The Slow Boil

As the myth goes, a frog is placed in a pot of tepid water. The pot is put on the stove to boil. The gradual increase of the temperature goes unnoticed by the frog which gets boiled to death. The morale of this dismal tale: people will stay in negative situations when changes happen slowly over time.

The world may be living through a time of slow boil. Each day there are changes being made to laws and systems, changes which are immediately challenging with long-term ramifications yet to be identified. As the changes come one after another, there is a normalization to the issues being created. The adjustment to the change comes over time, and as that adjustment comes another change is made. The story of the frog, or the lobster in some cases, is a cautionary tale. It is a warning to be heeded in the current global crisis where tyranny is on the rise.

The issues are varied and many, with accompanying variations in opinions. While there may not be consistencies in awareness across the myriad of concerns, one of the challenges in this moment is the extent to which issues are escalating locally, nationally and globally. The escalation is gradual, with the risk of ignoring the rising “heat” and challenges being posed in communities and for the most vulnerable.

With each day that passes, the slow boil is raising tolerance for issues that are problematic as changes become normalized. The deployment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the use of the National Guard are examples of the slow boil. There are communities where protests against ICE continue, with the resistance to cruelty, lack of due process, and abuse grounded in challenged from the grassroots.

The commitment to resistance ensures that the slow boil does not overtake or overwhelm. And yet, there are those for whom resistance seems futile, places where the boil is happening, where individuals are unaffected or under affected by the weaponizing of the branches of government or even support the tyranny which is evident in the actions of the 47th president with support from the Congress and the Supreme Court.

The deployment of National Guard troops was troubling. Deployments began in Los Angeles in June 2025 and expanded to Washington, D.C., in August 2025, before presidential authorizations were issued to expand to Memphis, Tennessee, and Portland, Oregon, in September 2025. National Guards troops were withdrawn with little publicity and fanfare from Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland. Troops are still present in the rest. The initial narrative was that the deployment of troops was for addressing crime in these cities. However, it was also noted that these are cities that voted overwhelmingly in support of Democratic party candidates. While in Washington, DC recently, I was asked if I had seen National Guard troops on the street. The question was a sign of the normalization of the presence of troops in the city.

The on-going resistance to this normalization is critical. These are two areas to be identified where decisions were made that brought changes to people and communities. Those changes which were to be temporary are becoming permanent. As the protest in communities is tempered and ignored, a part of the resistance is not succumbing to the slow boil. The resistance is identifying the cruelty, the lack of compassion and care that continues to be unleashed by the government elected to serve the people.

The fight for justice means remaining engaged, ensuring that war and civil unrest are not accepted as ways for people and planet to exist. Climate action and the massive changes affecting parts of the world ought not to be ignored. The crisis of the slow boil is a by-product of complacency which must be resisted as we seek justice for all.

---

Content on ucc.org is copyrighted by the National Setting of the United Church of Christ and may be only shared according to the guidelines outlined here.