Morning Brief 2022-06-10

Bottom of Hour 1
GUEST: Salena Zito
TOPIC: The first January 6th hearing & Salena's piece in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Rhetoric versus realism at the pump, and in the formula aisle.

Top of Hour 2
GUEST: Bill O'Reilly
TOPIC: Bill's top stories of the week

Top of Hour 3
GUEST: Michael Malice
TOPIC: Michael has purchased his first firearm!

Bottom of Hour 3
GUEST: Ryan Kelley
TOPIC: Kelley, a Republican seeking the Governorship in Michigan against Gretchen Whitmer, was arrested on a January 6th Capitol riot charge.

CB, RR, JB, SK, BM, NN

Domestic News...

Revealed: Ministry of Truth was formed to fight 'conspiracy theories' regarding COVID-19, 2020 election, domestic extremism
"The people that the Biden administration thinks are the real threat to America, it's not the drug cartels, it's not foreign threats. It's you, it's the American people," said Hawley.

Aware of Injuries Inside, Uvalde Police Waited to Confront Gunman
More than a dozen students remained alive for over an hour before officers entered their classrooms. The commander feared a risk to officers’ lives, new documents show.

Man attempting to 'forcibly enter' elementary school, patrol car fatally shot by police
A school resource officer went outside to check on the situation. The officer found the person and started engaging in a conversation with him, which led to a physical altercation were the suspect was attempting to take the officer's gun.

Michigan County Limits In-Person Responses To 911 Calls After Blowing Through Gas Budget
“We have exhausted what funds were budgeted for fuel with several months to go before the budget reset,” the sheriff’s office explained.

Sriracha Sauce Is Off The Menu Amid Chili Pepper Shortage
First, it was toilet paper. Then, it was baby formula. Now, it’s sriracha sauce.

Court rules Geico to pay $5.2 million to woman who caught STD in car
The woman contracted HPV from a man insured by Geico. She alleged he knew he had the virus but had unprotected sex with her in his car anyway. As a result, the woman notified Geico she would be seeking damages from the company.

"Baby Holly" found 41 years after parents murdered in Texas
An Oklahoma woman has been identified as “Baby Holly” — the infant who made headlines four decades ago when she vanished without a trace during her parents horrific 1981 murder in Texas.

Tech founder spends $93M to buy out three Miami homes from longtime owners
Phillip Ragon plans on demolishing the fairly modest beach houses, and replacing them with a large family home.

Life on tech billionaire’s Hawaiian island is so expensive only the super-rich could afford it
Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison's purchase of a Hawaiian island 10 years ago has made life there so expensive that residents who have been there for generations have been forced to leave.

2 workers fall into chocolate tank at Mars facility
The chocolate-coated victims weren’t hurt, but couldn’t get out of the tank on their own.

Politics...

Biden approval sinks to 22% among young adults, 24% among Hispanics: poll
Approval of President Biden’s job performance slipped to just 33% in a poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University — as even key Democratic voting blocs such as young people and racial minorities give the president a big thumbs-down.

DA refuses to release video from Paul Pelosi’s DUI arrest
"...the Napa County District Attorney’s Office has advised the release of records would jeopardize an ongoing investigation."

Democrat: "I believe I’m the only member of this House that is a victim of gun violence"
Who would expect her to remember Steve Scalise being shot up by a Bernie Bro when the news coverage of it only lasted for about 8 hours.

The Day Democracy Almost Died...

NYT Analysis: Trump Depicted as Would-Be Autocrat Seeking Power at All Costs
The House panel outlined a conspiracy to overturn a free and fair democratic election executed by Trump.

Trump accuses Jan. 6 committee of burying 'positive witnesses and statements'
"So the Unselect Committee of political HACKS refuses to play any of the many positive witnesses and statements, refuses to talk of the Election Fraud and Irregularities that took place on a massive scale, and decided to use a documentary maker from Fake News ABC to spin only negative footage."

