Yes! Well written. Thanks for summarizing the values from which our nation was envisioned. Keeping an eye on these core foundations is the answer to rebuilding resiliency in our country for the people by the people.
Thank you for putting into words the feelings I have about our country, and the sacredness of defending and keeping our Democracy. These are difficult times that we live in, under this current administration. Or as I call it, regime. I hope we survive it.
James, Thank you for codifying what it means to be a true American patriot. You have summarized what we all believe and support. Democracy is not dead, but the things we hold dear are clearly under threat from domestic terrorism. Trump, his regime and the complicit Congress and Courts will be held accountable. The People are rising. We will overcome!
This is credo representative of the America that I grew up in, unlike the one I'm living today. I am in my 8th decade on this big blue marble and have the opportunity to look at how far we have come as a nation particularly in the twentieth century. The advances in human rights for citizens of color, and non traditional lifestyles. Many of those advancements began to erode beginning with the Regan era, and continue to do so under the current regime. My hope is that within the time I have remaining that I see the political pendulum swing back toward a stronger democracy.
Thank you. This is very much what we the people need to internalize, share, declare, and promote in every way we can! I am going to print it out today. I am also going to send it to my representatives (Oklahoma-......) You sir are a national treasure and I am so glad I found you online.
Mr Greenberg, You speak for the majority of Americans. We must continue to speak loudly and frequently from a place of immutable values that form the foundation of our country, which you have done so well. My children and grandchildren MUST NOT have these values erased from their public view if we are to continue as a free society (with the care and responsibility required to keep that freedom alive and well!). It's a much bigger ask to care about and minister to our larger society than it is to consider only one's individual needs and rights.
Bravo! I wrote something that echoes your thoughts. It is titled "Trump is the Least American Man in America".
TRUMP, despite what he says, is NOT A REAL AMERICAN. Not LIKE WE ARE.
WHO ARE WE? WE are freedom-loving, decent people. WE all want to be allowed to do our own thing, whether its hunting, or singing in the church choir or gambling, or screaming for our favorite sports team. WE teach our kids to be believe in being honest and truthful. WE want to be able to make a living for our families. WE love the outdoors. WE listen to the TV or stream what we want.
Ok we live BIG. Ok we are LOUD sometimes. Some would prefer we were all the same but over our history we have adapted to almost every language speaking people in the world. WE have grown to realize that like a team, we are better together. WE all agree on the BIG STUFF.
WE BELIEVE IN FREEDOM. Yes, Conservatives and Liberals both believe in FREEDOM. Trump doesn’t believe in freedom. He believes in CONTROL.
He doesn’t believe in the Freedom of the Press. He can’t stand that in OUR country we have a right to criticize our leaders. WE can like or dislike them. That’s us. WE have a right of Assembly. We can Protest. WE have Freedom of SPEECH. He has apparently never heard of any of this! AMERICANS can SAY what they want without fear of REPRISAL—NOT JUST WHAT HE LIKES. That makes us AMERICANS.
Trump doesn’t realize that what makes us Americans is that there can be a Fox and an MSNBC. There can be a Sean Hannity and a Rachel Maddow. You might not like one or the other, but in this COUNTRY WE CAN HAVE BOTH.
WE BELIEVE IN THE LAW. We believe in right and wrong. We believe in enforcing our laws. Trump is not going up against a single judge when he says he will ignore a JUDICIAL ORDER or THE SUPREME COURT. He is going against the LAW. He has to follow the LAW like we ALL DO 100% of us. IF he paid attention in his government class, he would remember there are three branches of government. Congress makes the Laws. Judges oversee the law. The Executive Branch exists to run the country with the Congress and the Judicial Branch. The EXECUTIVE BRANCH does NOT control everything—not matter what he wants to believe. He did not get a mandate to go against LAW AND ORDER and to go against LAW ENFORCEMENT.
WE BELIEVE IN HUMAN RIGHTS. We believe that no one should be subject to a DICTATOR. Innocent before being found guilty. DUE PROCESS. No one should be sexually or physically abused. We all have the DIGNITY that GOD GAVE US (or as humanitarians, as humans). That is who WE ARE.
