Tom Ellis
1 min readApr 19, 2024

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Thank you for your clear-headed assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of mass and disruptive public protest. As you suggested, such mass demonstrations have a very short horizon of efficacy, beyond which they become self-defeating by alienating the public and empowering right-wing demagogues to demonize them. The best way to overcome evil (that is, behavior based on greed, ignorance, hatred, and denial) is often not to fight it directly, but rather to make energetic progress in the good—by growing gardens, growing community, and growing awareness. That and letting go of attachment to outcomes, by just doing what we know is right, here and now—whether it is cultivating local self-reliance, speaking truth to power, or nonviolent noncooperation with evil. But whichever tactics we choose must be implemented mindfully, strategically, and relentlessly. This was the enlightened path of Satyagraha—of Gandhi, King, Mandela, and more recent Gaian bodhisattvas like Wangari Maathai of Kenya or Vandana Shiva of India.

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Tom Ellis
Tom Ellis

Written by Tom Ellis

I am a retired English professor now living in Oregon, and a life-long environmental activist, Buddhist, and holistic philosopher.

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