-murderer pro-billionaire pro-empire pro-Wall St pro-M.I.C pro-Genocide anti-egalitarian hierarchical trump is not the solution
Well done Jerry!! That's exactly how you do it!! That's the perfect example of how this go-to sentence ('you suffer from trump derangement syndrome') is immediately & AUTOMATICALLY used by the cult devotees whenever they wish to ignore, shift the focus and avoid addressing the FACTS presented to them regarding what their infantile warmongering FALSE MESSIAH did as president. All you need to do is just use the magic sentence like Jerry did, just confidently say out loud "you suffer from TDS" and Voila! all facts disappear from view. Just repeat the magic sentence and you no longer need to seriously and maturely address any fact presented to you, just say the magic sentence and you can then continue blissfully floating on the cloud of MAGA ignorance, blissfully believing in the cult's fairytales about your God-ignorant anti-life FALSE MESSIAH, unburdened by this pesky little thing known as reality...
So yes, I know what you mean Jerry. I also noticed this very common derangement among the cult devotees. This deranged tendency to AUTOMATICALLY repeat like a robot the magic senstence 'you suffer from TDS' whenever the devotees come across FACTS they don't want to deal with..
It is truly a magic sentence, like a 'get out of jail card', once you say it you are then free to avoid addressing any fact presented to you AND you also get to feel superior (in relation to that deranged one who doesn't realize what an "anti-elite rebel" our messiah is.. )
So yes, i know what you mean Jerry, it is truly a form of derangement, isn't it?! The way the cult members AUTOMATICALLY repeat their magic sentence to avoid having to face reality. And unfortunately it is a very common derangement among the MAGA cult.
So tell me Jerry, besides your evasive magic sentence that all deceived trump devotees repeat automatically like robots, would you like to actually address the FACTS presented to you? Or are facts not something that your propagandized cult deals with?
And BTW, if you had bothered to read my comment (which you didn't becasue your trump derangement syndrome makes you stop reading the moment you realize that a comment isn't painting your humanity-dividing messiah in a glorifying light) if you had bothered to read my comment then you'd have seen that i actually mentioned those propagandists on cnn/washpost who do truly push the TDS and paint him as caricturishly evil, and i explained in my comment why that is wrong and that he's not exceptional but actually just a normal pro-billionaire mass-murdering right-wing american president (like all the liberalsnand conservatives before him). You understand Jerry, when you're part of a hypnotized cult, you don't read others' comments and you don't see nuances. For the cult, anyone who isn't glorifying your warmongering MESSIAH is an 'evil liberal who suffers from TDS'...
Now, a few more facts for you. In my comment above i showed that this pro-billionaire pro-Genocide pro-Wall St pro-Big Pharma pro-NeoCon psychologically-undeveloped bully creep is NOT who the CNN/MSNBC fairytale says he is NOR who the Qanon/MAGA fairytale says he is, but rather he's your usual pro-billionaire pro-empire mass-murdring right-wing american president who, like all right wing president, who (like all right-wing liberal or conservative presidents), is here to implement the anti-life tenets of Godless right-wing hierarchical ideology - to enrich the ultra-rich, to ensure the domination of the few (his billionaire backers) over the many, to cement the control of the global right-wing capitalist militarized billionaires' empire over the planet's resources and over humanity, to ensure their dollar's supremacy, and finally (by pretending to be anti-elite when he's anything but that) to ensure that our desire for change is hijacked, is funnelled into a FALSE MESSIAH, is neutralized and doesn't amount to any real change (which is precisely the things he did during his presidency..).
And in fact, in that comment I barely scratched the surface on his crimes against the people, I had plenty more details to give, but I had to stop short because of the space limits.
In my comment I also showed the profound falsity of beloeving that the anti-life right-wing global militarized murder machine of ConMan trump and his backers the deepstate billionaire abusers & predators, is a good choice simply becasue of how awful and right-wing and pro-capiyalist billionaires the DNC are.. (which is what most of those who were tricked by the zionist Qanon/MAGA deception have been taught.. that because the dnc are awful then that means trump is good )
So I highly recommend reading my comment above slowly & attentively to take in all the unfamiliar information and perspective, becasue this is NOT your usual DNC-or-GOP perspective that you'll hear in the propagandized american political discourse (which says that if the dnc are awful right-wing pro-capitalist billionaires then that must mean that the Godless right-wing billionaire thieves and mass-murderers of the greedy infantile anti-egalitarian trump must be the solution then).
This is NOT this kind of deceived blindness that thinks that one of the two puppets of the global capitalist billionaires' empire (the largest hierarchical anti-egalitarian greedy bullying murderous empire in the history of the human race) is a good option..
They're both absolutely the WORST option possible for life on earth, they're both completely right-wing pro capitalist billionaires, and they both are here to do what every right-wing american president (liberal or conservative) has always done, which is also exactly what trump did during his presodency - ensure the control of the few over the many, enrich the ultra-rich, cement the domination of american capitalist billionaires over the planet's resources and (in the case of trump or obama) give us a FALSE MESSIAH who will hijack and neutralized our desite for change (by funnellng it into support for a FALSE MESSIAH who foes NOT change the status-quo of the domination of the few over the many).
The trick that the right-wing capitalist billionaire ruling class play on americans is that every few years they give us a FALSE MESSIAH (like obama or trump) who pretends to be the one who will unseat the evil elite (presented as the other party of course) and help the little guy. Both these ConMen are here to make sure that our desire for change is hijacked and doesn't amount to any real change.
This is how the empire keep alternating americans between one or the other of its two wings (the liberal half or the conservative half of the one big corporate capitalist war party that rules america and much of the planet), keep americans believing that they can achieve change and freedom from the abuse and domination of the ultra-rich by voting for one or the other of the two options that the billionaire's empire (and their media) allow us to choose between. This is how americans have been played for decades and decades and we still keep falling for the billionaore's deceptions (and are very emotionally invested in the false messiahs they present to us as an "anti-elite rebels") again and again and again, we never seem to learn..
If interested, you can learn more about how the capitalist billionaires play this trick on us in the following insightful posts (which include full citations of sources)
To learn even more at depth about the war-profiteering ruling class oligarch deep-state networks that brought trump into power (of Wall St conservative billionaire military contractors, of mass-murderering right-wing arms dealers, of silicon valley surveillance capitalists, of pedophile blackmail networks run by supremacist zionist tribalists - far more than just the zionists' epstein operation - and of ultra-wealthy God-ignorant evangelical religious fundamentalists) then please see
And regarding ConMan Vance, here's a full breakdown of who this deceiver actually is and who are the deep state adrenochrome-drinking billionaire scumbag abusers (the enemies of humanity) that are fully funding vance (as well as trump), and brought him to this position. See https://miri.substack.com/p/america-the-movie-screenplay-by-jd?
And as i mentioned at the end of my comment above (which you didn't read) - regarding what alternative is there to the billionaire's anti-life right-wing capitalist empire and its two puppets, here are examples of what can actually be done (first why and then how)
Trump deranged liberals talking down their noses at half the US population will probably put Trump in office again. Then you'll really have something to complain about.
I'll respond to your accusation in a moment Jerry (becasue unlike you, I actually do read and respond to the words of my dialogue partner), but first I'll thank you Jerry for once again completely ignoring and not addressing even a single fact from the mountains of evidence presented to you about what your false messiah ACTUALLY did and who are the anti-life billionaire predators that brought him to power. Completely ignoring and not addressing the facts. Terrified of even looking at the facts. The perfect trimp devotee - ignorant of the facts, heavily-propagandized and thoroughly decieved.
Clearly you didn't read my comments (or even my handle name) if you call me a liberal. And we know what is the illness that makes you so terrified of reading the comments and learning the FACTS about your FALSE MESSIAH, don't we, Jerry? It's called 'trump derangement syndrome'. And unfortunately many in your deceived cult suffer from it and are terrified of learning the facts about their FALSE MESSIAH and of having their fairytale bubble burst.
Regarding your accusation, I'm sorry to actually bring you back to reality and mention to you what ACTUALLY happened, but in case you forgot Jerry, it is YOU who replied to my comment and tried to belittle, put down and talk down on me (with the famous 'trump derangement card' that your cult always automatically pulls out whenever you hear facts that don't align with the fairytales you were taught about your fake messiah). So please don't you go around playing the victim when it is actually YOU who tried to put me down, belittle and shame, with your extremely unkind, immature, unintelligent mocking reply to my comment. Yes, I know they constantly hammer into your head in your MANIPULATIVE conservative echo-chambers that you are always the poor victims of the 'evil leftists', but perhaps it's time to take a good long hard look in the mirror Jerry and start taking personal responsibility for your own actions.. don't go around playing the victim when it is YOU who tried to belittle and put your fellow human down with your ugly unkind reply to my comment (reply which also completely ignored and evaded the facts presented to you)
Lord help us when the reason that people are drawn to trump is becasue of the hatred of liberals (I hope you see this Charles, see the profound stupidity, ignorance and hostility that drives the trump MAGA cult that you so romanticize and glorify)
Yes, it's completely understandable why the hostility to liberals happens, as the dnc are absolutely horrible pro-billionaire right-wing capitalists (who act in the most illiberal ways), but in my comment above (which your trump derangement syndrome prevents you from reading) i tried to show why the fact that dnc are awful right-wing capitalists does NOT mean that the anti-life poison of trump and his tyranical billionaire predators (and theor global murder machine) is the solution, but rather it is in fact more of the same abusive billionaire's right-wing empire.
And I showed what a real solution can be, a solution that will truly remove the abusive billionaire predators from power and allow for real freedom (clue, it is most definitely not the hypnotized Qanon/MAGA cult that half the country is funnelled into by the billionaire's empire and their narrative managers in the conservative echo-chambers, which simply replaces one group of swamp predators with another even worse corporate-capitalist swamp predators, precisely as trump did during his presidency).
