Author: tonihall805@outlook.com

As a mother and grandparent, I’ve always believed that my most important responsibility is to instill in my children (and by extension my grandchildren) a sense of personal responsibility for their lives. I learned from my mother that nothing worth having is given to us without struggle; the most worthwhile things must be earned with skills, hard work, and determination. I’m forever grateful that despite societal obstacles and numerous family shortcomings, she instilled in me a strong sense of agency and a belief that I could be successful if I was diligent and realistic about my capabilities. She pointed the way, not only with her encouraging words, but by example. She taught me great moral values.

I passed along these values to my children like faith in God, listening to their gut, generosity, getting an education, loyalty, integrity, hard work, asking questions, persistence, and standing up for themselves. Blaming others for their failures or lack of opportunities was never anything to dwell on because there will always be people trying to block our way or drag us down. Sometimes those people were other black folks. It was okay to be disheartened and even angry about it, but it was never okay to give up because of other people. Our job was to get up, dust ourselves off, and start searching for another door or the open window. It’s no wonder that my son’s first big word was, “persevere”. I’m thankful that he learned early that perseverance is such an important character trait.

Today, I am glad to say that my children are all college-educated, married, own homes, and are living what many would call the “American dream”. They live in affluent neighborhoods and continue to pursue their best lives. I’m thankful that they followed the same footsteps my mother laid out for me and that they got the same results. Of course, there were obstacles to maneuver every step of the way (there always is). There were temptations to overcome and sacrifices to make. The path was never straightforward, nor was it easy. Tough lessons were learned when bad choices were made. However, there were a few foundational keys to our progress.

The first was faith in God and the power of prayer. I continue to believe that He would never leave us nor forsake us. I lived by the belief that God would ultimately repay my enemies on my behalf so that I didn’t need to waste my time nor my precious energy on revenge. I was quick to forgive and modeled that for my children. Hate and the desire for retribution only hinders our ability to move forward. Asking for forgiveness and being quick to forgive is a foundational principle I learned and taught my children. It has kept our family and friendship relationships strong, building a loving and dependable support system.

Another foundational key was generosity and kindness. Giving to others in need out of compassion and empathy was something I saw modeled by my mother and confirmed in the Gospels. I adopted this for myself and taught it to my children. Being welcoming of the stranger and keeping company with the lonely is my practice and I’ve seen that behavior in my children. Over the years, I took in foster children, I continue with volunteer work, and I give generously to the needy. It’s great to watch my children do the same in their own ways. My mother used to quote the scripture that says, “To whom much is given, much is required”.

Yet another foundational key is doing your best work and being thorough. Cream rises to the top and I’ve taught my children that they only need to combine their best effort with the necessary time needed to complete the job and they will succeed. Of course, natural talent helps, but consistently hard work will outshine innate talent alone. When you combine natural talent with hard work, you’re going to rise. To avoid bragging, I’ll just say that this is a formula that has worked repeatedly in our experience.

And finally, the last foundational key is financial literacy. I follow the proverb that says, “Only a fool spends everything he makes”. I have been a saver since childhood and investing has multiplied my income to the point of financial independence. My greatest expenditures were in support of the education and wellbeing of myself and my family. For me that meant purchasing a home in a safe neighborhood with excellent schools and paying healthcare and for extracurricular activities. I took the financial advice of Susy Orman early on and passed on her wisdom to my children. I’m thankful that because of those lessons, I don’t have to worry about money, and I have the freedom to do and purchase what I want. I’ve cared more about investing in myself and my children and watching my savings grow than developing a taste for extravagant things. I made my own coffee and carried my own lunches until I retired. I didn’t buy designer clothes or shoes, but I was always dressed for success.

A big part of financial literacy is to be diligent about maintenance of my body and my things. I don’t need a shiny new car every few years. I start by purchasing a reliable car over a fancy car and follow the maintenance schedule. I keep my cell phone until a new one is absolutely necessary and by then it is free. I brush and floss twice a day and get my teeth cleaned every 6 months. I get all my medical check-ups. I keep my house clean and organized. I exercise my body and my brain to retain my independence as long as possible. I grow most of our produce and cook 95% of the time. As the saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”.

The fewer the bills, the better, because a penny saved is truly a penny invested. I’m glad to have an inheritance to pass on to my children because I contributed to my 403b (like a 401k but for non-profits) and I also invested monthly in a good index fund since my 20s. I didn’t try to time the market and that consistent investment paid off. I’ve always kept a good emergency fund and avoided credit card debt, opting instead to collect the rewards.

I share these pieces of my life because I realize there are those among us who are scapegoating immigrants and others for their lack of progress. Immigrants aren’t taking your jobs. Immigrants aren’t taking your housing. If you don’t have a job or adequate housing, look in the mirror. What choices are you making that to prevent you from getting the job training or education you need to get a decent paying job? What personal traits keep you from being consistently employed? The safety nets have been in place, and the doors of opportunity were opened, but did you walk through them? I’ve met some lazy folks and some folks with attitude problems that answer that question. So, unless you are physically or mentally unwell, you should only point a finger at yourself for your lack of progress.

It has not mattered to me personally whether the Democrats or the Republicans were in power until now. And that’s only because white nationalists have overtaken the Republican Party and they have an agenda to end the social safety net, to deport immigrants of color, and to close the doors of opportunity to women and people of color. They want to make America white again and to re-establish a racial hierarchy with white people on top. Stop listening to anyone who tells you that someone else is holding you down or stealing what is yours. Those people covet your support for their ethnic cleansing. Believe me, you will not be better off when the immigrants are gone because you are still you and they will see to it that you can’t get ahead of them.

Blaming others is a fool’s errand and doesn’t lead to anything but heartache and pain for everyone involved, both the scapegoater and the scapegoated. It’s time to take personal responsibility for ourselves and our progress. In this country, if we are physically and mentally healthy, we can make lifestyle choices that will lead to our personal prosperity. It’s time more people take personal responsibility for themselves and stop jumping on the scapegoat wagon.

I’ve spent nearly my entire life living among and working with immigrants and foreign nationals. Even though we lived in a black neighborhood, my pre-school and early elementary years through 3rd grade were spent at a primarily Latino school near my mother’s work. There were five black kids at the school: me, my two older brothers, and Tommy and Sheila. I loved being there. I loved the food, the language, the culture, the teachers, and my many friends. School was easy and fun for me. We moved and I spent 4th – 6th grade among the children of Asian immigrants, primarily Japanese and Korean. There too, I had a great time, and it was there that I developed an appreciation for academic rigor and Asian foods. I saw how differently Asian households were run and developed an appreciation for the emphasis placed on organization and learning. Once again, there were only a few black kids at the school, but it didn’t matter; I was having a great time with my new Asian friends.

I spent my first year of middle school with those Asian friends among huge numbers of Jewish students. The academic rigor remained high along with high expectations and I liked it. And then we moved again. I spent the rest of middle school with kids who looked like me, black. That was by choice. For once, I wanted to know what it was like to not be the minority in a school setting. What I learned was that black school culture was fun-loving, creative, athletic, often disorderly, but also not very academically inclined. I could sense the low expectations. Consequently, I was so far ahead academically that they placed me in honors courses with the only white students in the school and several other highly motivated black students.

