Nepotism is not governance, yet here we are, caught between family fiefdoms masquerading as leadership.
Joe Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter is a gut punch to the idea of equal justice under the law. It reeks of elite privilege, where political dynasties protect their own while the rest of us are told to trust the system. A president shielding his son from consequences is not compassion—it’s corruption, plain and simple.
Then there’s Donald Trump, who never misses an opportunity to turn government into a family business. Appointing Charles Kushner, Ivanka’s father-in-law, as ambassador to France is bad enough. But adding Massad Boulos, Tiffany’s father-in-law, as a senior adviser on Middle Eastern affairs? That’s next-level arrogance. These aren’t just bad optics—they’re an insult to the very concept of public service.
These moves by Biden and Trump are two sides of the same rotted coin. One shields his son, the other promotes his daughters’ in-laws, but both use their positions to advance their personal networks.
The message is clear: the rules are for you, not for them. This is not leadership. This is dynastic rule.
And we keep letting it happen. We rage for a moment, shout into the void, and then resign ourselves to the inevitability of it all. Because what’s the alternative? The other guy? Biden’s defenders cry foul over Hunter’s legal troubles, insisting he was unfairly targeted. Trump’s camp insists nepotism is fine because “he trusts family.”
Both sides are wrong. Both sides are corrupt. And both parties are laughing at us as they entrench their power.
It doesn’t have to be this way. We don’t have to live in a country where every election boils down to choosing which self-serving dynasty we’re willing to endure for the next four years. We don’t have to keep settling for a system designed to serve the powerful, not the people.
The two-party system has failed. It thrives on division and power hoarding, offering no real alternatives. Biden’s pardon and Trump’s nepotism are just symptoms of the disease. The cure isn’t reforming these parties—it’s replacing them. We need a third party, a centrist coalition focused on competence, ethics, and evidence-based solutions. We need leaders who put the public good above personal loyalty.
Enter Evidentialism, the centrist-left political party. It’s a faith, yes, but it’s also a philosophy that demands accountability. It celebrates reason, science, and the pursuit of truth. It rejects the cult of personality in favor of facts and transparency.
In politics, this means policies rooted in data, not ideology. It means rejecting the nepotism and backroom deals that have brought us to this moment.
Imagine a political movement where decisions are guided by what works, not what polls well. Where climate policy is informed by scientists, not donors. Where healthcare reform addresses the root causes of inequality instead of catering to the loudest lobbyists. This isn’t a dream—it’s a necessity.
Biden’s pardon and Trump’s shameless nepotism are proof of one thing: the system isn’t working for us.
It’s time to break the cycle. No more families in power. No more excuses. Faith in facts, accountability, and the possibility of something better—that’s the future we should be fighting for.
The world will turn upside down soon. Here are ten quotes from Marcus Aurelius to stay sane: 1. “You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” 2. “The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.” 3. “When you arise in the morning, think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” 4. “The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.” 5. “Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.” 6. “The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.” 7. “It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.” 8. “Our life is what our thoughts make it.” 9. “The only wealth which you will keep forever is the wealth you have given away.” 10. “Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears.”
Every faith finds its core in a book—a text to guide, to reflect, to ground its people in a way of seeing and living. The Bible, the Quran, the Bhagavad Gita—these books tell stories, reveal mysteries, set down commandments.
But for Evidentialism, a faith rooted in reason and wonder, Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations offers a deeper resonance. Here is no myth or prophecy, no divine drama or demand for supernatural belief. Instead, Meditations unfolds as a dialogue with reality, a quiet, honest guide for living in accordance with nature, in alignment with truth.
Where other faiths may cling to the unseen, Evidentialism takes up Meditations as its holy book—a text that speaks not to distant deities but to the power of the human mind to meet life with dignity, clarity, and integrity.
From my grandfather Verus, I learned good morals and the government of my temper (Book 1, Page 1).
Gratitude, here, takes the place of worship. Aurelius opens not with grand statements on divine purpose but with an appreciation of his family and teachers, the values they instilled. His reverence lies in real lives, in human interactions, in the cultivation of character.
For Evidentialism, a faith not of blind belief but of inquiry, Aurelius’ approach to reverence is ideal. Values are transmitted not by decree but by example, by thoughtful engagement with others. Faith here is not about gods but about people—their wisdom, their actions, their resilience. Respect for the past merges with a constant readiness to learn and grow.
Nature does not do things in vain.
