'When Doves Cry'

It was a tough time to be Pope, or any honest sort of spiritual or religious leader, when compassion and integrity itself is under attack by the same far-right forces and ignorance that is attacking our planet.

Pope Francis was a man made for his moment and blessed us with a living example of faith in action. His humility and service to others wasn’t an act, it was an inspiration. Let us hope many will follow his example of a life spent in service to others.

From feeding the poor to caring about the environment and recognizing the threat humanity faces due to climate change, Pope Francis was at odds with the MAGA policies and rampant xenophobia of the men who tattoo latin phrases on their pasty white-gym body-forearms.

A toxic mess of masculinity and machine guns intertwined with the sort of top-down fascism of Opus Dei and it’s adherents, who are are peppered throughout the Trump administration with its ideological little red book, ‘Project 2025’.

One of the Trump administration’s first actions was to shut down USAID which through its partnerships in Sudan alone was helping to alleviate starvation that a staggering 25 million people faced as a result of war and famine.

We walked away as a nation, basically overnight, and left babies to die of hunger. A tragic tableau of skin and bones and innocent, desperate eyes juxtaposed against the smug painted face of a lifelong conman who has only taken from this world, never given. Turning our backs on the very essence of how many of us think of ourselves as Americans: a kind and caring people.

All to serve the inhumanity of one man and his team of sycophants and deputy despots. The folks who wear crucifixes as props as they dole out intemperate rhetoric designed to demean the most vulnerable among us.

Has there ever been a more more un-Christian group of folks than the band degenerates Trump has assembled in Washington, DC?

Trump now holds sway and an increasing amount of unitarian executive power over tens of millions of Americans who apparently have no problem with the abject cruelty of his policies. People who have come to accept the definition of Christianity being served up at places like CPAC, which seems to more accurately serve as a finishing school for fascists and hypocrites.

It’s a sad time to be a citizen if you share any concern for your fellow man.

The only thing that even seems to drive the folks who voted for him out of their self-centered lives of vacation selfies and bare-chested guns and ammo pics, is when they take umbrage for being called stupid for voting not once but three times for the most corrupt and criminal man in America.

It was the single most destructive thing they could have done if they truly cared about this country. But they were too hopped on Fox News and MAGA toxic idiot culture to give damn. For that they will suffer, along with the rest of us but not nearly as much as those outside of our borders, which by the way, should be open to any and all asylum seekers and hardworking folks searching for a better life.

We have the room and could use the help, despite what a bunch of fascists tell you on a podcast or what you hear in Trump’s own bigoted and racist rhetoric. He pushes other people down in order to push himself up. He’s a predator and always has been.

You think anyone in his cabinet would want him left alone with their teenage daughter? His own kids don’t even allow that; he’s a deviant man and he’s gotten away with stuff most folks would have gone to jail for because he’s rich and he hired ex-cops as personal security guards - and now he wants to be a belligerent king.

He seeks to be all powerful and arrest judges for standing up to his crimes. (Though his own sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, was allowed to quietly retire from the federal bench when she was exposed for tax fraud during his first term). Perhaps even seeking a third term as POTUS for which he is already selling Trump 2028 hats on his website.

How do you think that will work out for the good people of the world? We’re already seeing the disastrous results of his evil reign. And evil is how it will be known, make no mistake about how disturbing an era he just ushered in - it’s gonna get mighty dark.

Which means the light matters now more than an ever and the Pope shared light, dignity and a humble grace in a time of great sorrow and upheaval. In a time of wars and pandemics and far too much famine and neglect, he answered the call with love.

We are meant to witness such love. Love for humanity and this planet and all of its creatures.

Nothing is more important in the end than our ability to recognize and accept life where we meet it. And where it needs US to take action. Our ability to make a difference in the lives of our fellow humans is what matters most - and ALL of us have the ability to affect meaningful change. Even when we feel powerless, our actions matter.

We find ourselves living through one of those moments now. The strength we need might come from a source beyond our own individual lives; it is in service to that universal power that we can anchor our lives.

You can decide for yourself how to define such an ephemeral spirit. Dogma and religion are almost beside the point if you can truly grasp the big picture. Especially in terms of what is needed NOW, which is a global recognition of the basic humanity of EVERY citizen on this planet and a guiding philosophy of love and tolerance for all beings.

Any economic or foreign policy decision should encompass a baseline of caring for and protecting ALL of our rights and opportunities in life. You have to understand the complex nature of the world - and sometimes learn to just breathe in the face of calamity - to be of real value in the lives of those you wish to help.

When folks try and harm the innocent, it is incumbent upon the righteous to speak out and bear witness. We live in a time of bullies and cowards. We defeat them with truth.

The antidote to their aggression is the constant replenishing of our own capacity to love. To protect beauty in the face of horror and uncertainty. To celebrate diversity.

To strive for decency and honor over avarice and retribution. To serve love itself instead of the broken egos of mediocre men who lust for darker ages.

The Pope spent his last moments showing the world that resilience in the face of so much sorrow can withstand any storm if it is buttressed with clear-eyed compassion and brotherly love.

Not just a love for one’s religion or particular tribe but a love for all of humanity.

That is where it begins, or where it ends.

The choice is up to all of us - choose love.