Easily Amazed – Page 7 – This is a weblog that I, Ashley Cooper, began writing in 2003. In 2019 the site crashed. All of the content was saved, but the formatting lost. Please forgive the appearance! You can find current content at www.AshleyPCooper.com

Shift the Perspective

PapaAndMe Sometimes you just need a different perspective on things. Don’t be afraid to shake things up and look from a different view. We gotta be trying all the tricks we know, using all the tools in our toolbelt.

(cute Papa Hertz and cute little me)

Electing Judges in North Carolina

In 2018 here in North Carolina, we get to be a part of electing our judges and sheriffs. These people hold a lot of power and influence. Do you care about what “the law” determines is fair or not fair, just or not, reasonable punishment or not? Do you care about how law enforcement enact their jobs?

The people that are elected into these roles will hold power that allows them to influence large numbers of people’s lives. So — We’ve got 9 months to learn about the people that are wanting to be elected and to influence the outcome of who is elected.

Learn more from the flyer that Democracy North Carolina has created and stay engaged! Links in the comments.

Continued confessions: It is new for me to be engaged in the governing/politicing process, all year long, not just around elections. Thank you to those that have been and those that paved the way for me to be. I still don’t see the system working effectively — but I see potential and I’m joining the experiment more actively.

Freedom School with Desiree Adaway

I see a lot of people who are feeling anxious about the state of things, want to do something, and aren’t sure what to do. To really be involved in making change, we have to do our homework and understand the complexity of the situations we find ourselves in. If you are committed to ending a pattern of caring-but-not-really-knowing-what-to-do — Freedom School might be the next step for you.

Desiree Lynn Adaway is a powerful leader and educator and is offering a great service by creating this introductory exploration of the ideas and topics most relevant to understanding and navigating our current social and political landscape. Freedom School will help you develop your self-awareness and capacity to take action in ways that will create lasting impact. Check it out. Spread the word. And let me know if you sign up!

What Is This Moment Calling For?

Ashley041417-219 As 2018 walks into my life, making herself at home like she’s been here all along, I’m reaching out to you, most of the people that I know, because now feels like the time.

As I see it, we are facing an opportunity of our lifetime: Can we learn or remember how to take better care of one another and guide ourselves towards a future that is more humane than this moment we are living now?

Most days, I have hope that it’s possible. In my 40 years of life, I’ve been blessed to meet thousands of incredible people all around the world. I’m in awe of how many folks from different backgrounds and life experiences are actively investing their energy and resources towards creating a more compassionate future. I hypothesize that perhaps the majority of people on this planet have good in our hearts and are capable of acting in ways that bring out the positive side of humanity.

So in 2018 – that’s a question that I’m exploring and where I will continue to focus my attention. Here are a few things that I believe which guide me:

People are amazing and capable of so much goodness
We are wiser together — the challenges that we face at this time are solvable when lead by the collective wisdom of diverse groups
If we face the truth of the past and present, then we are capable of imagining a future and working together to create the world we dream of

Facing the Challenges of This Time

“In the face of daunting challenges, we must summon the courage to believe we are the ones we have been waiting for, take risks, and experiment towards solutions. We’re being asked to believe in our inherent capacity, step into the unknown, and challenge deeply held assumptions. For most of us, that’s radically disruptive and contrary to how we’ve organized ourselves to succeed in life… Together we will become the leaders we collectively need. And in the process we will continuously grow and shift and change to meet each new challenge.”

~ Jodie Tonita from Social Transformation Project, published in Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Maree Brown.

The Rise of Hate and Overt White Supremacy

During the election last year, I had 2 conversations with Trump supporters where I shared of my concern that Trump’s candidacy and potential election is bringing to the surface a quality of hate and violence that resembles Hitler’s era. They both responded to me with surprise, “You really believe that?” (met by my own surprise that they really couldn’t see that). Their responses to my emphatic YES were their own perceptions of how “he’s not that bad” and “folks wouldn’t take it that far.” And that’s “not what I support”. And here we are. A year of Neo-Nazi, White Nationalist, and KKK activity on the rise. Horrendous murders and violence like the one below. And the continued systematic deployment of a White Nationalist agenda that lives tucked in the legalities of all of the major US systems (criminal justice, education, housing, employment, healthcare, etc.). I have not revisited these conversations with these 2 people… I should.

I strongly believe that we must be able to see and face the reality that we are living before there is any hope of transforming it to create a brighter and more compassionate present and future… for ALL people. May we find the courage to act in different ways, to make different mistakes, to honor the many lives that are lost to hate, violence and discrimination, and to summon up the bravery, imagination and wit to create a future we actually dream of. (my “we” in this post is all the people with goodness in our hearts).

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