¨They were trained to follow orders, but also sworn to defend the Constitution.
During COVID-19, U.S. service members were given orders that many believed were unlawful, and told their careers depended on compliance.
Some obeyed. Others refused. Nearly all paid a price.
Duty to Disobey reveals what happened to those who refused, and why their story matters to every American. This is a film about courage under pressure, institutional failure, and the quiet line where lawful authority ends.¨
Thanks. Mario. Will watch. I've been waiting for the idiocy that breaks our camel's back, where what's done is so gross -- like maybe today, on the verge of Stone Age Iran that could lead to Stone Age U.S. -- that it gets to the level of ordinary soldiers refusing to fight!
There’s a sense that we’re not just in a crisis we can fix, but in a deeper transition where the foundations of how we’ve organized society are no longer holding. Not just politically, but in how we relate to each other, to the natural world, and to the systems we’ve built. Things still appear to function, but the disconnect underneath them feels harder to ignore.
What stood out to me most in your post is the way regenerative design is being described. Not as an improvement on what we already have, but as a shift toward aligning with how living systems actually sustain themselves. That feels important, especially when so many of our current systems are organized in ways that extract, separate, and concentrate rather than support balance and collective wellbeing.
I also feel the tension in your opening. The urgency to change what is clearly not working, alongside the deeper question of how something truly different begins to emerge. Not just replacing one structure with another, but rethinking the values and relationships that shape the whole.
For me, this moment keeps pointing back to the need for more cooperative, life-centered ways of organizing, where economies, governance, and communities are grounded in care, interdependence, and long-term balance rather than short-term gain.
Thank you, Christy. It's such a gift to get your analytical evaluations. What you do would seem to be some established role people play, like we have movie critics. You are a life-giver critic. But as far as I can tell, it's a one-person category. I'm so grateful to you for introducing me to Ernesto, who I hope will comment here, adding even more to the clarity of his position that you have helped define.
I just posted to Adam Kinzinger's BlueSky and Substack accounts, urging him to set up an emergency summit among Republicans and former Republicans to discuss ways to remove Trump from office. He has the street cred. If folks are serious about action plans, there's one. Urge Kinzinger to go beyond just chatting on his Substack about how awful Trump is.
He could set up an emergency summit TODAY with Marjorie Taylor Greene as his co-chair. He has the connections. There are many more Republican congress critters who want an escape hatch than we know. This is a 911 five alarm fire situation. I would urge anyone interested in action to follow up with my suggestion and urge Kinzinger to set up that summit post-haste.
Thank you Suzanne. Those of old enough to remember are having Cuban Missile Crisis flashbacks. But the difference is clear - both Kennedy and Khrushchev were basically normal human beings. Almost everyone with any sense at all must realize that this isn't the case this time around. I am praying for a miracle.
If it's any help, and not at all meant to dismiss the concerns, I wouldn't be surprised if the only thing that gets nuked are the trading accounts not tied to whatever insider trading scheme he's developed with the cronies, crooks, and con men/women who keep this monster afloat.
The New York Times is already reporting erratic behavior in the oil futures markets. The man is insane first, and the world's most prolific grifter second, but it used be the other way around.
I cling to the idea that it is so vital for us to make a change that is so beyond us that it's not likely we can do it, and in the grand wisdom of the universe, somehow he's here to smash things beyond where we can recover them, leaving the field open for us to get it right!
To all United States Officers, do not send your men and women to death. We are not in WW2 now.
If I can see my car in the parking lot from space on google, well it is the same for them to know exactly your position. It would be very easy for Iran to send drones and/or missiles to neutralize you.
ATTENTION MILITARY SERVICE MEMBERS - Say NO. I do not consent to this satanic Agenda!
¨The Center on Conscience & War is a non-profit organization that advocates for the rights of conscience, opposes military conscription, and serves all conscientious objectors to war.
If you’re facing deployment soon, please don’t wait!
We’ll work with you to navigate the admin process.
All of our services are completely free of charge.
Who is a Military Conscientious Objector?
A firm, fixed, and sincere objection to participation in war in any form or the bearing of arms, by reason of religious training and/or belief.
DoD 1300.06
Conscientious Objection
Contact the Center on Conscience & War if you’re in the US military and want to seek discharge or reassignment as a Conscientious Objector.
