Absolutely! Going to re-read! You have shared some of these strategies before. And thank you for the moving onwards since then. We are protesting weekly and defiantly! We love the United States 🇺🇸. Thank you again for strategies to stay safe and defiant. 💙🇺🇸🙏 FIGHT!
Absolutely love hearing that, Vicky! You’re living proof that resolve still beats resignation. Re-reading, protesting, standing tall...those are exactly the muscles we have to keep flexing if we want this country to stay free.
Every week you show up...you remind the rest of us that courage is contagious. Keep fighting smart...stay safe...and never forget: defiance is patriotism in motion.
This is gold to study and internalize, Jack. It makes such good sense, and I must study it regularly until it all could come naturally. Thank you immensely, yet I hope we never need it for good reasons. You are a gem!
That means a lot...thank you. Truly. The goal is exactly what you said: to make these habits second nature before we ever truly need them. Preparation is freedom. You’re doing it right...studying...internalizing...strengthening that mindset muscle now.
Let’s hope it stays a blueprint we only train with...not one we’re ever forced to use. Appreciate you being part of this fight...and I mean that...and for seeing the deeper purpose behind it!
Jack, you have made my YEAR here in Europe. I agree with everything you say. I do most of what you recommend which is why I feel - always - spectacularly free. I like myself a lot. But that took years of living, experience and also recent EMDR therapy which, by the way, is extraordinary in its effect. Now I no longer fear the death of my beloved husband, which was a terrible fear which panicked me every time he left the house. Now, thanks to EMDR, I know that if the unthinkable happens and he dies before me, I will grieve deeply but I will be safe, I will be okay.
I am printing out your essay anyway because it's a mighty fine one and indeed, a blueprint for survival in the direst of circumstances.
I have already published - twice because it is so well-liked - a poem by Stephen Spender, "The Truly Great" which I have said for many years I would recite to myself if ever I was imprisoned or tortured or some other terrible event befell me. Please read it. Or better yet, read it and like it and restack on my substack!
Finally, your words remind me of those of the late, great Primo Levi. He chose his response to his captors in a Nazi concentration camp. He chose to be civil and polite to the guards, to the capos, to every last person he encountered, because that was his character, and he wasn't going to change it for anybody.
Thank you again, Jack, for this exceptional essay. Now to restack it.
Sarah...what an extraordinary message. You’ve captured the very essence of what I hoped readers would take from this piece: that real freedom starts inside...long before any external storm arrives. Your words radiate strength...peace...and proof that inner work pays off.
EMDR is powerful work...and you’re living evidence of its reach. That shift from fear to calm readiness is exactly the kind of transformation that keeps a person truly alive while others merely exist.
I’ll absolutely read The Truly Great...and the connection you made to Primo Levi stopped me cold. That quiet...disciplined choice to remain civil in the face of barbarism...that’s moral courage in its purest form.
Thank you for sharing your story and for amplifying the message. Knowing it resonated across the ocean makes the fight...and the writing...more than worth it.
Stay steady...stay free...and thank you for reminding all of us what dignity looks like when it’s lived.
Jack, your words come as balm this Monday morning. This weekend I have lost two of what I thought were old friends over my passion for fighting injustice (they call it "haranguing" and I can assure you that it is not - I'm an ex-lawyer and know how to moderate my words and, in particular, stay polite) and in particular over my support for the recent pro-Palestine marches in Sydney and Melbourne (I'm an Australian and so were these friends). Apparently this amounts to "hatred" of the Jews, when I explicitly had explained that the only people I hate in all this is Netanyahu and his thugs and Hamas and their thugs. I used to be married to a Jewish man, and have NEVER been anti-semitic. The fact that he turned out to be borderline personality and exceedingly toxic both during and after our marriage had NOTHING to do with his religion and I have always made that clear. He himself hates Netanyahu and Hamas and their thugs. And my two daughters, living in Melbourne, both attended those marches. I love and respect them (my daughters) dearly.
This came on the back of yet another friendship lost - see my post "How the Indefensible is Defended" which I think is an important bit of writing as it demonstrates very clearly the selective blindness of those who believe that all Jews are good and all Palestinians are bad and there's an end to it.
