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Trump’s Undermining of Respect, Unity, and Democracy

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Donald Trump’s tenure as President of the United States was marked by behaviors and rhetoric that many, including members of his own party, consider unpresidential and deeply damaging to our American democracy. His actions were characterized by self-absorption, divisive language, disrespect toward women and minorities, a lack of compassion, and a troubling disregard for truth and democratic norms. These behaviors have not only raised serious concerns among the general public but have also led to criticism from prominent Republicans. Let’s examine how Trump’s words, actions, and overall conduct have undermined the trust, unity, and ethical standards necessary for effective leadership in a healthy democracy. In doing so, we will also assess whether Donald Trump embodies the qualities required of a U.S. president and whether his conduct is incompatible with duties of holding our nation’s highest office. Moreover, we will consider how his conduct has contributed to a divisive and toxic social climate in our country.


Let’s begin with some examples of Trump’s self-absorption. Trump frequently bragged about his accomplishments in ways that many found exaggerated and self-serving. For instance, in 2018, Trump claimed, “I’m a very stable genius.” While comments like these may appear somewhat harmless, they are certainly unusual for a leader. More troubling are comments like the following, which disregard the ‘genius’ of others. In 2019, Trump, despite having no military experience, bragged, “I think I would have been a good general, but who knows?” His grandiose self-assessment continued when he declared, “I know more about ISIS than the generals do, believe me.” These statements reflect a level of egotism that many, including some Republicans, found inappropriate for a leader expected to serve others with dignity and respect. Senator Ben Sasse, a Republican from Nebraska, criticized Trump’s self-centered leadership style, calling it “reckless” and “unbecoming” of a U.S. president.


Trump’s self-centeredness also extended into areas of policy, where he frequently prioritized his personal image over the well-being of the country. For example, during a press conference on March 13, 2020, when asked about the slow rollout of COVID-19 testing, Trump responded, “I don’t take responsibility at all.” Even more troubling, Trump admitted to journalist Bob Woodward in a recorded interview that he knew early on how deadly and serious the COVID-19 virus was, privately affirming, “This is deadly stuff.” However, he chose to downplay the severity of the pandemic to the public, saying, “I wanted to always play it down.” This deliberate decision to withhold critical information had dire consequences, as the lack of accurate information likely contributed to the spread of the virus and resulted in numerous preventable deaths. Republican Senator Susan Collins expressed concern over Trump’s handling of the pandemic, noting that his failure to communicate honestly with the public undermined trust in government. Trump’s White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham, a Republican, later revealed her own disillusionment with his handling of the crisis, describing his approach as dangerous and self-serving.


The flip-side of Trump’s self-congratulatory speech is his frequent public disrespect toward others. Beginning with women, Trump has repeatedly and unrepentantly made pejorative remarks, calling women “slobs,” “bimbos,” “fat,” “ugly,” and “disgusting.” During his 2016 campaign, Trump mockingly questioned Carly Fiorina’s electability by saying, “Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that?” Likewise and strangely, while campaigning in Pennsylvania, Trump declared, “I’m a better-looking person than Kamala.” More disgustingly, Trump disparaged journalist Megyn Kelly with the remark, “You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.” There’s also his infamous remark from 2005, where Trump is recorded saying, “You can do anything. Grab ’em by the pu**y. You can do anything.” Indeed, among the many women, who have claimed that Trump sexually abused them, Elizabeth Jean Carroll, a journalist, sued Trump for defamation and sexual battery. In May 2023, a jury found Trump liable for defamation and sexual abuse and awarded her five 5 million dollars in damages. After further defaming comments from Trump, another jury in January 2024 awarded Carroll an additional 83 million dollars. Judge Kaplan, in fact, found that Trump did rape Carroll as defined “in common modern parlance.” Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski and others have voiced their disapproval of Trump’s conduct toward women, calling his remarks “inappropriate” and “disrespectful.” These facts make it undeniably clear that Trump’s words and behaviors toward women fall well below any reasonable standard of respect and dignity expected of a decent human being and a president. Such demeaning words and behaviors undermine the respect and cohesion necessary within a healthy democracy and substantively contribute to the divisive and toxic social climate in our country.


