Mark, you and I are like two peas in a pod. And there are many more like us. Unfortunately, so many are remaining silent, hoping it will all blow over.
With my poems and my articles… even my novels, I try to portray a United States of America that is kind, generous and open to ideas and good deeds. That Image is greatly at risk in today's environment. I can't see why anyone reading your list would not come out on our side unless somehow they have been brainwashed like most Germans were in the 1930s into thinking somehow they were superior to everyone else in the world. Easily shown to be patently wrong. And a dangerous slope to slide down.
"When Fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross."
(unknown source, attributed to Sinclair Lewis)
I believe in the principles of government outlined in the American Declaration of Independence.
Like Thomas Jefferson, I believe that we should have the right to do anything which does not
cause harm to others or take away their rights.
I served my country as a member of the U.S. Army from 1975 to 1978.
I am an agnostic atheist and secular humanist who strongly supports freedom of religion.
I also believe that one can follow teachings attributed to the Biblical Jesus without being religious,
and that many who claim to be Christian don't actually follow His teachings.
(Because of MAGA cultists, I have lost most of my remaining respect for Christianity.
Most atheists I know are more Christ-like than most of the Christians I encounter.
So many simpletons calling themselves Christian, behaving like bigots.)
I don't belong to any political party and I'm not impressed with either of our two major parties.
I was a Republican long ago, but I have since become an anti-Republican who is willing to vote
for Democrats to keep Republicans out of office. (I voted Libertarian in a couple of elections.)
Choosing between the two usually seems to me like choosing between evil and mediocrity.
I believe in peaceful protest and passive resistance.
No violence. No vandalism. No violation of the law.
This article was inspired by my trying to figure out
what I wanted to put on a protest sign.
Simple answers to complex problems are almost always wrong.
"If they are illegal, they should be deported." ?
Two different views on "The Law":
"I administer the law. Good, bad, or indifferent, it's no business of mine, but the law to the letter."
Inspector Javert (from the 1935 film version of "Les Misérables")
"Of liberty I would say that, in the whole plenitude of its extent, it is unobstructed action according
to our will. But rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn
around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law,' because law
is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the right of an individual."
Thomas Jefferson
See Mark 2:23-3:6
The point is: What is moral is not determined by what is lawful.
A Democratic society creates laws for the benefit of that society.
(We don't exist for the sake of the law. The law exists for our sake.)
And the members of that society are responsible for ensuring
that those laws lead us to do that which is moral.
See Luke 10:25-37
(I find it interesting that many American Catholics, besides ignoring the teachings of Jesus,
have ignored Pope Francis' and Pope Leo's objections to America's new immigration policies.
It makes me wonder who they really believe in.)
Of The Empire
We will be known as a culture that feared death
and adored power, that tried to vanquish insecurity
for the few and cared little for the penury of the
many. We will be known as a culture that taught
and rewarded the amassing of things, that spoke
little if at all about the quality of life for
people (other people), for dogs, for rivers.
All the world, in our eyes, they will say, was a
commodity. And they will say that this structure
was held together politically, which it was, and
they will say also that our politics was no more
than an apparatus to accommodate the feelings
of the heart, and that the heart, in those days,
was small, and hard, and full of meanness.
Mary Oliver (from "Red Bird", 2008)
Many people in America today are ignorant, incompetent,
and irresponsible. They are not really interested in truth,
and they don't like people who tell them what they don't
want to believe. Donald Trump is their champion because
he's just like them, and he tells them what they wish to hear.
(Micah 2:11)
I cannot convince the foolish ones, the brainwashed cultists,
the counterfeit Christians, those who refuse to see the truth.
I can't even save my own siblings.
απάθεια: Vita pergit. Accipio res ut sunt.
(The serenity to accept the things I cannot change.)
L'homme solitaire doit marcher seul. 🚶🏻♂️
I feel so ashamed right now, to have siblings who are so incredibly stupid,
so uneducated and so gullible, that they are fooled by the most illogical arguments,
and accept the most nonsensical claims and ridiculous conspiracy theories.
(Did you know that some schools have litter boxes at the back of their classrooms
for children who identify as cats?)
They are crackpots in tin foil hats. Like children, they live in a fantasy world
that is miles away from reality. Nearly everything they believe is untrue.
And they insult my intelligence when they try to convince me of things
that only a fool would believe. I am disgusted and I've had enough.
I served my country proudly, and I despise these phony Christians
who support its destruction.
I don't want anything to do with them anymore.
I don't want anything to remind me that I am connected to them.
It is time to walk away.
A military style ICE raid on an apartment building in Chicago
ended up arresting 37 undocumented immigrants.
