We Must Continue to Resist the Regime

And a Sacred Journey

The very first post I wrote on Substack was titled, Questions that Matter, based on the theory that if you don’t ask the right questions, the answers aren’t worth much. Right now, I’m travelling across the western half of the country, and as usual, listening to a lot of news coverage and researching developments and options.

News outlets, both left and right-leaning, have been obsessing over the U.S. bombing of Iran and ceaselessly speculating about whether the attack really wiped out their developing nuclear weapons program. Of course, the potential start of World War 3 is indeed a big deal, and I think it’s safe to say the majority of humanity does not want the Iranian regime to wind up with weapons of mass destruction.

However, virtually no one is asking the question crucial to our nation, which is, “What are we going to do about a rogue president who just bombed another country without getting consent from Congress?” Moreover, the White House briefed some republican Congress members beforehand but excluded democrats. This is the most blatantly partisan and lawless presidency our country has ever experienced and yet no one in elected or appointed office seems to know how to hold them accountable.

I give a lot of credit to the handful of elected officials who are taking a strong stand – think Chris Patrick Murphy, Gavin Newsom, Jasmine Crocket, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Bernie Sanders, and others, and even a few republicans like Lisa Murkowski and Thomas Massie. And yet, even they are not effectively calling the right question, which is, “How do we rein in a regime that is in direct violation of the Constitution on multiple fronts?” We are in a Constitutional crisis but it seems no one has a handle on how to directly address it. Earlier this week, the Supreme Court ruled to limit the power of lower courts to issue nationwide injunctions on presidential actions. That major line of resistance is now largely gone.

In the end it may come down to military intervention which is unsettling on many fronts, not the least of which is that the Trump regime has politicized our public armed forces and taken steps to create a personal militia. I’ve spoken with some military members who say they will uphold law, even against a rogue president, but there are many who have drunk the MAGA kool-aid. We must hope there are enough people in those roles who will put country before politics and preservation of democracy over propaganda and tone man’s insatiable and fragile ego.

Probably even more importantly, we must continue to mobilize. I was born in 1967, with an activist’s heart, but in truth, was birthed into pretty settled times. The great social revolution of the ‘60s was a memory by the time I was old enough to know its significance. I’ve advocated and demonstrated for environmental and social justice causes since my late teens, but there has never been a full sense of societal activation, until now.

We are in the midst of an attempted authoritarian take-over of American government and society. I know many are uncomfortable with the word, “authoritarianism”, or with directly stating that that is what we are facing, but we must do so. Authoritarianism is a form of government – and a spiritual crisis. It consolidates power without true accountability, feeds on and perpetuates fear and division, erodes trust, and turns communities against themselves. It brazenly strips away rights, voices, and dignity.

In a nation that claims to honor law and liberty we are experiencing raids and deportations without warrants, legal counsel, or due process. Families are being torn apart. There are deliberate attacks on the very institutions meant to uphold truth and accountability. Universities and public education are being politicized, attacked, and defunded. Science and journalism are undermined and discounted. Courts are disempowered. History is being rewritten, whitewashed, to serve a political agenda rather than truth. There is an intentional effort to dumb-down and silence the public, particularly those who oppose the regime’s agenda.*

The military is being politicized for use against we the people. I believe the ICE raids and mass deportations are less about clearing out immigrants than “normalizing” the use of military against civilians. Authoritarian regimes commonly have military in the streets, ready to take action against the people.

This country is literally at a spiritual and cultural crossroads. Who will we, as a people, be?

So far, I have attended protest demonstrations in three states and five different locations. It is an empowering experience, standing together with dozens, or thousands, of people who are also deeply concerned about where we’re headed and willing to stand up and speak out about it. These have been peaceful protests. Most of the passers-by have been supportive or at least neutral. When the occasional dissident flips us off I blow them a kiss. A key to spiritualized activism is staying above the battlefield, engaging and standing strong without meeting ugliness with more ugliness.

The next big national day of action is set for July 17^th. It’s “Good Trouble” day and demonstrations and rallies will be taking place across the country. Here is a link with a map of scheduled events.

I will be holding a live video service on July 4^th to share info on Sacred Activism and offer affirmative prayer for the healing of our nation. I hope you will join me. I’ll send Zoom info shortly.

Meanwhile, as I write, the Senate is getting ready to vote on the Big Bullshit Budget Bill. They forced the last vote just before Midnight Friday in order to receive as little news coverage of their votes as possible. A few republicans are stating opposition because of the historically huge cut to Medicaid which would leave millions more low-income Americans without health insurance. However, more republicans are in opposition because the current bill doesn’t slash these critical services enough. The GOP is orchestrating the largest theft of wealth from the poor to the ultra-rich in modern American history. I’ve been outspoken about my frustration with the democratic party but right now the republican party is truly a destructive force.

Confucius once said, millennia ago, “We are so busy doing the urgent that we don’t have time to do the important.” That’s exactly the state that the authoritarians currently at the helm of this country are attempting to put us all in. We must resist.

