01
Where do you find your succor? Where do you turn in time of trouble? Where do you go to "recover from the past and store up for the future"? Traditionally, people have found spiritual support and sustenance in art, music, nature, literature, poetry and the right kind of conversation, in community with the right kind of people. What works for you needs to be close at hand in times such as these, to ground us, sustain us, urge us on and carry us forward. Emptiness, stillness and silence connect us with more than words can say, and offer the possibility of finding the source of life, and light and being as a welcome presence near at hand.
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02
Fascism broadly considered is more than a political force for evil. It is also social, cultural, theological, ideological, cliquish and pervasive. Fascism's fundamental orientation is, "It's people like you who make people like me hate people like you!" It's primary operating assumption is "I am only safe with people like me. People not like me are the enemy and are to be feared and despised-- and treated in ways that keep them far away from me." How often do you encounter grace, kindness, welcoming presence, compassion and the benefit of the doubt on social media? How often do you encounter ruthlessness, viciousness, sarcasm, meanness, ridicule, mockery, derision and shaming? Fascism is experienced universally as "I HATE YOU! Get Out Of My Life!" And it is everywhere. "People like me" is a delusion fostered by false equivalence and gang rituals, signs, symbols, vocabulary, beliefs and boundary markers. Community seeks common ground among a wide variety of people. Gangs go to war with everybody else. Fascism is built for war. And is all in on killing everyone not like WE are. The best move for the rest of us is to recognize fascists by their words and behavior, vote them out of office and all leadership positions, reduce their media presence and increase their marginalia across the board, around the world.
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Jim Dollar's Photography and Philosophy 