Trump’s divisive rhetoric on race and ethnicity further underscores these concerns. His characterization of Mexican immigrants as “rapists” during his campaign announcement speech in 2015 set a troubling tone for his presidency. His comments about African Americans have been similarly problematic. Trump referred to African nations as “shithole countries” in 2018, a derogatory remark that sparked widespread condemnation. During the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, Trump called the protestors “thugs” while largely failing to address the legitimate, systemic issues raised by protestors, while also seeking to deploy the military against them. Trump repeatedly attacked prominent African American individuals and groups, often in demeaning terms. For example, Trump claimed that Representative Maxine Waters possesses a “low IQ,” that NFL players who kneeled during the national anthem to protest racial injustice were “sons of bitches,” that Congressman Elijah Cummings was a “brutal bully,” that Baltimore was a “disgusting, rat and rodent-infested mess,” and that Black Lives Matter was “destroying America.” Republican figures such as Senator Tim Scott criticized Trump’s racially insensitive remarks, urging the president to focus on unity rather than division.


Trump’s negative rhetoric frequently targeted Asian Americans and other groups as well, revealing strong xenophobic tendencies. For example, Trump repeatedly referred to COVID-19 as the “China virus” and “Kung Flu,” terms that many criticized as racist and which contributed to a rise of anti-Asian sentiment and hate crimes in the United States. Former Governor Nikki Haley, a Republican, cautioned against the use of such inflammatory language as harmful to the Asian American community. Here Trump’s language reflected a broader pattern of scapegoating and inflaming racial tensions rather than uniting the country. In another example, Trump declared that various congresswomen, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and others, should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime-infested places from which they came.” This phrase, “go back …,” has long been used as a racist jab against people of color in the U.S.? Likewise, when Trump criticized Congresswoman Ilhan Omar at a campaign rally, members of the MAGA movement joined together in a “Send her back!” chant, whose spirit is also reflected in terms of Trump’s rhetoric concerning mass deportations. Additionally, former Republican Senator Jeff Flake criticized Trump’s rhetoric relating to Native Americans, such as Trump calling Senator Elizabeth Warren “Pocahontas,” stating that such comments were inappropriate for a sitting president and harmful to the nation’s discourse. Similarly, when Serge Kovaleski, a disabled reporter, who suffers from arthrogryposis, corrected Trump’s false claim that “thousands of people” in New Jersey had celebrated the September 11 terrorist attacks, Trump cruelly mocked Kovaleski and his condition. In viewing Trump’s conduct toward Kovaleski, former Republic Governor of Ohio, John Kasich said of Trump, “It’s just unacceptable. Totally inappropriate, and it’s just not worthy of the office that he is seeking.”


These types of attitudes and rhetoric also drove a wide range of policies and initiatives whereby, for example, Trump attempted to implement a travel ban against several predominantly Muslim countries. Likewise, Trump’s immigration policies included the inhumane separation of immigrant families, including children being separated from their parents. Former First Lady Laura Bush described this family separation policy as “cruel” and “immoral.” Likewise, Donald Trump’s response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico was delayed and inadequate as compared to responses of similar disasters on the U.S. mainland. Trump’s dismissive remarks, including denying the official death toll, falsely claiming that it was less than 100 when it was certainly thousands had dies, and trivializing the crisis by throwing paper towels to survivors, were seen as lacking empathy and respect. Furthermore, the clear disparities in federal assistance highlighted the issue racial discrimination and fostered a perception that Puerto Ricans were not valued as U.S. citizens. Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida stated that the Trump administration “has been tragically slow in providing the necessary disaster relief to Puerto Rico. Puerto Ricans are American citizens, and they deserve the same level of support and urgency in response as any other U.S. citizens.” In part to justify Trump’s lack of engagement in addressing climate change, including Trump’s withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Climate Accords, Trump engaged in divisive, unpresidential rhetoric. For example, Trump’s made multiple flippant and condescending comments about an environmental activist, Greta Thunberg. For example, to undermine her, Trump ridiculed her saying: “She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!” and “So ridiculous. Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!” Is this how a sensible leader or decent human being responds to a dedicated teenager? Not surprisingly, former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and other Republicans have criticized Trump’s actions on environmental issues, accusing him of not responding to the realities of climate change or the needs of future generations.


