I watch, I seethe, I reach out to try to correct the injustices

I reach out to correct the lies

I get caught, as everyone does, in the momentary distractions

The things they – sigh, we – talk about over and over and over again

I try to dig deeper but first you have to find a way to get past the distraction

I wonder how and then I wonder why

Why are we held to the same topics, to the same surface of those topics

We are afraid

If you admit that climate change is real then you must take action

If you admit that racism still underlies the fabric of our country then you must take action

If you admit that women are still treated differently then you must take action

If you admit that we still treat that those who first lived in our country still have no right to even the fabric of land left them then you must take action

If you admit that guns are ripping our nation apart, killing our children, then you must take action

I’m desperate to get us to a point where we will take action and I don’t know how

I reach out with my words, they are my gift, and yet they are not enough

I reach out with my mind, I cling to facts, to science, and I think that they can make a difference

It does not matter

My mind is beaten, it is battered, I have not risked my body

I do not know how to make a difference

I do not know how to fight this battle

I see the same results

I try a different tack

I fight the surface

I try to dive deep

I think if I can just open one mind then maybe they will open another

But I cannot open one

Facts do not open minds

Facts are not even acknowledged as facts anymore

How do we move forward

We have to have the tough discussions

We have to make new decisions

We have to talk about more

We are better than this

It’s not about who stands or who sits its about how every black and brown person in this country is treated

It’s not about the scientists who study the climate it’s about the changing climate and how it impacts our world

How do we move forward?

I’m so frustrated

I want to help

I want to make a difference

I try

I feel like giving up but I won’t

I’m frustrated

I want to cry

I won’t fall

We can’t fail

We have to stand together

We are stronger when we stand that way