Letters to the - No toxic politics during Lent, a talking filibuster, remote work, vote

"As we enter this Lenten season, we traditionally give up chocolate, social media or other small pleasures as acts of spiritual discipline. This year, I'm proposing something more radical. What if we fasted from the toxicity of national politics? I don't mean disengaging from civic life or abandoning our responsibilities as citizens. Rather, I mean stepping back from the outrage cycles, the tribal point-scoring and the dehumanizing rhetoric that has infected our public discourse. For these 40 days, what if we practiced something counter-cultural?"

"Instead of doomscrolling political news, we could serve at a food bank. Instead of arguing with strangers online, we could have coffee with a neighbor who votes differently. Instead of consuming hot takes about Washington, we could attend a local council meeting where our voices actually matter. Lent asks us to make space - to empty ourselves of what distracts us from what's sacred."

"This isn't about apathy. It's about rediscovering that our neighbors aren't enemies, that our towns need our energy more than cable news does and that the kingdom we're called to build looks less like a political victory and more like radical, inconvenient love. Forty days. One experiment in choosing connection over contempt. Can we try after we wipe the ashes off our foreheads?"

Lent traditionally involves giving up small pleasures as spiritual discipline; a more radical fast can target the toxicity of national politics. Stepping back means avoiding outrage cycles, tribal point-scoring and dehumanizing rhetoric while maintaining civic responsibilities. Replace doomscrolling with serving at a food bank, online arguments with in-person conversations with neighbors who disagree, and hot takes about Washington with attendance at local council meetings. Emptying distractions can reveal shared humanity and counteract political hatred. The practice aims not for apathy but for rediscovering neighbors as human, focusing energy on local needs and choosing connection and radical, inconvenient love for forty days.

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