Author Archives: G.S. Griffin

The Descent

Posted on by under Politics

Many on the Right who have turned a blind eye to the spreading rot of Trumpian authoritarianism can surely be accused of a lack of imagination. Having long blamed support for this terrible man on a lack of empathy, historical knowledge, and critical thinking, I find this assertion sensible. How hard is it, truly, for conservatives to imagine someone else — a Democrat — doing and saying the things that Trump does and says, and therefore recognizing immediately the serious threats to democracy and the rule of law? Of course, some on the Right know that Trump has betrayed such noble ideas, and join him in gleefully sacrificing them on the altar of ideology and power. Role reversal hypotheticals have only a slim hope of reaching those who don’t know — no hope of reaching those who don’t care.

Imagine Obama saying “sometimes you need a dictator” and talking about cancelling elections. The conservative can surely now begin to sense a problem. Imagine a future Democratic president — we’ll call him President “Mud” Portland — declares media outlets should be charged with “treason” and their broadcast licenses revoked over coverage he does not like. His government charges journalists covering events with crimes and investigates others over negative reporting. His officials refuse to commit to following court orders, his attorneys argue the courts cannot stop his actions even if they are illegal. President Portland declares that the Democrats should “take over,” “nationalize” elections, as his officials raid local election offices. He schemes to ensure his presidential records will never reach the National Archives and thus the public, breaking the law. Suppose Hillary Clinton won in 2016 and put her own image on U.S. bills and coins. What if her administration illegally ignored legislation passed by Congress and violated the Constitution as a matter of course? And made a crazed attempt to scapegoat an innocent man over damage to a monument, a frightening act of tyranny? Meanwhile, protesters — violent and nonviolent alike — get 30-100 years in prison, to “send a message to anyone who shares a similar ideology.” Those exercising their free speech to urge soldiers to refuse illegal orders — urge them to follow the law, in other words — are charged with crimes. Would the Right have yawned if the Biden White House had shared altered images of Biden’s enemies? And built up and unleashed a federal law enforcement body that constantly violated court orders, ignored the Fourth Amendment, and illegally arrested people, employing much violence? And President Kamala Harris… She is more interested in protecting her wallet than a free and functioning republic. She maneuvers to ban the IRS from ever taking action over her past tax avoidance, appears to hand out pardons and favorable policies to individuals and countries that invest in her businesses, and sells early access to her social media posts to Wall Street investors, akin to insider trading. Trump and his ilk did all of these things, in the late 2025 to mid 2026 period alone. For earlier examples of their authoritarian assault, see America Is Simply Too Absurd for Democracy to Survive and Republicans Are Calling Themselves Nazis and You a Terrorist.

Putting the shoe on the other foot is a simple task for anyone older than two. But the descent consumes imagination, honesty, and integrity alongside democracy, law, and individual rights. Jesus can be stoned to death over his Golden Rule. Devotion to the cult leader, to extremist ideologies, is simply too strong.

Unfortunately, on the other side, for those with eyes to see, the descent becomes a burden that is too great to bear. Over a decade of daily horrors and absurdities takes its toll. And there is no end in sight. Personally, I find it increasingly difficult to stomach reading the news each day. Suddenly weeks, months, will have passed since opening Jacobin, The Nation, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The American Conservative, or Reason. Having ended my social media doomscrolling (if not doomposting) years ago, this leaves only a couple podcasts and late night shows keeping me abreast — more passive forms of consumption. This is a significant departure for someone who devoted his days to reading, writing, and thinking about political news. (And, probably not coincidentally, arrives alongside the increasing acceptance that the one or two things that could stop this madness will likely never occur, despite an occasional glimmer of hope.) Indeed, a careful tracking of the descent may no longer be possible (hence the awkward “late 2025 to mid 2026” observational period above). A troubling development, because this is how authoritarianism succeeds. It beats you into submission. It sickens you until you tune out. How disturbing it is to feel the descent working on you, pulling you into the maw.

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Dear Popoule

Posted on by under History

This letter was given to my παππούλη when he turned 100. George Sakoulas died in August 2026 at nearly 103.

Dear Popoule,

I’m 35 years old and feel immensely fortunate. How lucky I am to be this age and still have you in my life! Many of my peers no longer have their grandparents.

I wanted to mark your 100th birthday by reflecting on memories that have meant much to me over the years. Like doing yard work at your house as a boy, trying to get you to go inside, out of the heat. You would pay me extra on those hot days, explaining that the army called it “hazard pay.” I was proud to be the grandson old enough to help.

