Thank you for your courage and fortitude and skill as a writer. Our democracy is battered, but it has a chance when people like you lend their voice to the project of a better future.
Keep telling it, & keep processing feedback from ‘your crew’.
(Generally, & I’ve been told more than once, “shorter is better”, “less is more”, or “brevity is the soul of wit”. But think this one was as long as it had to be…. eager to share with my son.)
Really appreciate the window you open on several worlds we don’t all get to live. It enlarges my life, I know, and am sure it does this for others too.
Thank you for adressing the "out-of-control" feeling and dread that most of us feel about the current administration. The airplane analogy between the distressed plane and America at this moment in history is outstanding. We are in this together, and your words are a guiding light. We support you.
I’d finished reading HCR and scanning the headlines, and was getting ready to start my morning tasks when your post popped up. Twelve minute read, hmmm, maybe later. But, no, I couldn’t wait to take whatever journey you were offering. So I settled in for the read and once again it was a great one Xavier. Your personal experiences and examples are a joy to read. I know that stretch of Gulf Blvd well and the tiny police departments each 2-3 mile long island town used to have. Once “sun down” towns they still had that mentality. Today the county sheriff polices these communities. Not perfect, but, definitely better. Or it was until ICE started infiltrating.
Back to the message, so far the frame is holding, but, the structure is aging and repairs are urgently needed. We see democracy and capitalism as essential partners, but, what happens when capitalism goes off the rails and threatens to take democracy with it? What happened when the right of a few to make obscene amounts of money while avoiding taxes and regulation leaves hard working citizens unable to afford housing, food, healthcare, college? These are the questions we face in our struggling republic. And we need to ask these questions if we hope to find answers. Thank you Xavier for reaching deep and sharing your perspective.
Tragically, we are not on auto pilot, and our leaders are not trusting the instruments. The Trump cloud-bank has obscured the horizon, the pilot is deranged and we are in grave danger.
Thank you for again providing thoughtful words. Words that make me think, make me a better human. I love your style, I look forward each day to where you will push me next. Your strength is amazing.
I am coming to the place where I read your post directly after reading HCR, so you have to know how important your perspective has become, at least to this depth-seeking older gal in Maine. I’m particularly intrigued by how your pieces begin in a place and then travel about, before coming back to touch on where you began. And this one touched me right from the jump. My dad was career Air Force, and I was raised on bases across this country and overseas for a couple years. I dig a schedule and an order of things. It’s tough for me to free fall without some pre thought calculation for drop and landing. This is particularly true when I write. The first thoughts are so damned isolated from and overwhelmed by every other idea, image, or whacky fly-by in my brain. Just freaking start, I tell myself. The rest of it is there. So I was relating to where you began, and it created a stream up from heart and out through my eyes. Because your words and thoughts and experiences matter. Go ahead and let ‘em tumble around sometimes, where we can witness the struggle. Because that matters too. It matters that we don’t get it perfectly right. We get it imperfectly right way more often. And we get it wrong. And it matters that we share the wrongs too. Because it helps us see each other. I am coming to wish I were comfortably wealthy so that I could increase the amount of support I contribute in order to benefit from your work. But I can do this; I see you and my brain, heart, and soul are hungry for the unique and relevant discussions you bring to this space. Thank you.
I definitely will be sharing this post. Thank you for your clarity. Thank you for the depth of your perception. It reminded me of when I read The Ox-Bow Incident as a teenager. I went along with the whole premise of who was right and who was wrong in the Old West only to find I was wrong. It was a lesson I desperately needed.
This has become my first read in the morning! I know there are other very newsworthy things to read, but your pieces always fill me with gratitude that there are wonderful writers out there with a very important message to convey! The emotions you describe with your personal stories, and how they relate to the emotions all of us feel, really move me and for that I thank you!
You write *really* well. Not everybody does on this site! I loved the part about the frame holding, a really vivid image for us as we struggle through these horrid times. Thank you for what you're doing.
Superb sharing. Truly appreciate. Yup, double vision and personal effects when you share. Bingo. But authenticity is the platinum. Thank you for your words, thoughts. Each one of us matters now in helping our democracy survive, improve. All for one, one for all.
Thank you for your courage and fortitude and skill as a writer. Our democracy is battered, but it has a chance when people like you lend their voice to the project of a better future.
You are not alone. We are with you. Remember us in your darkest moments. Stay in this fight for all our sakes. 🫶
We’re in this together.
Another really good one. I subscribed yesterday.
Xcellent, again. 😏👍!
Keep telling it, & keep processing feedback from ‘your crew’.
(Generally, & I’ve been told more than once, “shorter is better”, “less is more”, or “brevity is the soul of wit”. But think this one was as long as it had to be…. eager to share with my son.)
Really appreciate the window you open on several worlds we don’t all get to live. It enlarges my life, I know, and am sure it does this for others too.
