I feel your despair, but I also feel that I have a duty (rather like someone in the resistance during WW2) not to surrender to it. I'm going to die anyway, so why not resist or fight for as long as possible? I refuse to choose soul death over love.
What can I do? Over the years, I have refused to listen to Rush Limbaugh or Fox News. I have come to believe that conservative media, in ultimate effect, is at least as destructive as any addictive drug. As much as possible, I refuse to encourage the hateful thoughts in my own mind. I have also found people, institutions, activities, places, and animals that I love or have loved, and I have resolved to focus on those. Regards, Walt
What a tragic, lovely, profound meditation on our current state. I emigrated to Australia in anticipation of the arrival of this phase of history, and I watch in horror as it speeds toward us like a permanent eclipse.
Thank you for beautifully describing this terrible moment in time.
In his book A New Earth, author Eckhart Tolle says there is no evil, only extreme unconsciousness.
tRump is the extreme bitter, angry, unloved, unconscious child wreaking his havoc on the world. The people who voted him in are similar. Capitalism--things, alcohol&drugs, gambling, social media, likes, influencers, exploitation of every last person on earth--have fed us full of stuff to keep us fat, dumb, numb, happy (?) and distracted.
I think this is exactly what you are talking about, Umair, except you're just saying it more poetically.
I hear you, see you, and believe you. You've certainly reached some of us. Is it enough of us to save the world? Probably not. I'm still trying, understanding that my efforts will probable be futile when it comes to the world. But I hope I'll make a difference to those who are near me.
Love to you too my friend. This essay clicks with "Why do I delete-without-reading all those emails with subject lines attempting to evoke fear. I'll stay subscribed, I want to have some advanced warning as to what they're up to but I need not allow their poison in on a daily basis.
Then there's you, and Heather, and Aaron (and a few others). The people who keep me looking UP. Up to hope, up to community, up to reaching out to Others.
I remember when we used to laugh. Fabulous belly laughs that sometimes resulted in the need to wipe tears from our eyes. We don’t do that anymore. We’re growing numb to the everyday joys that once inspired a deep warmth inside. Joy has been replaced with silence or fear or anger or complacency. I find myself shrugging at the thought of taking a leisurely drive in the countryside. It’s as if Nature no longer exists. It’s either been hijacked by political thievery, or abandoned by my own growing despondency. I can’t tell anymore.
Thanatos will suffocate Eros with passion and laughter as we become nothing but drones for the Queen’s hive. I hope I don’t live that long.
I disagree to some extent. Yes, things are burning down, but it must burn before something better can be born.
I believe that Eros is awakening. There is a wellspring of humanity that understands that community, connection and love are what really matters. I am one of those who are fighting for love and truth.
Don't give up the ship! As more of us wake up we can create a New Earth from these ashes.
Mmm... As a non-American, it's been an interesting experience, to come from Rebecca Solnit to Umair. Solnit sees a new world being born from the ashes of the old, while Umair sees the destruction of what was.
Umair, I read all your columns and am a member of Havens. Maybe give Rebecca a go...?
Linnéa, thanks for the link, which I read. Solnit is certainly more optimistic, which, in general, I think is a good thing. And I understand no struggle for equality is a "straight shot," but she does sound a bit naive. She made a comment about the fight for women's rights as though the world was perfectly equal with regards to gender, and that we still have a bit of work to do regarding race.
The second tRump regime is in the process of eradicating all the rights that were gained in my lifetime. Income inequality is worse than ever. The regime denies climate change exists, so has stopped doing anything to mitigate it and, in fact, is doing the opposite. I can't be optimistic. But I continue to fight for a better world.
I feel your pain deeply, Umair. And I am sorry it has inflicted you. 💔❤️🩹
What is death? It is only a temporary reprieve from living. The dead will be born again into life. In death, we expand our consciousness fully, understanding things we could not understand while living. We embrace our histories and memories. We choose what we want in the next life. We learn. We grow.
I mourn our brothers and sisters lost prematurely before their time. We owe it to them to fight against Thanatos and to uphold Eros, lest their suffering and deaths be in vain.
Every small moment admiring the beauty of a rose, a poem written, a picture of the sky taken, a laugh with family, hope rekindled, a book read instead of a phone held, a family fed instead of forgotten, a child hugged and played with, every pat on your pet, every future seeded and planted, every friendship sustained is a victory of Eros over Thanatos.
May your days be full of such small moments to the end of your days and mine. There is no battle more sacred or worthwhile. ❤️🙏🏽
Dear Umair,
I feel your despair, but I also feel that I have a duty (rather like someone in the resistance during WW2) not to surrender to it. I'm going to die anyway, so why not resist or fight for as long as possible? I refuse to choose soul death over love.