If you want to know what it is then i'm afraid you'll have to actually read my comments in full before replying to them, which means you'll have to grow up, start interacting like a mature sane adult (who is driven by something other than hate for liberals and devotion for his fake messiah), free yourself from your debilitating trump derangement syndrome that prevents you from learning the facts, and actually read my comments before replying. Wishing you all the best Jerry.
Absolutely Jerry. The propaganda is relentless and unless people who are in favour of war, big pharma and big ag — the 3 letter agencies running the world, it’s hard to imagine how this Evil can be nullified.
Still hijacking Charles’ comments section, I see. What a terrible representative of your movement you are. Lots of good ideas, but your ignorant, assholish delivery renders all your effort useless.
But...I don't think this is a problem that can be solved by appeals to the rational mind. It can be solved, I believe, by awakening to a deeper reality. By healing the separation within ourselves, so that we no longer need to project evil onto some other. By opening our curiosity and receptivity, by listening deeply. By extending the boundaries of our perception outward to include all of the humans and beings and living systems that share our air and water, the miracle of dividing cells, the intricate dance of the biosphere.
I know you have heard from a lot of people who are disappointed in you for failing to condemn one team or the other, for maintaining your commitment to building bridges rather than divides. I support you in that, and I respect you for having the courage to enter the fray, to lend your perspectives to a real and promising political alternative.
At the same time, I feel like your recent essays are missing something that I have come to treasure whenever your writings arrive in my inbox. Heart. Love. Trust in something deeper and more powerful than our minds and institutions. The better world our hearts know is possible. I want to read fewer warnings of impending civil war, which I can find everywhere on the internet, and more stories of impossible friendships between sworn enemies, of the way that our hearts and the mysterious weaving of the larger pattern can shift our realities in unexpected and transformative ways. More of that, and less about politicians signing missiles and presidents signing particular bills into law.
Well said. It seems few are writing about those who are already building the new paradigm, ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Instead humans have a propensity to focus on what is wrong instead of what is empowering. We look outside of ourselves to the politicians as if they are the solution. If this were so, we would not find ourselves where we are today. The solution is in each individual becoming empowered.
>> ... not blind to the atrocities Hamas committed on October 7.
It's not clear who committed atrocities. Most Israeli deaths on October 7 were actually from IDF machine guns, because their policy was not to allow Hamas to take hostages -- better to kill their own.
The mainstream narrative is about a huge failure of the most alert and competent intelligence service in the world. An alternative is that Hamas has been thoroughly infiltrated by Mossad from the beginning, and that October 7 was planned by Mossad to create an excuse for just what the Israeli army is doing now.
what a vile and twisted person you must be to make such absurd and evidence free assertions. Do you know the pain such comments would present to the families of the people who were slaughtered on 10-7 with Hamas filming the murders with glee. I suggest you look deep in your soul to see what unhealed emotions cause you to say what you said
What a supreme insult this is to the entire organizational hierarchy and the rank & file supporters of HAMAS. They haven't stood apart from other domestic Palestinian freedom movements by sticking to their charter and crowing about their plans to accomplish it because that is some sort of short-cut to personal or communal gain.
I've read remarks like yours for as long as TERRORISM STUDIES have been academic and journalistic disciplines, each held to their own peer-reviewed standards. I always put myself in the blamed group's rank and file membership and try to imagine being in their hierarchy of leadership cadre. Yours and other exonerating allegations and spun theories always come off sounding CONDESCENDING. Whether the act is spun as FREEDOM FIGHTING or TERRORISM, whether valorizing or condemnation something about it coming out of first-world mouthes of those denied membership into the exclusive COUNTRY CLUB OF RECOGNIZED STATEHOOD gives it such a condescending and under-achieving de facto spin.
Love is the answer. What can I do about all the wars around the world? I can choose love. When i remember that people kill out of fear, compassion returns. We choose a world that works for everybody, and love brings that destiny to life. Thank you ❤️🌏😍🙏🏽
I don't want to fight Trump or MAGA people, Charles, I just don't want to elect them or let them gain power by more nefarious means. Yours is a straw man argument.
Exactly, it's as if the options are support or utter demonisation. Why not clear-minded rejection, based on who he's shown himself to be, over and over?
It also implies very negative things about the fundamental character of every commenter who's refused to throw bouquets of roses at Charles for his last few essays. By falsely and dishonestly suggesting that those who don't kowtow to him are engaged in "demonization," and are hostile to his message because of an addiction to demonization, Charles himself is actually subtly vilifying his detractors. As if the only reason people could object to his arguments is that they don't want to relinquish vengefulness in their own hearts. Which is total bullshit, of course. I object on completely different grounds: I don't enjoy being barraged with logical fallacies, straw man arguments, false dilemmas, sneaky rhetoric, equivocation, circumlocution.... all the hallmarks of bad faith argumentation.
Why all this crap about 'don't demonise' then? Just say 'vote Trump because the alternative is worse'. I know he won't say that though because he doesn't want to admit - even to himself - that he's now effectively a MAGA supporter.
Honestly, to believe t. is the lesser of two evils when we have already lived, barely (to speak for myself), one term as president, is unbelievable to me. My primary concern at this moment in time, is the resilience of Earth, and the ability of future generations (of humans and all species) to have a future that isn't a Mad Max world. T. is NOT that person. He has demonstrated that life and the future are just not concerns for him. He has promised (on day 1) to dismantle the already inadequate protections in place for rivers, land, air . . . in favor of letting corporations do their worst to make as much money as possible. On just that ONE issue alone, t. is a tyrant and, if not "evil" certainly very close.
Like you, I am astonished that anyone thinks that T. is the better alternative, if we are concerned about any of the 'more beautiful' things Charles talks about in his earlier work.
Sigh. Some people who care about the resilience of the earth (like RFK I've been an environmentalist my whole life, worked in the space for years) don't believe that Trump is a graver threat than Dems. The issue is not one dimensional. Charles has addressed why he is more optimistic about a second Trump term than a first. You can disagree. But yes some of us believe Trump is the lesser of two evils, even wrt earth's resilience (which involves many factors, from integrity of genetic code to avoiding nuclear annihilation, not *solely* the amount of carbon in the atmosphere)
I explained that I'm voting against the opposition since there are existential issues at stake.The "lesser of two evils" in the comment you responded to.
Thank you for this, Charles. I didn't resonate with your last essay because it was a stark contrast to back when we were talking about Trump as a symptom, as opposed to the root cause. I still don't believe in the potential of their movement, but that's okay — we disagree there.
Personally, part of the reason I am even able to entertain the possibility of peace is because I no longer see this life as the end. I'm not trying to convert anyone, but my belief of life beyond than this body (whether in another physical form or something else) allows me to see life as a training ground and my purpose as some sort of spiritual progression. If I'm not so fixated on this lifetime, it gives me an opportunity to consider and act on what is "right" with less influence from survival instincts.
I'm sure a cynic could write that off as privilege, but that's okay. It gives me an incredible freedom to treat all types of people with more empathy and compassion. That being said, I can humbly admit I'm a work in progress.
We forget that it doesn't take 51% to change the tides. Sometimes the threshold toward change is a lot smaller.
"While not a partisan of the MAGA movement, I see in it the potential, yet to be fulfilled, of becoming a genuinely transformative populist movement."
Charles, this is not just naive, it is dangerous and delusional. The MAGA "movement" is nothing more than a personality cult around Trump, who is exactly the kind of "cluster B personality" you describe.
It would make much more strategic sense to elect Democrats, many of whom are temperamentally sympathetic to the "genuinely transformative populist movement" started by Bernie Sanders in 2016. Of course it would be naive to think that the Democratic establishment is going to cater entirely to that movement, but we have already seen how it's had an impact on the Biden administration in terms of the first real climate legislation, attempts to cancel student debt, and making it possible for Medicare to negotiate drug prices. These are all things that MAGA and Trump are 100% against and will reverse as much as they possibly can on day one.
There is no reason to believe that Trump, who has engaged in duplicity, backstabbing, and con-man behaviour his whole life, will move an inch on anything of significance, but there is plenty of evidence that he will continue to do enormous harm to the environment and the place of vulnerable people in society.
MLK had no illusions about LBJ's foreign policy, but he knew he was better than Goldwater on Civil Rights, so he campaigned for him so that progress could be protected and continue to be made in that domain. He then took his activism against the Vietnam War to the streets and the media. A Democratic administration in 2024 would provide similar conditions for slow, but genuine, progress.
No Charles, you haven't lost your mind. Thank you for your detailed prospective. There are many layers, it is not black or white, but rather gray. I travel full time in the Western US and I meet people from all walks of life. Differences are a natural human expression, but there are also many commonalities. I see a very different picture from what is depicted on television screens. People in general have good hearts, they want to be useful, and they want to be heard. We have to drop the labels--Trumpers, Demoncrats, or what have you and talk to each other! By doing so, it opens the door to a totally different perception and a path to building a world that we so desire.
Your whole first paragraph is a straw man. You're naive for other reasons, not for wanting peace. Most of the world wants peace. That's why so many peace talks have occurred. Sadly, the reality is that those at war do not want peace right now, so propounding all these theories and suggestions for peace just seems like you gloating about how wonderful you are. It is unfortunately, not realistic or about the suffering others.
Thanks for pointing out the straw man fallacy. I hadn’t spotted it. When I went back to reread the opening paragraph, it suddenly seemed so glaring to me.
