Today's Gospel reading is from Matthew 5:43-48.

Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers and sisters only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

It is heartbreaking that this is still a radical idea almost two thousand years after it was taught by Our Lord.

War is incompatible with the teachings and example of Jesus Christ.

I am a proponent of nonviolence and have been following several organizations dedicated to activism, teaching, and promotion of peace and nonviolence.

One of the organizations I have learned about is a Catholic organization called Pax Christi International. From their website:

Pax Christi International is the global Catholic peace movement dedicated to promoting Gospel nonviolence, justice, and reconciliation rooted in Catholic social teaching.   For decades, Pax Christi International has been calling for a deep reflection on the failure of war and violence and for investment in effective nonviolent tools for reconciliation to nurture the just peace essential to alleviating intense human suffering.

Today, Pax Christi issued a statement condemning military strikes against Iran and calling for deescalation, dialogue, and respect for human dignity.

Pax Christi also referred to their Pax Christi International Declaration on Iran, published on February 11th. I encourage you to read it.

I am grateful that there are Christians of good conscience everywhere who are willing to stand up and state clearly the doctrine of Christ, calling for love, understanding, and peace in the face of war.

Discuss...

#100DaysToOffload (No. 141) #faith #Lent #Christianity #politics

I post the full text of the letter here – giving full credit to its authors and signers – as a memorial and record, and to document it for posterity in case their website is ever taken down.

A Call to Christians in a Crisis of Faith and Democracy

Why We Write

There are moments that call for repentance and resistance, courage and conviction, faith and fortitude. This is one of those moments.

The question is, what will we do now?

We are facing a cruel and oppressive government; citizens and immigrants being demonized, disappeared, and even killed; the erosion of hard-won rights and freedoms; and a calculated effort to reverse America’s growing racial and ethnic diversity– all of which are pushing us toward authoritarian and imperial rule. What confronts us is not only an endangered democracy and the rise of tyranny. It is also a Christian faith corrupted by the heretical ideology of white Christian nationalism, and a church that has often failed to equip its members to model Jesus’s teachings and fulfill its prophetic calling as a humanitarian, compassionate, and moral compass for society.

Therefore, as Christians in the United States, representing the breadth of Christian traditions and one part of our nation’s religiously plural society, we are compelled to speak out more boldly at this time.

We call on all Christians to join us in greater acts of courage to resist the injustices and anti-democratic danger sweeping across the nation. In moments like this, silence is not neutrality—it is an active choice to permit harm.

This call is particularly dire as our nation commemorates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a time of celebration and reflection on our historic racial and human rights progress and setbacks, as we seek both democratic and civic renewal. Instead, current trends and forces assault our core rights and freedoms and threaten to derail and even destroy our democracy. This is not a distant danger or a future possibility. It is a present and urgent reality.

The government-sponsored cruelty and violence we are witnessing stands in total opposition to the teachings of Jesus. We refuse to be silent while too many people who call themselves Christians aid, abet, or simply stand by and allow these atrocities.

This political crisis is driven by people who have fallen for the temptation of absolute power—undermining democratic checks and balances, entrenching economic inequality, exacerbating divisions, and normalizing corruption and the indiscriminate use of violence.

Freedoms and rights once assumed to be secure are being stripped away, redefined, or selectively applied. Decades-old civil rights protections are being dismantled. Truth is being replaced by lies and propaganda. Governance is being hollowed out and replaced with corruption, loyalty tests, intimidation, and the normalization of lawlessness. The architecture of democracy and the rights secured by the separation of powers are being eroded from within, while we are told to accept it as “law”, “order,” or “God’s will.”

Sadly, the crisis is not only political—it is one driven by a moral and spiritual collapse showing up in alarming levels of polarization. Our faith is being tested. Christians cannot pretend otherwise and must make a decision to act.

We refuse to baptize domination. We refuse to sanctify cruelty. We refuse to confuse authoritarian power with divine authority. We choose to resist, calling forth the righteous demands of our faith rooted in the teachings of Jesus. Religion should not be used to deify politicians or justify their abuses. When it is, faith ceases to be faithful and becomes a weapon of both heresy and hypocrisy.

