The Direction of Intention

Back In The Day [David’s blog on DR Thursday]

Posted on February 12, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

Our basement archeological dig has revealed a punch bowl. I asked Kerri if she ever used it and she said “Yes. Back in the day.” She told me that she made punch with 7 Up and sherbet. I stared at her like she was an alien creature. I have a hard time reconciling the image of the woman I know, the one who wears boots and black thermal shirts, the woman who stands at her piano and plays it so passionately that it hops…with the woman who makes sherbet-&-7-Up punch in a cut-glass bowl.

I had to sit down and take a few deep breaths.

We had to renew our driver’s licenses a few weeks ago and the new versions just arrived in the mail. It is always shocking to compare the photos. My new license betrays a white white beard while in the previous photo I sported a more salt-n-pepper look. “They photoshopped my face!” I gasped. She rolled her eyes. I thought that whipping up a good government conspiracy was a more potent explanation than facing the truth of my face. When in Rome…

This week I complete another lap around the sun. This one is a milestone. It has me in a full-blown life review. I did not accumulate stuff in my passage across adulthood but if I had, in my deep archives, I’m certain we’d find an artifact, a punch bowl equivalent, something long forgotten, that would make Kerri ask, “Did you ever use this?” And I’d say, “Yes. Back in the day.”

So many chapters. So many miles walked. So many changes and lessons and losses and revelations. It makes me sit down and take a few deep breaths. It fills me with intense gratitude that this is where my punch bowl brought me.

*****

(A short scene:

Children of the Future: What’s this old piece of paper?

Us: It’s called The Constitution.’

Children of the Future: Did you ever us it?

Us: Yes. Back in the day.

We sit down and take a few breaths)

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE PUNCH BOWL

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Filed under: DR Thursday, Identity, Navel Gazing | Tagged: artistry, cleaning out, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, identity, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, life review, milestone, nostalgia, revelation, story, studio melange, the melange | 1 Comment »

Join The Work [David’s blog on Not So Flawed Wednesday]

Posted on February 11, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

We’ve had more snow in the past two months than in the past three years. I am getting reacquainted with my snow shovel who, I imagine, is delighted to finally have some actual purpose in life. My shovel is not old enough for retirement and would rather work than play golf.

I just personified my snow shovel.

I also just betrayed a bit of insight into myself. I would rather work than retire so I’ve projected that onto my shovel. That is how projection works.

It’s an easy leap for my brain to make and I know the same is true for all of you out there. Personifying a snow shovel is only slightly different than investing in a conspiracy theory or embracing a big lie despite an overabundance of facts. Personifying my snow shovel is less destructive than storming the Capitol.

Personifying my snow shovel is all for fun and is far less ruinous than gulping an obvious misdirection narrative that claims poor-Black-women-are-taking-your-tax-dollars, all the while the wealth of the nation is actually, factually, picked out of the pockets of the middle and lower classes and stuffed into fewer and fewer morbidly wealthy pockets. Robbing Medicaid to fund a massive tax break for the already-wealthy is how an oligarchy is created.

I know I am personifying my snow shovel, I know I am projecting and playing make-believe. Can the same be said for maga-nation or all the AWOL republicans out there? And, of course, their projection onto we-the-woke is that we are trying to destroy democracy. They betray a bit of themselves. That’s the way projection works.

It’s also worth noting that my newly personified snow shovel is equally adept at clearing paths through heaps of bullsh*t as it is mounds of snow. I know the same is true for most of you out there. Every time you clear a path through the lies or shovel out the inanity, you give me hope. It’s how a democracy is restored. You inspire me to grab my shovel and join the work.

read Kerri’s blogpost about SNOW

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Filed under: Flawed Wednesday, Gratitude, Metaphor | Tagged: artistry, conspiracy theory, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, democracy, facts, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, lies, MAGA, make believe, oligarchy, personification, projection, republicans, story, studio melange, the melange, woke | 1 Comment »

