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What’s our dream?

Today is the day that has been set apart in the United States to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Probably many of us will focus on remembering the last lines of the speech he gave in front of the Lincoln Memorial at the March on Washington in 1963: “I have a dream…”

They are inspirational lines. But how many of us remember the lines that came before? the lines that bluntly called out the ways in which we have failed to live up to our ideals…the dream that Dr. King hoped for. Or the other speeches in which he challenged the status quo?

There are other words that Dr. King shared that are sadly appropriate for today. At a time when in the United States the current administration is blatantly supporting white nationalism…demonizing people of color…openly using Nazi phrases (and–in case you were not aware, Nazi policies were based directly on America’s Jim Crow laws)…it is worth revisiting some of those words, letting them remind us of the challenges before us.

History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people….Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere….He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it. (Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1963)

True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice. (Stride Toward Freedom, 1958)

A time comes when silence is betrayal. (Beyond Vietnam, 1967)

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. (Strength to Love, 1963)

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. (Steeler Lecture, 1967)

If we are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective. (A Christmas Sermon on Peace)

Responding to violence with violence is not the answer. Dr. King’s dream of a society that is accepting of all–the dream he shared at the Lincoln Memorial–still waits for us…all of us…to do the hard work to bring it about. As we fight against the darkness and evil that seems so prevalent, may we do it in the spirit of these words of Dr. King:

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“One of ours…all of yours…”

In 1942, Reinhard Heydrich was a high-ranking Nazi officer. He was responsible for the SS intelligence service and the security police–and was a leading architect of the “final solution,” the mass murder of European Jews.

In May, there was an assassination attempt on Heydrich in Prague. While it did not succeed, he was wounded and died in June from septicemia. His death infuriated the Nazi regime, and Hitler demanded revenge.

The town of Lidice paid the price, even though there was nothing that connected the town to the assassination attempt.

Lidice had approximately 500 residents. When the German police and SS officials gathered them in the village square, 173 men and boys 15 years and older were separated–and shot. The women and children were separated. Those who were 16 and older were sent to Ravensbruck. The children were screened for “racially pure Germanic backgrounds.” Nine passed. They were given new German names and placed with adoptive parents. Fourteen under the age of one were sent to orphanages; eight survived. The rest of the children were sent to the gas chambers.

There were some citizens of Lidice who survived the war–143 women and 17 children. However, the town of Lidice had been completely razed and families had been destroyed.

So what does the story of Lidice have to do with the phrase that was on the podium Kristi Noem stood behind just one day after an ICE agent shot Renee Good in Minneapolis?

Nothing directly. But while that phrase was never specifically used as an official slogan, it does encapsulate the Nazi mindset–that if one Nazi government official was killed, then revenge would be swift and brutal. And it was.

To see that phrase on the podium of the Homeland Security Secretary is jarring. It underscores the chasm between government officials and citizens. It separates us rather than bringing us together.

Protest has always been a part of the United States. The country was born out of protest–and there have always been those who have disagreed with policies or actions of the government. At times, the government has come down hard on protestors–but I cannot remember a time in my lifetime when a government official stood behind a podium with a statement implying that action against any one federal officer would be treated as an attack by all of those who are being seen as enemy–whether they are protestors, bystanders, or the broader community.

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To my friends who still support Trump…

I think I still have some friends who support Trump. If you are willing to read this, I have a few questions for you. They are honest questions–not “gotcha” questions. I really want to know.

I’ve tried asking before, but without any success. If you are a Trump-supporting friend–and still reading my posts–I really would like to dialogue with you about the kind of world we want (and want to leave for our children and grandchildren).

ICE agents–masked, ill-trained, often with no ID–are smashing in car windows…pulling teenagers from their jobs and throwing them to the ground, even though they are citizens…refusing to accept official US government IDs as legitimate…acting against DOJ’s own rules about the use of deadly force. They are now going door-to-door in some cities in Minneapolis, asking people about their immigrant neighbors. They also have gone into public schools and pepper-sprayed high school students as they were leaving. Do you really support this? Is this what you want your children, your neighbors, yourself to possibly be facing any time you go out?

Trump sent in military troops to forcibly remove another country’s leader and bring him to the United States–without informing Congress (as the Constitution requires). Even military leaders didn’t know what he had planned. And he now says that he plans to “run” Venezuela as acting president. Do you really support this?

Senator Mark Kelly is being threatened by Pete Hegseth with court-martial, demotion in rank, and cut in pay because he took part in recording a video reminding soldiers that they are not required to disobey illegal orders. That is a statement of fact. More information can be found at https://nlgmltf.org/military-law/2025/faq-on-refusing-illegal-orders/. Senator Kelly has the right to reassert a legal statement without fear of reprisal. So do you really support this action?

