We’ve had the opportunity to travel more than usual over the last year within the US. We’ve touched on 24 states and counting with multiple cities in most. Because the journeys have been work related, they’ve taken us into a vast cross section of food pantries, grocery stores, pharmacies, executive offices, churches, newsrooms, convention halls, film sets, local eateries and performance venues.  All to say this has gifted us conversations with a heretofore not experienced cross section of fellow citizens. This privilege has and is affording us a series of snap shots and observations. Some heartening, some shocking… all educational. I’ll start with the heartening.

THE UPLIFT

There is a vast army of selfless do good-ers helping the needy that is alive and well and about their business in America. Because my partner and I run a small bread company that gives all our profits to food scarcity we’ve been able to meet with…well, I’ve lost count now of how many food scarcity support efforts across 24 states. The people at these institutions have included drivers, cooks, executives, meal packers, fork lift drivers, volunteers, teachers. Each… and scout’s honour this is not an exaggeration… has been joyful, resilient, inclusive, hopeful. The only other community in which I have encountered this holistic spirit of selflessness, is with hospice. They show up often at predawn hours to chop, stir, bake, sort, usually under fluorescent lights and on concrete floors. Those we’ve met at any one facility collectively make anywhere between 500-3500k meals a day…and do so on a budget of $2-4 per meal, labour included. They often use their own vehicles and gas to get the food to where it needs to go. Although their duties do not require them to do so, these do good-ers will walk the pets if the owner can’t, bring in the mail, shovel the snow, hold a hand, listen to a story, become a life line to the outside world. Many in this army have themselves been on the bread line, or are one life event away from being there. Hearing some of their stories I now realize in fact, we all are.  It’s almost been like rediscovering Santa Claus. He exists and year round. In stark contrast to much of the wilful blindness and greed we see going on in the world today, the good, true and kind in humanity is real and robust and saving lives.

THE SHOCKING

In America, 90 billion tons of food goes into land fill…annually. 30% of the college population rely on food support systems in order to eat.  One in seven adult goes hungry. One in five child. 70% of children in K-12 are hungry.  Since February of 2025, financial support to food scarcity efforts have, in places, been as high as 95%. Gas prices have shot up since the downbeat of war America initiated with Iran. Amongst a myriad other things this has impacted the costs to food delivery systems by as much as 40%. 1/3 of the food grown in America does not make it to market.  Another fun fact…over 100k families in Indianapolis alone make too much to qualify for government support but not enough to feed their families. Here’s another…90% of students in the LAUSD system rely on the school lunch program to be fed at all. I do not have statistics on this but I’ve spoken to over 9 elementary school teachers who buy food for their students out of their personal funds. Many serving in the military today rely on food pantries in order to feed their families. With price hikes, many food support systems have not been able to afford eggs, fish or meat for their clients over the last 10 months.

As of last December there was a verified measles count of three thousand in the greater Houston area as well as six cases of polio. This is not in Haiti or Gaza. This is in America.

THE GLOBAL

I’m fortunate to have some very accomplished, very smart friends whose careers boast lists of achievements light years beyond my capacity. Basically, our friendships consist of them talking and me sitting with my mouth hanging open. Their careers range from astrophysics to cyber to international finance, intelligence, diplomacy, to the world of medicine, research and beyond.  On these travels, I’ve sought them out and, in some cases, have succeeded in getting together for whatever debrief they’ve been willing to offer.  Here are some bullet points of these chats: China has more than 170 ambassadors serving around the world. America now has less than 85.  There is, for instance, no US ambassador to Germany. During the last two years of the first Trump admin there was no US ambassador to Japan. This unprecedented castration of diplomatic arts has provided our rivals, China for one, with an open field.

Defunding of USAID, which began approximately in March 2025, has caused an estimated 722,000 deaths, children accounting for 500,000 of that total. Besides starvation, the primary causes have been HIV/AIDS, diarrhea, malaria, pneumonia, and tuberculosis. Projected numbers, should these funding sources not be restored, are estimated at 14 million to 23 million deaths by 2030. That was before we heard of the developing outbreak of Ebola in the Congo and Uganda. America currently experiences between 100-200 covid related mortalities per month. In my book that makes for a whole lot of angry mothers. Watch out. 

We didn’t need to go into war against Iran. As one high ranking/retired military officer explained, “Our nerds are better than their nerds.” We have the capacity, for instance, to hack and therefore block any nuclear attack Iran might think to instigate. There is a new regime in place in Iran…one far more conservative than the previous and one that no longer holds the Houthis at bay. Provisions to safeguard our US military on the ground in the middle east have not been put in place.

I suspect, dear reader, that all of those feel like gut punches to you as well.

THE HORIZON

On balance, the tiny collective I’m able to tap into have taken heart from the elections in Hungary. In broad strokes, they feel things are likely to get worse before better, however, there is a confidence that the elections will hold and the current ne’er do wells will be resoundingly ousted. I wish I had their confidence. I am hearing some fresh perspectives and framings that are serving as potential reset buttons and I take heart in them. Marjorie Taylor Green’s voice has now been amplified to a degree by Tucker Carlson’s. Didn’t see that coming. Jason Crow and Pete Buttigeg are young, credentialed, firm but not combative and are working hard to engage in fruitful conversation and proactive solutions. Then there is the brilliant James Talarico.

Will truth make a comeback? Will we strike a balance with living authentically and enjoying the fruits of AI? Will the center hold? Glancing back over our travels I can handily bear witness to a resounding echo of the good in our fellow citizens. Of kindness and compassion. Also of an incredible work ethic that is about far more that greed. Because I have witnessed this, felt it viscerally, I am hopeful the tide with turn…that rational thought will prevail. That’s a good starting place…good clay to work with.

I watched the NASA press conference just after the splash down of Artemis II…the first to speak was an Amit Kshatriya. NASA Associate Administrator. About 3/4 of the way through his comments, he said: The impediment to action is where we find the way to get to action. What stands in the way, becomes the way.  

If this is so, we must look our flaws square in the face and continue to labor to overcome both as individuals and in the collective. I don’t have anything else better to do. Do you?