It Took Only Minutes For Dem To Invoke KKK, Slavery During Jan 6 Hearing
“I am from a part of the country where people justified the actions of slavery, the Ku Klux Klan and lynching,” Thompson said. “I’m reminded of that dark history as I hear voices today try and justify the actions of the insurrectionists on January 6th, 2021.”

J6 Show Trial Committee Chair Called Clarence Thomas An ‘Uncle Tom,’ Mitch McConnell Remark ‘Racist’
The chairman of the January 6 committee previously called Clarence Thomas an “Uncle Tom,” claimed the justice disliked black people, and accused Mitch McConnell of making “racist” remarks.

Betsy DeVos says 25th Amendment discussed by Trump Cabinet after Capitol riot
DeVos said she explored the feasibility of using the 25th Amendment to oust Trump, but Pence quickly dashed any hopes of backing the initiative, so she tendered her resignation the following day out of dismay over the riot.

Democrats Don’t Just Fail To Apologize For Violence That Pushes Their Agenda, They Actively Incite It
If you disagree with Democrats, you’re an insurrectionist. But if you’re a Democrat actually inciting violence, you get away with it.

Ryan Kelley, a candidate for Michigan governor who was at the Capitol on Jan. 6, is arrested by the FBI
While it might sound like the FBI is just a political tool of the Democrat party, you must understand that Kelly was arrested on misdemeanor charges by the FBI, in part because he gestured “to the crowd” that it should continue moving.

Tucker Carlson unloads on Jan. 6 hearing
"This is the only hour on an American news channel that will not be carrying the propaganda lie. They are lying, and we are not going to help them do it. We hated seeing vandalism at the U.S. Capitol ... but we did not think it was an insurrection because it was not an insurrection."

Rikki: There will come a time when you don't recognize your own country...
ABC News uses 'he/him' on title banner under name of man during a news story.

Economy...

Average gas prices surpass $5 per gallon in US
It was only on March 5th that the average price surpassed $4/gallon for the first time since 2008.

CNBC CFO Survey: The recession will hit in the first half of 2023
Most of the CFOs agreed that recession would hit the first half of 2023. ALL of them agreed a recession was inevitable.

Consumers changing eating, shopping habits as inflation pushes up prices
“The stuff that we used to eat we’re not eating anymore. We’re eating more spaghetti and that type of stuff because it’s cheap — but it’s not healthy for you.” The family used to eat a lot of chicken, but it’s gotten so expensive that they're substituting less expensive, fattier hamburger.

Rents across U.S. rise above $2,000 a month for the first time ever
She keeps getting outbid when she makes offers to buy houses. And now with mortgage rates up sharply she says she's just been priced out completely. Meanwhile, continuing to rent is getting harder to afford, too. "My rent is increasing 22% this year," she says.

Sanders, Warren and other Dems unveil plan to expand Social Security by $2400/yr
Sanders' Social Security Expansion Act "would lift this cap and subject all income above $250,000 to the Social Security payroll tax," to pay for this new handout.

Famed economist Robert Shiller sees ‘good chance’ of recession
He placed the odds of a recession within the next couple of years at a “much higher than normal” 50%.

South of the Border...

Biden’s impotence on full display at Summit of the Americas
Biden has neither the vision nor the will to secure the cooperation needed from other nations to bring mass illegal migration under control. And the entire hemisphere will continue to suffer as a result.

WAR News... 

Russia says it is planning to hijack a German space telescope
The Russian Space Agency has claimed it will confiscate a German telescope placed on a Russian-built spacecraft, after being banned from involvement in a cooperative X-ray telescope project with Germany in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Russia and Ukraine are battling over underwater mines as the global food crisis worsens
“The real issue going forward is that Russia seems intent on using this as an instrument of leverage.”

Putin, offering a glimpse into his sense of his own grandeur, likened himself to Peter the Great
Putin said that when Peter founded the city of St. Petersburg on the captured land, “none of the countries of Europe recognized it as Russian.” That remark seemed to be a reference to today, when no Western country has recognized Moscow’s claim to Crimea.

