Availability

Sometimes you just have to be THERE. Whether you want to or not. And sometimes when you can't be there, it doesn't matter if you wanted to begin with, but you want to be there all the more.

This can be said for our democracy. How many times have people "forgotten" to vote? A real democracy requires participation. Are you sure you aren't available?

Sometimes we are at our jobs but mentally unavailable. There is simply too much going on in our lives taking up all the RAM in our smushy, gray servers.  In my kindergarten classroom there is so much stimulus going on sometimes that it is hard to have a coherent thought. (English, Spanish, Spanish, English, phone ringing, being poked in the butt, baño, baño, lunch time, clean up, hurry up, HURRY UP!)

I want to salute the Democrats in the state assembly. When King Scott tried to keep everyone out, they moved their desks out to the Capitol lawn in winter, so they could still meet with constituents, at a time when their constituents need to be heard more than ever.  They are making themselves available in very adverse conditions. They are listening through all the noise.