(For those not using twitter, #OWS is the hashtag used in tweets about "Occupy Wall St.")

Today I read an article on the Freakonomics website about the Occupy Wall St (#OWS) activities that made me really angry. The tone was paternalistic and condescending in the extreme. I had planned tonight to simply update my America's Creeping Fascism page with a couple links (which I did) but I realized I want to say a few words about #OWS. I'm also going to give an update about my life and the future of this blog.

So, regarding #OWS: When the Tea Party people started getting active I was reminded of my childhood. People always asked me about my religion when they found out my father was a minister. "Am I religious?" I'd say, "I don't know, but, I know I believe in church." I had seen too many people who had nothing else; no other community or support system welcomed them like church did. I feel similarly about activism. I don't judge harshly any activists because I respect that they are actually doing something. Apathy is what is destroying our country's chance at greatness. Activism in any form means people care, and that's always a positive.

As for what #OWS and the many other actions happening across the country and now around the world, I agree with Angus Johnston's take about how movements happen (I recommend his blog for a good blend of very current events informed by historical information). "You don't win by making demands." And, as the Rolling Stone piece I linked to on the Creeping Fascism page points out, the energy and enthusiasm and hope demonstrated by people taking part in the activism is amazing in and of itself.

Mostly when it comes to #OWS, I'm thrilled. I haven't been active in much beyond my own life for a couple years with the exception of the poorly designed America's Creeping Fascism page here on this site. Finding out that people are finally realizing that the "bad guys" aren't the "others" that most people tend to blame. It's not even the government, directly. It's corporate greed and the influence it has had on our government. The groups of people out there are not "organized" in a way that fits easily into the corporate media's needs so the fact that they are still in the news is promising. I'm excited by the fact that they haven't lost much steam and that momentum elsewhere is growing. I'm feeling very hopeful for our country because of these activists.

Now, on to the personal stuff...

Today is the 10th anniversary of the day of my wedding, and while our divorce isn't finalized on paper, it is without question going to be in the near future. My former husband and I are still friends and we are sharing custody of our two beautiful children. The girls and I live in Portland now (Maine, if you're new to me/this blog) and their father is in Orono, Maine. He comes to be with them several times a month and they go to stay with him regularly, too.

I've been through some stressful times in the last few years. The last year in particular was dark and desperate. I let my business slide and came to some pretty dismal places emotionally and financially. Recently, in the last couple months, I've rediscovered myself. I've made adjustments where I needed to and I've remembered more intimately the lessons I learned when I began recovering from alcoholism just over 15 years ago. I remember now how to connect with what I call god. Through that connection, I know the very elemental and basic fact that everything is going to be okay. Working from that foundation, rather than one of fear, the rest of life begins to come together. Things are just as they are and it is good.

In the dark times I lost the ability to pay attention to a lot of the things that have held my interest for the last several years. In particular, the creation of meaning through metaphor (in my view, this is just another way of saying "all reality is socially constructed" which goes back to my college years studying Erving Goffman and Symbolic Interactionism). In the last couple years I've been really into the history of quantum mechanics. I've been fascinated by the interplay of themes with the George Lakoff/Drew Westen style brain work (metaphorical thought creates meaning) and the transformation of physics from a deterministic view of the world to one that is more malleable and flexible and flowing. In other words, "what is reality?"

For this blog, I would like to put the reader in a place of respect. I'd like to (with the exception of this post) share with you my ideas that have been thoughtfully considered. Atypical of my write-and-post style, I have drafts of blog posts forming. I don't know how frequently I will post, but I know I'll be posting again here soon.

I also hope to redesign the Creeping Fascism page so it's user-friendly. Many of the links on there are really important, useful, terrifying, or inspiring. I'd like more people to access them.

To my friends and long-time readers who have reached this point in the post, thank you. I'm thrilled any time anyone clicks over to my site. The world is a very busy and crowded place. You taking time to read my thoughts is truly an honor. Again, I thank you.