Under The Wet Moon [David’s blog on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on February 10, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

Astrologically, we are in the sun sign of Aquarius. The water bearer. I was surprised to read that the corresponding moon cycle is known as the wet-moon, a reference drawn from Hawaiian mythology. This cycle “…corresponds with Kaelo the Water Bearer in Hawaiian astrology and makes the Moon known as the “dripping wet moon”.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that the zodiac of the west aligns so perfectly with the symbology of the Pacific Islanders. In Hindu astrology, “Aquarius is known as Kumbha Rāśi representing the symbol of the water pot.” The cultural traditions on Earth are drawn beneath the same constellations.

During the opening ceremony of the Olympics, a commentator referenced The Pale Blue Dot, a photograph taken of Earth in 1990 from the Voyager 1 space probe. “In the photograph, Earth’s apparent size is less than a pixel; the planet appears as a tiny dot against the vastness of space…” Incidentally, the photograph was taken on February 14 – according to the 12 month Julian calendar – a solar calendar created by humans on Earth, during the period of the wet-moon.

I suppose our definition of “belonging” depends on the parameters we choose. And, make no mistake, it is a choice. We can choose to identify ourselves according to divisions, something like the color line. We can choose to identify ourselves according to imaginary lines on a map. We can choose our tribes according to cultural differences.

Or, we can choose to identify ourselves according the unities. We can choose to recognize that we live under the same stars and orient to the same constellations. We can step back, deep into space, and look at ourselves, a dot no larger than a pixel. Our differences are not nearly so vast as our sameness. No amount of rhetoric or propaganda or white supremacy or religious extremism can alter the fact of our sameness.

The word February comes from februa, a Roman purification festival held during the period of the wet-moon. Under the wet-moon, athletes from all over the world, athletes representing 92 different cultures, 92 shapes drawn on a map of Earth but not visible anywhere from space, marched into a stadium in Milan, Italy, waving flags, symbols of their home nation. Their competition made possible only by the existence of others who also dream of gold, silver and bronze, a shared dream beneath the same constellation of stars.

It has all the makings of an ancient purification festival. And, just in time.

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE MOON

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Filed under: Identity, Metaphor, Two Artists Tuesday | Tagged: aquarius, artistry, astrology, belonging, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, moon, olympics, story, studio melange, symbol, the melange, The Pale Blue Dot, tradition, unity | 1 Comment »

Together We Chase [David’s blog on Merely A Thought Monday]

Posted on February 9, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

“Freedom is not just an absence of evil but a presence of good.” ~ Timothy Snyder, On Freedom

There is a game I play with Dogga that I absolutely adore. When he wants to go out he stares at me. I stare back at him. His stare intensifies and I intensify my stare to match. Our faces move closer together. When the intensity of the stare is like a bowstring pulled to the breaking point, I say, ‘Okay!” and like an arrow released he flies toward the back door. I let him out in a festival of enthusiasm. I could play this game all day. It is bliss.

“We chose freedom when we did not run.” ~ Timothy Snyder, On Freedom

My first thought when choosing this bliss-prompt was, “Chasing bliss is a sign of privilege.” That would have been my lofty theme but then I felt Dogga’s stare. I set the computer aside and met his stare. The game was afoot!

“In dehumanizing others, we make ourselves unfree.” ~ Timothy Snyder, On Freedom

Opening the back door and watching my joy-dog launch from the deck, fully invested in his Rin-Tin-Tin persona, I recognized the superficiality of my original thought on bliss, my snotty lofty theme. Bliss has nothing to do with access or possession or any soaring ambition. It is something we create with others.

“We enable freedom not by rejecting government, but by affirming freedom as the guide to good government.” ~ Timothy Snyder, On Freedom

My Dogga is free, not because I open the door and remove a barrier, but because he knows he is loved, he knows I am good for a round of the game. Going in and out could be a chore, something mundane, but together we’ve evolved a game of bliss, an affirmation of freedom evoked within each other. We’ve created it and each day continue to create it.

