where to begin?

In this this world, in society, in this great nation of ours, there are a few things that need to be addressed. Actually, that's a colossal understatement. There are SO MANY THINGS that need to be addressed. There are so many ailments that need to be cured. There are so many problems that need to be fixed. There are so many obstacles that need to be overcome. There are so many things that need to be said, that often go unsaid. There are so many challenges we face when it comes to simply coexisting peacefully with everyone on the planet.

Friends and I are in a perpetual state of shaking our heads—in agony, in disbelief, in some desperate plea for things to get better. Then we realize, sharing what we've been through is a way to make things better. Sharing what we're currently feeling is a way to make things better. Speaking openly and civilly to one another is a way to make things better.

Please believe—please know and believe—we are here to do our part to make it better. We are here to do good, just like everybody else. We are here, hoping and dreaming and striving for the same things as everybody else. Among us, there are folks who are not pulling their weight or those veering off-course, steadily headed down a dark path. But that is not all of us. In fact, that's not most of us. And it would be nice to know that we aren't being viewed through such a narrow lens. Every community has its fair share of malcontents, troublemakers, freeloaders, and criminals. We don't condone any of that but we're also not in control of it. We're not in control of the mudslinging, the side-taking, the rhetoric, or the propaganda. What we ARE in control of is our own thoughts, words, deeds, actions, commitments, and contributions.

For every story of bad that we do hear about on the news, there are countless stories of good which, sadly, don't get reported. I mean, why would they? They may be worthy of coverage but they're not going to generate the ratings in the same way as the incessant doom and gloom. Rather than try to fight that system in vain, we will create our own system. It will be small and unheard of at first. But hopefully, as word spreads and people see what we're doing and how we're doing it, we will grow and add value to the world and prove to even just a handful of skeptics, doubters, haters, and even believers that we are good people doing good things. For now, that's where and how we begin.