Anyway...the positive in this is that Substack is now my home, where I know that I can find like-minded, passionate fighters for injustice in all its forms, who will respond to me in the way that you have. I have at long last - after a lifetime of searching - found my tribe.
Very warm regards to you Jack and I look forward very much indeed to your next post.
Oh and btdubs as my daughters say :), I reposted your article to every single SM platform I use including X, Instagram and Facebook. I tried with Blue Sky, but there's an irritating issue where you have to literally type in the web address of anything you want to repost there...hope they fix this soon! I know you put their article there, so that's the main thing!
I read every word. I appreciate your strategies and help. Your writing sinks in. Every day I write about gratitude, what I’m thankful for. There’s a Journal app I use and can do it anytime throughout the day. Your reminder about how Holocaust survivors lived is powerful and I remember reading Corrie Ten Boom. Living in the moment just for today helps make this dark time more beatable. Good times never last and bad times never last. When I grow weary and feel despair I cry and move on. Remember when you knew this all was going to happen? You did your best to prepare us. People around me thought I was simply living in fear of fascism. Well…where we are now is real. We are not crazy yet some people are just living in another world. Thank you for outlining these steps. I do Bridge Brigades once a week, write postcards to voters, protest and stay involved in local/state Democrat groups. I see where so many more are rising up each day.
Thank you for this, Jane. You just described exactly what endurance looks like in real time...gratitude in the middle of chaos...emotional honesty...and purposeful action. That combination is what keeps the line from breaking.
You’re right: none of this came as a surprise. A lot of us saw it forming and tried to prepare others...not out of fear...but out of love for what we still have left to defend.
And you’re doing that beautifully: journaling...connecting...organizing...refusing to go numb.
I’m proud of what you’re doing with Bridge Brigades and local work...that’s where democracy actually rebuilds...block by block. Stay grounded...stay vocal..and keep finding small pockets of joy each day. That’s not denial...it’s defiance.
-Jack
P.S. And...Corrie Ten Boom...ahhhh. I think I was in grade school...maybe junior high when I first read about her. Fantastic example! You may already know this, but for those who might not, here's some interesting Ten Boom trivia.
She became the first woman to be licensed as a watchmaker in the Netherlands...and...she was born...and died...on the same day: April 15th. (My mother was also born and died on the same day.... it looks so odd to see the same dates on her headstone.)
Jack, how timely, as usual. Sometimes lately I feel like I’m a big smooth stone in a river, with rapids rushing by, and that’s ok. I don’t need to roll anymore.. Some days I’m a handhold, or the current will eddy around me to slow those around me. I get that I’m not going to change the course of the river, and doing my little part right around me feels right. Thanks for tying it all together, and for solidifying some vague notions that have been swirling around in my head for a while. You codified--thank you! It’s a keeper;-) I may even get out the laminator!
Sometimes having cancer holds me back, example I physically cannot attend the No Kings protests. But since I have seen the biggest demon cancer personally, nothing else can spark fear in my heart. It gave me perspective which I didn’t have before my diagnosis 2 years ago. Now I just have FOMO because I’d love to be on the streets in a costume with my protest sign saying
‘Taco Mangolini go back to the USSR!’ This blueprint offers so much great advice, thank you again. It was so good I had to read it twice!
Jack, you save me from the depths of depression on a regular basis with your newsletters. So much that I probably should be paying you for therapy sessions! Thank you sir!! ❤️🥰
Thanks, Jack! You can only control yourself. Reacting does not serve well. Being intentional, thoughtful, and segmenting the situation into doable gets the job done. Trading integrity is not a solution. Thanks for always propelling us forward with process and support.
Absolutely! Going to re-read! You have shared some of these strategies before. And thank you for the moving onwards since then. We are protesting weekly and defiantly! We love the United States 🇺🇸. Thank you again for strategies to stay safe and defiant. 💙🇺🇸🙏 FIGHT!
Absolutely love hearing that, Vicky! You’re living proof that resolve still beats resignation. Re-reading, protesting, standing tall...those are exactly the muscles we have to keep flexing if we want this country to stay free.
Every week you show up...you remind the rest of us that courage is contagious. Keep fighting smart...stay safe...and never forget: defiance is patriotism in motion.