Polish president says talking to Putin is like negotiating with Hitler
“Did anyone speak like this with Adolf Hitler during World War II? Did anyone say that Adolf Hitler must save face? That we should proceed in such a way that it is not humiliating for Adolf Hitler? I have not heard such voices”

Finland Plans To Fortify Its Border With Russia
The amended legislation will permit fencing and new roads to facilitate border patrolling amid concerns Russia could flood Finland with asylum seekers as a means of applying political pressure.

Turkey threatens US allies and partners as Ukraine war gives Erdogan leverage
A cross-border assault could upend the U.S. approach to suppressing IS and perhaps even drive the most important American partner in the country into an alliance with Syrian.

MONDUCKVID-2219...

WHO expert group says lab leak theory needs more study
During initial investigations into how the global pandemic seeped into circulation, the WHO assessed it was “extremely unlikely” COVID-19 originated as the result of a lab leak. Now, the organization said the theory warrants further study.

Covid death rate for White Americans now exceeds Black/Latino/Asian Americans
The death rate for white Americans has recently exceeded the rates for Black, Latino and Asian Americans.

Diseases suppressed during Covid are coming back in new and peculiar ways
"We've never seen a flu season in the U.S. extend into June. Covid has clearly had a very big impact on that. Now that people have unmasked, places are opening up, we're seeing viruses behave in very odd ways that they weren't before," he said.

Airborne transmission of monkeypox 'has not been reported,' CDC says
It may spread through "saliva or respiratory secretions" during face-to-face contact, but these secretions "drop out of the air quickly," and studies have found that this method of transmission seems uncommon.

Deadly bird flu found in ducks on the Mall in Washington
People should avoid handling live or dead birds or coming into contact with their droppings as the virus can be easily moved around on shoes, the Park Service said.

Commie Update...

The US Military Is Almost Completely Dependent On China For Key Mineral Used In Ammunition
The U.S. military depends almost completely on China for a mineral essential to the production of ammunition and other defense products, Defense News reported Wednesday.

Panic buying in Shanghai as mass testing notices spark fears of new lockdown
On Thursday, Shanghai residents rushed to supermarkets to stock up on food and other daily necessities, forming long lines at checkouts and leaving shelves empty.

Entertainment...

Trump Broke Luke Skywalker. Cringe J6 Tweet Is The Latest Proof
Mark Hamill is wearing classic ANTIFA-chic of a black shirt, black beanie, black pants, and holding a bowl of pretty flavorless looking popcorn, while asking who else will be watching the J6 shot trial.

Britney Spears’ Ex Livestreams Attempt To Crash Wedding, Gets Tackled By Security, Police Called
Jason Alexander took to Instagram on Thursday to livestream his attempt to crash Britney Spears’ wedding.

Jurassic World: Dominion is ‘the worst’ in the franchise, critics say
The final film in the new trilogy is the worst reviewed of all six films in the franchise, currently holding a 36% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Media...

WaPo Terminates Reporter Who Went On Weeklong Public Meltdown
Felicia Sonmez continuously targeted her colleagues in the newsroom and criticized the higher ups at her own newspaper beginning June 3 when political reporter Dave Weigel retweeted a joke she didn't like.

Middle East...

Biden overrules Trump policy on Palestinians
Biden’s move is viewed by some as rewarding the Palestinian leadership after a wave of terrorism during which two Palestinians wielding an ax and knife murdered three Israelis in the town of Elad in May.

Fatal blow to JCPOA if Iran doesn’t restore access within 3-4 weeks - IAEA
IAEA head Rafael Grossi said his agency would be unable to competently advise the US on Tehran's nuclear limits.

Environment...

Widespread power shortages are expected this summer, but Biden doesn't care
With all 50 states having now hit record gas prices this year, electricity is set to be the next casualty in a trail of Biden’s destructive policies. In 2021, Biden said that by 2020, “[We want to] make sure all of our electricity is zero-emissions.”

