Marianne Williamson Instagram – In Martin Luther King Jr.’s words, “Any religion that professes to be concerned about the souls of men and is not concerned about the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them and the social conditions that cripple them is a spiritually moribund religion awaiting burial.” I believe that too. People would often say to me, “Why would you want to go into politics, Marianne? Don’t you know how toxic it is?” Of course I knew that politics is toxic. But having seen up close the ways in which bad public policy creates intense human suffering, I felt it was something good people couldn’t in good conscience avoid taking on. I also thought it might take someone speaking from the deepest moral commitment, to move people on the level required to create genuine political force. And I still believe that. I have seen how audiences respond to a political message grounded in the pursuit of justice and love. The American people are not the problem; the problem is a political system that’s like a fist holding down the will of the people lest it become too pesky. Audiences might be moved by talk of principle and compassion, and recognize the relevance of such things to politics and to their lives. But America’s political establishment is not about justice and love; it’s about power and greed. And it’s difficult to change Washington when the opponent owns it. I’ve tried, and what I have seen is disturbing. Towards the beginning of my campaign I received a call from the FBI asking me to come into their office in D.C. I was told I would be given the exact same briefing they gave every other candidate; then was informed of all the dirty tricks I should expect from foreign adversaries such as China, Russia or Iran. I did experience those dirty tricks, but they weren’t from there. They were from here.… (Please go to my substack at mariannewilliamson.substack.com to read my article “Love, Democracy and Gangster Politics” or read it in the link tree!)