To chase bliss is to offer bliss, to open and be opened. I literally open the door and Dogga quite literally opens my heart-door.

“In a world of relativism and cowardice, freedom is the absolute among absolutes, the value of values.”~ Timothy Snyder, On Freedom

Painting is a bliss I chase, not because of the act of smearing paint but because it opens me to something much bigger than myself. Bliss happens when I get out of the way, get present, and revel in the dance. It liberates me because I engage, I step toward it. I never take it for granted or delude myself into thinking I can control it. In fact, trying to control it is a guarantee that it will dissipate.

“The absence of freedom threatens life, just as threats to life undermine freedom.”~ Timothy Snyder, On Freedom

It is a relationship with life, meeting the intensity of a stare, together peeking through the blinds to marvel at the full moon, placing an extra quilt on the bed on a frigid night is to chase bliss.

Delivering groceries to neighbors afraid to leave their homes, blowing a whistle to alert the community of masked invaders, gathering at the memorial of someone executed by a rogue state, singing songs of freedom together to remind the rogue state that freedom is not something they can take away, that we will meet their stare with an intensity that says, “Game on,” and remind them that, in our votes, in our pursuit of freedom-for-all, we hold the power to open or close the door. They do not. This, too, is to chase bliss. It opens us to something bigger.

Together we chase our bliss because we reject the wretched monster the republicans are pursuing.

read Kerri’s blog on Merely A Thought Monday

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Filed under: Identity, Merely A Thought Monday | Tagged: artistry, bliss, community, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, freedom, government, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, On Freedom, republicans, story, studio melange, the melange, Timothy Snyder, values | 1 Comment »

A Greater Truth [David’s blog on KS Friday]

Posted on February 6, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

“Politics is downstream of culture.” ~ Brian Tyler Cohen

Societies disappear but their art remains. The art serves to carry forward through time the essence, the beliefs, the customs, the inner space and outer limits of a culture. Culture is a force greater than politics. Artists carry in their work the flame of culture; they serve a greater truth. The same cannot be said of politicians or captains of industry.

Like it or not, the artists at the Grammy awards spoke directly to the current horrors of our politics. They know the reach and power of their words and their artistry to inspire action. Bruce Springsteen’s song, The Streets of Minneapolis has become an anthem celebrating the courageous people who refuse to hide from the bully. It is a call to the essence of the American spirit while also calling out the lies of division and brutality of ICE and those who’ve created this mindless monster.

On the National Mall a sculpture appeared of the authoritarian-wannabe holding hands with Epstein. It’s entitled “Best Friends Forever”. A second installation, a ten foot replica of The Wannabe’s Birthday Card to Epstein, has shown up. The work of Banksy and those who emulate him are showing up on walls all across the world. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Anselm Kiefer, among the greatest visual artists of our times, has spent his life working “…themes of German history and the horrors of the Holocaust”. His work speaks directly to the fascist moment we now face in the USA.

Art inspires action because it reaches beyond words to touch souls. It simplifies the complex. It clarifies the chaos.

To say we live in complex times is an understatement. An old world order is collapsing. The gap between the haves and the have-nots is ever-widening, our politicians sell our future to the corporate dollar and create oligarchs, who, in turn, would have us believe that the people are incapable of governing themselves.

In our lifetime there has never been a greater need for the artist’s voice. We are daily served an avalanche of lies meant to keep us confused and off-center. Consider this: every person on the streets blowing a whistle or recording the brutality of ICE is an artist. They are calling our attention to the truth. They actively pierce the ugly rhetoric to expose the stark reality. They challenge the lies. They support us in knowing with absolute clarity who we are so that we might come together as a community and say to this administration, “You do not represent us. We are better than this.”

To all the republican politicians out there: be certain that culture is coming for you.