Many innocent citizens who happened to live in the same building,
including children, were brutally treated and detained for hours,
for the crime of being non-white. Out of pure cruelty, their apartments
were ransacked, their furniture and other possessions destroyed.
When a woman, concerned about the children, naked and
zip tied together, in the street in the middle of the night,
asked, "Where is the morality? Where is the humanity?",
an ICE agent's only response was "F--- them children."
This is America in 2025!
An Atheist Perspective
Our country is ruled by brutes
who don't care about the rights of anyone
who is different from them.
It appears that most of the people
who call themselves Christian
are on their side.
They make excuses
to justify the brutality
against those who are not them.
Or simply deny that it exists.
It is easy to recognize
that they are hypocrites
and difficult to understand
why they can't recognize it themselves.
They don't seem to realize
that they are Star Witnesses
to the idea
that their God doesn't really exist.
Show me one True Christian.
Someone who is actually Christ-like.
(They seem pretty rare these days.)
I will disagree with them.
But I'll probably get along with them
just fine.
Mark Sebring (2025)
Luke 10:25-37
"A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho,
when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped
him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving
him half dead. A priest happened to be going down
the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed
by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came
to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side."
Matthew 25:41-46
"They too will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you
hungry or thirsty or a stranger needing clothes or sick
or in prison, and did not help you?'
He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not
do for the least of these, you did not do for me.'
Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the
righteous to eternal life."
I am planning to participate in the "No Kings 2.0" protests on October 18th,
but I've been feeling pretty pessimistic lately.
Since Donald Trump's return to power I have become more and more depressed.
It appears to me that evil has won. The America I knew and loved is gone.
The self-righteous simpletons who believe the lies are so numerous, so obtuse,
and so ruthless. I doubt we shall ever recover from the dumbing down of America.
But let's all protest while we still can.
We may not be able to do it again.
Our Führer has declared war
on those who disagree.
The end is coming for you and me.
"America is under invasion from within. We're under invasion from within.
No different than a foreign enemy, but more difficult in many ways 'cause
they don't wear uniforms. At least when they're wearing a uniform you can
take 'em out. These people don't have uniforms. But we are under invasion
from within. We're stopping it very quickly."
Donald Trump addressing U.S. Military leaders
See my "An Atheist Perspective" poem for more on "No Kings 2.0".
From the land of the milked and honeyed here’s a few political faux pas and a bit of attitude exposed to the harsh light of a Canadian who actually has their own opinion.
With my poems and my articles… even my novels, I try to portray a United States of America that is kind, generous and open to ideas and good deeds. That Image is greatly at risk in today's environment. I can't see why anyone reading your list would not come out on our side unless somehow they have been brainwashed like most Germans were in the 1930s into thinking somehow they were superior to everyone else in the world. Easily shown to be patently wrong. And a dangerous slope to slide down.
Ron
(unknown source, attributed to Sinclair Lewis)
I believe in the principles of government outlined in the American Declaration of Independence.
Like Thomas Jefferson, I believe that we should have the right to do anything which does not
cause harm to others or take away their rights.
I served my country as a member of the U.S. Army from 1975 to 1978.
I am an agnostic atheist and secular humanist who strongly supports freedom of religion.
I also believe that one can follow teachings attributed to the Biblical Jesus without being religious,
and that many who claim to be Christian don't actually follow His teachings.
(Because of MAGA cultists, I have lost most of my remaining respect for Christianity.
Most atheists I know are more Christ-like than most of the Christians I encounter.
So many simpletons calling themselves Christian, behaving like bigots.)
I don't belong to any political party and I'm not impressed with either of our two major parties.
I was a Republican long ago, but I have since become an anti-Republican who is willing to vote
for Democrats to keep Republicans out of office. (I voted Libertarian in a couple of elections.)
Choosing between the two usually seems to me like choosing between evil and mediocrity.
I believe in peaceful protest and passive resistance.
No violence. No vandalism. No violation of the law.
This article was inspired by my trying to figure out
what I wanted to put on a protest sign.
Simple answers to complex problems are almost always wrong.
"If they are illegal, they should be deported." ?
Two different views on "The Law":
"I administer the law. Good, bad, or indifferent, it's no business of mine, but the law to the letter."
Inspector Javert (from the 1935 film version of "Les Misérables")
"Of liberty I would say that, in the whole plenitude of its extent, it is unobstructed action according
to our will. But rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn
around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law,' because law
is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the right of an individual."
Thomas Jefferson
See Mark 2:23-3:6
The point is: What is moral is not determined by what is lawful.
A Democratic society creates laws for the benefit of that society.
(We don't exist for the sake of the law. The law exists for our sake.)