WE BELIEVE IN STABILITY. We cannot be jerked around financially and emotionally. HE is erratic, emotional, and narcissistic. He is not doing any of this for US. He is doing it for himself for his EGO, for his own ENRIGHMENT, and to CONTROL US. Yes, do you like being controlled? Abused? Hurt? He is surrounding himself with non-Americans like Elon Musk and anti-Americans like Steven Miller who do not represent US.
READ THE CONSTITUTION. IT TELLS YOU WHO WE ARE.
TRUMP won’t get any of this. BUT YOU DO.
BECAUSE TRUMP is the LEAST AMERICAN MAN in AMERICA.
Everyone should write down what they stand for and what they will NOT do ,because people will be asked to do things ( eg..ratting out neighbours) by an autocratic regime.
Your essay pried open a door, now let’s kick it off the hinges. Let's not mince words: what passes for "patriotism" in the hands of sitting Republicans and MAGA loyalists is little more than political cosplay, hollow theatrics wrapped in stars and stripes. They pledge allegiance to the Constitution with one breath and choke its principles with the next.
How dare they evoke the founders while undermining everything this country was built to resist tyranny, unchecked power, and cultish obedience. You don’t get to wrap yourself in the flag while dragging America toward authoritarian ruin. That's not devotion to the Constitution. That’s betrayal masquerading as patriotism.
And the reverence for SCOTUS? Laughable. Only convenient when the rulings serve their MAGA agenda. When they don’t, it’s scorched-earth rhetoric and threats to restructure the Court (Dems, take note.) It's unprincipled, under the current majority. It is political opportunism dressed up as constitutional fidelity.
Real patriots don’t just quote the Constitution—they embody it. They defend the messy, pluralistic democracy that demands compromise and protects dissent. Anyone paving the road to autocracy while clutching a copy of the Bill of Rights is a hypocrite, not a hero.
If they want to claim America, they need to prove they're worthy of its promise and not just its pageantry.
Yes! Well written. Thanks for summarizing the values from which our nation was envisioned. Keeping an eye on these core foundations is the answer to rebuilding resiliency in our country for the people by the people.
Thank you for putting into words the feelings I have about our country, and the sacredness of defending and keeping our Democracy. These are difficult times that we live in, under this current administration. Or as I call it, regime. I hope we survive it.
James, Thank you for codifying what it means to be a true American patriot. You have summarized what we all believe and support. Democracy is not dead, but the things we hold dear are clearly under threat from domestic terrorism. Trump, his regime and the complicit Congress and Courts will be held accountable. The People are rising. We will overcome!
Your Credo is one which I suspect will also apply to most of your readers; it does to me. Thank you!
You are so eloquent about true patriotism ,so cogently correct regarding fascism too. Thank You!
This is credo representative of the America that I grew up in, unlike the one I'm living today. I am in my 8th decade on this big blue marble and have the opportunity to look at how far we have come as a nation particularly in the twentieth century. The advances in human rights for citizens of color, and non traditional lifestyles. Many of those advancements began to erode beginning with the Regan era, and continue to do so under the current regime. My hope is that within the time I have remaining that I see the political pendulum swing back toward a stronger democracy.
Thank you. This is very much what we the people need to internalize, share, declare, and promote in every way we can! I am going to print it out today. I am also going to send it to my representatives (Oklahoma-......) You sir are a national treasure and I am so glad I found you online.
Mr Greenberg, You speak for the majority of Americans. We must continue to speak loudly and frequently from a place of immutable values that form the foundation of our country, which you have done so well. My children and grandchildren MUST NOT have these values erased from their public view if we are to continue as a free society (with the care and responsibility required to keep that freedom alive and well!). It's a much bigger ask to care about and minister to our larger society than it is to consider only one's individual needs and rights.
Thank you! Your opinion and values matter!!
YES!
Bravo! I wrote something that echoes your thoughts. It is titled "Trump is the Least American Man in America".
TRUMP, despite what he says, is NOT A REAL AMERICAN. Not LIKE WE ARE.
WHO ARE WE? WE are freedom-loving, decent people. WE all want to be allowed to do our own thing, whether its hunting, or singing in the church choir or gambling, or screaming for our favorite sports team. WE teach our kids to be believe in being honest and truthful. WE want to be able to make a living for our families. WE love the outdoors. WE listen to the TV or stream what we want.