Trump’s support, admiration, and relationships with authoritarian leaders like Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un are particularly troubling. For example, during a 2018 summit in Helsinki, Trump publicly sided with Putin over U.S. intelligence agencies, sparking widespread criticism. Trump’s support of Putin was also very inappropriate when, in 2022, he praised Putin’s strategy during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, calling it “genius” and “savvy.” Such remarks provided support and encouragement to Putin’s aggressive, militaristic actions and damaged international efforts to condemn the invasion. Similarly, Trump’s interactions with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who like Putin is responsible for many human rights abuses including the murder of political opponents, show a predisposition to flatter and support a ruthless dictator. Prominent Republicans, including Trump’s former National Security Advisor John Bolton, have voiced concern over Trump’s relationships with authoritarian leaders, warning that they have endangered our national interests and our global leadership position.


Despite Trump’s self-perception as a military genius, his disrespect for military service members and veterans is reprehensible. Consider, for example, Trump disparaging Republican Senator John McCain: “He’s not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.” Additionally, Trump’s White House Chief of Staff, John Kelly confirmed that Trump called captured and injured service members “suckers” and “losers” because “there is nothing in it for them.” These comments show that Trump has an egregious disrespect for those who have sacrificed their lives in service for our country. For this reason, Trump’s Defense Secretary, James Mattis, has strongly criticized Trump’s behavior, emphasizing the importance of respect and honor in leadership. Similarly, in this regard, Trump’s White House Chief of Staff, John Kelly, described Trump as “a person who admires autocrats and murderous dictators. A person that has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law;” and as “a person that has no idea what America stands for and has no idea what America is all about.”


Kelly’s words are certainly relevant in regard to Trump’s role in the January 6th insurrection, where he encouraged and incited a mob of his followers to attack the U.S. Capitol by telling them that the election had been “stolen” and by urging them to “fight like hell.” In response to his part in the January 6th insurrection, Trump was impeached for “incitement of insurrection” by the House of Representatives with a 232 to 197 vote, with 10 Republicans voting to impeach. While not meeting the two-thirds majority to convict, the Senate vote to convict was 57 to 43, with 7 Republicans voting to convict. The risk of such an insurrectionist becoming president is a clear danger to our democracy. No one, much less the president, should place themselves above the well-being of the country, above its laws, and above its democratic institutions. Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger has criticized Trump’s role in the insurrection, stating that the former president “broke the oath” to defend the Constitution and directly supported the violence that ensued.


Honesty is fundamental to presidential leadership. Honesty is required for the proper functioning of a democracy, and it is crucial for the needed trust between leaders and citizens. On November 15, 2020, Trump falsely claimed, “I WON THE ELECTION. VOTER FRAUD ALL OVER THE COUNTRY!” This and many other false claims made by Trump during his presidency have been documented by professional fact-checkers. In one prominent example, on February 27, 2020, Trump falsely claimed of COVID-19, “It’s going to disappear. One day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.” In many other ways, Trump also falsely downplayed the dire seriousness of the epidemic. In another prominent example, in 2017 Trump falsely claimed that Obama had wiretapped Trump Tower. This statement was dismissed as false by the FBI Director at the time, James Comey, a Republican; the Republican Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee at the time, Devin Nunes, and the Senate Intelligence Committee. Trump’s lack of factualness and honesty has eroded our trust in leadership and is incompatible with the integrity expected of a president. Republican Senator Mitt Romney has highlighted the danger of Trump’s repeated falsehoods, warning that they endanger American democracy.