Kerri’s albums are available on iTunes and streaming on Pandora

read Kerri’s blogpsot about ARTISTS

Marc Chagall ‘America Windows’ www.kerrianddavid.com

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Filed under: Art, Creativity, KS Friday, Power | Tagged: Anselm Kiefer, artistry, artists, Banksy, Bruce Springsteen, community, cutlture, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, fascism, history, ice, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, Minneapolis, politics, story, studio melange, the melange, truth | 1 Comment »

Take The Time [David’s blog on DR Thursday]

Posted on February 5, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

My mind tells me this photo is a study of black and white but if I really look at it – really look – there are purples and blues and greens and browns. It is, in fact, a festival of color. There is very little white. We don’t often see. We think we see or, better, we see what we think.

We see the world through a lens made mostly of confirmation bias: the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one’s existing beliefs or theories. It’s black and white – unless you take the time to really look. It takes time to see what’s there beyond what we think is there.

If your confirmation bias tips toward the maga, it makes you easy to gaslight. Believe what I tell you; do not believe what you see.

Gaslighting: the practice of psychologically manipulating someone into questioning their own sanity, memory, or powers of reasoning.

The antidote to gaslighting is the same as sorting through a dedicated confirmation bias. Take time. See what is there beyond what you think – or are told – is there. Take the time to look. Take the time to check. Take the time to challenge or question. Take the time to see all the colors. A manipulator, an authoritarian, will insist that the entire world is black and white. Their goal is to reduce all things to two choices: Us or Them. Their goal is to hardwire the populace to be reactive rather than thought-full.

But, if we look – really look and question – we’ll see that there is an expansive palette of choices, a rich and colorful world available if we only take the time to see what’s actually there, to see beyond what we think – or are told to think.

read Kerri’s thoughts about THE RAIL

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Filed under: DR Thursday, Seeing | Tagged: artistry, authoritarian, belief, choices, confirmation bias, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, gaslighting, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, manipulation, questioning, seeing, story, studio melange, the melange | 1 Comment »

Our Great Strength [David’s blog on Not So Flawed Wednesday]

Posted on February 4, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

“Food, in the end, in our own tradition, is something holy. It’s not about nutrients and calories. It’s about sharing. It’s about honesty. It’s about identity.” ~ Louise Fresco

On any given day, as a citizen of the United States of America, I can go eat at any number of restaurants. Among my choices are Chinese, Mexican, Irish, Ethiopian, Vietnamese Thai, Greek, Italian, Indian…It’s a wildly long and diverse list of options. It is also a living vibrant expression of the truth of our nation. We are diverse. We work hard. We have roots that reach into and across many, many cultural traditions. At our best we support and celebrate each other in the most basic of ritual: we gather around tables and share a meal. Despite the utter madness that the Stephen Millers of the world spew, the essential truth of our nation is hiding in plain sight. Take a walk down any city street. Open your eyes. Savor the diversity that defines us. e pluribus unum.

And, if that is lost on you, tune into the music and the musical traditions that the artists of this nation produce and represent.

Our great strength is our diversity. The Achilles Heel of our democratic experiment is the manipulation of our diversity. There is a long standing tradition of pitting us against each other and the color line makes for ease of manufactured division. It’s colonial crowd control. The most effective tool for keeping power over the diverse community is to fabricate an enemy within. While the masses are consumed with fighting with each other, the Epstein Class gets away with robbery, rape and murder. It has been this way since our inception as a nation.

Our Achilles Heel will kill us if we do not at long last learn that the division is concocted – and transcend it. We are made rich in our diversity. We need not white wash our history; we need to roll up our sleeves and learn from it. Black history* is white history and vice versa. If only we could sit at a table together and share a meal as family. Someday perhaps.

I’ve written about the day I met students at the International Center and led them across campus to develop a play in the theatre. I entered the building while they stopped abruptly as if they’d run into a wall of glass. Privilege is blind to itself and that was one of the many experiences that opened my eyes. They told me that they weren’t allowed to enter. Our play was about folk tales across culture and our first lesson together was about invisible barriers. Weeks later, after together we crossed the barrier, after they easily stepped across the threshold and began to make the theatre space their own, we shared sweet treats. I brought chocolate chip cookies. They brought sweet rice and cakes. We told stories about our sweet treats, love-filled memories of grandparents, holiday celebrations, family traditions. We laughed. We learned that our traditions, all though different on the surface, are about the same things.