Welcome, hiding in plain sight :) Most of his narrative amounts to one long, rambling, multi-colored, faux sophisticated logical fallacy, exemplified here: https://medium.com/p/c3446906a85b
I admire calls for compassion and a non-binary perspective, and your willingness to acknowledge criticism. However, I think that viewing the problems of the world in terms of war (and hatred) misses the deeper tissue of empire, which is a constant effort to maintain power at all costs. The decisions of the American government are not, as far as I can tell, motivated by some ideological commitment to eradicate threats to a way of life, but rather by a willingness to trample roughshod over every living being in order to preserve the hegemony from which they benefit. If this can be done without war, there will be supposed peace, but a peace that is characterised by egregious inequality, as inordinate wealth only comes at the cost of the many. This has been the shape of things for many decades now. The recent increase in militarism and violence comes as a result of global economic and political shifts.
it's comments like this - of actual substance - which highlight how banal and pious CE's arguments are. He's basically a one-trick pony, going on and on about 'both sides', 'story of separation', (taken from Thomas Berry as Drew Dellinger has shown), 'don't other'... every time it's the same tired lens. You read one essay and you've read them all. Like a stopped clock which tells the right time once a day, he's not always wrong, and does make good points sometimes, but using the argument to make MAGA seem more palatable is a bridge too far for me. Cue someone popping up to tell me '...but the Dems are bad too'. Yes I know, don't bother.
"Banal" and "pious" are the perfect descriptive terms. Yes, I do find it distasteful that he evidently lifted his ideas and terminology from Thomas Berry, whom I'd never heard of before. Maybe he didn't plagiarize directly, it's quite possible this vocabulary and terminology was simply "in the air" in the circles Charles travelled in, and Charles appropriated it for himself. Either way, though, now that the true origin of these phrases and concepts has been revealed, he owes it to his audience and himself to fully acknowledge his enormous debt. That would be the best way to live in the "New Story" and the "Spirit of the Gift."
All of his ideas come from other people. All of them. He exists to keep people who might otherwise stray, within the system that creates the wars. I have wondered before how people cannot see through his lies, but then I read the comment section. The lack of self awareness exhibited is mind boggling. If you cannot see your own deception, you most certainly cannot see other's. I once thought Charles might be an unwitting ally of the system. I now feel that was naive. But who knows, maybe he is imploring us to see people supporting evil as capable of change, because deep down he wishes to change, and he needs people to hold space for him to do that. I would love to see Charles become self aware and a true representative of love, beauty, and creation. So I will continue to believe he is capable of authentic soul growth and honesty. As for politics, I don't engage, because it is not a part of the world I wish to see. Humans are meant to be wild and free, not governed by anyone or anything outside of pure divinity. For in our essence, we are divine.
Another problem with Charles is that he seems oblivious to how enraging his sanctimonious, incessant, patronising preaching is to many people. If his goal is to heal division, he often fails badly: the Conspirituality podcast guys, for example, have stated that it was encountering and being repelled by Charles Eisenstein's writing that gave them the idea for Conspirituality.
I just looked it up, and lo and behold, their very first podcast episode was devoted to Charles:
I disagree with a lot of their opinions, as well as agreeing with a lot: I have a mixed reaction to what they're doing. But make no mistake, it was Charles' own arrogance and hubris that single-handedly launched these guys into a vehement crusade against everything he stands for. If his goal was to heal division, that isn't what he achieved: he really achieved the opposite, widening the gap between alternative medicine practitioners and New Age believers and the mainstream. His own arrogance and condescension have driven these three men in the opposite direction from what Eisenstein wanted.
Without Eisenstein's hubris as trigger, the Conspirituality book and podcast wouldn't exist.
He states his goal is to heal division, but I have never seen him do anything that does that. Just look at the comment section. An extreme amount of divisiveness going on, all in response to his writing, but he does not step in to attempt to "heal the divide", to use his slogan. He is good at writing things that sound nice, that's it. Even if the concepts he talks of were originally written much more eloquently, and honestly, by other people. He is like a speech writer for politicians. It all sounds good, until it doesn't. But the results tell a different story than the one you were originally told.
"He is like a speech writer for politicians." This is literally what he was for RFKJ at $20K/month. He appears to be positioning himself to be this for Trump. Time will tell if he will go down as the Goebbels of our time.
I disagree with you that the media misrepresents Trump. His 3 week repetition of the,Haitian slur is unmistakably who he is. Not a friend to blacks or immigrants.
But I agree that our political system needs transformation.
I just changed my affiliation...back... to Independent.
One must understand that the behaviors of the Haitians is what is accepted in their culture. Yes, they kill and eat animals, some domestic and this was the case in Ohio. It has nothing to do with racism, but a difference in culture.
People in the U.S. hunt, kill and eat animals too. Industries here also raise all sorts of birds and animals in horrific conditions for slaughter and consider it civilized and a huge money making market. I haven’t been able to find anything on Haitian people’s diet that includes pets. It looks a lot like an American diet or a Cuban diet with an emphasis on rice and beans. In any case, I agree that it’s important to stay sensitive to cultural differences. As a longtime vegan, the hypocrisy of those spreading the rumor and the most outraged here is astounding.
Independent here too, left the Dems in 2015 when I was in my 60s, voted Trump in 2020 and will again. I do believe that his remark about the Haitians might be on point. Let's see what investigations show, but now that Soros is buying up all the radio stations and the FCC approved it, we know where not to look for truth.
It's nothing but racist dehumanization, right out of the authoritarian playbook. There's no evidence anyone's pet was eaten. Just hatred. Open your eyes and ears, it's right in front of your face.
Charles Eisenstein writes: "I can sympathize with those who think I have lost my mind to believe that Trump is anything but a singular threat to democracy, a fascist strongman riding a wave of white supremacy and bigotry. To anyone immersed in the mainstream information ecosystem, it seems so obvious that that is what he is." ... Actually, many of us were blindsided by the election of Trump in 2016 and it took some of us time to figure out who he was (the media was blindsided as well, and did not know how to deal with all of his lies). I, personally, was not looking for anyone to "demonize" I had a lovely, meaningful and "spiritual life," believing much of what you do and teaching the same.
The pile on of egregious, cruel, hurtful and hateful behavior by Trump was something many of us felt the need to respond to. Women knew who he was by his words, his jeering and sneering. Has "grab by them by the pussy" become our own projection, suddenly?
Charles, Trump does exist as a human, with a history outside of the media "ecosystem" and, as a journalist and concerned human (and a woman, and woman of color, I should add), I took the time to research his past--as many of us have.
His call for the death penalty for innocent Black and brown boys in New York; his suits from the DOJ for refusing to rent to Black people; his father's arrest at a KKK rally; his bilking of contractors; his fraudulent companies; his reading of Hitler's books (and we know he does not read much)--which he kept by his bedside table; and his use of the same Goebbels' inspired propaganda techniques (tell the big lie, repeat it over and over, attack the press and mainstream media) are all factual and on the record ... And there is now a legislative record: family separation and the traumatization of children, including toddlers, from which they may never recover (including still missing children); the Muslim Ban, which separated families; Stephen Miller, Alex Jones, Roger Stone, Paul Manafort. These people all have a long history here in the US of being just the type of sociopath you describe, but somehow these are not "MAGA."
Trump and his followers/backers--Musk and Lindell to name only two--also often engage in dog whistles, which one must research to understand. I did this. They even put up a slightly cloaked, famous white supremacist slogan on the Trump DHS home page (See all sources here: https://medium.com/@amichen/waking-up-to-racism-from-your-house-to-thewhite-house-ebe8045933c1) ... It is a wonder to me you can say these things.
And Iwonder if, if you are now hobnobbing with MAGA leaders, you might notice their humanity (that is a given. I would too), but this does not mean they cannot and do not cause great harm. Just as the Nazis themselves could be warm and wonderful to their family and friends and then tromp off to their jobs at the concentration camps, so can anyone in this circle you have found yourself in.
Be careful who you get close to. Or you yourself can end up committing great harm and becoming directly complicit. ... And, I agree with you on Gaza and Palestine, but you likely know how close Netanyahu is to Kushner and how the GOP has already called for use of nukes in Gaza. In my radio shows interviews, I learned that Harris was the first in the Biden Administration to begin calling for a ceasefire. Do you know about Lina Khan at the FTC? All the amazing anti-trust work she is doing?
Sometimes one must stop a fascist movement. Spiritual wisdom has no rules. Compassion and love and a true spirituality would work to procect innocent people from abuse, women from abuse and nearly all marginalized communities in the US from abuse.
Either you have hid your head away from actual facts and news (including Trump and Vance's recent speeches) so deep that you have no idea what is really going on, or this is all a spiritual whitewash for an alliance that cannot be justified as good for humanity in any possible way.
"I’ve never met him, and I disagree with almost everything that comes out of his mouth, both in terms of content and in terms of tone." So why the fuck didn't you pull out when RFK Jr endorsed him? Because of a fantasy of 'potential' in the MAGA movement? If it was 2016 I could just about buy that. Although you yourself didn't at the time. We know who DT is, and almost certainly will continue to be, by now. So what's left? Sorry, we're left with the money and power options. Please just admit you made a mistake and come back to sanity.
Charles doesn't admit to "mistakes." Haven't you ever read him before? Charles is saintly, surpassingly wise, and impervious to error according (implicitly) to himself and (both implicitly and explicitly) according to his groupies, who worship him like the god he evidently believes himself to be.
"Because of a fantasy of 'potential' in the MAGA movement? If it was 2016 I could just about buy that. Although you yourself didn't at the time."
Good point -- Charles seems to be suffering from a bad case of amnesia concerning his own previous publications.
yes, at this point I'm not expecting him to admit a mistake. But it is, I will say, more likely than Trump having any sort of change of heart, bullet in the ear or no.
Whether I agree or disagree with all of your points, Charles, I appreciate that you continue to speak out. Naïve or not, we need alternatives to the predictable, entrenched narratives that propel us along road to disaster.
