Lakitha, you have my respect.

It is so effing easy to sit behind a keyboard and write truth, and so incredibly hard to stand up in publicand speak truth to power, in person.

I know how hard it is, because like you, I've been speaking truth to power, in person, in public, at business, community and governmental meetings for decades. It took me years to overcome the distracting fear of public speaking, but I finally did it. But that was not nearly enough to make a real difference.

Thanks to mentors, I finally learned how to think on my feet at the same time. Turns out, before you can make a real difference you have to (1) really know the subject you are talking about (2) have real, viable solutions to use as examples and (3) fully integrate objections before you start talking about your solutions. That is the reason, I learned to work in teams of diverse people who had very different skills and experiences to bring to the table.

That is also where my passion for diversity in any and every way possible came from. Interestingly enough, its the same thing in my work as a designer of built environments. The more diverse your team, the more innovative, relevant and meaningful your designs, products, outcomes or solutions.

What I think this country needs more than anything right now and the foreseeable future is genuine creativity. We need to stop reproducing and start producing. Stop trying to fix shit and start creating new systems and policies. Stop criticizing people and start developing new systems. Stop arguing over old shit and start talking about new ideas, new ways of living, and new ways of thinking.

Oh my, I went on too along ---- again.

Happy New Year, Lakitha :)