PROPERTY DESTRUCTION IS NOT VIOLENCE, IT'S JUST FOOLISH

    

                                                                          

The following is a guest column I wrote for the Eugene (Oregon) Register-Guard. By way of background, on January 30 the Eugene Police Department responded to a report that a window had been broken during a protest at ICE headquarters and that at one or more protestors had made attempts to enter.

EPD Chief Chris Skinner made the decision to declare the scene a riot and move in to form a wall between protesters and the building to protect anyone inside the building as well as protesters from a possible overreaction by those inside. Skinner released this statement that night.

 While there was some controversy after the fact about whether protesters actually broke the window, it is irrelevant to the points that I make in my article. Please bear that in mind. 

I admire those responding to the brutal actions of ICE in the streets of America’s cities and join Eugene protesters when I can. I was in town on the day that ICE attacked protestors with chemical munitions but left before they arrived. From comments I heard afterward, it appears that the incident provides a learning opportunity for protesters in this leaderless movement.

I winced at the criticism of Chief Skinner’s statement about the EPD response to the breaking of a window at the ICE building. Some tried to justify the vandalism using too-familiar arguments that “everyone has the right to resist in the way they see fit” and “destroying property is not violence.”

As Skinner explained, the EPD actions were justified not merely by the broken window, but because it posed a credible threat to those inside the building. Whatever one thinks of that logic, it is a mistake to make an enemy of EPD when one is trying to repel a federal invasion and restore the rule of law. As General McChrystal once said about winning hearts and minds, “…try to go to bed with fewer enemies that (you) woke up with.”

Would-be revolutionaries should understand that deliberate property destruction undermines popular support. Most Americans value civil order, even those who realize we need radical change. Yet in Portland, some former Vietnam War protestors defended damaging property and physically provoking the thugs Trump sent to disrupt the Black Live Matter “riots.” Veterans of the anti-Vietnam War movement should know better.

In the 1960s, the FBI paid agent provocateurs to do the same things in the infamous COINTELPRO operation. While officially ended, COINTELPRO methods are likely still being used. They have long been employed in other countries by the CIA, which has historically worked closely with the FBI in both domestic and international “national security” operations. This classic divide-and-conquer tactic has been used by “democratic” countries to justify violence both at home and abroad since the days of the British Empire.

The struggle to eradicate these modern brownshirts from our neighborhoods will not be won by violence or property destruction. This battle is only one part of a much larger war. We must acknowledge the fact that we live in the heart of an empire that aspires to rule the world.

If we understand how this empire treats the citizens of countries it subjects to illegal sanctions and proxy wars, we know that it does not hesitate to use force to subdue resistance. Why then should we be surprised when “the chickens come home to roost,” as Malcom X pointed out shortly before his assassination in 1965?

Our aim must be to establish democracy in the US even as we work to end US-sponsored violence abroad. This requires a strategy based on objectives aimed at systematically undermining support for a system in which war and domestic state violence have been normalized. Then we choose tactics that best achieve those goals.

This is basic military logic. We are in essence creating a leaderless “army.” Horizontal organization avoids putting targets on our backs, as the martyrs of the 60s willingly did. Violence has no place in this form of asymmetric “warfare.” Those who use it only hurt the cause. Only by forswearing violence can we hope to prevail.

We can best honor all martyrs of the long struggle for peace and justice by avoiding the use of the tools of the oppressor.  Remember that our outrage stems from our love of those victimized. Our response should reflect that love. Violence only serves to justify more violence. Property destruction serves the same purpose.

THE LOGIC OF EMPIRE

                                


                                                                        



 

The following is my latest submission to The Albany (OR) Democratic-Herald, one of a dwindling number of local newspapers that recognizes it's duty to provide a public forum for its readers. It is the third in a series of guest columns trying to educate the public about the imperial nature of the United States. 

 

I encourage those putting all their energy into resisting the policies of the current government to consider the connection between the assault on public institutions and U.S.-sponsored violence abroad.  Replacing one government with yet another willing to continue a policy of endless war is not enough to achieve their goals. Liberals could join the growing conservative antiwar movement, if both stopped “othering” those with differing political outlooks.

Anyone who has played the game of Risk knows world domination requires a long-term strategy. Americans, having been raised to believe they are not citizens of an empire, do not understand this also applies to U.S. foreign policy. Its goal is not defense, but global conquest. It is vital to understand this, because every empire falls. Ours will be no exception, and it will be devastating to all of us.

Our empire managers have led us into endless war using the claim that “American interests” are at stake, but Venezuela, Russia, China, and Iran are enemies because they threaten the interests of average Americans. The real threat is to the profits and power of those who seek to dominate the world’s resources. The ultrarich, often from the shadows, use their wealth to persuade western governments to wage war on any nation that resists their dictates.

In this real-life game of Risk, fossil fuels are critical. They power the machinery of commerce and war.  Israel is crucial to controlling oil-rich West Asia. Russia, also replete with fossil fuels, is the key bridge between Asia and Europe. Rising economic superpower China, while oil-poor, is seen as the ultimate prize.

African and South American nations are not dangers, but sources of cheap raw materials. The Empire assures that these resources remain cheap by stunting development, keeping in debt bondage, and periodically attacking governments it cannot subvert. Venezuela, with the largest proven oil reserves in the world, is only the latest example.

