In Romans 13:8-10, Paul teaches that loving one's neighbor is the fulfillment of the law, as true love acts in the best interest of others and does no harm. By loving others, a person naturally fulfills the core requirements of God’s law, such as the Sermon on the Mount, which can be summarized as loving one's neighbor as oneself.

It is so easy to vilify one guy (such as the current occupant of the white house) and everybody chants and gets their blood up while waving signs, but then what?  

When does the real work begin? 

People must understand that the real problem is not one opportunistic parasite who has figured out how to game the system and hoodwink millions of people, but that we are in the end stage of empire where greed and solipsism are the real kings.  It's not one man or one party or a group of oligarchs.  It's that a majority of humans have forgotten that human connections and the deep ties of community are the real malady we face. 

MAGA, Trumpianism, The death cult of war, The Democratic party failing to stand up for basic rights and all forms of "othering" are merely a symptom of a much deeper spiritual malady related to Paul's word to the Romans. 

We see absolutely crazy stuff and think: "Wow, look at that technology" when we really should be thinking "Interesting how the Oligarchs have dazzled us with shiny objects and succeeded in separating us from one another."  A few examples: 

• Melania walking with a robot advocating for robots to teach our kids.  Do we really think having a machine devoid of any feeling is going to raise up children into adults with any compassion?  REALLY?  Look at how iPhones, tablets and social media have destroyed the social fabric and our kids. 
• Obama spent years using reaper drones killing people all over the globe (including killing Americans) and we get upset when other countries use similar assassination tactics? 
• GW Bush and Dick Cheney made rendition (aka kidnapping), torture and detention without trial American policy. 
• Biden spent billions arming Israel (as did every president before and after him) knowing that there was a genocide going on.  
• And ad infinitum back as far as you can remember. 

These are but a few examples.  There are many others. 

The point is Christ did not advocate for participation in any of it.  For him the Romans that occupied Palestine and the Ecclesiastical government of the Pharisees was total rubbish.  He advocated for spiritual transformation over religious or political reform. He knew politics was the business of "strange bedfellows"   He was a drop out. And what a great example of how to drop out and create something beautiful.

The greatest way to undermine corrupt political systems is the make them irrelevant.  

• Build community
• Know your neighbors
• Create networks 
• Share ideas
• Help others 
• Create resilience 
• Liberate your Mind (psychological sovereignty) 
• Create deep lifelong relationships 
• Support local initiatives with your resources

At the end of the day what matters is not whether FEMA is being funded (it is not) or if some other alphabet agency is doing its job (it is not).  What matters is who you know and who you can count on when stuff gets real.  And it is getting realer and realer by the day.   

The love of God in us and working through us is our salvation 

~ Joseph Olejak

We Quakers have a peace testimony that dates back to the Declaration of 1660 and which reads as follows:

The 1660 Declaration of "harmless and innocent people of God, called Quakers" was a pivotal document presented to King Charles II to distance Quakers from violent political plots and affirm their unwavering commitment to nonviolence, or the Peace Testimony. It famously declared the refusal to use "outward weapons" for any reason, establishing the foundation of Quaker pacifism.

In the news this week we heard from the head of the newly named Dept of War
"War, in this context and in pursuit of peace, is necessary,” Hegseth said, “which is why each day, on bended knee, we continue to appeal to heaven. To Almighty God’s providence, to watch over and give special skill and confidence to our leaders and to our warriors. To those warriors, who this nation prays for every single day, I hear from all of you out there, who pray for them every day, stay on bended knee, and pray for them. I continue to say to them, Godspeed, may the Lord bless you and keep you, and keep going.”

Let me just say that the notion of "Almighty God's Providence" shining down on one group and not another is absolute rubbish.  To invoke the name of God to send death and destruction to a particular group is 100% anathema to the teachings of Christ.  It is the same lie that has always be promulgated; namely the redemptive power of destruction or peace through war.  The truth is war begets war begets more war and ad infinitum. 