For what it’s worth, here’s a true story:
Once upon a time, while hitchhiking, I found myself lying underneath a large man with a knife to my throat. He was unresponsive to reason. I was terrified, and if could have gotten my hand on a gun, I probably would have done my best to kill him. But that wasn’t an option, and my perspective shifted:
There are two people here, and one of them is really in trouble. I reached my arms around him and gently patted his shoulder:
Hey it’s going to be OK.
It’s gonna be OK.
He got quiet, blinked a few times, and then poured out a story of years as a POW in Vietnam. Later he continued the story over dinner in a truck stop restaurant. He drove on, and I became a trauma therapist.
I’m not so naïve to think that this one event automatically translates to international politics.
But I believe Love wins in the long run- with no guarantees that things won’t be disastrously messy in the meantime.
Loved this.
I have a different yet similar story. Appealing to my would-be attacker as a human being under serious duress flipped the outcome in the moment. I never forgot that.
THIS
(speechless and in tears and wondering how to say "hey algorithm, over here!")
I found this an incredible and very moving story that reveals the power of compassion better than any philosophical argument could. Thank you for sharing it with us Kate.
What a way to get your point across, thanks for sharing.
A friend in NYC had a similar situation. She got out of her shower and found a man in her bedroom, who had made his way in through a window from the fire escape ladders. He also had a knife to her throat. She asked him if he was ok, in the calmest manner she could manage and they started a dialogue. Eventually he walked out through her door. Love wins.
I know a woman who was on a beach in India at sunset, alone. A man came out of the shadows and assaulted her, attempting rape.
When my friend realized what was going down, and that she couldn’t get away, she chose to lean-in to the experience.
Instead of fighting, she opened her heart and made love with her assailant. What began as assault became an act of love.
Afterwards he walked her back to her hotel.
It means a lot to hear this. I wonder how many of these stories could be collected?
This is a beautiful story, thank you. I have one similiar. Im not seeing (yet,?) how to apply it to Trump, or Putin. Open to influence (anyone?), watchful for choosing at a minimum the path of least harm as part of the actions towards more good.
I am tired of hating. When I remember that the most violent of people are suffering from their own pain, regardless of who they are, my judgment, softens and compassion is there seemingly of its own accord. The more I do this, the quicker I feel compassion. It feels way better than anger, judgement or hopelessness 🙏🏽🔥💗
Joe, real question: Im fully with you, on a person to person level.. I 'taught' peer mediation in some very violent Philly schools and this truth was revealed every day. The amazing kids got this fully. Important -it did not at all mean that there were not consequences to actions, that any meaness or brutality was okay if the perpetrator was suffering. It meant that person was owed compassion -and was most likely to change in light of it. In same way, TRump and Putin can be well seen in light of compassion. And , not enabled to do evil- in fact, most lovingly, prevented from that.
It’s my desire to first get to loving compassion before I take any action, particularly preventative action. Otherwise, my words and actions will be from reaction, judgment, righteousness and will only add fuel to the fire. In my 20s, I volunteered at a domestic violence/sexual assault center in Washington state. They asked me to counsel the male batterers. I was horrified, I wanted to help the victims, not the perpetrators. They reminded me that 98% of men who beat were beaten. And that these men were ordered by the court to get counseling, and they couldn’t find counselors who would work with them, and the men as a result would end up going to jail. The first male batterer i counseled (all were over the phone, program policy) was in total denial of his behavior, it was all about the woman. I was judging the crap out of him, thinking i was wasting my time. Something clicked, (grace), and I realize that I had to have compassion for this individual, otherwise there was no possibility of progress of any kind. I got quiet and dropped into my heart, knowing that this man had likely been beaten as a child. In that moment his energy completely shifted, he started questioning and taking ownership of his behavior. I have since had many similar experiences of shifting from judgment to compassion and seeing outer conflict dissipate. Hence my desire to let love inspire any action, particularly if its preventative action. I much prefer to go with inspired action, in the direction of what is desired, particularly a world that works for everyone ❤️🌏❤️🙏🏽🥰
"love inspire any action," -Yes. The only way to transformation. Im so grateful for these personal stories that bring that principle to such vivid life ! Im seeking still how to enact that in terms of , say, Trump, Putin. Maybe, it is to access the Love, prior to any choice made; even when my choices do not *directly * affect them, Im certain that in a field way , they do. I do believe that this doesnt argue with, for example, any action by me empowering a firm No to one of them continuing dangerous and cruel acts (anymore than your holding the men you spoke with in open heart, was a vote for any continued abuse) THank you, again, for your beautiful and apt story.,
I totally believe and feel in my bones and skin, that our every choice for love adds to the whole. I love imagining its our inevitable destiny to live in a world that works for everyone, and our every loving inspired action brings that world closer every day. Great conversation, thank you Anna! ❤️😍🙏🏽🌏
Or Biden, or Harris, or Zelenskyyyyyy. Or the rest of the human ghouls.
I think Charles' point is to stop automatically seeing them as ghouls. Or have I misread him?
Love your post, Kate. I had a similar experience. I found myself pressed against a wall with the nozzle of a gun up my nose and the guy telling me he was going to blow my brains out. I don't know where my equanimity and wherewithal came from but I engaged the three teenaged boys in talking and I just "hung out" with them, like I was one of them, although I was a decade older. After taking my three dollars they wanted me to go somewhere with them but the one with the gun said, "let him go," and I walked way.
Marshall Rosenberg tells of a very similar story in his book on NVC. It's so helpful to hear of experiences like this.
Thanks for the reminder about Marshall and Nonviolent Communication. He came out to our Navajo school in the 90s, and we were inspired by his story of speaking in a mosque as an American Jew, being called a murderer and ending up invited home for dinner. Stories have impact.
Amazing 🤯
Hi Charles, I don’t know much about your newsletter and I don’t even remember when I subscribed to it, but today morning I got it in my email and I thought of reading it.
The first line was enough to hook me in. I have been a follower of Gandhi and I went on an 1800 km walk across India when India was burning in the fumes of nationalism and religious divide. What I realised was exactly what you talked about. There is no good or bad and there is good and bad in both sides. What I do know now is peace is the only way forward. I don’t pick sides instead I meet people as people. I reason with them armoured with love and believe it or not the hate subsides.
In the current context I have met Israeli friends who started off with hatred but as we spoke more the hate subsided and similarly I met Muslim friends who hated the Israelis but soon their hatred diminished too.
The fortress can be breached.
The ammunition is love. 🕊️
Thanks for writing this man. I look forward to reading more from you.
I love you Charles, but I find it amazing and disheartening the one-sided picture you paint. On the one hand you constantly urge us to go beyond othering and demonizing and the war mentality of US vs THEM, and then on the other hand, your political in-group associations have led you to plant your flag next to the absolute KING OF OTHERING, DEHUMANIZING, TRIBALIST DIVISION OF HUMANITY, NONSTOP INCITEMENT FOR RELIGIOUS-NATIONALIST HATRED AND ORGANIZED-MURDER, GENOCIDE, NONSTOP DEMONIZING, US vs THEM, TRILLIONS OF OUR MONEY TO HIS WAR PROFITEERING BILLIONAIRE PALS, TO BIG PHARMA CAPITALISTS, TO HIS WALL ST BUDDIES, NONSTOP SECTARIANISM, THRIVING ON DIVISION FEAR AND HATRED. You constantly admonish us for our supposed othering and never say a word about what the absolute master of othering is doing nonstop...(in a few moments i will give the facts about his crimes against the people and life)
I went to a trump rally in June. Precisely becasue of what you said here. I wanted to hear directly what he talks about and feel the man out through first hand experience. Literally the entirety of trump's long diatribe during the rally was nonstop OTHERING, dehumanizing and demonizing others. He was doing the very thing that you constantly claim that he's a victim of. All he talked about was how evil "they" are and how good "we" are. The good guys vs the bad guys. US vs THEM, US vs the evil enemy. That was literally the entire shtick of this psychologically-stunted bully. I was witnessing the absolute LOWEST LEVEL OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT. The lowest of the low!! He didn't say a single word about any policy not even once (becasue if his followers actually knew what this pro-billionaire pro-Wall St pro-M.I.C pro-Genocide pro-NeoCon pro-war pro-Big Pharma pro-Big Agri mass murdering billionaire did as president then the entire MAGA deception that paints him as 'anti-elite rebel' would collapse). His entire talk - and what he clearly thrives on - was riding on the energy of OTHERING, dividing, hating "them", the evil ones, demonizing, constantly inciting tribalist (religious or nationalist) hatred of the 'evil other'.
Everything that you constantly tell us that we are doing to trump, this infantile psychologically-undeveloped emotionally-stunted bully narcissist was actually doing to others!! Constant OTHERING, demonizing and dividing!!
You repeatedly admonish us, Charles, for supposedly demonizing trump and that having compassion for the bully oppressor is the way for true healing. I fully agree with you on that and love you for that, but please don't forget that there is also another half for this equation. It's not all about just compassion for the bully, the bully also needs to learn how to stop demonizing, othering, dehumanizing, abusing, inciting division hatred and genocide along tribalistic (religious-nationalist) lines..
Another thing Charles, if I may. It seems to me that you're severly misrepresenting the reasons for why people are opposed to (and are disgusted by) mass-murdering pro-empire Godless ConMan trump. You repeatedly misrepresent it as if we opppse this anti-life bully becasue of the idiotic propaganda on CNN/MSNBC (that presents him as caricaturishly evil). No, Charles. One doesn't have to buy into the stupid CNN/WashPost deceptive propaganda in order to see from his own actions that trump is actually a common murderous american president (like the ones before and after him), by the billionaires for the billionaires, who is here to enrich the ultra-rich, to cement the global control of the american billionaire's militarized empire over the planet, and to ensure that our desire for change is hijacked and neutralized and doesn't amount to any real change. Precisely what he did as president..
