When the Government is Fire and ICE: A Buddhist Response to 2026

Robert Frost famously wrote that the world could end in two ways: in fire or in ice. In 2026, we are seeing both. We see the fire of greed burning up our norms, and the ice of hatred freezing out the vulnerable. In this video, we look at the current political moment through the lens of the Three Fires (Greed, Hatred, and Delusion). How do we stay informed without being incinerated by outrage? How do we bear witness without becoming intoxicated by propaganda? We'll see four specific Dharma practices to help us navigate this difficult era, moving from "Doomscrolling" to "Right Action." 🧡 If you find this material useful, check out my Patreon page and get fun benefits like exclusive videos, audio-only versions, and extensive show notes: https://www.patreon.com/dougsseculardharma 🧡 You can also make donations through: https://paypal.me/dougsdharma 📙 Check out my book, A Handbook of Early Buddhist Wisdom, with a Foreword by Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi: https://books2read.com/buddhisthandbook ☸️ Free mini-course at the Online Dharma Institute: onlinedharma.org. 🎙Check out my podcast with Jon Aaron, Diggin' the Dharma: https://digginthedharma.com/ ✅ Sutta referenced: The Fire Sermon (SN 35.28) -- https://suttacentral.net/sn35.28/en/sujato ✅ Podcast mentioned: Engaging in Compassion; a chat with Ben Connelly of the Minnesota Zen Center -- https://digginthedharma.com/episodes/ben-connnelly ✅ Poem mentioned: Robert Frost, "Fire and Ice" -- https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44263/fire-and-ice ✅ Other resource: Paul Krugman, "Billionaires Gone Wild" (Feb. 18, 2026) -- https://open.substack.com/pub/paulkrugman/p/billionaires-gone-wild #Buddhism #Politics #Dharma #Mindfulness #Community #RightAction #SecularBuddhism Webpage: https://www.dougsdharma.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onlinedharmainstitute/ Mastodon: https://mindly.social/@dougsdharma Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dougsdharma/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@dougsdharma Bluesky: https