A couple of times over the past couple of days I’ve stood practically frozen, in awe of the swooping passage of a large Barred Owl flying as the sight is, for me, so rare. One thing I usually don’t even think about but always find striking about these raptors is the silence in which they move.

And I’ve given this thought with regard to political actors who seem to make such significant, but behind-the-scenes, impacts today. When can this be admirable, I’ve wondered; and when does it need to be addressed? Individuals who seem to function in important, but less prominent, roles seem to fall into two categories: those who do so voluntarily and those who are silenced involuntarily. Organizations that make major differences in secret, however, seem always to do so by choice; and, increasingly, I question whether there should be room for such in a democracy.

It’s always tricky, looking for inspiration in nature – a realm in which some actors camouflage themselves to be more effective predators and, others, less vulnerable prey. But inspiration can be involuntary when witnessing the beauty, intelligence, and grace expressed by animals. And I love how straightforward these beings are – even when hunting, an owl does so directly and not through any sort of secret proxy as people so often do. She or he does not seem to wish to deny her or his behavior, much less, demonstrate an inclination to start a war anytime she or he wants to change the subject.

While I by no means pretend such perfect straightforwardness is possible in politics, much less geopolitics, to the degree that we as citizens and voters can get a handle on which organizations own and control which forces guiding policymaking today, the better we may be able to make wise and helpful decisions. This is one reason I continue to want to learn more about RFK, Jr.’s candidacy as it seems to me the other two may almost equally benefit the corporate media military industrial complex and all of its structural strategies for preventing learning and meaningful communication. Practically every time a person gets close to uncovering this compound sector’s modes of operation it seems their price is found and paid, capturing their respective voices. Would you like a million dollars?, one can almost hear being asked. Here you go. Would you like tens of millions of dollars? Hundreds of millions of dollars? An adulating 60 Minutes interview? Arm-fulls of awards? Here you go, and here you go.

But almost no one goes the distance, and it feels important, today, to remember there may not be infinite time available to helpfully address the corporate media military industrial complex’s influence on the world. It is not likely to sound a warning before leveling its harshest, dominating blows.