One can reject the propaganda on CNN/NYTIMES etc and clearly see that ConMan trump is just as pro-billionaire pro-empire and criminal as the ones before and after him. No worse but definitely no better than the life-destroying american presidents before and after him. BOTH the CNN fairytales AND the MAGA failrytales about him are false..
FALSE MESSIAH trump who transferred during his presidency trillions upon triliions of our money to his 1% billionaire pals (for example in his 5.9 trillion dollar corona giveaway to Big Pharma capitalists and to his ultra-wealthy Wall St billionaires, our abusers and predators, and for example in his annual gigantic military spending - spending which SKYROCKETED under trump - to give away trillions of our money to his war-profiteering anti-life zionist-conservative pals).
Mass-murderer anti-life God-ignorant ConMan Trump was already president once, remember? Need I remind us that he and his Zionist PR team of deceivers already sold us the exact same deceptive Qanon/MAGA narrative they are selling us now (as if he's an anti-elite-rebel man-of-the-people who came to fight the deep state for the little guy), and need i remind us that once in the white house he promptly spat in the face of all the gullible propagandized people who believed him and his team of deceivers, and proceeded to fill up his administration to the brim with deep-state swamp creatures from Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Eric Prince's BlackWater merceneries, JP Morgan and the rest of Wall St and the war profiteering industry filled up to the brim every single position in his cabinet of anti-life deep-state billionaire shark predators. In addition, he handed over half his admin to deep-state NeoCon zionist operatives in the form of compulsive-liar CIA chief Pompeo, Chabad devotee and Mossad man Kushner, ultra-zionist mass-murderer Bolton, NeoCon zionist lunatic ("starve them to death") Abrams etc. etc. Besides them, the State Dept. was literally full of and run by NeoCon israelis during trump's presidency, america's global policy was literally run by israeli supremacists during trump's presidency!!
What on earth makes any of us think that he will act any differently this time? Because the Mossad-created Qanon/MAGA narrative says so? (echoed by large portions of the so-called 'alternative conservative media')
All ConMan trump did during his presidency was transfer trillions of our money to his buddies the ultra-wealthy war profiteers and Big Pharma capitalists, filled his admin to the brim with deep-state swamp creatures, gave tax breaks to the ultra-rich ; EXPANDED the mass-murdering billionaires' global militarized capitalist empire (of nearly 900 military bases encircling the entire globe, dozens of warships colonizing every sea on the planet, and at least 13 extra-judicial torture camps where kidnapped human beings are held in captivity for years without trial and tortured by hypnotized conservatives because.."patriotism" and "god" and "jesus" and "christian moral values") with his RECORD HIGH military spending to enrich his war-profiteering capitalist billionaire pals; Created a welfare state for billionaires (with his government's coercive force used to lavish his right-wing billionaire scum with public funding, funneling trillions of our money to his zionist-conservative billionaire backers, who of course privatize the profits and give nothing back to the public that funds them) and crumbs for the rest of us..
I hope you are aware Charles that your ideas can (and likely will) be used cynically and deceptively, as feel good slogans (like unity and rise above division) by the most murderous pro-ruling class tribalistic anti-wholism anti-egalitarian hierarchical God-ignorant political manipulators (like trump and his PR team of deceivers) who act in POLAR OPPOSITE ways to the slogans that they'll borrow from you in order to deceive and gain support from the people..
Charles, it seems to me that the basic assumption from which you have been writing you last few pieces, this assumption would have been true in 2016 when many (propagandized) americans really believed that trump is exceptionally evil and dnc are the benevolent force for good. Hardly anyone belives this anymore but exactly the opposite is the case now, by far most (propagandized) americans now believe the opposite fairytale, that the dnc is the establishmemt force of evil and that trump is an "anti-establishment rebel"
Both these fairytales are profoundly false..
Trump is anti-life poison NOT becasue of what the corporate-capitalist manipulators on CNN/MSNBC/WashPost say about him but precisely because he is like every other pro-billionaire life-destroying mass-murdering right-wing american president (conservative or liberal)
Both trumpism and anti-trumpism are fake decoy revolutions. See https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/both-trumpism-and-anti-trumpism-are?
And here https://johnspritzler.substack.com/p/the-billionaire-class-is-no-more (recommend also the rest of this wise substack which will not only show you the ruling class' deception through their FALSE MESSIAH trump, but also how we can unseat our billionaire abusers from power and have real freedom)
PS. I'll preempt any mocking belittling reply telling me to be "realistic" and make a compromise and choose one of the two puppets that the global billionaire's empire gives us to choose from and that there's no other alternative. So here's a sane rational very practical alternative to the billionaire empire's oligarchy (the domination of the few ultra-rich over the many). Here are a couple of example of what actually can be done (first why and then how) and why funneling people to mass-murderer pro-billionaire pro-empire pro-Wall St pro-M.I.C pro-Genocide anti-egalitarian hierarchical trump is not the solution
https://johnspritzler.substack.com/p/why-have-no-rich-and-no-poor?
https://www.pdrboston.org/how-we-can-remove-the-rich-from-power
And https://www.pdrboston.org/let-s-get-organized
And https://www.pdrboston.org/egalitarianism
And https://www.pdrboston.org/mr-billionaire See what a debate with anti-egalitarian hierarchical Mr. Billionaire looks like
Trump derangement syndrome is real.
Well done Jerry!! That's exactly how you do it!! That's the perfect example of how this go-to sentence ('you suffer from trump derangement syndrome') is immediately & AUTOMATICALLY used by the cult devotees whenever they wish to ignore, shift the focus and avoid addressing the FACTS presented to them regarding what their infantile warmongering FALSE MESSIAH did as president. All you need to do is just use the magic sentence like Jerry did, just confidently say out loud "you suffer from TDS" and Voila! all facts disappear from view. Just repeat the magic sentence and you no longer need to seriously and maturely address any fact presented to you, just say the magic sentence and you can then continue blissfully floating on the cloud of MAGA ignorance, blissfully believing in the cult's fairytales about your God-ignorant anti-life FALSE MESSIAH, unburdened by this pesky little thing known as reality...
So yes, I know what you mean Jerry. I also noticed this very common derangement among the cult devotees. This deranged tendency to AUTOMATICALLY repeat like a robot the magic senstence 'you suffer from TDS' whenever the devotees come across FACTS they don't want to deal with..
It is truly a magic sentence, like a 'get out of jail card', once you say it you are then free to avoid addressing any fact presented to you AND you also get to feel superior (in relation to that deranged one who doesn't realize what an "anti-elite rebel" our messiah is.. )
So yes, i know what you mean Jerry, it is truly a form of derangement, isn't it?! The way the cult members AUTOMATICALLY repeat their magic sentence to avoid having to face reality. And unfortunately it is a very common derangement among the MAGA cult.
So tell me Jerry, besides your evasive magic sentence that all deceived trump devotees repeat automatically like robots, would you like to actually address the FACTS presented to you? Or are facts not something that your propagandized cult deals with?
And BTW, if you had bothered to read my comment (which you didn't becasue your trump derangement syndrome makes you stop reading the moment you realize that a comment isn't painting your humanity-dividing messiah in a glorifying light) if you had bothered to read my comment then you'd have seen that i actually mentioned those propagandists on cnn/washpost who do truly push the TDS and paint him as caricturishly evil, and i explained in my comment why that is wrong and that he's not exceptional but actually just a normal pro-billionaire mass-murdering right-wing american president (like all the liberalsnand conservatives before him). You understand Jerry, when you're part of a hypnotized cult, you don't read others' comments and you don't see nuances. For the cult, anyone who isn't glorifying your warmongering MESSIAH is an 'evil liberal who suffers from TDS'...
Now, a few more facts for you. In my comment above i showed that this pro-billionaire pro-Genocide pro-Wall St pro-Big Pharma pro-NeoCon psychologically-undeveloped bully creep is NOT who the CNN/MSNBC fairytale says he is NOR who the Qanon/MAGA fairytale says he is, but rather he's your usual pro-billionaire pro-empire mass-murdring right-wing american president who, like all right wing president, who (like all right-wing liberal or conservative presidents), is here to implement the anti-life tenets of Godless right-wing hierarchical ideology - to enrich the ultra-rich, to ensure the domination of the few (his billionaire backers) over the many, to cement the control of the global right-wing capitalist militarized billionaires' empire over the planet's resources and over humanity, to ensure their dollar's supremacy, and finally (by pretending to be anti-elite when he's anything but that) to ensure that our desire for change is hijacked, is funnelled into a FALSE MESSIAH, is neutralized and doesn't amount to any real change (which is precisely the things he did during his presidency..).
And in fact, in that comment I barely scratched the surface on his crimes against the people, I had plenty more details to give, but I had to stop short because of the space limits.
In my comment I also showed the profound falsity of beloeving that the anti-life right-wing global militarized murder machine of ConMan trump and his backers the deepstate billionaire abusers & predators, is a good choice simply becasue of how awful and right-wing and pro-capiyalist billionaires the DNC are.. (which is what most of those who were tricked by the zionist Qanon/MAGA deception have been taught.. that because the dnc are awful then that means trump is good )
So I highly recommend reading my comment above slowly & attentively to take in all the unfamiliar information and perspective, becasue this is NOT your usual DNC-or-GOP perspective that you'll hear in the propagandized american political discourse (which says that if the dnc are awful right-wing pro-capitalist billionaires then that must mean that the Godless right-wing billionaire thieves and mass-murderers of the greedy infantile anti-egalitarian trump must be the solution then).
This is NOT this kind of deceived blindness that thinks that one of the two puppets of the global capitalist billionaires' empire (the largest hierarchical anti-egalitarian greedy bullying murderous empire in the history of the human race) is a good option..
