Blog: Just Give Me A Sec

I’m going to be real with you all, I do not feel like writing today but I’m going to because it’s important that I push through & it’s important that I maintain this space as a refuge of honesty, vulnerability, & a reflection of myself. I’m not going to make this blog about any of the things I just told you, because I’ve done that in the past & I’d be retreading the same words in a different order. The reason, primarily, that I don’t feel like writing a blog today is because of the topics that I actually want to talk about. I want to talk about the “we told you so’s” of the US political landscape aren’t vindicating & are in fact just further disheartening. I was to talk about how those who are disengaging with everything happening are those who need to be paying attention the most, who vote in these cycles of hate & division. I want to talk about how even though so many of us are so exhausted by what’s happening, that it’s important for us not to look away. To not turn a blind eye to all of it but to also maintain our mental, physical, & spiritual health. I want to talk about how it’s okay to lean on your vices to get you through right now, that there’s no judgement there. But of all of those topics, of which might be reserved for later days, I’m not going to write on any of them today.

Part of that boils down to me taking care of my mental health. I could go on another tangent, another rant & type til my fingers bleed in the off chance that it gets someone to actually care about other people but I already am doing that on the daily. I am posting & reposting constantly in the hopes that someone finally gets it, that someone finally sees through the BS & decides to lean into supporting those we are all called to love, our neighbors, & does something about it. I just can’t today. I can’t because I am tired. Tonight I am tired. & it sucks, it really does, because all in all, at this current moment in time, my circumstance is pretty fine. I just know that is not the case for a lot of folks I claim as family or hold love for. Not that that should matter. Not that the fact that I have names to faces & shared experiences or memory should be the thing that prompts me to speak out in the face of evil & injustice. I have a platform that I have been blessed with. I have people show up here consistently & ingest the words I put virtually to paper & that is a blessing. So to some degree, I know I owe my voice & my platform to those in need in the times when voices are called upon to amplify suffering. I just can’t be that today, or I guess constantly on this site.

I’ve always said this blog is a mixed bag of things, I want that to remain true. I can’t constantly be waving the flag of justice in this format for a couple of reasons. The first is that while social/climate/political justice is definitely a part of who I am, it isn’t all that “Charlie Rogers” is as a brand, which, unfortunately, is what I am. I am an artist & a part of being an artist, especially commercially facing, is being a brand. I said last week that I’m more than willing to sacrifice that, but if that is all this blog becomes or is allowed to be, then I fear I will either end up yelling into an echo chamber once those who disagree with me have left, or my music brand/persona will veer entirely into the realm of political commentary & will send me spiraling off track.

I guess I don’t entirely know what I’m trying to say here. I think in a lot of ways what I’ve written thus far sounds like I don’t want to speak up any more & that couldn’t be farther from the truth. I just need a break this week & I’m sure a lot of you reading this could as well, otherwise we run the risk of driving this into the realm of disaster porn. Where we intake more & more of this horrific content & find ourselves endlessly searching for something else to be upset about. Not that the ever growing list is in any way in short supply of that. It wears you down, & that’s where I think I am right now. Worn down.

I sat here at my desk for an hour & a half staring at the title line of this blog input. I wrote in example titles of each of the topics that I listed in the opening paragraph but every time I did I felt the pang of that “here we go again” exhaustion creep up. The call of the void that leads to me sitting in a place of fury & resentment for the duration of the time that it takes for me to write these entries. Instead I opted for none of them & offered up an explanation that circumnavigates them instead of steering us into the maw of this depression inducing Charybdian cesspool. And maybe in doing so I’ve allowed some of you to be picked off or fall away so that we can continue on, but I guess that’s the price I’m paying here…Are these greek mythology metaphors doing it for you? That’s what the kids are after these days right? Loose allegory that evokes the Odyssey? (If all of that flew over your head you’ve got a bit of reading up to do before Chris Nolan comes swinging through next summer.)

So I guess in a lot of ways, instead of opting to screaming into the digital void, I’ve offered you all a bit of a nothing burger this week. A look into my splintered, ruptured psyche at the moment & all the vapid contradictions that come with it. But I think a lot of us are feeling this way. A lot of us want so desperately to share every single thing that comes across our laps in the hopes that it finally sparks something in the hearts & minds of those who are in favor of all of this chaos, or at the very least are complicit in it. I’m here to tell you that it’s okay to set the torch down for a minute, to collect your thoughts, to ease your soul, to unburden your hearts, to shift the focus of your mind, & allow the eyes & ears to fall upon softer happenings at the moment. This will be a marathon, not a sprint & it’s important that we pace ourselves so that we can make it to the finish line with some semblance of sanity.

I think this week will be a shorter posting. I’m not here to check out of the problems the world is facing, nor am I here to deflect my responsibility in upholding the systems & practices that led us here. I just know that this is far from over & while others take to the streets where they are shot, arrested, beaten, disappeared, it is important that those of us paying attention assist where we can & rest when we need so that when the battle shifts to our doorstep we are prepared to confront it.

As always, much love to you all,

-C

Blog: No More Kings

Today is June 14th, 2025, it’s about 3:30 PM Central Time, & I feel I’d be remiss if I didn’t use my platform & this blog to talk about it.

The significance of the day & its date, for those who find themselves out of the loop…somehow, is multilayered. Traditionally in here, in The US, it is flag day, the day in which the stars & stripes were introduced as the official flag of The United States of America by the 2nd Congress of the newly founded country back in 1777. It also, unfortunately, is Donald Trump’s birthday &, as such, also marks the publicly branded day of protest, No Kings Day.