We must remember that this military operation in Iran is (as they always are) a death cult for the accumulation of land and treasure.  Americans will be asked to sacrifice their sons and daughters on the altar of this cult.  And 13 already have.  They will be told it is for GOD AND COUNTRY as the commander in chief wears his golf cap to the tarmac as the dead are removed from a C130.  

It is for the oligarchs.  (always was and always will be) 

George Fox, the founder of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), is most famous for his "Quaker "Peace Testimony". He consistently argued that war and strife arise from "lusts" and a "fallen" human state, but can be overcome by living in the "Light" and "Spirit of Christ".

In the words of Christ: His teachings on peace emphasize that it is not merely the absence of conflict but a divine, internal state of wholeness (Shalom) that enables reconciliation with others. Unlike the "temporary lull in chaos" often provided by worldly solutions, the peace of Christ is described as a gift that transcends external circumstances. 

In the Spirit of Christ, Let us focus on Peace.  

~ Joseph OLejak

There weren't any violins in the 1st century. However, most contemporary sources describe Nero as tyrannical, self-indulgent, and debauched. The historian Tacitus claims the Roman people thought him compulsive and corrupt. Suetonius tells that many Romans believed the Great Fire of Rome was instigated by Nero to clear land for his planned "Golden House".

Sound familiar? 

The phrase "fiddling while Rome burns" is a common idiom used to criticize leaders for occupying themselves with trivial matters or being ineffectual during a major crisis.  

We are living that reality now.

In Need to Know, David Rothkopf today called out the madness of the fact world trade and global security is being shattered by a single man. “Not since Adolf Hitler blew his brains out in a bunker beneath the garden of the German Reich Chancellery on April 30, 1945, have the lives of so many people around the world been so buffeted by the psychosis of a single man.”

Why has Trump launched a war against Iran on a whim, attacked other countries, and upended world trade, Rothkopf asked. “Because he’s insane. Because he’s venal. Because he’s a malignant narcissist. Because he’s a sociopath. Because he has a fragile ego. Because those around him exacerbate and play to those traits to advance their own interests. Because CEOs and investors do likewise to fill their coffers. Because to some people, whether he is insane or malevolent or repugnant or not matters less than whether his actions will feather their nests, increase their power.

“Because they, the billionaires…play their games and the consequences for the little people down below, the consequences for us, hardly matter a whit.”

Quakers tend to be serious people.  We have compassion and make room for mistakes, but we also have very little patience for liars, grifters and vacuous self-absorbed people who relish hurting others. 

Each time I look at the catastrophes playing out in the world I play a little game with myself and try to imagine what things would be like if I applied a Quaker value to the situation.  So, let's play:

• War with Iran: (Quaker value peace) This war is a war of ego.  The current occupant thinks he's going to be the one to provide a "solution" through the use of force. Does that ever work?  In any situation?  Generally what happens is more chaos. 
  • This war would have been a non-starter with a Quaker at the helm. 
• Immigration: (Quaker value Equality) We can't have open borders, but there is a lot that can be done between open borders and ICE shooting innocent American protestors in the streets of Minneapolis to make an immigration system functional. 
  • We would have a sane immigration policy with a Quaker at the helm. Reasonable quotas for entry and a path to citizenship for those that are here. 
• Removing SNAP Benefits (Quaker value Community) Do we really want to be that hard hearted, nasty, stingy Grinch that takes food from the mouths of children?  I know most Americans don't think this way.  I just hope they vote in November. 
  • That would never have happened with a Quaker at the helm.
• Lying (Quaker value Integrity) Most Americans probably can no longer tell the difference between the truth and lies anymore.  This current office holder has normalized the LIE so much that people no longer can understand the truth even when they hear it. Have we received a straight answer on the Epstein Files yet?  
  • Nope, Quakers don't lie. Not part of our DNA.
• Self-Dealing (Quaker value Transparency) One thing we have witnessed is the extreme graft and corruption in government since Citizens United was passed in 2010. Legislation is now for sale to the highest bidder.  There is no civic reason for anything any more.  You want another endless war? Sure thing, just do business with my crypto company (guess who owns World Liberty Financial) and you know who will get 10% of all those transactions and you have a backdoor system of bribery.
  • Transparency means everyone knows everything.  No hidden money. No hidden agendas. It's all open.  Everyone gets to weigh in. As it should be. 