I excelled among my peers, and it was at that school that I was tested and accepted into the “gifted” program along with two of my black classmates. That official designation actually helped shape my high school career at a school where I was once again one of only a few blacks, but this time among a sea of white students. I was only allowed to enroll in honors and AP courses because I was a state identified “gifted” student, a fact my mother had to point out to them. None of my black friends were in any of my classes. Still, I had a great time at the school and excelled socially, athletically, and academically. Upon graduation I was voted “Best Personality” and “Most Outgoing” along with being the valedictorian. I often say that I am an introvert, but I am not shy. I easily welcome people from a variety of cultural backgrounds because I grew up in such diverse settings. I’ve learned that “people” are “people”, some worthy of friendship and some not. But my assessment of friendship status is never dependent on skin color nor nationality. Character matters most. The proximity to immigrant communities helped me view all people as human beings deserving of dignity and respect, not threats nor enemies unless their individual character proved otherwise. This grace has never been extended to black people.

I know the U.S. has given black skin a bad reputation and I have had to overcome that reputation many times. I’m still doing it. I like to think that my presence among immigrants and people from other ethnic groups forces them to question their prejudice against black people. During my academic education, I would learn about Allport’s Intergroup Contact Theory as an effective way to reduce prejudice. And I ran with it!

My curiosity about other people and cultures only grew throughout the years. I studied abroad twice. I traveled extensively to other countries. I was determined to break down prejudices by promoting cross-cultural interactions among people, particularly students who would one day run the world. I earned a master’s degree and then a doctorate in education because I loved bringing domestic students together with students from all over the world for learning, collaborations, leadership training, and mutual understanding. I worked in International Admissions, Study Abroad, Multicultural Programs, as an adjunct professor, as Chief Diversity Officer and director of International Student Services for the final years of my career. It was purposeful and fulfilling work.

It was through my career working with U.S. immigration and foreign nationals (both documented and undocumented) that I learned first-hand how broken and contradictory our immigration system really is. For many years, the system has been rigged to provide employers with cheap, exploitable labor to keep consumer prices low. By design, our country has allowed many more than the inadequate number of legal migrants to enter the country undocumented to fill the unskilled, labor-intense jobs that employers need filled. I’ve found it ridiculous how U.S. Consulars issue visas only to students whom they believe will return to their home country after graduation, but then our government offers ways to keep them here to take advantage of their family wealth or the knowledge and expertise they gained in our universities, forging a predictable path from degree to citizenship. I’ve had rich students pay their way to citizenship while others take the post-graduation work visa path. Many of my former international students are now U.S. citizens raising their own families here in the U.S. Every now and then, I’ve felt pangs of guilt for the wealth and brain drain we’ve inflicted on developing nations by keeping them here. Some of the richest, smartest and most talented students could have contributed much to the development of their home countries if we didn’t entice them to remain here.

Of course, the U.S. would not be the economic and innovative powerhouse it has become had it not been for the wealth, brains, innovation, work ethic, and contributions of immigrants. Generally speaking, they work hard, certainly harder than U.S. workers and immigrant students are more likely to major in the STEM fields that U.S. students shy away from. They pay taxes. They commit fewer crimes than Americans. And they are profoundly motivated to get ahead. They are eager to expand our cultural appreciation of different foods, traditions, and mindsets. This country was built by and is enriched by immigrants. So, I refuse to scapegoat them as responsible for people being unemployed, homeless, or high community crime rates. It was a lie that Haitians were eating the cats and dogs. It was a lie that countries were sending rapists and murderers and releasing insane folks into our communities. It was a lie that immigrants are taking away our jobs. Anyone who buys into Trump’s scapegoating of immigrants hasn’t spent much time with them.

The agenda of this current administration is to make America whiter and to promote white male dominance in all aspects of society even if they lack the competence, compassion, and the common sense to improve things. We are literally watching the destruction of science, history, social norms, and the Constitution itself. The dumbing down of America is here.

To accomplish the white “Christian” nationalist agenda, they are reversing the brain drain, encouraging smart, innovative and hard-working immigrants of color to leave the country or be deported. They are pushing our leading-edge scientists and scholars into the arms of other nations. They have made it excessively difficult, if not impossible for foreign students and scholars from India, China, Japan, Latin and Africa countries to come here. There is basically an immigration sign at our border that reads: Whites only. It’s no surprise that nearly 70,000 white South Africans have applied to enter the U.S. as “refugees” based on Trump’s invitation to alleviate a non-existent persecution problem. However, the whites they hope to attract in large numbers from European countries aren’t coming, even as tourists. They see the absurdity of white supremacy, female oppression, LGBTQ persecution, and anti-science platforms plaguing the U.S. and want no part of it. The U.S. is becoming the laughingstock of the developed world. Anyone who doubts this is in denial.

To be clear, without the positive energy, brain power, and work ethic immigrants provide, I predict a swift and certain decline in the position of the U.S. in the world. It’s already happening. We will be viewed as no different from North Korea because of our mad leader and possession of nukes, and no different from Afghanistan because of our repressive religious laws and oppression of women and LGBTQ people. And we will be just as isolated and considered just as backward and undeserving of respect as both of those countries.

At this moment in time, in these United States, I am glad that I only have grandsons. I am concerned that they are men of color, but at least their hopes, dreams, and ambitions are not in immediate danger of being snuffed out simply because they are female. I recognize that some envision a future that also diminishes my grandson’s access to opportunities based on their skin color. And a few evil white men even dream of a future that imprisons, enslaves, or deports men and women of color. But today, young females, of all colors, are under threat.

The public rhetoric of some influential men fuels the sexism that had been held at bay by the rise of feminism. Since gaining the right to vote in 1920 to the ability to make birth control decisions and to open our own checking accounts in the 1970s, women have proven that our mental and emotional acuity as well as our personal ambitions often rival that of men. Our obvious biological differences manifested in less physical strength and our ability to give birth had become secondary considerations because it doesn’t take brute strength to become a doctor, lawyer, scientist, businesswoman, journalist, astronaut, professor, or politician. Once the doors opened to us beyond that of lower paid secretary, teacher and nurse, many of us gladly stepped through those doors.

At first, newly “liberated” women like me flooded the universities in search of an academic degree and a “Mrs.” We didn’t realize it, but we were forging new pathways for our daughters that included big dreams, independence and sometimes a struggle with fertility issues. Our careers featured sporadic employment, motherhood guilt, double duty, divided attention and often divorce. Our daughters witnessed our struggle, and they didn’t graduate from college with future husbands, but with future careers. It made perfect sense to them to delay marriage and especially motherhood. However, no one told them that the female reproductive biology didn’t get the memo about the consequences of delaying motherhood, and so the fertility industry gained a new level of prominence. I’m proud that this generation of women boldly pushes new boundaries, entering the remaining male-dominated careers. It’s no longer shocking to see a female airline pilot, although some still feel a bit of unease. I don’t.

Not surprisingly, there were always more physical and more left-brained females among us. We labeled them “Tom Boys”. But now they have the opportunity to pursue careers in sports, engineering, construction, policing, and the military. It’s true that they continue to fight for equity in pay and promotion. Unlike the women who preceded them, they were fed a steady narrative of competence and empowerment, a completely different narrative from the sexism I grew up with.