As Christians, we must never preach nationalism as discipleship, confuse American and Christian identity with whiteness, or mistake allegiance to modern-day Caesars for faithfulness to Christ. We must never surrender our prophetic voice by aligning with powers and principalities rather than with the One who calls us to be purveyors of justice and righteousness.

Now is the time to boldly embrace fidelity to the message of Jesus: to defend the image of God in every person; to love our neighbors — no exception; to reject retribution; extend grace, mercy, and compassion; reflect the radical counterculture of the Beatitudes and live out the call of Matthew 25 with special care for persons who are poor, vulnerable and marginalized.

As followers of Jesus, we must take these principles seriously, as we seek to renew, deepen, and fortify our faith, resist false religion, build Beloved Community, and become a truly multi-racial, inclusive democracy.

The Sovereignty of God

In every generation, the Church is called to declare without fear or favor, “Thus saith the Lord,” bearing witness to the sovereignty of God over every system, party, and power.

As Christians, our ultimate allegiance belongs to God alone, and we believe that any political leader who demands absolute power places themselves in opposition to God’s sovereignty.

Allegiance to such leaders is idolatry and manipulates the teaching of Jesus as a tool of oppressive power, replacing compassion with control and unity with division. A faithful Christian witness is fundamentally incompatible with nationalist power and the suffering it is producing in our nation and around the world.

The Word of God

We believe that Jesus Christ is the Word of God made flesh. His life and teachings reveal God’s way and must shape our lives, our conduct, and our public witness, especially in this moment. Jesus became human to reconcile us back to God and to one another. This moment is a critical test of our primary allegiance to Him.

Jesus announces His mission in His first sermon: to bring good news to the poor, release to the captives, sight to the blind, freedom to the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor (Luke 4:18-19). Any gospel that contradicts this is not the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jesus teaches in the parable of the Good Samaritan that love of neighbor knows no political, social, or ethnic boundaries (Luke 10:25-37). This love stands in direct opposition to a politics of exclusion and discrimination.

Jesus declares that truth and freedom are inseparable: “You shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32). Yet, every day we hear lies and distortions that seek to divide and demonize. Truth liberates us from the captivity of lies and brings us into a deeper relationship with God and all others.

Jesus blesses peacemakers, calling them children of God (Matt. 5:9). The Hebrew and Greek words for peace, Shalom and eirene, mean a resolving and restoring of broken relationships. All forms of political violence stand in contradiction to the way of Christ, and Christians must reject them at every turn.

Jesus gives His final test of discipleship in Matthew 25:31-46, making clear that the measure of our faith is revealed in how we treat those who are hungry, thirsty, sick, strangers, or imprisoned. To say, as some do, that this passage is only about taking care of fellow Christians is an incorrect theological interpretation. It is for the nations, ethnoi, for all peoples. This passage names people who are, even now, being directly and deliberately targeted and harmed by those in political power. To serve and defend the most vulnerable is to serve and defend Christ Himself.

The Spirit of God

In this moment, we believe the Holy Spirit is moving us to stand, speak, and act with greater courage to serve the most vulnerable and advance God's reign of justice and peace.

Therefore, we commit to:

