Last night and again this morning, I cried into my hands. A sane pandemic response was on the ballot. Black and brown lives were on the ballot. The environment was on the ballot. Kids in cages were on the ballot. A robust stimulus and infrastructure plan was on the ballot. I wanted to feel proud that we had come together, overcome our differences and said yes to our shared future. No such luck. The election is too close to call.
So I cried for Black Lives. I cried for the dead and dying. I cried for the underpaid and unemployed. I cried for the children who only know adults as those who fail at doing what is right and decent. (keep reading)

How would you describe the soul of the United States?

From an NYT article exploring the subject: https://nyti.ms/3kaAZA3

"North of Boston, Andrew DeFranza, executive director of Harborlight Community Partners, an organization that develops affordable housing, reflected on the disastrous impact of the coronavirus pandemic for many people, from essential workers to people with disabilities. The country’s soul is disoriented, adversarial and tired, he said.

“'I don’t think Group A is going to beat Group B and everything is going to be fine,' he said of the election. 'We are eager to see political leaders at every level regardless of party demonstrate concrete, actionable plans to address these issues of inequity around health and race, and to do so in a way that is concrete and has outcomes to which they can be accountable.'”

David Brook's review of the book, "The Upswing", a data-rich exploration about how we built the most successful society and economy in history and then tore it apart through selfishness and xenophobia.

Finding the right balance between "I" and "We", self and other, is what Mr. Brooks' Weave Project, and Unity Lab aim to fix.

It is a matter of life and death - the United States needs a cultural constitution.
As our nation’s eyes are trained on the election, the pandemic and dwindling financial and psychological reserves, I feel we are missing the forest for the trees.
During the 2018 midterms, Joe Biden said, “This is a fight for the soul of the nation.” I take him to mean that whoever holds the highest office needs to embody and reflect the soul of the nation, lead from that place and heal the country. I think he was more right than he knew. (keep reading)

This study of 103 diverse leaders unveils the impacts of small diverse learning cohorts on behavior change, empathy and trust, and empowering a new era for social learning, transformation and cultural healing. Download the research here.

We are breaking. We are more divided today than any other time in recent history. 13% of conservatives and 18% of progressives believe violence would be called for if their candidate loses in November. We have armed ourselves, formed militias and prepped go-bags. Some of us have already headed to the hills.
​
It is critical that we stand together NOW as one, as we did with after the Great Depression and Pearl Harbor. We have rich cultures, traditions, crafts, recipes, faiths, languages, music, dancing and pastimes to protect and sustain. We are a nation of immigrants, a melting pot of good people doing the best they can everyday for themselves and their families. We are bound together and cannot let foreign actors and domestic ideologues make us fearful of each other. They exploit our screens and feeds so they can divide us, render us inert and secure more power and wealth for themselves. (keep reading)