The new White House occupant, on his very first day in office, released all the perpetrators of the insurrection he fanned and encouraged on January 6, 2020. Some 1,500 of them can now return to the streets, towns, and cities of America.
This includes those who committed extreme violence that resulted in the killing and suicides of police officers and wounding of more than 130 of them.
This move contradicts what then-vice president-elect JD Vance promised on Fox News Sunday the day before the inauguration when he said the pardons would apply only to those who protested peacefully. And “obviously” those convicted of violent crimes such as assaulting Capitol police officers, “shouldn’t be pardoned.”*
Mr. President, himself a convicted felon 34 times over, has killed the meaning of the word obviously on his first day in office—which raises the question of whether he and his VP are speaking the same language, or whether they are on the same page.
It has been proven that the cause of the violence—the denial of the results of the 2020 election—was known to be a lie by the president. This is proven in the report released recently by the Attorney General’s office: the report delayed purposely by SCOTUS to guarantee that the same president would not have to face accountability before the election.
In meditating on this first-day-in-office decision that does not even distinguish between violent and non-violent prisoners (he calls them “hostages”)—one shudders to think what it means for the safety of our communities that people like the Proud Boys are back on our streets and empowered by knowing the president has their back.
“Institutional violence” is okay. They are eligible now to buy firearms as well. And to become his private militia—something tyrants invariably love to have at hand.
The lessons learned are clear enough: Not only is he above the law. They are too, insofar as they have been pardoned once and there is nothing to prevent him from pardoning them again. Yes, the president and his militia are above the law. He is above the law even though convicted 34 times over as a felon for crimes other than riling up a mob to storm the Capitol and disrupt a peaceful transfer of power. All of which he knew was based on a lie.
Deep questions arise:
Does freeing his violent followers from prison mean that Right and Wrong do not exist? Only power.
Does it mean that Justice and Injustice do not matter?
And that Non-violence and Violence do not differ?
And the so-called differences do not count?
And that the “justice system” is a joke not to be taken seriously if you own the reins of power?
And that words like “justice” and “obviously” no longer hold meaning?
Did the 49% of Americans know this when they voted as they did?
And did the 90 million Americans who chose to sit out the election know this was in store?
Will reporters have the moral strength and warrior energy to ask senators and congresspeople where they stand on these questions?
* Corbin Bolies, “Vance Breaks With Trump on ‘Day One’ Promise,” Yahoo! News
See Matthew Fox, Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul & Society, pp.
See also Matthew Fox, “Spiritual Warriorhood,” in Fox, One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Faith Traditions, pp. 413f and pp. 377-422.
And Fox, “Spiritual Warriors” in Fox, The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine, pp. 77-104.
And Fox, Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality, pp. 257-306.
And Fox, Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election.
Banner Image: Oath Keepers in military gear marching in a stack formation during the January 6 attack. Evidentiary photo from DOJ files. Wikimedia Commons
Queries for Contemplation
How do you answer the list of questions posed at the end of this meditation? How do you think reporters should pursue politicians to answer these questions? How important for the survival of a society is resistance to the corruption of words?
Related Readings by Matthew Fox
Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society
Visionary theologian and best-selling author Matthew Fox offers a new theology of evil that fundamentally changes the traditional perception of good and evil and points the way to a more enlightened treatment of ourselves, one another, and all of nature. In comparing the Eastern tradition of the 7 chakras to the Western tradition of the 7 capital sins, Fox allows us to think creatively about our capacity for personal and institutional evil and what we can do about them.
“A scholarly masterpiece embodying a better vision and depth of perception far beyond the grasp of any one single science. A breath-taking analysis.” — Diarmuid O’Murchu, author of Quantum Theology: Spiritual Implications of the New Physics
One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths
Matthew Fox calls on all the world traditions for their wisdom and their inspiration in a work that is far more than a list of theological position papers but a new way to pray—to meditate in a global spiritual context on the wisdom all our traditions share. Fox chooses 18 themes that are foundational to any spirituality and demonstrates how all the world spiritual traditions offer wisdom about each.“Reading One River, Many Wells is like entering the rich silence of a masterfully directed retreat. As you read this text, you reflect, you pray, you embrace Divinity. Truly no words can fully express my respect and awe for this magnificent contribution to contemporary spirituality.” –Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit
The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine
To awaken what Fox calls “the sacred masculine,” he unearths ten metaphors, or archetypes, ranging from the Green Man, an ancient pagan symbol of our fundamental relationship with nature, to the Spiritual Warrior….These timeless archetypes can inspire men to pursue their higher calling to connect to their deepest selves and to reinvent the world.