Palestinians are not directly resisting the Empire. They are resisting ethnic cleansing by a rogue nation whose success is critical to US plans for global domination. That makes Palestinians de facto enemies, justifying the Gaza genocide in the minds of leaders of both parties and those who fund their campaigns.

As Eisenhower pointed out, the cost of militarism is poverty and hunger. It has led to homelessness, lack of access to medical care and premature death. How many Americans would be saved if the trillions spent on war were redirected to programs that promote the interests of average Americans over those of Wall Street war profiteers in the weapons, oil, tech, and banking industries?

The Trump administration has responded to military-driven deficits with austerity, literally taking food from children’s mouths while denying medical care to the poor, whose numbers are growing rapidly. Billions are spent to brutalize scapegoated immigrants while billionaires enjoy trillions in tax cuts.

Both parties share responsibility, however, as they have been united in their support for every war since the end of WWII. We must ask whose interests they are serving, and who benefits from abridging our rights, which inevitably accompanies war.

Obama was the first to claim authority to kill anyone overseas he deemed a terrorist, including Americans. In 2011, he pressured Congress to give Presidents the right to arrest citizens and place them in military custody indefinitely without charges.  Now that Trump has begun creating an enemies list, there is nothing to stop him from executing American citizens he labels “domestic terrorists” but a Supreme Court that has given him nearly unlimited power.

 

It's time to stop fighting each other and unite to disempower the real enemy within.

 

The article above was published in the Albany Democrat-Herald/ Corvallis Gazette-Times on January 3, 2026.

 

WHO WOULD JESUS SLAUGHTER?

                                

As we approach the two-year mark of Israel's genocidal ethnic cleansing of Gaza, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the continued slaughter of Palestinians in general and Gazans in particular, despite all the attention we have brought to the genocide. Still, the signs of progress in raising awareness are everywhere. The increasing press attention given the flotilla, the shift of tone in traditionally blindly supportive rags like the New York Times, media personalities from New York to Hollywood finally speaking out, and many more.

Across almost every demographic, support for Israel is falling. Even older Republicans are shoring a noticeable decline in support for the apartheid state. Consistent with the overwhelming support for the Palestinian cause, the shift in younger Republicans is even more significant, despite the influence of Charlie Kirk both before and after his murder. 

The demographic that has shown the least drop in support for Israel is, not surprisingly, Christian Zionists. My most recent guest column in my local paper is a commentary on the phenomenon.

Who would Jesus slaughter?


I’ve been with a group protesting Israel’s murderous assault on the population of Gaza for over a year now. With the release of the report by the investigative body of the International Court of Justice, there is little doubt that the Court will rule that Israel is committing genocide. However, it typically takes years for the Court to render an opinion. The children dying now of bombs, bullets and starvation cannot wait. We have a moral responsibility to do all we can to stop it.

It is gratifying to see support for our efforts increasing as the number of experts declaring Israel’s actions to be genocide grows. Still, while the honks and thumbs up are more frequent, the number of rude gestures and angry shouts has held steady, if not increased. I have experienced this when holding a sign that simply says, “Palestine lives matter.” Now, I get the same reactions to a sign reading “Stop the genocide.”

I refuse to believe that so many of my neighbors are enthusiasts of genocide. I am sure that most have simply never viewed images of the tens of thousands of mutilated and starving children available on the internet. Still, why are they angry at calls to save people being systematically slaughtered? That much is clear from the daily news. Is it the color of their skin, or their religion? If motivated by racism or religious bigotry, does it not matter that some are as fair skinned as any European, or that some are Christian?

A clue lies in the fact that occasionally, someone screams at us “Read your Bible!” While I have not, I know that in Deuteronomy Chapter 20, G-- commands the Israelites to murder every man in Canaan, but not to slaughter women or children, who were only to be enslaved. This inconvenient fact seems to escape Christian Zionists.

I was brought up to respect the religious beliefs of others, but I am astounded that anyone could read the statements attributed to Jesus and conclude that he would condone genocide. In the story of the Good Samaritan, he told the Jewish expert in religious law that he was correct in saying the greatest commandment is that we love G—and our neighbor. He then added, “Do this, and you shall never know death.” When the lawyer asked, “who is my neighbor?” Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan, the moral of which is that everyone is our neighbor, and we show our love for them by how we treat them.

An earnest pastor recently shared with me why, in his opinion, the current genocide pleases God: In order to save what would be left of humanity after the battle of Armageddon, all Jews have to return to the land where ancient Israel once stood so that G-d could consign to hell all who did not accept a genocidal version of Jesus as their personal savior, leaving only those who do.

I am reminded of the saying that even the Devil would quote scripture if it served his purpose.

If one claims to be a Christian and wants to understand scripture, they must start with the words attributed to Jesus. Anyone commenting on his teachings who contradicts what they believe he said is confused. If the author of John believed all you need do to be a good Christian is to believe Christ saved you, he did not understand what Jesus quite clearly taught.

If I believed in hell, I would argue that this kind of faith will not lead these folks in the direction they think they are going.

ISRAEL'S ROLE IN THE AMERICAN EMPIRE

 

                                                    

                                                                

      I am fortunate enough to live in a place where the local paper still prides itself on being a public forum. Every three months, I'm allowed 600 words to say whatever I think is most important for readers to understand. 

