REGARDING THE HERO VOTE IN HOUSTON---THE WORK OF FREEDOM IS UP TO EACH OF US AND NOT A FAILED SELF-SERVING POLITICAL ESTABLISHMENT

Regarding the recent vote in Houston to repeal our human rights ordinance, here is my view of how our political insider establishment handled the issue---

Mayor Parker, the Caucus and other allies offer the city HERO, run an underfunded and unimaginative campaign, ask Beyonce to come and rescue the issue instead of prominent local campaigners being willing to take career risks by calling for economic repercussions if the law is repealed, cause down ballot trouble contributing to the loss of a progressive school board member, lose on Election Day, still won't support a boycott or other sanctions on what was said to be a matter of basic human rights and then blame others for what took place. They couldn't sell a diversity law to the most diverse city in America.

That said, what else would you expect when you entrust our rights to a self-serving  political establishment? Real advocacy on wages, police/citizen relationships and climate change in our industrial city will have to come from everyday people.   

Here are two takes I have on our ability as everyday people to bring about hopeful change--

1. I try to be polite as I can muster, take good pictures of everyday life and be thoughtful every so often because our lives have value and we should treat each other like our lives have value. The movement and uprising will come when we assert the value of everyday life, everyday relationships, everyday work and the everyday climate of the Earth.

2. I'll encourage support of Clinton in a general election to protect us from the worst of the American right. I support Sanders in the primaries because he offers hope and expands what ideas can be discussed in convential politics. I work & communicate to encourage thoughts & actions that assert the value of everyday life because I believe the big movement will come from everyday people. While these three parts of my political and social outlook are broadly connected, they really don't have much to do with each other in everyday practice. We need to stay our course in a number of ways.

The work of freedom is up to each of us.
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