How a battery shortage is hampering the U.S. switch to wind, solar power
At least a dozen storage projects meant to support growing renewable energy supplies have been postponed, canceled or renegotiated as labor and transport bottlenecks, soaring minerals prices, and competition from the electric vehicle industry crimp supply.

LGBTQIA2S+...

Twitter locks out Libs of TikTok for exposing drag shows for kids
LoTT is posting public videos and event ads. She's not doxxing or personally harassing anyone. All she is doing is reposting videos of men in thongs gyrating before little kids, or teaching them how to do drag makeup, or having the kids themselves dance for crowds of sex-obsessed adults.

Education...

Disney exec who opposed Florida's parental rights bill OUSTED
A Disney chairman who voiced his opposition for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' anti-grooming bill has been ousted from the company.

Conservatives are all but shut out of university commencement ceremonies
Young America’s Foundation found that just three conservatives were invited to give commencement addresses at the top 100 schools as ranked by U.S. News and World Report: Glenn Youngkin, Tim Tebow and Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greece’s prime minister.

Technology...

Tech’s Decade of Stock-Market Dominance Ends, For Now
Big technology stocks are in the midst of their biggest rout in more than a decade. Some investors, haunted by the 2000 dot-com bust, are bracing for bigger losses ahead.

A.I. gurus are leaving Big Tech to work on buzzy new start-ups
Artificial intelligence gurus are quitting top jobs at companies like Google, Meta, OpenAI and DeepMind and joining a new breed of start-ups that want to take AI to the next level.

Elon Musk Raves About Diet Coke, Popcorn, And Movies
"I don’t even care if it lowers my life expectancy"

Science...

Israeli scientists solve mystery: How human brain processes, stores movement
Scientists have not known until now how this amazing organ in our heads remembers this wide range of motions and learns new ones or how it calculates how to move so we can take hold of a glass of water without dropping it or failing to grab it.

GM and Lockheed announce first products in commercial space market
Plan to produce an array of moon-roving vehicles for commercial space missions.

NASA Plans to Join U.F.O. Research Efforts
Dr. Zurbuchen said that examining U.F.O. reports could be “high-risk, high-impact kind of research,” possibly uncovering some entirely new scientific phenomenon — or possibly coming up with nothing new or interesting at all.

NYC Mayor Eric Adams says crystals give city ‘special energy’
Speaking to Politico in the spring, Adams said he discovered NYC’s iconic bedrock is comprised of unique gems and minerals and that “there’s a special energy that comes from here.”

Sports...

PGA Tour Suspends Players Who Jumped To Saudi-Backed LIV Tournament
A slew of members on the PGA Tour in recent weeks have announced they will bail from the top league in the world to join the new Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series.

John Elway cost himself $900 million with one Broncos decision
Elway, the former Broncos quarterback-turned-executive, was offered the chance to purchase a stake in the team in 1998. It would have earned him around $900 million with the sale today — if he hadn’t turned it down.

NAACP Demands Redskins’ Jack Del Rio Be Fired For Comments Comparing J6 Riots and BLM Riots
Del Rio issued an apology, but NAACP President Derrick Johnson called for him to quit or be fired. “It’s time for Jack Del Rio to resign or be terminated,” Johnson said in a statement meant to raise funds for the far left group.

Animals...

Movie star chimp found alive after owner faked death to avoid PETA seizure
An elderly chimpanzee who appeared in the film “Buddy” with actor Alan Cumming was found alive last week after his former owner faked his death to avoid having him confiscated by PETA, according to Rolling Stone.

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What our response to Israel reveals about us

JOSEPH PREZIOSO / Contributor | Getty Images

I have been honored to receive the Defender of Israel Award from Prime Minister Netanyahu.

The Jerusalem Post recently named me one of the strongest Christian voices in support of Israel.

