Recognition means acknowledging existence, validity, and truth—especially the truth of harm, violence, abuse, and trauma present in our past, our communities, and our current lives.

Harm is not new. It has always been there. What is new is that it is no longer hidden in shadow; it is visible. We are waking up. We can see it clearly now. Those who are awake and aware will no longer will we walk past, look away, or stay silent. We are ready to speak, to rise, and to demand change.

Right now, America is amplifying harm in plain sight—chasing down undocumented immigrants, fellow humans, and locking them in sites disguised as “detention centers.” One is even named “Alligator Alcatraz”—a name that screams cruelty and injustice.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” MLK

“The worst form of justice is pretended justice.” Plato

“You can also commit injustice by doing nothing.” Marcus Aurelius

In 2025, I have witnessed horrors I once believed unimaginable for America: mothers ripped from their children, people being deported to countries that are not their own, militarized forces deployed in cities, masked men who refuse to identify themselves forcibly taking people off the streets, police beating peaceful protesters, even as they obey orders. Citizens tased, beaten, and unjustly arrested. This is the new face of harm.

Why America? Because America seeded with a vision—a promise of freedom and opportunity, the home of the free and land the brave. Yet, many have never experienced this freedom or empowerment. The American Dream feels distant, unreachable to so many.

Now, Life asks us: Who are we? Who am I? Who are you?

Are you someone who sees harm and acts? Or do you stay silent because it doesn’t affect you? Are you the “don’t rock the boat” type?

Are you cheering harm on with words like, “They deserve it,” “They came here illegally,” “Get over the past,” or “They have the same opportunities as I do,” or “I’m tired of supporting them with my taxes”?

Are you among those who diminish others’ worth because you lack the empathy to see through their eyes?

Does your ideology allow exceptions to human rights—deciding that some deserve mistreatment, while others don’t?

What happens when people believe they’re good and kind but remain part of systems built on sacrifice, oppression, and dehumanization? Systems like patriarchy and Christian Nationalism thrive on this paradox. Everyone suffers. It is like being part of a collective dysfunctional family. The harm touches each member in unique ways.

Mark Twain said, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness… Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner all one’s lifetime.” I’ve found this true in my own travels. People everywhere want the same things—shelter, food, water, safety, community, and peace.

Yet many—perhaps most—do not feel truly safe. They live in survival mode, driven by fear rooted in financial insecurity. Capitalism, at its core, is a system of inequity and classism. Alongside Christian Nationalism and Patriarchy, it is a sacrificial system: built on the backs of many for the power of few, fueled by greed and fear.

America’s history is marked by colonialism, racism, misogyny, classism, and ageism. These are not mere stories from the past—they shape our present realities. The past was never great, except for those in power. To create real change, we must stop romanticizing history and confront these truths.

We must stop “othering” and see that we are not enemies. We the people must pause, recognize the harms of slavery and its long-lasting scars, acknowledge capitalism’s damage to Earth, admit the ongoing harm of classism, racism, misogyny and ageism, and confront all forms of injustice.

It is time for reckoning. We may need to grieve, mourn, and ask for forgiveness before we can move forward unshackled from these toxic collective wounds. There is transformative power in acknowledging harm done and taking responsibility for our part. We may not have played an active role, but many of us have played passive roles through ignorance or turning a blind eye. Witnessing harm and doing nothing to create change makes us complicit in harm. It also means we have had privilege. Acknowledging this is our first steps forward.

This is how healing begins. This is how wisdom blooms—the wisdom to build new systems that serve the whole, including our planet. Capitalism and patriarchy are unsustainable. They exploit people and Earth with no regard for future generations.

Jesus said, “Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” As a Christian, I once thought this meant sacrifice for faith. Now I see it means the death of ego and harmful ideologies. They must fall away to nourish new life. We can honor the past while stepping forward with love, grace, and wisdom.

We are not victims of this power-over system—unless we believe we are. We have deferred our power for too long, enabling a system that demands our sacrifice. But we were born to be sovereign, to hold power as a collective, as envisioned by Americas founders.

To stand in this power, we must deconstruct layers of beliefs about religion, politics, race, gender, and money. It sounds vast, but it boils down to this: learning to love and honor all life. Life is sacred.

I believe in empowering one another. Together, we can guide each other to a place of safety and power. When we empower others, we all rise—because the gifts, talents, creativity, and innovation to change the world live inside YOU, inside ME, inside those held in places like Alligator Alcatraz.

We the people outnumber those in power. As we empower one another and stand firm for justice, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for ALL, we the people will create positive sustainable change.

We are not free until we are all free.

Do you see?

This blog post was inspired by a card I saw at Horse and Hero in downtown Asheville. The art is by Abacus Corvus artwork and is deeply symbolic. The sentence, “In recognition of harm done” has stayed with me. It worked it’s way to my core calling me to speak. Please sit with this image and allow it to speak to your soul.

We must acknowledge the harm that has been done and is being done in order to learn from it and to stop it from continuing.

I am encouraged by the new growth that surrounds the tree stump and trust that future generations will do better.