We love. We honor family. We dream of opportunity and making better lives for ourselves and our children. We seek new experiences and believe in the power of kindness. We come together to share meals in a sacred place we create – and call home: The United States of America.

*It is February, the month that we traditionally celebrate Black History. Even though the current leadership of the nation is taking down plaques and removing exhibits from our museums, the truth remains. The history is explicit. The struggle continues. Celebrate Black History Month.

read Kerri’s blogpost about COOKIES

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Filed under: Flawed Wednesday, Identity | Tagged: artistry, Black History Month, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, difference, division, family, home, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, kindness, opportunity, privilege, race, story, studio melange, the melange | 1 Comment »

A Run On The Wheel [David’s blog on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on February 3, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

One of our first FLAWED cartoons features a gerbil running hard on a gerbil wheel while his supervisor-gerbil watches, smokes a cigarette, and says, “This work thing sucks.”

I found a revisioned truth in that original cartoon drawn over a decade ago. Kerri calls it “The Oligarchy versus The People. There is a class of gerbil that works hard on the wheel. There is a class of gerbil that profits from the work.

This morning while making breakfast I had another revelation about the cartoon. With the latest release of Epstein File documents, with the number of rich and powerful white men named in the files, with the damning accusations and implications running rampant through the files, I was struck by the blaring absence of investigations into those men. There is a class of gerbil that is subject to the law. There is a class of gerbil that the law refuses to touch.

The department of deception (formerly known as the department of justice) is refusing to release at least 50% of the documents. Given the picture painted in the latest batch of releases and the 100% certainty that they are covering-up for the worst-of the-worst, one can only wonder if there is a bottom to the depravity. Actually, we already know the answer to that question.

Though, there is a subtle reversal of roles happening on the ol’ gerbil wheel. We-the-gerbils-that-do-the-work are witnessing the power-gerbils running scared – and running faster and faster to escape the truth of their twisted lives. They will find, as we have, that a run on the wheel goes nowhere. They can run ever-faster but they cannot escape the truth of the wheel. And while they run they can be certain that we are watching them sweat.

There may be some justice after all.

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE WHEEL

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Filed under: Metaphor, Perspective, Two Artists Tuesday | Tagged: artistry, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, depravity, disparity, division, Epstein files, flawed cartoon, justice, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, law, oligarchy, story, studio melange, the melange, truth | 1 Comment »

And Why? [David’s blog on Merely A Thought Monday]

Posted on February 2, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

High in the offices of KerriandDavid International headquarters, we stare at photos during our Melange selection process. Sometimes words appear in the image. In this photo the word, “Why” appeared. It’s akin to “Some Pig” showing up in Charlotte’s Web. “Whoa!” we whispered in unison.

“And why wouldn’t nature ask us, “Why?” Kerri added.

It may be that we have stared too long at photographs. It also might be the impact of too much coffee. In any case, we both saw the word in the bramble. It is an excellent and very appropriate question for nature to be asking of humanity. Why?

If we are learning anything these days it is that humanity is largely insane. This will not be the first time that humans have exhausted their resources and thoroughly soiled their nest en route to societal extinction all to make a buck or for the few to stand atop the pyramid.

Never doubt the power of story. Denial is, after all, a powerful form of story.

My WTF headline of the day, a perfect example of denial, is from US NEWS. It’s a report on the Womanosphere’s* continued and rabid support of ICE. The headline? Don’t Let Compassion Cloud You. I kid you not. It’s madness cut from the same cloth that brings us Stephen Miller insisting that Alex Pretti was a terrorist. No, don’t believe your eyes. Don’t let compassion cloud you. Keep your head in the gaslight. Ignore your heart. Gobble the propaganda.