I grew up hearing sexism from the pulpit, but not my mother. There is a theology that preaches the superiority of men and their God-given authority over women. A God-fearing woman will submit to her husband. She will keep her opinions to herself if different from her husband’s. She won’t exercise her will above that of the men in her life. That teaching coupled with the noticeable lack of women working as high powered, high paying professionals and the palpable fear of becoming a spinster at age 26 was the reality I grew up with. This was a particular brand of sexism that diminished the ambitions and downplayed the intelligence of women, and I wasn’t having it. I was smart and ambitious and didn’t want to dim my light and feign inferiority for the rest of my life. At age 15, I confided in my eldest brother that if this was what was expected, I wasn’t going to get married. Not realizing he was a feminist, having also been raised by my mother, I listened when he told me that not all men needed to dominate women. And he was right. Thankfully, I didn’t marry sexist men, but feminist men who believed in equality and partnership.

But society in those days worked hard to solidify limited female roles in the minds of girls and boys through television shows like, “Father Knows Best”, “Leave it to Beaver”, “I love Lucy”, and “The Brady Bunch”. The masses were groomed to accept that women were servants to their husbands, less intelligent, and devoted mothers to their children. But Hollywood slowly broke the old mold when new television role models like Mary Tyler Moore, Julia, and Murphy Brown hit the television screen. These were educated single career women. Mary Tyler Moore was a “spinster”, Julia was a black single mother, and Murphy Brown had the audacity to get pregnant and choose to raise the baby on her own. Women were making progress.

So much progress that we almost elected a female president. Twice. We finally had a female vice president and that worked out well. Both female presidential candidates were clearly smarter, more experienced, and more articulate than Donald Trump. However, both the 2016 and the 2024 elections proved too much for some very insecure men (and women). They chose the less qualified male. However, many question whether Kamala Harris really lost. I don’t know. Some, including the current president, say that the election was rigged in favor of the white male, despite his criminality, incompetence, and many moral failings. I will say that the sexist religious right had an agenda, and they had the tech bros on their side. So maybe the 2024 election was rigged.

In the wake of their “win”, emboldened sexist men have become increasingly vocal about their desire to roll back the independence and progress of women. The new vice president, JD Vance, has made a number of remarks that fuel the fire of a re-emerging sexism that is more sinister than ever because despite recognizing the intelligence, ambitions, and actual potential of women to lead, they want to hinder us. They see young men falling behind and they fear increasing male impotence, loneliness, and lost ambition. These are real issues that must be addressed. It’s not helpful that AI will replace human labor, leaving undereducated men behind. There is a real fear that women might supplant men as the dominate gender. So, they are taking decisive actions to suppress and oppress women.

Beyond the rhetoric, they started by taking away the reproductive rights of young women because women tied to motherhood have less time to devote to a job or seeking power and influence in the public sphere. Not only are they trying their hardest to end abortion rights, but the right to contraception as well. They ended DEI programs that expanded education and career opportunities for women. They want those doors closed especially since women are now more highly educated than men. There is a movement among the religious right to lower the age of consent, to make young girls vulnerable to sexual assault and forced marriage. And worse, they are trying to end “no fault” divorce to trap women in unhappy marriages.

The reality is that the religious right is effectively trying to imprison women in homes with husbands standing guard. They are working to erase the accomplishments of women from the history books and the public sphere. They know that girls can’t aspire to become what they can’t see as a possibility. And now there is a movement to prevent women from voting. It is no surprise that they are elevating the voices of traditional wives to say that being a submissive wife and mother is the way things should be.

All these things are happening in real time. The religious right is no different than the Taliban in their thinking when it comes to the role of women on the earth. They see us as second-class citizens, underserving of anything more than a basic education and completely dependent on men for our welfare. They know we aren’t stupid, nor incapable, but they need us to pretend to be to feed their egos and advance their ambitions without competition from us. They are willing to use brute force and their political power to co-opt the ambition of our daughters and granddaughters. They will utilize coercion, persuasion, public ridicule, and legislation if necessary.

However, we can’t allow them to do this. Harming women to help men is not the answer. We should know by now that cutting off half the brain power in a society doesn’t encourage innovation and slows down problem solving, stifling human progress. We must recognize their misguided agenda and reject it while we can by voting for pro-female equity candidates.

On an individual level, I would advise young women to keep their passports updated. I would advise marriage to a true feminist. And if getting married, I’d advise against changing her last name. I’d advise young women to secure both a trade and an education before having children. I’d advise against waiting until 35 to have children. And finally, I would advise young women against setting up residence in a red state. The blue states are safer with regards to protecting the health and civil liberties of young women.

I don’t believe it’s possible to take this entire generation of young women back to the 1950s. The human spirit is far too strong to remain oppressed for extended periods of time. So, even if they briefly intimidate or brainwash young women into submission with their oppressive laws and actions, women will eventually rise up demanding liberation again.

On Friday, my best friend’s husband died at the age of 82 after 54 years of marriage. He had been hospitalized multiple times, was bedridden, was in excruciating pain and riddled with a persistent infection after a sixth back surgery went wrong. He was not on good terms with my friend nor his sons because he refused to stop spending his days and thousands of dollars on for-pay online chat rooms, most likely powered by AI. The day of his death, bedridden and on pain killers, he had spent hours chatting online. His son described his father as “lonely” to the police and coroner who came to take his body from the home.

I sat with my friend for a while afterwards just to be there with her. Understandably, her emotions were all over the place. She was relieved that his suffering was over, regretful that he had alienated his family and friends with his online chats, secure in the devoted care she had provided him, but also guilty that she remained angry by his emotional and financial betrayal over the last three years. He had in fact stopped communicating with old friends as well as his own family, opting instead to spend his time with his online chat companions. Even my husband was disappointed with his failure to return calls.

Not surprisingly, my friend’s hurt runs deep and I hope she finds a way to forgive him for falling prey to a false connection with AI generated companions specifically programmed to entrap him for financial profit. I don’t believe he ever intended to abandon her, his sons, nor the other people in his life. But he did. That online chat was very effective at meeting an important aspect of his need for connection. He defended his time online by saying that the young women (bots) understood him and really cared about him. Even worse, every attempt to reason with him and even canceling his credit cards to stop the financial bleeding eventually failed. She and her sons were rightfully offended by his obstinance. However, on the occasions when he wanted to connect with my friend and his sons, they were too pissed off to talk to him. It became a sad cycle of mutual rejection that they could not escape. In fact, the day he died, his son had refused to commit to taking him to a car show they had enjoyed together each October.

Anthropologists, sociologists, and psychologists all agree that humans are social beings. At our core, we need to feel connected to others. When we lack connection to others, we feel lonely. And loneliness has been connected to poor mental and physical health. Whether an introvert (like me) or an extrovert (like my eldest daughter), the frequency and kind of connection required may differ. For example, I value solitude for most of the day every day. My husband and I enjoy a few joint projects, conversations, and eating together, but we mostly do our own things. I’m grateful for his companionship. I’m fulfilled by the steady flow of texts, phone calls, FaceTime, and occasional visits with my children and grandchildren. I enjoy talking to my aunts on the phone on occasion as well. Each day, I need a few minutes to connect with others. I enjoy going to the senior center every Monday for 90 minutes to crochet or knit in a small group. I enjoy two hours of Bocce Ball on Friday mornings with other seniors. I enjoy going to lunch on rotation with five different friends throughout the month. And I enjoy the short greetings with my fellow early morning walkers in the neighborhood. I think I usually spend about 20 out of 24 hours in solitude and I’m satisfied. Any more than that and I can’t wait to be alone with my thoughts and my own pursuits.

