Every generation’s test of truth and justice

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, June 2, 2026

Every modern generation faces the test of truth and justice — how we treat one another when fear is stoked and greed is exalted. History shows that the struggle between domination and decency is woven through our national story, and that each era reveals its own betrayals of the common good in service of private power and riches — and its own efforts toward renewal. In every generation the struggle continues, and now it is our turn to bring forth something new and healthy from the ashes of broken promises.

As during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the conflicts of the past 40 years, there were in our country — and still are — enormous political and economic powers of overwhelming strength and malignancy. Such powers assert repeatedly and vehemently that they represent truth and justice and promote and protect the welfare of all citizens. The internment of Japanese Americans put the lie to such assertions, and such camps have been a feature of American life (such as reservations and slave plantations) from the beginning and continue to be so, whether as private prisons or ICE detention facilities.

Every American generation gets the unwelcome opportunity to see for itself just how rarely truth and justice are actually distributed and meted out among us. There are whole libraries of books and special reports and eyewitness accounts exhaustively documenting just how often and how profoundly our government has failed us — and how blithely it then exonerates itself, again and again.

The vital importance of community and reciprocity is at the heart of where any viable future begins to be created. Truth and justice have to begin with us. We have to again honor the inherent dignity of others and each of us strive to personify honesty, integrity and force of character. I believe that a fundamental and enduring sense of decency, respect, and reverence has to be rekindled in our hearts, in our words, and in our actions.

The powers-that-be that control our government, our laws, our money, and our resources have created a system that rewards greed, deceit, double-dealing — and betrayal. I don’t see any way of starting at the top of what has proven to be a completely rotten tree in order to prune away the dead wood and blackened leaves. To my mind and heart, a vigorous new seed must be planted, and the young seedling faithfully protected, mulched, and watered — and done so across generations for the next 200 years.

Our country is failing our young like never before. Mass media entices them with empty images of success and false ladders of ascent that were never meant to hold. Our current “leaders” have no vision beyond their own power and wealth while enslaving the country with ever-greater debt. They have betrayed the People, the Constitution, and their oaths to serve — and have sold our collective future to thieving corporations, keeping, of course, the proceeds for themselves.

As an island community, we have to validate our young and their factual understanding of the world they are inheriting. They are lied to constantly through the media that bombards them through TV, radio, print, computers, and — especially — their phones. The key will be for them to realize that they have within themselves innate powers and abilities far beyond what the digital world tries to sell them. Such abilities and powers are made tangible not with money, status, or fame, but with true and earnest intentions, generosity of spirit, and unstinting dedication to the common welfare.

We elders should help disabuse them of the notion that self-promotion and competitiveness are the be-alls and end-alls of life. Ruthless competition poisons all benevolent relations and results in a minuscule winner’s circle surrounded by a vast sea of “losers.” The races our society concocts and conducts twist us all into ever-tightening spirals leading straight to nowhere. Only mutual respect, communal cooperation, and reverence for fair play can create a livable and sustainable future. And it all has to start with ourselves.

I believe we must encourage our young people — by example — to cultivate their organic and innate powers and help them create a new vision of the future for themselves. There are endless examples from history of sovereign rebirth among peoples and nations. There are many examples in the world around us today. And there’s no place quite like this island of ours to begin to constitute a unique sovereignty of our own that will be a shining example to the world.

Ike Harmon is a longtime island resident and musician, as well as a board member of the Vashon-Maury Community Council.