The Bank of Justice

The opening session of our weekend retreat included an excerpt from Martin Luther King, Jr.’s August 28, 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial. King’s words have new relevance for our nation, born with a commitment to basic “self-evident truths” about human rights, equal justice and the rule of law:

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked insufficient funds. But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

As we watched this excerpt from the speech, I wrote down the words: “We refuse to believe that the Bank of Justice is bankrupt.”

In spite of everything, I believe the Bank of Justice is solvent.

From “Read (and/or listen to) Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech in its entirety,” Talk of the Nation, NPR, January 16, 2023.

Rest and Resist

Notes from this year’s church retreat at Camp McDowell, which drew 150 people around the theme Rest and Resist:

During the “golden age” of King Josiah, leaders of Jerusalem were convinced the Temple would stand forever. Soon, Babylon defeated Judah and destroyed the Temple. Some (like Jeremiah) fled to Egypt, and many of Judah’s leaders were taken as captives to Babylon.

Jeremiah wrote a letter to the Babylonian exiles, which included words that have encouraged people through the ages: “I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you an not to harm you, plans of give you hope and a future.” These words of hope mean more when we recall the depth of their despair.”

Many people in America and the world grieve the basic change of direction charted by today’s US leaders. At the retreat, we were encouraged to read the words leading up to the promise Jeremiah passed on to the captives in Babylon:

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those (in) exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters, … so that they too may have sons and daughters, increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” … This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.”

For those of us who think it’s a long time until the mid-term elections, the “seventy years” in this story seems excruciating. Sometimes, a task may seem so daunting that one simply has to commit to “as long as it takes.” What kinds of creativity, determination and rebirth are happening in America and the world, as we face today’s threat to democracy and freedom?

Market noise and volatility

The Artificial Intelligence revolution is young. The cost of data centers and GPU production has tempered investor enthusiasm for the “Magnificent Seven.” Market volatility, natural during seismic economic shifts, has been amplified by our President’s authoritarian, wealth concentrating policies. His encouragement of market speculation includes his family’s open profiteering. I see this administration as the greatest risk to the economy and to financial markets. So, I’m cautious.

My stock market focus is very specific: A portfolio of 24 dividend-paying companies for retirement income. My strategy is to avoid the distraction of noise and the seduction of speculation. My goal is a blend of safety and growth. Here’s my inner nerd: I listen to 24 quarterly conference calls, available on the Internet. Company executives briefly summarize their quarterly results, followed by–the best part–a Q&A session with analysts. This gives me a sense of the health of the company and the economy.

Agree Realty Corporation (ticker symbol ADC) is one of the most impressive companies I follow. It’s a real estate investment trust that owns 2674 mostly retail properties, with 55 million square feet, across 50 states. They know the pulse of our rapidly changing economy. This week’s quarterly earnings call was stellar. The comments of CEO Joey Agree were full of keen insights about the economic pressures being faced by today’s families. The Q&A with analysts was particularly engaging.

I offer this not as an investment suggestion. It’s just one opinion about how to get a glimpse of the economy. Remember: (1) Stocks are risk assets. (2) Price is ephemeral. (3) There are no guarantees. (4) Caveat Emptor; and (5) Today is Friday the 13th.

From “The Demise of General Merchants,” a white paper about the end of an era, from the Agree Knowledge Base, available at the Agree Realty website.

Wise Men from the East

Our Buddhist friends (and Aloka) finished their trek to DC. Like them, the Magi were venerable visitors from the East. The biblical story provides another culture’s perspective about an event that would come to have worldwide importance. The Magi came to pay homage to a new king. Their search led them first to the old king, whom they deemed untrustworthy. So, when they found the new king, they didn’t return to tell the old king the whereabouts of the new king. (A “no kings” story, of sorts?)

Cathey and I met the monks on their walk through Selma. Our string bracelets reminded us to pray that each day of the monks’ walk across the US would be a peaceful day. They’re a healing presence in an unnecessarily troubled and divided land.

In case you missed it, here are three videos:

“Millions inspired by monks’ ‘Walk for Peace’,” (3+ minutes, PBS NewsHour);

“Buddhist monk recounts 15-week peace walk across US after reaching final destination,” (5+ minutes, CBS News);

“Buddhist monks arrive in DC in Walk of Peace,” (30+ minutes, WPDE ABC 15).

From “Buddhist monks draw thousands to Lincoln Memorial on final day of their 15-week journey from Texas,” by Deepa Bharath and Tiffany Stanley, The Canadian Press (via MSN), February 11, 2026

Four Freedoms

In 1933, Franklin Roosevelt’s first inaugural address (text) (video) said there was nothing to fear “but fear itself.” In a January, 1941 speech to Congress, he named four freedoms that were at stake. I first heard the term when I began collecting postage stamps around age 9 or 10. That phase was overtaken by the lure of sports, but I remember being attracted to stamps because I enjoyed learning about history. The US issued a one-cent stamp with a bust of Lady Liberty holding a torch, with the four freedoms listed below. A five-cent stamp issued in 1946 included Roosevelt’s likeness along with the four freedoms.