My daughter on the other hand, is almost always connected with people whether on the phone, in Zoom meetings, or in person. She loves being with others and can’t imagine spending a holiday without family and friends. Being with people energizes her. She processes ideas by talking to others. Thankfully, she has a husband who listens. She has more associates and lunch dates than anyone I know, but very few really close friends. And she’s okay with that until no one is around and then she feels lonely. Thankfully, she has developed the interpersonal skills to ensure that there is always someone to connect with. She the kind of person who connects with the restaurant server, the grocery store clerk, the doorman, and the random person standing in line with her.

But so many people either lack those interpersonal skills or the means to use them. My friend’s husband was once the life of the party when he was mobile. He had great work relationships. We enjoyed his company. He golfed with my husband and many others, restored cars with his sons and friends and went to car shows. He was personable and had a good relationship with his family. It wasn’t until his mobility was compromised by an accident, the passing of close friends, and then his back surgeries that he turned to the computer to pass time and soon found the chat rooms. He was lured in and became obsessed. My friend admits that he had grown tired of her nagging him to do his physical therapy exercises to improve his mobility. The online chatrooms had become a place of refuge.

In my opinion, these for-profit AI generated companions in online chatrooms are not a good development for human relationships. I recognize that they may be a last resort for the truly alone individual. But what about those who are only temporarily vulnerable to feeling alone? It may seem like these chatrooms are fulfilling a need for connection, but are they really mitigating actual loneliness? I’m not sure they are if they are become a substitute for actual human interactions. Her husband was certainly fooled into believing they were a great substitute. The companions he found there were easygoing: always affirming, and never critical. They stroked his ego and made him feel valued in a way others fail to do. But it’s only an illusion, an AI agent programmed to say what is needed to consume your time and money.

My fear is that too many vulnerable people, both young and old, are falling prey to the programs designed to steal them away from developing and maintaining actual human connections. My friend’s story should be a wake-up call to all of us to pay attention to what we and our children and young people are doing online. We should be pushing our youth out the door in favor of human interactions at school, at work, on the playground, at parties, in sports, with family, and in other social groups. It takes practice to develop interpersonal skills, but it is well worth it. Whether an introvert like me or an extrovert or someplace in-between, there is no good substitute for actual human connection if we want to enjoy good mental, physical, and financial health. An AI program is not the answer to loneliness for most people. I used to tell my children that to have a friend, you must first be a friend. Be the one to reach out to others and you will never lack connection. Human connection begins with a smile and a “hello, my name is….”.

We should be aware that AI generated social interaction programs are seeking those who lack the ability, the will, or the courage to forge actual human connection. Be aware that these programs are powerful and that they are designed to suck people in. If engaged, they will manipulate our egos to rob us of our time and money and they will replace our real-life relationships if we are not careful.

Personally, I’ll just steer clear of them and encourage my family and friends to do the same. But perhaps the best thing I can do to help prevent its expansion is to phone a friend.

I get an annual mammogram. For the past two appointments, I forked over an extra $40 to have my mammogram read by an AI agent in addition to the radiologist. All indications are that the AI can spot problems earlier and more accurately than a human. At my physical exam, my doctor asked me why I paid for the AI enhancement when a radiologist was already assigned to read my mammogram. I responded that I wanted an extra pair of eyes for something so consequential. He seemed concerned that AI might one day replace a human being. And so was I. But I’m also aware that the AI is less fallible than the human reading my mammogram. The AI has accumulated much more knowledge than the radiologist and isn’t subject to fatigue, distractions or even bias that could cause it to miss something. I think that was the right decision on my part even if AI eventually eliminates the job of human radiologists who read mammograms. My objective is to get the best possible healthcare that I can afford.

But many other jobs are also in danger because of AI. My son is seeing AI take over jobs in his field of medical recruiting because AI can read resumes and schedule interviews. AI is capable of providing more effective personalized education for children. My husband enjoys listening to AI generated stories on YouTube almost every day. I’ve heard AI generated songs using the voices of famous singers. My son and my daughter use AI at work to write emails, develop reports, create training manuals, and to make presentations and videos. My kids have even created AI generated coloring books, children’s videos, and one daughter had AI illustrate a children’s story she wrote. Just this week, my son used AI to help him write the toast he delivered at his friend’s wedding. Admittedly, I was impressed.

But as we discovered when the Secretary of Health and Human Services, RFJ, Jr. provided a consequential medical report written by AI, it was riddled with completely fabricated references to studies that had never been done and experts who either didn’t exist or didn’t conduct studies that AI attributed to them. The creators of AI call this kind of problem which plagues the industry “hallucinations”, and they have yet to figure out how to correct the problem because they don’t quite understand how AI actually works.

Another problem was revealed when AI companions, designed to be affirming, endorsed suicide to some of its human companions. That’s a problem that also needs immediate fixing. If any other product had these disturbing and possibly fatal flaws, it would be taken off the market without hesitation, but not AI. There is simply too much money and too much power at stake.

For example, AI can write software in minutes, saving individuals, businesses and nations-states millions of dollars and the months it takes for humans to produce the same outcome. Of course, this is why so many software coders and engineers have lost their jobs or are in danger of losing them. AI even makes computer games. And I wonder how many people like me play backgammon against AI on a regular basis. Others enjoy playing chest against AI. AI has beat the best human chest players and won at Jeopardy with ease. And AI is now playing the role of companion and giving life advice to many.

We already use AI on a daily basis without even realizing it. I ask Siri questions all day long and have her set timers, make calls, and turn off applications for me. AI answers the calls for most businesses and provides basic information. AI helps airline pilots fly and land planes. It provides us with driving navigation and other assistance if we don’t yet trust it to do the actual driving, which it is capable of. For years, we have seen AI at work with robots and drones and the automation in factories that displaced so many workers. The military employs robots in combat, logistics, and reconnaissance operations. So, none of us should be surprised that Elon Musk is creating an army of robots. The application of AI is now on steroids.

Some are predicting the end of work and the need for universal basic income to keep the economy running. The optimistic say this will free us to better enjoy our lives. Others say it will leave us devoid of purpose and miserable. The truly skeptical, including the grandfather of AI himself, Geoffrey Hinton, are sounding the alarm about the dark side of AI and its capacity to do harm if not regulated and programed against hurting humans.

War under AI is different and no one has taken the steps needed to prevent it from one day declaring war on us. Already, we see drones being used, not only for surveillance, but to attack people and to drop bombs. These kinds of attacks can be used anywhere and on anyone. Individuals have reported being followed by drones. Others have their privacy invaded on a regular basis by drones flying over their backyards or looking through their windows. What if a drone was charged with assassination? Or worse, what if AI one day decided that humans should be eliminated? Because they reason and draw conclusions and now build software, we have given them the means to end lives, and they might find their own motive. We literally lack the means to shut them down. Think of Hal in the movie, “2001 Space Odyssey”.

