I’ve been sequestered to the confines of my couch. My emotions, already dark from the pain, were intensified by watching Ken Burn’s Baseball followed by his Civil War. My mind is saturated with a desire to think out the problems of society. There are so many.

Facebook is now dead to me. It is no replacement for tangible displays when most of its users use it so casually and superficially. There can not be an expectation that people will digest what they see on Facebook. For society, it was an interesting distraction, but now its time to start hanging more artworks, publish and exhibit more photographs, and pass out more printed materials. The Internet might be good for fact checking, but in general, it cannot motivate in the ways that societal reform demands.

Even so, while in pain and almost at the end of being able to live solely for recovery, my essence was validated twice when two of my “street” photos were featured as the cover photos of a Facebook photography forum of which I’m a member of. Even while so many people give me definite looks that say “I won’t say it to your face, but I believe you to be weird.”, I have so many more people on the Internet who think of my productivities as being worth while. Those strangers who express their satisfaction with my work aren’t burdened by the processes which bring my work from initial whim to creation. I’m big in China, and with people who aspire to capture images, with people who can’t deny the beauty of the female form, and with people who like to find the humanity from a candid image. One day I may have a credible reputation with those of whom I see in person.

I have done 3 loads of laundry and 2 loads of dishes. The effort has left me with no remaining energy. I must lay on the couch and watch more documentaries to fuel my thought.

Long live the reformative powers of sickness and recovery.

Hairy Woodpeckers out front door

We have come to the conlusion that there is a struggle in the United States between the advancement of a more egalitarian existance, and the opposing forces of unrestrained wealth and power. We have reached this conclusion through journeys on the job, the pursuit of meaningful relationships, trying to support others in having a better life, in the pursuit of a deeper existential understanding, and through journeys of the mind. We might want more, but for now, we understand that there are only two viable political parties.

We take religion out of the conversation. We remove religion from public debate because we understand that everyone has come to different conclusions about the big and complicated questions which are not yet universally agreed upon. We are supportive of individuals in pursuit of deeper spiritual lives and/or a pursuit of existential clarification. We won’t allow religion to be claimed as a valid reason for why change is needed. We understand that religion is a term which discribes groups of people led by a doctrine of devine or secular nature.

We know some history about the needless suffering and hardship of people who inhabited our country, both citizens and those denied citizenship. We make it a point to continue learning history from various sources so we can have a better perspective. We might learn at a slow pace, but we know we should never stop learning aspects of our shared history because we understand what the benefits of this kind of learning are.

We want everyone to have a quality education, regardless of their income, or the income of their families. We strive for better preschools, gradeschools, middleschools, highschools, technical colleges, universities, libraries and other intitutions of public learning. We know that education is important for improving our lives together, and to eliminate struggles born out of nature and by the hand of humankind’s inventive mind.

We work to creat better laws. We try to remove damaging policies that overcomplicate bureaucracy, but we understand that bureaucracy is mandatory in advancing egalitarian principles. We invite all to participate in the creation of the existence of our country’s aspects which exists on paper, and in the courts. We hold elected and appointed officials accountable for their actions, regardless of political offiliation. We want to destroy the network of good ol’ boys so all women, children and men can be counted as important. We help people understand bureaucracy. We help people to legally and ethically negociate it, but we won’t denie the reform of a new law because it was better than what we had before.

We know when to be serious, but we know how important it is to laugh and have fun. We are respectful, but we know there are safe places to cut loose. We know that some activities should be allowed to take place in private. We also try to bring safe fun to the general public. We support auditoriums, stages, colissiums, stadiums, gymnasiums, fields, great open spaces, and other spaces and places which are similar, real or in need of being created.

We protect the safe and humane existence and expression of human sexuality.

We are Democrats because we know that work is work. A garbage collector is as important as a doctor. A floor sweeper is as important as a manager. A babysitter is as important as a politician. We don’t believe in the level of income disparity that exists in our counrty. We don’t believe in the exploitation of foriegn raw materials and finished goods and labor.

We are Democrats and we know why the gun was invented. We know how it can protect, and how it can provide, but we know of its dangers. We will continue to talk and think about appropriate changes to gun policy so that fair use and safety can both exist. We are Democrats who don’t want our government to order the inappropriate firing of bullets. We want to be protected from foreign danger by a responsible military. We want our police to use firearms to protect without becoming a homeland military. We want our soldiers and police officers to have support for their minds so they only fire bullets when needed. We believe all forms of responding with deadly force are a last resort. We believe in the response to emergencies with as much control and foresight as possible.

We are Democrats who believe that all races, ethnicities and genders are equal.

We are Democrats. We remember why our party has formed. We become Democrats, but we don’t then coast through our intellectual responsibilies because our ideals are important. We are Democrats because we know that there are still peoole in who would like to live a more peaceful, healthy, fair life.