• Protect and Stand With Vulnerable People: We will defend immigrants, refugees, people of color, and all who are in harm's way; resist cruel, unjust, and illegal policies and violent enforcement, and surround those under attack with pastoral care, solidarity, and prophetic public witness.
• Love Our Neighbors: In obedience to Jesus, we will love our neighbors without exception, especially those who are different from us, and reject the politics of fear, exclusion, and dehumanization. We will reject the language of “others” and “us and them,” and remember that Christ came “so that [we] may all be one” (John 17:21).
• Speak Truth to Power: We will confront lies and hatred towards immigrants, people of color, Jews, Muslims, and other religious minorities and political opponents; oppose the rollback of civil rights and racial justice protections; name racism as a sin from which we must repent and turn from; and resist the erasure of history and truth. Silence in this moment is complicity.
• Seek Peace: We commit to persistently building peace and pursuing justice, including by acting nonviolently to protect those threatened by violence and advocating for a foreign policy that favors diplomacy, respects national sovereignty, and supports democracy, human rights, humanitarian aid, and peacebuilding.
• Do Justice: Guided by the prophets, we will challenge unjust laws, defend poor and marginalized people, and persist in the work of uprooting racism and white Christian nationalism. We will commit to act justly, love kindness, and walk humbly with God (Isa. 10:1; Micah 6:8).
• Strengthen Democracy: Honoring the image of God–imago dei–in every person (Gen. 1:26) in a democracy means each person's vote is their voice. We will, therefore, defend the right to vote, resist voter suppression and intimidation, encourage greater participation in our democratic process, and equip clergy and lay leaders to support free and fair elections. We will defend constitutional rights and freedoms, including speech and assembly, due process, the rule of law, and religious liberty, and will uphold democratic norms and practices.
• Practice Hope: In a time of fear, intimidation, and despair, we will choose hope, which is more than optimism. It is trusting and believing that God is still at work. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”(Heb. 11:1).
• Ground our Discipleship: Knowing that following Jesus in this time requires deep wellsprings of spiritual courage, we will be rooted and grounded in prayer and love (Eph. 3:17-19), developing practices and commitments to nurture resilience in our inward journey for the outward witness we embrace as our calling.

Choosing Faithfulness

“Choose you this day whom you will serve.”—Joshua 24:15

Faith and democracy do not die in a single moment; they erode when we trade courage for conformity, substitute the gospel for power, and fall silent in the face of wrongdoing.

This letter is made in a spirit of humility and solidarity. It is an invitation for each of us to ask what faithfulness to Christ and love of neighbor demand of each of us at such a time as this.

If we as Christians fail to speak and act now—clearly, courageously, and prophetically—we will be remembered not only for the injustices committed in our time, but for the righteous possibilities we allowed to die in our hands. History and future generations will record our choices, but the God of heaven and earth will judge our faithfulness.

Now is the time to take risks for the sake of the Gospel and our democratic rights and freedoms.

We call on Christians to remember that we serve a mighty and awesome God, who is sovereign over nations and rulers.

We serve a God, through our Lord and Liberator Jesus Christ, who equips us with the courage and fortitude to stand for justice and peace. We will always stand in solidarity with those who are most vulnerable among us.

Now is the time to speak and act.

May God guide us, empower us, and strengthen us.

This is the kind of statement I wish my church — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — would make, or at least endorse. As of the time I write this, no senior leaders of my church have signed, endorsed, or referenced the above statement.

I suspect the authors of this letter do not consider Latter-day Saints to be Christians and would not allow them to sign it if they wanted to. This would be sad, if true.

But what is even sadder is that no senior leaders of my church would likely sign this letter. They have been deafeningly silent on the concerns expressed in this letter and seem to be trying to take a position of neutrality at best, or complicity at worst. We don't know what their position is on these matters – they haven't stated it.

LDS apologists claim that the church doesn't need to make any statements on current events or crises such as these – that general statements and teachings on the doctrines of the church should make their position clear. But members of the LDS church are divided on these issues in the absence of clarity from leadership.

I believe this silence to be a grave mistake.

I recently wrote a blog post about the story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer – a Protestant minister in Nazi Germany who refused to take a loyalty oath to Hitler, worked with the Resistance, and was imprisoned and ultimately executed by the Nazis just weeks before the war ended in Europe.

Bonhoeffer believed the Word of God applied to every aspect of our lives, that it is the responsibility of Christians to declare the Word, and that Christians have a duty to speak out – to stand and be counted – when we see things happening in our world that are contrary to the Word.

Early on, Bonhoeffer tried to help rally the churches in Nazi Germany to oppose and resist the regime, and for a time they seemed to be building momentum. But the movement failed and most churches eventually submitted to government control and became the Reich Church – a church ran by a violent fascist government that sought to ban the Old Testament and rewrite the New Testament to portray Jesus Christ as an aryan fighting the Jewish people.

American Christians must learn from the mistakes of German Christians in the 1930s and 40s. We must learn from the examples of people like Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

We must stand and be counted now, showing in word and deed that Christianity is not what those in power are trying to make it.

Discuss...

