Speaking up and stating the obvious.

on the record, clearly and wholeheartedly, for whatever it's worth.

I’m going to throw out a few convenient labels that can be applied with reasonable accuracy, to me. In no particular order.

2nd generation American citizen (grandchild of immigrants); Jewish-American; Resident of the state of New York; Writer; Husband; middle-aged white, cis-male; Father of three; Zen Buddhist Priest; Human Being.

I also happen to be short, with brown eyes and a shaved head.

Shared here is a link to the text of a Statement in Support of Compassion I recently signed, authored by the Soto Zen Buddhist Association, of which I am an Associate Member.

https://www.szba.org/statements-homepage

It speaks for itself. please have a read through.

In addition to the statement above, given recent events here in the US, and abroad, I feel compelled to state a few facts, out loud, in case you didn’t know where I stand:

Americans who identify LGTBQ — and specifically, Trans — are our brothers, our sisters, our parents, our children, and our neighbors. Their rights to basic dignity and their human flourishing is 100% guaranteed by our constitution, and more so, by our, and their, humanity. It is our responsibility to protect them. Our bodies are their bodies. Our hearts, their hearts. We trample them at the risk of our souls.

Israel’s war on Gaza is completely unethical, barbaric, beyond reason and explanation, whatever words you choose to characterize it. The government of Israel, by its ruthless pursuit of this conflict, is guilty of many multiples of war crimes. Providing material support for the conflict is completely unacceptable, and drenches the hands of its supporters with the same innocent blood drenching the hands of the Israeli government. This includes, specifically, the government of my country.

Hamas’ attacks on Israeli citizens is utterly despicable, cowardly, and beyond reason. The hands of anyone involved are equally drenched in the blood of the innocent lives they’ve taken.

Vladimir Putin, in case anyone’s missed this, is a dictator whose territorial ambitions are to restore the dimensions of the Russian Empire, and the Soviet Union. Russia invaded Ukraine and currently occupies Ukrainian territory, as well as regularly slaughtering innocent Ukrainians whose only crime is standing in the way of Russian aggression. The Russian government, through these despicable actions, is guilty of many multiples of war crimes.

The United States of America has not been invaded by Illegal Immigrants dead-set on undermining the integrity and stability of this nation. Immigrants come to the United States because this nation has, despite its flaws, offered a beacon of political and economic stability and hope not widely available to the rest of the planet. The contributions immigrants have made — and continue to make — to the economy, culture, and richness of American society is incalculable. Pretending otherwise is quite simply, lying.

The government of the United States of America is not riddled with ‘waste, fraud and corruption.’ In point of fact, this nation has consistently starved its administrative arms of resources for decades, dating back to the Reagan presidency. Our class of Civil Servants are largely patriots who work for far lower wages than they’d earn with their expertise in the private sector, and in a system in desperate need of deep financial and political support. These individuals labor under less-than-ideal conditions because they care about this country and are committed to its well-being. They deserve our respect and support. What is currently being done to them, and by extension, us, is illegal and unsupportable.

American support for our allies and partners overseas isn’t an exercise in wastefulness. The economic, political and military partnerships America has developed in the post-WWII era has been responsible for saving and improving the lives and opportunities of millions of people, and for the advancement of the American Brand (freedom, health, justice, fairness, peace) for 70 years. It is deeply in the interest of this nation that the world is stable, healthy, and fair for all. The suffering of one is the suffering of all. the stability of one is the stability of all. How is that even debatable?

Chaos is good only for those who choose to profit from the suffering of others.

Above: Buddha & Flag photos by Brianna Santellan and Emily Hopper. Image composite by Tricycle magazine

The history of the United States of America is full of dark actions and chapters we ignore at our peril. We grow, learn, and improve the living experiment of American Democracy by looking, clear-eyed, at our own history. Not to wallow in our mistakes, but to embrace the opportunity of improving ourselves, our governance, and our ability to effect change in the world. Turning a blind eye to the injustices in the fabric of our shared history, papering over our missteps, lying outright to ourselves about who we are, and who we have been, makes us, well…blind.

The United States of America has three co-equal branches of government: The Judiciary, Legislative, and Executive. I stress the words co-equal. The president of the United States is not a king. Period. Full stop. It is illegal and unconstitutional for the Executive branch of this nation to arbitrarily end funding provided by and guaranteed by Congress. Regardless of whether or not congress has the spine to stand up and say so. In fact, it is cowardly, irresponsible and reckless — at minimum — to stand by and allow its own power to be ignored, and undermined.

It is appalling that the head of the Executive Branch of our government feels it is somehow within his power to determine, decide, to bully, or to suppress, the actions and positions of our institutions of higher education. These institutions lead the world in research, development, and education. The entire planet benefits from what flourishes on these campuses. We cripple them at our own risk, and at the risk of this world, human culture, and progress.

It is equally appalling that somehow it is acceptable to intimidate, threaten, undermine, and repress the Free Speech rights enshrined in the Articles of the Constitution of the United States. These include the freedom of the press to question, investigate, and report. You don’t like what someone has to say, don’t listen. Or make a compelling counter argument. You don’t like it, too damn bad. Learn to be comfortable with discomfort.

Climate change is real. It is demonstrably caused by Human activity. We are — rapidly — choking our only home, this planet, the beings and life we share this planet with, and ourselves, by continuing on the path we have pursued, with our eyes wide open to the harm we cause, for decades.

I could go on. It is insane that anyone needs to voice any of the above in the 21st — or any — century.

We are living in an upside-down world.

The Buddha wisely observed that we suffer because of our upside-down views. It is our responsibility as human beings to live with integrity, or we suffer the consequences. This is the definition of karma: we visit that suffering upon ourselves, and all those we touch. Sentient and insentient. Our neighbors, our families, this planet.

One voice is tiny. Many small voices raised in unison are not tiny. They are large and loud. It is the responsibility of citizenship — more urgently, the responsibility of our humanity — to stand up and make our voices heard, especially when so many voices are being silenced.

Silence equals complicity. I choose not to be complicit. My commitments to all the identities I listed above — and all the identities not listed above — demand of me that I stand up for my beliefs, and for what I believe is right. There is no other choice.

With a thousand bows, let’s make some damn noise.

Your comments are always welcomed and encouraged. We’d love to hear from you.

One more thing.

As a zen priest I’m a student of Tenshin Fletcher Roshi at Yokoji Zen Mountain Center. For more info on Yokoji, please visit www.zmc.org.

I’m also the caretaker of Warwick Zendo, a small in-person and online sangha based in the lower Hudson Valley of New York. if you’d like to check out our practice community, we’re at www.warwickzen.org.

How this works.

I plan to post at least once a week, at minimum. The Freeside offers those weekly posts, which will always be accessible. Payside will (eventually) offer access to some longer writing and ongoing investigations into practices both literary and zen.

Payside also helps to sustain this project, and this practice. Like any creative project, keep sweeping is a kind of labor, and as such, your support to sustain that labor is much appreciated.

If Payside is not for you, that’s all good. The posts will keep coming on Freeside. The support of your reading and attention is a deeply appreciated gift, and I thank you for being here.

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