“I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!” is the immortal refrain yelled by anchorman Howard Beale in the 1976 film Network. Please take four minutes to watch this video before continuing to read.

When Tectonic societal forces clash, when revolutions and civil wars break out – when it finally gets so bad we just can’t take it anymore – we must turn around, look at ourselves, and ask why and how did we get to this point?

How did America, the land of law and order, become so lawless? How could the richest country in the world let so many of its citizens live unhoused? How could America, the land of compassion and philanthropy, let its mentally ill and drug addicts live and die on its streets? Why are we not dealing with the fact that 70,000 Americans annually die from the use of fentanyl? Why can’t we defeat inflation and stop the brutal war in Ukraine? Why does Islam treat its women like chattel?

There are three ways to exist in the world in which we live and will eventually die.  

— Let the brutality of life crush our spirit, forcing us to stop seeing, hearing, and feeling, thereby numbing our senses through consumption of food, drugs, porn, and alcohol. The fact is, many die by the age of 28, though they may not be buried till they reach 75.

—  Go through life being sensitive and aware enough to see and feel life’s brutalities, feeling helpless and acting hopeless, letting off steam through anger, while creating more heat than light.

— Recognize, as the Stoics believed, that the best way to live in the unfair and chaotic world we are born into is to face it head-on, lean into it, and trust that “the obstacle is the way,” all the while remaining resolute as we address hardships, preferring to die trying over living life passively like zombies.

City Club is a community of passionate and caring members who would rather try and fail than “go along to get along.” Alone we may feel powerless, but together we have the power to make a dent in the universe, however small.

Member Douglas Gardener has taken on the cause of Ukraine to provide post-war physical and mental health. Member Parker Johnson has taken the lead on addressing the root cause of homelessness, having become an expert in the field. Member Brian Pinkowaski is working on police reform and alternatives to college careers for our youth. Members Todd Minnis and Matt Harder are striving to turn our City Club community into an Idea Lab. City Club itself is striving to redefine all manners of how we live, including when, where, and how we eat and work in the post-pandemic world.

As Howard Beale said, stand up, and get mad, but instead of getting angry, become energized. To walk the talk, contact Doug, Parker, Todd, or Matt and offer to help. Just get involved, whether that means volunteering time or donating money e.g. instead of getting mad at Putin, perhaps donate $100 to Ukraine.

— Sina.