It’s nearing the end of August. Work has been a roller coaster ride of new clients, a shifting marketing landscape, and economic turbulence. The world around me has rapidly changed in the last 7 months, and at every turn, small minds with despotic dreams subjugate the rest of us to their angry, bigoted outlook.

National Guard patrol Washington DC, with the looming threat of Chicago next. My home city. The city of my parents and grandparents, and the refuge of their immigrant forebearers.

Masked ICE agents stalk our streets and communities, abducting people not unlike my ancestors who are only looking for a better life. Why? Because their skin looks different? Because their language, speech, and cultural traditions are different?

At the same time, rights are stripped away for women and the LGBTQIA+ community. Non-binary and trans people are being erased. All that is different, unique, and great about America is attacked, hidden, buried.

Meanwhile, the DOJ is demanding voter information from everyone in my state. Drivers license numbers, voting history, party affiliation, addresses…

It’s a terrifying time to be an American, and an even more mortifying time to be an immigrant or visitor here.

At the same time, investment groups need to earn their returns, and advertisements that color our buildings and screens are chipper and welcoming, lulling us into a false sense of security.

“Ignore the totalitarian creep,” they say. “Buy a Ford. Take advantage of our BOGO sandwich offer on your next lunch break. Go on… your community is disappearing, but treat yourself.”

And yet, there are still people out there sharing their stories, raising their voices through the growing darkness. Everyday people still come together, help each other, and bravely offer love and empathy to one another. In the darkness, the beating heart of humanity thumps onward.

And as long as some of us still carry that torch, humanity will endure. The sun will rise, and together, we will push back hatred and bigotry and replace it with the unyielding tidal wave of compassion and acceptance.

Small men will never tower above others. Eventually the toadies who hold them up buckle.

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