Hey Rev, 

Jordan Neely never harmed no one, and the man who choked him to death in the subway car walked free. The health-insurance CEO who got popped in Midtown made tons of money off of denying medical care to sick folks, and his death is treated like this big tragedy. Do you think we need to start getting more violent, since it feels like people in power don’t listen to us when we peacefully protest?

— Steve

Dear Steve,

No, the violence only leads to more violence. Now is the time to turn to original visions. Steve, the “people in power” want us to believe the only way for us to improve our lives is through their permission. I favor separating from the hard-right guys. Claim our own culture. That may sound like a dream, but dreams are the spark for new action. 

Black Lives Matter was the movement that showed us how the progress of African Americans in the United States has come, from founding independent Black-only networks to creating new culture: Music, clothing, food, computer programs and farming, just to name a few. 

In our “Church of Stop Shopping” community, we will continue our protests against fossil banks. On the other hand, we owe the federal government and our Trump-loving mayor absolutely nothing. All those months of sheltering West African asylum seekers in our Earthchxrch space — we got not a dime from the City. But volunteers and donations from all over kept the good thing alive. 

We keep us safe!!!

— Reverend Billy

• • •

Dear Billy,

Winter is always hard for me. This year feels especially bleak with the election and everything going on in the world. Do you have any encouraging words you can share?

— Marcia

Dear Marcia,

Look, the days of tying our emotions to people who “own the libs” as their avocation… we got to just walk away from all that. 

Practice creating your day as if it has an architectural life, with walls and windows, foundation and a roof. Protection from the bad weather of Trumpism. Inhabit this place and fill it with your uniqueness; fill your “house” with your own memories, your journals and sketches and poems and love letters. Walk into your protected private place and strengthen your relationship with yourself, and soon you’ll find a deepening of your friendships and even a deepening of contacts with strangers. (A favorite New York thing is that we can have completely revealing conversations with strangers. We can change our lives in an instant.) 

Go on fasts from the little screen. Run in the park until the laugh-track of corporate humor fades. Stop and let the things around you brighten, and the visuals will sharpen — damn! Look at that! You find you can make your own rhythm. You won’t be afraid to stop in mid-step and stare at an old detail on a building or into someone’s eyes, or up into the top branches of a tree. 

We are stalked by corporate virtuality. That may be tougher to throw than Alex Jones and Steve Bannon. But then — the hard-right bullies and the corporations often work in tandem. The fascists are enabled by corporations that claim to be more liberal than they really are. 

Bottom line: The revolution is to take your own life seriously. Consumerism needs you to believe you are not self-sufficient. But your life can be as entertaining and expansive and downright fascinating. You are enough! You are plenty! You are too much!

— Rev

REVEREND BILLY TALEN IS THE PASTOR OF THE CHURCH OF STOP SHOPPING. HAVE A QUESTION FOR THE REVEREND? EMAIL REVBILLY@REVBILLY.COM AND UNBURDEN YOUR SOUL.