Why play this silly game?  Because in most other systems of government the people are not the sovereign. They are literally peons. Subjects.  Our system begins with "WE THE PEOPLE" and ends with  "...preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States". These words are located at the end of Article II, Section 1, which details the Presidential Oath of office. 

Here is one last Quaker value ... SERVICE ... (AKA ACTION) In WWI Quakers manned the ambulance corp.  In our context today it may mean putting on your boots and getting out into the streets and doing what is necessary to hang on to our way of life. Let us not be fooled and let us not forget that even Christ went into the temple and tossed out the money changers!

~ Joseph Olejak

Heather Cox Richardson, in her blog Letters From An American, has cited "Alison Durkee of Forbes magazine today that Trump’s military strikes in Iran have already cost U.S. taxpayers more than $1 billion. The three F-15E Eagle jets lost to friendly fire on Sunday cost $90 million each. Transporting troops, ships, and aircraft to the Middle East cost about $630 million. Missiles and weapons systems are also expensive—a drone is about $35,000, and a Tomahawk missile costs millions—and the two aircraft carriers in the region together cost at least $13 million a day. And then there are the costs of operating aircraft, and so on."

If Americans want to know why their infrastructure is failing, why the cost of electricity is through the roof, why we don't offer our young people free college, and why healthcare is a luxury and not a right --- THIS IS YOUR ANSWER.

Billions for the military and crumbs for everything else.  

People should be highly offended by this and not just because of the gross expenditure of money, but also because of the wanton destruction of human life.

The Quaker peace testimony is based not only on the teachings of Christ to love thy neighbor, but also is rooted in non-coercion (Phillip Gulley). Coercion, in its many forms, is the root of violence. "Do what I want you to do or else!"  People are manipulated with every manner of coercion from threats of violence to violence itself.  

We have normalized it. We accept it. We have enshrined it.

What? Enshrined it?  Surely not?

Who has the right to fine, tax, imprison and kill -- all enforced with the threat of violence or actual violence? And able to do these things with immunity from consequence?  Yes, the state.  Enshrined in law. Americans have given a monopoly on the right to use violence to the state.  And when we see it in action (whether it be suffocating George Floyd with a policeman's knee, Shooting non-violent protesters in Minn, or starting foreign wars) we are shocked.  

What we need to understand is that the rot runs deep in human culture. It is not an American phenomenon.  It lies just below the surface in all of us. 

So what is the antidote to coercion and violence?  

To answer this just imagine the last conversation you were engaged in. The one where you were just waiting for an opening in the dialog to put your 2 cents in.  That kind of communication, a discussion (a dis-cut-tion), where there is zero listening, a lack of consideration, and no discernment of what is going on.  This is the root of coercion.  It starts there and escalates.  

Witness the recent so-called "diplomacy" with Iran.  Two sides sit down at a table to work out differences in foreign policy and one side has half its navy amassed in the Mediterranean and Red Sea threatening to unleash an "epic fury" if they don't get what they want.  

Is that diplomacy?

Sounds like coercion to me!   

Expectant listening is the practice of having no agenda.  No demands. It is the kind of listening that leads to discovery.  Something that surprises you.  Something that might actually have you change your mind. Something you could hear that might alter what you were "absolutely sure of." 

Expectant waiting is not merely psychological sovereignty over knee jerk reactions, but at its best is two (or many) gathered as one willing and open to discover what can arise from nothing.  

~ Joseph Olejak