    This is my most recent submission. It is my second guest column on the nature of the US Empire. Others will follow.

If you wonder why Israel attacked Iran now, with an overextended army tied down in Palestine, Lebanon and Syria, congratulations on refusing to be a passive consumer of what passes for American reporting on foreign affairs.

Bombing Iran was not about fictitious weapons of mass destruction any more than was the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. In a 2012 UN speech, Netanyahu insisted that Iran was already on the verge of having a nuclear weapon. Cheney made a similar claim in 2007 that was debunked by the Intelligence Community. This saved the US from a disastrous military confrontation with Iran that would be much worse if attempted today.

National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard stated there is still no evidence of an Iranian nuclear weapons program. Under pressure from the Israeli lobby and powerful neocons like Israel-first campaign donor Miriam Adelson, President Trump dismissed her assessment and attacked anyway, placing 40,000 American service members at risk of Iranian retaliation.

As many predicted, the attack failed to eliminate the “threat” despite initial claims of success. Now, pressure is mounting for deeper US military involvement in Israel’s latest war of choice. Israel knows that without such help, it cannot complete its objective of eliminating the last obstacle to regional dominance, a plan 40 years in the making.

In 1982, Israel publicly debated a strategy to fragment any neighboring country that might oppose its expansion, rendering it too weak to resist Israeli aggression. The “Oded Yinon plan” has been refined over the years but still forms the basis for current US plans for Israel to dominate the region. That is why the US has enabled it to flout international law with impunity since the Nakba in 1948, as the US itself has done in the region.

Since 9/11, Lebanon, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Sudan, Somalia and Iran have been targeted by the US and Israel. Former NATO commander Wesley Clark has publicly stated that within two weeks of 9/11, he learned of plans to undermine all seven countries. Obviously, these plans had been drawn up earlier. Since then, five of the seven have effectively been partitioned, as envisioned by Yinon. Iraq and Libya were not failures. They accomplished their actual objectives.

The purpose of destabilizing these countries is to control this fossil fuel-rich region by militarily dominating the area through Israel. The ultimate prize in this game of Risk is US control of the entire Eurasian land mass, long regarded as the key to global domination. While Netanyahu and other political and military leaders are directly responsible for their genocidal actions and war crimes throughout the region, the US shares the blame.

Like all empires, the American one will fall. The Wall Street denizens whose profits determine “American interests” have hollowed out the real economy in creating an economic system dependent on endless war. An alternative system is being created by Russia, China and others who are not going to continue to tolerate the economic and military threats of an increasingly belligerent US Empire.

The fact that the US has cut off access to critical weapons needed to defend Ukraine so that it can provide them to Israel reveals its weakness. Meanwhile, China has declared that it cannot accept allowing Russia to lose in Ukraine. It knows that if it does, the empire will turn its attention to it. American military and political officials have publicly stated that the US will go to war with China as soon as 2030.

If President Trump really wants to leave a legacy as a peace President, let him start by standing up to Israel and its lobby.

PALESTINE WILL FREE US ALL

 

                                                                

                                                                   

There has been little news in the mainstream media recently about the increasingly dire situation in Gaza. The genocide has been overshadowed by the massive No Kings demonstrations, the courageous resistance to the brownshirt tactics of masked ICE agents used on immigrants and citizens alike and now, a war between Israel and Iran that could easily go nuclear.

Meanwhile, Israel’s pitiless assault on the civilian population of Gaza continues. The starvation has not ended. The bombing is relentless. There are daily reports of Israeli occupation forces and the mercenaries guarding the “humanitarian” food distribution points slaughtering desperate Palestinians seeking sustenance for their families. Even the lucky few who escape alive with supplies are denied the fuel or water needed to cook them with. Israel’s genocidal intent is obvious, yet Western media still cannot call this evil by its name.

Most joined the Palestinian solidarity movement in response to the genocide. Over 600 days later, it has now entered its final stage. No hope for an end is in sight. For some, it has become unbearable to continue to bear witness to the suffering.  It is understandable that they can no longer look at the horror, but we cannot unsee what we have witnessed.  We owe it to every Palestinian, living or dead, to continue the struggle to build our movement for Palestinian liberation. Furthermore, we owe it to our children and to future generations.

The outrage in response to the ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestine has created an historical opportunity to free humanity. We have an obligation to seize it. Palestinian freedom and resistance to fascism in America are two aspects of the same cause: liberty and justice for all. It is estimated that 3.5% of Americans attended demonstrations on No Kings Day. Imagine the effect it would have had on fascists if half of them had been wearing keffiyehs!

In this moment, our only options are to continue the struggle for Palestinian freedom, recognizing that our own liberty depends on it, or to submit to the psychopaths who are behind the genocide and allow ourselves to become their next victims. They are already coming after us. We have seen their goons on the streets of LA, and campuses across the U.S.

Trump is not the cause of the decline of what passes for democracy in America. He is the result of it.  And he is right about one thing: The enemy is among us. They always have been. They are the economic elite. The plutocrats. The oligarchs. The globalists, who profit from war. The American aristocracy, in league with their counterparts abroad to monopolize the resources of the entire world. The self-styled Masters of the Universe. They are individuals so wealthy that their only goal in life is to acquire enough power to control us all.

