A federal judge has found that the Trump administration’s mass firings of federal probationary workers were likely unlawful https://t.co/0dglddmbFx

— CNN (@CNN) February 28, 2025

*Editor’s note: “Stop covering politics,” some of our dear readers cry every time we post something relephant. Look: politics are life. Equal rights, empathy, fair economy, healthcare. We can’t ignore what’s happening, and you shouldn’t either. Disagree? We’re happy to share your experience here.

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“If you’re not angry, you’re either a stone, or you’re too sick to be angry. You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn’t do anything to the object of its displeasure. So use that anger, yes. You write it. You paint it. You dance it. You march it. You vote it. You do everything about it. You talk it. Never stop talking it.” ~ Maya Angelou

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Silent ones.

Eventually, your tormented consciences will strangle your souls if only in the dark of night as you toss and turn and scream with nightmares for what you have done and for what you have not done that could have prevented us from moving forward toward this disastrous time in history.

In my last article, I shined a spotlight on my private, spiritual side.

In this article, I am allowing you to see my private, angrier side.

When I was a child, I wasn’t allowed to express my anger. Although anger is still uncomfortable for me, thank goodness I’ve changed a little.

In my experience, anger can be used as a positive energy force that can lift us toward unexpected higher spiritual purposes.

The issues I’m about to mention are only a smidge of what’s causing the tornado that continually spins inside me.

First, the news conference in the Oval Office between our president, his vice president, and Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy. As I watched this scene play out, it was shocking, heartbreaking, shameful, embarrassing, and disillusioning.

It seemed to me that Zelenskyy experienced an ambush that Trump, Vance, and Trump’s advisers set up ahead of time as fodder for their “made-for-television” emotionally manipulated content.

As I watched their attack on this outstanding leader of grace and all that is good in the world, I felt nothing but horror. Silent screams of anger and unraveling anxiety desperately needed to be released from my body. They’re still waiting to be unleashed. Maybe I’ll scream and cry in my pillows tonight, during my walk in the woods, or if the weather gets better, maybe I’ll take myself to the ocean and let my feelings out there.

If you’re feeling big emotions, too, come join me in some way. It’s important that we feel, acknowledge, and release this difficult heaviness.

Turn to all the personal growth and healing tools you can find. Journal, write your heart out, take yourself on healing walks in nature, check out Donna Eden’s energy healing techniques, take up yoga, Tai Chi, Qigong, creative movement, baking, cooking, sound healing, meditation, breathwork, word games, adopt a fur baby, use your creative talents, and recite and live the words to The “Serenity Prayer,” “Desiderata,”  and the “Metta Meditation Prayer of Loving Kindness.”

After you release your pent-up feelings, return to the mantra, “Peace begins with me.” Ultimately, that is where peace resides. In the calm and in the chaos, be the kindness, consideration, caring, and love that you need from those who can’t give it to you right now.

We can experience contradictory emotions and still feel grounded and “okay.” Anger and peace. Shock and moments of joy. Laughter and tears.

Don’t stuff the bad stuff in your cells.

Now that I’ve taken deep, long, and slow breaths, I’m ready to mention some of the current event issues that are enraging me.

Unless you’re one of the wealthy ones who operates with greed as your only personal mantra, chances are you might be feeling unstable, victimized, disillusioned, anxious, and plain angry, too. Whatever your political leanings, feelings of disbelief, anger, confusion, and shock are understandable. In less than two months, our personal needs, rights, and matters of life and death have been turned upside down and inside out.

Before the president took office, you might have felt strongly toward this man’s “ideology” and his promise that tariffs would be good and eggs would be cheaper if he were elected.

I understand. You might be at the breaking point financially. You counted on his boastful promises. You needed them to be true.

I’m with you. As an Independent voter, I’m open to casting my ballot for any person of any political party as long as their ideology comes from a non-egotistic and non-narcissistic authentic place.

Republican? Sure. Democrat? Sure. Independent? Sure. Libertarian Party, Green Party, Constitution Party, Working Families Party, Socialist Party, Reform Party? If their ideas align with my own hopes and dreams for America and for the world, I’ll consider them.

I don’t care who you voted for, or if you didn’t vote at all, but chances are you’re starting to feel cast aside by many of the toxic changes made by our ruthless emperor, his sword-waving sidekick, and all the silent ones.

As for this group of Republican Representatives and Senators who cower from fear of displeasing our cult-like leader, “I’m not in.” I don’t support their complicit silence. I don’t support any Democrat who is silent, either. I don’t want any of us who believe in “Love thy neighbor as thyself” to be silent.

