popped bubbles and such

today, in a fairly long conversation with my super awesome boss, i discussed (this is new for me) politics. specifically, politics in relation to the work we do (drug policy reform in communities of color). even more specifically, we had a lengthy back and forth about the current political climate and how we could use it to advance our own (ingenious!) agenda. we agreed that we were wallowing in peculiar waters given the unprecedented national air of optimism occurring simultaneously with some of the most depressing statistics in history. and i mean that across the board: incarceration rates, unemployment rates, infant mortality rates, etcetera.

surely though, optimism can't be the worst of our troubles, can it? of course not. the trouble is the real shit. feeling good about the way things are going when everything is bad is like using cocaine (of course, coke can be replaced in this context with any other drug that offers a high) to escape the pressures of life. you feel good, sure, but your circumstances remain the same, and bc you've opted to not proactively address them, they will likely even worsen.

thats right, hope plus no change in action = cracked out.

so the task at hand here in the strange political place in which we've found ourselves, is to galvanize all those bright eyes and bushy tails into action and remind them that feeling good simply isn't enough when things are so very bad.

also, nothing wrong with a little mary jane.