Call 202-483-2220
The Center on Conscience & War has supported conscientious objectors since 1940! We have experienced staff that can support you through the somewhat complex, administrative conscientious objection application process.
Our Counseling Director, Bill Galvin, has extensive experience beginning in the early 1970s during the Vietnam era. Bill is the author of the most recent version of the Draft Counselor’s Manual and the Guide for COs in the Military. All counselors are trained in the military policy and process for Conscientious Objection...¨ Learn More
The urgency in this resonates. There’s a real sense that a necessary ' something' is no longer holding.
The ability of institutions—and people—to regulate, coordinate, and respond to limits has been under strain for a long time. And we're seeing the results.
I appreciate your thoughts about the complexity of repair, and the importance of thinking out of the box as we move forward.
Sitting here with less than an hour to go before we conceivably will see the world explode. Will we do that to ourselves? Is there going to be a miracle? A last-minute save? So many more of us than of them, but how passive we are about being hijacked. If I had any access to Trump, I'd grab a few others and put him in handcuffs today!
It's hard to be forced to focus intensely and constantly on dysregulation at this level. As the world held its breath, Trump found a way to maintain his position, literally at the center of the entire world. Now he's got 2 more weeks with literally, the entire world sucked into satelliting around him, waiting for the "almost" outcome. The collapse of our capacity to contain this level of dysfunction has, sadly, placed us all in the position of hanging on his every word, even when the words lack sense.
The whole world is in the hands of a demented clown. Maybe there's some massive good that will balance out how unthinkably bad this is. That's a good way to think.
I see the logic of your suggestion to simply bribe him to go away, and was initially sympathetic to the idea. Yet on further thought, it's really not a viable solution for at least two reasons:
This guy has committed some of the most egregious crimes, affecting the greatest number of people in history – serial child rape, treason, extortion, collusion, insurrection, war crimes (likely others we can’t name). To waive that all away, with no accountability, and further to reward him with billions of dollars … it just sends a wrong message of cosmic proportions.
Plus, you KNOW he’s not going to go away, shut up, and disappear. He’ll continue to rage, criticize, whine, threaten, lie, etc. He can’t help himself. Did you see him at last Sunday’s Easter party, sitting at a table with 4-year olds, going on and on about Joe Biden and the autopen? With 4-YEAR OLDS trying to color Easter eggs!
Without intending to be vindictive about it, he really just needs to be in an institution for the criminally insane.
Best to give up our pound of flesh if it saves humanity. It's a powerful principle for us to take note of, which I use when I talk about Norway's justice system, that's about rehabilitation over punishment.
I didn't convince you that it could be in Trump's interest -- which is all that matters to him -- to resign?
That scene with little children was a Saturday Night Live sketch brought to real life!
Yes. unfortunately he seems to have such a constant need for attention, praise, and adulation that I can't see him going away and being content to simply count his billions.
We're dealing with ego. The ego is not interested in service. It is interested in control. It feeds on being right, being seen, being above. Power, to the ego, is not responsibility—it is insulation from being questioned. Domination is not strategy—it is self-protection dressed up as strength.
In our current politics, this has become amplified. The system rewards certainty over truth, volume over clarity, loyalty over integrity. The ego learns quickly: win at all costs, never concede, never reveal doubt. Opponents are not people; they are obstacles. The goal is not to govern, but to prevail.
What we are witnessing is not just policy conflict. It is ego competing with ego, each claiming legitimacy while avoiding self-examination. The louder it gets, the less real it becomes.
And the cost is profound: truth becomes negotiable, trust erodes, and the collective future is traded for individual position.
The ego cannot be defeated by force—only by awareness that sees it, names it, and refuses to follow. That is one role that Elders have taken on. And as the Elder ranks expand, that collective consciousness will counter what is occurring.
I do challenge you about coming from a position of elders categorically being our wise ones. Some are; a lot aren't, and in fact need help rather than being able to offer it.
If you ever do put together Sages for the Ages, I want in!
DUTY TO DISOBEY
¨They were trained to follow orders, but also sworn to defend the Constitution.
During COVID-19, U.S. service members were given orders that many believed were unlawful, and told their careers depended on compliance.
Some obeyed. Others refused. Nearly all paid a price.
