Growing up in a Jewish family, I often wondered why more Germans didn’t resist Hitler’s rise to power. Living in America in 2025, I no longer have to wonder. The rise of authoritarianism with its minority of rabid supporters and its majority of the fearful, the...
The greatest weapon authoritarians have at their disposal is their ability to demoralize the resistance by making its members feel isolated and powerless. When people feel alone and defenseless, they follow Aesop’s advice that it’s better to bend than to break; better...
Previous versions of this article were published in Turning Wheel (2004) and The Existential Buddhist (2016). It still seems relevant today. What is it that is specifically Buddhist about engaged Buddhism? Are we simply conducting our old politics under a new banner,...
