Mid-week Political Roundup: the lull of the holidays
The 3rd Day of Christmas: imagine
An Important Update!
Dear Substack Community: I am loving building this community on this platform, but I do want to take a moment to let you know that you might encounter extremist views on Substack. Substack is taking a neutral position on free-speech, and while I don’t like policing people, there does come a point to create a space and place where flourishing can happen. That’s why I left Twitter, now X, and other platforms towering social media. The NYT wrote an article on Substack, which you can find here. There is a growing number of Substackers, including myself, who oppose giving a platform to Nazis. White supremacy is never an answer; in fact, any form of supremacy culture is death-bringing. So, what you will find on this Substack is an earnest endeavor to plant seeds for another possible world through research, politics, contextualized thought, thorough argument, theology, ethics, and the Spirit. Today’s Mid-week political roundup is to remind us all that as we leave 2023 and enter 2024, may we do so with a collective mindset for liberation for all who are oppressed, including the captive, the slave, the poor, women, children, and those who exist on the underside of our world.
Most of what I write is free, but there are some perks to becoming a paying subscriber. Since there has been a rise of Nazis on this platform, I will be limiting what I say on the free service and use the paywall to build community. After countless years of targeted harassment by white Nationalists, I want to preserve my thought and my life as I steward collective liberation and community. It’s $5/month to have access to everything I write and the archives, and I appreciate the opportunity to establish community supported scholarship with each of you!
The work of collective liberation is to steward peace at all cost. I hope that this publication does just that. I hope that the work is rooted in my heart and as my heart expands toward you, so does the work of liberation. This work has to be embodied; it cannot be just a thinking exercise. We must breathe through our collective trauma and arrive at the place where we can plant seeds for a just world.
The War and It’s Consequences
My friends in the West Bank are suffering greatly. I would like to crowd fund for them as they do not have money coming in the form of salaries due to the war. I will be collecting funds for my friends and then sending it via bank transfer or Western Union, whichever is cheapest. Will you consider giving $20 or more for food and supplies? Many people in the Occupied West Bank, which I have visited, are without proper resources to maintain their lives. They are without jobs right now and cannot travel to nearby places to get services. If we can provide them with cash, they can get help. I don’t like that money rules our world, but here we are! I want to normalize mutual aid efforts. If you would like to Venmo me, please do so at drrobertoche. If you would like to give in a different way, please reply to this email or contact me directly and we can work out something. As many of you know, my trip to the Palestinian territories was a powerful trip and I was received by the Palestinian men with open arms!
May each of you have a great end to 2023 and find time to breathe in the midst of so much chaos. As for me, I’m ending this year giving thanks for community and for my friends who continue to buoy me as I do public work. It does take a village; find yours!
Onward, —Dr. Roberto Che Espinoza