Going out to breakfast or lunch, just the two of us. On the mornings of yard work, I knew this was coming when you and Yia Yia started speaking quietly in Greek. 

Christmas at your house. This was a highlight of the entire year — family, laughter, gifts, feasting. Playing pool in your basement. Once or twice looking into the forbidden Popoule’s office, marveling in the dark at all the papers, books, and trinkets. Christmas at Yia Yia and Popoule’s was formative, unforgettable, for all of us.

You bringing donuts over for my siblings and me. You are a kind soul, a sweet man, generous.

Interviewing you for a school paper I wrote, a mini-biography, which I still have. “I was just a boy on my bicycle,” you began. Your frustration that you didn’t make it to the front line during the war stuck with me.

I remember many instances of your humor, often dry and biting and unexpected, accompanied by a delightful, infectious laugh. You once talked about the importance of developing good social skills. You said, “When I was a young man, I would go on a date. I wouldn’t say anything. And she wouldn’t say anything.” You held a long pause, as if demonstrating the awkward silence. “So.” Another memorable moment occurred when a few of us were at a hotel for a cousin’s graduation. We went into our separate rooms for an hour to rest. When we reconvened in the hall, you looked right at me and asked, “Well, did you get to take a little nappy-poo?” 

And of course, I remember our discussions about history. And languages. And politics. About the Greeks and the Depression and the war and root words. Your intellect and memory, even at a century old, impress me. Thank you for all the books — and for singing in Italian.

Thank you for these moments. Thank you for loving us and making our lives rich. Happy 100th — I love you.

Photo via Kyle Obermann

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A More Coherent Jesus

Posted on by under Religion

Having thoroughly explored the failures of Christian apologetics and why the gospel stories are likely fictional, one eventually comes to notice that some of the things Jesus reportedly said make slightly more sense if he was just a human preacher rather than a divine, all-knowing figure. He can be wrong about things and put forward ideas different from the Old Testament without creating an inconsistent God. More grounded motivations and explanations for his teachings make these teachings more coherent. Of course, one need not be a skeptic to begin to notice this. During my years as a Christian, a long time ago now, I was always struck by Matthew 27:46. It startles many Christians when Jesus cries out from the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” It sounds less like the cry of a deity willingly fulfilling his destiny and more like that of a mere mortal who is surprised by his circumstances, feeling betrayed in some way. I did not think this back then — I pushed it all from my mind — but did the Jesus of History believe his god would protect him from execution, or end his agony on the cross sooner, or make it less painful? Did his torturous crucifixion make him question his faith? As religious texts are mixes of real people, places, and events with total fictions, perhaps this is the man momentarily visible beneath the sea of myth. Do his words make more sense if we consider him an ordinary person rather than divine? What else is out there?

Jesus thought the world was about to end — wrongly, it turns out. No one is perfect; to err is human. Look at Matthew 16:27-28, when Jesus, after describing returning with his angels and rewarding all according to their deeds, says to the people with him, “Some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” Matthew 24:3-35 says at “the end of the age” the “stars will fall from the sky,” with “the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory,” sending forth “his angels with a loud trumpet call.” Jesus tells his followers that “this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.” (The same is promised in Mark 8:38-9:1 and 13:24-30, with the same context: they would live to witness “that tribulation” [NASB] where the stars fall. Same for Luke 21:25-36.) This very much sounds like the Last Judgement later predicted in Revelation, which would “soon take place” (1:1), with Jesus “coming with the clouds” (1:7), the “armies of heaven” (19:14) with him, but also his “reward,” to “give to each person according to what they have done” (22:12). The stars will of course fall (6:13). Yet the people Jesus spoke to are all dead! He did not return, the world did not end in their lifetimes. Similarly, in Matthew 10:16-23, Jesus gives his apostles instructions for their ministry, describing how they will be hated, arrested, flogged, and so on. “When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another,” Jesus says. “Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes” (NIV). Wrong again. Believers may tie themselves in knots trying to explain this — he wasn’t being literal, he was actually speaking to us, he wasn’t speaking of the End Times but rather the resurrection, and so on. (In each of these gospels, Jesus makes these promises just a couple chapters before he is resurrected, after he arrives in Jerusalem for his final Passover and eventual arrest and execution. Why insist a generation will live to see something that is about to happen in a couple days?) The simpler and most likely explanation is that Jesus the Man was like countless apocalyptic prophets, traveling around insisting “The End is coming,” that came before and after him throughout human history and across religions: wrong and full of inventions. That seems more likely than a god making an error, or suddenly deciding to delay his return for thousands of years and thus breaking his word. (The Gospel of John, written much later, when “this generation” had about died out, does not include these types of promises. This is likely not a coincidence. Mistakes must be edited out.)

