So much hate and vitriol, can It be cancelled out by love and hope? Why are all these people angry? Simply because they’ve been fed anger for decades and don’t know any other way to be. Why are they fearful? Because they’ve been told to be scared for so long they know nothing but fear. I am not angry, but the fear I have is different than theirs. My fear is of their fear winning. My fear is for my family, my nation, myself if they bring their fear and hate to power.

We've seen this before in Italy, Germany, Latin America, and parts of Africa and Asia. Dictatorships coming to power through creating fear in democracies. Can it happen here? What can I do to ensure this does not happen? I can contribute to sanity, which I’m doing. I can volunteer, which I’ll do when I return in September. I can write about these things, focusing on teasing out why people should be hopeful. I can keep myself engaged rather than caught up in the horse-race and news of false equivalency.

There is a lot to be excited about. There is a lot of good happening in the world. We cannot let the hate, fear, and intimidation overwhelm the good, hopeful, and loving.

Let’s stand as a community against those who wish to oppress. Let’s tell truth and offer love to those who espouse lies and hate. Let’s rise above our lizard brains to use the frontal cortex we’ve been given. We are a powerful, optimistic, engaged, and promising society. We shall prove ourselves worthy of this moment, demonstrating to each of us, our compatriots, and the world what it means to be THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.