In 1994, long after I ceased collecting stamps, the Postal Service issued four separate 50-cent stamps (grouped together in blocks of four), featuring Norman Rockwell paintings of the four freedoms. If I had been born ten years earlier, the 1946 stamp might be the one I most remember, but when I hear the term “four freedoms,” I think of the man standing to speak at a town meeting, honored by Rockwell’s painting entitled “Freedom of Speech,” published in the Saturday Evening Post on February 20, 1943.

I’m part of three groups that meet monthly. Coincidentally, each group meets on the second Tuesday, one at a local coffee shop and two via Zoom. Yesterday, at each meeting, someone (not me) mentioned the upcoming No Kings Day protests on March 28. The Zoom meetings involved people in eleven states. All three groups discussed other actions being done to express opposition to the direction being charted by the current administration in Washington. I encourage you to read, or pass on to others if you’ve read it, Robert Reich’s most recent post, “The Citizen’s Revolt,” which “is occurring across America against the mad king, including places–such as grand juries–where revolts almost never occurred before. … We will be stronger for having gone through this.”

An apology to whose who read the first version of this post–which was emailed upon posting. I left out an essential sentence (the second one above), which omitted an important link!

A coalition country

From the beginning, America has been a country led by coalitions. Some have been better than others. The actions that led to the Declaration of Independence came from a coalition of very diverse colonies that were often in competition with each other and distrustful of each other.

The Union’s rally against Confederate secessions was uneven, rocky and slow to gain strength. But the coalition of non-secession states gathered steam in spite of great losses.

Ken Burns’ Prohibition documentary described a coalition led by two groups: organizations focused on abstinence from alcohol and organizations that wanted a federal income tax rather than federal reliance on alcohol taxes.

Robert Reich’s “Sunday thought: Cry, the Beloved Country” calls us “to rededicate ourselves to the values enshrined in the Constitution and Bill of Rights, the Gettysburg Address,” etc. He concluded: “Yes, weep for what we have lost. But …. Turn these losses into a new beginning–based on what’s good in America….”

From a post on Threads: Members from 27 state legislatures held a news conference last week to say they are uniting their efforts to oppose the kind of federal government intervention now going on in Minnesota.

In plain view

A friend from Ohio, who never posts anything political, expressed dismay on social media at the President’s post of an image that had the heads of President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle on ape bodies. I said to my friend: Thank you. This has moved beyond politics into the realm of mental illness. Family who truly love him would be planning an intervention, for his sake and the world’s.

My three previous posts attempt to humanize my relationship with our president, as a brother, neighbor, friend. This is in spite of everything he has said and done. It is entirely because the most mature expressions of the Christian faith (and other wisdom traditions) challenge me to treat everyone as brother, neighbor, friend. I truly love him, in spite of everything he has said and done. We must love others enough to say: “No.” Or, “Stop.”

The President is spiraling downward, out of control, without normal guardrails, checks and balances that have helped save our republic in times past. I see the nationwide protests, especially those in ICY Minnesota, as social interventions. Our Founders weren’t perfect (evidenced by their inability to abolish slavery at our founding), but they understood governmental imperfection and provided for peaceful assembly to redress grievances.

Protests, political strategies and legal actions are vital. Marc Elias, one of my heroes, works to contain injustices and abuses of power through judicial processes. For my peace of mind, in all my thoughts and conversations, I am determined to view our nation’s unfolding disaster as a matter of mental illness. This is serious. If the President were an airline pilot, would he be allowed to continue flying after all he has said and done?

Forty years ago, my cousin shot and killed his father, my uncle. Previously, my cousin was diagnosed with schizophrenia, which medication controlled. The medication had unpleasant side effects, and he convinced himself he was okay without it. Without medication, he hallucinated that his dad was a Soviet agent. He killed his dad. His mom, my aunt, became a volunteer leader in the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

In case you missed it:

“Donald Trump: Narcissist, Psychopath or Representative of the People?,” Psychotherapy and Politics International, October, 2016.

The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President, by Bandy X. Lee, etc., 2017.

The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President (Updated and Expanded with New Essays), Bandy X. Lee, etc., 2019.

From the website of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

Faux masculinity

Our president and I are both old white men. The previous two posts have focused on old and white. Today’s focus is about men. The President and I have masculinity issues that (at least in part) come from being born into a male dominate culture going through relatively rapid social change in the wake of World War II.

The President and I had very different fathers, which may explain some of our differences. My Dad was notably gentle, egalitarian and respectful toward women. He had a long life and a great relationship with a strong woman. The night he died, he peacefully slipped into a coma. My mother asked, with palpable grief, “He’s not going to talk to me anymore, is he?” The President seems to have had a very different role model.

