Eric, thank you for this beautifully written, painful piece, and for speaking to the brittle inability of most of us to grieve. This holiday I plan to pray to my ancestors for guidance. I come from generations of northern New England farmers. Two of them became homeopathic doctors and served small towns in coastal Massachusetts as family practitioners in the era just prior to Rockefeller medicine’s hijack of our healthcare system. May more of us open to a broader vision of healing that honors and cultivates the innate wisdom of both our bodies and our minds
I had a similar experience at the age od 55, when I joined a group of Canadians who went to Cuba, which the USA is still punishing for something the US is doing to many South American countries, i.e. with their famous " sanctions!"
Cuba can't sell their goods anywhere.
Cuba is a poor country, but the US Government doesn't care what or who they punish with " US sanctions, " i.e. punishing the people of any country the US sanctions. i.e. The people of these countries starve and suffer from these " US sanctions!"
This is now happening in Gaza, thanks to Israel!
The US Government is not concerned what it's doing to people in South American, or to the people in middle-Eastern countries! The US has the military power to do so!
We stayed three weeks in Cuba.
The last two weeks we lived with two different families, who were gratious to put us up, feed us, and teach us rudimentary Spanish!
The first week we stayed in Havana, at the University, going out every day, meeting Cubans in order to practice our rudimentary Spanish.
The second and third week, we lived with two different families.
The first one was in a fisherman's cottage. He showed us how he fished every day for his meal, and also where he sold some of his catch on the market!
The second family lived in the mountains. They had a few sheep and one cow. Their lives were based on simple animal husbandry. They took care of their few animals and themselves, and were content with their lives and didn't ask for more! They were very happy with the bucket of soap, toothpaste, sheets, towels, and olive oil we brought them. These were items that were completely absent in Cuba because of unfair and ridicullous US sanctions!
We have nothing here in Canada nor in North America, equivalent to such arrangments, where perfect strangers are welcomed into our homes and treated with hospitality and friendly sharing of food and space!
We would learn to be more generous, sharing food and space with perfect strangers. To be " hospitable," was praised to the nth degree in Ancient Greece! We have forgotten this "virtue" completely, in our "me-myself- and- I" Western society.
Thank you for this article as usual it was beautifully written although quite depressing for the future of humanity or maybe just the people of the west ,perhaps the so called 3rd world countries will deliver a wiser solution for our grandchildren or Pluto in Aquarius will do the trick?
My husband & live in a caravan , we’ve been traveling Australia for the past 5 years & on a positive note have found that 99% of people are friendly & kind, maybe that has a bit to do with avoiding large cities , I feel sure that it would be much the same for America .
Anyway just wanted to thank you for all you do, I really enjoy reading & listening to you.
I share many of the beliefs you elucidate in this piece Eric. The horrors that our government has perpetrated on many other countries and on us, its own citizens, almost defy belief, even as the evidence mounts daily. I think this country started out with ideals and principles that support humanity and lead to cooperation, growth, and greatness, but along the way got corrupted by prosperity and power, and eventually turned to raw greed and viciousness.
There are many good and honest people in this country, but they are not represented in our government, which has become a gigantic many-tentacled and vicious predator. And no one is coming to save us. We either step up and create an alternative means of living or get sucked into their digital prison. There are no guarantees any of us will make it through this gauntlet, but it's worth trying for those of us who still have the strength and determination anyway.
Born and raised in Oakland, California, I fled to a job in Australia in 1980 and never looked back.
The thinning of my Dream started in 1979. The Clorox facility in the Oakland Embarcadero area where I lived had a chlorine gas leak overnight on a routine tanker filling. I ‘woke up’ to an eerily quiet 8 lane Nimitz freeway and turned on the radio for news. The area was shut down until the gas dissipated and residents were advised to stay indoors and put wet towels at the bottom of doors and windows.
I spent 4 hours taking a hard look at my living conditions in the ‘coolest’ spot in America (Berkeley/Oakland). I shocked myself at what I had accepted for ‘normal’ as a woman living alone - never carried cash, never rode public transport at night, never walked anywhere at night alone, various apartments robbed and car stolen several times.
Huh. And I thought where I lived was the best spot in ‘the world’. I couldn’t unsee my delusional folly and knew I had to leave.
2 weeks later, out of the blue, I was offered a job in Sydney. Had my residency papers in 2 more weeks and took off for a new world, sight unseen.
Looking out the plane 18 hours later at the dawning on Sydney harbour, I cried. For joy, for grief, for all that’s been lost.
46 years have passed and here I sit by the fire in the east Australian bush Tablelands, writing and watching a mob of roos stream by in the valley.
May each of us anchor the Light and bring our awareness and fundamental goodness to wherever we are and whatever we choose to do.
The weight of all of this has been getting heavier every year for me. 2026 seems like a farcical, speed-laced circus of horrors, but if we are truthful with ourselves the horrors have always been there. There isn't a single society or timeline that hasn't had humans treating other humans badly, but for those of us privileged enough not to have felt those horrors first hand we sure can't ignore it anymore. Greed rises to the top, but still somehow I had hope since being a child that the world was a benevolent place. How do we continue to find hope in such a deep hole of corruption and submission to base human nature? What reason did we each incarnate now? Was it to help, or was it just to bear witness? What exactly can any of us do? As I was reading I had a moment where all my convoluted thoughts of the past few weeks collided with your words and I was tangibly in the present moment. That is what journalism and storytelling can do. Those of us who can still read writing like yours are not alone. Thank you for that reminder.
