But Then Again ...

Some mornings when I first wake up I will scrunch my eyes closed and try to will myself back to sleep, back to that lovely dream I was having. It never works. I have no choice but to wake up and face the day.

The world is run by the college educated. They govern us, run the corporations, make the rules. If you want to join them, you need a college diploma. Once considered a glowing achievement, it has become a requirement to get ahead in America. But what about those who can’t obtain one?

“There’s no question in my mind that anyone’s personal wealth is the product of a collective effort and social structures which present opportunities to some people, and obstacles to countless others.”

MacKenzie Scott, philanthropist

The truth is that we, you and me and everybody else, are causing climate change. We all know this. But we have a tendency to believe that our day-to-day activities don’t matter, because, well, it is only one little thing. We bought the LED lightbulbs and separate out our recycling so let the government take care of the rest.

Climate change will not be solved by solar panels and electric cars alone. It will not be solved until we all realize that there is no “away” to throw things. We need to rethink our relationship to stuff.

Reduce, reuse, recycle. We all know the litany. But there are several “r”s missing. Sandwiched between reduce and reuse is repair. Sounds obvious, but the companies that provide the goods we buy have a vested interest in making sure we keep on wasting everything.

All lives matter? Yes, but not all lives matter equally. At least not to the police. There can be no justice until black lives, brown lives, rainbow lives, all lives matter as much as white lives.

Nobody chooses to be poor. Nobody.

You are poor because you were born into it or because something bad happened. It could have been a divorce, a natural disaster, an economic downturn, or just plain bad luck. Whatever the reason, getting out of the black hole of poverty is incredibly difficult.