And yet, my support is not blind loyalty. It’s not a rubber stamp for any government or policy. I support Israel because I believe it is my duty — first as a Christian, but even if I weren’t a believer, I would still support her as a man of reason, morality, and common sense.

Because faith isn’t required to understand this: Israel’s existence is not just about one nation’s survival — it is about the survival of Western civilization itself.

It is a lone beacon of shared values in the Middle East. It is a bulwark standing against radical Islam — the same evil that seeks to dismantle our own nation from within.

And my support is not rooted in politics. It is rooted in something simpler and older than politics: a people’s moral and historical right to their homeland, and their right to live in peace.

Israel has that right — and the right to defend herself against those who openly, repeatedly vow her destruction.

Let’s make it personal: if someone told me again and again that they wanted to kill me and my entire family — and then acted on that threat — would I not defend myself? Wouldn’t you? If Hamas were Canada, and we were Israel, and they did to us what Hamas has done to them, there wouldn’t be a single building left standing north of our border. That’s not a question of morality.

That’s just the truth. All people — every people — have a God-given right to protect themselves. And Israel is doing exactly that.

My support for Israel’s right to finish the fight against Hamas comes after eighty years of rejected peace offers and failed two-state solutions. Hamas has never hidden its mission — the eradication of Israel. That’s not a political disagreement.

That’s not a land dispute. That is an annihilationist ideology. And while I do not believe this is America’s war to fight, I do believe — with every fiber of my being — that it is Israel’s right, and moral duty, to defend her people.

Criticism of military tactics is fair. That’s not antisemitism. But denying Israel’s right to exist, or excusing — even celebrating — the barbarity of Hamas? That’s something far darker.

We saw it on October 7th — the face of evil itself. Women and children slaughtered. Babies burned alive. Innocent people raped and dragged through the streets. And now, to see our own fellow citizens march in defense of that evil… that is nothing short of a moral collapse.

If the chants in our streets were, “Hamas, return the hostages — Israel, stop the bombing,” we could have a conversation.

But that’s not what we hear.

What we hear is open sympathy for genocidal hatred. And that is a chasm — not just from decency, but from humanity itself. And here lies the danger: that same hatred is taking root here — in Dearborn, in London, in Paris — not as horror, but as heroism. If we are not vigilant, the enemy Israel faces today will be the enemy the free world faces tomorrow.

This isn’t about politics. It’s about truth. It’s about the courage to call evil by its name and to say “Never again” — and mean it.

And you don’t have to open a Bible to understand this. But if you do — if you are a believer — then this issue cuts even deeper. Because the question becomes: what did God promise, and does He keep His word?

He told Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you.” He promised to make Abraham the father of many nations and to give him “the whole land of Canaan.” And though Abraham had other sons, God reaffirmed that promise through Isaac. And then again through Isaac’s son, Jacob — Israel — saying: “The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I give to you and to your descendants after you.”

That’s an everlasting promise.

And from those descendants came a child — born in Bethlehem — who claimed to be the Savior of the world. Jesus never rejected His title as “son of David,” the great King of Israel.

He said plainly that He came “for the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” And when He returns, Scripture says He will return as “the Lion of the tribe of Judah.” And where do you think He will go? Back to His homeland — Israel.

Tamir Kalifa / Stringer | Getty Images

And what will He find when He gets there? His brothers — or his brothers’ enemies? Will the roads where He once walked be preserved? Or will they lie in rubble, as Gaza does today? If what He finds looks like the aftermath of October 7th, then tell me — what will be my defense as a Christian?

Some Christians argue that God’s promises to Israel have been transferred exclusively to the Church. I don’t believe that. But even if you do, then ask yourself this: if we’ve inherited the promises, do we not also inherit the land? Can we claim the birthright and then, like Esau, treat it as worthless when the world tries to steal it?

So, when terrorists come to slaughter Israelis simply for living in the land promised to Abraham, will we stand by? Or will we step forward — into the line of fire — and say,

“Take me instead”?

