The myth has a tremendous impact on our ability to mount a serious offensive against the anti-democratic, unconstitutional and inhumane state we find ourselves in.

A convicted felon is president of a deliberately divided country. He survived two impeachments, gave leadership to an insurrection and thumbed his nose at multiple criminal indictments and convictions. Still. He is not invincible.

My view about taxes and money sharpened after watching the docuseries, “While the Rest of Us Die: Secrets of America’s Shadow Government.”  You probably already knew about some of these truths that were revealed in the series. From time to time, a number of the government’s despicable plans over the last 100 years have been exposed and declassified. The power of this documentary is how it chronicles the way that the American public (and the world) has been duped into buying into the doomsday theories and boogie man fears. Every thing and every body was, is and will be labeled a threat to national security. This successful tactic justifies the exponential growth of the U.S. military budget.

Trillions of dollars have been funneled into the military-industrial complex so that the U.S. maintains its global economic and military dominance. This explains why human needs have been totally neglected, why the  national infrastructure is in shambles and why the federal government has turned its back on relief from natural disasters.

The first thing we have power over is our dollars. Money can be a mover of people and ideas. We must pay attention to the dollars that we control because they really do influence the game of politics. Where and how we spend our money is a key step in flexing our collective muscle. The other aspect of the money game is being hawkish about how the government spends our tax dollars. We have a right and a duty to say how our hard-earned tax dollars are spent. It’s irresponsible on our part to throw money into a big pot, then turn our backs on it. We must hold our government accountable for its allocation.

The second source of our power is the vote and the civic engagement that goes with it. Voters must be informed about candidates and issues so that we are the advocates of our own self-interests. American voters are typically lazy or naïve about candidates and the political process, believing our work is done at the ballot box. The rest is supposed to take care of itself — candidates should know what to do and why. We see how that has worked for us.

Lastly, Dr. Martin Luther King reminded us that silence is betrayal. Silence about our own survival with a wanna-be dictator at the helm could be disastrous. When we don’t speak up, others interpret that as compliance or weakness. Our voice amplifies our aspirations, our concerns and our suggestions. This can take form in a number of ways from participating in protests to writing letters to our elected officials to mobilizing on social media. We have to make time to attend ward meetings and community forums to share our opinions and see how to get involved with others seeking positive change.

A convicted felon and his wealthy cronies are in charge of this country’s affairs — our affairs. Through Project 2025, they’ve told us their devilish plans. Now we have to show these thugs our power. We must be intentional about how we organize to use our mighty power. Harnessing our money, our voice and our time should have consequences for those seeking to divide the majority for the sole purpose of exploitation and control.