The psalmist questions, “Why do you boast, almighty one, of mischief done against the godly? All day long you are plotting destruction. Your tongue is like a sharp razor, you worker of treachery. You love evil more than good and lying more than speaking the truth.” Psalm 52:1-4

These last weeks of watching the destruction within our government, has been distressing and painful. Ripping apart one agency after another, firing gifted people, and ignoring ramifications of these actions, has been both hard and frightening.

Candidate Donald Trump claimed to know nothing of Project 2025, yet it has become a blueprint for daily action. Whether it is silencing the Voice of America, destruction of USAID, or disallowing free speech on college campuses . . .  The country is not the same or as free as it was when the year turned over.

Finding a voice of protest louder and more meaningful than Facebook posts, has been challenging. I feel and hear a sense of helplessness in the face of ongoing destruction.

Meanwhile, I continue to be mystified why so many, are unable to see what is so clear to me. Don’t they realize this is the way Dictatorships are born?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s words continue to resonate with me, as he reflected on the support Hitler received. “One virtually feels that one is dealing not at all with a person, but with slogans, catchwords and the like that have taken possession of them. They are under a spell, blinded, misused, and abused in their very being.”

Demonizing anyone who participated in or worked with programs of Diversity, Equity or Inclusion (DEI) has had a chilling effect on our nation. Yesterday’s targeting of the Smithsonian for improper ideology is even more so. Who gets to decide which, and what or when ideology is proper?

While I despair, others are championing the actions taking place now in Washington. Be it the slashing of so-called “bureaucrats,” imprisoning of international students who protested Israel’s carnage in Gaza, policing of thought on college campuses or abandoning programs for the poor.

Lessons of the past teach us that when one group of people is villainized, another will soon follow. Friends echo my own question of, “How do we stop the onslaught, before more and more people are caught in the web of spreading hate?” I wish I had a quick and easy answer. What I do know are protests, calling politicians and demonstrations draw attention to injustice. Complacency in the face of grievous wrong, simply is not a viable option.

The Psalmist encourages us to see a future where today’s injustice is undone . . . A time of true justice, where integrity and compassion are the norm. Having watched the uprooting of past wrongs, the Psalmist rests secure under the watchful eyes of God.

“But I am like a spreading olive tree in God’s house,
for I trust in God’s faithful love for ever and ever.” Psalm 52:8