It’s another sunny, calm day here in Chicago, where the threat of a military invasion by our own government continues to loom large.
Meanwhile, I look over a quiet city view, not a single crime in sight.
We may not have to deal with the possibly-not-alive donald’s delusions of dictatorship though, given a court ruled his occupation of L.A. illegal. And the thing that gets me is if they are going to use “gun violence” as an excuse–note, Chicago’s gun violence rate is far lower than most red states, by the way–why not address the issue of, oh I don’t know, guns?
UGH.
So far not living up to the title of this post and I want to.
Yesterday I posted about my friend Essay (S. A.)’s gofundme, about how she is on the edge of a financial abyss despite working, despite doing the best she can with a serious health condition.
Today she tells me she’s nearly met her goal for tomorrow’s deadline.
Imagine that, people out there, so generous with money for someone they may not even know. And I’ll tell you why I think that is.
We are, as humans, creatures who, in our core, believe in community. That can get warped; that can be twisted by greed and thirst for power and bigotry. We’re seeing that play out right now.
But for those of us who are good people.
For those of us who are decent people.
For those of us who will not be swayed by the false call of “more more more,” at the expense of everyone else, underneath everything, underneath the wires and keyboards and invisible data whizzing at dazzling speeds, we truly believe in community.
We believe in helping when we can help.
We believe in helping however we can help.
We believe in reaching out a hand when we can do that without losing our own balance.
Layers and layers and layers of technology on.
We need to hold on to that. We need to keep it close, nurse it like a tiny, fragile spark, because that is where our humanity lies. That is where we can keep it safe as terrible things at a huge scale unfurl.
Small acts. Quiet acts. Personal acts.
They don’t have to be monetary; most aren’t, when you think about it.
But the spirit of community thrives when we remember we are all people on the other side of devices, with problems, with wins, with grief, with elation, with boredom, with frazzled energy.
All of us.
Have a great Tuesday.
A Bit to Read 
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