They're both absolutely the WORST option possible for life on earth, they're both completely right-wing pro capitalist billionaires, and they both are here to do what every right-wing american president (liberal or conservative) has always done, which is also exactly what trump did during his presodency - ensure the control of the few over the many, enrich the ultra-rich, cement the domination of american capitalist billionaires over the planet's resources and (in the case of trump or obama) give us a FALSE MESSIAH who will hijack and neutralized our desite for change (by funnellng it into support for a FALSE MESSIAH who foes NOT change the status-quo of the domination of the few over the many).
The trick that the right-wing capitalist billionaire ruling class play on americans is that every few years they give us a FALSE MESSIAH (like obama or trump) who pretends to be the one who will unseat the evil elite (presented as the other party of course) and help the little guy. Both these ConMen are here to make sure that our desire for change is hijacked and doesn't amount to any real change.
This is how the empire keep alternating americans between one or the other of its two wings (the liberal half or the conservative half of the one big corporate capitalist war party that rules america and much of the planet), keep americans believing that they can achieve change and freedom from the abuse and domination of the ultra-rich by voting for one or the other of the two options that the billionaire's empire (and their media) allow us to choose between. This is how americans have been played for decades and decades and we still keep falling for the billionaore's deceptions (and are very emotionally invested in the false messiahs they present to us as an "anti-elite rebels") again and again and again, we never seem to learn..
If interested, you can learn more about how the capitalist billionaires play this trick on us in the following insightful posts (which include full citations of sources)
https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/both-trumpism-and-anti-trumpism-are
And here https://johnspritzler.substack.com/p/the-billionaire-class-is-no-more
And here
https://caityjohnstone.medium.com/trump-minus-narrative-equals-bushbama-84a363947536
And here
https://www.pdrboston.org/oppressors-need-bogeyman-enemies
To learn even more at depth about the war-profiteering ruling class oligarch deep-state networks that brought trump into power (of Wall St conservative billionaire military contractors, of mass-murderering right-wing arms dealers, of silicon valley surveillance capitalists, of pedophile blackmail networks run by supremacist zionist tribalists - far more than just the zionists' epstein operation - and of ultra-wealthy God-ignorant evangelical religious fundamentalists) then please see
https://www.exposetheenemy.com/deep-politics-and-trump
and here https://www.exposetheenemy.com/trump-war-the-pentagon-and-the-conservativeestablishment
and here https://web.archive.org/web/20190720130650/https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/11/tomdispatch-trump-military-foreign-affairs/
and here https://odysee.com/@ExposeTheEnemy:b/america-first-from-wall-street-to-the:a?lid=95a34b649ac72026c32466c45591322426c77cf1
and here https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9e/c5/93/9ec59307f55ea5fabf59dbbdd7abb43a.png
And regarding ConMan Vance, here's a full breakdown of who this deceiver actually is and who are the deep state adrenochrome-drinking billionaire scumbag abusers (the enemies of humanity) that are fully funding vance (as well as trump), and brought him to this position. See https://miri.substack.com/p/america-the-movie-screenplay-by-jd?
And here https://unlimitedhangout.com/2024/07/investigative-reports/the-man-behind-trumps-vp-pick-its-worse-than-you-think/
And here
https://plagueonbothhouses.substack.com/p/friends-romans-countrymen-lend-me?
And here https://youtu.be/sGySygy0LWs?si=n6u28vsLzazo_gdS
And as i mentioned at the end of my comment above (which you didn't read) - regarding what alternative is there to the billionaire's anti-life right-wing capitalist empire and its two puppets, here are examples of what can actually be done (first why and then how)
https://johnspritzler.substack.com/p/why-have-no-rich-and-no-poor?
And
https://www.pdrboston.org/how-we-can-remove-the-rich-from-power
And https://www.pdrboston.org/let-s-get-organized
And https://www.pdrboston.org/egalitarianism
And https://www.pdrboston.org/mr-billionaire See what a debate with anti-egalitarian hierarchical Mr. Billionaire looks like
Trump deranged liberals talking down their noses at half the US population will probably put Trump in office again. Then you'll really have something to complain about.
I'll respond to your accusation in a moment Jerry (becasue unlike you, I actually do read and respond to the words of my dialogue partner), but first I'll thank you Jerry for once again completely ignoring and not addressing even a single fact from the mountains of evidence presented to you about what your false messiah ACTUALLY did and who are the anti-life billionaire predators that brought him to power. Completely ignoring and not addressing the facts. Terrified of even looking at the facts. The perfect trimp devotee - ignorant of the facts, heavily-propagandized and thoroughly decieved.
Clearly you didn't read my comments (or even my handle name) if you call me a liberal. And we know what is the illness that makes you so terrified of reading the comments and learning the FACTS about your FALSE MESSIAH, don't we, Jerry? It's called 'trump derangement syndrome'. And unfortunately many in your deceived cult suffer from it and are terrified of learning the facts about their FALSE MESSIAH and of having their fairytale bubble burst.
Regarding your accusation, I'm sorry to actually bring you back to reality and mention to you what ACTUALLY happened, but in case you forgot Jerry, it is YOU who replied to my comment and tried to belittle, put down and talk down on me (with the famous 'trump derangement card' that your cult always automatically pulls out whenever you hear facts that don't align with the fairytales you were taught about your fake messiah). So please don't you go around playing the victim when it is actually YOU who tried to put me down, belittle and shame, with your extremely unkind, immature, unintelligent mocking reply to my comment. Yes, I know they constantly hammer into your head in your MANIPULATIVE conservative echo-chambers that you are always the poor victims of the 'evil leftists', but perhaps it's time to take a good long hard look in the mirror Jerry and start taking personal responsibility for your own actions.. don't go around playing the victim when it is YOU who tried to belittle and put your fellow human down with your ugly unkind reply to my comment (reply which also completely ignored and evaded the facts presented to you)
Lord help us when the reason that people are drawn to trump is becasue of the hatred of liberals (I hope you see this Charles, see the profound stupidity, ignorance and hostility that drives the trump MAGA cult that you so romanticize and glorify)
Yes, it's completely understandable why the hostility to liberals happens, as the dnc are absolutely horrible pro-billionaire right-wing capitalists (who act in the most illiberal ways), but in my comment above (which your trump derangement syndrome prevents you from reading) i tried to show why the fact that dnc are awful right-wing capitalists does NOT mean that the anti-life poison of trump and his tyranical billionaire predators (and theor global murder machine) is the solution, but rather it is in fact more of the same abusive billionaire's right-wing empire.
And I showed what a real solution can be, a solution that will truly remove the abusive billionaire predators from power and allow for real freedom (clue, it is most definitely not the hypnotized Qanon/MAGA cult that half the country is funnelled into by the billionaire's empire and their narrative managers in the conservative echo-chambers, which simply replaces one group of swamp predators with another even worse corporate-capitalist swamp predators, precisely as trump did during his presidency).
If you want to know what it is then i'm afraid you'll have to actually read my comments in full before replying to them, which means you'll have to grow up, start interacting like a mature sane adult (who is driven by something other than hate for liberals and devotion for his fake messiah), free yourself from your debilitating trump derangement syndrome that prevents you from learning the facts, and actually read my comments before replying. Wishing you all the best Jerry.
Absolutely Jerry. The propaganda is relentless and unless people who are in favour of war, big pharma and big ag — the 3 letter agencies running the world, it’s hard to imagine how this Evil can be nullified.
Still hijacking Charles’ comments section, I see. What a terrible representative of your movement you are. Lots of good ideas, but your ignorant, assholish delivery renders all your effort useless.
What is it like to be you?
Thanks for sharing your insights on this subject. It was uplifting to read. Love is our superpower. 💚
Thanks Tina 🙏🏻
My favorite superpower 😍🔥💗🥰❤️
I hear you, Charles, and I agree 100%.
But...I don't think this is a problem that can be solved by appeals to the rational mind. It can be solved, I believe, by awakening to a deeper reality. By healing the separation within ourselves, so that we no longer need to project evil onto some other. By opening our curiosity and receptivity, by listening deeply. By extending the boundaries of our perception outward to include all of the humans and beings and living systems that share our air and water, the miracle of dividing cells, the intricate dance of the biosphere.
I know you have heard from a lot of people who are disappointed in you for failing to condemn one team or the other, for maintaining your commitment to building bridges rather than divides. I support you in that, and I respect you for having the courage to enter the fray, to lend your perspectives to a real and promising political alternative.
At the same time, I feel like your recent essays are missing something that I have come to treasure whenever your writings arrive in my inbox. Heart. Love. Trust in something deeper and more powerful than our minds and institutions. The better world our hearts know is possible. I want to read fewer warnings of impending civil war, which I can find everywhere on the internet, and more stories of impossible friendships between sworn enemies, of the way that our hearts and the mysterious weaving of the larger pattern can shift our realities in unexpected and transformative ways. More of that, and less about politicians signing missiles and presidents signing particular bills into law.
Well said. It seems few are writing about those who are already building the new paradigm, ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Instead humans have a propensity to focus on what is wrong instead of what is empowering. We look outside of ourselves to the politicians as if they are the solution. If this were so, we would not find ourselves where we are today. The solution is in each individual becoming empowered.
Citing specifics to illustrate a point is helpful, for me.
Beautifully said. Thank you 💚
>> ... not blind to the atrocities Hamas committed on October 7.
It's not clear who committed atrocities. Most Israeli deaths on October 7 were actually from IDF machine guns, because their policy was not to allow Hamas to take hostages -- better to kill their own.