-Jack
We are going to the freeway overpass this week! Thank you, again Jack.
You rock, Vicky! Thank YOU!!
This is gold to study and internalize, Jack. It makes such good sense, and I must study it regularly until it all could come naturally. Thank you immensely, yet I hope we never need it for good reasons. You are a gem!
That means a lot...thank you. Truly. The goal is exactly what you said: to make these habits second nature before we ever truly need them. Preparation is freedom. You’re doing it right...studying...internalizing...strengthening that mindset muscle now.
Let’s hope it stays a blueprint we only train with...not one we’re ever forced to use. Appreciate you being part of this fight...and I mean that...and for seeing the deeper purpose behind it!
-Jack
Jack, you have made my YEAR here in Europe. I agree with everything you say. I do most of what you recommend which is why I feel - always - spectacularly free. I like myself a lot. But that took years of living, experience and also recent EMDR therapy which, by the way, is extraordinary in its effect. Now I no longer fear the death of my beloved husband, which was a terrible fear which panicked me every time he left the house. Now, thanks to EMDR, I know that if the unthinkable happens and he dies before me, I will grieve deeply but I will be safe, I will be okay.
I am printing out your essay anyway because it's a mighty fine one and indeed, a blueprint for survival in the direst of circumstances.
I have already published - twice because it is so well-liked - a poem by Stephen Spender, "The Truly Great" which I have said for many years I would recite to myself if ever I was imprisoned or tortured or some other terrible event befell me. Please read it. Or better yet, read it and like it and restack on my substack!
Finally, your words remind me of those of the late, great Primo Levi. He chose his response to his captors in a Nazi concentration camp. He chose to be civil and polite to the guards, to the capos, to every last person he encountered, because that was his character, and he wasn't going to change it for anybody.
Thank you again, Jack, for this exceptional essay. Now to restack it.
Regards,
Sarah
Sarah...what an extraordinary message. You’ve captured the very essence of what I hoped readers would take from this piece: that real freedom starts inside...long before any external storm arrives. Your words radiate strength...peace...and proof that inner work pays off.
EMDR is powerful work...and you’re living evidence of its reach. That shift from fear to calm readiness is exactly the kind of transformation that keeps a person truly alive while others merely exist.
I’ll absolutely read The Truly Great...and the connection you made to Primo Levi stopped me cold. That quiet...disciplined choice to remain civil in the face of barbarism...that’s moral courage in its purest form.
Thank you for sharing your story and for amplifying the message. Knowing it resonated across the ocean makes the fight...and the writing...more than worth it.
Stay steady...stay free...and thank you for reminding all of us what dignity looks like when it’s lived.
-Jack
Jack, your words come as balm this Monday morning. This weekend I have lost two of what I thought were old friends over my passion for fighting injustice (they call it "haranguing" and I can assure you that it is not - I'm an ex-lawyer and know how to moderate my words and, in particular, stay polite) and in particular over my support for the recent pro-Palestine marches in Sydney and Melbourne (I'm an Australian and so were these friends). Apparently this amounts to "hatred" of the Jews, when I explicitly had explained that the only people I hate in all this is Netanyahu and his thugs and Hamas and their thugs. I used to be married to a Jewish man, and have NEVER been anti-semitic. The fact that he turned out to be borderline personality and exceedingly toxic both during and after our marriage had NOTHING to do with his religion and I have always made that clear. He himself hates Netanyahu and Hamas and their thugs. And my two daughters, living in Melbourne, both attended those marches. I love and respect them (my daughters) dearly.
This came on the back of yet another friendship lost - see my post "How the Indefensible is Defended" which I think is an important bit of writing as it demonstrates very clearly the selective blindness of those who believe that all Jews are good and all Palestinians are bad and there's an end to it.
Anyway...the positive in this is that Substack is now my home, where I know that I can find like-minded, passionate fighters for injustice in all its forms, who will respond to me in the way that you have. I have at long last - after a lifetime of searching - found my tribe.
Very warm regards to you Jack and I look forward very much indeed to your next post.
Sarah
Oh and btdubs as my daughters say :), I reposted your article to every single SM platform I use including X, Instagram and Facebook. I tried with Blue Sky, but there's an irritating issue where you have to literally type in the web address of anything you want to repost there...hope they fix this soon! I know you put their article there, so that's the main thing!