In conclusion, Donald Trump’s words and behaviors as president, along with his ongoing actions and rhetoric, suggest a clear and significant departure from the principles of empathy, respect, and integrity that are required for leadership. His self-absorption, disregard for women, racial rhetoric, hostility toward minorities, troubling relationships with authoritarian leaders, praise for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, lack of compassion, and dishonesty are all traits that demonstrate that Trump is not fit to be president. Importantly, these criticisms and judgments are not limited to Democrats and Independents, they have been made by numerous Republicans who have publicly expressed their concerns about Trump’s unfitness for office. Moreover, these areas of concern are wide ranging, including his incitement of the January 6th insurrection; the preventable deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic; the undue suffering in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria; his troubling foreign relationships, his disregard for truth and democratic norms, and his disrespect toward women, minorities, and the military. For all these reasons, Trump’s ongoing words, actions, and qualities significantly undermine a healthy democracy, contribute to our divisive and toxic social climate, and make Trump unfit to be president.

Heart-led, Wakeful Dancing

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“Where there’s a will there’s a way.” This proverb is inspiring and true, but often our hearts are not awakened and energized. Day in and day out, we’re weighed down by a stressful world that places heavy demands on us. We are just too weary to face the injustice, oppression, waste, pollution, falsehoods, violence, disease, and divisions that afflict our world. Fears and even visions of disaster, of crashes, may just add to our experience of being overwhelmed.

The Dream

Following a tough day in January 2006, deep into the night, I had a mysterious dream. I was in the Earth, in a roomy cave, looking toward a further smaller cave ahead of me. When, emerging from that smaller cave, I saw a very old woman, an ancestral Grandmother.

As soon as her face caught some light, she began presenting the 10 reasons why dancing is so important. At first, I wasn’t listening well. I was more interested in this person who wore colorful but faded clothes, simple and rough, with curious handiworks attached. I assumed she was a farmer and likely a healer as well. She was Native American, very connected to Mother Earth, and there was sacredness all about her.

I don’t specifically recall the wise woman’s first 5 reasons for the importance of dancing, but she expressed her enthusiasm for family, full receptivity, healing, rejoicing, and breakthroughs.

As the woman began her sixth reason for the importance of dancing, her disciplined, orderly approach caught my attention. Right away I started ardently focusing on remembering what she was sharing and repeating her reasons in my mind as best I could. As I share her gift now, I will state her reason for the importance of dancing, share what I can remember about her explanation, and add my reflections.

Touching the Earth

The ancestral Grandmother’s sixth reason is that dancing puts the dancer in touch with the Earth. Much of what she said was over my head, but I was picturing beautifully unrestrained, barefoot people reveling in direct physical contact with the Earth while dancing. Additionally, she was describing how dancing places us into a stimulating, collaborative union with the Earth – a communion.

I’m a thinker, a chess player. I teach computing. I’ve never been much of a dancer. But I’m learning that when we touch the Earth, we become connected with a Reality far more real than the world of our making – real as in what makes us rejoice and cry – real as in the root, core, and heart of our being. Dancing can be a tremendous remedy for hard times.

I am learning too that no one owns the Earth, and that no part of the Earth should be wasted. The Earth can fill all our needs, can provide all that we need to share, and can renew her gifts bounteously for future generations. We are part of her, and she is at the core and heart of our being.

With the Earth, we, every day people, can do astonishing things. By way of illustration, if each person planted and cared for a single fruit tree, then in just 10 years our cities and lands would be filled with many diverse fruits. Or, if each person would learn one skill to generously teach others, we could all become incredibly skilled. Or, if communities, especially larger communities, would commit themselves to preserving the heritage of one of Humanity’s diverse cultures, particularly one of the many endangered cultures of smaller communities, then so many wondrous treasures of Humanity would be saved and shared.

