"The wise soul offers what can be heard, and speaks when there is hope that a soul might listen and be moved. Wisdom does not speak to hear the sound of its own voice, or from a place of ego, or from desire to control. It speaks to teach, and to improve, wherever such an opportunity arises.

In times when evil walks loud and proud on the earth, it is the wise course of action to lay low and say little. Why? Because evil does not listen. Evil is sure of itself, even more deeply so when it holds the power for which it hungers. Evil will not be moved, or changed, or turned. The words of the wise, or of a prophet, mean nothing to the fool, the bully, or the tyrant.

In such a place and time, wise words are both pointless and very potentially dangerous. Reading back deeply into historical commentaries, this seems to be the consensus. Not a particularly reassuring consensus, I’ll admit. But one worth hearing, particularly in our current cultural context.

If we’re in a moment in our life together where patience, grace, and justice are parsed as cowardice, weakness, and treason, how can we meaningfully speak truth to those who wish to hear only their own power?"