The mainstream narrative is about a huge failure of the most alert and competent intelligence service in the world. An alternative is that Hamas has been thoroughly infiltrated by Mossad from the beginning, and that October 7 was planned by Mossad to create an excuse for just what the Israeli army is doing now.
what a vile and twisted person you must be to make such absurd and evidence free assertions. Do you know the pain such comments would present to the families of the people who were slaughtered on 10-7 with Hamas filming the murders with glee. I suggest you look deep in your soul to see what unhealed emotions cause you to say what you said
Wiki the Hannibal Directive. My friend in Tel Aviv says it's important for the IDF to kill Israelis before Hamas can.
Copying here, too:
Hey man, I live here too, and no, this is not true. Not that it never happened, but it was something like a single incident.
But wow, the tone of the responses here are incredibly disappointing coming from followers of Charles' blog. Very disheartening to see it.
You’re an imbecile.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-07/israel-hannibal-directive-kidnap-hamas-gaza-hostages-idf/104224430
Well, emotions are running high but Josh may be right.
What a supreme insult this is to the entire organizational hierarchy and the rank & file supporters of HAMAS. They haven't stood apart from other domestic Palestinian freedom movements by sticking to their charter and crowing about their plans to accomplish it because that is some sort of short-cut to personal or communal gain.
I've read remarks like yours for as long as TERRORISM STUDIES have been academic and journalistic disciplines, each held to their own peer-reviewed standards. I always put myself in the blamed group's rank and file membership and try to imagine being in their hierarchy of leadership cadre. Yours and other exonerating allegations and spun theories always come off sounding CONDESCENDING. Whether the act is spun as FREEDOM FIGHTING or TERRORISM, whether valorizing or condemnation something about it coming out of first-world mouthes of those denied membership into the exclusive COUNTRY CLUB OF RECOGNIZED STATEHOOD gives it such a condescending and under-achieving de facto spin.
Mitch Ritter\Paradigm Sifters, Code Shifters, PsalmSong Chasers
Lay-Low Studios, Ore-Wa (Refuge of Atonement Seekers)
Media Discussion List\Looksee
Yes, you won't be popular posting this, but I agree.
Yep
Hey man, I live here, and no, this is not true. Not that it never happened, but it was something like a single incident.
But wow, the tone of the responses here are incredibly disappointing coming from followers of Charles' blog. Very disheartening to see it.
what absolute nonsense.
This is utter and complete garbage. You’re a drooling anti-Semitic moron.
Ignore him. Josh shoots his mouth off about all manner of things he has no idea about. He’s another one who makes a living from it.
Love is the answer. What can I do about all the wars around the world? I can choose love. When i remember that people kill out of fear, compassion returns. We choose a world that works for everybody, and love brings that destiny to life. Thank you ❤️🌏😍🙏🏽
Sounds like a wonderful epitaph: "He chose to love his enemies. Here lies love."
Thank you 🙏🏽 i got shy when i first read this, didn’t know how to respond. Its a beautiful epitaph, i love it! 😍❤️
I don't want to fight Trump or MAGA people, Charles, I just don't want to elect them or let them gain power by more nefarious means. Yours is a straw man argument.
Exactly, it's as if the options are support or utter demonisation. Why not clear-minded rejection, based on who he's shown himself to be, over and over?
It also implies very negative things about the fundamental character of every commenter who's refused to throw bouquets of roses at Charles for his last few essays. By falsely and dishonestly suggesting that those who don't kowtow to him are engaged in "demonization," and are hostile to his message because of an addiction to demonization, Charles himself is actually subtly vilifying his detractors. As if the only reason people could object to his arguments is that they don't want to relinquish vengefulness in their own hearts. Which is total bullshit, of course. I object on completely different grounds: I don't enjoy being barraged with logical fallacies, straw man arguments, false dilemmas, sneaky rhetoric, equivocation, circumlocution.... all the hallmarks of bad faith argumentation.
wonderful--exactly! Thanks for expressing it so well!
Maybe he doesn't like the alternative? Many former Dems like myself are voting for Trump. And not because we like what he says on the whole
Why all this crap about 'don't demonise' then? Just say 'vote Trump because the alternative is worse'. I know he won't say that though because he doesn't want to admit - even to himself - that he's now effectively a MAGA supporter.
You don't have to be a MAGA supporter to vote for Trump. Some of us are voting as a lesser of two evils.
The dangers of dehumanization are worthy of writing about regardless of how one will vote. I don't understand your problem with his approach
Honestly, to believe t. is the lesser of two evils when we have already lived, barely (to speak for myself), one term as president, is unbelievable to me. My primary concern at this moment in time, is the resilience of Earth, and the ability of future generations (of humans and all species) to have a future that isn't a Mad Max world. T. is NOT that person. He has demonstrated that life and the future are just not concerns for him. He has promised (on day 1) to dismantle the already inadequate protections in place for rivers, land, air . . . in favor of letting corporations do their worst to make as much money as possible. On just that ONE issue alone, t. is a tyrant and, if not "evil" certainly very close.
Like you, I am astonished that anyone thinks that T. is the better alternative, if we are concerned about any of the 'more beautiful' things Charles talks about in his earlier work.
Sigh. Some people who care about the resilience of the earth (like RFK I've been an environmentalist my whole life, worked in the space for years) don't believe that Trump is a graver threat than Dems. The issue is not one dimensional. Charles has addressed why he is more optimistic about a second Trump term than a first. You can disagree. But yes some of us believe Trump is the lesser of two evils, even wrt earth's resilience (which involves many factors, from integrity of genetic code to avoiding nuclear annihilation, not *solely* the amount of carbon in the atmosphere)
Spot on, Guy. It really is that simple. Just say it forthrightly: "I've decided Trump is the lesser of two evils."
Wait- demonizers aren't allowed to be demonized?? Only dehumanizers who dehumanize dehumanizers
yet, what you and we get if he is elected is all those things you dont like.
???? Voting but not liking what he says ( or 'says on the whole') ??? WTF? I wonder what your criteria for voting for someone are--you don't say.
I explained that I'm voting against the opposition since there are existential issues at stake.The "lesser of two evils" in the comment you responded to.
Thank you for this, Charles. I didn't resonate with your last essay because it was a stark contrast to back when we were talking about Trump as a symptom, as opposed to the root cause. I still don't believe in the potential of their movement, but that's okay — we disagree there.
Personally, part of the reason I am even able to entertain the possibility of peace is because I no longer see this life as the end. I'm not trying to convert anyone, but my belief of life beyond than this body (whether in another physical form or something else) allows me to see life as a training ground and my purpose as some sort of spiritual progression. If I'm not so fixated on this lifetime, it gives me an opportunity to consider and act on what is "right" with less influence from survival instincts.
I'm sure a cynic could write that off as privilege, but that's okay. It gives me an incredible freedom to treat all types of people with more empathy and compassion. That being said, I can humbly admit I'm a work in progress.
We forget that it doesn't take 51% to change the tides. Sometimes the threshold toward change is a lot smaller.
"While not a partisan of the MAGA movement, I see in it the potential, yet to be fulfilled, of becoming a genuinely transformative populist movement."
Charles, this is not just naive, it is dangerous and delusional. The MAGA "movement" is nothing more than a personality cult around Trump, who is exactly the kind of "cluster B personality" you describe.
It would make much more strategic sense to elect Democrats, many of whom are temperamentally sympathetic to the "genuinely transformative populist movement" started by Bernie Sanders in 2016. Of course it would be naive to think that the Democratic establishment is going to cater entirely to that movement, but we have already seen how it's had an impact on the Biden administration in terms of the first real climate legislation, attempts to cancel student debt, and making it possible for Medicare to negotiate drug prices. These are all things that MAGA and Trump are 100% against and will reverse as much as they possibly can on day one.
There is no reason to believe that Trump, who has engaged in duplicity, backstabbing, and con-man behaviour his whole life, will move an inch on anything of significance, but there is plenty of evidence that he will continue to do enormous harm to the environment and the place of vulnerable people in society.
MLK had no illusions about LBJ's foreign policy, but he knew he was better than Goldwater on Civil Rights, so he campaigned for him so that progress could be protected and continue to be made in that domain. He then took his activism against the Vietnam War to the streets and the media. A Democratic administration in 2024 would provide similar conditions for slow, but genuine, progress.
No Charles, you haven't lost your mind. Thank you for your detailed prospective. There are many layers, it is not black or white, but rather gray. I travel full time in the Western US and I meet people from all walks of life. Differences are a natural human expression, but there are also many commonalities. I see a very different picture from what is depicted on television screens. People in general have good hearts, they want to be useful, and they want to be heard. We have to drop the labels--Trumpers, Demoncrats, or what have you and talk to each other! By doing so, it opens the door to a totally different perception and a path to building a world that we so desire.
May peace prevail. May we learn one another’s stories. May words replace wars.💕🙏☀️
Your whole first paragraph is a straw man. You're naive for other reasons, not for wanting peace. Most of the world wants peace. That's why so many peace talks have occurred. Sadly, the reality is that those at war do not want peace right now, so propounding all these theories and suggestions for peace just seems like you gloating about how wonderful you are. It is unfortunately, not realistic or about the suffering others.
Thanks for pointing out the straw man fallacy. I hadn’t spotted it. When I went back to reread the opening paragraph, it suddenly seemed so glaring to me.
Welcome, hiding in plain sight :) Most of his narrative amounts to one long, rambling, multi-colored, faux sophisticated logical fallacy, exemplified here: https://medium.com/p/c3446906a85b
I have, in fact, read this essay in its entirety already.
ah, right, i remember now...and i mentioned a medal ;)
I admire calls for compassion and a non-binary perspective, and your willingness to acknowledge criticism. However, I think that viewing the problems of the world in terms of war (and hatred) misses the deeper tissue of empire, which is a constant effort to maintain power at all costs. The decisions of the American government are not, as far as I can tell, motivated by some ideological commitment to eradicate threats to a way of life, but rather by a willingness to trample roughshod over every living being in order to preserve the hegemony from which they benefit. If this can be done without war, there will be supposed peace, but a peace that is characterised by egregious inequality, as inordinate wealth only comes at the cost of the many. This has been the shape of things for many decades now. The recent increase in militarism and violence comes as a result of global economic and political shifts.