#100DaysToOffload (No. 138) #faith #Christianity #politics

The book was published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., a Christian publisher and member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). At the bottom of the Copyright Page at the very beginning of the book, they write: Our mission is to publish and distribute inspirational products offering exceptional value and biblical encouragement to the masses.

I eagerly took this book home because I knew only that Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a protestant theologian and pastor who was involved in the German Resistance in Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 40s, which tried and failed twice to assassinate Hitler, and was eventually imprisoned and executed by the Nazi regime, but I knew very little else about him or the details of what happened. I was also interested to hear his story from a Christian perspective.

This will not be an exhaustive review or summary, just a sharing of some impressions and thoughts.

The book was well-written and easy to understand. It dealt with deep theological and philosophical concepts but made them accessible to anyone. It also provided good historical information and context.

Early in his career, before the Nazis seized power, Bonhoeffer recognized and lamented what was happening to the Christian churches in Germany. He felt the Word of God applied to every aspect of life, but the church was becoming irrelevant to German society because its leaders and members were not speaking out when they saw things happening that were contrary to the Word. And because they chose to play it safe, to not risk unwanted attention or persecution, the church had been relegated to the sidelines – an afterthought behind political and secular ideas and philosophies.

Most of the churches eventually submitted to the control of the Nazi Regime and became the Reich Church. Bonhoeffer and others resisted this and formed what they called the Confessing Church, which refused to swear allegiance oaths to Adolph Hitler. The reason for this was simple – as Christians, their allegiance could only ever be to Almighty God and to His Son Jesus Christ.

One of Bonhoeffer's later ideas, born from his personal experience and what he personally witnessed in his own time, is that one can be _religious _without being Christian. This is what happened how Christianity in Nazi Germany was twisted and corrupted into something that was not Christian at all.

As evidenced in how he lived his life, especially under the harsh conditions of imprisonment, Bonhoeffer tried to be a disciple of Jesus Christ not just in word and deed, but on a deeply personal level – in very soul.

I would like to read and learn more about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, but after reading this short volume I feel he is a kindred spirit. I can relate to him on many levels. A deep thinker, concerned about his understanding of and relationship to God as well as his his fellow man. Deeply troubled by the injustice and inhumanity running rampant in the world. And feeling the need to do something about it.

A well-traveled man, he had the opportunity to flee his country to safety. He had friends in England and America. But his conscience would not allow him to stay away from home while his people were suffering. He had hope that the Nazi regime would eventually be overthrown, and how could he be a credible leader in helping to rebuild his country if he had not suffered with them – if he did not personally experience what they experienced during those dark times?

The name of the book is an apt one. Dietrich Bonhoeffer demonstrated radical integrity during a time when many of his countrymen compromised theirs hoping to save themselves or their loved ones from persecution and harm. But one wonders what might have happened had more been willing to resist, regardless of the consequences.

Bonhoeffer understood that the way of the Christian was never guaranteed to be an easy one. Jesus Christ said his kingdom is not of this world. Anyone who chooses to consistently stand up in defense of His Word can expect to face opposition in some way or another, maybe even to the point of losing their lives. Christianity was never meant to be comfortable.

Reading this book has forced me to confront my own hesitation to share what I believe and speak out when I see things happening in my community, my country, and the world that are contrary to the teachings and example of Jesus Christ. I hesitate because I'm afraid of what might happen to me or my loved ones. But I shouldn't be afraid. Jesus has overcome the world.

One day in prison, Dietrich Bonhoeffer sat in his cell and composed the following poem entitled “Stations on the Road to Freedom”.

Discipline

If you set out to seek freedom, then learn above all discipline of soul and senses, so that your passions and your limbs might not lead you confusedly hither and yon. Chaste be your spirit and body, subject to your own will, and obedient to seek out the goal that they have been given. No one discovers the secret of freedom but through self-control.

Action

Dare to do what is just, not what fancy may call for; Lose no time with what may be, but boldly grasp what is real. The world of thought is escape; freedom comes only through action. Step out beyond anxious waiting and into the storm of events, carried only by God's command and by your own faith; then will freedom exultantly cry out to welcome your spirit.