And the members of that society are responsible for ensuring
that those laws lead us to do that which is moral.
See Luke 10:25-37
(I find it interesting that many American Catholics, besides ignoring the teachings of Jesus,
have ignored Pope Francis' and Pope Leo's objections to America's new immigration policies.
It makes me wonder who they really believe in.)
Of The Empire
We will be known as a culture that feared death
and adored power, that tried to vanquish insecurity
for the few and cared little for the penury of the
many. We will be known as a culture that taught
and rewarded the amassing of things, that spoke
little if at all about the quality of life for
people (other people), for dogs, for rivers.
All the world, in our eyes, they will say, was a
commodity. And they will say that this structure
was held together politically, which it was, and
they will say also that our politics was no more
than an apparatus to accommodate the feelings
of the heart, and that the heart, in those days,
was small, and hard, and full of meanness.
Mary Oliver (from "Red Bird", 2008)
Many people in America today are ignorant, incompetent,
and irresponsible. They are not really interested in truth,
and they don't like people who tell them what they don't
want to believe. Donald Trump is their champion because
he's just like them, and he tells them what they wish to hear.
(Micah 2:11)
I cannot convince the foolish ones, the brainwashed cultists,
the counterfeit Christians, those who refuse to see the truth.
I can't even save my own siblings.
απάθεια: Vita pergit. Accipio res ut sunt.
(The serenity to accept the things I cannot change.)
L'homme solitaire doit marcher seul. 🚶🏻♂️
I feel so ashamed right now, to have siblings who are so incredibly stupid,
so uneducated and so gullible, that they are fooled by the most illogical arguments,
and accept the most nonsensical claims and ridiculous conspiracy theories.
(Did you know that some schools have litter boxes at the back of their classrooms
for children who identify as cats?)
They are crackpots in tin foil hats. Like children, they live in a fantasy world
that is miles away from reality. Nearly everything they believe is untrue.
And they insult my intelligence when they try to convince me of things
that only a fool would believe. I am disgusted and I've had enough.
I served my country proudly, and I despise these phony Christians
who support its destruction.
I don't want anything to do with them anymore.
I don't want anything to remind me that I am connected to them.
It is time to walk away.
A military style ICE raid on an apartment building in Chicago
ended up arresting 37 undocumented immigrants.
Many innocent citizens who happened to live in the same building,
including children, were brutally treated and detained for hours,
for the crime of being non-white. Out of pure cruelty, their apartments
were ransacked, their furniture and other possessions destroyed.
When a woman, concerned about the children, naked and
zip tied together, in the street in the middle of the night,
asked, "Where is the morality? Where is the humanity?",
an ICE agent's only response was "F--- them children."
This is America in 2025!
An Atheist Perspective
Our country is ruled by brutes
who don't care about the rights of anyone
who is different from them.
It appears that most of the people
who call themselves Christian
are on their side.
They make excuses
to justify the brutality
against those who are not them.
Or simply deny that it exists.
It is easy to recognize
that they are hypocrites
and difficult to understand
why they can't recognize it themselves.
They don't seem to realize
that they are Star Witnesses
to the idea
that their God doesn't really exist.
Show me one True Christian.
Someone who is actually Christ-like.
(They seem pretty rare these days.)
I will disagree with them.
But I'll probably get along with them
just fine.
Mark Sebring (2025)
Luke 10:25-37
"A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho,
when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped
him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving
him half dead. A priest happened to be going down
the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed
by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came
to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side."
Matthew 25:41-46
"They too will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you
hungry or thirsty or a stranger needing clothes or sick
or in prison, and did not help you?'
He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not
do for the least of these, you did not do for me.'
Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the
righteous to eternal life."
I am planning to participate in the "No Kings 2.0" protests on October 18th,
but I've been feeling pretty pessimistic lately.
Since Donald Trump's return to power I have become more and more depressed.
It appears to me that evil has won. The America I knew and loved is gone.
The self-righteous simpletons who believe the lies are so numerous, so obtuse,
and so ruthless. I doubt we shall ever recover from the dumbing down of America.
But let's all protest while we still can.
We may not be able to do it again.
Our Führer has declared war
on those who disagree.
The end is coming for you and me.
"America is under invasion from within. We're under invasion from within.
No different than a foreign enemy, but more difficult in many ways 'cause
they don't wear uniforms. At least when they're wearing a uniform you can
take 'em out. These people don't have uniforms. But we are under invasion
from within. We're stopping it very quickly."
Donald Trump addressing U.S. Military leaders
See my "An Atheist Perspective" poem for more on "No Kings 2.0".
🌎 MUNDUS SINE CAESARIBUS 👑