Spinning and Circling

The Cave Grandmother’s seventh reason for the importance of dancing is the health and energy we receive from spinning and circling together. Her further words prompted me to think of having Oneness with the Universe and with all its spinning and circling objects like atoms, swirling waters, hurricanes, moons, planets, stars, galaxies, clusters of galaxies, etc.

When we dance, we become dizzy and lose our self-centeredness. While circling, we admire each other’s beauty, listen, adapt to the many beats around us, stretch ourselves, remove negative labels, support each other, soothe each other’s anxieties and hurts, smile and laugh, dispel loneliness and despair, and enjoy each other’s gifts. While spinning, we sometimes fall, try again, forgive each other’s missteps, turn around, re-approach one another, reaffirm each other, embrace, lift each other high, and break free from all that holds us back. When we dance, we strengthen each other in innumerable ways.

Eagles, Bears, and Dolphins

The vibrant old woman’s eighth reason is that dancing helps us to transform ourselves into various awe-inspiring beings such as Eagles and Bears. While dancing as new Beings, we can change the character and direction of our lives. Likewise we can overcome our individual limitations and step by step grow into ever more splendid persons.

I saw a transformative dance like this in the summer of 2010 not long after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. I was walking on the Dauphin Island beach and spotted some dolphins jumping into the air. Pointing I showed them to a mother and her two children. The children, a boy and a girl of about 4 and 6 years old, were thrilled to see the dolphins, and their mother and I began discussing the oil catastrophe. Soon the two children started wildly running in tight circle around the mother and I. Faster and faster they went. Soon, full of life, they were jumping like dolphins and mimicking the dolphins in other ways as well. Next, they started yelling, “Mommy, Mommy, we have to save the dolphins!” Exuberantly running, spinning, and jumping, over and over again yelling, “Mommy, Mommy, we have to save the dolphins!”

Dancing can awaken our hearts to others, especially to those who are most needy. Like children dancing with Dolphins, our hearts can dance with those who living without reasonable access to water, food, land, and shelter. Our hearts can dance with our sisters and brothers who are suffering from wars. Our hearts can dance with our companions who are dying from pollution of their air, water, and land. Our hearts can dance with our friends who are being expelled from their homelands. In doing so, we can share in the character of Dolphins, Eagles, and Bears – drawing on strengths we never knew we had – transcending our self-boundaries – sharing in the Collective Spirit of the Earth – running, jumping, and yelling over and over again, “Everyone, everyone, let’s join hands, let’s save each other, let’s dance!”

Uniting Past, Present, and Future

Our faithful Grandmother’s ninth reason for the importance of dancing is its ability to unite people and to unite past, present, and future. By this time in the dream, I had a sense that she was a real person from the past coming to teach me things that I needed to know.

Today, we have many reasons to fear for the future, but our days together on this Earth are not coming to a close. As one witness to this, see the 2012 The Mayan Word video on the right.

Our days of division and injustice, however, are ending, one way or another. We will either be united in an Awakening of generosity or we be united in a crash of global suffering. These two choices are already embedded in our lives. The crash is real in all the disheartening aspects of our world and in all those who are suffering greatly now. The Awakening may appear small now but it is budding vigorously. Already our hearts are being moved from within by our growing compassion, and already the seeds of positive, communal endeavors are being sown.

Our Awakening toward generosity is not an Awakening for individuals acting alone. It is even more universal than the current moment. Our ancestors and others too, who have gone before us, are ready and willing to support us with their presence, strength, prayers, and love. As our ancestral Grandmother says, “Dancing unites us! Dancing energizes us!” Many dancers among us are being lifted up by our ancestors now. A wondrous future is reaching out to us too, extending its hand to us, ready to lead us into a new dance.

