{"id":786,"date":"2025-03-16T14:01:43","date_gmt":"2025-03-16T18:01:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/growpurpose.com\/skipjack\/?p=786"},"modified":"2025-03-16T14:13:11","modified_gmt":"2025-03-16T18:13:11","slug":"the-story-of-nations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/growpurpose.com\/skipjack\/2025\/03\/16\/the-story-of-nations\/","title":{"rendered":"The Story of Nations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anyone who reads \u201cThe Story of Nations\u201d cannot help but look at where the United States fits on the list. The last time I remember reading it we were somewhere between apathy and dependence, but that was some time ago. Times have changed. It\u2019s time for a fresh look.<\/p>\n

The Story of Nations<\/strong><\/span>
\nFrom bondage to spiritual faith,
\nFrom spiritual faith to great courage,
\nFrom great courage to liberty,
\nFrom liberty to abundance,
\nFrom abundance to selfishness,
\nFrom selfishness to complacency,
\nFrom complacency to apathy,
\nFrom apathy to dependence,
\nFrom dependence to bondage.<\/em><\/p>\n

From what I can see, our place on that list teeters on bondage. But Americans have thrown off bondage before, first under English King George III and later, for many among us, under segregation and then Jim Crow. And we can do it again if it becomes necessary.<\/p>\n

But the question is, must<\/em> it become necessary? Must<\/em> we suffer through bondage again, this time under the rein of King Donald and his merry-making billionaire oligarchs, or can we skip over the bondage part and go straight to the spiritual faith that led us to toss off our bondage and become a great nation.<\/p>\n

I think we can. I think we\u2019re already doing it. Look around. The shock is over, fire has been lit under us, and we are coming back hard. People are waking up to the threat that Trump poses to our rights, our livelihoods and our democracy, and they\u2019re not liking it.<\/p>\n

People are getting involved as rarely before, and the momentum is building. On a recent Thursday my wife and I attended a 50501 protest that was held in a spot in a public park that it is a long walk from the parking area, and the parking area itself is extremely limited. Further, it was held during a time when most people were working and could not show up. Nevertheless, hundreds of determined, high-spirited, sign-waving people did show up.<\/p>\n

That sort of thing is happening everywhere. People are attending Democratic Party meetings in record numbers. They are continuing to melt the phone lines leading into the offices of U.S. senators and House members by making some 1,400 calls a minute<\/em>. They are demonstrating so profoundly at Musk\u2019s Tesla dealerships weekend after weekend that Tesla stocks are plummeting. And Musk-related vehicles have become such targets of derision that their owners are having buyer\u2019s remorse. Hundreds of people are turning out for town hall meetings with their members of Congress. Thousands are joining protests at state capitals. And a major Hands-Off March on Washington is set for April 5<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But first comes this week\u2019s congressional recess , the purpose of which is for members of Congress to go home and hold public sessions so we can meet them face-to-face. We need these events now more than ever because our nation is widely divided, there is no middle ground, it\u2019s crunch time, and we need answers. We need to hear directly from these people, people in who will write our nation\u2019s future. We need to know definitively, direct from their mouths, whether they are with Trump\u2019s march to monarchy or with our fight to retain our democracy \u2013 and again, there is no middle ground they can escape to.<\/p>\n

Despite that importance, however, Republican leaders are advising their members across the nation not to hold those sessions because their outraged constituents are likely to show up in large numbers and castigate them, just like they did during Congress\u2019 last recess. And many \u2013 most? — of those senators and House members are listening to them because they have decided to shirk their responsibility and shamelessly hide from us.<\/p>\n

Oh, they have their reasons. The people who attend those sessions are paid agitators. They won\u2019t be treated fairly. A public meeting could lead to violence. Everything but the truth, which is that they have no answers for the questions they are certain to face, such as those suggested by the organization Indivisible:<\/p>\n

For Republicans:<\/p>\n