The US-Israel War on Humanity: What is Next? By Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD.

Egoistic Warriors vs. Mankind

The trajectory of war against Iran unleashed authoritarianism of dark ages propelling insanity and dystopian supremacy using democracy to shield their crimes against humanity. A hybrid culture, part human and part vulture. Humanity and its future appears disdained and unpredictable. The American-Israel war claims peace, democracy for the Iranian people but exhibits continuous bombardments of civilian populations, pains, deaths, horrors and devastation of essential life infrastructures. Trump and Netanyahu do not appear to be normal beings but despotic kings to undermine their own national interest and security. Trump lied about “America First”, it is Israel First and a Plan for “Greater Israel” is already operational. What is at stake?  

Global humanity is being marginalized and threatened by just two political figures lacking effective leadership and accountability for the consequences of their sadistic thinking. President Trump and PM Netanyahu would deny the emerging plan for “Greater Israel” but coordinate and solidify its top priority for the conquest of the whole Arab Middle East. Their actions make no distinction between vice and virtue. The UN Secretary General condemns the US-Israel war against Iran and Iran’s retaliatory attack on the Gulf States. Conscientious citizens of Israel feel being hostages as their normal lives are ruined by daily Iranian bombardment, destruction, and the political agenda of an extremist leader and a group of people.  Across Western Europe, millions march in solidarity with Palestinians, peace and demand an end to hostilities. Absurd propositions of wars deny the truth but truth is one and has its own language and that this is a war on humanity impacting all segments of social, economic and human affairs. America and Israel are not the friends but foes of the Arab world. They continued to exploit the sectarian divides and dehumanize the socio-economic culture of the Arab societies. To stop insanity, the Arab people should wake-up and realize the factual challenges to defend themselves.

The war has its hidden objectives, to annihilate the whole of the Arab oil producing region, massacre anyone opposing the war and asking for peace, freedom and justice and to make Israel the new superpower of the Middle East. Israel under PM Netanyahu and extremists face no hurdle to evolve “Greater Israel”, no law and no civilized challenge to stop the march for putting finished answers to Palestine.  The West European and the US leaders used to propel an imaginary Utopian world of human rights, peace without war and to foresee the “succeeding generations free of the scourge of war” as a legal and political responsibility. Not so, they have all failed miserably to protect the entrenched mankind. The imagination of a promising  glorious future simply turned by the few against many as an inferno of horrors, killings and utter devastation throughout Palestine and Persian Gulf. 

How Global Leaders Betrayed the Arab Masses?

How strange! The sanctity of human life carries no importance and value but flow of oil assumes top priority to go via Strait of Hurmuz. Trump issues another 48 hrs ultimatum to Iran for the opening of Hurmuz which is already functional and open to all except enemies of Iran and Islam. Trump and Netanyahu detached from reality and desperate to finding out a way for the end of hostilities, disguise their failure as a triumph of insanity. They bombed hospitals, schools, innocent civilians and destroyed what was built over centuries, cruelty knows no cure. Truth is One, indivisible and irreversible, both Trump and Netanyahu are a liability on global conscience - crime riddled politicians always looking for more sadistic opportunities. The oil enriched Arab leaders lost the Islamic history of moral obligations, compassion and intellect and wanted to buy wisdom with wealth. The Western nations fed the Arabian societies with contaminated foods for a long time to change their thinking and behaviors and make them robotic machines to enjoy sports, pleasures and palaces. The Arab masses live in discontent and despair not knowing the reality of upcoming future – crimes and genocide by Israel enlarged to cover the Arabian Peninsula.“The World Wonders! Where are the Arab Leaders”,https://realovi.wordpress.com/2025/07/20/the-world-wonders-where-are-the-arab-leaders-by-mahboob-a-khawaja-phd/

America and Israel cannot defend themselves, how could they defend others? The American-Israeli collaborative war on Iran and Palestine and its immediate consequences made the Western world shamefully redundant and void in the 21st century global norms of civility, human rights, freedom, justice and safety of civilians.

