Democracy Out Loud #445:A different world

The promise of apocalypse is that we can build, and become, something new.

Every day, it becomes so very clear how the system is rigged in favor of the wealthy and of white people, and how the few billionaires who are afraid of losing their power are intentionally wrecking our elections and other institutions we have cherished.

All is not lost. With this comes a new invitation to understand that “due process” has always been a flimsy garment that never covered the shame of mass incarceration or legalized slavery (see 13th for example). The horrifying cruelty of ICE agents and dehumanizing conditions in the immigration prisons are not new. They have been an inextricable part of our history by other names for hundreds of years.

Starvation of millions of people all over the planet is not new either. Yet because we are seeing so many people starve so needlessly on our screens, there is a new global consciousness about how very wrong this is. We feel deep in our hearts and our bellies that human beings, all human beings, must have the right to food and shelter and medical care at the very least.

Einstein said, “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”

We are being called to another level of consciousness, one that simply will not tolerate cruelty and violence and which draws us inevitably into deep care for ourselves and one another.

We are not a country that has valued human rights. For a brief moment we got voting rights and civil rights legislation, but now both are being decimated. The status quo is collapsing. In its place we imagine something completely different.

Whatever you are doing to fight for democracy or human rights, or to create love and community around you, is important.

There are a ton of protests now everywhere, all the time. Kathryn does a great job of compiling those in the Triangle; see this list for things coming up this week.

On Saturday, August 16, we can participate in Triangle Bridges to Freedom from 9:30 to 11 am. You can find out more at this link.

ICE:

A beloved DACA recipient and community organizer, Catalina "Xochitl" Santiago, was detained by ICE. Her community in El Paso is applying pressure to free her. You can sign the petition at this link.

Will (Tae Huang) Kim, a 40-year-old lawful permanent resident, was also detained in an airport this week and about to be deported. You can sign this petition and learn about other ways to take action at this link. Mr. Kim is a doctoral student at Texas A&M whose crime was possessing marijuana 14 years ago.

It doesn’t seem like much, advocating for two individuals when this is happening to thousands of people each day. But we have learned that pressure works, and this is one way of letting ICE know that we are paying attention. Also, these organizing efforts show us how to advocate for people who are kidnapped by ICE.

There have been FoxTakedown protests all over the country. Ellen wonders if we might want to host one, and indeed Fox does have a station in Raleigh. What do you think?

Rev. William Barber is planning a Moral Monday on August 18 in Washington DC and several places in the South including Raleigh NC. You can find out more at this link and details about Raleigh will be available soon.

GAZA:

Bhikkhu Bodhi, a beloved Buddhist teacher, initiated this petition, saying “The petition is overly idealistic, I know, like shooting arrows at the moon, but it may help to create a cosmic psychic force of resistance to genocide by starvation and slaughter.”

“A cosmic psychic force of resistance” is certainly what we need. Other ways to build it include donations to Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, the Sameer Project, or Jewish Voice for Peace, which also offers many ways to take action and learn more.

If you are feeling a lot of grief right now, that’s good. The alternative is denial and indifference. Please see below for information about a course Lama Rod is offering called “Apocalyptic Grief.” His team is offering Democracy Out Loud a discount (code DEMOCRACYGRIEF), and if it is still too expensive, write to programs@lamarod.com and request some financial assistance. Another option is a self-guided course I am also taking called “The Dharma of Spiritual Abolition.”

Audre Lorde said, “The master’s tools cannot dismantle the master’s house.” This is why expansion of our consciousness as well as our movement is crucial right now. I appreciated that Governor Hochul hosted the Democratic Texas State Representatives and said, “This is a war. We are at war.” Our weapons are nonviolence, and community, and faith in the magic and power of something beyond this troubled world.

Everyone is invited to join us this Tuesday from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm for our 445th consecutive weekly meeting. “Doors open” at 11 am; come early if you are new so we can welcome you. If you need the zoom link, email Jewel at democracyoutloud@gmail.com and tell her a bit about yourself. Everyone is also invited to our Thursday meditation at 10 am at the same zoom link.

May we keep doing what we are called to do and know that we are not alone. May we expand in a time of contraction, and find courage in a time of fear.

love, Karen

This is an intense moment of both personal and collective grief. We are surviving the collapse of systems and with that collapse we experience the discomfort of loss and change. Our survival and witnessing of this collapse can feel overwhelming.

Apocalyptic grief is reminding us that grief is generative and necessary, that it is a partner helping us to practice care as it encourages us to change and embody more liberatory ways of being.

Join Lama Rod Owens for talks and guided practice, as well as exploration of herbal and sacred stone allyship, all relying on the wisdom of Tantric Buddhism, West African spirituality, the Black Prophetic tradition, American Indigenous traditions, and sacred herbalism.

In Apocalyptic Grief, a 3-Part Practice Series & Ritual Journey, you will have a practice that will support you in tending to this moment of both personal and collective grief.

Apocalyptic Grief
A Spiritual Abolitionist Practice and Ritual Journey through Our Broken Hearts During Systemic Collapse

A Three-Part Practice Series and Ritual Journey
Sunday, August 16th, 23rd, 30th, 2025 from 1-4pm ET

Sign Up Here & Get 10% Off with Code DEMOCRACYGRIEF: https://www.lamarod.com/grief2025

“Baldwin Was Right”

they don’t need ropes

when they’ve got red tape—

laws that starve,

rules that rape

the dignity

from a mother’s plate.

they call it reform—

we call it a noose,

tightened with every

budget excuse.

today,

the lynching’s neat:

paper trails

instead of blood in the street,

but the grave

don’t care

how you got there.

©️MustafaSantiagoAli