PUSH 'EM BACK, PUSH 'EM BACK!

Waaaay back!

Photo: Jim Vallee

We had so many chances to prevent this precarious moment and we didn’t.

We had so many chances to stop this juggernaut and we didn’t.

And now we are where we are. We owe it to ourselves, our children, and our country to be clear-eyed about what’s happening now.

To those who say this is being negative, I say there’s nothing negative about yelling “Fire!” if the house is burning. The millions of Americans who stood on the sidelines for decades - chanting “I don’t do politics,” “That’s not where the change will come from,” or “Politics is too toxic” as an excuse for their complacency and lack of citizen involvement - are seeing in real time the old French adage, “If you don’t do politics, politics will do you.”

TrumpWorld is not only stealing the November election - actively, as we speak - but some among them have decided that should the American people get a little too pesky on Election Day, “We might as well get this over with.” This is a rolling coup, and if it reaches a climactic level then opponents will be dealt little mercy. They have agents to round people up. They have detainment centers to put us in. They have executive orders labeling protesters domestic terrorists and enemies of the state. A fascist takeover of America is a very real possibility over the next few months.

Yet there’s another real possibility as well, and that’s an historic pendulum swing on November 3, 2026. Believe it or not, I was a cheerleader in the seventh grade! I remember the outfit, the red and white pom poms, and the chant of “Push ‘em back! Push ‘em back! Waaaaay back!” But this time, it’s not a game.

I have no doubt the majority of Americans are fed up with what’s happening. The challenge is to make sure we have a fair and free election midterm election, of course, and each of us should make it our personal business to make sure it is. Join with others. Sign up to help! And don’t underestimate your power online. That’s where a lot of the darkness is, and it needs to be met with a lot more light. Any time you see an obvious lie online, you can respond to it with a link, or an argument, from a reputable source that challenges the lie and proffers an established truth. You might think it wouldn’t make a difference, but it does! You never know who’s going to read your response. You don’t know what influence it might have. Anything, even the slightest act that permeates the field with light helps eradicate the darkness. In the quantum field of infinite possibility, there’s no such thing as big or small.

One of the biggest problems we have these days is that the abnormal has been so normalized, it’s hard to be heard above the noise. Congressman Ted Lieu reported that in the unredacted Epstein files there are several allegations of child rape by the President, yet the press has treated it like it’s just another news bit. “Oh, it’s only allegations!” Yeah, right. So nothing to see there. Congress said they want all the unredacted files released, of course, but at this point that doesn’t even matter. Former Attorney General Pam Bondi said, “Nah,” and current acting Attorney General Todd Blanche says, “Nah,” so that’s it. That’s the America we live in today.

That’s just one current example of many, where laws are broken, principles trampled upon, even lives lost because of the criminal gang that’s now in charge. And again, it’s not negative to point this out. Yes, we’re offering solutions galore - beginning with November 3rd! In A Course in Miracles, its says “Look at the crucifixion but do not dwell on it.” In other words, don’t ignore the darkness - just don’t get so swept up in it that you spiral down. To ignore it entirely is not transcendence; it’s denial. A nation in denial is a nation that’s going down. The Course discusses positive denial - where you don’t deny the darkness exists, but you deny it the power to override the light.

Within the purview of the light, we don’t all agree on everything of course. In a free society, we don’t have to! But we all value freedom, and justice, and a rules based order based on law. We value the Declaration of Independence. We value the U.S. Constitution. We value democracy. We value humanitarian principles. And we are willing to make a stand for them all, when and if they are under assault.

Let’s commit to ourselves, to God, and to each other, that we will do what we can today - and on every day hereafter - to help make a difference and dissolve the chaos. The midterm elections are less than six months away. Also, friends don’t let friends pretend that there’s nothing we can do! There’s a lot we can do. Martin Luther King, Jr. said we should use every encounter as a chance for moral persuasion. Let’s leave behind the world of constant small talk. Only you can decide whether you’ll play life shallow or you’ll play life deep. Play it shallow, and they’re coming after us. Play it deep, and they will be stopped in their tracks. We’ll push ‘em waaaaay back. We the People, awakened and alert, shall rise up like a mighty force.