They are people who have abandoned all that makes us human. Governments are the tools by which they wield their power, the U.S. being the center of an empire that aspires to world domination. They are psychopaths who hide behind corporate charters, having gained control of enough of the judicial system so that corporate executives have no personal accountability except for maximizing profit for Wall Street shareholders. Politicians are their tools, whether they are used wittingly or unwittingly.  The CIA, FBI and DHS work for them. To an alarming degree, so do the police.

Corporate control of the mainstream media has led to our being conditioned to think of war and other forms of violence as normal, even inevitable. It is not true. Violence is always a choice, and government violence serves a purpose for those who hold real power. We have been blinded to the nature of how power operates in this country, lulled by the false claim that we live in a democracy. We do not, and we never have.

The Constitution created a republic. We are told we live in a “representative democracy” but if that is true, who does Congress represent? The Bill of Rights was an afterthought. The principal purpose of the Constitution was to protect property rights, including the right to own humans. Now corporations are regarded as people with constitutional rights that are sacrosanct, while the civil rights of humans are trampled with the blessings of the Supreme Court.

The struggle must continue. As the darkness grows before we see the light, let us remember that King reminded us that we engage in this work out of love. When we let ourselves be overwhelmed by anger or depression, we forget that ultimately, it is compassion that brought us to the struggle. Compassion is a manifestation of love. We must keep that in mind as the violence of the oppressors and the suffering of their victims tests our ability to stay focused on why we have joined the resistance.

Paraphrasing Dr King, it has never been more apparent that tolerating injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. There will be no justice in the world until there is justice for Palestine. If you have only been an observer, now is the time to get active.

Normalize protesting genocide. Show up at demonstrations wearing a keffiyeh, regardless of the cause of the day. Have the courage to speak about what you know to those who don’t want to look for themselves or just wear a T-shirt or button expressing what you know to be true. Write letters to the editor if you are lucky enough to live where local newspapers still provide a public forum.

For humanity’s sake, just show up.

CREATING THE WORLD YOU WANT TO LIVE IN

 

                                                      

A note about this blog:

Steve Bhaerman, AKA Swami Beyondananda, is a comedian with a message. His humorous style belies a serious effort to help enlighten the receptive to the possibilities of a better world. This is one of his e-blasts, which features an excerpt from Birthing the Symbiotic Age: Ancient Blueprint to Uniting Humanity by Richard Flyer. 

In keeping with a recent recurrent theme of this blog, the book discusses how to change the collective consciousness in a direction that is life-affirming (and potentially world-saving). It is based on recognizing and affirming the ancient wisdom that is common to both the great religious traditions and the principles of secular humanism

This message, originally entitled The Parallel Polis: An Alternative to Polarized Paralysis, explores how creating a just society is the first step in creating a just world. It is reproduced with permission of the Swami.

“We have a deeply-divided body politic. Half the people believe our system is broken. The other half believe it is fixed.” – Swami Beyondananda Dear Friends and Co-Hearts: If you’ve been following my Great Upwising mission and Signs of the Upwising posts, you know that I’ve taken on a challenging – some would say impossible – task: addressing and amplifying the universal longing for unity in the midst of an ever-more-polarized system and world. That’s why I have spent the past three years helping my colleague and co-heart Richard Flyer write his book, Birthing the Symbiotic Age: Ancient Blueprint to Unite Humanity.  I first met Richard in 2007 when I was writing Spontaneous Evolution. I was intrigued with the Conscious Community Network he founded in Reno, Nevada that created buy local, local food, and neighbor-to-neighbor “symbiotic networks” – projects that transcended political divides to bring people together to “connect the good” and create mutual benefit. Bruce Lipton and I even devoted a section of our chapter Healing the Body Politic to his work. I stayed friends with Richard over the years, and when he told me in 2021 he was considering writing a book, I not only encouraged him but I jumped in to help. That book is almost done, and I believe it takes the promise of Spontaneous Evolution, and grounds it in real world practice – and what Richard has come to call “the Ancient Blueprint” that can be found in the teachings of Jesus and the early Christian communities; the work of Gandhi, who himself was influenced by the Sermon on the Mount; Dr. Ariyaratne’s 67-year-old Sarvodaya movement in Sri Lanka; and in what you will be reading below, the Parallel Polis that emerged in Communist Czechoslovakia in the 1970s. At a time when people seem pathologically possessed by polarizing political narratives, I have found it curious how few people have heard of Sarvodaya or the Parallel Polis – both of which offer practical and powerful pathways to transcend the trance of separation. For the past 14 months, Richard has been releasing the book chapter-by-chapter on his Substack post. If you’re looking for ways to step off the battlefield and animate a new playing field, I highly recommend you subscribe to his posts. Because the Parallel Polis offers such promise in contrast to the “polarized paralysis” we face today, I am featuring Richard’s most recent blog post as my Upwising post this week. May it inspire you as much as it has inspired me!