 “There comes a time when silence is betrayal.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Silent ones. The Department of Veterans Affairs: When thousands of our courageous veterans are mercilessly fired, where were you before this happened, and where are you now? When their medical services, PTSD counseling, doctors, funding for veteran hospitals, medical and mental health research, war-induced cancer programs, well-deserved disability checks, and even burial services are sliced with a machete, why didn’t you have more to say? Were you in the military, or do you know any veterans who fought in a war and came back physically wounded and/or with PTSD? Anyone in your family? Your son? Daughter? Friends?

Silent ones. What happened to the wisdom of listening to your gut feelings when you know deep inside that something is desperately wrong? What happened to your highest wisdom and intuitive knowing, your courage, insight, compassionate heart, and deep allegiance to all that is fair and good?

Silent ones. Is bending both knees in cowardice to our self-anointed king really what you desire as part of your legacy?

Silents ones. Where is the courageous pulse within your soul of souls that once stood up for the Constitution and the rule of law?

Silent ones. Your constituents count on you to not let them down. Where are you? Why doesn’t “do the right thing” supersede your desire for keeping your own life status quo? Why doesn’t “do the right thing” supersede your desire for comfort, wealth, and power?

You were given a sacred responsibility. Don’t run away from it. Own it.

Silent ones. Why can’t you stand tall in your backbone and confront the relentless threats and peer pressure of your favorite authoritarian, his out-of-his-mind sidekick, and some of your own colleagues?

Throw the shovel back at them with new resolve, renewed courage, and fresh energy. It would sound something like this:

“No, Mr. President, “With all due respect” (words that Vance misused against Zelenskyy and then proceeded to attack him), “I can’t go along with this. You no longer have my support.”

Push back. Regain your integrity. Your self-respect. There’s nothing like integrity, self-respect, and honorable self-worth. Not even paychecks.

Silent ones. What do you want to leave behind as your legacy? What is your life’s mission statement?

As they say in the Yiddish language, “Be a Mensch.” Translation? Be a human being. The best kind of human being. Someone who has character, dignity, and a sense of what is right.

My other anger-breeding issues:

USAID. Why was the idea of “soft power” abandoned? Soft power is a win-win. It not only helps people who are dealing with catastrophic issues, but by helping them, our own reputation as a giving, generous, and caring society lives on.

By dismantling and freezing all the funds that were supposed to be reserved for the United States Agency for International Development, it ended AIDS relief that saved 26 million lives in 55 countries (PEPFAR), put an abrupt halt to preventing the Ebola outbreak from spreading far and wide, stopped the prevention of terrorism, sexual trafficking, and violence, and put an end to feeding millions of starving women, men, and children.

Did freezing USAID funds “only” effect “those” people? A resounding, “No!” Much of the food sent to them was grown on America’s own farmlands, many of which are in red states.

Are farmers hurting? Of course. Farmers who received Federal funding have been abandoned. Will this affect each one of us at the grocery stores? Sadly, yes.

No bad action lives in isolation. There is always a chain reaction to everything.

Silent ones. Anything positive stirring inside you yet? If not, here are more injustices, and they are just the tip of the iceberg. When our right to medical care, medicines, and vaccines are about to be taken away, where are you with your power to vote against this? Have you ever been severely sick? Has someone you loved ever been sick? Okay, so you have enough money and insurance for yourself and your family, but where is your sense of humanity and empathy for the rest of us? Think about those who don’t have your kind of money. Do you care that little?

Silent ones. When our friends in Canada, Mexico, Europe, Greenland, and Panama were betrayed, affronted, and alienated by our leader’s “tariff deals,” harsh put-downs, salivating desires for expansionism, and cruel tactics, where were you and where are you to revolt against this? We lost our best friends, and we are alone now. Anyone out there to save us?

Silent ones. When the precious, wise old ones have nowhere to go because all the assisted living centers, rehabilitation opportunities, nursing homes, and hospitals are shut down due to Federal funding cuts, where are you to prevent this from manifesting?

Silent ones. When Nazis are waiting in the wings getting ready for the green light that enables them to kill Jews and repeat that dark history of genocide, where are you to stop all this before it becomes a reality?

Silent ones. What do you think about Musk’s Department of Government “Efficiency” firing employees who were responsible for guarding our nuclear weapons? What do you think of their sudden comment, “Oops, I made a mistake. Sorry.” Now they’re desperately trying to find these employees and get them back before “oops” becomes a world-wide disaster in the making.

Feel safer than ever in America, or a little less safe now?

