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Compassion is the antidote for political stress

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Debilyn Molineaux
By Debilyn MolineauxApr 06, 2022
Debilyn Molineaux

Debilyn Molineaux is the catalyst of JEDIfutures.org , a global initiative that helps people imagine and create just, equitable, dignified, and inclusive futures. She is best known for her pioneering work in civic innovation, having co-founded Bridge Alliance, Living Room Conversations, and National Week of Conversation. She formerly acted as co-publisher for The Fulcrum. Across these efforts, Debilyn has brought together unlikely allies to co-create solutions for democracy, governance, and social transformation.

Her work lives at the intersection of strategy, systems change, and spirit. A long-time practitioner of personal and collective growth, she brings a deep commitment to the inner dimensions of change that are often overlooked but essential to transformation. Debilyn speaks of the “interstitial spaces” — the connective tissue between people, institutions, and movements — where new possibilities take root.

She also hosts the podcast Terrified Nation, which helps audiences move from fear and despair into courage and action. Her voice is sought by impact investors, changemakers, and visionary leaders who want to align resources, imagination, and human growth toward a thriving future for all.

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Molineaux is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and president/CEO of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.

We are S T R E S S E D out by our lives today. The rapid pace of change has left us vulnerable to exploitation. We are witnessing trauma, experiencing loss and asked to pull ourselves together, somehow. Add to that a political and media climate which all too often reports on politics like a sportscaster calls games and the result is many people wanting to disconnect from everything. Our diversity of ideas and opinions should help us share a common reality. But by disconnecting from each other, we risk delusion.

There is a lot of delusion in our world today. Individually we share varying degrees of it. Some of it has been intentionally inflicted and some is the result of an unwillingness to dig beyond the headlines. The level of psychological perversion is unlike any I have ever seen. And I also wonder if an earlier version of our current story/reality/divisions was present in the 1930s?

In the 1930s, the “new technology” was radio and people were so ready to believe it was all real, that when a fictional story, "War of the Worlds," was broadcast, a large segment of the listeners believed it was real — we were being invaded by aliens. World War II was starting “over there” while in the States, our predecessors were arguing over our involvement, rejecting war refugees, fearing communism and being willfully blind to the atrocities of war. Fear causes our selfish concerns to the surface and few people can remain generous in this atmosphere.

Still, the worst thing for me/us to do is to give into the fear and join the fight for power. What is missing is our ability to imagine a new future where we might all live with our collective human dignity intact. I find the denigration that accompanies the psychological war, the physical war and the intentional trauma must be met with dignity, compassion and resolve. This is the type of community I wish to co-create with you. This is the fight for humanity, not power.

I spent the weekend with some of the brightest people working on political reforms. Our solutions seemed disconnected from each other and a little disconnected from reality. They revolved around a domination model of “if we can just win, then everything will be OK.” Somehow, we keep missing the human dignity component that allows us to weave our collective work together effectively and in partnership. In a win/lose paradigm, everyone loses.

The Ukrainians have shown us resolve in the face of bullying, cruelty and trauma. The Poles have demonstrated dignity and compassion toward their neighbors. Together, they are embodying the “never again” declaration that followed WWII.

Can we do any less for our nation, when facing a less physical, but just as real, information war? How might we start an embodiment of who we need to be for a better future?

I’m scared too. Yet I keep moving forward with a pulse on the future I hope we all want. And hope we want a better, more equitable future more than we want to dominate others because we are afraid. I’m tracking the collective stories of our time, which has dystopian futures dominating our mindsets.

We need to imagine a better future. One where partnership is the norm instead of domination.


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Who’s Responsible When AI Causes Harm?: Unpacking the Federal AI Liability Framework Debate

This nonpartisan policy brief, written by an ACE fellow, is republished by The Fulcrum as part of our partnership with the Alliance for Civic Engagement and our NextGen initiative — elevating student voices, strengthening civic education, and helping readers better understand democracy and public policy.

Key takeaways

  • The U.S. has no national AI liability law. Instead, a patchwork of state laws has emerged which has resulted in legal protections being dependent on where an individual resides.
  • It’s often unclear who is legally responsible when AI causes harm. This gap leaves many people with no clear path to seek help.
  • In March 2026, the White House and Congress introduced major proposals to establish a federal standard, but there is significant disagreement about whether that standard should prioritize protecting innovation or protecting people harmed by AI systems.

Background: A Patchwork of State Laws

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The central challenge is that China has mastered the entire innovation ecosystem, while the United States has allowed its own to fracture. Innovation is not just about a "eureka" moment in a laboratory; it is a relay race that begins with basic scientific research, moves through the training of specialized talent, and ends with the large-scale commercialization of "hard tech." China is currently winning every leg of that race.

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We are increasingly told that democracy has failed and that its time has passed. The evidence proffered is everywhere, we are told: Gridlock, captured institutions, performative elections, a public that senses, correctly, that its voice rarely translates into real power. Into this vacuum step dystopic movements like the Dark Enlightenment and harder strains of Right-wing populism, offering a stark diagnosis and an even starker cure: Abandon the illusion of popular rule and return to forms of authority that are decisive, hierarchical, and unapologetically exclusionary. They present themselves as bold, clear-eyed, rambunctious, alive, and willing to act where others hesitate. And all to save the world from itself.

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xAI Pushes Free Speech Theory Into New AI Lawsuits

Elon Musk's AI company, xAI, is on a legal road trip. After losing in California, it filed suit in Colorado asking a court to declare the state's artificial intelligence regulations unconstitutional. The argument is essentially the same one that already failed. Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.

For Connecticut residents, this is not just the next state in the alphabet that has passed AI legislation. Connecticut was one of the first states in the nation to adopt an AI law, requiring companies to disclose when AI is being used in critical decisions like employment, housing, credit, or healthcare. That law is already drawing scrutiny from the technology industry. What xAI tried to do in California and now in Colorado is a preview of what we may face in Connecticut.

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