Protest by non observance, that's what I intend to do.
Or it's what I intended to do.
My attitude, which is quite pronounced on this, is already getting me in some trouble around the house, but I won't be "that guy" who has to answer why they didn't do anything at all when a tyrant was on the rise.
Everyone always imagines themselves on the side of right. "If I'd lived in Nazi Germany, I wouldn't have gone along. . ." Well, bull. If recent history has shown us anything, it's that people will continue to travel along a path well after its obvious that they're being lead by a disaster. People stampeded into voting for the NSDAP in 1932 were still supporting them in 1936, and if disquieted by September 1939, they went along still.
That's exactly what's going on now. Trump's administration is authoritarian to the core and has people in it who hold shockingly racist views. Just this past week there were cries to sterilize foreigners if they entered the US.
"Oh, they don't really mean that. . .they won't execute the Jews".
When the United States declared independence 250 years ago, it claimed, amongst its justifications, the following:
- He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
Trump has done this.
- He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
Trump has done this.
- He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
Trump has effectively done this.
- He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our People, and eat out their substance.
Trump has done this, in the form of DOGE and ICE.
- He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislature.
Trump has done this, in the form of ICE.
- He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
Trump again has attempted to do this.
- He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
Executive orders, anyone?
- For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
ICE and deployments of the National Guard.
- For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
Trump is effectively attempting this.
- He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
January 6?
Trump has always been a completely illegitimate President, although nobody has bothered to challenge this at law. Insurrectionist, which he is, are not allowed to serve in the office, and it has never previously been the case that those known to be insurrectionist are required to be proven such at law. As he is an illegal occupant, he has no actual authority, other than what negligence affords him.
And that has been done on a vast scale. He's take the country all the way into a war in the Middle East he cannot win, and which Americans are going to pay the price for, for years.
Freedom wasn't taken from the American people. They surrendered it to a demented oligarch. They did it through their votes, and their not bothering to vote. This is going to get much worse before it gets better. Some of the damage will be permanent, but it may also be the case that necessary reforms will come about.
More than anything, this betrayal of the founding principals of the nation has come about due to the abject cowardice of the American people. People know this is wrong, but they aren't willing to say anything to anyone about it.
A cowardly people doesn't honor their brave ancestors by setting off fireworks. In this case, those people would be best honored by turning their backs to a celebration which King Donald has tried to make all about himself. Indeed, at last, their starting too. The large "state fair" King Donald admiration fest is being ignored.
The entire Fourth of July should be ignored this year. The nation dishonors the Revolution by attempting to celebrate it with an increasingly fascistic would be monarch in office.
Other folks noting the same thing:
Also, I read in article in the Washington Post that a fairly percentage of people like me who can remember the Bicentennial are sitting this one out, upset about the country falling into fascism.
***
But a fairly high percentage will also likely find, like me, that family celebrations and whatnot will likely intervene.
We'll have to be careful.
Honest, but careful.
***
Pope Leo addressed the United States, his home nation, yesterday.
ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIVACCEPTANCE OF THE LIBERTY MEDAL OFTHE NATIONAL CONSTITUTION CENTER (USA)Friday, 3 July 2026Dear friends,I am honored to accept the Liberty Medal of the National Constitution Center in this year that marks the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America with the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. On the eve of this momentous occasion, I offer a warm greeting to all those assembled at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. As a son of this great country, founded by courageous men and women who dreamed of liberty and of a better life for themselves and for their children, I join you in asking God’s blessings upon America’s future, that the lofty ideals enshrined at the beginning of the Declaration of Independence may continue to guide the flourishing of the nation in unity, justice and peace.From our youth, most of us have admired the eloquence of those words, with their resounding appeal to the law of nature and to nature’s God as the basis of their assertion that all men and women are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, including the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. While couched in the language of the Enlightenment, that claim is ultimately grounded in an understanding of the human person inspired by the great biblical vision of man and woman being created in the divine image. It is indeed here that we discover the basis of human dignity; dignity which precedes the establishment of any State, and whose custody constitutes its very purpose.In these past two-hundred and fifty years, for so many peoples throughout the world, it was the firm resolve to achieve the noble vision of the nation’s founders that