In an address at the University of St. Andrews in 1867, John Stuart Mill said, “Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends than that good men should look on and do nothing.”
Bad men continue to conspire for cultural control and world domination. But the potential for transformative change is in the autumn winds. “We the people” can prevail by standing up, speaking out, and stepping forward.
Through life’s struggles, disappointments, and hardships, common people have bonded in solidarity to build a more sustainable, equitable future where all people can thrive.
At an event in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward and Good Faith Media Board member, reminded a crowd of concerned citizens that we can no longer depend on American institutions to save democracy. Democracy will only be saved or lost through the actions (or inaction) of “we the people.”
If any week has demonstrated the push toward a new world order conceived by evil men, this week offers clear evidence. As former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi once told President Donald Trump, “With you, all things begin and end with (Vladir) Putin.”
Four men are currently searching for immortality: Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, United States President Donald Trump, and Tech Trillionaire Elon Musk. While others are in the mix, these four men stand on the brink of creating a new world order.
The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Putin is floating the potential of a Russian, American, and Chinese Summit to discuss Ukraine. The idea is ringing alarm bells worldwide. While Ukraine may be the focus, the three superpowers could be seeking to wield greater global influence.
Russia certainly has interests in Europe and the Middle East. China would like to dominate most of Asia and extend its influence into Africa. The United States continues to pay more attention to its neighbors to the North and South. Australia and its surrounding islands remain floating in this sea of instability.
Enter Elon Musk, who recently ordered a slowdown of his military-grade Starlink communications links. This deeply concerned Ukraine, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy even saying it caused some of their drones to fall from the sky. Musk claimed that any slowdown orders had to come from the U.S. President and/or military.
After the system returned to normal, Vladimir Putin ordered the release of a U.S. prisoner, Stephen Hubbard. Russia has convicted the 74-year-old Hubbard of being a mercenary for Ukraine.
The U.S. called those charges erroneous. However, when released, U.S. special envoy for the president Steve Witkoff called Putin a “humanitarian.”
Musk announced this week that he’s exploring a merger between SpaceX and Tesla, which would make the single company worth over $3 trillion. With Musk already controlling Starlink and continuing to explore space, his influence on global communications is growing deeper and more terrifying.
I can already hear the objections: this sounds incredibly conspiratorial, and it isn’t a “kitchen table” issue that affects my personal finances. Both are valid points.
I also roll my eyes at the terms “new world order” and “evil men” seeking “global domination.” But before you call me the faith-based Ian Fleming, remember how many scenarios we have seen unfold that we could never have imagined. The events of September 11, 2001, and January 6, 2021, come to mind.
We often try to rationalize what we’re seeing and hearing, convincing ourselves that this couldn’t happen or that someone somewhere will stop it. But that’s exactly the point.
We can no longer depend on others. We can no longer depend on institutions. Only one guardrail remains: “We the people.”
For those wondering how faith fits into all of this, that’s another good question. Faith plays an increasingly important role in this effort.
Learning from the Religious Right in the United States, authoritarians across the globe have discovered that religion is the perfect catalyst to help them create division and secure control—all under the banner of saving souls and living “biblical” lifestyles.
Authoritarians and aspiring dictators worldwide have imported America’s religious fundamentalism and white-supremacy ideologies to silence opposition and assimilate masses. America started as an ideological dream— and a physical, mental, and spiritual nightmare for Indigenous peoples and Africans—but the idea was planted.
And at some point, even some of those brown and black bodies eternally traumatized by the American nightmare began to believe in and work towards achieving that ideal of equality for all, representative government, and justice for everyone.
But with each giant leap forward, those in power will always fight back.
Frederick Douglas said:
“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.”
“We the people” have had our limit.
It’s time for the people to demand their voices and power back. The time has come for the “last to be first and the first to be last,” as Jesus taught (Matthew 20:16).
Maybe it is time for a new world order, but not the one those in power dream about in their presidential palaces and golden mansions. Maybe—just maybe—it’s time for “We the people” to take back the power.
You’ve got one week, U.S. voters. Vote like your life and your kids’ lives depended on it. Because with each vote you cast or don’t, you seal the fate of future generations.
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CEO of Good Faith Media.