Gotta talk about the election...

I’ve rewritten this many times. Rewriting because there’s no easy way to say what’s coming. Every headline, every tweet, every damn thing feels like it’s designed to make us snap at one another.

What scares me most is those who need the most protection—the women in my life, the kids, and, yeah, even the planet itself. As a white man, I know the relative insulation my identity affords me, but my friends, my family—they’ll feel it. That sucks so much to say. The fractures in our system won’t have the same consequences for everyone, that much has been advertised.

We’ve got congressmen brandishing AR-15 pins like some grim badge of honor. And in the same breath, we’re being told to uphold some nebulous “norms” while these symbols of force are shoved in our faces. Meanwhile, an entire generation is witnessing the rise of people who act with impunity. These folks have somehow managed to dodge consequences for actions that, in a just world, would come with the heaviest of reckonings.

Defend the ones you love. Stand up for each other, for the ones who can’t always stand for themselves. Be kind. Be vigilant. And, hell—buckle up.

Steve Berry
Principal, Thought Merchants