Silent ones. Do you know anyone with cancer? Maybe you know someone who’s receiving innovative treatment, and miracle of miracles, it’s working and it’s their last best hope for living longer. Well, sorry, cancer patient. The latest cancer treatments and cancer research have been cut, too. No more of that. It’s just part of “wasteful spending,” I guess.

Silent ones. How do you feel about the thousands of Federal workers who were fired, with more to go? Do you know that they were all sent a form letter that callously said that they were fired for “low performance reviews”? Really? I heard that they had received glowing performance reviews. I heard that they chose this line of work as their life’s mission to help make the world a better place in which to live.

What about the relationship between preventing terrorism and crime in our country, the protection we received from our devoted FBI and CIA agents, and the severe cuts and overhauling of their departments by inexperienced cabinet members? Feel safer now, or a little more wary?

While I’m on a roll, how about all the haphazard and random cuts to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, (a watchdog agency), the Department of Agriculture, the USDA, the U.S. Forest Service (which manages wildfire response), the Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA), the Health and Human Services that includes the National Institute of Health (NIH), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the CDC (Center of Disease Control) as well as WHO (manages world-wide pandemic diseases), the Department of Interior, including the Bureau of Land Management and National Parks, the Department of Education, the DHS Science and Technology Department, FEMA (disaster relief), the Department of Homeland Security, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security, Coast Guard members who worked for the division of diversity, equality, and inclusion, the IRS, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid agencies?

Think they all needed these freezes, cuts, and the merciless firing of employees? The “you’re fired” list is still growing and each one of these cuts will affect all our citizens at some point.

It’s the old “domino chain reaction effect.” Nothing just happens in “that” part of the world. What happens to one person, or to one country, eventually will affect all of us.

Silent ones. I’m not done. How about flying these days? Excited about it with Musk at the helm? He says he’s sending his Starlink satellite internet terminals to the Federal Aviation Administration, while also saying, without providing evidence, that current technology poses a risk to air travel safety.

Hmm. What do you think? Do you feel safer flying these days? No? Going to say anything to help us out here?

Silent ones. Why are they trying to make it harder for women to vote if their passport and driver’s license aren’t matching their birth certificate? Trying to squelch more women’s rights? Before it’s too late, stand up for us. This is just one of many ways they are trying to limit women’s rights.

Silent ones. Where were you when this was announced by the elected one? “From now on, we will only have two genders. Male and female.” How can you, in good conscience, discount our entire transgender community, and for that matter, all the LGBTQ community? Why do they/them bother you so much? Are they hurting you personally in some way? Is anyone in your own family deeply hurt by this stance?

Do you think God only values one white look, one race, two genders, one way of being? Last I heard, God is love. Pure love. Unconditional love.

Oh, and did you hear about the greatest deal in all of humankind? “Come, oh ye rich people of the world. America has a deal for you. Our precious Gold Card. If you have five million dollars, you can move here. We’d love to have you.”

Really? What a great idea. Wow, what a deal maker.

Silent ones. War-torn Gaza as a resort? Really? Ya, those pesky Palestinians. They don’t deserve a home. Is that what you think deep down, silent ones?

What if one day you wake up only to find out that it’s you that’s not wanted? You’re not the right shade, don’t have quite enough wealth, maybe you look too short, too tall, too fat, too skinny, not skinny enough, don’t belong to the right religion of the moment, or your belief system was okay yesterday, but it isn’t the right one, today?

Will you speak up then?

Silent ones. We were warned ahead of time about all the goals laid out in Project 2025. If you made the time to read it, why didn’t you say something when it mattered? Wasn’t there one issue that spoke to your inner fire alarm? Every painful line item in this manifesto is happening. When will you say, “This isn’t right. I’m going to risk my personal needs for the greater good and will no longer go along with this red tide of shameful ideas, cuts, and edicts.”

Red states. Blue states. Congress. The rest of us. Remember “We the People?” Give yourself a strong and mighty voice. It’s not a choice anymore. It’s our responsibility.

Maybe you once—not so long ago—thought that you were right to vote for a big change, and besides, everyone else in the opposing party was definitely “too woke” for you. Maybe now you’re starting to wonder if you made the right decision and it’s hard to admit. If this is true, swallow your pride, admit this is not what you signed up for, call your representatives, protest, and work as a collective whole to make big nonviolent noise against the runaway train that will soon have everyone in shambles.

If you unmute yourself, we’ll have your backs. We will rise with you. Don’t swallow any of these various discordant symphonies of suppression.