The stoic philosopher saw nature not as an object of worship but as the ultimate guide. To Aurelius, nature was not mystical but factual; its processes reveal meaning through their constancy, their predictability, their logic.
The Evidentialist looks to science with the same trust. In nature, there are patterns and principles—not designed for us, but present all the same, indifferent yet intelligible. Through understanding nature, we understand our own place. Aurelius’ words mirror Evidentialism’s aim: to accept the world as it is and to find meaning in that acceptance, without illusions of control or demands for reward.
The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.
Stoic philosophy is built on the acceptance of obstacles, on the belief that adversity shapes us, refines our thoughts and actions. This notion—the idea that obstacles don’t just block but direct—reflects Evidentialism’s respect for trial, error, and progress. In science, setbacks aren’t failures but data, indicators of a path not taken or a truth not yet fully grasped. Learning, in this framework, means working through barriers rather than avoiding them. Knowledge grows not despite challenge but because of it, evolving as new questions arise and new challenges are met. The obstacle is not an end; it is a necessary part of discovery.
It is in your power whenever you shall choose to retire into yourself.
Aurelius often reminds himself of the power of introspection. Faith here is private, a practice not of public proclamation but of inner discipline.
This aligns naturally with Evidentialism, which lacks sermons, creeds, or ritual displays. Instead, it fosters a quiet, personal reflection on truth, integrity, and self-improvement. For Evidentialists, introspection becomes a ritual, a means of reconnecting with one’s own reason and ethical center. This inward retreat seeks no divine answer but instead examines one’s own beliefs and actions, understanding that true power lies in self-control and honest reflection.
All is ephemeral, both memory and the object of memory.
There is peace in the acceptance of impermanence. Aurelius reminds himself and us that life, memory, and all things are temporary.
For Evidentialists, this acknowledgment becomes a foundation. With no afterlife, no supernatural promise, meaning is found in the brief, vivid arc of existence. Knowing that all things pass frees us from attachment, from the illusion of permanence. In place of an eternity, we find beauty in transience, seeing life not as something to be preserved forever but as something to be experienced fully.
This stoic acceptance of mortality mirrors the Evidentialist’s respect for reality, for the limitations of our own experience, and for the universe that will continue on without us.
If it is not right, do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it.
Truth and integrity—the twin pillars of Stoic ethics. Aurelius demands honesty, not as a rule imposed from above, but as a personal responsibility.
Evidentialism, likewise, rests on the principle of intellectual honesty, a commitment to truth that surpasses convenience or comfort. In a worldview driven by evidence, truth is sacred. It is not something to bend or manipulate; it is the foundation on which all understanding rests. The call to act only on truth is a call to each person’s integrity, asking them to be accountable not to gods but to reality itself. This is faith not as a duty but as a conscious choice, a self-guided moral code.
You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.
The Stoic reminder of mortality, memento mori, is not meant to instill fear but perspective. Knowing we could die at any moment, Aurelius urges us to live fully, intentionally.
This outlook complements Evidentialism’s embrace of mortality. Without promises of an afterlife, life’s fleeting nature becomes an impetus for moral urgency and intellectual rigor. Every action, every thought, becomes important, meaningful. Life is limited; therefore, it is precious. This sense of urgency leads to a pursuit of knowledge and understanding, a commitment to living wisely and compassionately, knowing that our time is finite.
We were born to work together, like feet, hands, and eyes, like the two rows of teeth, upper and lower.
For Aurelius, humanity’s strength lies in cooperation. Community is a natural law, a necessary aspect of human life.
Evidentialism, too, values the collective pursuit of knowledge and understanding. Science and discovery flourish in communities, in shared endeavors. We advance knowledge not in isolation but together, contributing to a body of work that transcends individual lives. Aurelius’ vision of people as interconnected, like parts of a single body, captures this communal spirit. We are not merely individuals but parts of a greater whole, each adding to the shared understanding of humanity.
Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.
The Meditations does not instruct through myth or miracle. It is a manual for a life of reason, a life attuned to nature, a life in harmony with reality.
Evidentialism, in adopting Meditations as its guiding text, finds not dogma but a blueprint for thought, a way to move through the world with humility, curiosity, and respect. Where other faiths might ask for blind belief, Aurelius’ words call us to personal responsibility, to question, to seek, to understand.
In this, Evidentialism and Stoicism find their shared essence: faith not in what is unseen but in what is real, in the beauty of existence as it is.
Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.