Because this is not just about Israel’s right to exist.

It’s about whether we still know the difference between good and evil.

It’s about whether we still have the courage to stand where God stands.

And if we cannot — if we will not — then maybe the question isn’t whether Israel will survive. Maybe the question is whether we will.

America’s moral erosion: How we were conditioned to accept the unthinkable

MATHIEU LEWIS-ROLLAND / Contributor | Getty Images

Every time we look away from lawlessness, we tell the next mob it can go a little further.

Chicago, Portland, and other American cities are showing us what happens when the rule of law breaks down. These cities have become openly lawless — and that’s not hyperbole.

When a governor declares she doesn’t believe federal agents about a credible threat to their lives, when Chicago orders its police not to assist federal officers, and when cartels print wanted posters offering bounties for the deaths of U.S. immigration agents, you’re looking at a country flirting with anarchy.

Two dangers face us now: the intimidation of federal officers and the normalization of soldiers as street police. Accept either, and we lose the republic.

This isn’t a matter of partisan politics. The struggle we’re watching now is not between Democrats and Republicans. It’s between good and evil, right and wrong, self‑government and chaos.

Moral erosion

For generations, Americans have inherited a republic based on law, liberty, and moral responsibility. That legacy is now under assault by extremists who openly seek to collapse the system and replace it with something darker.

Antifa, well‑financed by the left, isn’t an isolated fringe any more than Occupy Wall Street was. As with Occupy, big money and global interests are quietly aligned with “anti‑establishment” radicals. The goal is disruption, not reform.

And they’ve learned how to condition us. Twenty‑five years ago, few Americans would have supported drag shows in elementary schools, biological males in women’s sports, forced vaccinations, or government partnerships with mega‑corporations to decide which businesses live or die. Few would have tolerated cartels threatening federal agents or tolerated mobs doxxing political opponents. Yet today, many shrug — or cheer.

How did we get here? What evidence convinced so many people to reverse themselves on fundamental questions of morality, liberty, and law? Those long laboring to disrupt our republic have sought to condition people to believe that the ends justify the means.

Promoting “tolerance” justifies women losing to biological men in sports. “Compassion” justifies harboring illegal immigrants, even violent criminals. Whatever deluded ideals Antifa espouses is supposed to somehow justify targeting federal agents and overturning the rule of law. Our culture has been conditioned for this moment.

The buck stops with us

That’s why the debate over using troops to restore order in American cities matters so much. I’ve never supported soldiers executing civilian law, and I still don’t. But we need to speak honestly about what the Constitution allows and why. The Posse Comitatus Act sharply limits the use of the military for domestic policing. The Insurrection Act, however, exists for rare emergencies — when federal law truly can’t be enforced by ordinary means and when mobs, cartels, or coordinated violence block the courts.

Even then, the Constitution demands limits: a public proclamation ordering offenders to disperse, transparency about the mission, a narrow scope, temporary duration, and judicial oversight.

Soldiers fight wars. Cops enforce laws. We blur that line at our peril.

But we also cannot allow intimidation of federal officers or tolerate local officials who openly obstruct federal enforcement. Both extremes — lawlessness on one side and militarization on the other — endanger the republic.

The only way out is the Constitution itself. Protect civil liberty. Enforce the rule of law. Demand transparency. Reject the temptation to justify any tactic because “our side” is winning. We’ve already seen how fear after 9/11 led to the Patriot Act and years of surveillance.

KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / Contributor | Getty Images

Two dangers face us now: the intimidation of federal officers and the normalization of soldiers as street police. Accept either, and we lose the republic. The left cannot be allowed to shut down enforcement, and the right cannot be allowed to abandon constitutional restraint.

The real threat to the republic isn’t just the mobs or the cartels. It’s us — citizens who stop caring about truth and constitutional limits. Anything can be justified when fear takes over. Everything collapses when enough people decide “the ends justify the means.”