Human Life is a Test of Good and Evil and Accountability

All material powers are exhaustible and the notion of being the most powerful nation is absurd and a political distraction. Sinisterism and unacknowledged motives make Trump and Netanyahu pathological liars unaware of their own ending. They do not seem to have faith in God, humanity and accountability for their actions. God created you as human beings – the most intelligent creation on this planet with moral and intellectual capacity, obligations and accountability. Earth is a “trust”to mankind for its existence, sustenance of life, survival, progress and future-making. Wherever there is trust, there is accountability. Those bombing the earth and killing innocent people are not normal people but a curse to mankind. The Divine warning (The Quran: 7:56), warns:Do no mischief on the Earth after it hath been set in order, but call on God with fear and longing in hearts; For the Mercy of God is always near to those who do good.), the reminder is explicit: We created not the Heavens and the Earth; And all between them merely in idle sport. We created them not, Except for just ends. But most of them do not understand. (44:38-39).You cannot pretend to think and behave like animals. Animals live and do not reflect on the imperatives of life whereas, we, the human beings cannot act like animals as we are supposed to be intelligent and responsible species on this Earth. At the edge of reason, the notion of evil leads to realization of evil and tyranny of genocide must be stopped by all means to restore the manifestation of equal rights, peace, justice and security for all. Intelligent people, leaders and nations always readily accept advice: The followers of Moses – the generations of Israelite are reminded by God (The Quran 2: 84-85 ):And remember, We took a Covenant from the Children of Israel (progeny of Jacob), Worship none but God; ….shed no blood amongst you, Nor displace people from  homes: and Ye solemnly ratified, And to this ye can bear witness…. It was not lawful for you to banish another party, then it is only a part of the Book that ye believe in…. And on the Day of Judgment they shall be consigned to the most grievous penalty, For God is not unmindful what ye do.

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Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja specializes in international affairs-global security, peace and conflict resolution and has spent several academic years across the Russian-Ukrainian and Central Asian regions knowing the people, diverse cultures of thinking and political governance and a keen interest in Islamic-Western comparative cultures and civilizations, and author of several publications including: Global Humanity and Remaking of Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution for the 21st Century and Beyond, Barnes and Noble Press, USA, 2025. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/global-humanity-and-remaking-of-peace-security-and-conflict-resolution-for-the-21st-century-and-beyond-mahboob-a-khawaja/1147150197?ean=9798317619374 and We, The People in Search of Global Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution. 05/2025 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F6V6CH5W 

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Check Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD. eBOOK,
Wars on Humanity:
Ukraine, Palestine and the role of Global Leaders
HERE!

A day without credibility by Farida Iri

World Health Day is meant to be a moment of collective reflection; a pause in the global calendar when nations recommit to the fragile, shared project of keeping human beings alive and well. It is, at its core, a day about trust. Trust in science, in institutions, in the idea that public health is a common good rather than a partisan accessory. Which is precisely why, in the current American context, the observance risks becoming something closer to performance art.

How does a country celebrate global health while stepping away from the very body designed to coordinate it? How does it promote wellness under leadership that has, at best, treated medical consensus as optional? These are not merely rhetorical questions; they reveal a deeper contradiction that no amount of official messaging can smooth over.

The symbolism matters. Withdrawing from an international health organization is not just a bureaucratic maneuver, it is a declaration about priorities. It suggests that cooperation is expendable, that expertise is negotiable, and that the messy, imperfect business of global solidarity can be traded for the illusion of self-sufficiency. Yet viruses do not carry passports, and pandemics do not respect national ego. The idea that public health can be walled off is not just naïve; it is dangerous.

Then there is the matter of leadership. When those tasked with safeguarding public health flirt with ...or openly embrace, anti-vaccine rhetoric, the damage extends far beyond policy. It seeps into the cultural bloodstream. Vaccines, one of the most successful interventions in human history, become reframed as suspect. Doubt, once fringe, gains a veneer of legitimacy. And in a landscape already saturated with misinformation, even a hint of official skepticism can metastasize quickly.

