A Lego orchid and a blooming organic orchid sit a few feet apart in my office.
I wondered what they would say to each other—or are saying to each other. Leading to the question:
What do you think a Lego orchid would say to an organic orchid?
I am most interested in what readers think. For the AI-curious, I asked the same thing of Claude.
Claude: I think a Lego orchid might say something like:
“Hello there, cousin! I admire your delicate petals and natural grace. While you need water, soil, and sunlight, I’m perfectly content sitting on this shelf for years without maintenance. You may change with the seasons, but I’ll stay in perpetual bloom! Though I must admit, I’m a bit jealous of how you can grow and change on your own. My blocks may never wilt, but they also won’t ever surprise anyone with a new bud or subtle shift in color. Perhaps we each have our own kind of beauty—yours ephemeral and alive, mine crafted and enduring.”
Concerned Americans are at different places on the emergency of the current governmental and constitutional crisis.
A number of Americans in public life, in the media and elsewhere, are either playing along, hoping for the best, or maintaining neutrality, afraid that anything that looks critical will subject them to punishment.
A number of Americans privately believe we are, as historian Timothy Snyder has called this historic process, on “the road to unfreedom.”
All those concerned have a growing and justified sense that they don’t know what to do about it.
Aside from “what to do about it”, I offer a concept that is often used as crisis situations develop. It is the so-called doomsday clock. In this case, how far along are we to the full subversion of the American republic?
If asked to place this moment on a clock, I would never go so far as to say it is a minute before midnight or anything that extreme. If pushed, I might say we are at 6 o’clock, which, depending on how you look at it, still offers plenty of opportunity for a different outcome. But it also recognizes that we are well along on the road to unfreedom.
How we get back on the road to freedom is the big and still unresolved dilemma. The clock is ticking.
Is history made of individual people, ideas, or movements?
Yes it is.
Right now, many Americans are waiting for any leader to resist and reverse what is the most dangerous governmental trajectory in 250 years.
So far, only two months into the current regime, none has come forward. There are hints of people, ideas or movements that might take hold. But by the time these hints turn into something substantial, so much damage will have been done, so many will have submitted to the threats, that resistance and reversal may have to give way to the hope for eventually rebuilding the republic.
Americans are waiting for a leader. Some might think that this leader would come from the Democratic Party, but think again. The leader and movement that has taken over the government is not an outgrowth of the Republican Party. He and it have just used the Republican Party as a vehicle. Both parties practice pragmatic politics, which avoids the kind of boldness to lead a wholesale gutting of government (the current regime) or who could stand ground against that revolution.
Americans are waiting for a leader. One who would stand up, get knocked down, be punished, be criticized, fight back, and most of all strategize and inspire. It doesn’t matter if they are Republican, Democratic, or of any other affiliation or identity. What this moment needs is wisdom, courage and vision, which, you should not be surprised, is perpetually in too short supply.
So if you know of that leader—wise, brave, visionary, strategic and inspiring—get them to the front line fast. Time is not on our side.
It is not surprising that the World Happiness Report 2025 has received less media attention in America than in years past. So many big, possibly apocalyptic stories in America and the world. And the same countries at the top of the list, year after year. It gets boring, Scandinavia.
American media may be paying less attention for another reason. The United States dropped to its lowest rank ever—#24. (Country Rankings) Tell Americans something they don’t know.
As for the company we keep, #23 is United Kingdom and #25 is Belize.
World’s 10 happiest countries in 2025
1. Finland 2. Denmark 3. Iceland 4. Sweden 5. Netherlands 6. Costa Rica 7. Norway 8. Israel 9. Luxembourg 10. Mexico
In a recent post I wrote about the surprise blooming of an orchid plant.
Since then I have paid close attention to the unbloomed buds. Above is a picture of a opening bud yesterday and the full flower today. With three more ready to go.
I know quite a bit about three major religious traditions: Judaism, Buddhism and Christianity.
If asked to “identify” myself by tradition, I would say I am a Jew and a Buddhist, though the combination has its technical difficulties. I would say I am not a Christian, because of a core belief that I don’t subscribe to, though the words most attributable to Jesus are some of the wisest and most helpful uttered.
More and more, I see that Buddhism “makes sense”, or more precisely, makes things make sense.
Examine anything, from a rock to a painting to another person to yourself. You stand in one place. You move around. From one perspective you are not sure you get it. From another perspective, or another, it suddenly makes sense. Maybe some sense, maybe complete sense.
This is not the place to go into the strengths and value of any of these traditions or their sub-traditions. Also not the place to detail any particular elements of them. It is just to say that for me Buddhism is a perspective that constantly serves as a way of making sense and living a sensible life. Not every minute of every day of every week, etc. But frequently enough, and more frequently if/when I work at it.
Years ago, when Trump first became president, mental health experts—including his own niece—believed he exhibited clinical personality disorders.
I am not one of those experts, but I was able to consult DSM-5 (Diagnostic And Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), the diagnostic bible of psychiatry. At the time I posted about the description of narcissistic personality disorder.
Here in the second Trump term, a new pattern is emerging. He is comparing himself to George Washington as the greatest American president. Some may believe this, some may say it is a legitimate matter of opinion, some may believe that objectively this is not true. For those who think it manifestly untrue, this might be considered a delusion. A grand delusion.
Grandiose delusions are part of various personality disorders described in the DSM-5 . Here is a description of Paranoid Personality Disorder:
Associated Features of Paranoid Personality Disorder
Individuals with paranoid personality disorder are generally difficult to get along with and often have problems with close relationships. Their excessive suspiciousness and hostility may be expressed in overt argumentativeness, in recurrent complaining, or by hostile aloofness. They display a labile range of affect, with hostile, stubborn, and sarcastic expressions predominating. Their combative and suspicious nature may elicit a hostile response in others, which then serves to confirm their original expectations.
Because individuals with paranoid personality disorder lack trust in others, they need to have a high degree of control over those around them. They are often rigid, critical of others, and unable to collaborate, although they have great difficulty accepting criticism themselves. They may blame others for their own shortcomings. Because of their quickness to counterattack in response to the threats they perceive around them, they may be litigious and frequently become involved in legal disputes. Individuals with this disorder seek to confirm their preconceived negative notions regarding people or situations they encounter, attributing malevolent motivations to others that are projections of their own fears. They may exhibit thinly hidden, unrealistic grandiose fantasies, are often attuned to issues of power and rank, and tend to develop negative stereotypes of others, particularly those from population groups distinct from their own. Attracted by simplistic formulations of the world, they are often wary of ambiguous situations. They may be perceived as “fanatics” and form tightly knit “cults” or groups with others who share their paranoid belief systems. (emphasis added)
Diagnostic And Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)
Bob Schwartz 