Bob Schwartz

Smoking marijuana is more fun than drinking beer
But a friend of ours was captured, and they gave him thirty years
Maybe we should raise our voices, ask somebody why
But demonstrations are a drag, besides we’re much too high
Phil Ochs, Outside of a Small Circle of Friends

Troubadours of the folk era could write and perform beautifully, ironically and topically.

Phil Ochs did all that. Changes and Pleasures of the Harbor are pristine and timeless ballads. His topical songs covered America in the 1960s, including the War (that is, the Vietnam War). He was aware of self-congratulatory do-gooding, as in Love Me I’m a Liberal.

Outside of a Small Circle of Friends is about apathy. In the history of America—the world—that has never gone away. Neither have the situations needing our active altruistic attention.

Oh, look outside the window, there’s a woman being grabbed
They’ve dragged her to the bushes, and now she’s being stabbed
Maybe we should call the cops and try to stop the pain
But Monopoly is so much fun, I’d hate to blow the game

And I’m sure it wouldn’t interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends

Riding down the highway, yes, my back is getting stiff
Thirteen cars have piled up, they’re hanging on a cliff
Now maybe we should pull them back with our towing chain
But we gotta move, and we might get sued and it looks like it’s gonna rain

And I’m sure it wouldn’t interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends

Sweating in the ghetto with the colored and the poor
The rats have joined the babies who are sleeping’on the floor
Now wouldn’t it be a riot if they really blew their tops?
But they got too much already, and besides we’ve got the cops

And I’m sure it wouldn’t interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends

Oh, there’s a dirty paper using sex to make her sales
The Supreme Court was so upset they sent him off to jail
Maybe we should help the fiend and take away his fine
But we’re busy reading Playboy and The Sunday New York Times

And I’m sure it wouldn’t interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends

Smoking marijuana is more fun than drinking beer
But a friend of ours was captured, and they gave him thirty years
Maybe we should raise our voices, ask somebody why
But demonstrations are a drag, besides we’re much too high

And I’m sure it wouldn’t interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends

Eight years ago, in the first weeks of the first Trump term, I posted this:

Dystopian Novels? Forget 1984. Read The Plot Against America: A Novel.

Here in the first year of the second term, I repeat the suggestion to read Philip Roth’s 2004 novel, and add that the HBO series based on the book is also worthy.

The story imagines the election of Charles Lindbergh, aviator hero, as President of the United States in 1940. Lindbergh and his followers are isolationists, and so keep America out of World War II. Lindbergh and his followers are friends of Nazi Germany and are themselves nationalists and fascists. The isolationism, the nationalism, and the fascism hold an appeal to many Americans who have tired of New Deal liberalism and of our helping the rest of the world. Some Jews support Lindbergh, ambitiously overlooking the worst, while other Jews are concerned, because his fiercest followers seem to be antisemitic, while Jews in Europe are being slaughtered without American intervention.

Orwell’s 1984 is a vision of what England could become. The Plot Against America is a vision of what America could become, or is becoming.

“By putting the gods at peace, making the serpentine nāgas* tranquil, and keeping everyone happy as best as possible, when your last breath approaches, you will experience the beginning of true happiness, and you will turn your back on misery and travel from light to light, from joy to joy.”

*nāga. A class of serpent-like beings in Buddhist mythology. They are said to live in the underworld and inhabit a watery environment. Frequently considered to be benevolent, they are also believed to act as guardians of hidden texts.

Essential Mind Training – Thupten Jinpa

“Keeping everyone happy as best as possible” seems a perfect and perfectly open expression. Who is everyone? What is possible, under all the circumstances? Why try?

“From light to light, from joy to joy.”

Imagine my surprise at dawn to find a plane heading for the moon. Safe journey! It is a long trip!

When will Trump declare himself supreme and absolute ruler, not subject to Congress, the Supreme Court, the laws and the Constitution?

So far he hasn’t had to expressly declare that, with an acquiescent Republican Congress and a sympathetic Supreme Court. But that could change, a little or a lot.

If there is a change in acquiescence (sycophancy) or a change in sympathy, Trump might feel forced to declare what he already believes.

We have more than hints at his belief. “Trump 2028” is a constitutionally forbidden third term, but is already being promoted. This is not a gray area. If by some outlandish chance the Supreme Court finds a way around the clear prohibition, Trump’s declaration would actually be unnecessary. He would already be in total charge.

But what if, for the sake of argument, the Court rules he cannot run for another term. Or what if dozens of other Trump attempts at defying law and Constitution are stymied by the Congress or the courts. That will be the moment for Trump to declare a national emergency, one that exceeds the powers of Congress or the Courts to address, an emergency only he can solve. That will be the moment Trump declares himself supreme and absolute ruler, not subject to Congress, the Supreme Court, the laws and the Constitution.

For those who still go around using words like “unprecedented” and “unthinkable”, and haven’t yet dropped them from their vocabulary, you might consider doing that.

The International Rescue Committee:

Famine is now a deadly reality in Gaza

Many families are starving, children are wasting away from severe acute malnutrition, and people are dying. Immediate action is not just necessary – it is a moral imperative. All gifts matched to help families in Gaza and conflict zones worldwide.

How to help Gaza as famine unfolds

Yom Kippur is considered the most important day on the Jewish calendar. Just as Easter is considered the most important day on the Christian calendar. Just as the day you get married, the day your child is born, the day you start your new job, are considered very important days.

But when you look back, for example, on Yom Kippur one year later, you may find that the most important day was the day after. After all that soul-searching, confession, commitment to do and be better, what happened next? More to the point, what did you do next, how were you next?

When you descend from the heights, climb out of the depths, and are back on ordinary ground, once again eating the meals you eat every day, that is when the work begins. That is the most important day of the year.

© 2025 by Bob Schwartz