The result is a peculiar kind of dissonance. On World Health Day, there will be statements, earnest, polished and carefully worded about the importance of prevention, of access, of scientific progress. There may be campaigns encouraging healthy habits, perhaps even gestures toward equity. But beneath the surface, the contradictions remain unresolved. It is difficult to champion global health while retreating from global health governance. It is difficult to advocate for science while elevating voices that undermine it.

This is not to say that celebration is impossible. The United States is, after all, more than its current administration. It is a country of researchers, clinicians, public health workers and ordinary citizens who continue to believe in evidence and collective responsibility. In laboratories and hospitals, in local health departments and community clinics, the work goes on, quietly, persistently, often in spite of political headwinds.

Perhaps, then, the most honest way for America to mark World Health Day is not through grand declarations but through a kind of uneasy introspection. To acknowledge the gap between rhetoric and reality. To recognize that credibility, once eroded, is not easily restored. And to understand that public health is not a stage for ideological theater but a domain where consequences are measured in lives.

In the end, the question is not whether the United States can celebrate World Health Day. Of course it can. The question is whether it can do so without irony.

Moonlight or money trail? By John Kato

There’s something undeniably stirring about watching rockets rise again with purpose. The Artemis missions promise a return to the Moon not as a fleeting stunt but as a sustained human presence. It’s easy, even tempting, to frame this moment as the rebirth of humanity’s exploratory spirit, a rekindling of the same flame that powered Apollo. But let’s not kid ourselves,  this is not 1969. The motives, the players and the stakes have fundamentally changed.

Yes, Artemis carries the language of discovery. It speaks of science, of international cooperation, of inspiring a new generation. And to a degree, those aspirations are real. The Moon is no longer just a symbolic prize; it’s a laboratory, a proving ground for Mars, a place where humanity can test its limits. But woven tightly into this narrative is another, less romantic thread, one of profit, ownership and the quiet expansion of economic frontiers beyond Earth.

Unlike the Cold War era, where space was a theater for ideological rivalry, today’s space race is increasingly commercial. Governments are no longer the sole architects of ambition. Private companies backed by immense wealth and driven by shareholder expectations, are not just contractors; they are central actors. Their rockets, their technologies, their visions are shaping what Artemis becomes. And where there is private investment, there is an expectation of return.

The Moon, once a distant and barren symbol, is now being reimagined as a resource hub. Water ice in lunar craters isn’t just a scientific curiosity; it’s potential rocket fuel. Lunar soil isn’t just dust; it could be mined for rare materials. The infrastructure being discussed, bases, orbiting stations, supply chains, sounds less like exploration and more like the early stages of an extraterrestrial economy.

This doesn’t make Artemis inherently cynical or corrupt. Progress has always been entangled with profit. The railroads, the internet, even early aviation, all were driven forward by a mix of vision and financial incentive. But there is a difference between exploration that benefits humanity broadly and expansion that risks concentrating power in the hands of a few.

What’s troubling is not that companies stand to profit, but that the rules governing this new frontier remain vague and uneven. Who owns what on the Moon? Who sets the terms? Who ensures that space does not become the ultimate gated community, accessible only to nations and corporations wealthy enough to stake a claim?

Artemis, then, is both a triumph and a test. It is a triumph of engineering, of persistence, of the human refusal to remain confined. But it is also a test of our collective values. Can we pursue exploration without replicating the inequalities and exploitations that have marked so much of our history on Earth?

The rockets launching today carry more than astronauts and instruments. They carry our intentions. Whether Artemis becomes a symbol of shared human progress or a stepping stone toward off-world profiteering depends not on the technology but on the choices we make now.

In the end, the Moon is not just reflecting sunlight back at us. It is reflecting who we are and who we are becoming.

Worming #127 #cartoon by Thanos Kalamidas

 

A family of worms and all their worm friends worming in new adventures.

For more Worming, HERE!
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Bronislaw Malinowski: Understanding Cultures and Cultural Change by Rene Wadlow

Bronislaw Malinowski (1884-1942) whose birth anniversary we note on 7 April was a leading professor of anthropology at the London School of Economics during the 1920s and 1930s.  He was to do six months of field work in the Trobriand Islands of what is now New Guinea in 1914. He was there when the First World War broke out, and he feared that if he returned to England, he might be arrested as an “enemy alien”. 

