Well, it’s Monday. Welcome back to our daily open thread.
I don’t really know what I’m supposed to write here today. In Brooklyn, where I live, there are police helicopters circling noisily over my head. The bar beneath my house is doing some repairs to try to make some good in this time when they don’t have patrons. It’s weirdly nice to hear noise outside, but it’s strange to hear the cacophony of violence and repression alongside the busy sounds of life going on.
Despite everything, I have a doggedly optimistic view of human nature, which probably borders on self-delusion. I believe people will treat each other well without anyone forcing them to, that we could best care for and protect each other in a world that’s set up differently, that people really do want each other to thrive. These days, I see that good in people most clearly in their courage to come together and demand movement toward that world, no matter the odds. I see it most in the Black people across the country standing up and insisting on the sanctity of their lives, and the allies trying to uplift that. I don’t know the best way to get to a better world, and I don’t know exactly how that world should look, but I’m glad so many people are trying.
Where are you finding courage today? How’s it going?