No matter what government does or does not do, people need to remember the power is in their hands to make their small part of the world better. Set a tone of kindness.

~Danielle Colby

The last few weeks have been busy and inspiring amid a set of high-energy tech events, yet muted by an undercurrent of disbelief that my fellow citizens chose a charlatan and a bully to represent us on the world stage—over a competent, confident, former prosecutor preaching unity and being “better than this.” I have tried not to dwell on it, but in quiet moments my mind wanders to thoughts of states with more LGBTQ+ acceptance, or Caribbean nations less populated with hives of angry bees.

It is easy to frame this moment as one in which those who value human rights and decency lack power. To accept as inevitable that disaster rides toward our democracy on a pale horse. But the truth is, I do not cede the power of my well-being to anyone on this earth. Rather, I choose to look around me, and see where I might still do good. There’s the local food pantry where my daughter and I volunteer the first weekend of the month. There’s my adult son’s friend who has chosen us as her family for Thanksgiving for five years now. And there’s my personal circle of influence on the internet.

If I become quiet on one social platform or another, know that I am making a choice in a space that wants to obscure unity and reason. Why cast pearls before swine? I choose to practice a tone of kindness in my small corner of the world that I can help make better.