Malinowski was born in Cracow in today’s Poland but at the time was part of the Austrian empire.  He had studied and received a doctorate at Jagrellonian University where his father was a professor, and then gone to teach in England. 

Thus rather than six months in the Trobriand Islands, he stayed from 1914 to 1919 when he returned to England.  There he wrote “Argonauts of the Western Pacific”, published in 1922, which created a new style of participant observation in anthropology.

However, Bronislaw Malinowski wanted to build a new model of social anthropology to meet some of the basic problems facing humanity.  His emphasis was on how society is structured to meet the basic needs of the individual.  Malinowski helped to make the London School of Economics a leading English institution for anthropology.  He had as student's people who became well known in the field.

As a leading teacher of anthropology, Bronislaw Malinowski was asked by the British government to carry out studies on social change in the British colonies of Africa as well as in South Africa.  He had Jomo Kenyatta, who became the Kenyan nationalist leader, as a student.

Malinowski spoke German and was always interested by German thought.  Thus he followed with deep concern the rise of Nazi power in Germany and then Austria.  He wrote:

“The ethics pervade the teaching and the line of action of Nazism are the glorification of force at the expense of justice; the exaltation of war as against peace; the gospel of preparedness for destruction as against negotiation at the council table.  The Nazi faith is a pragmatic doctrine of spiritual and physical aggression; a dogma of arrogance and superiority.  It produces a recrystalization of society on one principle and toward one end, that of war.” 

Malinowski’s writings on totalitarianism were published by his wife after his death as “Freedom and Civilization”.  He had died in the USA in 1942 at the age of 58 while teaching at Yale University.
 Today, the understanding of the ways that culture shapes politics and socio-economic change is a vital need.  Bronislaw Malinowski remains an important guide.

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Rene Wadlow, President, Association of World Citizens

 

The Twilight of a Superpower: Civilizations That Build Command the Future by Javed Akbar

We are not merely passing through another cycle of economic turbulence. What confronts us is deeper and more disquieting—a crisis of civilization itself. The tremors unsettling the global order are not accidental; they are the visible signs of an empire in decline. And history, when it chronicles such moments, rarely speaks of grace. It speaks of strain, and often, of desperation.

The United States, a superpower with scarcely 250 years of history, once stood as the principal architect of the post-war order. Today, however, it reveals the contradictions long concealed by its dominance. Its conduct has grown increasingly erratic, its rhetoric sharper, its reliance on force more pronounced. This is not merely the imprint of a single leader. Donald Trump, for all his excesses, is less an anomaly than a reflection—an unvarnished expression of a deeper, enduring ethos rooted in exceptionalism, expansion, and supremacy.

From its earliest foundations, the American project was shaped by conquest and hierarchy. The doctrine of Manifest Destinyª was not incidental; it became foundational. The record is unambiguous: hundreds of military interventions, a near-continuous state of war, and a global presence sustained less by consent than by coercion. Power, in this paradigm, is both instrument and justification.

Yet today, this imperial posture appears increasingly detached from reality. The National Security Strategy of 2025¹ reiterates a familiar claim—the right to dominate and define the rules of the international order. But the world it seeks to command has changed. The unipolar moment has receded, giving way to a multipolar landscape in which new centers of power are not peripheral—they are decisive.

Foremost among them is China—not merely a rising economy, but a civilization with a continuous history stretching back thousands of years. To view its ascent only through the lens of trade or technology is to miss its deeper significance. China embodies a different grammar of power, one shaped by historical continuity, philosophical depth, and strategic patience.

More than two millennia ago, during the unification under the Qin unification of China², a sophisticated system of governance rooted in order and administration had already begun to take shape. This evolution was enriched during the Hundred Schools of Thought³, when competing philosophies refined ideas of statecraft, ethics, and harmony. Central to this intellectual heritage is the concept of Tao—the art* of aligning with the flow of circumstances, transforming adversity into opportunity through patience, foresight, and disciplined restraint.

