"Life is a Banquet. And Most Poor Suckers Are Starving To Death.”
The starving right now is self-inflicted. Which wolf do you feed?
The holiday season provided ample opportunities to see friends. And with it came the chance to again scour their essence. For any sense of inner shame; against the cruelty we witness in Minneapolis, and the U.S.’s actions in Venezuela.
And to take a temperature check, in the lead up to the rather ridiculous situation we now find ourselves in regarding Greenland — one which (decent) Americans, Greenlanders, and the rest of the world see as terrifying. If Trump ultimately, irrationally, attacks Greenland (stay tuned!), it will destroy NATO and in so doing turn France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Greenland — and Canada! — into enemies, forced to stand up against us.
Yet these double/triple Trump voters still seem not to lose even one wink of sleep. Over any of it. Instead they appear to refuse to compute.
In chatting with them, one now senses a piece missing inside: a moral and ethical hole. Don’t reference “current events” — it makes them obviously uncomfortable. The better strategy with them, these days, is to keep every encounter, every conversation, super surface-y.
The way to create connection with these friends? Just ask them where they’re going next on vacation. Sun or ski? You’ll get an earful — they’re always soon to depart. Like luxury leisure is now their job. “We’re off to Aspen!” Might as well live in denial in style. Tone deaf does not begin to describe.
Also for your own sanity, I advise not bringing up their favorite subject, which is an (imagined) extra-preferential tax break they’re convinced Trump will still bestow upon them. It allows them (in their own minds) to attach a noble quality to their decision to vote for him (again), a year ago.
To support this decision, they will cite some (imaginary) benefit to “their family’s bank account”. As their overriding priority. Over the health, safety, and well-being of untold tens of millions of people around the world.
And, the threats that America’s brave men and women in uniform now face.
Our democracy requires that we each value paying attention to what is happening around us. That we observe with a discerning eye. That we take it upon ourselves to call balls and strikes- in real time- behind truth. And that we declare ourselves the umpire when we witness lies, and injustice, especially when it is inflicted on the least among us.
This is our responsibility as Americans.
None among us is immune from upholding the U.S. Constitution and the ideals of those who came before us, who sacrificed so much- for our freedom.
There is an ages old Cherokee parable called the Tale of Two Wolves, and it goes like this:
One evening, an elderly Cherokee Brave told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.
He said, “My son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ inside us all.
One is evil. It is anger, envy, jealously, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.
The grandson thought about it for a minute, and then asked his grandfather:
Which wolf wins?
The Old Cherokee simply replied, “the one that you feed.”
The way out in this moment is to turn our societal attention inward: to feed the wolf, to feed the individual and collective soul; with ideas, optimism, love, compassion, and possibility.
And to commit to protect- and care for- not just our own family members, but the strangers among us too. To publicly stand up behind the rights and freedoms of all, for humans of different colors, religions, backgrounds, and immigration statuses.
When Trump and his GOP regime ultimately crash the U.S. dollar (he told us he will, you can read Harvard’s Kennedy School’s outline of the things here), when he once and for all tanks the stock market, turns the U.S. Treasury Market illiquid, obliterates the American economy (Andrew Ross Sorkin in his book 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History- and How it Shattered a Nation shares so many parallels), and causes contagion within the entire global economy… at that point, will these Trump voters “wake up”?
Will they finally see themselves as completely complicit? And feel shame?
I doubt it.
Against the coming AI revolution, I would argue the robots have already taken control. It happened when 47 million Americans traded away their human souls on November 5, 2024. Their inner light now appears dimmed, as they walk among us; mere shells of the more fully formed humans who we (thought we) knew.
The Jesuit order of priests stresses the concept of free will, articulated by Luis de Molina, who in his writings emphasizes libertarian free will and the genuine ability to choose between alternatives. With God’s grace cooperating, but not coercing.
For the Jesuits though, free will does not mean “free ride.” Actions have consequences. In voting for this Republican regime, these Americans made a choice. They knew what they were doing, and they did it anyway.
The fallout from their votes is existential for the rest of us. With, perhaps, eternal effects to come for them.
What can we do now? I believe the way forward is to societally double down on our individual and collective humanity; by turning empathy, humility, and self-awareness into our superpower. As the antidote to the existence of the tech bro billionaires, who model morally bankrupt behavior, daily, for the next generation.
So, on that note, far fewer computer science majors, please!
If we want to uphold and protect democracy, we must encourage deeper engagement in the humanities in the next generation. In the arts, foreign languages, history, government, literature, poetry, music, philosophy, etc. To feed well the wolf, and ones’ soul. To understand why one must never lose the latter.
And don’t worry, Gen Z students, you will get a job! Since you will so stand out from the crowd! For your ability to write beautifully, think creatively, read the minds of the other humans in the room, see trouble coming, and brilliantly bridge divides. All because you decided to study philosophy (or English, history, art, whatever) and made the choice to expand your horizons, develop discernment, and sharpen your own human perspective.
A computer will replace you, if you let it. You will lose your soul, if you trade it away.
Instead we must feed our hearts, and minds with love and kindness; as we strive and survive — to ultimately humanly thrive.
Because “Life Is A Banquet” indeed.
Yet, Trump voters, you insist on continuing to feed the wrong wolf. Most notably through your silence.
Perhaps Tolstoy was right, when he said: