Happiness is an Act of Civil Disobedience

Many if not most of us right now, are utterly frightened about our upcoming reinstatement of former President Trump and his newly forming inept cabinet. He is forming what would be considered a Kakistocracy, a government by the most unscrupulous, unintelligent and ill-equipped people possible. Our president-elect was: convicted of felony charges, appropriating classified documents in his bathroom that post a grave national security risk where top-secret documents could and most likely were sold and traded to foreign enemy powers, trying to threaten a Georgia governor to find more votes for him to alter the election results in his favor, denying the election results and encouraging people to “gather and fight, fight fight” and to target his Vice President where Pence’s life and that of our very Congress was in danger, as there was an entire insurrection upon our Capitol where people died, and more. A candidate participating in an insurrection against our nation, by our constitution, the 14th Amendment prohibits him from running again but somehow he was permitted to do so.

The Invisible Hand

It is been very clear now that Russia helped him to be elected by interfering in our free electoral process by public persuasion like Kushner’s Project Alamo and Cambridge Analytica, and possibly hidden funding, threats and suspected mafia-like extortion. There’s even a statement from Russia now that Trump and consequently our nation, is indebted to them, since they admit openly to helping him win the election. To have colluded and collaborated with a foreign enemy power to win an election I believe, is par with espionage and treason.

I believe that Putin has an interest in not only influencing but controlling by destroying this nation from an invisible hand. He admitted helping to elect someone who is controllable and inept and therefore putting people into the cabinet that will destroy every single facet of our nation. A war with an intent to destroy with no weapons needed, we are doing this to ourselves. We are watching the systematic destruction of our nation and none of us can do anything to stop it since he now owns the highest court. This is a grave national security issue with many people and lawmakers enabling and collaborating, that went on for years with impunity. Every attempt to have him be accountable and sentenced for crimes against our nation, now pardoned or dismissed.

So this is terribly frightening and I don’t even think we can really comprehend the depth and breadth of destruction that is impending in our nation, I believe not only to our democracy, civil rights and economy but to our very sovereignty. I don’t think that these things are easily repairable. We previously had a system of checks and balances as a constitutional foundation to protect one branch from gaining too much power or corruption. With our current far right politicized Supreme Court’s decision to grant Trump immunity, that checks and balance system has now collapsed and with an immunity clause, he has now moved from limited, checked presidential power that still must abide in and uphold our laws, and has been now essentially crowned a king, if not a dictator.

The Opposition Party

So as we watch our nation, civil rights and basic governmental institutions crumble right before our eyes- what can we do? The time to do some thing significant to stop them has passed unfortunately and since he now owns and controls all three branches of government which are politicized to his favor, there’s not a whole lot that can substantially be done. With no representation, voice or power in congress, we are now considered the Opposition Party. All that I can gather is that we watch it crumble and then the people have to rise up in protest at the risk of their lives because they are most likely going to suppress the ability for us to have free speech soon, and the ability to safely gather in protest, just like the suppression of other dictatorships that we see in many other countries that we are now engendering support from.

Plague, famine, natural disasters and destructive wars have been part of human society unfortunately, ever since time immemorial and we seem to not be able to evolve out of these propensities. I practice Tibetan Buddhism and even a very benign culture of people that are not war-like were taken over by Maoist Communist China and an entire genocide was acted upon them that to this day has not been resolved. There is a really interesting book that I recommend that talks about some of the Tibetan teachers who became prisoners of war and had to live and die-in the prison camps. They discuss how to keep your mind happy even in the absolute most grotesque, darkest environments that human beings can create. You may want to read the book Freedom In Bondage. Also for a similar reference if you remember the film Life is Beautiful. It is about a father and son in a Nazi concentration camp. He tries to raise his young son in the most violent and horrific environment possible, but still showing his child humor, hope and love, and indeed that this life is still good.

The Act of Civil Disobedience

This brings me to the inspiration to write now, is that our happiness is a profound act of civil disobedience. I grew up in an exceedingly dysfunctional home, raised by a narcissist and a terrible bullying “beat you up” culture on the East Coast. I know that bullies, disordered people and indeed entire maniacal dictatorships thrive on keeping us afraid, oppressed and controlled. They build their power by stoking division, subordination and ensuring people feel hopeless and too overwhelmed to stand up for what they believe in. Fear, for them, is THE mechanism of social control.

But today, I choose a different response. I choose happiness—not as ignorance or an escape, but as an act of defiance. I will still read and watch the news in small segments, there is no solace by pretending it’s not happening and it will all go away, and many of my friends are hoping to dissociate into religious or apolitical oblivion. We can’t, but self-care and meditation can indeed help with fear, stress and resiliency. So, no matter what happens on the outside, they cannot crush our Spirit and our ability to see the beauty of this life and feel a sense of unbreakable, bulletproof inner well-being. I will not allow them to shake my foundation and core and I will do whatever I can in this life to retain a sense of happiness and meaning and joy, even as we are being destroyed from within, by the invisible hand of a foreign enemy power. It is also time to review the tenets of nonviolent resistance.

Fear is Contagious but so is Hope

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” Like Dr. King, I don’t want to live burdened by fear, anger or despair. King, along with leaders like Gandhi and Mandela, taught that non-violent resistance was not just about protesting; it was about living in truth and in hope, even in the face of oppression. They taught that peaceful, nonviolent resistance can be powerful, and that hope, even when everything seems bleak, can spark change. Even if there is no immediate hope, we can still aspire for eventual truth, change and healing. Their legacies remind us that it is our duty to protest powers that seek to strip away our civil rights, freedom and indeed, humanity.

I was just recently watching that film, The Bucket List. Even if you only have a few months to live and this is possibly truly the end of days, well I certainly want to spend those last months weeks or days of my life appreciating the wonder and feeling joy rather than living in the fear of demise. So I make a proclamation as of today, that no matter what happens, if we lose our nation or sovereignty or our very freedom or lives that… I will be happy. That is the greatest act of protest and civil disobedience we can engender.

I am not offering any lofty, privileged, Buddhistic wellness or mindfulness advice- I don’t have any more hope to offer for this nation, and other NATO protected nations in the very near future. I don’t know what we can do to undo this, we may have to live or even die through it. But my life is mine, my mind is mine and my heart is mine, and no theocratic dictatorship with threats and fears can take that away from me. I will do the best I can, and will go beyond the fear that they’re trying to instill, connect to trusted friends, the Earth below me the Sun and the Sky above me and my heart, that can not be silenced or suppressed, for whatever time I have, I protest.

 

Important Terms in Non-Violent Resistance

An Opposition Party is a political party that opposes the ruling government, offering alternative policies and holding it accountable. The opposition scrutinizes government actions and presents contrasting views, ensuring a balanced democratic process.

Civil Disobedience is a form of protest where individuals deliberately break specific laws they deem unjust. Often peaceful, it seeks to raise awareness and prompt legal or social reforms. A classic example is Gandhi’s Salt March.

Nonviolent Resistance involves opposing oppression without physical violence, using methods like protests, strikes, and boycotts. It aims to achieve political or social change while minimizing harm.

 

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Suggested Readings:

Henry David Thoreau’s On Civil Disobedience
Hannah Arendt The Origins of Totalitarianism.
Nonviolent Resistance: Gandhi
Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom
Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning

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