This is not passivity; it is calculated endurance.

Such a worldview stands in stark contrast to the reflexes of a declining power. Where one invests in long-term transformation, the other relies on immediate force. Where one builds, the other coerces. Where one envisions a shared future, the other insists on primacy.

The divergence is tangible. Within a single generation, China has lifted hundreds of millions out of extreme poverty and reshaped the global balance of development. Its emphasis on infrastructure, education, and long-term planning reflects a model grounded in continuity rather than conquest.

The United States, by contrast, continues to channel immense resources into maintaining an unparalleled military apparatus. This divergence is not merely strategic—it is moral. It reflects two competing visions of order: one rooted in cooperation and development, the other in dominance and deterrence.

What is unfolding, therefore, is not simply a geopolitical rivalry. It is a contest between two civilizational logics. One seeks integration; the other enforces imposition. One builds legitimacy through development; the other asserts it through power.

History offers a sobering warning: empires in decline seldom retreat quietly. They often lash out, mistaking force for authority and resistance for threat. This is the peril of our moment. A power unwilling to accept its limits risks destabilizing not only its rivals, but the fragile fabric of global peace itself.

The choice before the world is stark. It is not between East and West, nor between competing nationalisms. It is between two moral horizons—one that affirms cooperation and shared progress, and another that clings to domination.

In such an hour, neutrality becomes an illusion. The call for a more just and balanced international order is no longer rhetorical; it is urgent. Anti-imperialism, restored to principle, emerges not as ideology but as necessity.

For the stakes are profound: whether the future will be shaped by the logic of force, or by the promise of shared humanity. From China’s civilizational instinct to build patiently to America’s long reliance on dominance — at times embodied in its recourse to gunboat diplomacy — the verdict of history is clear: enduring power is secured not through coercion, but through restraint, the quiet strength to create rather than to compel. In the final reckoning, it is not the might that projects force across distant shores, but the vision that builds across generations, which ultimately commands the future.

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ª Manifest Destiny is a 19^th century document that the United States held that it was the nation’s divinely ordained mission to expand its territories. It was like a huge sense of nationalism and ambition, where people believed it was America’s right (and even duty) to spread its influence and territory from coast to coast.

¹ The 2025 NSS does not openly declare a “right to dominate” in moral language – but in practice. It reasserts dominance as a strategic necessity.

 ² More than a millennium ago, under Qin Shi Huang (during the late 3^rd century BCE), China unified its territories and built a centralized system rooted in strict laws and standardization, guided by legalism and later refined with Confucianism – ethical living (Confucius 551-479 BCE) – establishing a lasting tradition of order and statecraft.

³  The Hundred Schools of Thought era refers to a vibrant intellectual period in ancient China, roughly from the 6^th. to the 3^rd centuries BCE. It was a time of intense philosophical debate and innovation, when thinkers like Confucius offered competing visions on ethics, governance, and society – laying the intellectual foundations of Chinese civilization.

*  The concept of the Tao (Dao), central to Taoism (6^th century BCE), refers to “the Way” – the fundamental, ineffable force that underlies and governs the universe. In essence, the Tao teaches harmony with the flow of life, encouraging simplicity, humility, and effortless action – living in a alignment with nature rather than against it.

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Javed Akbar is a freelance writer whose opinion columns have appeared in Toronto Star and numerous digital platforms. He can be reached at: mjavedakbar@gmail.com

Dominations Of Illusions #Poem by Jan Sand

 

We live atop this spinning sphere
Which makes our silly suppositions clear,
There’s no such thing as day or night.
It’s just a shadow peekaboo of light.
A slice of time to chop the fourth dimension
Like an endless sausage into slices, but really,
The Sun’s quite steady in the sky.
It’s we, imprisoned in our spin,
Chase the Sun as if it’s mobile in our sky.
And just as well our solid Moon
Shrinks and grows in occult illusions
A trick of spin to make one grin
At the ease we humans
Swallow confusions.

