Jeff—this hit hard. In the best, most necessary way.
I felt every word. The honesty. The heartbreak. The urgent, exhausted hope.
“We are boiling alive in venomous filth.”
Yeah. That line stopped me. Because it’s not hyperbole. It’s a diagnosis.
And what you’re offering here—a Love Revolution—isn’t just idealism. It’s rebellion. It’s refusal. It’s the only viable counteroffensive to a cultural economy profiting from outrage and division.
I’ve also found myself increasingly allergic to the noise, the algorithms, the cruelty-as-virtue performance art. And I’ve been asking the same question: Is there another way to lead, to write, to show up in this moment? Your piece reminds me that the answer is still yes.
I'm writing about some of this over at Beyond Platitudes—where I try to replace bumper-sticker wisdom with real conversation, real leadership, and real discomfort. Your piece fits the ethos like a hand in glove. Would you consider joining our tribe - you would fit right in and we've saved a seat for you.
Thank you for saying the quiet truth out loud. Count me in.
Wow. Thanks for the praise. I'm robbed of words. I'm glad my message resonated with you so deeply. I look forward to checking out your community and suspect I'll come along for the ride. I hope you'll claim your place in mine.
Thanks for the feedback, Mary Jean. I hope you have the opportunity to do a little surfing on Substack. Many of the creators I've come across here have similar messages. There's a lot of people trying to do a lot of good in this corner of the social media world. Check out my recommendations list for some good ones I've found. 🙏💛
Jeff - thank you for bringing the concept of “our best selves” forward! In the din and darkness of negativity, anger and hate, it’s sometimes hard to dig down and locate the compassion, concern and caring for others that will lead us back to the light.
With your help (and ongoing messages) I trust we will find our way forward.
Perfectly said, Jeff. I refuse to believe the majority of us feel this much hatred toward anybody. We are being lied to. We like each other, I know it. Thanks for the reminder.
One thing people need to do right now is get off of the social media platforms that have been hijacked - meaning Meta and X. Every minute on there yoh are being manipulated. And the hate is stirred by fear. Fear always sells. The antidote to fear is trust. By that i mean trust in your own good heart. Its there. You know what to do.
It's been some 50 years or so since I read Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, but his daily 2 minutes of hate and Hate Week, prescient as they've been, are what you'll be up against. We have a man in the Oval Office who in effect preaches, and governs, via an "All You Need is Hate" message. Fifty-some years ago John Lennon wrote songs that fit into into your interest in getting something positive started, words that confront Hate. "All You Need is Love" and "The Word" fit right in. Strangely, the late 1960s, mostly younger people were much more receptive (and were, of course, pretty trippy on the way). I wish you all the best in getting this going, and I'll of course read you with great interest.
Beautifully said. Reminds me of the Tuck and Patti song “Love Warriors.”
Jeff—this hit hard. In the best, most necessary way.
I felt every word. The honesty. The heartbreak. The urgent, exhausted hope.
“We are boiling alive in venomous filth.”
Yeah. That line stopped me. Because it’s not hyperbole. It’s a diagnosis.
And what you’re offering here—a Love Revolution—isn’t just idealism. It’s rebellion. It’s refusal. It’s the only viable counteroffensive to a cultural economy profiting from outrage and division.
I’ve also found myself increasingly allergic to the noise, the algorithms, the cruelty-as-virtue performance art. And I’ve been asking the same question: Is there another way to lead, to write, to show up in this moment? Your piece reminds me that the answer is still yes.
I'm writing about some of this over at Beyond Platitudes—where I try to replace bumper-sticker wisdom with real conversation, real leadership, and real discomfort. Your piece fits the ethos like a hand in glove. Would you consider joining our tribe - you would fit right in and we've saved a seat for you.
Thank you for saying the quiet truth out loud. Count me in.
✊🏼❤️ Let’s lead with love.
-Matt
Wow. Thanks for the praise. I'm robbed of words. I'm glad my message resonated with you so deeply. I look forward to checking out your community and suspect I'll come along for the ride. I hope you'll claim your place in mine.
"WE. Need. To be. Better." Yes, we are better than this.
We CAN be better than this. We HAVE to be better than this.
Thanks for sharing.
On a separate note, I love that you are a cat dad. I am a cat mom. They help me get through much stuff!
Thanks for the feedback, Mary Jean. I hope you have the opportunity to do a little surfing on Substack. Many of the creators I've come across here have similar messages. There's a lot of people trying to do a lot of good in this corner of the social media world. Check out my recommendations list for some good ones I've found. 🙏💛
Jeff - thank you for bringing the concept of “our best selves” forward! In the din and darkness of negativity, anger and hate, it’s sometimes hard to dig down and locate the compassion, concern and caring for others that will lead us back to the light.
With your help (and ongoing messages) I trust we will find our way forward.
Perfectly said, Jeff. I refuse to believe the majority of us feel this much hatred toward anybody. We are being lied to. We like each other, I know it. Thanks for the reminder.
One thing people need to do right now is get off of the social media platforms that have been hijacked - meaning Meta and X. Every minute on there yoh are being manipulated. And the hate is stirred by fear. Fear always sells. The antidote to fear is trust. By that i mean trust in your own good heart. Its there. You know what to do.
Thanks for reading, Paul. And for the feedback. Mine is a message that I hope will grow one reader at a time. If we
each can learn and grow to be the people we want to be, our impact can grow exponentially. I'll be posting a short meditation on that point soon.
It's been some 50 years or so since I read Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, but his daily 2 minutes of hate and Hate Week, prescient as they've been, are what you'll be up against. We have a man in the Oval Office who in effect preaches, and governs, via an "All You Need is Hate" message. Fifty-some years ago John Lennon wrote songs that fit into into your interest in getting something positive started, words that confront Hate. "All You Need is Love" and "The Word" fit right in. Strangely, the late 1960s, mostly younger people were much more receptive (and were, of course, pretty trippy on the way). I wish you all the best in getting this going, and I'll of course read you with great interest.