Hi Wayne,

Your understanding of these, what I believe to be, intricately complex topics inspires me. I always look forward to reading your work. You’ve opened my eyes to many of my own shortcomings and biases.

For instance, and to digress a bit, much of the information you write about feels almost…inaccessible for many Americans. They either don’t know about it, or they wouldn’t know where to look for it, and it’s certainly not within their daily topics of conversation.

I see the lack of it in my tiny, rural community in Maine. I see the lack of it in the children’s curriculum in the local schools. It’s neither discussed at pot lucks nor at town board meetings. There’s no books about it at our library. Their phones or computers or TVs could be an option but, I have to say, I’m doubtful this is the sort of information they’re actively searching for.

There’s a movie I recently watched called ‘Vengeance’ and I think one of the characters summed up small-town America beautifully. He said, “The problem is not that they aren’t smart. It’s that they are. You have all these bright, creative lights, with nowhere to plug in their energy, so it gets channelled into conspiracy theories, drugs, and violence.”

There’s so much I realize I don’t truly understand. It’s easy for me to judge others and think, “ignorant.” Yet, I don’t know the labyrinthine parts of their hearts. It encourages me to be gentler with the people I live amongst. It encourages me to foster community and trust, despite our ethical and moral differences, not to isolate myself. Maybe the gap can be bridged. There’s a lot humans need to learn, myself first.

Wayne, you’re spearheading a new era of kindness, compassion, curiosity, and courage. Your work is more impactful than you may know. I hope to be there along the way with you all! As someone who lives in a rural area, are there ways you recommend I could get involved, whether virtually or in-person?

x Anna