Robert Peary reached the North Pole

The story of who first reached the North Pole is not just about frostbitten explorers and heroic endurance, it’s a case study in how history is shaped, challenged and sometimes rewritten.

On April 6, 1909, Robert Peary announced that he had achieved what many believed impossible, he had reached the geographic North Pole. At the time, the claim electrified the world. Newspapers celebrated him as a national hero, and his name was etched into the mythology of exploration alongside figures like Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan. In an era driven by imperial ambition and scientific curiosity, planting a figurative flag at the top of the world carried enormous symbolic weight.

But from the very beginning, doubt lingered.

Peary’s journey across the Arctic ice was undeniably gruelling. Battling extreme cold, shifting ice floes, and logistical challenges, he relied heavily on Inuit guides, dogsled teams, and a relay system of support parties. Yet, when scrutinized, the evidence supporting his claim appears surprisingly thin.

Unlike modern expeditions, Peary had no GPS, no aerial verification and limited navigational records. His logs were incomplete, and the speeds he claimed, particularly during the final push to the Pole, seemed implausibly fast to many later analysts. Critics argued that the distances covered in such a short time defied both physical endurance and environmental realities.

Even contemporaries were sceptical. Frederick Cook, who had claimed to reach the North Pole a year earlier in 1908, accused Peary of exaggeration. Ironically, Cook’s own claim was later discredited, turning the entire episode into a tangled web of competing narratives and questionable evidence.

What makes Peary’s story particularly compelling is the tension between heroism and proof. In the early 20th century, exploration was as much about storytelling as it was about science. Public opinion often formed faster than rigorous verification could follow.

Peary understood this. His announcement was swift and confident, leaving little room for doubt in the public imagination. Institutions like the National Geographic Society endorsed his claim, further cementing his legacy. Yet, critics later argued that such endorsements were influenced by national pride and personal connections rather than strict scientific scrutiny.

This raises an uncomfortable question, how often has history rewarded the best storyteller rather than the most accurate account?

It wasn’t until decades later that the North Pole was reached in a way that left no room for debate. In 1948, the Soviet expedition known as Sever-2 expedition successfully landed aircraft directly at the North Pole. This achievement, backed by modern navigation and clear documentation, is widely regarded as the first undisputed arrival.

By then, the world had changed. Exploration was no longer just about individual glory, it had become intertwined with technological progress and geopolitical rivalry, particularly during the early stages of the Cold War. Verification mattered more than ever.

So where does that leave Peary? To dismiss him outright would be unfair. His expeditions contributed significantly to Arctic exploration, mapping unknown regions and advancing polar travel techniques. He demonstrated extraordinary resilience and determination in one of the harshest environments on Earth.

However, to accept his claim uncritically is equally problematic. Modern historians tend to adopt a middle ground, Peary likely came close, perhaps very close, to the North Pole but whether he actually reached it remains doubtful. The lack of definitive evidence, combined with inconsistencies in his records, prevents a conclusive verdict.

The controversy surrounding Peary is more than a historical footnote, it’s a reminder of how knowledge evolves. What is accepted as truth in one era can be questioned in another, especially as standards of evidence improve.

It also highlights the human element in exploration. Ambition, ego, national pride, and the desire for recognition all play roles in shaping historical narratives. Peary’s story is not just about ice and distance, it’s about the thin line between achievement and myth.

In the end, the North Pole itself remains indifferent to the debate. It does not remember who stood upon it first. But history does and it continues to ask whether the story we were told is the one that truly happened.

Ghostin’ #126 #Cartoon by Thanos Kalamidas

 

They are like neighbours we are aware of,
except we are NOT aware of and
they have absolutely nothing to do with Halloween.

For more Ghostin’, HERE!
For more Ovi Cartoons, HERE!

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AMERICAN PHOENIX: an Apologetic

It is taught that we should not shame people if we want them to change. I don’t know if I can always agree with that. I am myself ashamed and know there are millions of people in this nation-state who need, and I mean deeply need, to be ashamed. Shame can be harrowing, but shame can also be righteous. Admitting to oneself and before others to being wrong, facing up to the truth of reality, admitting to the cause and apologetically being sorry and courageous before it—making amends for the consequences of gross misjudgments and criminal offenses.

