Another overcast and rainy day. My kind of weather. The slowing of activities the peace of the pitter-patter of rain and my introverted outlook are a good correlation. Road work is all over town. Repairs are best accomplished in the warm months. Crisis enjoys the covering of clouds. We all face real dangers and then there are the valleys of our own making. It is important to see what needs to be done and do it. Throughout history, good people willing to ‘Say More’ have advanced our species.’

The former FBI Director had the habit of telling the briefer to say more. Solid information is essential to solid results. Truthful words dispel conspiracy theories. It is easy to sit back and let someone else take the heat when candid conversation is required.

I witnessed countless meetings where staff at high levels were afraid to speak truth to power. Agreement and supplication seem safe for the present distress. I watched our beloved University shrink from nearly 25 thousand students to a bit over 10 thousand today. The lack of ‘Say More’ can be directly attributable to the decline. It seemed to rise high in the organization that one must zip their lip, not rock the boat. The boss is always right and that includes their inane jokes. Laughing was required often manic.

There is a reason that a sinking ship does not have enough lifeboats.

So it goes with our nation. The truth of good governance lies between conservatives and liberals. If we are honest we all have a bit of both in our DNA. Neither side are devils masquerading as angels. We all want what is best for our children. We all want peace and economic opportunity. We all want to see our nation succeed.

Sophomore and goofy pronouncements are an illustration of our worst fears and nightmares. Our nation was founded on the idea that ‘all men are created equal.’ We love liberty. We want to be left alone when it comes to government overreach and to help our neighbor. Who people love is none of our business. Where they worship or if they do is none of our business.

We are a lighthouse in what is often a cruel world. Suffering families come to us for succor and oasis. That is our blessing and our burden. Children are hungry. We should feed them. To endanger the life of a mother to fulfill the autocratic desire of old white men is bizarre and wrong.

Change is fundamental. We left England and started our own country because we no longer wanted a king. ‘Live Free Or Die’ we said. We have a multitude of past sins that haunt us. We took the Native Americans land. We embraced slavery. So we are facing whether our almost 250-year experiment will endure another 250 years. Will we embrace the demographic changes in our nation or continue to pander to fascist ideology.

We Christians say that we want to make Heaven our home. Is that a Heaven of only those who look like us and believe what we believe, or does it include all of God’s children?

‘God’s work must surely be our own.’