“Every man on this planet should read this book — not to mention every woman who wants to understand the struggles, often unconscious, that shape the men they know.” — Rabbi Michael Lerner, author of The Left Hand of God
Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality
Matthew Fox lays out a whole new direction for Christianity—a direction that is in fact very ancient and very grounded in Jewish thinking (the fact that Jesus was a Jew is often neglected by Christian theology): the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality, the Vias Positiva, Negativa, Creativa and Transformativa in an extended and deeply developed way.
“Original Blessing makes available to the Christian world and to the human community a radical cure for all dark and derogatory views of the natural world wherever these may have originated.” –Thomas Berry, author, The Dream of the Earth; The Great Work; co-author, The Universe Story
Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election
Matthew Fox tells us that he had always shied away from using the term “Anti-Christ” because it was so often used to spread control and fear. However, given today’s rise of authoritarianism and forces of democracide, ecocide, and christofascism, he turns the tables in this book employing the archetype for the cause of justice, democracy, and a renewed Earth and humanity.
From the Foreword: If there was ever a time, a moment, for examining the archetype of the Antichrist, it is now…Read this book with an open mind. Good and evil are real forces in our world. ~~ Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit and Conversations with the Divine.
For immediate access to Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election, order the e-book with 10 full-color prints from Amazon HERE.
To get a print-on-demand paperback copy with black & white images, order from Amazon HERE or IUniverse HERE.
To receive a limited-edition, full-color paperback copy, order from MatthewFox.org HERE.
Order the audiobook HERE for immediate download.
6 thoughts on “The Demise of the Word “Obviously””
Dear God, dear Matthew, your words today……I am 89 years and sick what can I do to help counter this evil. Thank you for your stand.
Margaret Nuccio
I am reminded of the words from an old children’s story “…The important thing is to carry the sun with you, inside of you at every moment, against the darkness….for there can be – and will be – a great and terrifying darkness.” (D. Gilman/The Maze in the Heart of the Castle)
Also in one of Robert Fulghum’s books – when writing about the meaning of life – he quotes from someone who held up a small mirror and explained how as a child he enjoyed using this mirror to reflect the sun and shine the light into dark corners and crevices. This person went on to say words to the effect…”I am not the light – but I can reflect that light and shine it into the dark places in this world and bring to light the things that are hidden and need to be brought into the light.”
Thank you Matthew for shining the light – and thank you everyone who responds – I deeply appreciate what everyone has to offer. We need to all keep shining the light of truth and love into the dark corners of our world.
I loved yesterday’s DM about compassion and realizing we are all connected. Beautiful. I forwarded it to many friends and family.
I am at a stage in life where my creed is love. I can’t begin to answer your questions today, except through love. What looks like, feels like, is, is the polar opposite where Donald Trump and his posse are. How do we still love and not make enemies? I am banking on this foundational love to get us all through this current disaster of life. I look to cosmology and the lifetime groans of Mother Earth to see and understand and be grateful for birthing pains for a new beginning of LOVE.
Thank you for all your wisdom and light, Mathew Fox
It is very obvious that Trump and his political transition team have been planning and have begun acting on a dictatorship form of government by dismantling the constitution, our democratic institutions, and the rule of law. This is a repeat of what fascists like Hitler have done in the past, and continue doing in many authoritarian forms of dictatorships around the world. The Republican party has already been corrupted, and 49% of Americans who voted for Trump, including the rabid cult MAGA followers, are being brainwashed and conditioned to accept Trump as America’s authoritarian leader (like what happened to German society with the rise of Nazism and Hitler with the consequent destruction of immortality and World War II). I foresee many of our governmental leaders, democratic institutions, our military leaders, and all Americans of conscience needing to speak up and act for our basic humanitarian values and constitutional rights before we completely lose our democratic form of government.
Thank you Matthew and DM team for continuing to be a Spiritual and humanitarian Voice of Truth, Peace, and Justice for Americans along with other Spiritual Warriors around the world for our humanity and Our Beautiful Sacred Mother Earth/Nature….
I don’t know why anyone should be surprised at what is happening and will continue to happen. All things intended for the public good are dismantled, and profit for the pres, his family, and his cronies is the one and only goal. Some faith communities have spoken truth to power, and more need to speak out. Congress people need to grow some cojones, but they need to be encouraged. I think that they need to hear from people of faith that what they are condoning is un-biblical, un-Christian, and un-American. The mainstream media and human rights organizations are under fire, and we need to support and encourage them in every possible way. My biggest concern is that there will be deliberate efforts to foment or just manufacture enough violence to justify the invoking of emergency powers. Only peaceful resistance will eventually be effective, but it may be a long way down the road before there is a good outcome. I take a bit of hope from the fact that this country is not in such dire shape as Germany was with great poverty and the punitive effects of the treaty after WW1. We are just selfish, and lazy, and greedy. Maybe enough people will wake up, if not now, then maybe in years to come.
This is a powerful critique of the current administration’s actions. It highlights the contradictions and broken promises, as well as the serious consequences of their decisions. The emphasis on accountability and truth is crucial in such discussions.