Like it or like it not, America First is an illusion and a pretense and posturing in hubris. We are not the summit, not the pinnacle or crown of creation. Life, including human existence, is a circle, like the earth is round, a sphere of interconnective dependencies, and not a hierarchy of enforced domination. We are participants with all others, a species-joined by genetics and evolution, and at best, when we are at our best, we are cooperative working partners.

Like it or like it not, we live in a context of shared reality. And the disconnect from reality is endemic in the American identity-syndrome and configures the shamefulness of America’s withdrawal from discomforting challenges into narcissistic delusions. While yet to look steadfastly, honestly, critically and courageous at America’s role in global realities should sting the conscience of American people, uncovering the cause of a shame that shows itself vindictively as a national mood of gloom and despair, we are advised to visit a therapist while continuing to shop. Therapy is a  coping component of materialistic civilization and consumerism is capitalism’s addiction of addictions.

Right now in the United States of America, we are not a good nation of good people. And if we want to be good people of a good nation, we will have to become better than we ever were in the past (because we have fallen with eyes open into more internal depredation and danger than ever before). Being better means better in our virtues and our integrity, our promises and our deeds, then the shamefulness that has taken hold of us.  The  ashes of our national repentance must be equal to the phoenix of renewed democracy. Henceforth—for recovery and trust in the world--the phoenix of human betterment and not now repeating the bloody cataclysms of the eagle of war would better serve as a national symbol.

In the crisis of democracy upon us, the corruption of conduct and of governance must be swept from the land and cleansed from the air. Only then will we collectively plant new crops for a shameless harvest. Only then will we again know what it is to breathe the good health of freedom. Then life will become lighter without the weight of betrayal, without the shadow enfolding coils of venomous tyranny.

If the United States has a sovereign Constitution, if the United States has a viable democracy, then the American people united have the power to peacefully and lawfully remove the fundamental cause of current (and yet ongoing) national shame, of harmful misconduct and abhorrent behavior. Indeed, to do so is a common sense assertion of democratic instinct.

Honesty is the first step to recovery. Not only indispensable personal honesty throughout the citizenry but indispensable honesty in political service and public discourse. Seekers of office who lack honesty in the questioning concerns of critical dialogue should never be elected to office. We are far from being of that stainless, trustworthy status today, but this is a goal—a national antidote directly before us.  In this too, the quality of a people and the vitality of democracy are on the line.

Approaching the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the USA, let’s take a moment together to ask ourselves in our purblind self-absorption, our stress, our anxiety, our hurry-worry scurrying financial lives, are we turning back and heading home, or rushing terminally into the ICU of failed politicians and calamitous policies?

Each of us makes choices, large and small, not only when voting. Choices have consequences. They delineate parameters and point in a direction.

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David Sparenberg is a humanitarian and eco poet, an international essayist and storyteller. He published four eBooks with OVI Books (Sweden) and the Word Press in 2025, the fourth of which was TROUBADOUR & the Earth on Fire. David will have a fifth new OVI eBook, MANIFESTO: Ecology, Spirituality & Politics in a Higher Octave, published in April 2026. David Sparenberg lives in Seattle, WA in the Pacific Northwest of the United States but identifies as an Ecotopian Citizen of Creation.

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Don’t miss David Sparenberg‘s latest eBook Troubadour and the Earth on fire ,
Download for free, HERE!

Dnieper River #Poem #Painting by Nikos Laios

 

The rain is falling
Hard now and my boots
Are stuck in the mud,
We have a respite
Until the next attack
And I think of you,
Do you think of me?

I think of our picnics
On the banks of the
Dnieper River during
Spring and the chiming
Of Saint Sophia church
Bells on Sundays,
And everybody wearing
Their Sunday best;
But that seems so long
Ago now when
We had peace.

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With a digital painting from Nikos Laios

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Check Nikos Laios' eBOOK, HERE!