But, we were both shaped by a culture that sought self-worth through success, performance, and strength. His insecurities seem obvious to me because I, too, have experienced insecurity and self-doubt. He finds hope in a male-dominate mindset that I see as a faux masculinity, expressed politically by men such as Viktor Orbán, Pete Hegseth, Vladimir Putin, Steve Bannon and J.D. Vance. Our key difference may be how we define strength.

The President seems to prefer a pre-World War II masculinity, but I found liberation in signs of progress I experienced in my childhood and youth. I admired Ronald Reagan, a long-time Democrat who in my childhood was a spokesperson for General Electric: “At GE, progress is our most important product.” Reagan became a Republican in 1962, when I was eleven.

I see my brother in the White House as one who needs to appear strong, to receive adulation, and is intolerant of dissent–signs of fragility and insecurity. The same demons are part of my DNA. As an adolescent and young adult, faith became an important source of strength for me in a fragile and insecure world. I grabbed onto Jesus, who to me symbolizes the wisdom of the ages, but my brother seems to have grabbed onto other things.

From a Google search about faux masculinity:

Faux or “fake” masculinity refers to a performative, superficial adoption of traditional male stereotypes–such as extreme aggression, emotional repression, and excessive dominance–often masking deep-seated insecurity, depression or fear. It is characterized by a “strongman” persona, entitlement, and the need to constantly prove oneself. This behavior is considered a reaction to lost or confused identity, differing from healthy, mature masculinity. Key aspects of faux masculinity include:

• Performance and Insecurity: Often, it is a desperate attempt to appear strong, which stems from a lack of inner confidence.
• Toxic Behaviors: Faux masculinity includes emotional suppression, sexism, misogyny, and homophobia, acting as a facade to hide vulnerability.
• Authoritarianism & Control: It often manifests as a need for total control, a desire to be the only one who matters, and an aspiration to act like a “strongman,”
• Consumerism: It is often driven by the idea that one can “buy” masculinity or status symbols.
• Depression Link: Studies indicate it can be a response to experiencing depression among men, notes the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 

Contrast with Genuine Masculinity: True masculinity is often characterized by courage, courtesy, compassion, and emotional balance, unlike the “fake” counterpart that relies on empty displays of power.

White like me

Yesterday’s theme about my relationship with our current president was “old like me.” He and I are both old white men. Tomorrow, I’ll focus on gender. Today’s focus is our whiteness. We grew up in a world of white supremacy. That reality may be our greatest link. New York City is vastly different from Alabama, but we grew up in a culture of white dominance and privilege. His teen years were 1959-1966. My teen years were 1963-1970. The three years we “overlapped” as teens were 1963-1966.

Alabama’s racial segregation was de jure. New York’s was de facto. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were key events of our teen years. The Harlem riot and the NYC school boycott (both in 1964) and the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery were during our teen “overlap” years. I understand the President’s innate racism. It’s part of my DNA, too. He and I may have dealt with our whiteness in different ways, but we were both products of a white supremacist culture.

When the President first appeared on the national political scene, he sounded like the early George Wallace (who was first elected governor of Alabama in 1962). In my bones, I heard MAGA as “Make America White Again.” The intended brutality of ICE and the “raid” on the Fulton County voter records are clear expressions of racism. John Howard Griffin’s Black Like Me was formative for me. I don’t think Griffin’s project was part of the President’s consciousness as a teenager.

So, how do I deal with my white brother in the White House? I oppose him vigorously and urge my fellow old white men to do likewise. I loved Robert Hubbell’s account of the “F— Ice” chants at a professional wrestling event, and the President’s decision not to attend the Super Bowl (for fear of “big league” booing). See “The tide is turning as Trump hides from the public.” His key point: This all stops when enough of us say, “No.”

Photo of an unidentified old white man at a protest in Athens, Georgia, from Robert Hubbell’s Today’s Edition Newsletter for today (February 5, 2026), cited above.

A thought experiment

The next few posts will be a “love your enemies” thought experiment: In what ways am I like our nation’s leader? Can I think of him as my enemy and my friend? Can you and I be friends if I consider him my enemy? Can you and I be friends if I consider him my friend? This puts our nation’s deep polarization–which has cost many of us some friendships–at the granular level.

We’re both old. He boasts that he won in 2024 “by a lot,” so I could say that at four-and-one-half years, he’s “a lot older.” In June, he turns 80, so (for six months) he will be five years older. That seems like “a lot” to me, but we’re both old. We’re both getting senile. His senility is more obvious to me than mine, but others see signs of senility in us before we see it in ourselves.

The President is a little ahead of me in years, but we’re on the same journey. I want own my senility, so I can deal with it appropriately, unlike my friend who said, “I can’t see and I can’t hear, but thank God I can still drive.” I wouldn’t get in a car with the President behind the wheel, but the reality is that he’s driving a large bus and we are all passengers.

Can our age commonality enable me to be more honest with him and about him, and at the same time be more compassionate toward him? I think so. I hope so. Being old is just one way he and I are alike. This is a therapeutic thought experiment for me.

From “Why can’t the US president drive? Trump’s wasted car collection,” by Stephen Corby, CarsGuide, December 18, 2017