Redistrict so that voting will be more difficult and minorities won’t be able to say their rightful say? Make the work environment uncomfortable so people will quit? Get rid of Project Head Start and other worthy resources? What does DEI’s evaporation do to all our friends who have special needs?

No more food stamps? Oh, I get it. Now, you want to starve everyone, get everyone in a weak position, sick, have no medicines or vaccines to turn to, and not know which pandemics are coming our way by ending WHO and the CDC? Yes, sure. Bring on Ebola, Bird Flu, HIV, Measles, and anything else that’s coming down the pike so we won’t know about it in advance. And for heaven’s sake, please don’t create a way to prevent these diseases and keep people alive.

Don’t forget to use our sacred National Parks for your wealth-motivated ideas, end FEMA disaster help, stop all the “how’s the weather today” information in the form of our much-revered NOAA, get rid of the Food and Drug Administration so we won’t know if we are eating a listeria-driven food source, if bird flu is in our area, or if the quality of cosmetics, dietary supplements, and over the counter medicines are safe.

What else? The list is endless. If we blink, we will miss it. Am I mad? You bet. I didn’t even cover half of it.

Silent ones. One more. Where are the silent ones who benefit from beautiful homes and vacationing in a fancy hotel suite cleaned by non-criminal legal or undocumented immigrants with high work ethics and with dreams for opportunities in the Statue of Liberty’s homeland?

Why is our leader and his sidekicks labeling them all as murderers and painting them all with the same brush? Why are you setting them all up for failure by creating immigration hurdles no one could obtain? Why did you put them in cages in Guantanamo? Why aren’t you seeing people as people as people?

Oh yes, I see. It will be much purer in “America the Beautiful” with an all-white upper echelon cast of made-for-television characters. Is that it?

Boring and dull are two words that come to mind. Infuriating, unjust, and disgusting are a few others. I have a few others, too, but I won’t put them in print.

Where is human kindness, caring, love, acceptance, tolerance, and open-mindedness when we need them most?

Most of all, where are the silent ones who still have voting and vocal power? The saying, “But for the grace of God go I” can be interpreted as:

“Sooner or later, some part of what our authoritarian-leaning leader and his mute followers are doing will get you, too. There will be an issue. Something that affects you, someone in your family, or a good friend. And then you will be—what’s the word? Oh, forgive me. ‘Woke.’”

Woke, Woken. Awakened. It means to fully realize. It means having an “aha” moment that includes feeling responsible for the well-being of others. “Woke” means to be mindful. Aware. Caring. Compassionate. Empathic. Responsible for all our global brothers and sisters, no matter what.

Silent ones, Rise. This is my personal SOS. Shake yourself off, stand up tall, get into your spine, and stop this out-of-control tsunami from getting worse.

The big lie is that all these cuts aren’t about balancing our financial debt. It’s about lining the pockets of the rich. It’s purposely designed to make the rich richer—just like any authoritarian dictator would do.

Trump taunted his hands-folded, listless, and mute staff at the cabinet meeting the other day, “Is anybody unhappy with Musk?” Dead silence. History repeated. Deafening, fear-based silence.

No matter whom you voted for, “We the People” still have power. Use it. Call your representatives by using this easy APP: 5 Calls. Join movements like this one and listen to nonpartisan news through political historians like this one.

I end my heartfelt anger rant by reminding you to watch and read the news while remembering to use all your self-care tools.

Download and integrate my self-care videos starting with this one.

Read my self-care articles on Elephant Journal beginning with: How to Self-Care & Stay Sane when it feels like Everything is Falling Down.

Don’t give up. We, too, are sometimes silent ones. And the screaming ones. It’s when we move the pendulum toward the middle of those emotions that something healthy and beneficial to society can ensue.

What I wrote in this article took the kind of courage I didn’t know I had in me, but as Edward Bulwer-Lytton first said, “the pen is mightier than the sword.” This is my way to do what Congressman John Lewis wanted us to do: “Speak up, speak out, get in the way. Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.”

Tell me, dear reader and friend, what are you doing to make a little good trouble? What action steps are you taking while making sure that you are also taking care of yourself?

I’d love to hear from you. You’re not alone in this mess, and I’d like to feel that I’m not alone, either. We’ve got to find our personal way toward light amid anger, gratefulness amid despair, joy amid chaos, and laughter amid sadness. Let’s all move into our spines and rise.

I end this article of heartbreak and trembling hope with the same important line I wrote toward the beginning:

“In my experience, anger can be used as a positive energy force that can lift us toward unexpected higher spiritual purposes.” 

Tell me, where is your anger leading you? What is your nonviolent unexpected higher spiritual purpose?

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