Living in Truth: Building a Parallel Polis Within a Spiritually Hostile Regime By Richard Flyer Throughout this book, I have cited Sarvodaya as a living example of the Ancient Blueprint in action, a parallel society and culture approach that took hold in a third-world Buddhist country. Understandably, you might wonder if Dr. Ariyaratne’s work is an anomalous, one-of-a-kind experiment or if anything similar has ever emerged within a modern, Western society—other than our Symbiotic Networks in Reno. Surprisingly, the answer is yes—it is found in the Parallel Polis, a faith-based movement in Communist Czechoslovakia in the late 1970s. The Parallel Polis' mission wasn’t to topple the totalitarian “godless” regime through protest or opposition but to quietly build a parallel culture.  This living countercurrent inspired, strengthened, and reawakened the hearts of millions numbed by authoritarian despair.

This effort was spearheaded by two Václav’s: playwright and future president Václav Havel and Catholic philosopher Václav Benda. Together, they gave birth to the concept of "Parallel Polis"—a society within a society where truth, beauty, and freedom could thrive outside the grasp of the Soviet-controlled state. While not overtly religious, Parallel Polis was profoundly shaped by Benda’s Catholic faith and the tradition of Catholic Personalism, a worldview affirming the inviolable dignity of every person made in God's image. Benda articulated the movement's purpose as a return "to truth and justice, to a meaningful order of values, and to value once more the inalienability of human dignity and the necessity for a sense of human community in mutual love and responsibility."

Václav Havel is on the upper left, and Václav Benda is on the upper right.

Instead of directly confronting the regime on its terms, Benda’s Parallel Polis created practical, alternative economic and social structures that met the people’s needs, particularly recreating the social and economic relationships severed by the Communist authority. These “counter-institutions” included independent education, cultural life, and media – art, literature, and music – that reflected real life and enduring traditions, in contrast to state propaganda. A parallel economy – trade, barter, and commerce outside the monopolized system – likewise addressed the real needs of real people. Perhaps most importantly, community networks emerged that re-established shared virtues and ethical responsibility. The Parallel Polis was not a literal new government (although it eventually led to one) or city, but a metaphorical space—a society within a society—where truth, freedom, culture, and human dignity could flourish independently of the authoritarian regime. “The strategic aim of the parallel polis,” Benda wrote, “should be the growth and renewal, of civic and political culture—and along with it, an identical structuring of society, creating bonds of responsibility and fellow feeling.” Václav Havel asserted that the movement’s spiritual foundation—a “sense of the transcendent”-- was the only hope for uniting diverse, multicultural societies. Parallel Polis was in response to a materialistic, “spiritually hostile” regime, where citizens were forced to deny the Divine Love they knew in their hearts publicly. The news agency in the Soviet Union, for example – Pravda, meaning “truth” – was notorious for its propaganda and misinformation. This led to the disheartening and dehumanizing practice of what was called “hyper-normalization” – everyone knowing they were being lied to, yet unable to express their truth openly. Václav Havel used the word “totalizing” to describe a system that survives by imposing an all-pervasive lie that the people must accept, NOT because they believe in it but because all paths of resistance seem futile. “If the main pillar of the system is living a lie,” he wrote, “then it is not surprising that the fundamental threat to it is living in truth.” “Living in Truth” meant building a society that reflected transcendent virtues—dignity, Love, and responsibility—even in the shadows of a godless regime. Consequently, one of the ways the Parallel Polis “re-heartened the heartland” and hastened the collapse of the Communist regime was by beginning to share the truth first inside their protected silos and then more boldly by creating parallel networks in the society at large. As Havel wrote, “The point where living within the truth ceases to be a mere negation of living and becomes articulate in a particular way is the point at which something is born that might be called the ‘independent spiritual, social, and political society.’” The Parallel Polis had a primary task — to re-establish civil society based on truth, integrity, and mutual benefit powerful enough to overcome the barriers set up by the totalizing, authoritarian Communist regime.

1989 Velvet Revolution—The revolution was peaceful and smooth. There was no large-scale violence or bloodshed, which is rare for political overthrows. 

Václav Havel waves to thousands of demonstrators gathered on Prague’s Wenceslas Square, celebrating the communist capitulation and nomination of the new government formed by Marian Calfa, 10 December 1989. Photograph: Lubomir Kotek/AFP

The Parallel Polis echoed the spirit of the early Christian communities, who saw themselves as a “beachhead” for the Kingdom of God, an earth-based “Colony of Heaven” planted within the harsh soil of the hostile Roman Empire. Rather than confronting empire with force, they lived out the radical ethic of “Love God, love thy neighbor”—a practice so expansive it reached beyond their ranks to embrace both Christians and non-Christians alike. The early Christians viewed themselves as a "city within a city," forming their parallel polis that operated alongside, yet distinct from, the Roman Empire. Like Václav Benda’s parallel polis under communism, early Christians believed in a higher moral order above the state, making them a subversive societal force. Their faith itself was an act of resistance—they refused to worship the emperor or participate in pagan state rituals, instead establishing autonomous networks of worship, charity, and education beyond the reach of imperial control. Functioning as a self-sufficient underground network of small groups, the early Church created an alternative society that met its members' spiritual and material needs. House churches were central hubs for worship, learning, and mutual support, while communal living (Acts 2:44-45) fostered economic self-sufficiency: “They had everything in common... and distributed to anyone as they had need.” Early Christians rejected dependence on the Roman imperial welfare system, instead developing independent charity networks that provided food, healthcare, and aid to widows, orphans, and the marginalized. Like Benda’s movement, Christianity thrived under persecution, not by directly confronting the empire but by building an alternative social and moral order rooted in faith, service, and communal care. Their tightly knit communities offered a compelling contrast to the corruption and brutality of the Roman system. They demonstrated that another way of life was possible, based on shared Virtues, sacrificial Love, and an unwavering commitment to truth. Are we seeing a pattern here? Yes, and I am happy to share this universal pattern from the Ancient Blueprint — re-emerging in different eras from early Christian communities … reiterated by Gandhi as the “Law of Love” in India, Dr. Ariyaratne through Sarvodaya in Sri Lanka, and the Parallel Polis in communist Czechoslovakia, all faith-based movements that impacted the society at large. Could the Parallel Polis model provide a new civic playing field to lift us out of the polarized battlefield that has pitted us against each other? Václav Havel thought so. “These informal, non-bureaucratic, dynamic, and open communities,” he wrote, “are a sort of embryonic prototype or symbolic micro-model of future political structures.” Interestingly, today, contemporary activists on both the left and right have taken up the “embryonic prototype” that Havel referred to, as more changemakers recognize that the system—and the Culture of Separation—cannot be transformed from within.

One of the first references I found to the Parallel Polis came from the left — from author and “psycho-social therapist” Indra Adnan. In her 2021 book, The Politics of Waking Up, she cites the work of Havel and Benda as a model for what she calls “soft power.” She acknowledges the failure of party politics and established institutions to address the existential crises we face today and proposes cultivating our collective wisdom and imagination to “nurture and develop a new socio-economic-political system that makes the old one obsolete.” Although she acknowledges the Parallel Polis’s use of “broad moral arguments about dignity and freedom,” she doesn’t mention the underlying foundation of Catholic Personalism. Reading her account, it would be easy to imagine Parallel Polis as a purely social, economic, and political movement and its “broad moral arguments” as merely tactical. Now imagine for a moment an account of Sarvodaya that fails to acknowledge the movement’s spiritual change strategy, which is based on Buddhist Virtues, or one that suggests that Gandhi’s work was purely secular! In the largely progressive mainstream milieu of social change, Christian or religious influence remains invisible, unacknowledged, and unwanted. Meanwhile, on the right, there has been a similar awakening regarding the futility of “politics as usual” and the need to “stop funding think tanks” and begin working with real people in real communities. Conservative commentator N.S. Lyons acknowledges the Parallel Polis as “an ultimately successful strategy of resistance to Communism developed by Czech dissidents in the Cold War to counteract atomization, isolation, and degradation. He seems to describe our contemporary Culture of Separation, doesn’t he? Lyons opposes top-down governmental “social engineering” and a dysfunctional, oppressive bureaucracy, and lauds the Parallel Polis approach for cultivating personal responsibility, self-discipline, spiritual commitment, and civic obligation. And … he seems to be fully cognizant of something I’ve referred to several times in this book – those people already meeting community needs. He acknowledges the unsung leaders of existing communities, such as those in impoverished neighborhoods who work out of storefront churches, possessing “moral, not credentialed authority.” Understandably, someone who advocates “less government, more personal responsibility” would seize on this approach to supporting local agency. And yet – interestingly – Lyons likewise fails to highlight the religious foundation of the Parallel Polis! Someone who DOES emphasize the religious is Rod Dreher, author of The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation, who offers his plan for a Christian Parallel Polis as a means for “cultural and spiritual survival in a secularizing world.” Like Benda, he suggests withdrawing from institutions undermining Christian values and building a countercultural community that affirms the Christian faith and way of life. Just as the Czech Parallel Polis provided both a refuge and a way forward, Dreher sees an entire Christian communal way of life – including churches, community centers, and Christian-owned businesses – as a counter-cultural island inside a materialist, secularist empire. Here's the problem. We have three movements and three communities, each calling for a parallel polis for their agenda, but NOT for the community at large. Once again, the Culture of Separation permeates even the most well-meaning attempts at creating a new culture of connection! Each of these three potential applications of the Parallel Polis above (progressive, conservative, and Christian) seems to be captured by a political or religious belief that confines them to what I have called separate networked silos and will not bring about the Culture of Connection we all seek in our heart of hearts. Each seems to be a reaction against some aspect of the Culture of Separation – yet fails to recognize that separation itself is the fundamental problem. For Indra Adnan, the existential threat is the “climate emergency.” And yet – because that term has been “politically captured” by the progressive side -- that phrase alone will exclude 50% of the potential community. On the other hand, a phrase like “preserve, restore, and regenerate a healthy environment” would get almost universal buy-in. For the right, the existential threat is a worldwide, unelected global elite that seeks to impose their secular culture and materialist values onto all of us, essentially de-platforming not just God but human sovereignty and self-rule