Ok we live BIG. Ok we are LOUD sometimes. Some would prefer we were all the same but over our history we have adapted to almost every language speaking people in the world. WE have grown to realize that like a team, we are better together. WE all agree on the BIG STUFF.
WE BELIEVE IN FREEDOM. Yes, Conservatives and Liberals both believe in FREEDOM. Trump doesn’t believe in freedom. He believes in CONTROL.
He doesn’t believe in the Freedom of the Press. He can’t stand that in OUR country we have a right to criticize our leaders. WE can like or dislike them. That’s us. WE have a right of Assembly. We can Protest. WE have Freedom of SPEECH. He has apparently never heard of any of this! AMERICANS can SAY what they want without fear of REPRISAL—NOT JUST WHAT HE LIKES. That makes us AMERICANS.
Trump doesn’t realize that what makes us Americans is that there can be a Fox and an MSNBC. There can be a Sean Hannity and a Rachel Maddow. You might not like one or the other, but in this COUNTRY WE CAN HAVE BOTH.
WE BELIEVE IN THE LAW. We believe in right and wrong. We believe in enforcing our laws. Trump is not going up against a single judge when he says he will ignore a JUDICIAL ORDER or THE SUPREME COURT. He is going against the LAW. He has to follow the LAW like we ALL DO 100% of us. IF he paid attention in his government class, he would remember there are three branches of government. Congress makes the Laws. Judges oversee the law. The Executive Branch exists to run the country with the Congress and the Judicial Branch. The EXECUTIVE BRANCH does NOT control everything—not matter what he wants to believe. He did not get a mandate to go against LAW AND ORDER and to go against LAW ENFORCEMENT.
WE BELIEVE IN HUMAN RIGHTS. We believe that no one should be subject to a DICTATOR. Innocent before being found guilty. DUE PROCESS. No one should be sexually or physically abused. We all have the DIGNITY that GOD GAVE US (or as humanitarians, as humans). That is who WE ARE.
WE BELIEVE IN STABILITY. We cannot be jerked around financially and emotionally. HE is erratic, emotional, and narcissistic. He is not doing any of this for US. He is doing it for himself for his EGO, for his own ENRIGHMENT, and to CONTROL US. Yes, do you like being controlled? Abused? Hurt? He is surrounding himself with non-Americans like Elon Musk and anti-Americans like Steven Miller who do not represent US.
READ THE CONSTITUTION. IT TELLS YOU WHO WE ARE.
TRUMP won’t get any of this. BUT YOU DO.
BECAUSE TRUMP is the LEAST AMERICAN MAN in AMERICA.
I fully agree with and support this creed
well said.
Everyone should write down what they stand for and what they will NOT do ,because people will be asked to do things ( eg..ratting out neighbours) by an autocratic regime.
Stand your ground
Thank you. So beautifully stated! Democracy and the Constitution summed up.
Thank you for putting into words what most of us, 'like-minded readers', haven't taken the time to do so. You did it eloquently and completely!
I agree wholeheartedly.
I/we believe...
Jack,
Your essay pried open a door, now let’s kick it off the hinges. Let's not mince words: what passes for "patriotism" in the hands of sitting Republicans and MAGA loyalists is little more than political cosplay, hollow theatrics wrapped in stars and stripes. They pledge allegiance to the Constitution with one breath and choke its principles with the next.
How dare they evoke the founders while undermining everything this country was built to resist tyranny, unchecked power, and cultish obedience. You don’t get to wrap yourself in the flag while dragging America toward authoritarian ruin. That's not devotion to the Constitution. That’s betrayal masquerading as patriotism.
And the reverence for SCOTUS? Laughable. Only convenient when the rulings serve their MAGA agenda. When they don’t, it’s scorched-earth rhetoric and threats to restructure the Court (Dems, take note.) It's unprincipled, under the current majority. It is political opportunism dressed up as constitutional fidelity.
Real patriots don’t just quote the Constitution—they embody it. They defend the messy, pluralistic democracy that demands compromise and protects dissent. Anyone paving the road to autocracy while clutching a copy of the Bill of Rights is a hypocrite, not a hero.
If they want to claim America, they need to prove they're worthy of its promise and not just its pageantry.
Rage on,
Tim