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What We Choose Together

June 12, 2026June 12, 2026 B. John 157 Views 0 Comments Stoicism, government, justice, Civic Engagement, common good, Faith250, Citizenship, The New Colossus, public life

This entry is in the series Journey Through Stoicism

Politics can make otherwise reasonable people turn strange. It can harden conversations, flatten human beings into talking points, and tempt us into anger, contempt, or despair. But avoiding public life entirely is also a moral choice. If government is, as Barney Frank once said, “the things we choose to do together,” then citizenship is one of the places where our values become visible.

This essay reflects on a recent Citizen Engagement training at Hyde Park United Methodist, the beginning of the Faith250 series, and Emma Lazarus’s “The New Colossus” as a way into a larger question: what does a Stoic owe to public life? The answer is not withdrawal. It is disciplined participation, rooted in justice, guided by wisdom, restrained by temperance, and sustained by courage.

The Stoic citizen does not control the whole outcome. But we can still show up with clarity. We can still speak truth without surrendering to hatred. We can still widen the circle, lift a lamp, and choose together as wisely and justly as we can.

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When Principle Gets Called Partisan

June 11, 2026June 12, 2026 B. John 115 Views 0 Comments moral principles, Civic Engagement, civic responsibility, partisanship, political bias, motivated reasoning, Democracy, confirmation bias, public discourse

After a civic engagement event I helped organize, a woman approached me with a question that stayed with me. She wondered what a similar event held by “the other side” might look like. Would they just sit around saying ugly things about “us”? When I explained that our event was designed to be nonpartisan, focused only on helping people engage with public officials on whatever issue mattered to them, she looked at me and said, “Well, I’m here to tell you this was definitely partisan.”

That moment got me thinking about the difference between being partisan and being principled. We often call something partisan because it actually promotes a party, candidate, or ideology. But sometimes we use the word because something made us uncomfortable, challenged our assumptions, or touched a moral concern we have already sorted into a political box.

This essay explores how bias shapes what we hear, why two people can sit in the same room and experience almost different events, and why civic responsibility itself has started to feel suspicious in our divided culture. Democracy cannot survive if every effort to help people use their voice gets treated as a political threat.

A gently rising two-lane road at sunrise, narrowing toward the horizon in soft golden light.

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Looking Back at 2025: A Year of Loss, Resolve, and Reckoning

February 11, 2026February 11, 2026 B. John 1250 Views 0 Comments Stoicism, Resilience, Civic Engagement, Reflection, grief, aging, Reinvention, Intentional Living

At 66, I did not expect 2025 to take as much as it did. My mother died. I lost my job. Certain illusions about stability quietly disappeared. It was not a year of fireworks or easy victories. It was a year of subtraction. And yet, beneath the loss, something steadier emerged: clarity. About health. About purpose. About what still matters when titles and timelines fall away.
If 2025 was the year of endurance, 2026 must be the year of intention. Fewer illusions. More intention. The road continues. In this year-end reflection, I write honestly about grief, layoffs, aging, civic resolve, and the discipline of choosing steadiness anyway. I hope you’ll read the full piece and walk a little of that road with me.

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When Elected Officials Skip the Phone Call and Go Straight to the Pitchfork

February 5, 2026February 5, 2026 B. John 352 Views 0 Comments education policy, Hillsborough County, DeSantis administration, ICE protest, fact-checking, school governance, Civic Engagement, Florida Politics, Student walkout

Apparently, in Florida politics, the due-diligence phase has been replaced by vibes, outrage, and a quick dash to social media. Two Hillsborough County Republican legislators worked themselves into a moral panic over students protesting ICE at a local high school — and then skipped the most basic step of governance: checking the facts. Instead of making a phone call, they fired off a letter demanding an investigation and the permanent revocation of a principal’s educator license. Because when you hear something alarming, why verify it when you can threaten someone’s career instead?

Here’s the inconvenient truth they missed: the protest happened after instructional time. Not during class. Not instead of math or English. After. That small detail didn’t stop Florida’s education commissioner — a hand-picked appointee of the governor — from piling on with a scolding warning about “diverting students from instruction.” Strong language, zero curiosity. What followed wasn’t leadership or oversight. It was performative outrage, public intimidation, and a clear message to educators and students alike: civic engagement is welcome only when it stays quiet, invisible, and politically convenient.

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The Universal Liturgy: Civic Duty as the Fruit of Faith

February 5, 2026 B. John 445 Views 0 Comments public square, Civic Engagement, social holiness, moral responsibility, Wesleyan theology, faith and democracy, justice and compassion

What if voting, showing up at a council meeting, or speaking up for a neighbor weren’t just civic responsibilities, but acts of faith? Many of us treat spirituality as a private matter, safely contained within the walls of a sanctuary. But across religious traditions, the message is consistent: faith that never enters the public square is incomplete.

From John Wesley’s insistence on social holiness, to the prophets’ demand for justice, to Eastern teachings on interconnectedness, belief is proven through action. Civic life is where compassion becomes concrete, and values are tested. Read the full essay to explore why civic engagement may be the most honest expression of faith we have right now.

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Patrimonialism: When the State Becomes a Business

July 14, 2025July 14, 2025 B. John 1128 Views 1 Comment Resistance, Corruption, Authoritarianism, Constitutional Crisis, Trump Administration, Patrimonialism, Civic Engagement

Donald Trump’s second term has brought a dangerous shift in governance—what experts call patrimonialism, where loyalty and personal enrichment take precedence over law and accountability. This essay explores how this system threatens the foundations of American democracy, drawing on historical lessons, constitutional principles, and the growing resistance movements across the country. But it also offers hope—and a roadmap for action.