Now, if my feelings towards the current administration weren’t abundantly clear, not just from blogs over the course of 2025, but also since 2016 & all over all of my social media pages, I loathe the man. I think he is the greasy, cheeto dust covered white head on the zit that is everything toxic, regressive, authoritarian, fascist, manipulative, destructive, & anti-anything good about this country. I understand him to be a symptom, not the condition, but he & his cronies; Elon Musk, JD Vance, Mike Johnson, Peter Thiel, Marjorie Taylor Green, Lauren Boebert, Kristi Noem, RFK Junior, Pete Hegseth, Karoline Leavitt, Matt Gates, etc, etc, etc, are the current perpetrators & greatest threat to US democracy by leagues. I just wanted to be clear where I stand with all of this before we move on to the meat & potatoes of this blog. Just incase there was any question where my loyalties lie. Right, back to No Kings Day.

I feel we are standing on the precipice of something, on the edge of a knife that either tilts this country further into the wanna be authoritarian grips of MAGA Republicans, or something that tears down these constrictive establishments & finally allows this country to become a more modernized civilian centered state whose government truly exists for the betterment of the people of these United States. Naturally I, & the majority of the world, hope it’s the latter.

So, No Kings. Why today? Well for starters, as aforementioned, today is DJT’s birthday. He decided, in his best attempt to emulate a dictator, to throw himself a glorious propaganda parade centered around the military that cost the US tax payers an estimated $45 Million dollars. What better way to stick a thorn in the man’s side than to organize an even bigger event protesting him & everything he & his fellow conspirators are doing in Washington? That started out as the plan anyway. Then came the ICE raids.

Two weeks ago Trump let his brownshirts, ICE, loose on the city of Los Angeles. They began rounding up & arresting immigrants (here legally or not), citizens who fit a certain threshold of melanin present in their natural skin tone, peaceful protestors, & later even a sitting congressman who dared to ask Kristi Noam a question about their policies during a press conference. This of course spurred protestors to spring into action. The conflict then escalated when Trump called in the National Guard, which was neither sanctioned, nor approved by California Governor, Gavin Newsome. Traditionally, & according the the constitution, the National Guard should only be called in by the head executor of the state in question, i.e. the governor. Trump & Newsome then became to dispute which resulted in Trump calling for the arrest of Newsome & calling in the Marines to be used in “controlling” what have continued to be entirely peaceful protests. The conflict boils on with an estimated cost to tax payers sitting around $134 million dollars as of four days ago. So now, in addition to the general protest of everything Trump & Mob have been doing to rip this country to shreds, there is also the added layer of ICE protests happening throughout the No Kings Day Protests.

Alright, let’s pause, take a breath. I know I just gave you a lot of information if you weren’t in the know, now you are. I want to redirect for a second because I don’t want you all to think I’m just here to report the news to you, I know that a lot of you are already getting it bombarded at you from all angles & this may be an escape outlet for you to come & hear the ramblings to an ADHD riddled millennial who does way too many things & also way too little. The reason I came on here today & chose this as the topic is because of a few things.

One, naturally it’s timely, as we are currently sitting smack dab in the middle of the day where protests are still going on & the parade in DC is gearing up to go here shortly. If you’re reading this after the fact, I don’t know how this day ends. I don’t know if the powder keg is lit or if things go swimmingly, I don’t have the gift of foresight, nor am I writing this with the benefit of hindsight.

Second, this is clearly a moment in this country’s hopefully continued story that history has its eye on. I didn’t want to look back on my time on this earth & feel that I didn’t choose a side & that I didn’t stand up for those who are being violently discriminated against & vilified. I guess that’s a bit selfish & carries a weight of self importance, but I know a lot of people out there listen to my songs, watch my videos, read my blogs, & I don’t want any of those who may fall under the banner of this administration’s persecution to think that I do not stand for them, that I do not feel deeply for all that is happening, that I did nothing to try & prevent these atrocities from happening or expanding. I am here for you, whatever you need, wholeheartedly.

As of two hours ago there have been over 1 million people in attendance of the No Kings protest across 2,100 cities around the globe. This number is expected to reach more than 5 million with over 100,000 in the flagship protest in Philadelphia alone. This number rivals the record held by the 2017 Women’s March as the largest protest in United States history.

This cannot be ignored. The people of this country are screaming out for the reigns of government to be employed, for all of these horrid human beings to be held accountable for their actions, & for the continued terrorizing of marginalized communities to be stopped. If The United States is to continue as a democracy then the checks & balances put in place by the constitution must be upheld. Lawmakers must gain a backbone, put their constituents before their own personal fears & interests, & enforce the rule of law within the walls of Washington DC immediately.

If you are an immigrant in this country I want you to know that I stand with you & support you. I want you to know how important you are to this country, its history, its culture, & its community. Your struggle, the attacks on your communities will not be ignored or be allowed to go unanswered for. You are the backbone of this society & America would not exist without you & the hopes & dreams you have for yourself & your families. I am so sorry for everything that is happening, I am so sorry that this feels like an uphill fight. You are not at fault for the shortcomings of this country, the people who foster hate in their hearts, the people who support people like Donald Trump are. For what makes America great is its diversity, the melting pot of all that came before, all that is here, & all that will come after. You are valid & welcome here by those of us who actually understand the American dream for what it is & can be. Not some distorted, fear mongered, scapegoated abomination that rips families apart, keeps people in poverty, segregates, amplies voices of division & derision, & picks on the little man. I am here for you endlessly. For the night is darkest just before the dawn.

As always, much love to you all,

Please be safe out there, be vigilant, & take care of each other,

-C