Going to print, copy and distribute. Thanks for sharing your wisdom and cheering us on.
That, Cherae...is music to my ears...and gold to my eyes! You're welcome. Thank YOU.
-Jack
I read every word. I appreciate your strategies and help. Your writing sinks in. Every day I write about gratitude, what I’m thankful for. There’s a Journal app I use and can do it anytime throughout the day. Your reminder about how Holocaust survivors lived is powerful and I remember reading Corrie Ten Boom. Living in the moment just for today helps make this dark time more beatable. Good times never last and bad times never last. When I grow weary and feel despair I cry and move on. Remember when you knew this all was going to happen? You did your best to prepare us. People around me thought I was simply living in fear of fascism. Well…where we are now is real. We are not crazy yet some people are just living in another world. Thank you for outlining these steps. I do Bridge Brigades once a week, write postcards to voters, protest and stay involved in local/state Democrat groups. I see where so many more are rising up each day.
Thank you for this, Jane. You just described exactly what endurance looks like in real time...gratitude in the middle of chaos...emotional honesty...and purposeful action. That combination is what keeps the line from breaking.
You’re right: none of this came as a surprise. A lot of us saw it forming and tried to prepare others...not out of fear...but out of love for what we still have left to defend.
And you’re doing that beautifully: journaling...connecting...organizing...refusing to go numb.
I’m proud of what you’re doing with Bridge Brigades and local work...that’s where democracy actually rebuilds...block by block. Stay grounded...stay vocal..and keep finding small pockets of joy each day. That’s not denial...it’s defiance.
-Jack
P.S. And...Corrie Ten Boom...ahhhh. I think I was in grade school...maybe junior high when I first read about her. Fantastic example! You may already know this, but for those who might not, here's some interesting Ten Boom trivia.
She became the first woman to be licensed as a watchmaker in the Netherlands...and...she was born...and died...on the same day: April 15th. (My mother was also born and died on the same day.... it looks so odd to see the same dates on her headstone.)
Fascinating about Corrie Ten Boom and also your Mom. Thanks for your support and encouragement!!
I needed this tonight. Thanks, Jack!
Fantastic! You're most welcome, Jill. Thank YOU.
-Jack
Thanks Jack 😊
Certainly, David. Thank YOU!
-Jack
I really needed this now for a number of reasons, Jack. Read, copied, shared As always, thank you.
Wonderful, Georgann. I'm so glad to hear it arrived at an especially important time. You're welcome. And...thank YOU.
-Jack
The photo says it all. Thank you and hope one day to share a coffee when we get through this challenge.
It really does, Mary. You're welcome. And...having coffee sounds wonderful!
-Jack
Jack, how timely, as usual. Sometimes lately I feel like I’m a big smooth stone in a river, with rapids rushing by, and that’s ok. I don’t need to roll anymore.. Some days I’m a handhold, or the current will eddy around me to slow those around me. I get that I’m not going to change the course of the river, and doing my little part right around me feels right. Thanks for tying it all together, and for solidifying some vague notions that have been swirling around in my head for a while. You codified--thank you! It’s a keeper;-) I may even get out the laminator!
Thank you.
My pleasure, Sara. Thank YOU.
-Jack
Sometimes having cancer holds me back, example I physically cannot attend the No Kings protests. But since I have seen the biggest demon cancer personally, nothing else can spark fear in my heart. It gave me perspective which I didn’t have before my diagnosis 2 years ago. Now I just have FOMO because I’d love to be on the streets in a costume with my protest sign saying
‘Taco Mangolini go back to the USSR!’ This blueprint offers so much great advice, thank you again. It was so good I had to read it twice!
Jack, you save me from the depths of depression on a regular basis with your newsletters. So much that I probably should be paying you for therapy sessions! Thank you sir!! ❤️🥰
Thanks, Jack! You can only control yourself. Reacting does not serve well. Being intentional, thoughtful, and segmenting the situation into doable gets the job done. Trading integrity is not a solution. Thanks for always propelling us forward with process and support.
I've forwarded your column but I would also like to print it out for myself. That doesn't seem to be possible. Am I doing something wrong?