And of course, the problem of deep fakes is upon us. AI can mimic the voice and image of anyone and place them in a location and make them say or do anything. On the positive side, my daughter instructed AI to use her likeness and voice to create an orientation video for her new employees. While that was a great tool to save time and money in a business, it is also scary when it comes to our criminal justice system or the political sphere. Eventually, we won’t be able to tell whether a video is real or fake. Imagine how difficult it will be to prosecute a person for a crime or to prove one’s innocence. Or imagine how difficult it will be for political candidates to establish their own platforms when others can easily contradict their claims using a deep fake video.

Already, the scams using the voice and image of family members or celebrities are everywhere. Real people are losing their life savings to these scams. My husband and I no longer respond to text messages or phone calls without verifying them with a call to the actual person or company supposedly behind the text message or email. The people behind these deep fake scams know the people and the companies we interact with and are getting better and better at imitating them.

Some are saying that the 2024 election was stolen using software designed by Elon Musk. I don’t know whether or not it is true. Of course, I wouldn’t be surprised. And I do know that Trump claimed on several occasions before the election that he already had enough votes to win and afterwards he claimed that the election was rigged in his favor and that in coming elections we won’t even need to vote. I notice that no media outlet is commenting on his statements nor acknowledging the inconsistencies in voting at certain locations and they are outright ignoring the whistleblowers trying to speak out.

Whatever the final outcome with regard to the 2024 election, the time is now to seriously think about AI and its positive uses and possible dangers. We will need regulations to put up specific guardrails to protect humanity. However, AI lobbyists are pushing Republican lawmakers to prevent states from passing AI regulations for 10 years. That’s not just shortsighted, but dangerous. Yes, we are in a race with China, but we must also consider safety.

So, as a citizen, let’s push for regulations. We should also start thinking about the kinds of jobs that will remain after AI sucks up all the manufacturing, driving, and information driven jobs. I’ve heard people say that we will still need plumbers for some time to come. I suppose that we’ll still need athletes, coaches, pastors, cooks, theater actors, hairstylists, live concert performers, doctors and nurses, bartenders, and manicurists. Being social beings, we’ll continue to crave the human interactions that is currently satisfied at work, church, clubs, and school. Perhaps any job where human warmth and touch are preferable to robots might be safe. And I suppose any of the creative arts will become much more valuable when they are produced by actual humans and labeled as such.

I hear there are people considering lives devoid of technology as a lifestyle choice. Some are moving to places to live “off the grid”. Others might start whole communities, much like the Amish, leaving the newest technology behind. It is clear that the future is upon us, and that each of us needs to consider how we will thrive if not simply survive in it.

At the core of our fight to defend decency and democracy is the egoism of a few wealthy white men. Egoism is the morality that places self-interest at the center of everything. These men believe that so long as they are doing what is in their own best interest, then they are doing what is morally right even if it is illegal or detrimental to others. They see themselves as above man-made laws and they have no regard for the wellbeing of others if it conflicts with what feeds, serves, and pleasures them. They thrive on the exploitation of the defenseless, including the earth, animals, natural resources, and people. They believe they deserve placement above everything and everyone else.

I’m convinced that the mentality of humanity is partially to blame for their corrupt mindset. There has always been a part of the human psyche that recognizes, admires, fears, and gives deference to the strongest among us. Humans are often described as sheep in need of leadership. Perhaps the reasons are a combination of laziness or acknowledgment of our own shortcomings. Followers don’t have to think nor take personal responsibility when someone else is calling the shots. So, we have become a society that continually gives deferential treatment to others because of their wealth, celebrity, or position of power. We assume that they deserve to be above us and so we push them to “influence” us. This kind of treatment is dangerously intoxicating and corrupting to those on the receiving end of it.

Over time, this treatment supersizes egos and removes the capacity to empathize while raising the expectation of unfettered loyalty and compliance with their every demand. These egomaniacs, like Trump, begin to view themselves as inherently superior and rightfully deserving of deferential treatment. So, it only follows that they come to view any challenge to their actions as a threat to be tamed if not eliminated. In fact, much of this country was built on this slave-master mentality.

In MAGA we can clearly see how ordinary people have taken this human tendency toward leadership to a whole new level in the United States. They have placed Trump on a pedestal as if he were a “god” or at least God’s chosen one. Based on his wealth, celebrity, and power, they expect him to be stronger than us, smarter than us, and capable of benevolent leadership. Unfortunately for them, the Founders of our country knew that there was no such thing as a human embodiment of purely benevolent leadership, and they sought to create a government “by and for” the people. They started the Revolutionary War to achieve independence from the rulership of a king. The Founders explicitly created three co-equal branches of government to prevent another dictatorship. They understood that absolute power, corrupts absolutely. And yet, they could not foresee that when an egomaniac who is prone to acts of extortion and exploitation and is excused for his bad behavior throughout his entire life is elected president of the United States, the system of checks and balances would begin to collapse. They did not foresee this time of cowardice when the extort-able are extorted. The exploitable are exploited. And the excuse makers keep making their excuses.

This is where we find ourselves. We have a president who has exploited women, contractors, workers, consumers, the courts, the media, and banks for his selfish gain throughout his entire life. He dangles public humiliation, lawsuits, funding, pardons, mergers, and political ruin to extort others to either do his bidding or to silence his detractors. His list of victims grows before our eyes as lawmakers, judges, law firms, media outlets, universities, and others in positions of influence bow before him to either advance their own positions or protect themselves from his cult of loyal followers who believe he is a benevolent leader sent by God to “Make America Great Again”.

The question is whether it will last. Personally, I hope not. Besides being unconstitutional, there is nothing benevolent about Trump nor his intentions. And his leadership has always lacked competence, foresight, and integrity. His oversized ego has led him to behave in ways most decent human beings abhor. And yet, despite all the evidence, his followers excuse his poor behavior as either fake or as a sign of superhuman strength. They like him because he fuels their daydream of a return to a simpler time of white superiority, male domination and prosperity at the expense of women, black and brown people.

I’m hopeful that enough people will finally realize how rotten to the core he is and how his actions are now and have always been immoral. It’s beginning to look like MAGA are having a difficult time squaring pedophilia with benevolent leadership. The cognitive dissonance among his supporters is starting to show. They demanded to see the Epstein Files when they thought it would discredit liberals, but now they dread being confronted by Trump’s involvement with Epstein and the tales of the young women who implicate him. Perhaps the Epstein Files and the testimonies of his young female victims will finally disrupt MAGA loyalty to Trump. I certainly hope so because nothing else has.

The reality is that this country faces a less prosperous future for our children and grandchildren if the Constitution crumbles under the weight of one man’s ego and continued cowardice. So, unless we wake up soon and find a way to stop him, our Constitution, the rule of law and common decency will crumble.

On Friday, my husband and I drove to Ventura to shop at our favorite garden center. On the way, we noticed the missing farm laborers in the many fields we passed, signaling a coming food crisis. Scarcity will lead to a continued rise in food prices. Tariffs will exasperate the situation. What’s heading our way, will not be pleasant for most Americans. But beyond food becoming scarcer and more expensive, we realized that we’ll be expected to pay for other needs and services our federal tax dollars once covered.