Suffering

Wondrous transformation! Your strong and active hands are tied now. Powerless, alone, you see the end of your action. Still, you take a deep breath and lay your struggle for justice, quietly and in faith, into a mightier hand. Just for one blissful moment, you tasted the sweetness of freedom, then you handed it over to God, that he might make it whole.

Death

Come now, highest moment on the road to freedom eternal. Death, put down the ponderous chains and demolish the walls of our mortal bodies, the walls of our blinded souls, that we might finally see what mortals have kept us from seeing. Freedom, how long we have sought you through discipline, action, and suffering. Dying, now we behold your face in the countenance of God.

(From Radical Integrity, p. 189-190, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc. Used by permission.)

Discuss...

#100DaysToOffload (No. 126) #faith #politics #Christianity #books

Christianity thinks of human individuals not as mere members of a group or items in a list, but as organs in a body – different from one another and each contributing what no other could. When you find yourself wanting to turn your children, or pupils, or even your neighbours, into people exactly like yourself, remember that God probably never meant them to be that. You and they are different organs, intended to do different things. On the other hand, when you are tempted not to bother about someone else's troubles because they are 'no business of yours', remember that though he is different from you he is part of the same organism as you. If you forget that he belongs to the same organism as yourself you will become an Individualist. If you forget that he is a different organ from you, if you want to suppress differences and make people all alike, you will become a Totalitarian. But a Christian must not be either a Totalitarian or an Individualist.

I feel a strong desire to tell you – and I expect you feel a strong desire to tell me – which of these two errors is the worse. That is the devil getting at us. He always sends errors into the world in pairs – pairs of opposites. And he always encourages us to spend a lot of time thinking which is the worse. You see why, of course? He relies on your extra dislike of the one error to draw you gradually into the opposite one. But do not let us be fooled. We have to keep our eyes on the goal and go straight through between both errors. We have no other concern than that with either of them.

Discuss...

#100DaysToOffload (No. 119) #faith #Christianity #politics

This is a community of members of my church – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Members who have affirmed their devotion to Jesus Christ, the Church, its leaders, and its doctrines. Good, intelligent people trying to navigate this mortal journey as best they can and learn about and live their faith to the fullest.

But felt I had to leave that Discord server for the sake of my own mental and emotional health. In other words, it's me, not them. I've been struggling with a lot of things this year. World events. Politics. Family drama. Online drama. Work. And also my faith.

It was a political channel in the Discord server that drove me away. I am deeply concerned about many things that are happening in my country (The United States of America) and in the world. But I was in the clear minority on the issues I was concerned about.

But I am also averse to contention. It makes me physically ill and takes a long time for me to work through.

So I'm this weird walking contradiction of wanting to talk about political issues because I care deeply about people and problems that affect us all, but also suffer great emotional and mental distress when those discussions get contentious. When that happens, I just disengage. And that is taken as a sign of weakness or concession.

On a related note, I think it's because of my desire for people to get along and find common ground that I'm known in my extended family as a mediator or peacekeeper. People like having me around when they're trying to work through family disagreements, for some reason.

It just got to the point where merely posting articles on that Discord server that people didn't like caused them to make all kinds of false assumptions about me, to question my motives and integrity.

This morning I realized that my participation there was no longer a net positive for me and probably not for them. So I just left suddenly and without fanfare.

It's hard because I have learned a lot from that community and I have made good friends there. I know those friendships will continue outside that group, so I take comfort in that.

And just so I'm clear, I don't blame anyone in particular for driving me away. As I said, I believe these are all good people. I just didn't feel comfortable there anymore. It's me.

Another reason I left is because I think what happened is a consequence of a larger problem I'm dealing with: technology addiction.

I've gone through this cycle in my life of times when I'm in control of the technology I use and am using it intentionally, and times when the technology is clearly in control of me. Right now, I'm deep under control of my technology.

I look at screens all day, every day. And I'm pretty sure it's rotting my brain – metaphorically for sure, but maybe physically, too, for all I know.

I keep saying I need to find a good therapist. I'm going to look for one now. I need to talk through these things with someone who can help.

Discuss...