The research output on Hyper-imperialism, spearheaded by Vijay Prashad, rigorously documents these changing currents. It’s a crucial read: https://thetricontinental.org/studies-on-contemporary-dilemmas-4-hyper-imperialism/
We need to strike a balance between specifics and generalities in order to carve a meaningful way through this dark night of humanity.
it's comments like this - of actual substance - which highlight how banal and pious CE's arguments are. He's basically a one-trick pony, going on and on about 'both sides', 'story of separation', (taken from Thomas Berry as Drew Dellinger has shown), 'don't other'... every time it's the same tired lens. You read one essay and you've read them all. Like a stopped clock which tells the right time once a day, he's not always wrong, and does make good points sometimes, but using the argument to make MAGA seem more palatable is a bridge too far for me. Cue someone popping up to tell me '...but the Dems are bad too'. Yes I know, don't bother.
"Banal" and "pious" are the perfect descriptive terms. Yes, I do find it distasteful that he evidently lifted his ideas and terminology from Thomas Berry, whom I'd never heard of before. Maybe he didn't plagiarize directly, it's quite possible this vocabulary and terminology was simply "in the air" in the circles Charles travelled in, and Charles appropriated it for himself. Either way, though, now that the true origin of these phrases and concepts has been revealed, he owes it to his audience and himself to fully acknowledge his enormous debt. That would be the best way to live in the "New Story" and the "Spirit of the Gift."
All of his ideas come from other people. All of them. He exists to keep people who might otherwise stray, within the system that creates the wars. I have wondered before how people cannot see through his lies, but then I read the comment section. The lack of self awareness exhibited is mind boggling. If you cannot see your own deception, you most certainly cannot see other's. I once thought Charles might be an unwitting ally of the system. I now feel that was naive. But who knows, maybe he is imploring us to see people supporting evil as capable of change, because deep down he wishes to change, and he needs people to hold space for him to do that. I would love to see Charles become self aware and a true representative of love, beauty, and creation. So I will continue to believe he is capable of authentic soul growth and honesty. As for politics, I don't engage, because it is not a part of the world I wish to see. Humans are meant to be wild and free, not governed by anyone or anything outside of pure divinity. For in our essence, we are divine.
Another problem with Charles is that he seems oblivious to how enraging his sanctimonious, incessant, patronising preaching is to many people. If his goal is to heal division, he often fails badly: the Conspirituality podcast guys, for example, have stated that it was encountering and being repelled by Charles Eisenstein's writing that gave them the idea for Conspirituality.
I just looked it up, and lo and behold, their very first podcast episode was devoted to Charles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuRdOe6clXU
I disagree with a lot of their opinions, as well as agreeing with a lot: I have a mixed reaction to what they're doing. But make no mistake, it was Charles' own arrogance and hubris that single-handedly launched these guys into a vehement crusade against everything he stands for. If his goal was to heal division, that isn't what he achieved: he really achieved the opposite, widening the gap between alternative medicine practitioners and New Age believers and the mainstream. His own arrogance and condescension have driven these three men in the opposite direction from what Eisenstein wanted.
Without Eisenstein's hubris as trigger, the Conspirituality book and podcast wouldn't exist.
He states his goal is to heal division, but I have never seen him do anything that does that. Just look at the comment section. An extreme amount of divisiveness going on, all in response to his writing, but he does not step in to attempt to "heal the divide", to use his slogan. He is good at writing things that sound nice, that's it. Even if the concepts he talks of were originally written much more eloquently, and honestly, by other people. He is like a speech writer for politicians. It all sounds good, until it doesn't. But the results tell a different story than the one you were originally told.
"He is like a speech writer for politicians." This is literally what he was for RFKJ at $20K/month. He appears to be positioning himself to be this for Trump. Time will tell if he will go down as the Goebbels of our time.
Bingo.
I disagree with you that the media misrepresents Trump. His 3 week repetition of the,Haitian slur is unmistakably who he is. Not a friend to blacks or immigrants.
But I agree that our political system needs transformation.
I just changed my affiliation...back... to Independent.
One must understand that the behaviors of the Haitians is what is accepted in their culture. Yes, they kill and eat animals, some domestic and this was the case in Ohio. It has nothing to do with racism, but a difference in culture.
People in the U.S. hunt, kill and eat animals too. Industries here also raise all sorts of birds and animals in horrific conditions for slaughter and consider it civilized and a huge money making market. I haven’t been able to find anything on Haitian people’s diet that includes pets. It looks a lot like an American diet or a Cuban diet with an emphasis on rice and beans. In any case, I agree that it’s important to stay sensitive to cultural differences. As a longtime vegan, the hypocrisy of those spreading the rumor and the most outraged here is astounding.
If one is hungry and there is something readily available to eat, they will eat it. No judgement here.
Independent here too, left the Dems in 2015 when I was in my 60s, voted Trump in 2020 and will again. I do believe that his remark about the Haitians might be on point. Let's see what investigations show, but now that Soros is buying up all the radio stations and the FCC approved it, we know where not to look for truth.
It's nothing but racist dehumanization, right out of the authoritarian playbook. There's no evidence anyone's pet was eaten. Just hatred. Open your eyes and ears, it's right in front of your face.
Don't eat at a chinese restaurant btw
Thank-you, Charles. Agree word for word.
Charles Eisenstein writes: "I can sympathize with those who think I have lost my mind to believe that Trump is anything but a singular threat to democracy, a fascist strongman riding a wave of white supremacy and bigotry. To anyone immersed in the mainstream information ecosystem, it seems so obvious that that is what he is." ... Actually, many of us were blindsided by the election of Trump in 2016 and it took some of us time to figure out who he was (the media was blindsided as well, and did not know how to deal with all of his lies). I, personally, was not looking for anyone to "demonize" I had a lovely, meaningful and "spiritual life," believing much of what you do and teaching the same.
The pile on of egregious, cruel, hurtful and hateful behavior by Trump was something many of us felt the need to respond to. Women knew who he was by his words, his jeering and sneering. Has "grab by them by the pussy" become our own projection, suddenly?
Charles, Trump does exist as a human, with a history outside of the media "ecosystem" and, as a journalist and concerned human (and a woman, and woman of color, I should add), I took the time to research his past--as many of us have.
His call for the death penalty for innocent Black and brown boys in New York; his suits from the DOJ for refusing to rent to Black people; his father's arrest at a KKK rally; his bilking of contractors; his fraudulent companies; his reading of Hitler's books (and we know he does not read much)--which he kept by his bedside table; and his use of the same Goebbels' inspired propaganda techniques (tell the big lie, repeat it over and over, attack the press and mainstream media) are all factual and on the record ... And there is now a legislative record: family separation and the traumatization of children, including toddlers, from which they may never recover (including still missing children); the Muslim Ban, which separated families; Stephen Miller, Alex Jones, Roger Stone, Paul Manafort. These people all have a long history here in the US of being just the type of sociopath you describe, but somehow these are not "MAGA."
Trump and his followers/backers--Musk and Lindell to name only two--also often engage in dog whistles, which one must research to understand. I did this. They even put up a slightly cloaked, famous white supremacist slogan on the Trump DHS home page (See all sources here: https://medium.com/@amichen/waking-up-to-racism-from-your-house-to-thewhite-house-ebe8045933c1) ... It is a wonder to me you can say these things.
And Iwonder if, if you are now hobnobbing with MAGA leaders, you might notice their humanity (that is a given. I would too), but this does not mean they cannot and do not cause great harm. Just as the Nazis themselves could be warm and wonderful to their family and friends and then tromp off to their jobs at the concentration camps, so can anyone in this circle you have found yourself in.
Be careful who you get close to. Or you yourself can end up committing great harm and becoming directly complicit. ... And, I agree with you on Gaza and Palestine, but you likely know how close Netanyahu is to Kushner and how the GOP has already called for use of nukes in Gaza. In my radio shows interviews, I learned that Harris was the first in the Biden Administration to begin calling for a ceasefire. Do you know about Lina Khan at the FTC? All the amazing anti-trust work she is doing?
Sometimes one must stop a fascist movement. Spiritual wisdom has no rules. Compassion and love and a true spirituality would work to procect innocent people from abuse, women from abuse and nearly all marginalized communities in the US from abuse.
Either you have hid your head away from actual facts and news (including Trump and Vance's recent speeches) so deep that you have no idea what is really going on, or this is all a spiritual whitewash for an alliance that cannot be justified as good for humanity in any possible way.
Thank you for this clearsighted comment
"I’ve never met him, and I disagree with almost everything that comes out of his mouth, both in terms of content and in terms of tone." So why the fuck didn't you pull out when RFK Jr endorsed him? Because of a fantasy of 'potential' in the MAGA movement? If it was 2016 I could just about buy that. Although you yourself didn't at the time. We know who DT is, and almost certainly will continue to be, by now. So what's left? Sorry, we're left with the money and power options. Please just admit you made a mistake and come back to sanity.
Charles doesn't admit to "mistakes." Haven't you ever read him before? Charles is saintly, surpassingly wise, and impervious to error according (implicitly) to himself and (both implicitly and explicitly) according to his groupies, who worship him like the god he evidently believes himself to be.
"Because of a fantasy of 'potential' in the MAGA movement? If it was 2016 I could just about buy that. Although you yourself didn't at the time."
Good point -- Charles seems to be suffering from a bad case of amnesia concerning his own previous publications.
yes, at this point I'm not expecting him to admit a mistake. But it is, I will say, more likely than Trump having any sort of change of heart, bullet in the ear or no.