Buddhist Coalition for Democracy Blog
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...
Walk Together Children, Don’t You Get Weary
It felt like 8℉ as we stood outside the White Plains Federal Courthouse. Everyone was chilled to the bone, and my gloves weren’t warm enough to allow me to keep holding up my protest sign. Eventually, I folded up my sign and kept my hands in my pockets for warmth....
A New Template for Conflict, But Cuba Poses the Same Old Problems
Let’s examine the recent United States military strike on Venezuela not only as a spectacle, but as a test case. What happened in Caracas in early January was not simply the removal of Nicolás Maduro. It was a demonstration, to Cuba and the world, of how quickly...
Neo-Royalism
It’s hard to find the exact right word—le mot juste—that best describes the Trump regime. Words like “fascist,” “illiberal,” “personalist dictatorship,” and “authoritarian” are often used, but none seems completely satisfactory. Imagine my pleasure, then, when I...