Jesus was highly critical of the wealthy — after God bankrolled them? Jesus’ critique is fairly well known (often simply ignored by Christian conservatives), but the fact that it seems to counter God’s own messaging goes largely unnoticed. “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God,” Christ said. “But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort” (Luke 6:20-24). When a wealthy man asks how eternal life can be attained, Jesus replies: “Sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.” He then explains to his disciples that it is nearly impossible for the rich to be saved: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:20-26). Jesus warns against having too many possessions (Luke 12:15) and “the deceitfulness of wealth” (Mark 4:18-19), calls a poor woman more generous than the rich (Mark 12:41-44), says one cannot serve both God and money (Matthew 6:24), and makes a whip to chase sellers and money changers out of the holy temple (John 2:13-16). It is interesting to consider how this class animus might stem from his status as a humble carpenter. Perhaps Jesus said such things not because he was God, but because he was poor. Further, it is important to note that Jesus’ perspective was subversive. The disciples were “greatly astonished” to hear that the wealthy were unlikely to reach heaven, even asking “Who then can be saved?” (Matthew 19:25). If not the rich, who? As Christian sites will tell you, while the Old Testament does feature some warnings of the dangers of money and the wickedness of some who have it, God often showered wealth on the obedient — a bit odd for a deity that would later say woe to the rich, they probably won’t be saved. See Joshua 1:8, Proverbs 10:22, Abraham, Joseph, Job, David, Solomon, and so on. The biggest heroes of Jewish scriptures were often prosperous because they were faithful, creating a perspective, reportedly held dear by the Pharisees and others, which Jesus must work to undo. Even today, churches must battle the idea, now called the “prosperity gospel,” that wealthy people are wealthy because God has rewarded them for their righteousness. A lower- or working-class figure like Jesus might have been disgusted by the notion that the rich are more moral, pious people and therefore on the fast track to salvation. Jesus the Man would simply be working to change the ideology of his society and religion; Jesus the Messiah would, embarrassingly, be working to undo a way of thinking that God’s own actions (his own actions) had encouraged for centuries.

Jesus thought God’s Law needed serious improvement. Jesus states in Matthew 5:17 that he came to “fulfill” Jewish Law, not end it, which is believed to at least partly mean that he would give a full interpretation of God’s moral rules. Adultery, banned in the 10 Commandments, was not just the act, for instance. The thought itself was included under this sin: “anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28). One would certainly expect Jesus the Man, the teacher and philosopher, to have his own unique views on God’s Will, on how people must act, on the practices, rules, and ideas of the faith and society, as we have already seen. But if Jesus was God, it raises thorny questions. If it’s morally important for people to know that adultery is not just an act but a thought, why would God not make this explicit in the 10 Commandments? Why let the Jews commit thought crimes for centuries? Or was this not a sin until Jesus decreed it, raising humanity’s moral standard? But why, as a god who is all good, demand a lower standard of behavior in the past? It’s the same with divorce — Jesus also had stricter views on this practice. In Matthew 19:3-9, he opposes the Old Testament implication that men can divorce their wives for any reason: “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard… I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” (He leaves out this exception in Mark and Luke.) But Moses was speaking for God (made clear in Deuteronomy 6:1-2) when he seemingly outlined more permissive divorce laws (if a husband “dislikes her,” etc., Deuteronomy 24:1-4). God permitted men to divorce their wives. Why was it acceptable then but not later? Further, Jesus also famously replaced “eye for an eye” with “turn the other [cheek],” was more lax on Sabbath rules, and probably threw out Judaism’s strict dietary laws in Mark 7:18-19 (“Jesus declared all foods clean”), which is why Christians today can eat what they please. Clearly, Jesus has new instructions for how we are to live. Believers might insist God provided the faithful (including the rich!) with different rules for different historical contexts and societal needs, so Jesus asking more of us (or less of us, in the case of diets and the Sabbath) later on is no big deal. Jesus’ arrival, death, and resurrection changed everything, right? Accordingly, he changed his own Law. But it seems strange that a perfectly moral deity would be inconsistent over time concerning what constitutes a sin — early on, divorce is acceptable and eating a pig is not; later, these are reversed. And how we are to treat others obviously shifts massively: God’s demand for blood becomes love thy neighbor, break bread with and show mercy to sinners (Matthew 22:37-40, 9:10-13). It’s the Old vs. New Testament Problem. As I wrote elsewhere, “What should you make of a deity that instructs you to murder your homosexual friends on Monday, but to love them and treat them with kindness on Wednesday? All because of what happened on Tuesday?” Instead of a god staying silent for centuries on the full scope of a sin, or dramatically changing the rules of moral behavior, why not a more obvious explanation? Jesus was a mere mortal who personally disliked parts of the Law and did not think they could possibly represent God’s true wishes, some too strict and others too lenient, many barbaric and lacking mercy, and thus sought reform. A more humane, righteous Law. Perhaps he wanted to eat as he pleased, finding silly the idea that the wrong food would somehow offend the all-powerful creator of the universe.

