Buddhist Coalition for Democracy Blog
I Now See Something Different When I Look At A Photo of Trump
In this article, I describe how I came to look at Trump differently. Not that my opposition to him has diminished one bit. But my sense of him as a person has shifted. Something happened to me in the process of putting together a meme about Trump last week. It led to...
The Suffering That Does Not Trend
For months I have been carrying a quiet horror, not only about the Epstein revelations themselves, but about where we were and were not pointing our attention. Then a [February 7, 2026] Instagram post by Harsha Walia, a visionary organizer and author whose work I...
Where Are All the Young Folks?
Why is it mostly boomers who show up at No Kings Day rallies? Where are all the college students? Why, when we old folks were college students, we were out there protesting the Viet Nam War. What is it with kids today? I’m told today’s youth has soured on peaceful...
What Really Counts
No Kings Day 3 has come and gone. An estimated 8,000,000 people participated—we’ll never know the exact number—but the more important question is “what happens next?” I attended a smallish No Kings Day demonstration—one of seven in Westchester County, NY that...
In Shōsan’s Shadow
Rise with fierce resolve.Life’s hardships are temple bells,ringing you awake. A sword left unsheathed,cuts through the illusions deep;truth sharpens the blade. Chop wood, carry water—the mountain bows to effort,not to idle pleas. Fire cannot burn onewho steps forward,...
Awakening Matriarchs
Many forces assure me that I am broken and damaged dumb and stupid, deficient unloveable, insignificant not enough, a second-class human without a mind of my own and too emotional too afraid to do things too unstable to be taken seriously I have been accused of being...
Freedom As A Virtue
Inflation and economic anxiety, political polarization, climate change, and threats to democracy are some of the issues that weigh heavily on the American people. These challenges have led to fierce debates over policies and rights—but despite the hackneyed claim that...
BCD Statement on War With Iran
Once again the United States is at war in the Middle East. This time it is a war initiated by a President who criticized his predecessors for having engaged in “endless” foreign wars and who campaigned on the promise that as President he would keep the United States...
BCD Statement on Cuban Oil Blockade & U.S. Cuban Policy
For more than two generations, except for a brief détente under Obama, the United States has pursued an escalating campaign of economic warfare against Cuba: a near-total trade embargo, financial isolation, extraterritorial sanctions, and other punishing...
Is Using the Word “Fascist” Right Speech?
Back in the 1990s —before the era of social media—when Usenet was the most common venue for internet conversations— it was noted that the longer an online discussion continued, the greater the probability that one person would end up comparing another to Hitler. This...
When the Monks Walked for Peace by My House
When I found out about the mission of their walk, something inside me cracked. Not metaphorically, but physically. Tears came before thought. I felt heat building in my chest, and a sense of relief moved through me like melting ice. And underneath all of that,...
Stand Up and Stand Together
On January 13th, New Hampsire Episocopal Bishop Bob Hirschfeld asked New Hampshire Episcopal ministers to “get their affairs in order to make sure they have their wills written, because it may be that now is no longer the time for statements, but for us with our...
Trumpism: What Is It?
A recent article by Stacie Goddard and Abraham Newman, Further Back to the Future, deserves to be better known and is a good road toward defining Trumpism. To capture what makes this regime distinctive rather than merely bad in familiar ways, one must move beyond...
eyes
ice Ice the ice is coming Oh January, your cold, unforgiving, almost inhumane winds are tearing me apart My eyes are meant to see can’t ignore what the ice is doing to other eyes to other bodies to other humans to other lives “Take shelter,” I heard “Stay your ground”...
BCD Statement on the Murder of Alex Pretti
Along with all Minnesotans and decent people everywhere, the Buddhist Coalition for Democracy grieves the senseless murder of Alex Jeffrey Pretti. We especially grieve for those who knew him best—his family, coworkers, and friends. Alex was executed in cold blood by...