* I want to give a shout out to my colleague, Rev. Kelly Isola, who serves with me on the Unity Worldwide Ministries Social Action team. A portion of this language is from a statement of which she is chief author and I was contributor.

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Travel Log — Sacred Journeys: Medicine Wheel and Indian Country

For the past several days we’ve been in Indian Country in Wyoming and Montana. It’s been interesting to be engaged with other sovereign states, the tribes, while experiencing the high level of dysfunction in the U.S. governance systems.

In the beautiful Shell Canyon area we hiked into Medicine Wheel, an ancient sacred site, that rests at nearly 10,000 feet elevation. There’s no definitive proof of the age of the wheel but hearth charcoal and preserved wood fragments from nearby archeological sites turned up radiocarbon dates ranging from about 6,550 years ago to the modern era. Most archeological materials found near the Medicine Wheel tend to date to the latter half of the Late Prehistoric Period, from about 900 A.D. to 1800 A.D. Evidence indicates that the Medicine Mountain area was used by prehistoric Native Americans for nearly 7,000 years.

Native American oral history is rich with mention of the Medicine Wheel, with members of many tribes travelling there to conduct spiritual ceremony. Traditional practitioners from the Arapaho, Bannock, Blackfeet, Cheyenne, Crow, Kootenai-Salish, Plains Cree, Shoshone and Sioux tribes venerate this area because it embodies uniquely important and power­ful spiritual principles. To these Native Americans, the rock alignments and cairns found on Medicine Mountain are religious architecture, not anthropological data, and are part of the broader sacred landscape of Medicine Mountain.

It was once home to a thriving population of bighorn sheep but at the turn of the 20^th century they were hunted to extinction by miners and loggers. Like so much of the West, the area was converted into summer grazing range for cattle and sheep.

I had expected the wheel to be larger and for there to be a more established viewing platform, etc. The fact that there isn’t one is a great part of the story. The Medicine Wheel remains Wyoming’s most complex, acrimonious, and protracted historic preservation case. For more than twenty years numerous government agencies and elders representing 16 Indian tribes engaged in difficult disputes and negotiations. These deliberations changed the practice of cultural resource management in Wyoming by demonstrating the benefits of tribal consultation to both Native Americans and Euro-Americans.

Current federal management of the Medicine Wheel/Medicine Mountain landscape is largely the outcome of negotiations that began in 1988, when officials from the U.S. Forest Service proposed changes designed to encourage tourism. The Forest Service proposed building a large parking lot, viewing tower, and visitor center within about 100 meters of the wheel. Members of the Native American community strenuously objected and were soon joined by historic preservation agencies and natural-resource advocacy groups.

In 1996 the parties began working on a historic preservation plan. Despite mistrust and acrimony, the process established a 23,000-acre “area of consultation” that encompassed all archeological sites and Native American traditional use areas associated with the Bighorn Medicine Wheel. The plan facilitates traditional cultural use by Native American practitioners by providing for both scheduled and impromptu ceremonial use. Vehicular access is prohibited so visitors must hike 1.5 miles each way, though exceptions can be made for disabled or elderly people.

At one point a tall steel mesh and barbed wire fence enclosed the wheel, but today there is a simple post and rope fence upon which people often hang pieces of cloth or other small items as offerings. There is ample signage informing visitors to be respectful and avoid taking pictures when Native Americans are engaging in ceremony.

John, Olive and I climbed up and hiked well past the wheel to get in some cardio exercise and get a feel for the lay of the land. He and I took turns walking the wheel while the other held Olive off to the side. I moved clockwise around the configuration of ancient stones placed reverently by prehistoric hands as a light wind sang through the sparse fir trees.

I hadn’t thought to bring an offering so I plucked some of my hair, prayed gratitude and healing for the earth, and wrapped my hairs around the rope. I finished the circle and sat on a large rock holding Olive’s leash and meditating while John took his turn.

After, we both sat on the rock in the silence. Just as we were preparing to leave, a group of Native Americans approached. There was an elder man carrying a hide drum, a younger man, and about a dozen kids and teens. The younger man instructed the youth in how to be safe with the grizzly bears now awake for summer. He explained that the U.S. budget cuts meant there were fewer rangers in the area to, “help us out knowing where the bears are.” He then said, “I do not want to speak anymore because ___ is my elder,” (I did not catch the elder man’s name). Speaking mostly in native tongue the man addressed the youth. I heard the words Crow and Lakota and realized that these were Lakota people and he was telling some of the history of the Medicine Wheel. He went on to explain, in both native tongue and English, that he was a sun dancer. He sang and drummed the sun dance song, then a song to the four directions, then to the Wheel directly. He said the Earth is a prayer unto itself and you can feel that prayer everywhere.

It was powerful and profound being high in the mountains, under wide open skies, beside the ancient wheel as an indigenous elder drummed, sang, and shared wisdom and knowledge with the generations coming behind him.

When the songs were complete the group moved to place their offerings onto the wheel and John and I quietly left. I have no idea if the man spoke in both native and English for the youth or because John and I were so clearly listening and appreciating the ceremony. Whatever the case, I’m grateful. This was, hands down, one of the best “church” services of my life.