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13 Songs to Survive the Trump Age

Posted on by under Politics

Previously, the playlists I have publicly shared — see Famous Bands That Sang About Kansas City, Begrudgingly Acknowledged Country Bangers, and Taylor Swift & Drake: 12 Bangers Each — were fun respites from the usual dark articles on politics, racism, religion, history, and so on. But having recently found some small solace in music from the horrors of Trumpian extremism and authoritarianism, I thought I would offer a political playlist in the hopes it might help others as well.

The collected songs are simply a few that have moved me in these times. (Countless potential pieces and artists are absent, from “We Shall Overcome” and “Mississippi Goddam” to Rage Against the Machine and Edwin Starr.) They are mostly expected songs from the twentieth century’s political folk tradition. Of all genres, nothing soothes the soul like folk — though sometimes it haunts it. I like the idea of in some small way drawing more attention to names like Guthrie, Seeger, Ochs, and, though perhaps less necessary, Dylan. (Happily, three of these artists were recently characterized in the agreeable film A Complete Unknown.) More importantly, the ages, people, and events of which they sing, which I am also pleased to direct more attention to — John Brown and Ludlow and Medgar Evers, the struggles of miners and abolitionists and blacks and peace activists — remind one that horrors, even those far worse than anything we face today, can be resisted and overcome. Horrors end. With, of course, proper ways of thinking and acting: empathetic, solidaristic, courageous, leftwing, revolutionary.

I hope these 13 songs inspire and lift your spirits, as they have mine. And stir tears, as they have in me.

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How to Be Happy

Posted on by under History

It wasn’t until my mid-thirties that I learned how to be happy. I think part of this was simply growing older, maturity bringing sweet respite from many of the things one stresses about as a younger person. In more ways than one, happiness is often about running out the clock. But the hard work of adopting new perspectives and ways of living played a significant role. Depression, use of anti-depressants, and musings of suicide and the three-word note I would have left are years behind me. This is not to say I am always happy. One motivation for writing this piece is to have somewhere to turn when I lose my way. But I now possess healing balms for life’s wounds that I wish I’d found long ago. Of course, some of the following is obvious or should have been or was superficially known, but only through serious thought and experience did I come to truly understand. Perhaps all this will prove useful to you, dear reader, when you face the slings and arrows — when a loved one is dead or dying, when your own health or life or youth is fading, when you despise your job, when you are struggling to find a job as your money depletes, when you’re overwhelmed as a parent, when you have no one to love and are lonely, when you are divorced or left, when you are regretful or embarrassed or don’t like what you see in the mirror. How hard it is to be a human being! I have in no way, thus far, experienced the worst life could offer; I write from a place of immense privilege and luck. But the older I get (I have now reached my late thirties), and the more hardships I face, the more I am convinced one can be content in all things, through reflection and philosophy. (And, of course, Bob Dylan.)

Be thankful for everything you’ve got. This is easier said than done, especially in truly dire circumstances. Agonizing chronic pain, disability, rape, abject poverty, homelessness, hunger, violence, prison… Such things cast a shadow over every point in this piece, and I don’t mean to discount them (though I will avoid repetition and simply trust the reader moving forward). Yet there is surely always something to be grateful for. Each individual will have her own unique tally. The sun on your face, the people that you know, the very fact you are alive and exist. From the more privileged (ableist?) vantage point, I am immensely grateful for my freedom, for a roof over my head, food to eat, the ability to walk and run and jump, to see and hear.