#100DaysToOffload (No. 117) #politics #SocialMedia #mentalHealth #contention

By “Big Tech” I am referring to the largest and most influential technology companies in the world, including but not limited to Alphabet (which owns Google), Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Nvidia, and Meta (which owns FaceBook, Instagram, and WhatsApp). These companies create and provide the hardware, software, and services which governments, companies, and individuals use in most of the “free” world.

The technologies these companies provide have, without question, enabled us to do some amazing things. They have allowed us to communicate, learn, work, and live in ways that I only dreamed about as a child watching my favorite TV show Star Trek: The Next Generation. But these benefits have come at a cost – a cost which I have long felt is too great, and has only been increasing over time.

Almost daily we find more evidence of just how much control these companies have over the technology we use. For me, the recent story that drew my attention back to this issue is Apple removing apps from their App Store that have allowed people to lawfully report and track the locations of ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents based on their visible public activities. They have also removed an app that simply archived media documenting ICE abuses. Apple have done this in response to pressure from the U.S. federal government.

This is just the latest in a long train of abuses on the part of Big Tech. But it is one that comes at a critical time in the history of the United States and the world when many governments are becoming more authoritarian and are pressuring Big Tech to assist them in censorship, surveillance, and the infringement of human rights. These companies generally bow to the wishes of the governments of the countries in which they do business because they want to continue to do business. Apple have been resisting giving governments backdoor access to their iCloud service, but I believe it is only a matter of time before they give in on that, too.

And so, it's time for me to try again to divest myself of the products and ecosystems of Big Tech to the extent possible. The sobering reality of the situation is that Big Tech has become so enmeshed in the fabric of my everyday life that this will be a difficult and painful task. But it is necessary. And I believe it will be worth it, especially if I can help others to follow suit.

Over the coming weeks I will be assessing all of the technology I personally use and seeking freer replacements – or choosing to do without, if necessary.

And I will, of course, be documenting and sharing my experience for posterity and in the hopes that it will inspire others to do the same.

Discuss...

#tech #BigTech #politics #privacy #smartphones #socialMedia

It was an uncomfortable moment, but a welcome one. I have gotten way too worked up over Elon Musk and his Twitter antics because that situation is at the intersection of a lot of issues I'm passionate about like #tech, #SocialMedia, #politics, #FOSS, #privacy, and others.

When I get too worked up over issues like this, my emotions get the best of me and I don't think clearly. I'm not as articulate or persuasive in my arguments. I get upset, argumentative, contentious. I feel anxious, agitated, frustrated. I lose control. And I don't feel good about myself or others when I'm like this.

Over the years, I've made some changes to keep from slipping into this state of mind and continue to participate on social media in productive ways, but it still happens and I don't like it.

It's time for another news and social media fast. So here are the changes I'm making starting today and continuing through the end of the year:

• Log out of Discord, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Mastodon on all devices (these are the only social media platforms I use)
• Refrain from checking news sources. I will block specific news websites on my devices if force of habit gets the better of me.
• Strengthen real-world relationships
• Pray and meditate more
• Read more
• Write (blog) more
• Enjoy holiday festivities
• Focus on being present and living in the moment

When the status quo isn't working, it's time to change things up. So here goes!

Discuss...

#100DaysToOffload (No. 84)

Topics of Focus

#faith – thoughts related to my religion #tech – self explanatory

Other Topics

#100DaysToOffload #accessories #AI #automobiles #Bandcamp #books #business #cassette #charity #Christianity #Christmas #ChurchOfJesusChrist #climate #community #compactDisc #contention #COVID19 #decentralization #DigitalMinimalism #economy #electronicMusic #EveryDayCarry #eWaste #family #FOSS (free-as-in-freedom and open source software) #friends #gratitude #haiku #health #hobbies #HomeOffice #humor #intentionism #internet #laptop #LessConvenient #libraryMusic #life #Linux #loneliness #media #meditation #mentalHealth #misc #movies #music #news #nostalgia #physicalMedia #planning #poetry #politics #privacy #prophets #retro #smartphones #SocialMedia #synthwave #travel #TV #Twitch #unity (not the game engine) #Utah #vaporwave #writing