For the majority of people in the U.S., there is a now well established sense of concern for the country. We have a rogue government that since January 20, 2025, has displayed its intent to exploit the have nots, or those who have a little, or those who have more than a little but are each day wondering when they, too, may be in the crosshairs of the latest “executive order” or legislation aimed at taking more and more away from what once was a fairly secure sense of well being.

It’s no walk in the park for working-class minorities, women and even many children of those being targeted. Yes targeted. Many have been “taken”. It appears to be a vicious intent to make the U.S. as white as possible, and particularly for uber-wealthy whites. There are protests. Huge turnouts. Unfortunately, there seems to be little official pushback by any part of the government, and that is either by design or sheer cowardice.

Six months of this descent into virtually lawless governing. Seems a lot longer, though, huh? Maybe the mid-terms…

Meanwhile, in another part of the world, there is also a population living under duress. Duress: threats, violence, constraints or other action brought to bear on someone. Or, in this case, not just Brown, Black, poor Whites or women. This “other” population would very likely trade places with those of us in the U.S. who are now in the evil legislative crosshairs initiated on –1-20-2025.

Many of us feel uncertain about the future. For some others, the future is now. No past. No future. Only the waking here and now. Moment by moment. With evil ready to pounce.

Evil is nothing new, but it has various levels of intensity. And duration. For the people of Palestine, in Gaza, each and every one in that populace is plagued by an official force of Pure Evil. Its blatancy is a stain on humanity. There is not even a hint of nuance for the Palestinian plight, with each day a literal challenge to obtain food, water, medicine, or any sense of safety. Palestinians have, for generations, been the target of oppression and violence. To be born in Palestine is to have been, by birth, ethnicity and location, automatically designated as a target by the country of Israel. They have been in the crosshairs of its evil intent for decades, but at this very moment, their plight and persecution has reached a point at which we, as a human race, become less humane every day. Ignoble. Unforgivably so.

The Israeli government (and its military), over the past 21 months, has killed estimates of over one hundred-thousand men, women and children. The catalyst was a Hamas attack on Israel that killed about 1200 Israeli citizens on October 7, 2023. Simple math would clearly indicate that attack has been used to declare a “war” on Hamas. Hamas is not the people of Palestine. It is not a war that is absurdly asserted by many news outlets. It is a genocide. No other conclusion can be drawn! The International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court have both designated it as such. Sadly, and incredulously, those conclusions are not enough for seemingly any other country to intercede, to say enough! Enough!

The indiscriminate bombing of Gaza, the well documented cost of human life via cellphone video capture, have made these attacks an endless horror story. underscoring an evil that now connotes an incomprehensible, numbing sense of business-as-usual. That food, water, medicine and more that the people of Palestine need so desperately has been turned into a twisted, venal, heartless and hateful game of “beat the clock”. That is, four aid supply areas have been set up. The supplies are made available in the dead-of-night, and a report in today’s Guardian profiles a young Palestinian who tried to get his hands on some of those supplies before Israeli tanks start firing on him and so many others rushing desperately to do the same. The article estimates there might be about a 10-minute window for those who risk their lives to get there, get some supplies, then safely make the sometimes very long trek back to their families, many of whom are on the brink of starvation, dehydration, and other life-threatening conditions. And each day, dozens die in the effort. Every. Day. Day after day. After day. A genocide graphically documented. Without consequence to those committing the atrocities. Again, where is our humanity?

Where are those that have the power to stop this? They are out there, but without the moral courage to step in and step up to this abominable reality, their power is solely symbolic. Shamefully so.

What is Eviller than firing upon a starving, defenseless, dying people seeking to survive, if only for one more day? Where is the goodness of humanity that is capable of stopping this? It becomes less perceptible every day.