Trump has conducted lethal strikes on Venezuelan boats that he claims have been carrying fentanyl to the U.S., killing a number of individuals. There has been no proof that any of these boats are smuggling fentanyl; in fact, many of them are too small to have been able to come to the United States. These actions have been carried out without Congressional approval or oversight–again, as the Constitution requires. (And he also pardoned one of the major international drug smugglers!)

Trump has loudly proclaimed that he supports law enforcement. Yet he pardoned all of those who attacked law enforcement officers on January 6.

Are these actions that you really support? Is this really the world that you want to leave for your children and grandchildren?

If not, we need to hear your voice. We need you to say–clearly and loudly–that this is illegal. We need you to stand up with those of us who want a different world.

We are not necessarily going to agree with each other on policies going forward. But unless we can stand together against actions that are unconstitutional–and that only create more fear and violence–we may not have the opportunity to work on finding ways to work together.

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Truth is powerful

“The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears.”

That’s a quote from George Orwell’s book 1984. When I first read that book, it seemed like complete science fiction. It could never happen…right?

I couldn’t have been more wrong!

What we have seen under this administration is a living out of not just this book (and quote), but also Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, The Hunger Games, and The Handmaid’s Tale–all to varying degrees. But all of them have in common some version of this quote. Don’t believe what you see…believe what we say you saw.

That seems to have worked for the administration, at least for a while. However, truth cannot be held down–and when enough people say “No, I will not believe what you say I saw; I will believe what I know I saw,” then the power of truth rises.

This administration has tried to rewrite history, claiming that the insurrection of January 6 was a peaceful protest. We know better. We watched it–live–from our living rooms. We watched as Capitol police were attacked and beaten. We heard the crowds chant “Hang Mike Pence.” We saw our Congressional representatives running for their lives. We know the truth.

Yesterday we saw a woman killed by an ICE agent. Immediately the administration began telling us that she was a violent agitator who was attempting to run the agent over with her car. We know better. While the investigation is still ongoing, numerous videos–from a variety of angles–appear to show she was trying to follow instructions to leave the scene. They definitely do not show her intentionally ramming the agent.

The party may say “reject the evidence of your eyes and ears”–but the power of truth is beginning to rise.

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What have we become??

I woke up this morning to see a post and news story that made me heartsick. This current administration–besides attacking Venezuelan boats that they claim (with no evidence) are full of fentanyl–now has carried out a large-scale strike on Caracas (the capital of Venezuela) and kidnapped the president of Venezuela and his wife. All of this without asking permission of or informing Congress–as the Constitution requires.

Doing things unilaterally has been a hallmark of this administration–and so far nothing has been done to hold those involved accountable.

For years, we have prided ourselves as being a country based on the rule of law. We have generally supported international law. We have been seen as an ideal to strive for–even though we ourselves have not fully implemented those ideals.

But now?

We have become what we have spoken against…what we have fought against. We are a pariah country…a rogue state…and, as a friend of mine from elsewhere said, a terrorist state.

I know those are strong words. But think about what has been happening under this administration.

  • Our president has cozied up to authoritarian regimes and dictators.
  • We have broken promises made to our allies.
  • Alliances that have helped protect the peace have been thrown aside.
  • Gestapo-type goons have grabbed people off the streets or as they were fulfilling legal requirements, separating families and deporting individuals without hearings and without letting anyone know where they are. This has included people who are legal citizens.
  • People are being stopped and profiled because of their skin color, even though they have not committed any crime.
  • The head of homeland security supports the idea that citizens must carry proof of citizenship.
  • We have a head of our nation’s health department who is ignoring scientific evidence, instead cancelling grants and policies that have helped keep us healthy.
  • The president is a convicted rapist and credibly accused of crimes against children.
  • The president encouraged an attempted coup against the legally elected government on January 6.
  • Our president is taking a bulldozer to historic buildings without consulting those who have the responsibility for them under the Constitution.
  • While people are facing steep cuts to their health insurance–and worrying about cuts to the food programs that help keep them fed–this administration holds expensive parties that are a slap in the face to those in need.
  • Members of the LGBTQ+ communities are being targeted as dangerous and their health care being withdrawn.
  • The president has used the US military as a police force within the US, a practice forbidden by law.

I hope we have not reached the point of no return, but we are on the edge. Are there enough of us who are willing to speak out? to protest? to demand accountability? Are there enough members of Congress with spines to stop the destruction of our democracy?

There will be a price to pay. There always is. We may lose relationships, we may lose family members. We may find ourselves separated from the communities we have grown up in…have worshiped in.

But there is also a price to keeping silent–the loss of our souls…the loss of our integrity.

It is time to call our Congressional representatives–to demand that they do their jobs of being the third branch of government. It is time to speak out publicly…to no longer acquiesce in silence because we don’t want to rock the boat. It is a time to protest…a time to sing the song of freedom for a world we long to see.