I believe there is a lot of gray in our world. Not just in the skies over Portland all winter, but in the decisions we have to make and the stories we have to sift through to find truth. There are capital-T truths in the world too; things that are beyond debate and just simply are.

According to the Declaration of Independence, one of those truths is about the value of human life.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

It is taking a long time for the definition of “men” to expand as it should. If we start with this truth, then other truths like Black Lives Matter fall right behind. Amidst all the gray of the world, the value of a human life is simple black and white.

Be

the

change.

There are small ways to be part of changing history. Support the work of the NAACP to demilitarize the police. Register to vote, and then in November, vote. Read and listen to diverse voices to hear the stories you are missing.

Each step you take is part of the arc toward justice (or away from it).

“We are the spark, that will light the fire that’ll burn the First Order down” (Poe Dameron, Star Wars: The Last Jedi). – #52sparks is my year-long writing series for 2020, based on an art prompt challenge. The spark that lights a fire to toast a marshmallow or to ravage a forest begins in the space of an inch. This series is to explore what hundreds of inches and words can do.