Duty to Disobey reveals what happened to those who refused, and why their story matters to every American. This is a film about courage under pressure, institutional failure, and the quiet line where lawful authority ends.¨
www.dutytodisobeyfilm.com
Thanks. Mario. Will watch. I've been waiting for the idiocy that breaks our camel's back, where what's done is so gross -- like maybe today, on the verge of Stone Age Iran that could lead to Stone Age U.S. -- that it gets to the level of ordinary soldiers refusing to fight!
Thank you Suzanne.
There’s a sense that we’re not just in a crisis we can fix, but in a deeper transition where the foundations of how we’ve organized society are no longer holding. Not just politically, but in how we relate to each other, to the natural world, and to the systems we’ve built. Things still appear to function, but the disconnect underneath them feels harder to ignore.
What stood out to me most in your post is the way regenerative design is being described. Not as an improvement on what we already have, but as a shift toward aligning with how living systems actually sustain themselves. That feels important, especially when so many of our current systems are organized in ways that extract, separate, and concentrate rather than support balance and collective wellbeing.
I also feel the tension in your opening. The urgency to change what is clearly not working, alongside the deeper question of how something truly different begins to emerge. Not just replacing one structure with another, but rethinking the values and relationships that shape the whole.
For me, this moment keeps pointing back to the need for more cooperative, life-centered ways of organizing, where economies, governance, and communities are grounded in care, interdependence, and long-term balance rather than short-term gain.
Thank you, Christy. It's such a gift to get your analytical evaluations. What you do would seem to be some established role people play, like we have movie critics. You are a life-giver critic. But as far as I can tell, it's a one-person category. I'm so grateful to you for introducing me to Ernesto, who I hope will comment here, adding even more to the clarity of his position that you have helped define.
I just posted to Adam Kinzinger's BlueSky and Substack accounts, urging him to set up an emergency summit among Republicans and former Republicans to discuss ways to remove Trump from office. He has the street cred. If folks are serious about action plans, there's one. Urge Kinzinger to go beyond just chatting on his Substack about how awful Trump is.
He could set up an emergency summit TODAY with Marjorie Taylor Greene as his co-chair. He has the connections. There are many more Republican congress critters who want an escape hatch than we know. This is a 911 five alarm fire situation. I would urge anyone interested in action to follow up with my suggestion and urge Kinzinger to set up that summit post-haste.
YES!!! We so need courageousness now.
Less than a half hour to go, as I write this, for conceivably the end of industrialized humanity.
Thank you Suzanne. Those of old enough to remember are having Cuban Missile Crisis flashbacks. But the difference is clear - both Kennedy and Khrushchev were basically normal human beings. Almost everyone with any sense at all must realize that this isn't the case this time around. I am praying for a miracle.
If it's any help, and not at all meant to dismiss the concerns, I wouldn't be surprised if the only thing that gets nuked are the trading accounts not tied to whatever insider trading scheme he's developed with the cronies, crooks, and con men/women who keep this monster afloat.
The New York Times is already reporting erratic behavior in the oil futures markets. The man is insane first, and the world's most prolific grifter second, but it used be the other way around.
I cling to the idea that it is so vital for us to make a change that is so beyond us that it's not likely we can do it, and in the grand wisdom of the universe, somehow he's here to smash things beyond where we can recover them, leaving the field open for us to get it right!
To all United States Officers, do not send your men and women to death. We are not in WW2 now.
If I can see my car in the parking lot from space on google, well it is the same for them to know exactly your position. It would be very easy for Iran to send drones and/or missiles to neutralize you.
Say NO. I do not consent to this satanic agenda!
I'd rather talk about what we could offer Trump to resign. It feels better to cheerlead than to protest.
ATTENTION MILITARY SERVICE MEMBERS - Say NO. I do not consent to this satanic Agenda!
¨The Center on Conscience & War is a non-profit organization that advocates for the rights of conscience, opposes military conscription, and serves all conscientious objectors to war.
If you’re facing deployment soon, please don’t wait!
We’ll work with you to navigate the admin process.
All of our services are completely free of charge.
Who is a Military Conscientious Objector?
A firm, fixed, and sincere objection to participation in war in any form or the bearing of arms, by reason of religious training and/or belief.
DoD 1300.06
Conscientious Objection
Contact the Center on Conscience & War if you’re in the US military and want to seek discharge or reassignment as a Conscientious Objector.
Call 202-483-2220
The Center on Conscience & War has supported conscientious objectors since 1940! We have experienced staff that can support you through the somewhat complex, administrative conscientious objection application process.