Although they acknowledge borrowing community organizing strategies from the left, they still see that side as the “enemy.” Dreher’s “Benedictine option” would seem to reflect the early Christian approach of living in the Kingdom of Heaven inside the empire of man. However, it is still exclusively Christian and, in my opinion, not up to the task of thriving inside a postmodern, multicultural, and pluralistic society. It fails to recognize the universality of the Ancient Blueprint and that Divine Love, not just the institution of Christianity, is the ultimate “prize.” It’s a subtle distinction but significant. Benda’s Parallel Polis, Sarvodaya, and Symbiotic Culture all are built on a firm foundation of Transcendent principles and Virtues —but extended beyond any particular institution, such as the church —in Symbiotic Kinship. No religious or ideological buy-in was required, just the desire to Live in Truth, practice the Virtues, and work together to meet the community's needs. While Christian morality and ethics influenced the original Parallel Polis movement, it was more about defending truth and moral responsibility than promoting religious conversion. Underground church networks provided safe spaces for gatherings, discussions, and moral support. Many participants appreciated the role of faith in resisting Communist materialism, even if they were not believers. The movement encouraged the development of parallel institutions, including alternative education, independent publishing, underground seminars, and community support, where religious and non-religious individuals could cooperate to resist Communist oppression. So here is an immodest proposal—a radically inclusive Symbiotic Parallel Polis in each community for everyone willing to embrace and practice self-giving love and mutual benefit. No ideology or religious belief is required – just loving action to build a Symbiotic Community. As discussed in Chapter 8 of my book, our Conscious Community Network in Reno asked, “What will unite us?” and crowd-sourced the answers, which evolved into our Symbiotic Culture DNA. In addition to a tacit unity around intentional mutual benefit, all three “sides” (progressive, conservative, Christian) share particular common views about the nature of the problem and potential solutions.

They each, for example: Reject centralized control by governments, corporations, or global institutions and seek local community autonomy. Recognizing that the system cannot be fixed from within, they are attracted to Parallel Polis as a way to gain agency and essentially “replace” or, as I say, “undergrow” the system. Favor local economies, parallel financial systems, and alternative markets to reduce dependence on centralized corporatism or government bureaucracies and regulation. Are concerned about Big Tech, corporate monopolies, and digital control limiting personal freedoms and economic choices. Agree on the importance of self-governing communities with decentralized decision-making. Tend to be anti-globalist and anti-consumerist. Notice that all of the above reflect the Christian principle of Subsidiarity (local autonomy), the Ordo Amoris (the Order of Love), and Gandhi’s concept of swaraj (self-rule), and are entirely resonant with Symbiotic Culture DNA. And … whether explicit or implicit, all affirm the sacredness of the human person and the dignity of each individual – in contrast to a system that reduces them to economic or political units to be manipulated. That brings me to what I believe is the fundamental reason for my life’s work—the “re-platforming of God” (via Divine Love) in the public square to permeate every institution in society, reflecting the true purpose and ultimate potential of the Parallel Polis. Above and beyond all the issues and concerns mentioned earlier, there is a spiritual crisis and a profound spiritual need. That’s what Benda and Havel’s original Parallel Polis was addressing. Rather than opposing an oppressive, dehumanizing regime, they transcended it by activating the Transcendent. This Higher Power is instrumental in helping us recover our Divine connection, revealing our true human nature, and reconnecting us as stewards of Planet Earth. I am reminded of the Merck Family Fund study from 30 years ago, which I cited in Chapter 7. In it, people reported that the materialist aspect of the American dream was out of control. They felt dehumanized by the “machine” and consumerism. We have not collectively confronted that spiritual malaise—until now. The Culture of Separation has continued to offer material and technological “solutions” that cannot address the problem. Our materialist Culture of Separation has created a crisis of the spirit, promoting anti-virtues and leveraging us to adopt values antithetical to the traditional religious and spiritual views of humanity.

So, here is the original challenge that the Parallel Polis movement in Czechoslovakia called forth: Stop Living a Lie. Let’s come together to LIVE IN TRUTH! Now, consider that in the light of these surprising statistics: 63% of Americans identify as Christian, 6% as Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, or “other,” and 20% as “spiritual, but not religious.” That adds up to nearly 90%. If we do the math, the “aftermath” is evident—there is a vast, untapped resource longing for expression: the Transcendent power of loving coherence. Given this overwhelming desire – and potential – for Symbiotic Kinship beyond our familiar tribes and silos, we no longer need to put aside our Divine nature, the best part of ourselves that has been eviscerated and evacuated by “taker” culture. Reflecting on more than 40 years of my community work to bring that Divine nature to real-world communities, I realize now that I have not been trying to solve man-made problems by using man-made systems and structures. Nor was I trying to solve any single societal problem directly — economic, ecological, or political — on the battlefield of the Culture of Separation. Instead, I intended to re-platform LOVE for its own sake! Put another way, Love needs no reason – Love is THE reason. Again, remember Saint Paul’s exhortation in 1 Corinthians 13 – without love, we have nothing. Without Love, we are nothing. The virtues we practice are for their own sake because they put us in the right relationship with God, with Divine Love. Everything else we seek are “collateral benefits.” So …imagine a multi-faith Parallel Polis, led by those who Love Jesus and Love Others, to cohere a sane and sacred center in each community as society's failing institutions are either deconstructed or crumble under their own weight. Imagine those within religious organizations (especially Christianity) and secular service groups coalescing and cohering around a new, non-coercive moral authority in communities worldwide, Connecting the Good and promoting mutual benefit. Imagine a new Symbiotic Age founded on an Ancient Blueprint that has emerged time and again – from the Sermon on the Mount and early Christian communities, through Gandhi’s movement and Dr. Ari’s world-renowned Sarvodaya, inside the Communist Czech regime, and even within the urban Reno, Nevada, community. Perhaps this emerging Parallel Polis, as a living fractal of Symbiotic Culture, is not a rejection of Western civilization but its long-awaited fulfillment. Maybe experiencing the depths of the Culture of Separation was necessary to rediscover the early Christian vision: the Kingdom of God is not built by reforming or toppling empires, but by transcending and then transforming them—through lives rooted in eternal truth, self-giving love, and sacred community. Subscribe to Richard’s Substack here.

