"MIRACLES ARE BORN OF CONVICTION"

When hate speaks loudly, we can't afford for love to whisper

A woman once told me she admired my ability to speak in front of a crowd. “I could never do that,” she said. “I’m terrified of speaking in public!”

I told her I understood, because “I’m terrified of speaking in private!” I’ve had a few decades of experience speaking in public - I once read that anyone born on the full moon, as I was, feels comfortable in the spotlight. But in more intimate relationships, I’m often the one afraid to speak my feelings, ask for what I want, or share my vulnerability.

Now, however, in a way that I never thought I’d see in America, lots and lots of people are quieting their voices. Particularly with Elon’s penultimate chainsaw - his posts that reach over 200 million X users- there’s a chill in the air when it comes to people speaking their minds.

It’s not just politicians who fear risking their reputation, job, or even personal safety if they express a view that rubs the wrong people the wrong way. Even the Oscars were strangely apolitical this year. It seems a lifetime ago when Robert DeNiro got on stage at the Tony Awards in 2018 and said, “I’m gonna say one thing: Fuck Trump.” At that time he was greeted with raucous applause. Today there would probably have been a far more muted response…not just because Trump is President, but because Trump is watching. He notices. And he gets back at people.

On the other hand, Tik Tokers are certainly laying it down. There are many people saying their minds there, so much so that I’m surprised Elon hasn’t bought it yet! I’m impressed by them, particularly the younger folks doing so much to track what’s happening and expose it to the light. As the banner on The Washington Post reminds its readers, “Democracy Dies in Darkness.” Yet even as we speak, it’s dying at The Washington Post. Its multi-billionaire own Jeff Bezos has abandoned his formerly stated promise not to editorialize through the paper, now demanding that only “personal liberties and free markets” be covered on its Opinion Pages.

This is what the late Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis meant when he said “We must make our choice. We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we cannot have both.” Our society today, in ways more than at any time in our history, is one in which the average citizen’s freedom to be, to do, and most importantly to express, is limited by the political and economic power of a few.

I know something about having your words mischaracterized, used out of context, or otherwise weaponized against you - absolutely it’s career, or at least campaign-ending. You become radioactive. Words you never said, things you didn’t do, opinions you never expressed, and beliefs you don’t even ascribe to are used to create a doppleganger that it’s almost impossible to compete against. Saddest of all, people who know better will shy away from defending you because you’re radioactive and they’re afraid that if they speak up on your behalf, they’ll become radioactive too.

I am telling you. All that is dark and ugly and not the way we can afford to go. Words are powerful; they can heal, and they can harm. The most powerful words of all are true ones. To deny what you know to be true is a sin against yourself.

We are living in the twilight of our democracy now. Legislators I thought were silent about Trump’s transgressions because they’re afraid of losing their jobs, as it turns out have reported they’re silent about his transgressions because they’re afraid of losing their lives. Please read that sentence again and ask yourself very seriously what it means for this country.

There’s a line in A Course in Miracles that says ,“Miracles are born of conviction.” Conviction is a force multiplier. When hate speaks loudly, we cannot afford for love to whisper. Democracy does die in darkness - the darkness of tyranny, and shame, and fear. Chains that bind us do not have to be visible; they can be wound just as tightly around us when they are the chains of someone far more powerful than you making it clear, in whatever way, that you better not dare. I know those chains. Yet invisible chains are ours to throw off. Say it anyway. Say it loud and say it proud. Whatever is your heart’s truth. say it louder so the liars in the back can hear you.

Democracy does die in darkness, but tyranny dies in light.