Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
--George Santayana, Spanish/American philosopher

Understanding our world and most of what is here is part of our purpose as human beings. In a few words it is a measure of our progress, in thinking, in asking, and in doing. It is both the sum and substance of who we are, and what we can be. With it, we thrive. Without it, we die as surely as if we had fallen on our own swords.

In less than 120 days, we have seen curiosity throughout our land wane; asking who, what, or why has been greatly curtailed; and finding our freedom to speak, to act, to challenge, and to seek out justice have all been challenged or cast aside. Under the guise of honesty and free speech, we have found instead lies and deception about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness coming from the White House and from the lips of our President. But there is more: We have also heard a lot of double-talk; we’ve watched as decisions handed down from our Supreme Court have been ignored; and observed thugs wearing ICE insignia attack innocent men, women, and children, handcuff them, and haul them off to prison without being told why or for what purpose. The President has openly defied his duty to follow the Constitution. Instead, he has chosen to ignore it in favor of becoming the grand master of all he surveys by engaging in economic policies that already are failing; he is taking from our nation’s poor and is giving trillions of dollars to a small group of billionaires; he is looking for ways to accept a $400 million dollar aircraft as a free gift despite the Constitution’s warning against taking emoluments. His entire cast of cabinet heads have been instructed to have suddenly forgotten how to remember when asked very specific questions about why they persist in being turncoats loyal to the President instead of being true to their oaths of office found in our Constitution. Yes, in less that four months he has turned treason into a virtue; dishonored our past and our institutions; destroyed families of immigrants without due process of law; and replaced our principles of fidelity with obedience to an obscene set of demands unfit for human consumption.

This is not politics as usual. He is replacing our democracy with a dictatorship. It is the compilation of 50 years of studying, copying, revising, and asserting half-truths, crafting blatant lies and presenting them as truth, and using misguided acts as if you and I were too stupid to know the difference. It is there in the Heritage Foundation’s 900+ pages of discourse known as Project 2025, a set of distortions so misguided that our forebears must be shouting from their graves. This is too sickening to be an insurrection. It is treason.

We are already at a crossroads, requiring a decision as surely as if our lives depended on it—because they do. Standing up for freedom of speech, for justice, and for our generational obligation to preserve, protect, and defend our way of life are all on the line. There is no way dare we allow small bands of misguided thugs to  attack, handcuff, and take our citizens and residents off the streets and force them into trucks and vans to end up in prisons without due process of law.

Are we sunshine patriots afraid of cold, dark places? Will we go “gentle into that good night” as we watch, listen, and turn the other cheek? Or will we re-connect with the 56 signers of our Declaration of Independence who promised each other their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor? The words of Patrick Henry will do for me: “I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!”