We must choose differently. Uphold the rule of law. Guard civil liberties. And remember that the only way to preserve a government of, by, and for the people is to act like the people still want it.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

In the quiet aftermath of a profound loss, the Christian community mourns the unexpected passing of Dr. Voddie Baucham, a towering figure in evangelical circles. Known for his defense of biblical truth, Baucham, a pastor, author, and theologian, left a legacy on family, faith, and opposing "woke" ideologies in the church. His book Fault Lines challenged believers to prioritize Scripture over cultural trends. Glenn had Voddie on the show several times, where they discussed progressive influences in Christianity, debunked myths of “Christian nationalism,” and urged hope amid hostility.

The shock of Baucham's death has deeply affected his family. Grieving, they remain hopeful in Christ, with his wife, Bridget, now facing the task of resettling in the US without him. Their planned move from Lusaka, Zambia, was disrupted when their home sale fell through last December, resulting in temporary Airbnb accommodations, but they have since secured a new home in Cape Coral that requires renovations. To ensure Voddie's family is taken care of, a fundraiser is being held to raise $2 million, which will be invested for ongoing support, allowing Bridget to focus on her family.

We invite readers to contribute prayerfully. If you feel called to support the Bauchams in this time of need, you can click here to donate.

We grieve and pray with hope for the Bauchams.

May Voddie's example inspire us.

Loneliness isn’t just being alone — it’s feeling unseen, unheard, and unimportant, even amid crowds and constant digital chatter.

Loneliness has become an epidemic in America. Millions of people, even when surrounded by others, feel invisible. In tragic irony, we live in an age of unparalleled connectivity, yet too many sit in silence, unseen and unheard.

I’ve been experiencing this firsthand. My children have grown up and moved out. The house that once overflowed with life now echoes with quiet. Moments that once held laughter now hold silence. And in that silence, the mind can play cruel games. It whispers, “You’re forgotten. Your story doesn’t matter.”

We are unique in our gifts, but not in our humanity. Recognizing this shared struggle is how we overcome loneliness.

It’s a lie.

I’ve seen it in others. I remember sitting at Rockefeller Center one winter, watching a woman lace up her ice skates. Her clothing was worn, her bag battered. Yet on the ice, she transformed — elegant, alive, radiant.

Minutes later, she returned to her shoes, merged into the crowd, unnoticed. I’ve thought of her often. She was not alone in her experience. Millions of Americans live unseen, performing acts of quiet heroism every day.

Shared pain makes us human

Loneliness convinces us to retreat, to stay silent, to stop reaching out to others. But connection is essential. Even small gestures — a word of encouragement, a listening ear, a shared meal — are radical acts against isolation.

I’ve learned this personally. Years ago, a caller called me “Mr. Perfect.” I could have deflected, but I chose honesty. I spoke of my alcoholism, my failed marriage, my brokenness. I expected judgment. Instead, I found resonance. People whispered back, “I’m going through the same thing. Thank you for saying it.”

Our pain is universal. Everyone struggles with self-doubt and fear. Everyone feels, at times, like a fraud. We are unique in our gifts, but not in our humanity. Recognizing this shared struggle is how we overcome loneliness.

We were made for connection. We were built for community — for conversation, for touch, for shared purpose. Every time we reach out, every act of courage and compassion punches a hole in the wall of isolation.

You’re not alone

If you’re feeling alone, know this: You are not invisible. You are seen. You matter. And if you’re not struggling, someone you know is. It’s your responsibility to reach out.

Loneliness is not proof of brokenness. It is proof of humanity. It is a call to engage, to bear witness, to connect. The world is different because of the people who choose to act. It is brighter when we refuse to be isolated.

We cannot let silence win. We cannot allow loneliness to dictate our lives. Speak. Reach out. Connect. Share your gifts. By doing so, we remind one another: We are all alike, and yet each of us matters profoundly.

In this moment, in this country, in this world, what we do matters. Loneliness is real, but so is hope. And hope begins with connection.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.