Eric, thank you for this beautifully written, painful piece, and for speaking to the brittle inability of most of us to grieve. This holiday I plan to pray to my ancestors for guidance. I come from generations of northern New England farmers. Two of them became homeopathic doctors and served small towns in coastal Massachusetts as family practitioners in the era just prior to Rockefeller medicine’s hijack of our healthcare system. May more of us open to a broader vision of healing that honors and cultivates the innate wisdom of both our bodies and our minds
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Hello, Eric Francis Coppolino!
I had a similar experience at the age od 55, when I joined a group of Canadians who went to Cuba, which the USA is still punishing for something the US is doing to many South American countries, i.e. with their famous " sanctions!"
Cuba can't sell their goods anywhere.
Cuba is a poor country, but the US Government doesn't care what or who they punish with " US sanctions, " i.e. punishing the people of any country the US sanctions. i.e. The people of these countries starve and suffer from these " US sanctions!"
This is now happening in Gaza, thanks to Israel!
The US Government is not concerned what it's doing to people in South American, or to the people in middle-Eastern countries! The US has the military power to do so!
We stayed three weeks in Cuba.
The last two weeks we lived with two different families, who were gratious to put us up, feed us, and teach us rudimentary Spanish!
The first week we stayed in Havana, at the University, going out every day, meeting Cubans in order to practice our rudimentary Spanish.
The second and third week, we lived with two different families.
The first one was in a fisherman's cottage. He showed us how he fished every day for his meal, and also where he sold some of his catch on the market!
The second family lived in the mountains. They had a few sheep and one cow. Their lives were based on simple animal husbandry. They took care of their few animals and themselves, and were content with their lives and didn't ask for more! They were very happy with the bucket of soap, toothpaste, sheets, towels, and olive oil we brought them. These were items that were completely absent in Cuba because of unfair and ridicullous US sanctions!
We have nothing here in Canada nor in North America, equivalent to such arrangments, where perfect strangers are welcomed into our homes and treated with hospitality and friendly sharing of food and space!
We would learn to be more generous, sharing food and space with perfect strangers. To be " hospitable," was praised to the nth degree in Ancient Greece! We have forgotten this "virtue" completely, in our "me-myself- and- I" Western society.
What say you, Francis Coppolino?
Sincerely,
Hedy Lanthier
VIA EMAIL
Hi Eric ,
Thank you for this article as usual it was beautifully written although quite depressing for the future of humanity or maybe just the people of the west ,perhaps the so called 3rd world countries will deliver a wiser solution for our grandchildren or Pluto in Aquarius will do the trick?
My husband & live in a caravan , we’ve been traveling Australia for the past 5 years & on a positive note have found that 99% of people are friendly & kind, maybe that has a bit to do with avoiding large cities , I feel sure that it would be much the same for America .
Anyway just wanted to thank you for all you do, I really enjoy reading & listening to you.
Lots of love
Vicki
I share many of the beliefs you elucidate in this piece Eric. The horrors that our government has perpetrated on many other countries and on us, its own citizens, almost defy belief, even as the evidence mounts daily. I think this country started out with ideals and principles that support humanity and lead to cooperation, growth, and greatness, but along the way got corrupted by prosperity and power, and eventually turned to raw greed and viciousness.
There are many good and honest people in this country, but they are not represented in our government, which has become a gigantic many-tentacled and vicious predator. And no one is coming to save us. We either step up and create an alternative means of living or get sucked into their digital prison. There are no guarantees any of us will make it through this gauntlet, but it's worth trying for those of us who still have the strength and determination anyway.
Born and raised in Oakland, California, I fled to a job in Australia in 1980 and never looked back.
The thinning of my Dream started in 1979. The Clorox facility in the Oakland Embarcadero area where I lived had a chlorine gas leak overnight on a routine tanker filling. I ‘woke up’ to an eerily quiet 8 lane Nimitz freeway and turned on the radio for news. The area was shut down until the gas dissipated and residents were advised to stay indoors and put wet towels at the bottom of doors and windows.
I spent 4 hours taking a hard look at my living conditions in the ‘coolest’ spot in America (Berkeley/Oakland). I shocked myself at what I had accepted for ‘normal’ as a woman living alone - never carried cash, never rode public transport at night, never walked anywhere at night alone, various apartments robbed and car stolen several times.
Huh. And I thought where I lived was the best spot in ‘the world’. I couldn’t unsee my delusional folly and knew I had to leave.
2 weeks later, out of the blue, I was offered a job in Sydney. Had my residency papers in 2 more weeks and took off for a new world, sight unseen.
Looking out the plane 18 hours later at the dawning on Sydney harbour, I cried. For joy, for grief, for all that’s been lost.
46 years have passed and here I sit by the fire in the east Australian bush Tablelands, writing and watching a mob of roos stream by in the valley.
May each of us anchor the Light and bring our awareness and fundamental goodness to wherever we are and whatever we choose to do.
It all makes a difference.
The weight of all of this has been getting heavier every year for me. 2026 seems like a farcical, speed-laced circus of horrors, but if we are truthful with ourselves the horrors have always been there. There isn't a single society or timeline that hasn't had humans treating other humans badly, but for those of us privileged enough not to have felt those horrors first hand we sure can't ignore it anymore. Greed rises to the top, but still somehow I had hope since being a child that the world was a benevolent place. How do we continue to find hope in such a deep hole of corruption and submission to base human nature? What reason did we each incarnate now? Was it to help, or was it just to bear witness? What exactly can any of us do? As I was reading I had a moment where all my convoluted thoughts of the past few weeks collided with your words and I was tangibly in the present moment. That is what journalism and storytelling can do. Those of us who can still read writing like yours are not alone. Thank you for that reminder.