Personal Note From Suzanne

It is all about keeping the faith.
I know that is difficult and I know that the next 3 months we will see things that would normally be incomprehensible in our country and in the world.
I know many of you cannot imagine what is going to unfold and while you have to see it for what it is (because you have to know what you are up against), you have to also remember that there are more good people in this country than those that have drunk the K-K-Kool-Aid.
We were born into a society that gave us certain promises and guarantees. We have put a lot of time and effort into making ourselves into a positive example in this world and to represent the best that America offers.
No one can take that away from you.
No matter your age, you have lived in a world that worked (even though there was great room for improvement) and it can work again, with some very major modifications.
The flaws in our Democracy have been blatantly revealed and they will need to be amended and changed to keep this country in a position of impact and influence for the future.
There is a lot of work to do ahead of us. Honestly, it will take decades to heal what has been broken, smashed, shattered, and crippled.
Some of it will have to be completely started over with massive new rules and changes.
It is going to be difficult for everyone.
Healing happens over time with great effort, informed skills, and honest evaluations. So much has been taken from us and while many still do not feel the total impact of that, know that you will soon enough.
Then remember whose fault it is.
It is ours.
We have not put the money and effort into balanced education that would allow for the mental, emotional, and psychological health and well-being of our people.
We allowed education to be the last thing on the list.

We did not pay educators what they are worth.
We showed a disregard for the things that really matter and that hold value over time.

Only those that are unbalanced in discernment would believe such obvious treachery.
It is only those that have been brain-washed with information that is antiquated and not backed by science and facts that were unable to see past the distortions and lies.
And when you look at the events of WWII and the occupation of the Allied Forces over Germany, you see that even back then, they knew that it would take two generations to shift the toxic rhetoric of Hitler. And the negative influence he had over Germany.

And it did. It took 46 years from Freedom in Europe Day (May 8, 1945) till the Berlin Wall came completely down and the people pushed back and Germany became on country again (November 1991). Even though the Brandenberg Gate section was opened in 1989.
The German people took back their country. Sometimes the older generation has to die off in order for the younger generation to be able to make the inroads and innovations that they dreamed of become possible.
I lived in Berlin when the wall was up. I remember (clear as a bell) the feeling of darkness, fear, and oppression. I am grateful that I had that experience because I was not blind in any way as to what was happening in this country.
I know all the signs. I have felt all these feelings before. I know what fear tastes like and I can see it in the eyes of others even when they pretend that they are confident in their choices.

The only way you can truly oppress a people is to control their minds. If someone cannot control your mind then you cannot become a mindless minion poisoned to do their bidding.

Never give your autonomy over to anyone else.
Giving it away seems easy to do but getting it back is tremendously hard.
Where I have tremendous faith in humanity is from tests that they did in WWII and beyond to see if you can really reprogram a person’s mind.
What they found was that you cannot change who someone really is …. deep down inside. No matter what anyone tried, they were unable to make a mind into a computer and to just do what they wanted.
That shows that the seat of the soul is something that is beyond the understanding and comprehension of our small brains at this moment in time. And while they found that you can temporarily distort a mind into believing something, inevitably that soul will awaken and return that person to its authentic state of being.
I know such things take time. I watched the struggle while I lived in Germany. I saw the Squatters Riots and the demonstrations. I had a Neo-Nazi pick me up in a cab (he was the cab driver). I know how afraid I was as this man yelled at me that I was friends with Gay people (I had been at some friends home for dinner and they were a gay couple). I listened to him as he spoke of how he hated all Americans (I had a very German name and I had a very Berlin accent as I learned German there) so he did not detect that I was American.
I have lived through this moment again and again when I was younger.
I made mistakes then and promised to never make the same ones again. And fortunately I have not made those same mistakes.
I am sure I will make many more. That is what being human is all about. The more I try to have full experiences, the more informed my choices and decisions become.
America was in a bubble for a long time. That bubble has burst and I believe that to be a good thing.
In this moment, it looks pretty difficult. But I believe in the American spirit.

I believe that spirit is its own alive entity. It infuses its children with a type of fortitude and strength. The American spirit is based on a type of wildness that is as vast as this countries open spaces. Such an energy will never be contained completely. I know that is so. And I am waiting for that energy to explode out and retake what is rightfully ours.

~Suzanne Wagner~