Boy, am I fed-up with way too many organizations and individuals. Let me tell you why.

As our planet seems to be enveloped in hate, incompetence, complacency and violence, too few of us seem concerned about doing something to deal with these problems. For most of my life, when such concerns arose, there was rapid involvement by groups and individuals eager to do their part. But, today, greed and selfishness have taken over. Even my “former”(?) hero, Bruce Springsteen, has let me down. He’s charging upwards of $5,000 per ticket for his newest tour, beginning in February 2023. Chutzpah is too nice a word for that behavior. If only that was the most immediate problem. Donald Trump and his band of traitors are still around. Yet, a serious and aggressive response to their behavior is still missing from too many quarters. The seemingly endless war on Ukraine remains deadlocked in misery and grief, Americans and cities are locked in death and destructive behavior, and the climate is more and more out of control. I will halt my list of calamities there; otherwise, I might have to look for a new planet to escape to. So, what are we going to do about this global mess?

Let’s begin with American cities. Not so long ago, mayors, county executives, and other city administrators, were shouting from the rooftops about reduced crime levels in their respective jurisdictions. Today, they are hiding in shame, afraid to do what is necessary to stem the violence. Afraid of being called racist, or weak, etc. they have seemingly given up, letting police take the blame for policies they themselves devised. Calling themselves “Progressive” and/or enlightened, they have allowed crime, homelessness, and neglect to fester, eating away at livability and decent behavior. Anyone visited San Francisco lately and come away impressed?

By the way, isn’t it in fact racist for public officials to allow so many of their inner-city citizenry to be attacked and slain without a significant response because these politicians are are afraid of being singled-out for overly aggressive behavior towards particular identifiable groups within their jurisdictions?

As for most of the Republican Party, shame, betrayal, cowardice and stupidity, are some of the adjectives that fit. Lincoln would probably have most of them tried as insurrectionists. Such individuals care little about their own country. For them, what’s important is increasing their personal power and/or wealth. They see the pictures on the screen, read newspapers and participate in social media. They come away blind to poverty, disease, homelessness, etc. They witness and applaud destructive leaders, political sycophants, narcissists, and truly evil people. Unfortunately, most of them actually know better.

Historically, I can take you back to almost any time period and describe where the behavior described above leads: fascism and the end of democracy. This holds true for the Roman Empire, Italy under Mussolini, Hitler, and Donald Trump’s plans for an America he again will attempt to lead. Some of you may applaud the latter, but all of us—and especially our children—will be caught up in the hatred and violence, and anarchy Trump’s America will breed. You want to take a chance on any of that?

Forceful action, political involvement, and a compassionate, unselfish spirit, are all required if America is to survive this alarming emergence of Trumpist fascism and criminal behavior. Fear is pervading this country and it will not fade until we act to destroy the pernicious seeds already sown within us. Our past is not spotless. Racism is imbued amongst us and is destroying the decency that remains. It won’t get better until we are all fed-up enough to act responsibly.