made America a byword for freedom, as the country opened its doors to successive waves of immigrants, enabling them and their children to play their part in shaping the future of the nation. It was this same love of freedom that inspired the United States, in the darkest hours of the last century, at the time of the two world wars, to look beyond itself and, at great sacrifice, to champion the cause of freedom beyond its own borders.As every American knows, however, the path to building a society that would embody those high ideals of liberty and justice for all was not always easy and, in many respects, is still a work in progress. Indeed, the effort to realize this vision is one that must be taken up anew in each generation and in the face of ever new challenges. Today, as we look to the future, this historic anniversary presents us with the opportunity to reflect once again on the nation’s founding principles in the hope that America will remain ever true to the dream that has earned it the title of land of the free and home of the brave.The first right enshrined by the nation’s founders was the right to life, for no one who is deprived of life can enjoy liberty or pursue happiness. A country’s vitality is deeply tied to the value it affords to human life in every form and condition, acknowledging the dignity endowed upon every human person by virtue of their very existence. The inherent worth of every human life has led the noble hearts of generations to praise the marvelous works of the Creator (cf. Ps 139:14) and stand in reverence before so precious a gift. Indeed, it is precisely this reverence that we must continue to cultivate — one that sways the hearts of individuals and inspires laws that recognize and safeguard the gift from the moment of conception to natural death. Reverence, too, will aid us in discovering that we are guardians and stewards of those entrusted to our care. In this regard, the moral greatness of a nation is manifested, above all, in its capacity to support, protect and cherish the lives of all, especially the most vulnerable and those whose worth is questioned.Following the right to life, liberty was and is preeminent among the principles revered by the men and women who have sought within this nation’s borders a new beginning, often equating it with previously undreamed-of hope. Though frequently understood as the ability to act as one would like, authentic freedom runs much deeper. It is founded upon the human person’s capacity to know the truth and adhere to what is good, even at great cost — a sacrifice well known to many who have labored to shape this country. The desire for truth and freedom, as well as the very pursuit of happiness, continues to inspire people of all generations to ask fundamental questions regarding the meaning of life, our ultimate purpose, and indeed about God, and it is proper for magnanimous hearts to endeavor to answer these questions with sincerity. These answers inevitably determine the direction which we seek to give to our lives, and America has long championed the religious freedom necessary to follow responsibly the dictates of conscience in this regard, free from fear and coercion, as enshrined in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.It is this freedom that holds sacred the inner sphere of the person where convictions are formed and where conscience can guide the decisions made in the intimacy of the human heart. This same freedom also ensures the right of every person to worship according to one’s own belief, and of individuals, communities and associations to give public expression to their faith. In fact, religious freedom gave rise to the American tradition of allowing for interfaith dialogue and interreligious cooperation in promoting the public good and enriching the debates on the great moral and ethical issues that have faced the nation and shaped the course of its history. It is my hope that this tradition will continue to bear fruit in a public discourse marked by moderation, respect for the views of others and an ongoing effort to find common ground in promoting the cause of peace and reconciliation, at home and abroad.The forbearers of this country, men and women of diverse backgrounds, religions and languages, were able to find that common ground and the strength necessary to pursue a better future. The principles that inspired America’s founders, rooted as they are in the truth of the human person, brought them together in a single cause, a common dream. Unity lent strength to that dream, giving rise, under God, to the United States of America. E pluribus unum — out of many, one. In order for a nation to flourish, it must be truly united; united not by goals bound to momentary endeavors, but by ideals that do not fade with the passing of time. May the principles we have reflected upon today — a shared human dignity, equality and the rights laid out in the Declaration of Independence — ever be a source of such unity and a guiding light for the present moment and for the years to come.In accepting this award, I therefore pray that this, the 250th anniversary of the founding of this great nation, may be the occasion of a solemn recommitment to these ideals that have made America a country that values peace and prosperity, a country characterized by generosity and nobility of heart. I commend all of you, as well as the future of the Nation, to the One who is himself the source of true freedom and lasting peace, the One whose very name is Peace.May God bless America! Thank you!
This is, I'd note, copyrighted, but I'm claiming the fair use exception here.
Pope Leo has really been a shining light for Americans who are horrified by Donald Trump. He's particularly a shining light for people like me, who are conservatives horrified by Donald Trump. He's proof to the world that not all Americans are some sort of strange Dixiecrat vandals.
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