Me, too!
Thank you for adressing the "out-of-control" feeling and dread that most of us feel about the current administration. The airplane analogy between the distressed plane and America at this moment in history is outstanding. We are in this together, and your words are a guiding light. We support you.
I’d finished reading HCR and scanning the headlines, and was getting ready to start my morning tasks when your post popped up. Twelve minute read, hmmm, maybe later. But, no, I couldn’t wait to take whatever journey you were offering. So I settled in for the read and once again it was a great one Xavier. Your personal experiences and examples are a joy to read. I know that stretch of Gulf Blvd well and the tiny police departments each 2-3 mile long island town used to have. Once “sun down” towns they still had that mentality. Today the county sheriff polices these communities. Not perfect, but, definitely better. Or it was until ICE started infiltrating.
Back to the message, so far the frame is holding, but, the structure is aging and repairs are urgently needed. We see democracy and capitalism as essential partners, but, what happens when capitalism goes off the rails and threatens to take democracy with it? What happened when the right of a few to make obscene amounts of money while avoiding taxes and regulation leaves hard working citizens unable to afford housing, food, healthcare, college? These are the questions we face in our struggling republic. And we need to ask these questions if we hope to find answers. Thank you Xavier for reaching deep and sharing your perspective.
Tragically, we are not on auto pilot, and our leaders are not trusting the instruments. The Trump cloud-bank has obscured the horizon, the pilot is deranged and we are in grave danger.
Well said Diane. I too get swept off my feet by Xplisset's soulful writing! Even if he wrote one piece a week it would be well worth the subscription!
Agreed PJ, he’s a joy to read. I hope he finds a sustainable level of writing that doesn’t wring him out. This is hard stuff and can be heartbreaking.
Thank you for again providing thoughtful words. Words that make me think, make me a better human. I love your style, I look forward each day to where you will push me next. Your strength is amazing.
I am coming to the place where I read your post directly after reading HCR, so you have to know how important your perspective has become, at least to this depth-seeking older gal in Maine. I’m particularly intrigued by how your pieces begin in a place and then travel about, before coming back to touch on where you began. And this one touched me right from the jump. My dad was career Air Force, and I was raised on bases across this country and overseas for a couple years. I dig a schedule and an order of things. It’s tough for me to free fall without some pre thought calculation for drop and landing. This is particularly true when I write. The first thoughts are so damned isolated from and overwhelmed by every other idea, image, or whacky fly-by in my brain. Just freaking start, I tell myself. The rest of it is there. So I was relating to where you began, and it created a stream up from heart and out through my eyes. Because your words and thoughts and experiences matter. Go ahead and let ‘em tumble around sometimes, where we can witness the struggle. Because that matters too. It matters that we don’t get it perfectly right. We get it imperfectly right way more often. And we get it wrong. And it matters that we share the wrongs too. Because it helps us see each other. I am coming to wish I were comfortably wealthy so that I could increase the amount of support I contribute in order to benefit from your work. But I can do this; I see you and my brain, heart, and soul are hungry for the unique and relevant discussions you bring to this space. Thank you.
I definitely will be sharing this post. Thank you for your clarity. Thank you for the depth of your perception. It reminded me of when I read The Ox-Bow Incident as a teenager. I went along with the whole premise of who was right and who was wrong in the Old West only to find I was wrong. It was a lesson I desperately needed.
Hugs. I read your post before I let out the chickens today. Try going Dr. Doolittle and talk to your pets?
This has become my first read in the morning! I know there are other very newsworthy things to read, but your pieces always fill me with gratitude that there are wonderful writers out there with a very important message to convey! The emotions you describe with your personal stories, and how they relate to the emotions all of us feel, really move me and for that I thank you!
You write *really* well. Not everybody does on this site! I loved the part about the frame holding, a really vivid image for us as we struggle through these horrid times. Thank you for what you're doing.
"There is something built into this aircraft, this republic, this messy machine, that can take a hit and still fly..." -- I sure hope so!
I like personal stories when they ring true. This was a darned good post, X.
“She may not look like much, but she’s got it where it counts, kid. I’ve made a lot of special modifications myself.” – Han Solo
“Would it help if I got out and pushed?” – Princess Leia
“It’s just a simple jump to hyperspace and we’re there. What’s so tricky about that?” – Han Solo
“The possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3,720 to 1.” – C3PO
Bingo. Love your share. I'm with you on same plane.
Superb sharing. Truly appreciate. Yup, double vision and personal effects when you share. Bingo. But authenticity is the platinum. Thank you for your words, thoughts. Each one of us matters now in helping our democracy survive, improve. All for one, one for all.
Dude X, you are, indeed--and I hope you know it--"legitimate."
I love your writing style. Your voice is so clear. Thank you for your relentless pursuit of truth and clarity. I’m with you. Keep going.