At a loss for words lately

It's rare that I run out of optimism...but it's being tested at the moment

What the hell is happening?

Honestly, it’s so incredibly rare that I find myself at a loss for a path ahead or a way to extricate myself or my organization from a tough spot. I’ve literally made an entire career of assessing a situation, identifying a course of action, and then aggressively executing that course of action.

I went to Army flight school at the ripe old age of 22-years old and learned how to fly tiny underpowered, unarmed scout helicopters. Every single time you pulled pitch and left the ground you were in a constant state of hypervigilance mapping out things that could go wrong and solutions. Engine quit? Autorotate into that field! Radios quit? Execute lost comms checklist…on and on.

You learn that a rattling above your head generally means something bad is about to happen. This translates to my poor family having to deal with my nearly psychotic reaction to rattles in our car having to be immediately investigated even if I consciously know it’s just that loose camping chair in back.

I physically and mentally cannot stand uncertainty.

What a time to be alive

So, needless to say the last week and half has been as much of a mentally trying time as physical in many ways. I know I’m not alone in this.

It all started with the debate night debacle and the continuing disintegration of the pro-democracy coalition into a circular firing squad. We now have over a week of attacks, counter-attacks, victimhood, martyrdom, and near constant vitriol aimed at our own nominee, campaign, Administration, and each other. The pile on has left people who were already worried about the election in a state of near despair.

There is small chance I might be one of them.

But, hey…then the Supreme Court decided to dismantle a list of the most fundamental precedents of our administrative state and the very foundational principles of our democracy while we are all freaking out about the election. They issued ruling after ruling that took away power from the government to fundamentally regulate the nation and culminated with all but making the President a king who can simply break any law under the cover of “official acts.”

Walt Handelsman, Times-Picayune/The Advocate

I found myself with a severe shortage of optimism as we headed into the 4th of July. How do you celebrate the founding of a country based on the rule of law, that all men are created equal, and no man is above the law now? We seem to be at a moment when the powers that truly run this nation from billionaires, to corporations, unelected courts, corrupt politicians, and wannabe dictators are all hellbent on tossing it all away?

I am on a trip to Washington state with my son. We skipped the fireworks.

So, now what?

We stop panicking and hold the line. Panic spreads like wildfire in battle. When “leaders” are part of it the entire line collapses and flees. We need leaders who will step into the breach and yell above the din…. “HOLD THE LINE!”

What we truly need is leaders like the immortal Joshua Chamberlain who saved the Union at Little Round Top on July 2nd, 1863. He is one of my greatest heroes. Did he panic when they ran out of ammo? No, he commanded “BAYONET!” and charged downhill. He probably saved the Union that day.

Joshua Chamberlain leads the men of the 30th Maine

Of course, I’m worried, but I also know that people like me who are gifted with the opportunity to speak to large audiences and have the privilege to have a voice in our national discourse must use our platform to calm the crowd and hold the line. I’ve been angry because too many people I respect, or don’t, are standing on the sideline screaming “RUN AWAY!” instead of “HOLD YOUR POSITIONS!”

The enemy isn’t in our ranks. It’s the people telling us to peacefully take their revolution…or else. It’s the ones calling for televised executions. It’s the ones calling American heroes who fell in battle “losers and suckers.” It’s the people with a 900-page plan to dismantle our government and impose a Christian Nationalist autocracy. It’s the Chief Justice telling the three-woman minority of the Supreme Court they are being hysterical.

We can disagree, but gleefully cheering the panic and egging it on isn’t getting us anywhere, so I choose to not participate. I’ve literally all but stopped looking at Twitter and gone off to the mountains with my son to catch some nature and a concert from our favorite band, Odesza.

I recorded this week’s show with brilliant Supreme Court and justice expert, Lisa Graves. It’s about that mess. I don’t want to spend another minute spinning up the panic about the election when we have other fights.

As a pilot you are taught that no matter what happens in flight, if you’re shot, hit turbulence, your pilot has a heart attack, the number one way to crash is to stop flying the aircraft. When we took air-to-air combat training they taught us that missiles, guns, and other projectiles all have different ‘probability of kill’ ratios. The “PK'“ we call it. The ground has a PK of 1.0. You will die every time you hit the ground.

Keep flying and hold the line

I choose to keep flying the aircraft and give myself time to figure out exactly what is going on. Focus on one emergency at a time. Fix what I can.

I go back to Joshua Chamberlain one last time as I write this on July 5th. What are you doing right now to calm the panic and get our coalition focused on saving our democracy? Are you running or holding the line? Are you figuring out your part of the panic or crowd? Which way are you running?

Let’s stop. Turn around. Face the enemy and…hold the line.

Let’s get our wits about us and keep flying the damn aircraft.

In the meantime….watch my new show. It’s fascinating.

The Show about the Fucking Supreme Court

Lisa Graves

Lisa Graves hosts Courier News new Grave Injustice podcast, which explains key cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court this summer and how they relate to larger issues, with a focus on the decades-long right-wing capture of the court. She is also the founder and Executive Director of True North Research, a national investigative watchdog group that works to shine a light on the dark money fueling regressive agendas targeting vital institutions in our republic, such as our courts and public schools. Graves is one of the nation’s foremost experts in exposing how special interests distort public policy and try to thwart the public’s interest in a thriving and inclusive democracy and to impede measures to protect our environment and mitigate climate change.

Watch her podcast Grave Injustice on Courier News: Grave Injustice