Author: redwa1106

Today I had a conversation/discussion/exchange/argument with someone on social media. She could not understand why voting by mail was a legitimate thing; why everyone could not just go to the polls. “If you can go grocery shopping, or doctor or dentist or Walmart, you can go to polls to vote, it takes 5 minutes”, she… Continue reading Your Experience Is Not Everyone’s Experience →

I recently encountered two words that I had not heard since my teenage days – Dolt and Blivot. Blivot was deeply embedded in our vocabulary. It was clearly an insult, but, like many things of which early teens have knowledge, our understanding was, at best, incomplete. Yet, we tossed it about freely, like candy being… Continue reading Of Dolts and Blivots – Part 2 (Blivot or Blivit) →

Every kid has a “tribe”, a close circle of friends who share similar culture. The tribal uniform is easily recognized and the language contains words which are used and overused by the group. I recently encountered two words that I had not heard since my teenage days. My friends were no different. We played ball,… Continue reading Of Dolts & Blivots (Part 1- Dolt) →

"Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets." E.Deming This pandemic has brought to the surface the seismic faults that have been previously at the sub-surface of the United States' social structure. Previously these faults might have been manifested by periodic tremors that rippled through our society, but now, it seems, that these inequities… Continue reading The System Is Not Broken →

I never like the use of the term "woke", as it seemed grammatically incorrect. Thoreau speaks at length to the awakening and reawakening of the spirit; the dawning of a new day. But this is not that. This isn't my rested rising from a deep sleep, but rather the startling, shocking, furious reaction to the… Continue reading Race in America: Woke →

For reconciliation around the division of race in America, we need a new era of truth and justice that starts with telling the truth about our history of racial injustice. This conversation is a step in the work needed to deepen and broaden the national conversation about enslavement in America and its legacy of mass… Continue reading Race in America: Pre-Discussion Materials →

Gathering: Now, as we gather, let's pause to center ourselves, give thanks for the blessings that we have in our lives, and to be both present and mindful as we enter a time of thought and discussion. Focus: For reconciliation around the division of race in America, we need a new era of truth and… Continue reading Race in America →

The Pandemic of Racism Rev. W. Worley “Please. Please. I can’t breathe.” George Floyd, Minneapolis At a point beyond submission, when he was not a threat to himself or to anyone else, the very breath God breathed into George Floyd a white police officer choked out. At the same time the COVID pandemic has taken… Continue reading The Pandemic of Racism →

"The remissness of our people in paying taxes is highly blamable, the unwillingness to pay them is still more so. Money, justly due from the people, is their creditors' money, and no longer the money of the people, who, if they withhold it, should be compelled to pay. All property, indeed, except the savage's temporary… Continue reading Ben Franklin -On Taxes →

I would say there are seven life lessons I learned from "Star Trek" that I take with me to this day. These are lessons I hope to pass along to my own children someday--but for now, I will share them with the interweb. The best way to travel is to boldly go where no one… Continue reading Seven Lessons I Learned from Star Trek →