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No matter who you are, be safe and careful out there

I’ll return to blogging my thoughts in more detail soon – things like how we might actually “drain the swamp” and clever analogies between seemingly divergent groups – but tonight I’m thinking about Hallelujah. Kate McKinnon’s performance was heartfelt and moved me (it is second only to my brother’s version), and as I listened to the spiritual memorial to both a great songwriter and a political movement, it struck me yet again how many arbitrary barriers we have raised between all of us. We all want love and kindness but find ourselves belittled and belittling in return.

This isn’t to make a rhetorical point, or even to hope it will stop.  I know it will not, at least not easily, and certainly never completely.  It’s just a moment of oneness completely juxtaposed with a moment of eerie separation.

So, I’m just hoping we all feel a little closer instead of farther away, and I wish all well:
  • To the first responders called out for protests, come home safely
  • To the protesters, raise your voices in anger and sorrow, but you, too, be careful and come home safely
  • To the Central High School girl on the bus who had to listen to racism, those on the bus do not represent anyone but themselves, and hopefully that was just machismo
  • To the boy whose mother went nuts because of the school vote for Trump, that was unacceptable, and you are loved
  • To the American girl of Mexican heritage, in Beaverton, Oregon, you will not “be gone” because of the election – you are an important part of the United States, and we love you
  • To the man beaten outside his car for even possibly voting for Trump, that was horrible and unacceptable, and no one deserves such treatment

To all the others struggling to make it through this tough time, remember that the world is much nicer than it is mean. As President Bill Clinton said at his inaugural, “There is nothing wrong with American that cannot be cured by what is right with America.”  It’s still true.


No matter your persuasion, just be careful out there, come home safe, and we’ll keep moving forward together. (Oh, and enjoy the super moon!)

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