In 2026, we have witnessed terrible moral breakdown. The very idea of decency has come under violent attack.
Groups of citizens have had to organize to provide acts of basic human kindness and rescue. Their forthright courage is a reminder of our ability to do big things through an accumulation of small acts in support of others.
In December 2017, as this nihilist ethic of no ethics had begun to infect American democracy, I wrote:
“Hope, good will, and fairness are participatory… cynicism is a destabilizing temptation… our conscious awareness is the cathedral where ethics is born, honored and sent forth.”
What this means is:
- The world—this mythic space in which we receive the force of circumstance—is not beyond saving.
- Our humanity is where we find our strength, which is rooted in our unique and experiential vulnerability.
- Honest consideration of evidence must always lead power to avoid harming the vulnerable.
- Unprecedented deviations can be followed by soul-livening reconciliation and overcoming.
The touchstone is: Keep trying, always.
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