MWA Newsletter, Observing The World, -  Sep 11, 2025

Mountains and Waters Alliance: updates, and a news rant 9/11/2025

Dear Friends,

Here are some more upcoming events plus a rant (and some sane thoughts) on the recent news.

Rant:

Today is the 24th anniversary of 9-11, the day when some people flew planes into the World Trade Center and a couple of other places, and when hating Muslims became a thing. (A few people preferred to blame it on Jews.)  All my grandchildren have grown up in the world created by that event and the violent, racist response of waging war on countries that didn’t even have anything to do with it.

About a week ago, a lone shooter killed children praying at a Catholic grade school – which the shooter had attended. That became an excuse to blame trans people for acts of violence – while the overwhelming majority of shooters are still straight white men.

A shooter wounded four people at Evergreen High School in Colorado. A shooter killed Charlie Kirk as he was making a speech – the slanders and the stories are going wild, with no basis in fact. Anyone who points out that he was a source of hate, racism, or misogyny is corrected for unkind speech – heard it twice on public radio – while the right wing openly encourages the same hate that Kirk preached.

There’s also the matter of Russia sending drones to Poland, denying it, and Poland calling for help from NATO allies – just to have a meeting, a very small step. Less drama, but this direction could lead to war.

Many more questions. One thing I wonder is how long people will keep thinking that orange man is the source of the problem rather than its symptom. When will we actually take a good look at our culture and ourselves?

Sane Responses

I want to refer to this beautiful essay, “Reflections on the Death of Charlie Kirk,” in which Qasim Rashid considered why have empathy for someone who had none. How to stay human. How to be connected to our values rather than pushed into knee-jerk retaliation.

In Dispatches from a Collapsing State: “Opportunity in Crisis,” Jared Yates Sexton points out some very uncomfortable things. Read at your own risk; it’s a bit like taking the red pill in The Matrix.

I don’t remember who pointed out that we need to think long term, and getting caught up in revenge doesn’t do that.

What are our values? How large is our embrace? Can we include the whole world in our hearts? And are we willing to act?

Events

Several new recordings are posted on the website, from a 10-minute radio interview to a 2-hour workshop.

Online events coming up (details on this page):

• September 14, Lake Superior Interfaith Community Church, Duluth MN
• September 21, Minnesota Zen Center, morning talk.

Other events (same page):

• This weekend, 9/12-14, in Duluth, MN.
• Next weekend, 9/20-21, Saturday in Red Wing at Fair Trade Books, Sunday at Minnesota Zen Center.

You can see my itinerary after that. I’ll post details for local events, and will send a blog post to update online events.

Please take heart. We are not alone, and the world is still with us. Please love and defend each other. 

Love,

Shodo