The invitation is before us all to join hands with our ancestors, to celebrate their hopes and dreams, to reach out as well to our wondrous future, and, with our strengthened, outstretched hands, to offer ourselves in dance-filled service to our present moment generously and gratefully! “Would you like to dance?”

Waking Revolutions

I remember our generous Grandmother’s next words almost exactly, “The tenth reason for the importance of dancing is making siege, a very compelling, non-violent means of creating social change and of winning revolutions!” This tenth reason was so striking that it woke me up. At that moment, as is my habit, I picked up a pencil and paper and recorded the dream as best I could.

Right now I’m thinking of Martin Luther King whirling around with his heart so alive – no longer afraid to die – so happy to have seen the mountaintop – reminding us that it “is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world; it’s nonviolence or nonexistence.” As he and so many others from so many cultures have taught us, “Do not return evil for evil!” As he and so many people have sung: “Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me around” and “We Shall Overcome!”

I’m thinking too of Isaiah, the prophet, who spoke of doom, yes, but more importantly encouraged us to journey together to God’s holy mountain where the “wolf” is the “guest of the lamb,” where “the leopard lies down with the kid goat, and the calf and the young lion browse together, with a little child to guide them.” We are being invited, “Come and let us go up to the Lord’s mountain,” let’s “beat” our “swords into plowshares,” our “spears into pruning hooks,” and let’s “learn war no more.”

I’m thinking too of the satyagrahis (meaning “those insisting on the truth”) led by Mohandas Gandhi during the Salt March of the 1930s. The satyagrahis faced horrific violence, many died, and over 80,000 were imprisoned. They made siege non-violently by marching together to the sea and making salt. In doing so, they revealed the scope of Great Britain’s injustice on the Indian sub-continent. They convinced the world of the rightness, and with great patience and further non-violent efforts gained their freedom from Great Britain.

I’m thinking of all of us too, not as overburdened laborers faced with new tasks, but as dancers waking up in this wondrous moment in history and becoming exuberant, joyful, energized, enthused – even healed – and in the near future gratefully dancing in streets for the collective victory of the whole Human Family!

Thanks be to God!

People dancing on the beach

People dancing on the beach with Matt – see bottom video – Miami, Florida during 2008.

This incredible video about Mayan culture, calendars, and prophesies is representative of people around the world who are currently experiencing terrible crashes while maintaining a strong hope in the future. This video is particularly important to those of us who are living a relatively comfortable life in this world. We may not agree with everything in the video, but it can give us a growing appreciation of those who are suffering much but still living nobly.

A wild poem about real dance:

Jewish-Arab song of vibrant peace:

Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Round Praise Dance:

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech was the last speech delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr. This is a speech about his moment and our moment in history. He gave this speech on April 3, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, where the next day, he was assassinated. In this speech, King calls for reconciliation between all people, communal actions for progress, and nonviolent resistance. He also calls on all of us today to straighten our backs, to follow our ideals, and to not accept injustice. He concludes with a reflection on the possibility of his upcoming death.

Matt, a wondrous dancer:
testing

Prayer is for Holistic Strength

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Prayer is not magic. Praying is strengthening, unifying, and liberating. Praying is life-talk, mission, the dance of revolution, … We cry for new life, nourishment, healing, action … Prayer is not individualistic. It’s not about special favors or any kind of favoritism. Praying is being communally present with the Communal Presence.

Monarch butterfly in backyard

Strengthening moments begin simply … a monarch butterfly photographed in our backyard on Dauphin Island, November 4, 2007.

I like to commune outside, in a space that is engaging and dynamic, filled with birds, trees, sky, various surprises, … “You-Are-Who-Are, Infinite Lover of All, Eternal Creating Spirit!”

Who am I? Where can I turn? Where is my strength, my center? I don’t want to be distracted, addicted, enslaved … I deeply want to Live being part of an Awesome Team! “Kumbaya to us, Your beloved, yearning Children, that we may keenly see and profoundly appreciate the needs, beauty, and gifts of each person and all creation!”