Our Counseling Director, Bill Galvin, has extensive experience beginning in the early 1970s during the Vietnam era. Bill is the author of the most recent version of the Draft Counselor’s Manual and the Guide for COs in the Military. All counselors are trained in the military policy and process for Conscientious Objection...¨ Learn More
www.centeronconscience.org
The urgency in this resonates. There’s a real sense that a necessary ' something' is no longer holding.
The ability of institutions—and people—to regulate, coordinate, and respond to limits has been under strain for a long time. And we're seeing the results.
I appreciate your thoughts about the complexity of repair, and the importance of thinking out of the box as we move forward.
Sitting here with less than an hour to go before we conceivably will see the world explode. Will we do that to ourselves? Is there going to be a miracle? A last-minute save? So many more of us than of them, but how passive we are about being hijacked. If I had any access to Trump, I'd grab a few others and put him in handcuffs today!
It's hard to be forced to focus intensely and constantly on dysregulation at this level. As the world held its breath, Trump found a way to maintain his position, literally at the center of the entire world. Now he's got 2 more weeks with literally, the entire world sucked into satelliting around him, waiting for the "almost" outcome. The collapse of our capacity to contain this level of dysfunction has, sadly, placed us all in the position of hanging on his every word, even when the words lack sense.
The whole world is in the hands of a demented clown. Maybe there's some massive good that will balance out how unthinkably bad this is. That's a good way to think.
What you are distinguishing here is the difference between 'Older' and 'Elder'.
This goes with the string below
Are your Elders the older people who are the wise ones? I'd never heard it defined that way. Older and elder seemed interchangeable.
I see the logic of your suggestion to simply bribe him to go away, and was initially sympathetic to the idea. Yet on further thought, it's really not a viable solution for at least two reasons:
This guy has committed some of the most egregious crimes, affecting the greatest number of people in history – serial child rape, treason, extortion, collusion, insurrection, war crimes (likely others we can’t name). To waive that all away, with no accountability, and further to reward him with billions of dollars … it just sends a wrong message of cosmic proportions.
Plus, you KNOW he’s not going to go away, shut up, and disappear. He’ll continue to rage, criticize, whine, threaten, lie, etc. He can’t help himself. Did you see him at last Sunday’s Easter party, sitting at a table with 4-year olds, going on and on about Joe Biden and the autopen? With 4-YEAR OLDS trying to color Easter eggs!
Without intending to be vindictive about it, he really just needs to be in an institution for the criminally insane.
Best to give up our pound of flesh if it saves humanity. It's a powerful principle for us to take note of, which I use when I talk about Norway's justice system, that's about rehabilitation over punishment.
I didn't convince you that it could be in Trump's interest -- which is all that matters to him -- to resign?
That scene with little children was a Saturday Night Live sketch brought to real life!
Yes. unfortunately he seems to have such a constant need for attention, praise, and adulation that I can't see him going away and being content to simply count his billions.
How about that his riches won't buy much for him if he's in jail? You don't have to answer. Just take note.
We're dealing with ego. The ego is not interested in service. It is interested in control. It feeds on being right, being seen, being above. Power, to the ego, is not responsibility—it is insulation from being questioned. Domination is not strategy—it is self-protection dressed up as strength.
In our current politics, this has become amplified. The system rewards certainty over truth, volume over clarity, loyalty over integrity. The ego learns quickly: win at all costs, never concede, never reveal doubt. Opponents are not people; they are obstacles. The goal is not to govern, but to prevail.
What we are witnessing is not just policy conflict. It is ego competing with ego, each claiming legitimacy while avoiding self-examination. The louder it gets, the less real it becomes.
And the cost is profound: truth becomes negotiable, trust erodes, and the collective future is traded for individual position.
The ego cannot be defeated by force—only by awareness that sees it, names it, and refuses to follow. That is one role that Elders have taken on. And as the Elder ranks expand, that collective consciousness will counter what is occurring.
The ego is about self-service, and yes, Trump's ego is involved, but with him it's aberrational. It's a sickness with a name. Frank George is one of the smartest people on the subject of Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD): https://frankgeorge8675309.substack.com/p/dammit-its-not-alzheimers-heres-why-c9f.
I do challenge you about coming from a position of elders categorically being our wise ones. Some are; a lot aren't, and in fact need help rather than being able to offer it.
If you ever do put together Sages for the Ages, I want in!