What can I do? Over the years, I have refused to listen to Rush Limbaugh or Fox News. I have come to believe that conservative media, in ultimate effect, is at least as destructive as any addictive drug. As much as possible, I refuse to encourage the hateful thoughts in my own mind. I have also found people, institutions, activities, places, and animals that I love or have loved, and I have resolved to focus on those. Regards, Walt
What a tragic, lovely, profound meditation on our current state. I emigrated to Australia in anticipation of the arrival of this phase of history, and I watch in horror as it speeds toward us like a permanent eclipse.
Thank you for beautifully describing this terrible moment in time.
In his book A New Earth, author Eckhart Tolle says there is no evil, only extreme unconsciousness.
tRump is the extreme bitter, angry, unloved, unconscious child wreaking his havoc on the world. The people who voted him in are similar. Capitalism--things, alcohol&drugs, gambling, social media, likes, influencers, exploitation of every last person on earth--have fed us full of stuff to keep us fat, dumb, numb, happy (?) and distracted.
I think this is exactly what you are talking about, Umair, except you're just saying it more poetically.
I hear you, see you, and believe you. You've certainly reached some of us. Is it enough of us to save the world? Probably not. I'm still trying, understanding that my efforts will probable be futile when it comes to the world. But I hope I'll make a difference to those who are near me.
Love to you too my friend. This essay clicks with "Why do I delete-without-reading all those emails with subject lines attempting to evoke fear. I'll stay subscribed, I want to have some advanced warning as to what they're up to but I need not allow their poison in on a daily basis.
Then there's you, and Heather, and Aaron (and a few others). The people who keep me looking UP. Up to hope, up to community, up to reaching out to Others.
No Kings
I remember when we used to laugh. Fabulous belly laughs that sometimes resulted in the need to wipe tears from our eyes. We don’t do that anymore. We’re growing numb to the everyday joys that once inspired a deep warmth inside. Joy has been replaced with silence or fear or anger or complacency. I find myself shrugging at the thought of taking a leisurely drive in the countryside. It’s as if Nature no longer exists. It’s either been hijacked by political thievery, or abandoned by my own growing despondency. I can’t tell anymore.
Thanatos will suffocate Eros with passion and laughter as we become nothing but drones for the Queen’s hive. I hope I don’t live that long.
Live for the day when Nick “smash the button” Fuentes quotes Umair, only in America 🇺🇸✌️🇺🇸
I disagree to some extent. Yes, things are burning down, but it must burn before something better can be born.
I believe that Eros is awakening. There is a wellspring of humanity that understands that community, connection and love are what really matters. I am one of those who are fighting for love and truth.
Don't give up the ship! As more of us wake up we can create a New Earth from these ashes.
Blessings,
The eternal optimist.
Dude, maybe it's time to go back to Paris
Mmm... As a non-American, it's been an interesting experience, to come from Rebecca Solnit to Umair. Solnit sees a new world being born from the ashes of the old, while Umair sees the destruction of what was.
Umair, I read all your columns and am a member of Havens. Maybe give Rebecca a go...?
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/mar/25/rebecca-solnit-slow-revolution-far-right-cannot-tolerate
Linnéa, thanks for the link, which I read. Solnit is certainly more optimistic, which, in general, I think is a good thing. And I understand no struggle for equality is a "straight shot," but she does sound a bit naive. She made a comment about the fight for women's rights as though the world was perfectly equal with regards to gender, and that we still have a bit of work to do regarding race.
The second tRump regime is in the process of eradicating all the rights that were gained in my lifetime. Income inequality is worse than ever. The regime denies climate change exists, so has stopped doing anything to mitigate it and, in fact, is doing the opposite. I can't be optimistic. But I continue to fight for a better world.
I feel your pain deeply, Umair. And I am sorry it has inflicted you. 💔❤️🩹
What is death? It is only a temporary reprieve from living. The dead will be born again into life. In death, we expand our consciousness fully, understanding things we could not understand while living. We embrace our histories and memories. We choose what we want in the next life. We learn. We grow.
I mourn our brothers and sisters lost prematurely before their time. We owe it to them to fight against Thanatos and to uphold Eros, lest their suffering and deaths be in vain.
Every small moment admiring the beauty of a rose, a poem written, a picture of the sky taken, a laugh with family, hope rekindled, a book read instead of a phone held, a family fed instead of forgotten, a child hugged and played with, every pat on your pet, every future seeded and planted, every friendship sustained is a victory of Eros over Thanatos.
May your days be full of such small moments to the end of your days and mine. There is no battle more sacred or worthwhile. ❤️🙏🏽
I refuse to give in or give up. I am building a greenhouse. I am planting seeds, growing flowers. I will worship and nurture Eros until the day I die.