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However hard we try to deny or forget it, we are facing twin existential threats: the climate crisis and nuclear war. These are not unrelated. Wars are fought for resources, none more important than fossil fuels. They create prodigious amounts of greenhouse gases, and divert money that could be spent on climate mitigation and creating a just transition away from fossil fuels We cannot address the climate crisis until we end war.

Most people, including many of those who have spent decades trying to eliminate the scourge of war, believe that war is inevitable. We had better get over that in a hurry unless we are prepared to face the end in our lifetimes. If there is still hope to avoid both of these existential threats, it will require Americans to wake up to the reality that their fates are inextricably intertwined with those of everyone else.

This kind of tectonic paradigm shift in our collective consciousness would a tall order on any time scale, but as Kuhn showed in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, such shifts may occur rapidly when conditions are right. The urgency of the moment requires us to assume that is possible and to do all we can to promote it if we are to prevent nuclear war and/or environmental collapse.

To create a new world, we must first envision what that world would look like before developing a strategy to get there. If we want a world where most people implicitly recognize our interdependence, we must shed our violent habits of thought. Treating politics as warfare, where those of different ideologies are "the Other," if not enemies outright, is to perpetuate the world that we want to change.

Whatever strategy we develop to achieve our ultimate goal of universal justice, we must assume that some of those who currently oppose us are potential allies. Liberals and progressives alike seem to have given up on the idea that minds can change as circumstance do. By isolating from each other, both have allowed their worldviews to diverge to the point where the seem to have nothing in common with those who view the world differently.

We must be prepared to listen and acknowledge points of commonality in our opposing worldviews in a spirit of respect if we are to create the kind of movement capable of stopping our headlong rush toward oblivion. 

I wrote the following for my local newspaper, but it hasn't been published yet. If it doesn't change your mind about the value of trying to treat the "other side" respectfully, I hope that you will at least consider the arguments carefully.



The suppression of free speech on campus took an ominous step toward fascism with the recent arrest of a nonviolent student protester in New York. This should concern any American who assumes they are protected by the Bill of Rights.

On March 8, Mahmoud Khalil, a lawful permanent U.S. resident married to an American, was abducted by plainclothes DHS agents in front of his eight-months pregnant wife. His family and lawyer were not told where he would be taken. Eventually, they discovered he had been transported to an ICE facility in Louisiana that is notorious for detainee abuse. He has not been charged with any crime.

Khalil’s offense was that he had been a student leader in last year’s Columbia University protests against Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Columbia has been a prime target of government pressure to suppress campus protest against US complicity in Israeli war crimes. The site of the first Gaza encampment, students there remain defiant despite draconian efforts by the university to coerce them into silence. These include mass arrests, academic sanctions including expulsion, and banning of student groups, including Jewish Voice for Peace.

Khalil’s arrest came one day after Columbia was notified that $400 million in federal grants had been cancelled. The government outrageously claims that Columbia has made insufficient efforts to combat “antisemitism.” That’s the term both the Biden and Trump administrations have used to characterize student protests against Israeli atrocities. To emphasize the message to others, 60 more universities have received warning letters that they are also being investigated.

America has seen a lot of protest in recent history, from across the political spectrum. Most complaints concern problems rooted in the corrupting influence of money in politics. The ability of corporations, the ultrarich and unregistered agents of foreign governments like American Israeli Public Affairs Committee to spend virtually unlimited amounts to influence elections has become a danger to the Republic.

Most politicians pay far more attention to the wishes of the donor class than to the needs of voters. As a result, people on both sides of the political divide demand radical change. From the rise of the Tea Party to insurgent campaigns by Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, signs of revolt are everywhere. This terrifies the political and economic elites. That is why our rights are being trampled by both parties.

Active suppression of free speech is nothing new. Remember Biden’s Ministry of Truth proposal? He tried to create a State Department office that was to be tasked with determining what information is “misinformation.” Its principal purpose was to censor any evidence that the government was misleading the public in its efforts to demonize Russia after Trump “threatened” to normalize relations.

Whatever one’s opinion on Israel’s actions in Gaza and elsewhere, each of us should be concerned about arbitrary abuse of power to punish individuals who are doing nothing more than peacefully protesting government policy. If we permit this, the First Amendment rights of anyone to assemble, speak publicly, and petition the government for redress of their grievances will be threatened.

Or, as Michelle Goldberg commented in a New York Times editorial entitled This is the Greatest Threat to Free Speech since the Red Scare, “….a government this willing to disregard the First Amendment is a danger to us all.”

Ideological warfare has kept us fighting each other instead of the real enemy among us. Due to our system of privately financed elections, those of means who consistently put profit over the American people are close to destroying any prospect of representative government in the United States.

Americans must unite to save it.