The radio was tuned in to KCLU, a public radio station that we rely on for local news, public interest stories, and information. They do a great job reporting during wildfires or other situations that arise in our area. The general manager, a former colleague, came on and informed the listeners that the station would be losing $300,000 in federal funding as part of the government’s cuts to NPR and PBS. She was relying on us, the general public, to increase our donations to fully cover the shortfall so that she didn’t have to lay people off and so that they could continue to deliver the news.

I was livid. KCLU serves a wealthy community, so I know it will survive. But what of rural and poor areas? Many people will lose access to public radio that serves to provide them with important news and information, especially during disasters. The shortsighted decision-making of this president and the Republican led Congress is destroying our country and using our tax dollars to do it. They are funding unnecessary tax breaks for the wealthy, stupid military parades, excessive golf trips for the president, ruthless ICE agents, marines and national guards recking havoc in our streets, building concentration camps, and defending lawsuits against unconstitutional executive orders.

As Congress begins to defund essentials like food stamps for the poor, scientific and medical research, national parks, foreign aid, healthcare, disaster relief, education, infrastructure, and public broadcasting, who is expected to foot the bill for these essentials? Or do we simply allow people to starve to death, to die of treatable and preventable illnesses, to remain unhoused after a natural disaster, to drive on unsafe highways, to be forced out of nursing homes, to lack access to clean air and water, and to forego adequate education?

Perhaps they believe individual states will foot the bills for the needs of their population. Perhaps they believe churches will feed, clothe, and house the impoverished. Perhaps they believe families or friends will care former nursing home patients. Perhaps they believe individuals or corporations will donate to research they care about. Perhaps they believe the public will pay through donations, not taxes, for public broadcasting. Perhaps they believe on the rich deserve to educate their children. Perhaps they believe clean water and clean air are a privilege and not a right. Perhaps they think climate change is a hoax and weather forecasts aren’t necessary. Perhaps they think people will stop rebuilding in disaster prone areas as insurance becomes unavailable (or unaffordable) and FEMA no longer exists. Perhaps they believe that if people have to pay for their own medical bills out of pocket, they will take better care of their health, just remain sick, and the costs will eventually come down.

Whether they are right or wrong about any of this, the reality is that millionaires and billionaires are benefitting most from federal tax breaks. To compensate for the loss of federal dollars, state taxes are likely to increase to cover the cost of just about everything people need or people will start to pay out of pocket for just about everything that used to be part of the “general welfare” like health, research, education, and disaster relief. I’m on the fence about increasing my donations to cover what I believe our tax dollars should cover for the public good. These cuts will push most people into survival mode, not the mindset needed to invest nor innovate. Frankly, I might need those dollars to cover the basics like food, housing, energy, insurance, medical expenses and education for my grandchildren in the coming years as things fall apart.

Right now, California is a donor state. This means that we collect more in federal tax dollars than we get in funding. This past year we donated $83 million. I wish there was a way for us to keep those dollars here in California so that we could better fund our own healthcare, disaster relief, education, research, infrastructure, public broadcasting, and food assistance. If not, then perhaps California could institute a reasonable “wealth tax” to reassign the federal tax savings millionaires and billionaires are getting from the federal government under this Republican Congress. Perhaps the rich will realize that funding these things actually helps keep them safe and in fact grows our collective economy. California is already the fourth largest economy in the world. Let’s keep it that way and do even better.

I have no idea what these poor red states are going to do. And frankly, I only care because they are human beings. But it bothers me that they keep electing Republican lawmakers who cut everything safety net they rely on for survival. It’s shortsighted to believe people won’t revolt when they become desperate enough. They won’t just “get over it” as Mitch McConnell commented about the cuts. Maybe folks in red states believe in this way of doing things. So, I can only hope that it works out for them. But I don’t want to live that way. I prefer that my tax dollars go to promote the general welfare so that we feel secure and innovative enough to create a stronger, healthier, and better future for our children’s children.

On my morning walks, I pass a house with a prominently placed law sign that reads, “The power of the people is greater than the people in power.” I’m not only thankful for that reminder but encouraged by it. Human history informs us that oppressed people eventually turn on their oppressors in desperation and they topple those in power.

We’ve seen the pattern where ego-driven dictators, always greedy for admiration, power, and money surround themselves with malicious sadists to do their bidding. Tapping into human insecurity, they manufacture fears and find scapegoats to punish while simultaneously promising security and prosperity to everyone else. History just keeps repeating itself as if these men are reincarnated. Their determination to remain in power amid their inevitable economic and social failures leads them to punish opposing voices with violence, imprisonment, exile, and economic coercion. In the process of strangling freedoms, innovation suffers, the economy suffers, and the most highly educated self-deport. Lacking economic growth and opportunity, the masses find themselves impoverished, sickly, and gaslighted to the point of outright rebellion.

We are not there yet. However, we are clearly on our way. We see signs of our demise in the cabinet appointments that favor loyalty over knowledge and expertise. We see it in the scapegoating of undocumented “brown-skinned” immigrants as criminals, crazy, or job stealers to feed the bigotry of insecure white suprematists. How is it even conceivable that this administration defies the Constitution and yet expects courts to allow it? Or how cruel to cut access to food and healthcare for poor and disabled people to give tax breaks to the wealthy while simultaneously reducing incentives for charitable giving among those same wealthy people? It’s ludicrous to believe that we can cut medical research and still cure diseases. Or that we can pollute the environment and expect to have clear air and water. Or that we can deport experienced farm workers and still plant and harvest enough produce to feed the nation. Or that we can ignore victims of natural disasters and expect them to recover without assistance. Or that we can scare away the best and brightest students and scholars by cutting Pell grants and denying or revoking F-1 visas without losing the competitive innovation that drives progress and economic growth. And only a simpleton thinks imposing tariffs will bring economic prosperity and not economic hardship.

Before we go any further down this road to destruction of our representative democracy, economy, environment, common sense, and even human decency, we must each find and activate our own path to resistance. Mine is writing this weekly blog, having conversations to educate others, making social media posts, writing to lawmakers, and donating to legal funds and resistance groups. I’ve seen actors perform protest skits, singers and songwriters perform protest songs, cartoonist post protest cartoons, marchers protest in the streets, community members record and post brutal ICE raids, journalists quit corporate media and set up their own podcasts, lawyers file lawsuits, priests and pastors defend the gospel in public, democrats make speeches and show up at detention centers, and community organizers organize strategies. Now is still the time for peaceful protest. Every opposition voice is needed in whatever way it is expressed. Sometimes it may just be imparting information to a friend or loved one. Other times, it might be a simple sign on the front lawn. Or it may be refusal to show up at the military parade.

I’ve also seen a kind of silent protest happening in unexpected places. I stopped shopping at Target on February 1st because of their public rollback of DEI following threats from the Trump administration. However, I pick up my prescriptions from the CVS located inside the store and I’ve noticed an absence of people who look like me. What I also noticed over the past few months is an increase in the photos of black and brown people pasted all over the walls and that the black and brown products remain on the shelves. I’ve also noticed that television commercials continue to feature people of color and that television shows and theatre productions have not slowed their production of shows featuring ethnically diverse casts. Demand for children’s books by non-white authors continues to increase. And a great variety of sports are becoming increasingly ethnically diverse.