So much potential, but we often seem ensnared, paralyzed, powerless, … and so much of this is our own doing. I have done both good and evil. I am grateful and regretful. But all evil can be, will be, and has been overcome! “Merciful, Grateful Liberator, unshackle us from every hurt, injustice, doubt, anger, dishonesty, conceit, shame, and fear! Save us from every urge to do or return evil!”

My children and George Washington Carver have taught me that everything we need can be found in what we already have! We’ve been wondrously placed on this incredible, astonishing planet that has renewably nourished diverse life for billions of years. Without cost, the thirsty drink and hungry eat: free water, milk, bread, and the richest foods – all without costs (Isaiah)! “Look at the birds of the air, they neither sow nor reap, yet our Heavenly Father feeds them (Jesus)!” So why are we sowing and reaping such destruction upon the Earth! We! Who are we? God’s children? We must find and believe in our Collective Creative Strength! We must become part of the Great Giving! “We-Are-Who-Are, drench us with free and abundant nourishment found throughout creation and through diverse and wondrous persons!”

Much of “how-things-are” in our world, the world of our making, is shaped by injustice, dishonesty, fear, … We continue to hold each other in chains. But a renewing togetherness, generous and resourceful, is growing! “We-Can-Who-Can, rouse us to champion a wholly renewed world where nothing is wasted, every gift is shared, and every need filled!”

We, though wounded, together in all our diversity, together with the Healing Spirit, are the answer! We’re being counted upon! Our communal efforts and our inspired lives are the key to our Everyone’s Heaven and the key to our future and our children’s children’s children’s well-being and survival. “We-Will-Who-Will, heal us through shared words, play, and work so that we will come alive as one family filled with infinite joy, generosity, hope, understanding, creativity, openness, forgiveness, and love! Friend of All, our Imminent Victory, be our All in All, together for the benefit of All! Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!”

Rote prayers, like the You-Are-Who-Are prayer (seen in orange above), are guides, jumping off points for the heart, mind, and actions. I try to start each morning with the Lord’s Prayer (the Lord’s Guide) followed by this You-Are-Who-Are guide. It generally takes 30 minutes to an hour. Often I don’t finish the rote words. What’s important is to join the Presence, be decisively encouraged, see the path to healing, …, and wholeheartedly live it!

Love Roars

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Some of our most vital roots lie on the African savannah. Surviving the day means listening for every noise and watching in every direction. Days and nights are filled with care for our young, mother’s milk, and tender family love. Together we search for food and safety with sweat pouring down our bodies. At times the lions pounce on us, our blood is spilt, and we cry over dear lives lost. At night, stories, new and old, are told invigorating us to live longer and be victorious together. Before resting, we make music, dance, and sing: 

Roaring lion on the African Savannah

Roaring lion on the African savannah, photo credit: Gerald and Buff Corsi, California Academy of Sciences, and the Smithsonian Institution.

“Play and get strong! We need you, we need you, we need you!
Spot the lion and bring us food! Give your life, give your life, give your life!
Run bravely through the grass and rise to the sky! Live in us, live in us, live in us!”

The Lion of Love is no idealist’s dream; it is wild and powerful. Surviving this day means rolling up our sleeves, throwing off our blinders, and abandoning the comfortable life to live with urgency for the benefit of all. Then through experiencing births, milk, sweat, victories, blood, deaths, tears, … we are caught into the organic renewability of the savannah. We embrace the giftedness and irreplaceability of each person.

One way or another, the hungry lion is focused on each of us. Every dominance, dishonesty, conceit, anger, and attachment will be laid waste. The hunt is on. The decisive siege has begun. But the lion is also a tender-hearted shepherd seeking out each needed lost lamb, “I love you, I love you, I love you, even if no one else loves you, I love you!” Love roars and heals!