Make every day great. This is similar to the point above (many of these are highly alike, but just distinct enough, I find, to appreciate individually). Focus hard on making each day wonderful in some small way. Today I did some reading — that is a great day. Enjoy nature, see friends or family, watch a good film, exercise or play a sport, listen to music, do some writing. Find a way to make each day great, and boldly call it so, despite mental or physical pain. This mindset helped me a good deal.

Let go of wants and desires, relieve your suffering. How right the Buddhists are! You are angry, sad, ashamed, afraid, anxious, or dissatisfied because you desire something. Begin the difficult work of letting go — “That’s just a want, not a need. I do not need that to have a good life.” Say this to yourself every day. You may find it soon feels more and more true. Of all the items on this list, this one is surely the most challenging. I do believe that some desires can still be pursued (focusing only on what you can control; see below), but the more you let go the more they can be worked toward without painful emotion. If you crave something and don’t have it, you suffer. If something would simply be nice to have, you can be content without it but still take steps in a levelheaded way to add it to your life.

All things are temporary. Nothing lasts. More Buddhist wisdom. The temporary nature of all circumstances, states, life itself — embracing this is quite freeing indeed. Good things won’t last. Loved ones will move away or pass away. Such trials hurt less when I consider that this is the natural way of things. No need to fight it. I will treasure a good while it lasts, knowing it’s fleeting, and be grateful I had it for a time when it’s gone. Likewise, the bad things don’t last! The pain of losing loved ones will ease with time, your financial crisis is probably temporary, your embarrassment will pass — after months, years, or decades, awful events and eras will be a dim memory (death will take care of anything that persists). “Time heals all wounds” is a classic for a reason. Taking all this to heart helps you get through the dark days.

Every loss an opportunity. When the person you like does not like you, you lose your job, or your business goes under, look at it as a golden opportunity. Change your perspective. It’s the opportunity to find or build something even better. You may have to focus for a time on the negatives of the things you lost. Embrace reason over emotion. (I admit this one might even be taken to a controversial, disturbing place to rescue the spirit from unhappiness. The grief of a loved one’s death may be lessened by finding silver linings, not just the common, outward-facing “He’s no longer suffering, he’s at peace now” but also the shame-inducing, supposedly selfish “I no longer have to care for him each day, I am free as well.”)

You can’t change the past, only your perspective — which is almost as good. What if the disasters of your past could be seen as positives? As events that taught you valuable lessons? And made you a wiser, stronger, better person in some way?

Life is a river. You mostly can’t control where you’re going. Let go! Stoicism emphasizes that much of what happens to us is beyond our control, and that we must only focus on what we can control, which can bring much peace. (Helpfully, the philosophy stresses other perspective changes and premeditatio malorum, imagining potential hardships to be more mentally and emotionally prepared for them.) Indeed, the River of Life takes us to places we never thought we would go. To places of great joy and great sorrow, and some that are simply bizarre. On the River you can paddle and steer a little bit, and even get off entirely, hopefully leaving a note of more than three words. But it’s going to take you where it will. (Some think it’s God’s Plan, seeking comfort and happiness in the being who allows or sends the miseries.) When I find myself in times of trouble, I accept that this is simply where life brought me. I can then be more content — let it be.

Things couldn’t have happened any other way. This was fate. I wanted to wait to write this piece until finishing If Free Will Is False, Destiny Is True. I invite you to read it. There are serious reasons to doubt that you could have made different choices in life. You made this or that awful decision because that’s who you fundamentally were in that moment, shaped by all prior experiences. To have made a different choice, you would have had to have been someone else, a different you. Impossible! Understanding this helps you let go of your regrets over the past or lamentations over an unsatisfactory present — open your hand, let the wind carry them away.

Everything in its own time. Why must everything happen right now, or when it is common? One way to help ensure your pursuit of desires remains casual is to break free of timelines constructed by both yourself and society. You may have wanted to get married by 25. Seemingly everyone else is. You don’t have to wear that weight around your neck. Change your perspective. If you’re married at 50, that’s wonderful! Embrace patience as one of the ultimate virtues. Let things happen naturally. Nothing can be forced. Everything in its own time.

Take care of yourself. The working, logical mind can’t always do it alone. Exercise, enough sleep, healthy eating, proper hydration, therapy, medication, meditation, orgasm, sunlight, fresh air, balancing time alone and time with people… The body keeps the score. Caring for it can go a long way toward building a happy life.

In this effort, I do wish you the best.

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