We defeat the white Christian nationalist agenda when we stubbornly continue to appreciation our diversity, promote equity in our decisions, and simply include folks from different backgrounds in our daily activities. We win when we succeed at our jobs. We win when we thoroughly educate our children on matters of history, civics, and morality in opposition to the educational agenda of white nationalists. We win when we refuse to stop talking about our checkered history and find ways to insist on being better and doing better than those who seek to belittle us. We can turn their hateful actions into teachable moments. The mid-term elections can’t come soon enough to turn this ship around. So, find your resistance voice, whether loud or quiet, and use it every single day.

This past week I had a heated phone conversation about how wealthy people use their money. It made me stop and think about where we are headed as a nation. It was clear during the conversation that neither of us is against the accumulation of wealth, nor do we begrudge the right of billionaires to spend 50 million dollars to have their wedding in Italy with other uber rich people and celebrities as guests. Our initial disagreement was about the harm caused by the undue influence expenditures of that money in politics can have on our democracy.

Capitalism encourages people to innovate and work hard to achieve personal gratification and wealth. When people and the environment are not overtly exploited by capitalistic endeavors, Americans tend to admire folks like Henry Ford, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Warren Buffet. Some of them are philanthropists, giving huge amounts of money to help others. And that’s a good thing, however, a country of free people must never depend solely on the generosity of the wealthy to provide for our general welfare. That is the job of “We the People” according to our Constitution. We elect representatives to direct the taxes we pay to fund policies, projects and programs that support the public good. This is why it is important that each American pay his or her fair share and why cutting taxes for the wealthiest individuals often comes at the expense of cutting the funds that support the public good.

In our conversation, I argued we have created a problem that allows wealthy individuals to use their wealth to exercise extreme influence over our elected representatives so that they no longer have to pay their fair share in taxes, can exploit people and the environment with impunity, and can redirect the allocation of public tax dollars away from supporting the public good. To our detriment, a few extremely wealthy individuals are using their money to influence elections, bribe supreme court judges, and pressure representatives to make laws that suit their personal agenda instead of laws that benefit their constituents.

This is what we have allowed to happen over time with one bad court ruling after another. Our elected representatives are no longer representing “we the people” as set forth in our Constitution. They are instead representing the interest of the corporations and wealthy individuals who finance their campaigns, offer lavish gifts, and steer them towards profitable investments in return for passing laws that benefit their benefactors.

This “Big Beautiful Bill” that just passed is a prime example of how our elected Republican officials failed to represent the people in their districts in their pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. Their express job is to pass laws on behalf of “we the people”. Instead, they passed a bill that will cut taxes for the wealthy while devastating the lives of the most vulnerable people in their districts and increase funding for cruel ICE deportations. Most workers will not benefit from the no tax on their tips provision because of the requirement to itemize deductions. Budget laws that allocate our tax dollars are supposed to provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty for us and our posterity. That is how our representative democracy was set forth in the Constitution.

At this point, I think it will be helpful to define a few key words that are being bantered around these days.

Autocracy and authoritarianism – government in which one person has unlimited authority.

Aristocracy – government by a privileged upper class who are regarded as superior.

Communism – a system of social organization in which all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state.

Democracy – government in which supreme power is exercised directly by the people or their elected representatives. A state of society characterized by formal equality of rights and privileges.

Egalitarian – the belief in the equality of all people.

Fascism – a totalitarian governmental system led by a dictator and emphasizing aggressive nationalism, militarism, and racism.

Feudalism – a medieval European system of social and economic organization based on estate ownership of land and the resulting relations between lord and vassal.

Nationalism – devotion to one’s nation; patriotism.

Oligarchy – a government run by members of a dominate clique.

Socialism – a system of social organization in which the means of production and distribution of goods are owned and controlled collectively or by the government.

Totalitarianism – a government in which one party exercises dictatorial control.

I thought deeply this Fourth of July week about the founding and trajectory of this nation. I considered the history of our nation: its aspirations, its present state, and where it is headed. We must never forget that the Fourth of July is a celebration of revolution against rule by an authoritarian king and its feudal system of aristocrats. The Founders were determined to replace that system with a representative democracy. It’s important to understand that our founders came from European countries (specifically Great Britian), ruled by kings who appointed aristocrats, gifting them land and governance over those living on their lands. They were oppressed by the authoritarian king and decided to fight for independence.

Once free, our founders were determined to establish a more egalitarian society ruled by the will of the people, not a king nor his aristocrats. Mind you, they themselves were products of the world in which they lived. They were the aristocrats of the new world. They were white educated wealthy landowners who had indentured servants and owned slaves. Their wives were their property who had no property rights nor social rights of their own. The egalitarian ideas they pinned in the Constitution were aspirational in nature. The notion that “all men are created equal” was not a part of their social upbringing nor their lived experience up to that point. But they pointed our country in the direction of greater equality, liberty, and justice for everyone.

Over the years, we have put in the work (including a civil war and multiple protest movements) to progress towards a more perfect union where the egalitarian and democratic aspirations set forth in our Constitution were on the edge of being fully realized. We stopped killing native Americans and forcing re-education on their children. Women gained the right to vote, to own property, to work, to get credit and bank accounts in their own name, and they gained bodily autonomy. Black slaves were set free, and people of color gained the right to be citizens, to vote, to expect equal access to opportunities, and were moving towards equal justice under the law. LGBTQ folks were able to come out of the closet without being jailed and even gained the right to get married like everyone else. This was progress toward equality and justice for all. We finally celebrated our diversity, expected equity as fairness, and pushed for greater inclusion in all aspects of society. We even elected a black president. But not everyone was happy.

A sinister backlash emerged from just beneath the surface. It began as a whisper and under Trump’s leadership it has become loud, cruel, brutal, and overtly violent. It was fueled by lies, insecurity, bigotry, and a visceral need to permanently re-secure both power and money in the hands of white men. A few wealthy white men whose European forefathers had written the aspirational words of the Constitution have turned against those ideas. We find ourselves in a situation where a few very rich white men have funded and enticed white “Christian” politicians to say what was necessary to be elected so that they could then disavow their oath to the Constitution and ignore their constituents.

The Republicans today are by definition fascists. They strive to embody the definition of totalitarian rule wherein their Party exercises dictatorial control. They uphold the ridicious executive orders of Trump. Their particular brand of nationalism is characterized by whiteness and “Christianity”, and they villainize anyone who is not white, Christian, or heterosexual. They call those who are against them “communist and socialists”, but they are the ones who are creating a system (much like the one in China) in which all economic and social activity is controlled by them, the totalitarian state. Think about that. They are actively trying to control women’s bodies, the media, private industry, journalism, education, people’s sex lives, information, scientific research, and books in the same way the Chinese Communist Party and the Taliban do.

