It’s sink-or-swim America. Not moral, just structural. The baseline now assumes constant convenience: delivery, rides, subscriptions, tap-to-buy everything. That burn rate didn’t exist 30–40 years ago. If that’s normal, of course it feels expensive. Berlin doesn’t run like this.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 6,1-6.16-18
1 Jesus said to his disciples: “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.
2 When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, 4 so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
5 When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
6 But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
16 When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
18 so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”
Litany of Humility Prayer by Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val y Zulueta
O Jesus, meek and humble of heart,
Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being loved,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being honored,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being praised,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being approved,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being despised,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I go unnoticed,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
Charity
Charity is patient, is kind; charity does not envy, is not pretentious, is not puffed up, is not ambitious, is not self-seeking, is not provoked; thinks no evil, does not rejoice over wickedness, but rejoices with the truth, bears with all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Cor. 13:4-7).
To have Charity is to love God above all things for Himself and be ready to renounce all created things rather than offend Him by serious sin. ( Matt. 22:36-40)
Litany of Humility
O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, Hear me. From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being extolled, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being praised, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being preferred to others, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being consulted, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being approved, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of being humiliated, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of being despised, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of suffering rebukes, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of being calumniated, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of being forgotten, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of being ridiculed, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of being wronged, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of being suspected, Deliver me, O Jesus. That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be praised and I go unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. Charity Charity is patient, is kind; charity does not envy, is not pretentious, is not puffed up, is not ambitious, is not self-seeking, is not provoked; thinks no evil, does not rejoice over wickedness, but rejoices with the truth, bears with all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Cor. 13:4-7). To have Charity is to love God above all things for Himself and be ready to renounce all created things rather than offend Him by serious sin. ( Matt. 22:36-40)
The Epstein files are like a box of chocolates, you never know what kind of theory you’re going to get from someone. Everyone has a take on the Epstein files youtube.com/watch
Wow, AOC’s performance was way worse than I could ever imagine. She’s young. youtube.com/watch
I got into that x220 Linux Mint box I was locked out of with a bootable LM USB and some command line fun. Huzzah!
Fascism! Trump! Authoritarianism! Hilter! Despot!
I have been patiently and excitedly and curiously waiting since 2016 for the “it’s fascism now” crowd to point to the actual consolidation moment: elections don’t matter, courts are sidelined, opposition is neutralized, and emergency powers become the default. Actually since 1980, 1988, 2000, 2004, and then 2016. Still waiting. Except I do think America’s been pretty faschy since around 1950, with big accelerations after 9/11 and the Patriot Act.
If you were a child of the 70s & 80s, Jesse Jackson was a mainstay of news and politics and civil rights. God bless, godspeed, and prayers for family and friends. Rest in peace.
Nobody wants a nice guy President of the United States when half the country is having a public tantrum meltdown.
Rubio is a terrible speechmaker.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivers remarks to the Munich Security Conference youtu.be/yOjBJ89ae…
When the Forever Wars came home: inside the trillion-dollar domestic surge to deport, detain, and deliver jobs to a waiting army of American war workers. chrisabraham.substack.com/p/the-gol…
How America’s next trillion-dollar domestic spending spree won’t build bridges or cure cancer — it’ll build detention centers, fund surveillance, and pay millions to deport 30 million people by 2028. chrisabraham.substack.com/p/the-dep…
When tariffs and deportation are blocked, the strongman doesn’t quit. He escalates. chrisabraham.substack.com/p/the-dep…
From Immigration Enforcement to a Domestic War on Terror chrisabraham.substack.com/p/deporta…
Tariffs blocked. Deportations sandbagged. So he reached for the B‑2s. When Trump couldn’t deport, he bombed. chrisabraham.substack.com/p/the-spi…
Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free
I’m 56. Maybe I’m misreading the moment, but I’ve never experienced America as a “once you get here, you’re safe forever” culture.
America isn’t home base. It’s not olly olly oxen free. It’s not crossing the plate and the game stops. It’s more like making it onto the field. That’s when the real work begins.
For some people, getting here already required enormous sacrifice—months of travel, exploitation, danger, debt, stolen savings, physical risk. The journey itself can be brutal. And that reality deserves respect, not dismissal.
But structurally, arrival has never meant insulation.
Historically, the United States guarantees legal status, due process, and protection from foreign tyranny. It offers refuge and extraordinary liberty. It does not promise economic stability, cultural cushioning, or lifelong institutional guardianship.
In many cases, once you arrive, you’re starting from zero. You have to build something from nothing. That’s not cruelty—it’s the nature of a high-liberty, high-risk system.
The safety net exists, but it’s low. There’s no universal baseline that guarantees you won’t struggle. The upside can be extraordinary. The downside is real. That volatility is part of the design.
Even the Statue of Liberty poem—deeply compassionate—speaks of breathing free. It promises a door. It does not promise that once you step through it, the grind disappears.
America has always been sink-or-swim. You get a shot. You don’t get home base.
That’s not anti-immigrant. It’s not anti-American.
It’s just a sober reading of how the system operates.
I’m 56. America has never struck me as a “we’ll take care of you forever” country. It’s a sink-or-swim system. You get rights, rule of law, and protection from foreign tyranny—not guarantees. Even the Statue of Liberty poem promises refuge and freedom, not a nanny state.