Swear the ship is unsinkable even as it meets the obvious iceberg.

Since the early 1980’s we’ve known – through this magical thing called “science” – that carbon emissions were greatly impacting climate. The predictions from those early warnings were dire and we are, not surprisingly, living those dire predictions today.

The debate we are having is not about what is best for our survival but what is good for business. Don’t let science get in the way.

We are, whether we want to admit it or not, a part of nature. We are not above it even if we like to story ourselves as superior. Here is the lesson of societies long past that waved their superiority from atop the pyramid: nature is not really concerned with our story. Hurricanes are indiscriminate. As are mudslides and earthquakes. Drought does not care who it kills.

People, on the other hand are capable of discernment. People are capable of compassion. People are capable of knowing better. People are capable of learning from their past and their mistakes. In other words, people are more than capable of asking, “Why?” And, if they don’t, they end up making ridiculous statements from the top of their imagined pyramid like “Don’t Let Your Compassion Cloud You” or “Climate Change Is A Hoax,” or “He Was Brandishing A Gun.”

Whatever. Close your eyes if you must. Close your heart if you are capable.

I think I’ll listen to my heart while I pay attention to science. I’ll continue to ask, “Why?” My eyes and heart and brain are not in opposition to each other – and, even more to the point – while fully open and engaged, they are great at keeping me attuned to reality and off of some imaginary pyramid.

*I’d ordinarily provide a link as proof that such inanity exits but I refuse to support the algorithm that makes stupidity and cruelty popular.

read Kerri’s blogpost about WHY

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Filed under: Merely A Thought Monday, Metaphor, Perspective | Tagged: artistry, climate change, compassion, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, denial, discernment, heart, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, science, Stephen Miller, story, studio melange, the melange | Leave a comment »

The Source [David’s blog on KS Friday]

Posted on January 30, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

A meme flew by. It used the events of last Saturday to illuminate two different ideas of masculinity. The first as demonstrated by Alex Pretti, a man trying to help a woman who was just shoved to the ground. He stood between the woman and her attacker. The second model of masculinity was demonstrated by the ICE-men who tackled, beat and murdered Alex Pretti.

After the meme flew by I wished that I could amend it. For me it did not illuminate two models of masculinity, rather, it made a clear distinction between a man and a beast, between a healthy human being and a rabid animal. It highlighted the difference between a good intention and a toxic drive.

Most hearts in the nation are heavy. Witnessing yet another execution in the streets by agents of the government – and then defended by the leaders all the way up to and including the authoritarian wannabe in the White House – has left us aghast. John Pavlovitz suggested that our heavy hearts are necessary; they are a sure sign of our humanity. They are fuel for our outrage.

Alex Pretti’s heavy heart required him to step into the streets of his city and video the brutality enacted upon his neighbors. Renee Good’s heavy heart did the same. Service to others is often an action inspired by a heavy heart. It takes a great deal of courage to stand between a masked thug and his victim. It takes great strength to video the abuse as if to say, “We see you and you will not get away with this”.

I opened The Marginalian this morning and read this: “Here is the mathematical logic of the spirit: If love is the quality of attention we pay something other than ourselves and hate is the veil of not understanding ourselves, then loving the world more — the other word for which is kindness — is largely a matter of deepening our awareness and sharpening our attention on both sides of the skin that membranes the self.”

Love is the quality of attention we pay something other than ourselves. Hate is the veil of not understanding ourselves. Hate is self-focused. Love is other-focused.

Democracy is by definition other-focused. Authoritarianism is by definition self-focused.

Our heavy hearts are propelling us into the streets. It just might be that our heavy hearts will be the necessary ingredient that saves our democracy from the rabid authoritarians. It just might be that our heavy hearts will propel us to stand between the self-centered oligarchy currently shoving Lady Liberty to the ground. Our heavy hearts do not make us weak. They are the source of our outrage and fuel for our courage.