The Republicans applaud Trump as their front man, cheering him on as he destroys any expectation that our Constitution is to be followed and that we are in any way egalitarian. Republicans are working hard to destroy the established value in diversity, equity and inclusion so that they can return to the myth of white male superiority. They are paving the way for a return aristocratic rule where members of the ruling class both in government and across all industry are straight white males. While Trump has dreams of being a dictator (like a king) with his gold toilet and his cronies praising his every cruel action and stupid comment as brilliant, Republicans abandon the rule of law and the Constitution itself while holding an American flag in one hand and a Bible in the other. They ignore the teachings of Christ and pray loudly in public like the pharisees Jesus condemned for their hypocrisy. They ignore freedom of religion in favor of establishing a “Christian” state that has nothing to do with Christianity, but everything to do with white supremacy through oppressive laws backed by brutality.

Independence Day was this past Friday. I didn’t celebrate. Instead, I reflected on who we are and where we should be headed. I, for one, will not silently return to the days when women, people of color, and LGBTQ folks are simply vassals to wealthy white men. Let’s hope our protests will be enough, but if not, I suspect a second revolution is in our future.

Every public official, including federal workers, military personnel, and elected officials up to the vice president, swear an oath to the Constitution of the United States. The oath is required by our Constitution and is found in Article VI, Clause 3. Their oath is a solemn promise that reads, “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”

The president takes a slightly different oath that reads, “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

What we are collectively witnessing today are Republican public officials, including Supreme Court judges, forsaking their oath in favor of allegiance (or at least silence) to President Trump’s assault on our Constitution, especially our basic rights and the rule of law spelled out in it. Specifically, they are empowering and enabling him to strip away our Constitutional protections such as birthright citizenship, free speech, the right to assemble, the right to choose our own path to happiness, equal rights under the law, a free press, and due process. I find it alarming that they are blatantly ignoring the entire purpose upon which our country and its Constitution was established.

Our Constitution begins with “We the people” (not a monarch) are responsible for creating a more perfect union wherein we establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for our common defense and promote the general welfare and ensure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our future generations. We do this by electing representatives to pass laws, confirm federal judges and high-level public officials, and to keep the executive branch in check on our behalf. Sadly, we elected a Republican majority who are using the fact of their narrow election win (based on false pretenses) to forsake the Constitution and their oath to protect and defend it.

I watched in horror as Senator Mitch McConnell ignored the pleads of young activists to have a conversation with them about their concerns. He refused to even look at them as he hightailed it to an elevator. Most Republican representatives are refusing to face their constituents at Town Hall meetings because they don’t want to hear people voicing their anger over their betrayal of their oath to the Constitution and their refusal to hold Trump accountable for blatant violations. Republican representatives are clearly not representing “we the people”. They are in lock step with the President, pursuing the interests and agenda of white Christian nationalists and wealthy campaign donors.

It’s become obvious that they will allow Trump to declare himself king as he violates the Constitution, enacts cruel policies, and enriches himself. Their collective strategy is to erode the Constitution along with the systematic silencing of any who may attempt to stand up for it. They use their megaphones on Fox News and social media platforms along with insults and lawsuits to silence journalists. They coerce oppositional law firms by cutting off their access to government buildings. They defund intellectual centers that provide scientific research if they refuse to promote their white nationalist agenda in their classrooms. They fire any government employees who insist on upholding the value of “liberty and justice for all” otherwise known as DEI. And they make a spectacle of arresting vocal citizens and lawmakers using humiliating brutal force when challenged.

Unfortunately, they have a majority on the Supreme Court thanks to the unethical maneuverings of Senator Mitch McConnell. It’s the same Court that ruled that Donald Trump could break the law so long as he is acting in his official capacity as president. So much for the long-held view of the Founders that no one is above the law. Now the president is. This past week, they voted 6 to 3 to disallow federal judges to issue nationwide bans on clearly unconstitutional executive orders. They expect “we the people” to sue for our individual constitutional rights if they are violated by executive orders. In other words, if our Constitutionally guaranteed rights are violated by executive order, it is up to us to file a class action lawsuit to insist upon restoring them. Their decision left Trump’s unconstitutional ban on birthright citizenship in place in those states that haven’t challenged it. Imagine a child being born “state-less” unless his parents have the ability to sue for his or her citizenship. Many class action lawsuits are in our immediate future. In fact, some were filed (or amended) within hours of this Supreme Court ruling. This past ruling is no less ridiculous that their ruling that the immigrants who were illegally arrested and deported without a hearing have to sue for their due process rights. In other words, our Constitutional rights are no longer guaranteed, but up for debate if we have the time and money to insist upon them in court.

These are dangerous times for Americans who don’t fit the white nationalist’s agenda or who are not independently wealthy. The Republicans are working to enshrine a two-class system where people will fall into one of two categories: low wage earners, uneducated, chronically ill, beholden to the generosity of others, subjected to a military draft, and with unprotected Constitutional rights. The other category are the wealthy. These folks have no limits on their accumulation of wealth even if it means destroying the earth in the process. They protect their Constitutional rights because they have the financial means to do so. They can buy healthcare, education, and clean up after natural disasters. They can buy their way out of military service by sending their kids to private school and they can purchase expensive bunkers to protect them from any bombs that may fall. They will have the time and means to vote in elections.

I’m convinced that Republicans believe that discriminating against certain people will lead to their desired class systems. Their policies are designed to maintain or propel ambitious white Christian men to economic wealth with all the political and social power in the country. As seen by the cabinet picks, qualifications don’t matter; whiteness and loyalty do. They want white women to return to white men as their domestic servants in exchange for economic and social protection. They want to enact legal discrimination to eventually force people of color, religious minorities, and LGBTQ folks into a permanent underclass without civil rights, wallowing in untreated illnesses, poor living conditions, lack of education, subject to over-policing and prison slave labor, and perpetually desperate to earn poverty wages to at least exist. And they want LGBTQ folks to simply disappear.

The problem is that white male superiority is a myth. They aren’t now nor have they ever been the smartest, the most talented, the most courageous, the most innovative, nor the most driven. White Christian nationalists lack an understanding that human traits are spread across the human race without regard for color or gender. What those white men in the past possessed was access to weapons and a willingness to use them against others to force their will upon them. They lacked empathy, decency, and foresight. Their perverted thinking only led to endless wars, bloodshed, and human suffering.

The White Christian nationalists in our government are no different from the Taliban who are forcing their perverted religious will upon an entire population through violence. But notice how their country is unable to prosper. When you silence the intelligent, the talented, the innovative, and the driven within your population, you not only make people miserable, but you make prosperity impossible to achieve. The same will be true of these white Christian nationalists. They will destroy this nation and many lives if we allow it.

Today, I call upon my readers to join me in financially investing in one or more of the law organizations working to stand up for our Constitution and our individual Constitutional rights. These include the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the ACLU, Public Citizen Litigation Group, Lambda Legal , Democracy Defenders Fund, The Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University, and Democracy Forward.

In addition, it is important to never agree in advance to give up our rights or to subject ourselves to a king. Support the “No Kings 2.0” protest on July 4th organized by local chapters of Indivisible by promoting it, donating to it (I do this), helping to organize, or taking to the streets. There is also a “Free America” event organized by Women’s March on the weekend of the Fourth of July and a “Good Trouble Lives On” scheduled for July 17th. We are in this together and we must act as “we the people” to protect and defend our Constitution on Independence Day 2025 and beyond.